Twiga moved with uncertainty back into the pride. She had been gone a couple of days and really wasn't sure if that kind of thing was allowed. But it had been a mission of the utmost importance- surely they wouldn't be that upset with her when she HAD To go find something out. She just had to know if sex was really the only thing males were good for. And, after her encounter, she had come to the conclusion that they weren't even very good at that.
Or maybe it was just the male she had found. Perhaps someone in the pride would know more about it. So sniffed about, hoping to find some company as she moved under the trees.
“Hey, watch where you’re stepping!” A deep purple female came leaping over a log in front of Twiga, a leather pouch bouncing around her neck as she landed. She blocked her off with her body. This prevented Twigga from going any further. The other female seemed to be protecting something.
Lorelei’s tail swished irritated. This must be one of the other females of the pride, she decided. She was a funny looking lioness, this brown speckled female. Lorelei sighed and glanced at the moss growing on the ground, which she was standing over and defending as if it was her own cub. “Golden moss is very rare. You can’t just wipe your dirty paws all over it like it’s common grass.”
Blinking, Twiga pulled back, alarmed by the sudden voice. She had been looking for company, but this wasn't really what she had been hoping for. Stumbling back, she tried not to look too stunned by the purple creature, straightening herself as quickly as possible. "Um... what's the problem?" she asked softly, her voice only half as annoyed as she had wanted it to sound.
Rats.
Followed her gaze to the ground, eyeing the patch of moss. "You nearly attacked me to protect some fungus?" she grumbled, relaxing a bit, "how nice. What's so special about that moss?"
“It prevents infection,” she stated, as if that should be common knowledge. The moss was also said to cure stomach aches when sprinkled on meat. She still needed to test this. If only someone would just get sick she would finally be able to see the moss in action. She already used it on her scars. Each time she opened up the wounds she would dab a little of the moss on, just enough to keep them sterile. Needless to say they had healed beautifully.
She was just about to say something else when she was distracted by a familiar smell. Her noise twitched and her eyebrows lifted. Ah, she recognized that stench. She chuckled in an attempt to shrug off the awkward moment. Males. How disgusting.
Noticing her face, Twiga shifted uncomfortably. Did she smell bad? Giving herself a sniff over without thinking twice about it, she apparently forgot that she was sitting in front of another lioness. At least, she acted as though she had forgotten. Really, she just wasn't the type to get embarrassed by... anything.
Oh. She still smelled like that awkward mess of a boy, Hadaya. She had thought the bath she had taken while still in the rogue lands would have helped with that. Some things were just meant to linger. Looking back at the female, she smiled.
"What do you know about mating?" she asked point-blank.
Lorelei blinked and let out a loud laugh. What else could she do when a female asked her such a silly question, especially one who was obviously no stranger to males? She walked around the other female, grinning and shaking her head. “Are you joking or something?” she asked, stopping to look back at Twiga. Somehow she doubted that. She just wanted to see how Twiga would react. She must have had a reason for asking a funny question like that.
Twiga huffed, growing flustered with the way the older lioness was laughing. Was it directed at her? Was she mocking her? It was an honest question! How was she supposed to know the level of familiarity this creature had with mating? After all, she had only just discovered the art herself. Watching her as she moved, the brown female tried to remain collected.
Didn't work.
"I'm not joking!" she grumbled, "I want to know what you know about mating. See, I just had an encounter with a male and I'm not sure things went... how they were supposed to. Don't laugh at me!"
She was so surprised by the female’s attitude that she almost laughed a little more. Her laughter was surprised, even delighted with the naivety of this young female, but she silenced it quickly, before it became offensive. “Hey, it’s alright,” she said calmingly. “I didn’t know it was your first time. There’s nothing wrong if you didn’t like it. Maybe it just means you’re not into males.”
That was the way it happened with Lorelei. She didn’t know she was really different until she had sex for the first time. There was nothing wrong with that (although her pride would beg to differ). Lorelei liked being different. Liking lionesses felt natural to her.
She frowned, though was glad when the other stopped laughing at her. At least she wasn't making too much fun of her. He felt a little, surprisingly enough, embarrassed all of a sudden. Was sex not something she was supposed to be talking about?
"Well, I don't think I didn't like it," Twiga replied thoughtfully, "it was fun at times... I think it was the guy. He was really awkward and didn't know what he was doing any more than I did! He was supposed to prove to me that he was a male but I don't think he really did. Anyway, I guess I was just wondering what someone of the others felt about... sex. With males. Can you do it with a female?" She had so many questions and didn't know where to begin.
