Trotting patiently through the undergrowth, carefully avoiding any thorns, Ailes d'Asp moved away from the area around his family's little den, grateful when the voices of his siblings faded in the distance. His sensitive ears could only take so much happy cub noises before he needed to escape to the quiet of his own thoughts. Mother had learned not to stop him from finding a little solitude now and then, because if he didn't get it, he got a bit tense.
Still, he knew not to wander too far off. He knew they lived close to the Jini-msemi, the swamplands where some of his relatives lived, but he wasn't supposed to cross into the territory. So he had to stay near the den until his litter was old enough to make the long journey to his father's homeland, in the Sanq pride far away. Feeling he'd come far enough, he stopped to settle beside a log, listening to the insect sounds around him.
It was perhaps strange to think of how little she had once appreciated this. The soft cool squish of the mud between her tan toes, the thick damp air in her lungs, the dappled coolness of the shade... she'd missed this place. Missed these people. And she hadn't even realized. The quest she'd been on for the past few months had given her more than her name in the end. It had given her life.
Janan'Daya smiled, letting her paws take her along the edges of the pride, where she often went now to watch and see if her precious brother would be returning today. She needed to tell him how much she loved him, and while the rituals must be observed, she just wanted to see him coming and know he was home safe...
...who was that?
The lioness paused, her crimson eyes bright with curiosity. A cub? All the way out here? His mother would be worried about him, so far away. He was beyond the borders of the pride, it might not be safe for him alone. And alone he seemed to be, a glance around didn't show to her another lion nearby.
"Hello there, little one," she called softly, padding easily out from the brush so he might see her somewhat muddy white self more clearly. "What are you doing all the way out here?"
Ailes had just relaxed into a peaceful contemplation of his surroundings when he heard the voice. He rose to meet it, but came to a stop in shock when he saw the white lioness, and realized he didn't know her. Realizing she must be one of the Swampies, he cringed. Drat, he'd been discovered! What would happen now? Mother had never been clear on if they'd be angry, or how angry, if they ever caught him in their territory. Was he in their territory?
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize I'd come so far," he apologized, trying to sound formal and polite. Mother said father's pride was a bit formal, so he was practicing for when they made the trip. He didn't want to look foolish. "Are you of the djinee.... gi..." he took a slow breath and tried the syllables again. "Ji...ni...m...se...mi? I didn't mean to come into your pride, I was just wandering."
Whose cub was this anyway? She'd not been home long enough to get to know everyone there, but while something about him seemed vaugely familiar, as if she'd met a member of his family before if she hadn't met him. She'd remember him if she'd met him after her return, and he looked so young she doubted he would have been around before she left...not that she'd have noticed him then. She hadn't noticed much of anyone before she'd gone on her quest. But she was noticing now, rediscovering everything about the world.
Janan'Daya smiled as he started to explain that he hadn't realized how far he'd come. She'd no desire to instill in him the sort of lingering fear she'd grown up with, knowing that her parents had been killed within the very place they called home, and that that sort of thing might happen again. But a bit of caution wouldn't hurt him, nor would returning him to his worried family...unless he wasn't actually a part of the pride.
"You're not within the territories, no," she assured him, "But yes I am, and you are quite close." Close enough that she'd thought he'd come from within and wandered out, not the other way around. "Is your family nearby?" the lioness asked, glancing around. She knew firsthand that the rogue lands could easily be more dangerous than the pride lands, especially now that Mama Asali was back. Surely his parents, or whomever looked after him, wouldn't have let such a little cub wander far...
She didn't seem angry with him, which calmed his nerves. He hadn't known quite what to expect if he met any of the Swampies. He knew he was related to them, and wasn't supposed to go there, and that was about it. His imagination had filled the rest with illusions of either boogie monsters snatching up errant cubs and eating them whole while cackling evilly, or mystical and mysterious half-God lions who could turn into birds or dance with the moon. The normal sort of silly daydreams that occupied his fancy.
