Between Simi (Safaia) and Kiasi (Felyn)
The morning had been of little importance. Simi had recently moved out of his family's den, feeling a bit suffocated from the growing bulk of the family. Perhaps it was also the need to feel normal, to feel like everyone else. He wouldn't realize it, but it certainly gave a little skip to his step.
His step today guided him towards one of the more common watering holes. It was easy enough to find, right behind Pride Rock where many of the pride could gather, and it gave him a chance to mix in and make small talk with whomever he bumped shoulders with. A piece of him hoped to find Tufah, but it was hard to look for one certain lion in such a large pride.
He bowed his head for a drink, letting the noise of pride life dance all around him.
It was one of those lazy days for the young mother, although she couldn't say she didn't appreciate her time alone. With Shaji watching the cubs, she often found time to just lay by the water hole and soak up the sun. What finer things in life were there? She had the cubs she had wanted, a male to take care of them, and plenty of time to herself in which to relax. Life had gone pretty well for her as far as she was concerned, but even one so content as herself could get restless.
Her eyes drifted up at the sound of the male, deep blue orbs as dark as ocean waters, resting on him calmly. He seemed familiar, but she was often bad with names in a pride where gold and golden brown colors ran rampant. They all began to look the same to her, after a while, especially when she couldn't care much about them in the first place. She only truly ever noticed those that entertained her. He, however, looked quite familiar.
After studying him for a moment, a slow smile curled her maw. She was pretty sure he had to be one of the royal cubs. Having met Ta'Ziyan and his daughter back when the girl was young, she could put two and two together.
"Hello there," she called softly, picking her head and tilting it slightly at the other. Lazing beneath the small shrub-like tree by the watering hole, her form was half covered in shadow. She had no idea which of the sons he happened to be, but she'd find out.
Simi had heard the voice, but wasn't sure if it was directly at him. He paused for a moment, finishing his refreshing drink at his own pace. Once he raised his head enough to peek up, he noticed that she was looking at him. His head continued to rise slowly, the water dripping off of his maw before he could wipe it away with a rub of his paw and the rest with his tongue.
He felt foolish that he didn't realize she was speaking towards him, bobbing his head in an apology. "I'm sorry," he started, his brown eyes scanning her face, trying to figure out if he knew her name or not. He knew names of many, but that was as far as he knew. A name wasn't matching with this face, though, and he quickly gave up.
Finally, now that he didn't feel like a fool with water all over his face, he took a couple steps towards her, stopping at a comfortable distance and settling himself down on his hind legs to sit. "Can I help you?" he asked, wondering if she had a question. He'd certainly be happy to help!
"Sorry?" she said softly, the smirk on her maw widening. She couldn't truly guess what he was sorry for, but if she knew males at all, she figured it was probably for something he'd felt he'd done. Perhaps by taking so long to answer her, or maybe something even more ridiculous. For a moment, she was reminded of Kubwa, the innocence she had seen in him. It was cute, in a way, but innocence never lasted long.
"No, I'm afraid I don't truly need any help of any form," she said softly, pushing herself up into a sitting position, tail curling and uncurling behind her as she watched him. He certainly was the eager sort. "I'm just looking for a bit of conversation, I suppose, as today is truly not so exciting."
She dipped her head to him, eyes shutting as she did so, "I believe you are one of princes, yes? My name is Kiasi'Nyota."
Simi's left ear twitched, feeling a bit defeated at the confirmation that she didn't need help. Well....he should take that as a good thing, because Simi certainly couldn't help everyone, especially with how large the pride was. He kept his chin up, though, as she continued to speak.
Simi bobbed his head, confirming what she had guessed. "Yes, my mother is the Queen, and my father Ta'Ziyan. Simi is my name." He wasn't sure what else to add on, though. He was always nervous about how others thought about him and his position. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kiasi'Nyota," he said, offering a small bow of respect for her.
She smiled, rather pleasantly in fact, at his introduction. Although, as she watched him and that name ran through her mind, she thought she had heard it before somewhere. A slight frown creased her maw as her mind danced through all the things she had heard in the past few days, sitting here by the watering hole and talking to to the lions and lionesses that passed through or joined her for company. Just as she thought she'd not be able to remember, the information came rising to the surface.