Lorelei became slightly awkward after that. If her fur wasn’t so dark Twiga would have seen her blush. Yet her lavender eyes looked like storm clouds at sunset. Kijani… She tried to shake the memory away. Kijani was gone now. The time had come to start a new life here in the jungle with her new pride. Her tail gave another little swish.
“Y-yes,” she said, heaving a sigh. “It’s um… a little different though. And you can’t make cubs that way. Of course.” She searched Twiga’s face. Twiga certainly knew that last part, but she had to wonder.
"WHAT?!" Gasped Twiga, suddenly on her feet, the hairs on her back sticking up on end. She looked absolutely shocked. "Having sex with a male is what makes babies?! No one told me that! But... but I had sex with a male! Does that mean I'm going to have babies now?!"
Seriously, lions needed to tell her this crap BEFORE she went out and found a male to mate with.
"Oh man!" she whimpered, starting to pace. She was too young to have babies. What would her mother think?! What would her sisters think?! What would the whole damn pride think of her now that she had done something so foolish? If only she had been given a little warning! It wasn't like that kind of thing was common knowledge.
“Calm down! Calm down! Sheesh, do you want the whole jungle to know?” She glared sternly. Sometimes the only thing that calms down a fool is a harsh look. Taking a deep breath, she continued:
“Just because you had sex with a male doesn’t mean you’re going to have cubs. You said this guy didn’t even know what he was doing, right? Maybe he… pulled out too soon or something. Sometimes cubs just don’t happen. And even if you do have cubs, it’s not a big deal. I’ve done it.” She shrugged, as if it were nothing. “Besides, my grandmother is a midwife. If you do have cubs she can help you deliver them. It’s really not that bad.”
Hurts like hell for a while, and then there’s all the blood that comes out, makes a big mess everywhere. Twiga didn’t need to hear about that. After all, she might not even have cubs. She was worked up enough already.
Twiga, ever the fool, did calm down when she was snapped at, her trail retreating between her legs shamefully. Right. She probably didn't need to be screaming about it for everyone to hear. It was something that needed to be kept a secret. Yelling was kind of the opposite of secret-keeping.
"Pulled out?" she tilted her head to one side, "I guess... he was really awkward... and it doesn't happen every time? That's good to know... okay... I feel better now... I think... you've had cubs?" That was a big comfort. At least she wasn't the only one in the pride to bump privates with a male, since she had just said that doing it with a female couldn't produce offspring.
Alright. It was a big day for learning, it seemed. She wasn't sure how she was feeling about all of it. No, she did. Sick. "My tummy hurts," she moaned, sitting down again.
Lorelei nodded. “I had a big litter in my old pride. They’re all grown up now.” She felt suddenly old. Having her cubs young didn’t change how old she felt when she realized that they were all adults now. It made her uncomfortable.
Her ears perked, eyes gleaming with excitement. She hid it as best she could. Her patients usually disliked it when she became excited over some new disease they picked up. “You know, golden moss is also good for indigestion if you eat it with meat. It makes your tummy feel better. Why don’t you wait here while I catch you a little something?”
"Wow!" she gasped, "you're older than I thought you were! I thought you were more my age!" She didn't mean it was an insult, really, or as a compliment. Just a realization she felt inclined to vocalize for some reason.
Twiga frowned. The damn moss that had nearly gotten her in trouble was supposed to make her feel better now? Still, This lioness seemed to know a heck of a lot- more than she could ever know, anyway. "Well... okay..." she reluctantly agreed, if only as her way of thanking the lady for helping her feel better about the whole "sex makes babies" thing.
“I’m not that old,” she huffed, flattening her ears as she looked back at Twiga. She couldn’t really blame the young lioness. She obviously hadn’t had much experience around adults or lions her own age, considering she didn’t even know about the birds and the bees.
“Just wait here until I get back, okay? By the way, my name’s Lorelei.”
Twiga only smiled as the female protested her age. Honestly, she didn't think someone couldn't be old when they had fully grown cubs running around somewhere, but she wasn't going to bring it up. Maybe not saying anything would make her less tense.
"Okay... I won't go anywhere. My name is Twiga." Lorelei was a much nicer name than Twiga, she observed secretly. She curled into herself a little more, trying not to think too much about stupid Hadaya. That boy was going to pay for this. If she was pregnant.
He was going to pay.
