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 Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 2:29 pm
Kitambi was started to get tired of this trip. In hindsight, she probably could have just said this lion was lying to her and walked away. It probably would have been a good idea to so do. But, that would mean she would have to say she didn't believe in fate, and after meeting that lioness who had believed in it, she was having a hard time proving it didn't exist. If another lion had said it, she might have been a little doubtful. Alake, however, had been one of her own, and if she believed it then maybe it was true. Just maybe.
Still, she wished that they could find Mtembei's mother before the next century. She supposed she was lucky that her fated mate had some idea where he was going. Though, if Mtembei's sense of direction was any worse they'd be up in Egypt now making their way steadily towards Europe. So far, they were still in the African savannah, which was slightly comforting to the young lioness. Savannah was good. Jungle, not so good. The jungle just had too many pitfalls for Mtembei. Thus, with her usually blank expression, Kitambi trudged after Mtembei, eyes peeled for any lioness that looked like she could be his mother. Come on lioness!
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 2:55 pm
 She'd practically had to plead with her daughter to convince Martirae that she was perfectly capable (and pleased) with little strolls of her own now and then. But it was nice to know the girl cared for her (or at least hadn't been whisked away with distractions yet.... sigh, how she mourned losing Lesedi and Mtembei... it was like her first litter all over again...).
It was hard to get such things out of her head, really, even with the open savannah and some fresh air to clear her mind of such things. Perhaps it was the gut feelings that her little Lesedi had been suffering her way through life, alone, and the even more discomfort at being unsure of what to think of the fate of her son.
Not even the gift of seerhood had blessed her with that insight yet, unfortunately.
But a nice walk was all she'd needed to perhaps find something good: Like a distraction perhaps?
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 3:17 pm
Leboya wishing for a distraction, Mtembei wishing to find her. The old saying "be careful what you wish for" was one they might learn to heed it by the end of the encounter. Mtembei had been looking for her for so long, you'd think he'd have planned this out better. Maybe he had. What mattered was when he finally did find her, after what felt like forever and a day of looking for her with this nag of a lioness shadowing him, what was his response?
Hide, of course. Behind Kitambi.
"There she is," he whispered. There was no nod or wave of a paw to indicate where, but there was no missing someone as bright as his mother, so he didn't need to.
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 6:43 pm
She was startled out of her internal bitching when Mtembei suddenly changed his course ending up... right behind her. The lioness blinked, turning her head to look at him in confusion. What, was there something ahead of him that he didn't like? Apparently, whatever it was, it was something worth hiding from. Needless to say, she was quite surprised when Mtembei announced that it was his mother up there. Her 'crown' clinked softly as Kitambi turned her head back to look for the lioness in question. She was easier to find than Kitambi had initially suspected.
In fact she was a lot easier to find than Kitambi had initially suspected. A small frown formed on her face as she studied the lioness, however there wasn't really much for her to judge. Mtembei's mother was bright, but that was all about all she could tell from this far. Turning back to look at Mtembei, she asked quietly, "So... what are we going to do? Do we say hi or what?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 7:13 am
Mtembei quaked like a little girl in the face of a giant spider. He wasn't really afraid of spiders, though, okay? ...He wasn't! He wasn't shuddering because he was thinking of spiders, it's because it was cold, alright? "Uh..."
What was he gonna do? Run away like his father? He had pretty much done just that already, but his intentions had been good. He'd just wanted to find Banji and drag him back. It wasn't his fault nature had cursed him with poor tracking skills and now he was full grown and still hadn't found him.
But he wasn't Banji, he reminded himself. He was a real man, and real men didn't hide behind girls they'd lied to. ---Wait. That didn't sound right either.
...Oh well.
Mtembei drew in a deep, deeeep breath, and rounded Kitambi, marching over to Leboya. He would just tell her what happened. Tell her like it was. Tell her that she shouldn't be mad at him. Tell her--
Mtembei dropped to the ground in the most pleading, submissive stance in front of his mother. "I'm so sorry Mama! I got lost and I met this girl and we've been trying to find you this whole time!"
