Grunt, grumble. Grunt, grumble. It wasn't that the waterbuck was heavy - oh no! He was a large, strong lion, and comments had often been made of how he would possibly be better suited to the rank of Ushujaa, rather than his current one of Mwindaji. The owners of said comments were quickly cuffed around the ear, however, Mkuu adamant that his place in the pride was as a Mwindaji, and he carried that rank with pride.

Brick-red eyes to match his mane looked up from the ground, clouding with recognition at the area he was now in. Bringing food to the neighbouring camps of the Ushujaa and Mzazi was a role that was circulated, each Mwindaji taking turns. This evening was Mkuu's turn, and the navy-beige lion dropped the adult waterbuck with another gruff grunt, looking up and around for the Ushujaa. He knew he was in the right place - but there didn't seem to be anyone around. Was there a training exercise happening tonight, or perhaps there had been an incident at the entrance to the lands?


Hasaa yawned. She was tired.

The lioness was often tired around that time of day, though she was always, always ready for action. Despite how sleepy she seemed, her eyes still remained wide and vivid-looking, staring into the soul of whomever happened to look upon her. She stretched her body, paws flexing out and claws flashing. She flicked her tail behind her as she relaxed, and she rolled over beside the boulder behind her. Her ears stood tall, and her lips were parted so that when she took in a scent (she was constantly smelling the air), she would smell many times greater because of her tongue.

Truth be told, she had sensed the Mwindaji approaching long before he had even come into view. But still she remained lying down, head rotating left and right now and then, scanning the lands below for something out of place. She took in a whiff of air. Drool was summoned to her mouth and the lioness blinked slowly.

Food.

Oh, of course that was why the Mwindaji was there. He was bringing food. Hm, perhaps she was a bit too tired...

Tail bending high, the lioness stood up and leapt over the boulder, meeting face-to-face with the red-maned lion. She flashed a small smile, pink eyes wide.

"Good day~." she greeted sweetly.


Ugh, he didn't have time for this. If the Ushujaa weren't hungry enough to at least come and meet him for their meal, he'd just leave it here, and the hyenas could eat it for all he cared. It'd be their own stupid fault for being too lazy to bother coming and getting it. If there were hungry enough, they'd be here, but they weren't. The same thoughts went through the less-than-clever lion's head, only phrased different, and despite being the same points they just made him grumpier and grumpier.

And then suddenly, someone was there. Having been too absorbed in his own thoughts, he hadn't sensed hasaa's presence, but the large lion didn't flinch at her sudden appearance. Or more...he did, but the amount of fur on him hid it rather well. His stare was fierce at first, but softened as he recognized the lionness. He'd met her beofr,e he was sure - where and when, he wasn't quite as sure of, but that dind't really matter to mkuu. here and now was what he concentrated on mainly, otherwise he just got a headache.

"Good evening," he corrected her, in an unintentionally gruff tone. It wasn't purposeful, but was more just the way he talked. It seemed his large size wasn't enough, and that his body had developed his voice into a deep, gruff tone as well, providing the perfect intimidating lion. Even thought in all honesty, Mkuu was just a bit grumpy. With another grunt he nudged the dead waterbuck with a large paw, his nudge being enough to shift it towards her a little. "Here's yer share. Next hunt's in a day or two, so make sure it lasts 'til then."


Hasaa blinked and turned her head to the side, smiling, eyes bulging. For a moment she looked quite like a parrot.

"Yessss," she drawled at him. "I thank you so much for your pain-staking hunting services,"For a moment, one might've detected that sarcasm laced her words. But in another moment, one would begin doubting whether Hasaa had been sarcastic or not. She was difficult to read most of the time.

Hasaa moved her weight to her back legs and jumped down from the boulder, thick muscles shifting under her fur as she landed. She shook her pelt at length and then walked towards the male, stopping once she was in front of him. Only the preybeast separated the two, and Hasaa busied herself by examining the meal as if it were something she had never seen before. Perhaps she looked that way because of her eyes, or perhaps she was just strange like that.