"Simi?" she said with a small smirk, bringing her paw up to examine it, grooming it for a moment. Her eyes didn't flicker back to him as she concentrated upon it, tail snaking behind her. "You know Tufah then, yes?"
Simi stood up straight, attentive as she seemed to pause for a moment. He felt a bit like he was getting examined, but half of what he worried about was only in his mind. He let his mind wander a bit to help him relax, but all that was to naught as she said his name again. Huh?
"I'm good friends with Tufah," he admitted with a nod. She was special to him, though there were at times things she said that he didn't quite understand. Other things made him jealous, but he was used to that, coming from such a large family. So their friendship had gotten around? It was...weird, the idea about that, but it didn't bother him. Why? He trusted her a lot, as he had known her since he was just a cub. He was a bit befuddled at her close examination of her paw in the middle of a conversation, though.
She put her paw down slowly, eyes shifting up towards him, staring at him in silence. Her smirk had shifted somewhat towards a smile, to appear more innocent. She'd spent her whole life getting things from her father and brothers, getting things just the way she wanted. She had heard the girl's bragging, and she was about to foil her efforts.
"Oh, so I hear. She talks about you quite a bit," she said with a purr on her words, pushing herself to her feet and moving towards the watering hole a bit. Leaning down towards the water, she took her time in lapping up a few sips, then licked her maw clean before she turned back to him. "She's always talking about you."
Simi watched her curious, his head tilting just a bit to the side in wonder. What was she talking about?
He stood where he was, only turning his head a bit to try and watch where she was going. Hopefully she wasn't just going to walk away after saying that and leave him hanging. Surely not! He waited as patiently as he could, soon turning his whole body around to face her again.
The words he was met with confused him, though. "She...talks about me?" he asked, a bit of disbelief hovering in his voice. Sure, he might mention Tufah now and again, but it wasn't like he was obsessed with her, or talked about her to everyone he met. So why was she....doing that? He wanted to know what she was saying, but didn't know how to ask Kiasi exactly what it was.
She smirked slightly, hanging her head to peer at her own reflection a moment, then turned her eyes back upon him. He truly was just reeking of innocence more and more with every passing moment. It almost made her feel guilty about playing with him so. Of course, Shaji also happened to be a creature of innocence, and if she could do it to him then she should have no qualms doing it to a stranger.
"Why, of course," she said with a soft laugh as she turned to look at him once more. Sitting down, she curled her tail around her paws, tilting her head at him as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing from him. "She was just out here gossiping to some of the ladies about her 'prince'," she said with a soft laugh, shaking her head, "she really talks quite loud, you know."
Simi's tail flicked, a bit in annoyance. That title. He didn't mind it if it was used in a correct matter, really. But if it was used as something against him, or anyone he cared about, it was something he would rather cast aside if it came to that. Was Tufah his friend only because of his title? No, that couldn't be!
It was obvious that there was a battle going on in his mind, his face showed it. He didn't let his eyes look up at the lioness, he let them sink towards the ground. His voice was quiet, but not shakey. "Has she said anything other than that?" He hoped that was the worst of it. He was just Simi, and he just happened to be born a prince. That was how he hoped she saw him. Not like this, if it was the truth.
She saw the change in him when he heard her words, her eyes shifting away from him and towards the watering hole once more. Staring at the placid surface, she tried to appear as calm as possible. Deep down, it was slightly upsetting to twist such a sweet creature, but above that she was doing what she always did. Maybe it would help him in the long run.
"Oh, you know, the usual sort of gossip," she said with a small shrug, her eyes turning to watch him. He certainly looked defeated. "Just, you know, how she can't wait to get to that prince of hers. She quite likes you, you know. Although I'm not entirely sure it's for all the right reasons." She offered him a smile that she made seem careless, innocent, as if she had no intentions of ruining his image of the girl. Of course, it couldn't have been any more different.