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 1:19 pm
Yes, being unable to find Leboya when she was out in the savannah was a difficult task indeed (Unless one was colorblind). However, she hadn't exactly been planning to be sought out, and she hadn't exactly made enemies so she had little in terms of 'worries' for the trek....
..
Outside of nearly tripping over wayward sons who had suddenly thrown themselves at her paws.
Yes, while most would be fully aware that someone they knew was marching right up to them, even a mother had to take a moment to realize that the markings along the child's back were indeed from her... and to prevent herself from stepping on him.
While a 'normal' reaction may have been to perhaps scold her child for being away for so long, another 'good' reaction would have been to perhaps to start purring and drowning her poor pleading child with affections. Somehow she was able to refrain from both, instead going for as calm of a reaction as possible.
Which consisted of a light nuzzle to Mtembei's forehead and a more mellow purr.
"Child, you need give your mother no more explanation than that you're safe."
However from there she looked up to see who it was her son was speaking of in terms of 'who he'd met', looking over the lioness with slight appraisal. Not the 'HMM, DO I WANT MY GENES GOING HERE' sort of way, as Leboya had no real wish to rush becoming a grandparent (again...), but in more of a 'What character has been brought to see me' way.
"Come closer, dear, I promise that despite my coloration I'm far from one who will sting you."
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 4:40 pm
Was he... shaking? Kitambi blinked several times, before she turned to look at Leboya again. She didn't look that scary. Maybe she was one of those lionesses who looked calm and cool on the outside but inside was a fiery ball of fury and horror. Yeah, maybe that was it. Why else would Mtembei be quaking like a leaf in front of the mother they had been seeking out? It just didn't make sense. Apparently, however, he seemed to regain whatever confidence he had lost upon seeing his brightly-coloured mother and was going over to meet her. Atta boy Mtembei! You go be...
A damn coward. Now he was acting like a baby! Urg, this was so humiliating! Kitambi resisted the urge to face-paw. What had she done to deserve such an idiot as her fated mate? Sure she had taken a few cracks at Waseme's face, but even Buddha himself wouldn't have been able to not make a comment on that. So this definitely couldn't be karma. Maybe it was fate. Whatever it was, it sucked. Hardcore.
She was so caught up in her woe that she almost didn't notice that Leboya had seen her. Apparently Mtembei had remembered to tell her about his mate. How fortunate. Smiles were hard for her, but the lioness nonetheless tried to force the corners of her mouth into something that could resemble a grin. Once she was satisfied she moved forward until she stood next to Mtembei. "Hi. You're Mtembei's mother, right? I'm Kitambi."
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Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 1:11 pm
Mtembei would have cried if it was manly. It wasn't, so he didn't. He didn't. That wasn't crying, there was dirt in his eye. He only sniffled because he didn't want to sneeze, okay? Okay. Good.
The lion pushed himself back up, sitting beside Kitambi and sighing in relief at the exchange between them. Things, so far, were going well. "Mom, this is Kitambi."
She already said that, moron.
Shut up voice in his head.
"We've been looking for you for a long time."
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Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 1:40 pm
Oh yes, she was the most terrifying lioness ever! So unthreatening that when she did assert herself one was to FLEE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE! No seriously, one didn't mess with her when she was in 'protective mommikins' mode. Then they were to back away slowly.
But certainly this situation didn't call for any of her motherly defenses, so like any lioness (kinda) she was hardly something to be afraid of.
In fact, the fact that Mtembei had just repeated himself twice was almost amusing. Well, technically he'd repeated his lady-friend once and himself once, but either way was prooving he was a tad flustered.
Really, she couldn't expect a lost child to know how to greet their mother.
Leboya bowed her head, ever so slightly, to Kitambi in greeting, a purr settling itself deep in her chest. "Indeed Mtembei is my son, young lady. If you simply wish to be as my son is and call me 'Mother', you're free too... otherwise you may call me 'Leboya'."
Irony? 'To Sting'. A jellyfish in everything but her nature.