"It's a bit small, isn't it?" she chimed childishly, eyes flicking up to stare at the male through her bangs. Ohhh, she did love to push buttons...


Oh yes, he certainly did remember this girl. That drawl - ugh, it was the most irritating thing he'd ever heard! Why did people have to speak like that, and drawl out their words? It sounded horrible and got on his nerves. Narrowing his eyes a little Mkuu studied her closely, not speaking as she leapt down from the boulder. She approached him yet he stayed deathly still, although was a little relived when she did stop, the other side of the waterbuck. He felt awkward and uncomfortable when others were close.

What?! His nostrils flared, eyes swirling in a mixture orf red and yellow. Small!? His upper lip curled a little, Mkuu flashing his teeth briefly as a snort came from the enlarged nostrils, his claws visible scraping agaisnt the rocky ground beneath them. "Learn to be grateful," he snapped rudely, clearly not impressed by her words. In fact, he was insulted.

"We caught what we caught, and they're divided equally. If you don't want it, I'm sure there'll be some hungry cubs down with the Mzazi who'll be more polite." he spoke, a hint of venom creeping into his voice, although it was fairly clear he was restraining himself a little.


Hasaa grinned devilishly, wide eyes growing even wider as a strange spark flashed into them.

She liked this male. He was brutish. He was strong. He was rude. He was gruff. He was proud of himself, his rank, and his fellow hunters. And he had nice teeth to boot. Ahh, good males were so hard to find nowadays...

Especially ones who were so fun to talk down to...

Rolling her head back, Hasaa relaxed herself and allowed her tail to sway as it wished. She glanced the male up and down, maybe wondering what she should say next to get on his nerves. Maybe she'd piss him off so much, they'd have a brawl? Heehee...

"Oh, I'm VERY grateful~," she said, her voice sickeningly-sweet. It was hard to imagine that she was being serious with him, using a tone like that. Though it was her usual every-day voice, she enjoyed using it to poke a bit of fun. Or did she? Maybe she was being serious? Maybe she wasn't joking around at all? And that's what made the lioness such an annoying puzzle to most.

But then she smiled kindly, eyes relaxing a bit. There would be no brawl, and she was sure the male would see that by her change in demeanor, unless he became even more irritated by her simply doing nothing. She was busy, after all. She had her duties to attend to. And though there were plenty of other Ushujaa stationed around the lands, and though Hasaa was aware of everything going on around her in that moment, she still needed to be watchful. That was her job.

"Don't take my words the wrong way," Hasaa started, "I never said the size was a bad thing, did I? It's a good thing~." she said nicely, flexing a paw out briefly in some gesture of friendliness. "Some of the Ushujaa are getting quite fat."


Mkuu watched the lionness closely, eyes observant to watch her body movement. He reckoned he knew what little movements was, although he often misunderstood things such as the roll of a head or the twitch of a smile. As he was now, interpreting her roll of a head as an apology, beginning to relax his tensed muscles, feeling superior. He wasn't expecting what he believed to be a voice laced with sarcasm to follow from the female.

How dare she! Feeling his temper rising, the male took in a deep breath, making himself seem even larger than he was usually - literally making him tower over the lionness before him as he lifted his hind, so he was now standing and at the peak of his height, allowing him to look down at her.

And then suddenly - wait. She was smiling now? Thoroughly confused, Mkuu lowered himself, allowing a hissing breath to slide out from his maw, causing his size to decrease a little, although he still stood taller than Hasaa, still looking down on her. His eyes narrowed in suspicion, watching the pink lionness closely as she spoke again.

She apologized - or as good as one as he was going to get, Mkuu decided - offering a paw in a friendly gesture which the large lion responded to with an incline of his head. His red mane shook as he did so, causing him to need to use a paw to push some from his face when he returned to the usual standing position. He even offered an amused snort at her words - whether they were a joke or not, he wasn't sure, but he appreciated the fact that she was no longer attempting to anger him, so didn't reply with any harsh comments.

