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After asking to be allowed to take sanctuary months before, Senatla had settled in comfortably into the pride she wanted to join. There were two things she hadn't done yet, actually meet any members of the pride besides Kota and the King as well as find her place in the pride. She wanted to be a guard, greeting others that needed the pride and be one of the first to fight off anyone that meant harm to it.

She had no idea how to do it, much less having made a big effort to meet the rest of the pride. Having grown up alone, and just recently had socialization so she was still a bit scared to meet the rest of the pride. There was also her cubs, how would the pride react to leopons? So far, her fears were unfounded, but like any mother, taking the chances when if comes to the happiness and wellbeing of their cubs.




Completely unaware of his mother's concern, the juvenile leopon was playing on the sands, leaping over a pile of sand he gathered himself. He was having fun digging in the sand and creating bigger hills to climb up. He didn't know what a pride was, or that they were part of if, he only lions he had known his whole life were family or friend, he knew no hardships but also not the interconnections that should make up his life in a pride.

Sewelo had gotten a bit away from his mother when he saw the figures in the distance. He could make out a cub, and a lioness, but couldn't see the lion yet. Knowing nothing about fear, after all, the only males he had met were all easy to beat. So, in his mind, there was nothing he couldn't beat there for it couldn't harm him.

However, he wasn't thinking about fighting, he wanted to play! Though he was growling playfully as he bound forward making easy work of the uneven landscape of the sands.

She heard her son growling, but in a distance. Getting laxed by the peace and the sounds of the ocean, she had let him out of her sight. Deeply worried, not only that she had let him out of her sigh, but that he was going after something that wouldn't play dead.

Pulling on to her feet, she was up and running forward, sore because she got up without stretching, she used her longer gate to quickly catch up to her cub. Horrified that there was a family ahead of them, she knew she'd be worried of a cub bigger then her own just appeared out of no where growling, however playful.

Leaping ahead of the black and white leopon, she stopped him with a paw and looked forward, nearly wanting to shake. Not out of fear as much as out of nervous. With a smile, again pulled out of being nervous, but also showing she was friendly, "Greetings!" Holding her son back,s he stayed still to watch the family to see how they would react to her and to her son.

She watched the whole family very carefuly, slightly envious because it was a family, complete. Holding that at bay, she was happy to see that they were not seemingly unhappy to see her and her son. The young male cub looked as ready to play as her own son. Before she would allow her son to play, she was going to make sure she knew who they were and they knew who she was.

"I am Senatla, this is my son Sewelo, we along with my other cubs were given permission by the King to stay in the den a little further down the beach." She was kinda a member of the pride, sort of. Now that her cubs were no longer suckling, she was ready to make the steps to actually join the pride officially though hardly knew how, though she did know what she wanted to do. While she didn't know the red of her fur and her colors were commonly firekin colors, she did have the fighting spirit without the malice of the breed.


Sewelo looked up when his name was said, but hardly had the concerns she did. Directly looking at the cub, he asked, both his mother and the other cub's mother, "May I play?" He wanted to splashing and playing sand games that he enjoyed by himself and with his siblings.

Senatla listened to the names, none of them were ones she knew, except for Kota whom she had met when she first ventured in to the pride long before she had cubs. "It is nice to meet you, Ravi, I have met Kota but the only other member of this beautiful pride is the kind King." Looking to his mate that he introduced, she waited a few moments and got what she had expected, the lioness introduced her self anyway. With a small chuckle, not daring more, "It is wonderful to meet you as well, Sevati. And I agree, friendly faces is much better then what is commonly found on the roguelands." Looking down at her son, she smiled warmly and answered, "Yes, I have five other cubs, two girls and the rest are males." Her big brood was a pawful but she loved every moment of it.

Moving on, she asked the other mother, "Does Kairav have brothers and sisters as well?" Speaking of, said cub had apporached her and asked to play.



Sewelo sniffed at the other cub and smiled broadly moving around to stand at the smaller cub's side and give his mother a pleading look, "Please!"


Even if she wanted to, that look was hard to resist, looking back to the lion and lioness she says, "Is it okay for the cubs to play together? Sewelo's bigger but he knows to be careful around cubs smaller then himself." Not comfortable with pride actives and ways because she didn't know them, she searched for signs from them, to try and understand how things worked, especially when it came to cubs.

