Bari wasn’t doing much this morning. It had been a few weeks since the birth of her six cubs, and ever since, she had always been up and out and moving and never having a lot of time to herself. Not that she didn’t love her children (oh, she did), but since the litters of her own immediate family had been so small, the lioness had never been used to such a large number of cubs living and growing up together.
Now she had a moment to relax.
And she was spending it out in a group of flowers she found not too far from their den, near their private water hole. They had supplanted about half of the purple blossoms from Odijo’s old den here, and she’d found a few more different colors here and there. And then they had created their own little garden. It was always watered, always had enough sun, and she happily nurtured them to adulthood. Now she was doing the same to her cubs, and also teaching them how to do the same with the flowers.
Bari closed her eyes and smiled, soaking up the sun’s warm rays and not expecting anyone to be around save her family.
Having finally grown tired of the swamps, each pathway near the pride's dens and other important sites was now well traversed and ingrained into the lion's mind. It was a maze, if one drew too far away, of channels and ponds and falling logs. It had been thought provoking, those twisting paths but Mysmyr held an honest interest in the workings of the pride and determination to better his rank so that he might enjoy the bonuses of a full member.
At length, he'd come to the conclusion this would be best done by actively volunteering in pride practices. First and foremost, and quite possibly the most basic, was hunting. A few inquiries had led him to this den, where a new mother-huntress resided. Perhaps she might need his assistance or even instruct him on the hunting rites of the pride.
Pausing the edge of the little garden, he tossed his mane and cleared his throat, "Excuse me...?"
Bari’s ears twitched forward and she opened one eye to gaze over to the side where a new voice had sounded. A new male stood there, white with a pinkish mane. He looked a bit out of place, and a bit uneasy. Probably because he was here, at her home, and not meeting with her somewhere else.
”I’m sorry. Can I help you with something?” she offered kindly, rolling to stand up and shaking her fur out with a smile. He seemed nice enough, and the lioness wondered what he was doing all the way out here.
He looked new. New to her, rather, although she couldn’t really say that she had met everyone in the pride anyway.
Mysmyr nodded at her question, clearing his throat a touch, "I'm one of the new Provisionaries and I thought perhaps I might know the pride better if I volunteered to help hunt. My inquiries brought me to you so here I stand." He offered an inquisitive smile, "Is there any way I might help you?"
The lion glanced around her densite and then back to her, "Or, if you'd rather not - a few pieces of information about the workings of the pride? I've a desire to know more about the place I want to call home." He nodded, falling silent as he awaited her answer.
Ah, that explained why he didn't look familiar. At least that was a better reason than just chalking it up to her being too lazy to go around the pride and meeting everyone. "I see. It's a pleasure to meet you then. I'm Magebari-gura, or Bari for short," she smiled easily.
Hm. He was sent to help her hunt? That was unusual, especially for him to come to her, but she guessed he might have talked to some of her family. They might have been in a tight spot and didn't feel like teaching. Plus, since she just had her cubs, they figured that she would be 'in the mood' to teach someone else. She didn't mind, really, it was just a surprise.
"No, it's fine. If you'd like help with hunting, I can do that. Or if you'd like help with information, I can try my paw at that as well. As long as we do it a bit away from here, if you don't mind." She glanced behind her with a soft smile. "My cubs just fell asleep and I'd rather not wake them."
"Mysmyr," He replied, nodding as she spoke, "I don't particularly need help with hunting - I can fend for myself well enough - it's more that I want to become more familiar with the pride. When do the hunts normally go out and what of the organization?"
Mysmyr's gaze fell on the den then and he shuffled away, a warning bell ringing in his head about cubs and the presence of males. He doubted there would be much in the way of trouble, as he'd been allowed near but nonetheless he obeyed her request, "I'm sorry for intruding. I wouldn't want to pester your children either."
"Well, normally with the huntings is that we go in groups when we can, hunting down big enough prey to feed us for a good while. Usually a higher-ranking female will lead," she said easily. Bari hadn't really been on a pridal hunt in this land, so she wasn't sure if the rules were different than when her family had been on their own. But since they were both derived from the same place, the lioness guessed there wasn't much difference.
She laughed softly and stood up, leading him away from the den and over to the path she and her mate usually took to and from their secret area. "It's fine. My mate is with them now, actually, so I doubt if they woke up they would get very far. Let's go over here and talk, if you don't mind?" She led the way to a big tree and took a seat near one of its large, protruding roots.