"Perhaps they aren't doing their job, then."


Hasaa lowered her head and smirked at the male's reply, not at all angered or intimidated that she was now in his shadow since he was towering over her; rather, she was almost enjoying it. She sat down and pawed at the bloodied flesh before her absentmindedly, like a girl playing with her hair.

"Well, that may be." she said, not agreeing or disagreeing. But still, she smiled. "It is rather calm most days...around here..." she said, the last bit breaking off into a sigh. She moved her eyes over her surroundings, thinking about how calm it really was most days. She should've been grateful for the peace surrounding the tribe, but part of her yearned and craved a good fight. In fact, she wished for it.

No one ever told Hasaa, "Be careful what you wish for." Perhaps the peace would be disrupted sooner than she thought.


She was beginning to irritate him again. That smirk - it was a smug on, and one that caused Mkuu's upper lip to curl again, a growl rumbling in his throat. And what a growl it was - the rumble was loud enough that it could've been mistaken for the rumbling of a beast's belly, or for the groan of the land under extreme weight. Luckily for the pair, it was just that - a growl.

"Perhaps, but that may mean there are dangerous times to come. Our enemies may be laying low, forming an attack," Mkuu grumbled softly. Why was he still here? He wanted to get back to his camp, the Mwindaji camp. He'd ensured, mostly through his intimidating size, that there'd be food left for him, but it still worried him. Lions were lions, and when there was flesh instinct tended to take over. He didn't want to miss out on his meal because of this childish lionness.

"I had best be going," he grumbled again, inclining his head in a farewell, before pausing, as if waiting for hers.


Hm, was he paranoid? Or realistic? Perhaps he was better suited to be an Ushujaa rather than a Mwindaji? Hmm...It would be very nice to have a friend among her ranks...Wouldn't it? Maybe she was just lonely.

Hasaa stood, watching his movements as he said his farewells. Her wide eyes were constantly observing everything; every slight movement, every flicker of hair in the wind. She watched his head incline, and she gave a faint smile, ears shifting. How could one be gruff and act polite at the same time? What an odd male.

"Yes, you should be going." Hasaa agreed readily. "It wouldn't be good if you were caught shirking your duties because you took a fancy to chatting with some female, would it?" she said, each word like a carefully-placed pinprick. "If that were the case, I would have to tell on you." she said, face suddenly growing stern and serious. But then the spark lit her eyes again and she flashed that strange, wide-eyed grin. "Safe travels, Mkuu."

And with that, the lioness stabbed her claws into the buck's flesh, ripped a chunk out, bolted for her favorite boulder and leapt over it, disappearing behind it in a blur of pink, leaving the male to wonder why she knew his name in the first place.

Ohh, Hasaa did love to push buttons...


Mkuu watched her, slowly growing more and more irritated and more and more uncomfortable. Well, was she going to give a polite farewell in any way at all, or not? Because if she wasn't, he'd just leave right now. There was no point in wasting time, especially not with this... eh, he didn't exactly know what she was anymore. She was childish, yes. And rather tricky and sarcastic. But he wasn't sure there was one word just to sum her up. Not that he cared - it was just a word.

She finally spoke, just to agree with him. Was this what she'd kept him waiting for? No, as it turned out. She had one last surprise in store, one that brought surprise to the male's face, followed by a fierce anger. How dare she suggest such a thing. Growling properly this time, mouth opening for it to become a vocal snarl instead, Mkuu took a step forwards, raising a paw to cuff her with. But alas, she was a quick one, already up and over the boulder she'd first come from. Curling his upper lip, sneering to the boulder, he turned and left, confidently striding back towards his camp.

He didn't even realize that he hadn't told her his name. That'd be something he'd realize tonight, whilst drifting off to sleep.