Tama had a full belly...so all was good. Despite his white pelt, he'd grown adept at hunting and he tended to sneak up on people without meaning to. For now though...for now, he lay on his back, eyes closed to the warm sun and a smile on his face. It had been a similar day that his mother had told him to wait...that he had something to do in the land of the noble lions. And...well, he'd found it, he was certain. He'd found Narci, and a new family that loved him as he loved them.
Certainly all that was left now was keeping up with 'grown-up' things like hunting for the pride, and waiting for her. Because one day, she would return to see he'd done well, to tell him so. Life was very, very good.
Múscail had been through a lot since that fateful meeting with Unguzo that seemed so long ago. So much pain and heartache. She'd never fully understood just how much her sister had gone through with the deaths of her cubs, not until she'd watched helplessly as Unguzo snatched away three of her own little ones. Tanith, Moto'Pai, and Keki... Lost to the paws of that delusional lion.
The lioness shook her head, trying not to dwell. She'd tucked away the remaining cubs in a safe grove earlier, and now was on the hunt. Travelling had taken so much out of her. Her pelt was scraggly and not nearly as well groomed. The hint of ribs could be seen at her sides. All her food was going to the little ones now, they were her world... At least she'd gotten over being so jumpy around males. She had to remind herself that they weren't all like Unguzo...
An unfamiliar scent floated by Tama's nose and he blinked into alertness. Strange...The white adolescent rolled over and stood, curious. Another Pridelander he hadn't met? He blinked when he saw the other in the distance.
A white pelt. And the scent had been female. Was it....it had to be! He grinned and started for the female quickly. Wait until she saw how big he'd gotten! Why...he was bigger than Narci now! Well...taller anyways. He was a rather long, lean lion...built for speed and grace rather than bulk. Once he felt he was close enough, he reared up so she might notice him (though doing his best not to look frightening at all) and took a deep breath.
"Mother! You came back!"
Poor Múscail, rather certain that one of her cubs had left the safety of their hiding spot, nearly jumped out of her fur. The first name that came to mind was Ia'eh, and she quickly turned to scold her only daughter, only to find it wasn't who she was expecting. It wasn't even one of her cubs. Nervous, and not entirely sure what to do, Múscail gave the lion before her a gentle smile.
"Now I'm positive none of my cubs are quite as big as you. Unless I've had a litter I don't recall."
Tama blinked and immediately dropped to all fours, red showing across his nose through his fur. Oh. From a distance they looked similar but up close...up close they were very different. His mother was pure white like him...the lioness in front of him faded to slate. And her eyes were pale blue while his mother's were green. He ducked his head in apology.
"I'm sorry miss...from a distance you looked like my mother." She definitely wasn't a Pridelander, though...no one in the Pridelands was that...uncared for. He almost winced at the thought of how long she must have not been caring for herself. "You're...not from around here, are you?"
"It's alright. Mistakes are made by everyone," Múscail said lightly, although at his question she sighed softly. "I'm afraid not. I was born far away, and my birth pride is long gone. I... I hope I'm not intruding on anyone's territory."
Tama shook his head. "We don't mind visitors here." He smiled kindly, looking a little less sheepish now. "The Pridelands is a peaceful place, and the only ones turned away from our borders are those who wish us ill." He made a slight bow. "I am Tama'sindikiza...though most just call me Tama."
"Oh what a relief," Múscail sighed. It seemed as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Somewhere safe. Somewhere that she could rest and at the very least regain her strength before she moved onwards. After a moment, she returned Tama's bow, a graceful movement that seemed odd coming from someone in such scruffy condition. "I'm Múscail. Well met, Tama."
It was nice to see someone else who wasn't part of the pride. Almost like...a reassurance that it was possible for his mother to be out there. Perhaps he could get her to bath later...The vanity in him had peeked up and decided the poor adult needed to fix her fur. But that would be later. Tama knew better than to listen to his vanity most of the time.
"Well met to you as well, Muscail. If you're hungry, I made a kill not too far from here. What I didn't eat should still be rather intact, since the scavengers in the area tend to leave things alone until nightfall." It was almost an unspoken pact between predator and thief...The predators didn't mind the clean-up crew...as long as the clean-up crew WAITED for their proper turn.
"Would you mind... Helping me drag the kill somewhere? I have cubs to feed," Múscail said after a long moment of silence, looking at Tama earnestly. She wasn't sure that she had the strength to drag a large kill back to the hiding place where the cubs were nestled. At least not alone...
"Oh! Not at all, miss!" Tama wasn't one to begrudge someone help if they needed it (and sometimes when they didn't). And he was certain he was quite a bit stronger than Muscail...she looked almost as if HE could break her. And despite his height, Tama knew he was not the strongest lion around. He smiled in earnest at her...the warm smile a healer or counselor would give another.