She could see that, the family in front of her was kind and the King had been so nice. No one commented on the fact that her cubs were hybreds, it didn't seem to matter at all. Sewelo would have the friends he deserved to have without the boundaries that might have been felt in some of the more closed off prides.

"With my six, I also came with my sister, Kamaria, and another lion, Aten though I have not seen him in awhile. A very close friend is also interested in joining the pride though there was something he needed to do elsewhere first." Smiling, she thought about it, she was bringing and welcoming lions into the pride that she was just becoming a part of, the more adults the better for the cubs, she believed.


Listening to the lioness, she recalled that her brood would be impossible to miss as well, leopons stood out after all. Smiling as they agreed to let the cubs play she said, "I don't mind at all, I love the chance for Sewelo to make new friends, as well as my self." Meeting new lions was a growing skill, but she was getting there.

While the cubs played, she wanted to learn more and asked, "I have not become an official member, its taken a while to settle in and I was too scared to leave my nursing cubs alone for a moment. While I am still uneasy about leaving them alone, I'd like to be of use to the pride that took me and my family in. Do either of you know how I could go about becoming a guard? I'd like to protect the pride as well as give others the show of friendliness I have enjoyed ." She had already welcomed a lion into the pride, Thili mainly, she had been friendly with him and he had agreed to come back and join the pride, as well as her family. Since she wasn't a member yet, she didn't know if she should mention that or not.

Jethro was all Kam, though she liked the male too. Even if, she tried not to think of if, she feared Kam would chose the male over helping her with the cubs.

Sewelo, seeing as the parents had caved, was more then eager to start the games. Turning to the smaller cub, he bumped him with his paw, being extra gentle, "Tag, your it!" Calling out joy fully, he ran off a distance and waited for the game to really begin. Sure, it was cheating, but pay back was sure to come and he was not worried at all.

Sewelo grinned when he got Kairav's attention, excited about being able to play. Wiggling his hind end, he waited for Kairav to get closer before he jumped to the side and started running towards the water, challenging, "You can trrry!" He wasn't trying his hardest, there was just so much to play that it was hard to focus on one game.

While watching the cubs having fun, she responded to the lioness, "Happily, my sister is around here somewhere, I know you'd like Kamaria, she is very nice. As for the other lion, Thilivhali is also amazing, and extremely good with cubs." There was that special smile on her face, betraying how special the lion was to her.

Hearing that Sevati was a cub sitter, she looked very interested, "I didn't know that was a job, must be a lot of fun. So far its just been Kam watching my cubs when I went out to hunt. It seems like a lot to ask, watching six cubs." Not that she didn't trust Savati as a cub sitter, but with five of her own, it just seemed like too much to ask of another young mother.

There were only two guards, it was double edged because it meant there was more for her to do, but also that there was only two lions looking out for the pride on the outside. It must be taxing, she thought, to have to work so hard because of the few numbers, "I would love to help you and Kota, he was very nice to me and my sister when we first came to this pride." Looking to the waves a moment, memories of playing in them came to mind. That was when she was as much a cub as a adult in a lot of ways, something she could no longer be.

Deciding to learn more, she asked, "I have an idea of what a guard does, looks out for trouble and greats those that come to the pride. Would you mind walking me through your daily activities?" Embarrassed to ask, it wasn't the lack of knowledge but feeling bad about asking something like that during what looked to have been a happy family time.

Sewelo was having a blast, leaping around and plotting. He could take the younger cub on quite a run. Smiling, the adults were further on away from his thoughts as he focused on his new playmate. Speaking of, his great plans were derailed when the young cub cut in front of him without him noticing. Sewelo tried to hit the brakes, to get in another direction, but he was doomed as a sitting duck for a few moments.

Watching the cubs a second more, smiling, Senatla turned to Sevati when she spoke again. The love of cubs she understood completely, even being a young mother overwhelmed with such a large litter and knowing nothing about cubs, her love of them helped keep them all well. She adored her cubs and was already loving little Kairav.

