Kimatuli padded back and forth across the muck of the water's edge, staring suspiciously at her reflection. Her green eyes showed no recognition and frustrated she kicked a clod of dirt into the water, breaking up the image. "Leave me alone," she snarled as the ripple began to clear and refocus. Her head hurt, her back hurt, everything just hurt. Suddenly a spark seemed to come to her and her shoulders shrunk, that was her wasn't it, all worn and beaten down staring back up at her. She tilted her head and contemplated its meaning, a strange ambiguity remaining in her thought.
Sira had scented water, and while Haramu was left watching their grandson, he went to check it out. While Haramu WAS as capable as he was...creatures tended to take a larger-than-average lion more seriously than a smaller-than-average lioness. Even one as covered in scars as his mate. When he reached the source of the water, he was a bit surprised. There was only one other creature there...a lioness who looked like she'd seen better days. He frowned, but approached the water's edge anyways, to ascertain the water was safe to drink. No sense in retrieving his family if it wasn't. When he drew close, he nodded to the lioness in a gesture of recognition and politeness.
Kima did not seem to comprehend the nod, instead turning to him with an inquiring look as if he too were a reflection. She rubbed her head against the muck as if to ensure that he was not, that no new mane had attached itself to her, then looked back up at him with an odd confusion. "Have you come to take me away?" she asked softly, emotion seeming to slowly work its way back into her empty eyes, "Have you found my brother?" Her questions seemed less so and more statements of fact, though there was no apprehension behind them.
Sira blinked, caught off guard. What...what in hell was she talking about? Perhaps she'd seen better days, yes...but she also sounded a bit loose in the head. He raised a brow, frowning, before speaking in his near-monotone voice. "No. I've not come to take you away. And I do not think I've run across one who could be your brother. I simply scented water, and thought it best to ascertain it was drinkable before bringing my family to it." And some called he and Haramu strange.
She glanced back at the water now, seeming less distressed by it. "I hope it is," she told him in a much different voice, sitting down beside it as she began to wipe the muck from herself with a careful paw. "I've been here all morning, though I don't remember why." She seemed to float in and out of clarity, almost exhaustively as she sighed and dipped her head into the water to let it rinse her fur. "Where did you come from? I didn't hear anyone."
The red-eyed lion nodded. Not all remembered where they started from, or where they were going. He'd learned to not let THAT worry him. "I am Mori'earsira. Though most I know simply call me Sira. It is...good to meet you, Kimatuli." He frowned slightly and looked her over. "You could use a bath. Your fur is a mess."
Kima glanced down at herself, noting the mud still caked onto her chest and paws. "I suppose I could," she agreed absently, "Sira, that's a pretty name." She seemed to consider her actions for a moment then stepped recklessly into the water, which was slightly deeper than she had expected. After a moment she resurfaced feet from the shore, most of the mud washed off by her turbulence. "I had a brother you know, younger than me."
Sira watched her carefully, long-ingrained instincts keeping up. "A brother...what happened to him?" He had many brothers and half-brothers himself. And he knew what happened to each one, including his traitor-sister Alkar. He'd enjoyed hearing about her failure.
She winced, the shine fading away again as she paddled back to shore. "A brother?" she repeated, "A brother? I haven't got one now." It was unfortunate, one of the things furthest locked back in her mind was one of the few good memories she had. Right up until he began to suffer too, worse than she did now. She pulled herself up onto the earth again, ignoring the thin layer of mud that returned, nearly matching her earthen fur. "It's just me now."
"That's a shame." Sira sat, curiosity in his eyes. "You travel with no one? No mate, no friends?" He didn't quite understand that. Even though he was mostly a loner, he was used to the strength found in numbers and companionship. It was why he had left with Haramu, why they now traveled with their grandson, and son, and one of his almost-siblings.
"I travel? I travel," she assured herself, sitting with a bit of a slouch that betrayed her age, "I haven't found anyone I should follow." With this she began to look at him curiously, as if she were inspecting him for something beneath the surface, "You are not. You have friends." She nodded, "I will have cubs someday, they will take care of me when..." She trailed off again, her gaze sharpening, "I am sick now."
She wanted cubs so she'd have someone to take care of her? Sira's frown deepened. To inflict one's illness on another was a weakness. "I have friends, yes. And I must go get them now." He stood. "If you are still here when I return with them, perhaps we shall talk more."
She blinked, accepting his departure with no sign of desire for him to stay. "Alright," she told him, turning her eyes on the water again, "I will watch this." Watch seemed to have several meanings, as if she almost believed that not only she but the source itself would disappear without a coherent watcher. She was not in any rush to go anywhere, she wasn't even sure that she was going. What did it mean to go? She shook the thought out of her head, ones like those made it cloudy again.
Sira shook his head, then started back to his family. Sometimes, the mind did cruel, cruel things to a lion. He hoped Kimatuli's would give her some peace...she seemed like she would deserve it, for all it had put her through to get her into that state.
