Hunting in the thick vegetation...Maluuni was an expert at that. Her slim and small body was perfect for slipping through undergrowth and darting around trees. Even darting into the branches was something familiar to her. And a smile was on her face the whole time. Each hunt, the thrill returned anew. And there was no regret at the end, for she killed to bring her family food.
She'd almost finished for the day...her green gaze now set on a young gazelle that had wandered into the jungle. Likely lost from its herd, and upwind from her. Maluuni's quietly stalked it...waiting...waiting...THERE! She saw it turn away from her direction and she was on it, the creature's death quick with a minimum of blood. It was another thing Maluuni had gotten good at. The prey's spirit deserved a quick return to those who came before it, for providing another with food.
The sudden scent of blood so close to him caught Aang by surprise. The poor cheetah rather gracelessly fell from the low branch he'd been lounging on, his fur fluffed up as he looked around nervously. "Wha-what happened?" he asked blearily, blinking nervously and kneading the ground.
Maluuni froze at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. An unfamiliar MALE voice. She turned to the source quickly, fur on end...and blinked. A male cheetah, looking rather...nervous. She raised a brow and took a cautious step forward. No guards nearby; she'd have to speak up. And she did, in her damaged, rough voice. "A kill. You...in...Achana. Why?"
"Achana? Oh... I didn't know I was in a pride's lands," Aang said sheepishly, turning to look at the lioness with a nervous grin and flicking his tail absently. The sound of her voice and the sight of the scars made him smile sympathetically, and he nodded his head towards Maluuni politely. "I'm Aang."
Polite...always polite at first. Well...she would play right back. She wasn't weak anymore. "Maluuni." She nodded to him, a gesture of acknowledgement. "Hunter...for Achana. What...brings you...here?"
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Maluuni. My group was just passing through. Eupe, Njalo, and I have been traveling a lot recently... We weren't aware we'd ventured into anyone's lands..." Aang said absently, his eyes wandering. And on the sight of the poor gazelle, his skin visibly paled beneath his fur and he quickly turned away, nausea rearing it's ugly head. "M-maybe I should go. I can't stand the sight of dead creatures."
Couldn't....stand the sight of a kill? Well that was strange. And new. This male seemed...honest enough. And if he did turn out like many of the other males outside the coalition she'd met...well, she was in HER element. She trotted forward, towards a group of trees and plants that would hide the kill from view. "You...travel? Not...safe outside. But...safe in...numbers."
"I'm not alone. I travel with Eupe and Njalo. And I used to travel with Kimbilio, a god. But he's off on his own now. It's nice though. I don't really like being tied down to one place," Aang said, turning to smile at Maluuni now that the kill was out of view.
The lioness smiled back, a bit awkwardly. "A god...I...once met a...goddess. Very...kind." She remembered Indira...full of beauty and strength and kindness to her, when she still believed herself a thing. "Eupe and...Njalo..your siblings?" Few groups traveled together unbound by blood...
"Kimbi was nice too," Aang said, smiling and stretching absently. The question made him laugh lightly. "Nope! Eupe is... More like a mom to me. And Njalo is a lion, so there's no way we're related. I lost most of my family a long time ago in a place far away from here."
Different species traveling together...so, his group wasn't so different from Achana. She eased a bit...especially when he mentioned the loss of his family. She...understood that too well. "Family...is important...be it blood...or spirit. I...know your...loss." A daughter sent away, a son lost, and only two of her current cubs remained with her...one soon to leave.
"It's sad... But it happened when I was really young. Eupe is the closest thing I have to family. She used to be so tense... But she's changed a lot," Aang said, smiling at Maluuni fondly at the thought of his pseudo-mother.
Maluuni chuckled, a sound as rough as her voice, but pure. Well...this one seemed genuine. "I...have someone...like that. Muli...she is my...soul-sister." Every day, the forest-lioness thanked the gods for Muli. The other lioness was what a sister should be...a friend, support, and someone to share laughter and tears with.
"If you have a soul-sister... Maybe I have a soul-brother out there somewhere," Aang said with a grin, his ears perking forward as he kneaded the ground happily at the thought.
Maluuni nodded, her smile far from awkward now. "Perhaps." To know that maybe your soul wasn't so alone...it was a comforting thought. Whether it was true or not. "Open heart...but be wary...of those...who would hurt you."
"I know all to well of those who would hurt me. There are those who would wish me dead," Aang said sadly, his ears drooping slightly. He wasn't sure if he would ever return to the Arba'Sehemu now... He'd heard that the war was over... That things were peaceful and the remaining three clans were in harmony now... Perhaps it would be best for everyone if he never went back...
Maluuni's expression fell, and the motherly part of her reached out...one of her paws patting his lightly. "I...was a slave...once. Twice. If...either...master..." She said the word with venom in her voice. "...Finds me..." She sighed and shook her head. "I...am likely...dead walk-ing."
"There is... An entire clan in a pride who once actively sought my death. My parents escaped the massacre of my clan with me... And as soon as I was old enough, they sent me out of my pride's lands to keep me safe," Aang explained, smiling sadly and turning to give Maluuni a soft 'kiss' on the cheek. "It seems we have a lot in common, Miss Maluuni."
Maluuni nodded. "My...birth-pride...Never favored me." She tensed a bit at the 'kiss', but did not strike out or let her fur stand on end. This male meant her no harm. She would be fine. "Red fur...worst omen...to them. Fire fur...fire was...death for...a forest pride. I was...to die." She chuckled sadly. "But...was not fire...that killed them. Was...rogues. Strong rogues." And though she did not celebrate their loss, she felt no heart for them. Perhaps Mwenye and her son would rebuild the pride...if they did, she would stay far away.
"Where I'm from... There were four clans each. Devoted to Water, Earth, Fire, and Air. I was born to the Air Clan... The Fire Clan got power-hungry and started a war around the time of my birth... They completely wiped out my clan," Aang explained, looking to the sky with a small smile. "But they're all in a better place now. And I've heard the war is over now..."
Maluuni felt less motherly now...Instead, she felt a strange sort of empathy with the cheetah. "Fire's nature...consumes." She shook her head. "It is...sad...that your clan...had to suffer... for it." She offered him a kind smile, the sort she'd given Muli and Chuk when things had seemed too hard for the parents. "I am glad...your pride...found peace. I...found my peace...here. Have you...found your...peace yet?"
"I found my peace the day Eupe took me in. I've never been happier than I am now, traveling with her," Aang said, smiling fondly and curling his tail around his legs.
Maluuni nodded. "Good." She chuckled. "You...deserve it." She sat beside Aang, rather liking the feel of having someone who understood lose as she did...who understood that the world was not inherently good. "I...am glad...I met you today." Another bright mark for males.
"I'm glad I met you too. Maybe we'll see each other again sometime," Aang said, smiling and getting up to stretch his tired muscles absently.
Maluuni nodded. She would need to get the kill back to the main area soon. "Perhaps...we shall." She stood and trotted a few steps, then stopped and turned to face him again. "Perhaps...tomorrow? If you...are still...in the area?"
"I'd like that. Until tomorrow!" Aang said, grinning and moving to trot back through the forests. He couldn't wait to see Maluuni again. She was something special alright.