"It's this way. And I'm pretty sure I can drag it, if you give them directions." As he started to move, he made sure to take a slower pace, so as to not out-step her.
"I'll lead you true, kind sir," Múscail said happily, smiling and following after Tama. She may have looked scruffy, but she kept in step with him rather easily. She was a rather large rogue after all, but she supposed that came from her mother.
The fur across his nose tinted red again. He wasn't really used to a girl being so...polite. Even his friend Elua was rather informal. His Mom didn't count, and his sisters...well, Irit was a good example of why cubs were called 'little terrors' so often.
Once they reached the kill, a gazelle partially eaten already (by him), he paced around it a bit before grabbing one of its back legs with his mouth and looking to Muscail for guidance on their destination.
Of course, the journey hadn't been very long. Múscail never wandered far from her cubs, not since Unguzo had stolen three of them. Maybe it was fear speaking, but she wasn't sure she could handle losing another one.
"Come out, my little stars. The God has provided us with food for another day," she called softly.
It was only a single head that popped up, sandy ears pricked forward and pale eyes intent upon the form of her mother. And then, the little cub bristled suddently. Who was the strange white lion behind Mother? Was he another Cub Stealer? With a mighty cub roar, Ia'eh loped forward, only to be snatched up by her mother's muzzle and left dangling in mid-air, pawing at Tama.
"Mother! Don't let him near them! He's going to steal them awaaaaay!"
Tama dropped the gazelle and stared at the cub with wide pale blue eyes...after having stumbled back a step or two. "Steal? Little one...the last thing I stole was one of my brother's necklaces when I was your size...and I gave it back the next morning." Stealing was a VERY bad thing to do...and honestly, Tama feared what his Mom would think of him if he stole in earnest. Shiri, he was certain, would be VERY disappointed in him.
Even his trickster little sister didn't steal. He sat down and tucked his front paws under his back ones...he looked rather awkward, but somehow still stayed upright. "There...can't steal anything now, now can I little one?"
"You don't steal cubs with your paws. You steal them with pretty words, with poisonous lies," Ia'eh hissed, though by now she'd calmed down and was put down by her mother. Indignant, and still somewhat wary of the stranger, she padded forward and gently sniffed at him. He smelled different than the Cub Stealer. Sweet, with a touch of something untamed and gentle. After a long moment, the little cub sat before him, pale blue eyes still wary. "But you aren't a Cub Stealer. I'm Ia'eh."
Múscail couldn't help her relieved sigh. Ia'eh had been wary of strangers ever since Unguzo had stolen her siblings, so it was a step forward for the little cub to put her trust in Tama. With a gentle smile, the lioness stepped forward and nudged her daughter's back.
"This is my oldest, Tama. The oldest of those who remain."
With...lies? And pretty words? Stealing cubs? Poor Tama sat there, his ears back in confusion. "Those...who remain?" What had happened to this lioness and her family? And...who would steal a cub? And why? He'd never heard of such things before now. "I'm Tama, Ia'eh. And..." He shook his head, more to clear his own thoughts than anything else. "Even if I was a cub stealer, I doubt I would get far."
He nodded to the borders in the distance, were one could see a maned head peeking over the grasses from time to time. "This place you're resting in...is part of a place called the Pridelands. And we love cubs very much here. Even the ones that cause a little more trouble than others. The scouts and guards would catch someone trying to take a cub before they could get far."
"I'll... Explain it to you. Ia'eh is very perceptive. I'm not sure the others even know about their siblings... I gave birth to seven cubs, but three of them were stolen from me by their father. He is mad, and I pray to the Goddess that you and my cubs never see him," Múscail explained sadly, going to rip a hearty chunk of meat from the carcass of the gazelle and set it in front of Ia'eh.
The little cub puffed up at Tama's words. Good! Then no one could steal away her brothers! At the sight of meat, the little cub paused, before dragging the chunk back to where she'd darted out from. Only to come back out without it. And then she loped back over to the gazelle, tore off another strip (though not as big as the one her mother had managed) and dragged it back to the little hollow in the grasses. Her brothers needed to eat too!
"Oh." Tama was more sad than confused now as he managed to get himself sitting normally. "That's..." Wrong. Sick. Evil. There were so many words for what the mad lion had done. But...the mad lion was not here. Rather...a very travel-worn mother who was giving her all for the little ones left to her was. And she was the one who needed his words.
"You...are a very brave lioness, Muscail." He smiled sadly at her, sorry that he couldn't shoulder some of her pain like he could with Narci when he was down. He looked to Ia'eh as she did her own best. "And you are very good for your mother." Like Irit and Narci for him. They really did keep him from giving too much, even if he didn't like admitting it.