The reality was much more... well, real. A perfectly normal looking lioness, acting kindly towards him. He felt mostly relieved. Though he would've liked to see a lion turn into a bird. "Yes, my family is pretty close, they're in that direction," and with that, he pointed directly away from the Swampland borders, towards where his litter's den was. It was out of sight and just out of hearing range, but not by much.
"Ah, I see," Janan'Daya nodded, her eyes following the line his paw had drawn when he pointed. His family was awfully close to the borders...though they surely knew that already. She wasn't the only one to come to the outskirts of the pride frequently after all.
"So then, little sir," she began, perhaps a note of playfulness in her tone. She did like cubs, as she'd discovered, oddly enough, upon learning that there wasn't any room for her in her old den because of new siblings...or were they cousins? Well, either way they were family. "If your family is over there...what are you doing all the way over here?"
AM): She was calling him sir? He puffed up seriously and put on a stoic face. Maybe the Swampies were formal, like his father's pride. He should act formal too, or he might offend this nice lioness. But it was difficult to couple that with an explanation of why he'd wandered off, which, when trying to say it out loud, sounded kind of silly. He tried to choose his words cautiously, thinking hard.
"Well, miss, my brothers and sister were acting... were behaving, a bit more rowdy than I like... than I prefer. So I thought I would take some...um... solitude." And that about exhausted his knowledge of big words. He didn't know if he'd be able to keep it up. "So I came out here to be by myself and think. I didn't mean to cause any problems, miss. I know I'm not supposed to bother the Jeenie... the Diji... the Swampies, miss."
Oh, he was too cute. Janan'Daya felt her smile growing, but hoped it would seem like more friendliness than amusement. She wouldn't want to hurt his feelings! "Is that so?" she asked, moving to sit not too far from him, but carefully making sure to leave him plenty of space. She doubted anyone would fret over a sweet little cub like this being close to the pride after all, but she didn't wish to leave him all by himself.
"I'm actually here to look for my family," she told him, "Sometimes I like to come and see if they're coming home yet. Do you mind if I wait here with you for a while? I promise I'm not rowdy."
Ailes was curious at her mention of family, and he nodded and scooted over a little in case she needed room, and then when she sat a ways away, he felt awkard and sat back down where he'd been. He was used to a crowded den and kicking brothers, so it was nice to meet someone that actually gave him space without being asked. Maybe she was like him, maybe she came out here to breathe, away from the crowding.
He peered around to see if he saw any other lions coming, who might be her family. "My name is Ailes d'Asp," he said, then took a breath, "son of Nuit le'Croix by Pwani'wingu, whose father was son of..." he trailed off at that, sheepishly. "I forget the rest. There's a list I'm s'pposed to know someday." There were alot of things he didn't know yet, it seemed. Growing up sounded more like an ominous test than an experience, in his eyes.
The lioness arched an eyebrow as he began to introduce himself. A long list too? That seemed like a lot to ask a cub to remember, even if this one did seem more mature than some. He was still little after all.
"That's an awfully long name for a cub," she remarked, "Mine was much shorter than that when I was your age. Now it's Janan'Daya." And she was so proud of her name. It had been very hard to find. Sometimes she'd wondered if it was worth it, and so many times she'd thought she wouldn't return home even if she did find it. She'd doubted the spirits, and herself. It was almost a miracle that she'd survived, much less made it home. She felt like a new cub again now, she couldn't remember being so happy in her life.
The only thing missing, it seemed, was her big brother. He was still on his quest...she hoped he would return soon. That he wouldn't doubt as she had, that he wouldn't consider never returning... he had to come back.
"Your people take on new names?" he asked in amazement, contemplating this new idea. "That must make it awfully hard to say your family list, with everyone changing all the time." Now that he was used to her, he felt very comfortable in her presence, and was pleased that she was talking to him like a fellow lion and not treating him like a child. Finally, some composed company.
