Hunting was a SERIOUS AFFAIR. Therefore...Zi'athari wasn't particularly good at it. She was well enough, she supposed. She kept herself fed. But...well, generally there was a couple of failures before she succeeded. It was embarrassing, and why she hunted alone. This time, however, she was INTENT on getting it right the first time around. She grinned as she spotted her prey. A nice, juicy goat. Mmmm...goat.
It had taken her to the edges of the Wolf Clan's territory, but she was HUNGRY. And it was soooooooo yummy looking. She stalked up quietly...then pounced, catching the goat off guard.
On the other paw, serious matters (especially those of a physically demanding nature) were Uidan Fyja's element. His hunts were more often than not immediately successful; he still hunted alone, but it was more out of others' uneasines with his silent ways than his own choice. He had no trouble working with them. Today though he'd enjoyed the quiet--moving from bush to bush as he stalked this and that prey. He'd left the den hungry, but so far nothing had looked that tasty.
Until, that is, he'd seen the goat. Tender and tasty, it'd wandered past where he hid moments before. It was small, enough to feed him well and leave not much left over. That was good-wasting was bad. The goat seemed distracted, and he tensed, ready to spring. A half second beore he launched himself another lion came flying at the goat! He twisted in midair to avoid landing atop her. He crashed down beside her. So much for his perfect hunting record.
Zia yelped when the lion landed next to her. What the hell?! Her hackles raised...and then she remembered that only other Ela members lived in the lands. But still! She let the goat's neck drop from her mouth and looked over to the male. And blinked. Hey! She recognized him!
"Hey Fyja! Nice to see you again!" She grinned. "You surprised me!"
Fyja'd felt doubly ashamed when he realized the lioness he'd nearly pounced was Zia. They'd met a few times before, and she'd always been quite nice. He stood and dusted himself before shouldering against her to help her to her feet too.
"Yes...nice to see you." His eyes reflected his sorrow at nearly landing on her. What if she'd been hurt? He wasn't huge, but neither was she. At least she was safe. "Congratulations on the kill. You were faster than me." He smiled, trying to show approval. He didn't know of her failed hunts, and seeing her so easily take down the goat impressed him.
"Have you been well?"
Zia took the help in getting up, nodding. "Thank you! First time I've made a kill on the first try." She was SOOOO proud of herself! Maybe, if she kept it up, she wouldn't end up at the edges of the territory all the time! "I've been well! My sister and I have taken to the life of the pride better than either of us thought. We've even made a few friends among the others of the Wolf Clan! How are you doing?"
It was always nice seeing Fyja. Somehow, she always managed to run into him at least once every couple of weeks! And even though he was very different from her, he was nice to be around.
He smiled in praise of her skill. Perhaps she wasn't the best hunter, but there was no reason to feel ashamed of that. She'd done well with the goat, after all, and had every right to be happy with her success. "It was a good kill, yes. Clean. Fast." He listened to her telling of her other successes in the pride. It was hard to think that he and the others had ever been from anywhere but this place...it felt so much like home.
"Well," he admitted. "The pride has been very accomodating. It is hard to think we have already been here so long." He did not admit that he had yet to woo any females (or dear friends for that matter). It didn't even cross his mind to comment on it. He'd never been overly social, but he was comfortable enough. "It is very good to hear you are well. For all that I run into you, I often...wonder after your wellbeing." Okay, so maybe girls HAD been on his mind lately. His family had been a big one, but he was still alone...
Zia felt even better about her kill with Fyja's praise. "Yeah...I'm glad I did so well on this. Been stalking the goat a while. I figure...if I keep this up, I'll get better at making a quick kill without a couple of 'em getting away before I get to 'em." Score one for the Zia!
"I'm very glad we all found this place. Here...everyone's family, somehow. Not by blood, but by spirit. It makes anyone who joins...feel wanted, like they belonged here all along. Me and Mai...we grew up rogues, wandering from place to place. We never thought we'd find a home in a pride. And then we came here." She blinked at his confession and chuckled. "I wonder how you're doing at times too. I think it's fate we keep running into each other! After all...there are no mistakes in life."
He smiled as she talked on. He certainly knew what she was talking about. He'd lost first his friends, then his family, but here he'd found it all again and more. His smile shifted tone a bit when she said life had no mistakes...maybe. He sure felt like he'd made a few. But things had gone well inspite of all that.
"My family was rogue as well. Mother and father were old though, when they had us. We saw little of the world beyond their lands. Of course...I saw more than intended." And he'd ended up here. In this wonderful place, with these wonderful lions. Hmm. Maybe she was right.