So that had been why he'd been referred to her? The female lead the hunts? Tossing his mane, he followed her and once they'd gained some space from the den, spoke once more, "I see... Is there a lead female in partiular I should speak to here to join a hunt? Or is there simply a meeting place?"
He smiled at her comment about her cubs, "Congratulations on the family, by the way. New souls for the future, hmn?"
"Mm, sometimes it changes from female to female, depending on what we're hunting and who all is in the group in the first place," she expanded. Bari thought for a moment. Usually it was her mother who sometimes led the hunt, or a cousin, or even herself. But really, it did depend on who all was there.
She beamed at him. "Thank you. Yes, six new souls. We are very excited for them. Have you a mate and cubs?"
Again, he nodded, "Which begs the question then, of would you have me along on a hunt of yours? I would like to be of use to our pride." Mysmyr smiled brightly, even hopefully as he asked the question. It was simple, really, and the first step to integrating himself well enough to become a fully fledged pride member.
He bobbed his head in a half-bow when she beamed but shook his head, "No... unforuntely I do not. I enjoy children, and guiding their growth, but I do not have a family of my own. Perhaps I'll find one here. One can always hope."
Hm, having a male on the hunt as well? It wasn't unheard of, she supposed. They had to learn how to hunt too. "Well, I don't see a problem with it. You might have to talk to some other females, though, and ask to see what they think." She didn't know any names off the top of her head, unfortunately.
"I see," she smiled not unkindly at him. "I hope that in time, you find the right mate and have wonderful children. There are many opportunities here for a family."
Something in the way she spoke and paused made him frown, "Do males not normally hunt with the group?" He blinked, "Is that another tradition?"
To the comments for a family, he nodded, "I do as well."
"I'm actually not really sure, to be honest. My family just recently joined back with this pride after being separated for a good long time," she confessed. "The way my family did things could very well be different than what the actual pride does." Bari shrugged. "So really, I'm not the best lioness to talk to about that." Her smile was apologetic.
"... Oh." He replied, blinking slowly, "I see. I did not know you'd so recently joined. The information you've given still applies to some extent, I'm sure, and I'm grateful for it. Is there perhaps someone I could ask who would know the current traditions?"
He frowned slightly, "I will still help you as I asked, do not worry, and I would be certain to inform you of what I've learned if you like? If you wanted help in the first place that was..." Mysmyr sighed. This seemed to be a dead end. Old information, while intriguing wasn't particularly helpful.
"Well, I'm sure that you could talk to another lioness, perhaps, and see what they say?" She guessed, laughing nervously. "I'm sorry, I'm not being very helpful." And he had come all this way for nothing, then.
"Of course, I would gladly accept your help. It has been ages since I had a hunting partner, and I'm sure we can split the meat if you'd like. We won't eat most of it, anyway. The cubs are picky eaters."
"No names?" He asked, sighing again though the quirk to his lips was both disappointed and amused, "I shall ask around once more, then."
Mysmyr tilted his head at that, "That would be agreeable. But... meat is meat. How are they picky about their meals? Prefer one prey item over another?" He shrugged slightly as he glanced back at her den, "That must make it difficult for you."
She shook her head. "No, I'm very sorry." Names, at the moment, were escaping her terribly. It was incredibly frustrating.
Bari laughed a bit more and rolled her eyes. "They are picky about the prey, for sure, and what part of the prey they eat. Some like the shoulders more than the hindquarters, and vice versa, as well as pretty much every other part of the body that would normally be eaten without complaint."
He rolled his eyes at that, "And what should happen then, if they had to fend for themselves? Strength cannot be kept up with a shoulder here and there." Mysmyr smirked, "They'll learn eventually, one would think. Perhaps it is simply a stage of growth. What do they prefer, then, that would satisfy the most?"
She smiled as well and nodded. "I know. That's what I keep telling them, but only time will tell. Hopefully they will learn to be more open-minded."
Bari thought a moment of what prey most of them liked. Even if one or two didn't, they would find -something- to eat. "I think a gazelle, or perhaps a zebra, or something else big would do. Shall we, then?" And she stood and flicked her tail.
Mysmyr nodded at that, "A zebra or a gazelle? That works for me." He smiled and started off, mindfully following her lead. While the gazelle and zebra of the plains were standard prey, he did mind the company for the hunt nor the opportunity to add to the resume he hoped to build for the king.