Simi's tail had continued to twitch, though at the arrival of her new words it soon froze. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the ground. It was hard to believe, but there was a piece deep down that told him there was a truth in everything. Even if it seemed like something of a lie, there had to be a grain of truth in it somewhere. That thinking was what would get him all wound up.
He wasn't sure what the 'usual' gossip was, since he purposefully tried to not get mixed into it. The comment about her liking him made him embarassed and frusterated at the same time. Was that why she always led him away from home? For them to be alone together, or for him to leave his home for lengths at a time? There were so many questions swirling in his head.
"May I ask...how often you hear of this? Has it been circulating for a while?" His voice wasn't as steady as it was, but it wasn't quiet, either.
She had been gazing out at the waters as he had been thinking, or staring, or whatever it was that he was taking the time to do. She had learned long ago, in this art, that you rushed nothing if you wanted it to be believable. Her aloofness also came across as honest - if she didn't push, if she wasn't concentrated upon it, then it seemed as if she were giving it little effort. No effort meant no room for lies. Not that this was quite pulled entirely out of thin air. There was a lot of truth, she was just.. spicing it up for him.
"How often?" She laughed, shutting her eyes with a shake of her head and a slight roll of a shrug to her shoulder. Opening them, she let them settle on his figure, taking in his stance. He seemed upset, which was what she meant. Although, of course, it was more for the sake of ruining Tufah's plan than truly upsetting him. "She talks about it all the time. I hear it whenever she's hanging around."
Simi knew that she hung around here often. It was how they met when they were still very young, and went off on their first adventure together. That was a fact that he couldn't overlook. So she came here often, and spoke to others. He couldn't blame her for that, but if he was merely something to brag about, well....that infuriated him.
He could feel pieces of his body shake with that anger, and it took a good long moment to get it under control. He knew that he would have to talk to her about it. It almost felt like he should go find her now, while all these emotions were still flowing through him, or else he might lose his nerve.
"I almost....can't believe it," he said carefully. "But I know that she comes here often, there must be truth in your words. I have no reason not to believe you..." he dared to look up at her now. "I thank you, I guess, for telling me. It's better then being lied to, I suppose."
"I would have no reason to lie to you," she said softly, more serious now, eyes settled on him and unwavering. It really was the truth. A mother of seven cubs, a male in tow, with no care for royalty on the basis that they were simply royalty. What reason did she have of lying to him? Tufah just happened to let the wrong rumor reach the wrong ears.
"You are welcome. I do hope I have not disturbed you too badly. I only pass along that which I hear," she dipped her head to him, watching his eyes. She wondered how he would confront Tufah. Deep down, she hoped it caused problems for a the female. It was in her nature to try and outdo others that liked to play games. After all, what was life without a little fun?
Simi's tail swayed behind him on the ground as the adolescent let his mind race. It was a clean, straight race, and it told him that he indeed needed to seek out Tufah as fast as he could, and confront her with what he had found out.
"I think I need to seek her out," he commented, glancing over his shoulder at the vast lands that Pride Rock towered over. "I apologize, but I really want to get this sorted out with her."
He waved a paw, hoping to not worry her. "Everything will be sorted out, I'm sure. As long as I can keep my emotions in check..." he trailed off. He didn't know what else to say to her.
"Perhaps we can speak again, on a more pleseant topic one day," he added on, hoping to not sound like he was ungrateful for what she had told him. It was important, and a pressing matter that needed to be attended to.
She smiled at him, pushing herself up onto her paws. "Of course, Simi, I'm sure everything will work itself out." She hoped, for his sake at least, that he found a way to deal with Tufah. She'd played her game, she was happy with it, though she wondered if she had actually helped him in the end. Typically, her games only benefitted herself - if it helped him, well, that was a change of pace for her.
"Perhaps we will, one day," she said, glancing over her shoulder in the direction she knew her own den to lay. "Good luck with her," she said finally, then dipped her head once more to him and turned to go along her way. She had cubs to see to, after all.
Simi nodded, acknowledging her before slipping off towards where he thought Tufah might be. He had to ask, now. It was something that he just couldn't put off. He hoped it was all a lie, but he wasn't sure how much he could believe Tufah if she told him otherwise.
Only time and one confrontation would tell.