"I won't let any Cub Stealers have my brothers," Ia'eh said lightly, tearing off a chunk of meat for herself once she was sure her siblings had enough to last them for a while. She went over to sit by her mother's feet, absently eating her meat even as her eyes darted back to her siblings every so often.
"They are my world. Even though they were not born from the best of circumstances, they are everyting to me," Múscail said absently, smiling down at her daughter. "I think I can finally understand what my dearest sister went through when her own cubs died on our journey. We had to flee from a great plague. But her little ones were not spared."
Tama tilted his head. "You...have a sister? Of birth or cirsumstance?" He was always curious about such things...since he had been his mother's only cub, then got a rather LARGE family when Shiri adopted him. And it had only gotten larger when she and Kei had more cubs.
He offered a silent prayer that the spirits of Muscail's sister's lost cubs found their way to the heavens. Such small lives lost before they had a chance to truly live...
"By birth. I have two sisters, but I have not seen the eldest for a long time. My twin, Codail, and I were seperated by the tremors of the Earth those many moons ago. But I know I will find her again. She has been in my dreams so much lately, so vividly," Múscail said firmly, her lips forming a gentle smile. Her cubs would know their aunt. Soon, her family would be complete again. As complete as it could be without those who'd been Lost.
By birth...it made Tama wonder if he had any younger siblings now...But such thoughts were to be stored away for later! "Dreams?" Did...did she See like his mother had? What an interesting twist of fate that would be. Before he could ask further, a rather familiar voice broke his train of thought.
"TAMA!!!!!!!!!" Irit dashed through the grasses on white and black paws, face set in determination to find her brother. She had stuff to show him (like her new 'friend' who'd actually fallen for the honey-trap). And then she'd found his scent with another...and it wasn't Elua's, so that made her suspicious. "Tama! You dufus!" The juvenile trotted up to the small group, red eyes stern. Looked like she needed to keep him from being too nice again.
"I have visions sometimes. They come to me in dreams... Sometimes when I am awake. The Goddess sends them to me as she deems fit," Múscail said lightly, only to start slightly at the cub that came tearing through the grasses.
Already on high alert because of one stranger, Ia'eh nearly jumped out of her fur as a second came barreling straight towards her. Acting on instinct, the tan cub bristled, her fur fluffing up.
"St-stay back!"
Tama, to say the least, found himself intrigued...and then spooked when his younger sister's voice addressed him. He pouted at the pale cub. "You always have to find where I am, don't you? And you scared the little one, Irit." Even in his annoyance, he thought of others. "You should be back at home."
Irit raised a brow at Tama, then the cub. "I'm not gonna hurt you. Not right to trick those smaller 'un you anyways." She puffed up a bit. "And I am a trickster with honor." She turned her attention back to her brother. "Well I just HAPPENED to make a new friend. And he's your age. So I thought I might introduce ya. Besides...you need more friends than just that vain shadow."
"I may be small, but my heart is big!" Ia'eh said indignantly, her fur smoothing slightly now that it seemed the other, younger lioness wasn't a threat. But she was still wary. Her eyes darted back to the grasses, back to where her brothers were still hidden. She knew they were still there, but she still had to make sure.
"Is this young one a friend of yours, Tama?" Múscail asked lightly, looking down at the young lioness good naturedly. She couldn't have been more than a season older than her own cubs! But she certainly had spirit.
Before Tama could speak up, Irit rolled her eyes. "I'm one of his sisters." She snorted. "The only one who even bothers keeping him from doing too much." She trotted over to Tama and butt her head against his side. "Because this big dufus likes giving too much."
Tama gave an indignant snort. "Do not. I give of myself what others need. To do otherwise would be foolish, and I can guarantee Narci would manage to gnaw my ear off if I did anything like that." He sighed. His sister had a way of showing up at odd times.
"Well I am thankful that your brother is willing to offer what he has to others. Because of him, my cubs are well fed, and I can spend some time to recover," Múscail said lightly, smiling at Irit good-naturedly and absently, stepping so Ia'eh sat between her paws. "I am Múscail."
"I'm Irit." He looked about a little suspiciously...but once she had determined her brother hadn't done too much, she nodded. "Right then...I'll make sure not to prank you. You really don't look like you need one." She turned and nudged Tama. "Now come on...I spent a while lookin' for ya, so we gotta go home. Mom'll be worried."
"I...suppose you're right." He sighed and turned to Muscail. "If you'd like, I can come back tomorrow with some more food, until you've recovered fully?" He didn't feel comfortable leaving them here, after what he'd heard of their past...But he reminded himself the guards kept the bad rogues out.
"That would be nice. Merry meet, merry part, and may we merry meet again," Múscail said, bowing her head. Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, Ia'eh tilted her head up.
"What's that mean, mother?"
Tama bowed back and followed his younger sister out. "I wish you the best of fortunes, Muscail."