"Fate? Maybe. It is odd that I see you so much...we are not even in the same clan." He looked her over. Hmm. "You seem to like to roam the edges between clans." It was safe he was sure, but he still felt protective, and the need to caution her. though if she hunted closer to home, he wouldn't get to see her...hmm. That was a dilemma.
Zia chuckled. "Yeah..." She looked a bit sheepish. "Tawa'di was the first lion we met here, and we spent a time in the Bird Clan, so...I'm often drawn to the borders between the Bird Clan and Wolf Clan. They're...sort of both home to me." She perked up. "And wandering the borders between the clans helps me make even more friends!"
He nodded. Bird was his own clan, and Tawa'di had helped raise him through his late adol years. "Understandable." At least she'd either be near her own clan or his. Maybe this time he'd be able to protect his friends...not that he thought aful grown lioness could be kidnapped.
"How is life in the Wolf? Things in Bird are calm of late. Subdued, but not bad. Many have begun to talk of next year's festival. It will be strange to be seeing newcomers, and be the natives..."
"Calm, as well. I know we're all looking forward to the festival as well!" She giggled. "New members to help our family grow, new marriages, and a few fights to get the 'grr' out of members' systems!" Zia grinned, tail swishing happily behind her. "I'm looking forward to my first festival as a full member!"
The new members and new fights he was certainly looking forward to. Release for stress and more members was always good for the pride. The mariages too he admitted to looking towards...but for some reason he almost felt sad. Huh. Maybe he was just getting older. Maybe he should start thinking about...well, now wasn't the time to think about that.
"I should like to see the clans grow. Our pride is large, but some clans are small yet." He strained a moment. He'd decided NOT to think about this but...he could feel his control over his mouth slipping. "Do you think you will be in any fights? Or...?"
Zia laughed, a laugh that wasn't full of malice or anything negative, and shook her head. "Oh no! I like the occasional tussle myself, but that's just wrestling. No...I'll leave the serious fighting to the ones who need it, and are good at it. Me...I'll stick to practicing my hunting and painting rocks and my den!"
He felt oddly relieved that she wouldn't be fighting. She was too sweet to bother with things like that. Not like him. He was strong, could fight. Should he offer to fight for her? Champion her? His head was racing and he huffed to clear it. What was wrong with him? This never happened...except when he was around her.
Of course, her fighting hadn't been what he really wanted to know about. But he would barely admit that to himself, let alone her. "Mmm. I would like to see your den." Uhh oh. "The paintings I mean. I've not seen anything like that." Nice save.
Zia perked up. She loved showing off her work! She'd never get to paint on others again, but painting on everything ELSE had kept her quite content and her skills from fading. "I would love to show you my work!" She looked rather proud of herself. "I've been painting since I was a cub, so I've gotten rather good!"
Ohhh what was he getting himself into? It was too late now though. She seemed so proud, to reject her offer now might offend her. That would be very ungentlelionly. "That would be splendid...but is it allowed? I fear I do not know the rules on visiting other clans. Especially between...well. Unmated couples. I wouldn't want to get you into trouble."
Zia blinked, tilted her head, then frowned. "Hmmm...you know, I'm not sure." She scratched the side of her leg. "I mean...I don't see why it would be bad to just show you my artwork." How...did things work? Argh...the one downer to prides: you didn't always know ALL the rules.
He felt terribly torn. What if he got her into trouble? He thought fast. "Perhaps, just to be safe, you could meet me here again? You paint stones....bring one to me?" Once they were sure he could consider visiting. It had been wrong to suggest such a thing anyways. What'd he been thinking?
Zia smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. And you can check with Tawa'di or Skan! Surely they wouldn't mind us asking, just to be safe. We could meet here tomorrow? I know the perfect stone to bring!" Oh this was exciting! Since she'd joined the pride, no one outside her clan had seen her paintings!
Ah, perfect. He let out a rare smile at the turn of events, how things were going. Especially that she seemed so happy. He liked that he'd had a paw in that. "I will ask them," He assured her. "Tomorrow is fine. I will remember this place." His smile faded but his eyes kept sparkling. "For now though, perhaps we should part. You have your goat, and I must complete my own hunt."
Zia nodded again, moving to pick her goat up. "I'll see you tomorrow than, Fyja!" She left her goat for a few seconds to give him a friendly nudge on the shoulder. "Talk to ya later!" And then she picked her goat up and started towards her den. She loved days like this!