Kota had said there were a lot of cubs when she had been by before. However, that was months ago so they probably had all grown up, probably before Sevati and her mate came to this pride. They could have been born here, but she doubted that, not only was the curliness not in the fur, but the scars spoke of a hard life elsewhere before finding the pride. Scars were hardly a valid judge, seeing as she didn't have any but grew up alone in the roguelands all the same.

As the greenish-blue maned lion spoke, her attention went back to him and she listened. Part of her wondered if Kota would even remember her, she and her sister didn't stay in the pride long before leaving again because the lion they were with didn't like the ocean.

Listening closely, she felt she had already done that well enough, she had met with Thili, though not as discreetly, determined he was of good intentions. Curious about the combat rule, she stayed her voice until he was finished before she'd ask her questions, it might be answered without her having to ask.

Seeing an opportunity she asked, "You say no forms of combat, but what do we do if we are attacked, or violent threats enter the pride where mere words do not turn them away? This isn't the roguelands, I know, I hardly expect there to be a firekin invasion or something, but what do we do should the worst appear?" Having absolutely no idea of the background of either lion, firekin was brought up because they were the boogeyman to her. During her earliest days, she was told by her mother and aunt to fear them, of their atrocity, slavery and of their cruelty. It was common knowledge in the roguelands as well, from slaves that escape.

She wasn't expecting trouble, for she would have not settled where she had reason to fear for her cubs. However, anyone came to her den, threatening her cubs; she would not be able to follow the no combat rule.

Speaking of vantage points, she looked around her, for all the places that were high. Silly to want to be a guard when she didn't even know the territory. Still, she had faith she could do it, and was sure that she'd be shown the ropes before it became her responsibility to patrol alone. "With three guards, there would be more time for each with their families. The King allowed my family a den and shelter, but now that we are settled and my cubs are older, I am not sure how to completely join the pride." It was probably something one would know if they were part of prides, but sadly she was lack for knowledge and experience.

There was no hope, he was caught, all the leopon could do was turn it to his advantage. Turning to the side, he took the pounce he couldn't get away from and batted playfully stating, "You got me! Or, do I have you?" Unsure it it would even work, he decided to get it a try. Attempting to hold on to the other cub like he would a tree he was trying to climb, the leopon then did a roll over hoping to turn the action into a pin. At the very least, he'd be up on his own paws again..

Purple eyes fell on her son and his new friend, a twinge of worry just because this was still new to her. However, she was willing to trust the two other sets of eyes and was sure that nothing would happen to either and there was always someone able to step in if Sewelo accidently got too rough.

Hearing Ravi's voice, her head snapped to his direction, listening very intently to every word. It made more sense to her, and made her feel better, to know if there was a threat she could react immediately. There was fighting blood in her veins, but also sense given by a life time in the roguelands, the understanding of when to fight and when not to can often be a difference between life and death. Running away wasn't the only reason she and no scars to prove her ordeals.

His slight drop was picked up though her experiences left her unsure of how to react. Even before he spoke, she got the odd idea that she had spoken wrong. Just getting comfortable around others, the old fears started bubble up as he continued to speak. Looking baffled now, after all she hadn't fully believed the firekin existed, figuring them more for a boogeyman warning of natural dangers made the most terrifying the scare cubs and wondering lions of death traps.

Pawing at the ground now, back paw twitching ever so slightly as she struggled now, unsure of what to say least she say something wrong and insult someone. "I..I actually didn't think they were a real pride, my mother talked of them as such horrors as we ran from something, I guess I just assumed she was making things up to keep me from wondering off and to keep up." It failed, but that was another story, which they didn't ask for and she was going to spare them of.

It was the first time she really faced knowing her words could bother someone, it was an awkward thought though she was better adjusted then the nervous cub she was more showing herself to be. Stilling her front paw, the back moving just ever so slightly, she pulled at the confidence that had been growing since she met her sister moons ago.

Listening to the other lioness speak, she braved speaking again, commenting, "Then I would like to unofficially, until allowed by the king, to help with the patrolling and greeting of newcomers. With my family growing, I can spare more time to help hunt for the rest of the pride as well." She would make use of herself, unless what she wanted to do was not allowed.