[PRP] Old but New (Sarabi and Shani)

[Ameh]

The pallid yellow rays of the morning sun focused on leaking through the healthy greens shading the area as the morning mists rolled in alongside its sunny accomplice. The air was warm, yet cool because of the accompanying mists, and soothing for the light blue young lioness that had recently awoken nearby the trees from a peaceful slumber. A spotlight of sun had caught her eye, and forced her to get up sooner than others normally would -- as she looked around, she saw a few vague, still forms in the distance, also under the tree's protecting creation of shadow. She probably shouldn't disturb anyone now--not even a sibling; so, in the meantime, she might as well do something somewhat productive.

The lioness walked out of the closest clearing from the thicker shrubbery, suppressing her first yawn and trying to psyche herself into being energized. For while the previous days since moving into the pride had been calm, there seemed to still be much to do. For her part, and with her brother, the numbers hadn't exactly increased over time; perhaps the pride was still too new in this stage to be experiencing a good onslaught of strangers coming in to examine the scene. Or perhaps they were being too skittish. For sure, if her brother wasn't able to scout out any possible new faces, she couldn't be blamed, right?

And she still had to familiarize herself with the several recruits that had joined in on their journey to the new lands, too. She finally yawned along her reflective walk, finally sighting a source of water in the distance on which to cure her morning parchedness.

"Mmm, water!" she excitedly mumbled to herself, quickening her pace towards it, having a little fun during the power walk from the misting vapor in the air.  

[Talencia]

The trip here hadn't been difficult for the lioness. In fact, it had been much easier than when she'd wandered alone. There were others to hunt with, to sleep near, to talk with. But somehow... somehow she still felt not quite a part of them.

Oh, she knew she had a place here, among those who had known her as a cub, or those who had also lived in her old home. But she felt like an adolescent again. It was slowly sinking in that to feel like she belonged, she needed to bond with her new pride members. She wasn't sure why, but such intimacy was difficult for her to work up to. Perhaps it was the time she'd spent drifting through the edges of other prides, meeting unwelcoming characters. Or perhaps it was her family's turmoil that had driven her from the pride to begin with.

Either way, she wasn't a half-grown lion anymore. It was time to take matters into her own jaws and become who she wanted to be. The issue had kept her awake nights for the last week, disturbing any slumber she did manage to snatch. So when she saw a single lioness leave the others this morning, she was awake and aware. Perhaps this would be the chance to try and find herself a place in the pride, in this new family.

She rose to her paws, following the swirls of mist that indicated the direction the other lioness had gone. Her stomach roiled a bit at the prospect of being so forward. She had gotten them in this pride for her charge's sake, but would otherwise probably not have joined. Making a friend... well, that was entirely up to herself, for herself alone.

She caught up with the blue lioness as she drank, politely staying back and waiting until her muzzle lifted from the surface. However, the dripping liquid ignited her own thirst, so she moved forward to crouch nearby and drin her fill as well.  

[Ameh]

Unaware that another had been watching her, the young lioness took her sweet time in quenching her thirst. It was the morning grogginess that accompanied the fact that she had just risen from sleep that kept the light blue female from being as cautious as she could have been, though her more trusting nature could have also aided the lack of attention.

It was only until she heard the foreign water slopping elsewhere that she looked up, now alert. An older lioness had been up by the looks of it, and one she had seen traveling alongside the rest, but never really spoken to. Her white tail swung lightly behind her, happy that she was now not the only one up this early, and a smile grew on her face.

"Hey!" she said brightly, chancing the opportunity to take a few steps closer, "I'm sorry, I don't think I remember your name, but I'm glad you're up now, too."

She also feigned a relieved sigh, "I thought I'd have to entertain myself for a while until one of my brothers or sisters got up..."

But hoping to not completely disturb the other while she was drinking for herself, the young lioness directed little of her own attention to the water's surface, scanning for any fish that would have been able to make a light breakfast. It would be rather rude to turn all eyes onto someone drinking, especially if they preferred to be left alone, after all.  

[Talencia]

She finished drinking, raising her muzzle and licking it as dry as she could, casting a glance at her companion. "I'm Shani," she replied softly. Whether it was in thought to those still sleeping, or if she merely was feeling timid, it wasn't obvious. She raised a paw to give it a cursory lick on top before turning it over to groom between the pads. She too didn't make direct eye contact, which leant more weight to the possibility that she was merely shy. She set her paw down and flicked her gaze back up at the other lioness. "It must be nice to be so close with your siblings," she remakred, her voice still soft and muted.

Inwardly, she was feeling both shy and instinctively quiet. The morning mists tended to dull sound, hushing the land in perpetual quiet. It tended to influence her to remain as quiet as she could. Even with a few warming shafts of sunlight slanting through the trees and fog, it did nothing to dispell the sense of muted serenity. In a way, she rather liked the effect. But the consequence was that she tended to feel a little cut off from her fellow pride members. Thus she seized this opportunity to socialize a little more than she usually did.

"Has your family been with the pride very long?" Her question referred as much to the previous pride as the current one. One could hardly refer to one without the other, especially so soon after the move. "I've been gone from the lands for a while, so I've not kept up with who has always been here and who is new." Her soft tone was self-deprecating, eyes downcast, but her manner no less friendly. A new acquaintance would be most welcome, perhaps with the potential of finding a true friend. How long had it been since she'd had someone she could confide in?  

[Ameh]

"Sha... Shani?" the light blue lioness asked brightly, finding herself stepping ever so closer to Shani in an attempt to hear better.