"It was nice of you to bring my son back to me."
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Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 9:18 am
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Leboya," Kitambi responded automatically, though afterwards she wondered if she should have called her mother. Did mates call the mother of their mate "Mom"? Or was that too intimate? If it was as intimate as she assumed it was, then she could wait until Leboya knew the true nature of their relationship before she started calling her by anything other than her name. She didn't want to screw up just yet. Mtembei was already doing that for her.
Leboya's next words were nowhere near as straightforward as her first, and for a moment the lioness was not sure what to say to her. In the end, she settled for, "Um… you're welcome" and then closed her mouth again. Mtembei had said he would do all the talking, so she was trying to say as little as possible. Just to remind him, she gave him a subtle nudge with one paw. Come on Mtembei. Speak up.
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Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 7:13 am
Mtembei felt the nudge and sent her that look. 'Get off my back, woman!' the expression hissed silently. 'I'm getting there!' He was going to say something, she didn't have to go trying to injure him.
Except he really wasn't going, and now that he'd been prodded to, he still didn't have much of anything to say. Anything. At all.
If this was desperation felt like, he didn't like it much at all. And, it was this desperation that had him blurt out what, so far, was the most stupid thing he'd said his entire life.
"I hope you like grandchildren, Mom."
s**t.
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Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 4:42 pm
Yes, that was indeed an odd way to announce anything that could be implied from 'liking grandchildren'.
"I certainly hope I do, as you already have a nephew." That was one way to say that Mtembei's sister (though not Martirae, as the idea of her spawning was almost terrifying) had had a son. Just one. An adorable little boy, really.
But there was a nice little 'puzzled face' that was added onto the end of this thought. Like a good mother she had to eye the female companion, then her son, than the companion again, and again her son.
...
.....
...
"Why would you be asking?"
Yes. Be nice and not assume anything.
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Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 7:11 pm
Kitambi responded to that look with a very subtle raise of one eyebrow. Come on Mtembei, speak up! Or else she was going to have to spill the beans. Before she does that, it would be wise to know that like her mother, Kitambi has absolutely no tact and just tells it like it is. So unless Mtembei wants his mother to know that they shared a den without knowing each other's names because they were fated then he'd better get talking.
… Or he could just say something even worse than she'd come up with. Kitambi gave a delicate cough, glad that she had years of experience keeping her face completely straight. She just had to sit. Sit and look pretty (which was kind of hard but she would try. She was prettier than her sister). The lioness was tempted to say something like "I think grandchildren are nice", but she knew that her tone would make it equivalent to, "There's a sun in the sky." Not a very good move. Instead, she settled for, "Congratulations on your nephew."
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Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 7:23 pm
Mtembei stumbled miserablely on his words. Epic fail. "Uh, because... Well, you know. Me and Kitambi. One day, you know... I mean, you know." Of all things to not take after his father in. Why couldn't he be blessed with the same silver tongue? Hurriedly he cleared his throat. "Anyway, uh. We're tired. From looking. For you, of course. Are you staying somewhere in specific? If not, we're, uh... gonna go settle down... around here."
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Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2008 9:43 am
Oh yes, her child most definitely had a 'silver tongue'.... not. But at least his mother had enough of her wits about her to understand that her child was simply saying 'Uh yeah, this is mine, we may or may not be giving you grandkids sometime in the future... headsup!'.... And aww, he was even offering to come live somewhere around his mother!
"This area in and of itself is close enough to my 'home' to give you two ample space while still being close enough by to visit..... and for you, Mtembei, to hide from your sister. Lord only knows that she's become spiteful since you and your father and then Lesedi......." a pause and a sigh of guilt.. she'd failed her second litter as a mother, sigh, "vanished from our lives."
Ooooh. Good warning, mom! Let them know that the angry little neon zebra-fish was going to hiss and puff at them and tell them to 'GTFO' before she loomed protectively around her mother.
But it was to be expected, really.
"Unless you wish to brave her a little sooner, because you're always welcomed into our den." Yes, by mother, but sister might frown and leer at brother and brother's girlfriend.
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