"Who are you waiting for out here?" he asked. "What do they look like?" Maybe he could help her spot them when they showed up. Thoughts of family made him glance at her, a thought occuring. "Do you know my aunt? Her name's Ninon, she's in the J... Swampies. I see her sometimes, she's blue and grey and has swirls all over."
"We don't have lists like that," she explained when he said it must get complicated and confusing. The lists seemed so odd to her...but many of those she'd met on her quest though it strange that she was searching for a name. "And they only really change once, it's part of becoming an adult.
"I'm waiting for my brother," the lioness answered when he asked. It seemed somehow fascinating to her the way he was here to avoid family and she was here to wait for family. But she wouldn't stay too long. There were many other things to be done. "He's on the small side, and his mane is dark blue." 'On the small side' was an understatement, he was so tiny that she'd stood over him even as a cub. But that hardly mattered, he was still her precious big brother.
"Blue and gray swirls?" the lioness repeated slowly. "I...might have seen her around. But I was...away...for a very long time." Even before her quest, she'd locked herself up in her mind for so long that she barely remembered the people who'd been around her for most of her young life. Aside from family it was...it was like she hadn't met anyone. Like she hadn't been here at all.
But she was making up for it now.
Now that he had discription, he studied the landscape, trying to pick out any bit of dark blue, but not seeing any. He was intrigued by her mentioning her pride didn't have lists. That sounded... kind of nice, actually. A lot less to have to know. He'd always assumed he just had to learn all the information, and that was that. He'd never questioned why, just tried his best to parrot. But now he had a brief fantasy of running away to join the mysterious swampies, before shaking his head. He had to grow up before he could choose a pride.
"You were away? Did you go on a trip?" he asked eagerly, excited by that bit of info. He'd never traveled anywhere yet. "Mama... Mother says we'll be going on a long journey to my father's pride. What's it like to travel? Did you get to see lots of things?"
On a trip? Well, for part of it yes. On her quest. But the part that still ate her sometimes was the part where she'd been here still...but only in body. She'd wasted so much time, and there was no way to get it back. He had to come home, she needed to tell him how much she loved him, and how sorry she was for how she'd been acting since...since she found out...
"Yes, I was on a very long journey," Janan'Daya told the cub. "I met a great many people, all kinds of people, and saw lots and lots of different things. Places were water falls off of mountains, where the earth is so dry it crumbles under your paws, where grass grows taller than you are..." she smiled playfully at the little one at that. "But I missed my family," the lioness added softly. "Not at first. But later..." Later when she'd realized what she'd done. When it was almost too late.
"You're very lucky you know," she told him, brightening with only minimal effort, "Traveling with family ought to be great fun! You'll get to see all the things and meet all the people, but you won't be lonely while you're doing it..." she trailed off. She'd not thought herself lonely either. But...
"...I don't think he's coming back today," the lioness said softly, rising suddenly to her paws. "I'd better get back to hunting. Perhaps you ought to think about getting back to your family, I'm sure they miss you by now. It was nice meeting you, Ailes. Thank you for your company."
Ailes listened in awe to her words, trying to picture the water off the mountains and the crumbling earth. He'd be having some imaginative daydreams in the coming weeks, that's for sure. Would he get to see such things? It sounded amazing, but a little scary at the same time. Did the crumbling earth crumble away right under your feet, making you fall down?
He gritted his teeth and tried to turn it into a smile when she mentioned his family. "Yes... it'll be nice to travel with them..." he agreed, though now he was imagining having to put up with his brothers the whole way. But he recognized that she was saying farewell, so he stood as well, and nodded politely. "Yes miss, thank you for keeping me company as well. I hope you have good hunting." Guessing that he should be headed back before his mother missed him, he turned and trotted off in to the brush towards the den. That had been quite a restful conversation, he thought to himself. Now to face the noise again.
FIN