She wasn't sure whether it was the sound of the water interrupting her hearing, or that her ears weren't adjusted yet to life after waking up, but the sounds coming from the older lioness were so... vague. She strained to hear the remark about her siblings, nodding cheerfully with just a bit of hesitance in lieu of being unsure if she heard exactly right.

Before she could say anything else, Shani offered a question to which she could give a proud answer.

"Oh! Yes, all my brothers and sisters came, too. My name's Sarabi! There's a lot of us, but it's easy to tell that we're related. Our parents Ushaufu and Kizuka were original Mistweavers. But..." she didn't notice her own eyes lowering, a bit of sadness washing over her as she said her mother's name, "Unfortunately, our mother disappeared one day in the old lands... She could not make it here."

She puffed a sigh out, but then realized how depressing she must have been making the situation, seeing Shani's downcast eyes. Sarabi quickly spoke out again, as if correcting herself.

"I mean, I don't mean to make you feel bad! I didn't know how strongly it still affected me. I don't know if you knew my mother or not, but I'm glad you've found the new lands my two sisters discovered for all of us. They led everyone here shortly after our mother disappeared. Did any of your family come, too?"  

[Talencia]

She smiled faintly, a gust of mist blowing between them as the younger lioness spoke. Sarabi clearly felt strongly about her family, which was good. Shani only wished she could feel so passionate, but her own family was as broken as could be, and she wasn't sure she wanted to keep track of them. She suppressed a sigh and listened politely as the other former Mistweaver gushed. That was the best term she could think of for the energetic way the other spoke.

"I'm glad they found it," she agreed quietly, nodding her head in sedate agreement. "I don't know if any of my family came. None of my immediate family did, that I do know. But some extended family might have, ones I'm not close to." True enough. It was possible that she wouldn't recognize or be recognized by anyone she was related to. "I am just glad to be here." She had so many hopes for this new home, but a nagging feeling dragged her down. Surely this place would yield better things than the last?  

[Ameh]

"You... don't know if your family came?" Sarabi asked, mildly shocked at the idea.

How could one not know whether they had family in the lands or not? Sure, there were great aunts and great uncles and uncles of those... But still, one just had to look at what they looked like in comparison to others, and if there were any similarities, then there would most definitely be some relation!

It was hard to believe that someone in their pride wouldn't be close to family, but that was just from Sarabi's perspective; she had been close to hers all along, though she would also have thought that the families in the original lands were close, too, with the lack of space and members. She decided just to let it go in favor of a lighter topic, as family wasn't exactly the happiest memory for either lioness, evidently.

"Well, I'm glad you're here too, Shani!" she smiled brightly, looking over the mild gray form of her new friend; despite the not-so-enthused spirit, Sarabi was just relieved to actually talk with someone, albeit briefly, rather than shyly stare.

"Goodness knows seeing my brothers and sisters all the time has gotten old. Kachero's even slowed down on his usual antics. We should hang out before Aliona and Zuri make us actually do work for the pride, huh?" she suggested.  

[Talencia]

Her brow knitted at the suggestion of the peppy younger female. She gave Sarabi a puzzled look. Firstly...., "What do you mean, hang out?" She had this strange image of draping herself across a tree branch with her paws outstretched. The idea of spending time just to be with friends wasn't a concept she was familiar with. The poor thing, she'd never had anyone but siblings to hang out with, and that was when they were very small, before everything had fallen apart.

But secondly...., "Why would we not want to do our share for the pride?" She wasn't used to asserting herself, but it struck her as irresponsible to try to shirk work, or dread doing it. She didn't quite get stern, but her tone definitely changed from mellow to warily concerned. "What job do you do that you don't like?" She herself did not mind her job, though she did not exactly savor it either. Still, one did what one should for the pride, right?  

[Ameh]

"Ah..." she mouthed, not knowing what to say and ears drooping slightly as she felt vaguely reprimanded for those joking remarks, as she was still quite young in her years.

"Neither of my sisters have told me what I can do yet, as they're still trying to get the pride together. They just told me to stay put until they figure things out, I suppose," she replied, "And by hanging out, I mean do stuff like what we're doing now. Like sit by the water and talk. I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to, but it was... a suggestion?"

Sarabi knew Shani meant well, so she left a small smile on, still looking at the lioness. She supposed Shani was older than she thought - those her age would have probably happily agreed with her without hesitance.

"Don't get me wrong - I love the Mizuka'nyevu, but Aliona and Zuri always would want us to have our fun times as well!"  

[Talencia]

Clearly she had somehow fumbled the situation. Again. Inwardly, she withdrew into herself miserably. Social encounters seemed only to get more and more awkward for her, despite her resolve to improve. She held her unhappiness in, though, and tried to make the best of the circumstance.

"I'm sorry," she said, almost even softer than before, averting her eyes and refusing to meet the younger lioness' gaze any longer. "I suppose I'm used to being told what to do." And doing it. Fun wasn't really something Shani was familiar with anymore. For her, fun was something for cubs or the very lucky adult. She was neither cub nor lucky, and saw no reason to pretend that fun was an option. "I'll leave you to enjoy your time, then," she said, rising, still not meeting Sarabi's eyes. "I probably am needed for... something." The weight of her age, her loneliness, her unhappiness, pressed down on her, making her head hang and her tail go limp. "It was nice to meet you." With a last polite bob of her head, Shani fled the scene, swiftly blending into the grey mists that so kindly allowed her to hide her heart and face from the rest of the world.  

[Ameh]

Sarabi blinked as the older lioness ran off - she was definitely not used to others reacting to her in this way, and perhaps it was a result of being around her siblings so much. She tilted her head, watching the disappearing gray form. She didn't even have time to say goodbye! Maybe next time would yield a better conclusion.