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"...and then, out of nowhere, the feather screams, 'Stop chewing me, you fool!' -- I couldn't believe it, 'Diki. I never thought that feathers were such terrible things. It was so pretty, too. Green, blue and purple, and very shiny. So I stopped chewing it, and it started crying. Not little sobs, either, 'Diki. Big loud heaving gasping wails. I left that thing alone, let me tell you and I have never chewed on another feather in my whole life. It was the most--"

"We're here," Sadiki gasped, interrupting her with a desperation that didn't become him. Slowly he could feel his sanity slipping further and further out of his grasp. The more Sadiki was with Bubu, the more he'd grown to like her... and the more he'd come to realize just how batty she was.

"Where?" Bubu trilled, glancing around her. "Are we home?"

"Thank the Gods, yes we are."

Joto'Damu was aware of his friend's trek out into the Rogue Lands to find himself a mate. He approved of his endeavor whole heartily, considering he knew what it was like to have a mate for quite some time he felt it only proper his old friend get one himself. There was nothing better than having someone trustworthy to bear your children and feed you. Sometimes he missed Kizuka's mother, but she had made her mistake of looking for the troublesome twosome during the floods so he couldn't possibly blame anyone but her for her own shortcoming. She should have stayed like he told her to, maybe than she'd be alive.

Putting it out of his mind, he made his way to the front of the pridal lands. He had made his way there every day since Sadiki had left in case his friend had returned home. He would not admit to Sadiki that he had missed his friends presence or that he was waiting for him, but he was sure that in some way Sadiki had expected it a small bit. Being a far older male in the pride, he was constantly surrounded by the youth and it was highly annoying. Having someone like him there had made staying within the pride borders far more bearable. Lucky for Joto, as he was coming down a path from the mountain he had caught wind of Bubu's bantering and followed it until he saw her, and consequently, Sadiki.

"Sadiki!" He called, his naturally deep booming voice taking on a slight twinge of happiness as he saw his friend in the distance.

Sadiki smiled hugely, his whole face lighting up when he spotted Joto, his dear friend. They got along with each other when they had issues getting along with other members of the pride; Sadiki fancied that it was because they both had the same high standards and held themselves to a strong set of beliefs. Without waiting for Bubu, Sadiki shot forward. She was quick enough to follow; she'd taken to sticking to him like glue in the past weeks almost as if she was uncomfortable being without him.

"Joto'Damu! How are you, friend!" Sadiki's voice was thick with happiness as he greeted his friend.

While the two made their greetings, Bubu glanced around. She hadn't noticed the large mountains until now, their snowy caps gleaming in the sun. Narrowing her eyes she warily peered up at the snow. Sadiki had told her about this stuff, and with all of her concentration to she strained to listen to the snow. Wrinkling her nose, she turned to Sadiki and said quite bluntly, "Snow is utterly stupid, Sadiki. It might be dumber than rocks."

"Better now that you have returned!" He responded, averting his eyes to Bubu as he continued his conversation with his friend, "I see you returned successful. She is very pretty, Sadiki. I can see why you-"

Joto was promptly cut off as Bubu made the awkward comment about how snow is stupid, potentially much stupider than rocks. It didn't take long for Joto to look back to Sadiki and raise a brow at him, obviously already having caught on to the fact that pretty Bubu might be a little loopy. If it wasn't for the fact Joto was Sadiki's friend he would have already made a comment by now, but he refrained himself. There was always a price to be paid when finding something fitting for yourself. He figured her intelligence was the price being paid.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced," Joto said, as he made his way next to Bubu, " I am Joto'Damu, a friend to Sadiki. What is your name?"

Sadiki rolled his eyes in a rather pained expression, giving a long look in Joto's direction. His eyes begged that Joto would behave himself but Sadiki knew that Joto really couldn't be blamed if it was hard to understand Bubu's... quirks. Sadiki knew that Joto was a well-seasoned lion that'd been through his fair share of women. He only hoped that Joto wouldn't frighten Bubu away; there would be time for full revelations later.

"I am Bubu," she said regally, almost as if she were a Queen and he was a mere peon. "You are polite, and that is nice." She scowled towards the snow again, eyes narrowed and shooting daggers. "Is the snow always around? I fear it's nonstop yapping might drive me loopy."

A small smirk crept its way onto Joto's maw, but quickly dampened it into a pleasant smile, thought it was obvious he simply wanted to call her a pretty looking bafoon and walk off laughing. He decided that instead of his normal grumpy, old man attitude, he would use some of that reserved kindness he held onto selfishly for those whom he truly had any feeling for.

"Unfortunately, Bubu, the snow on the mountain is there all year. There's even more during the winter months, following the rains," Joto told her, exchanging a look with her to Sadiki. "Did you not tell her the snow was here year round, Sadiki?"

Sadiki currently had his eyes squeezed shut as if willing this to all be a bad dream; perhaps when he opened his eyes Bubu would be normal? He'd tried this in the past but it hadn't worked, and so he wasn't surprised when he opened his eyes and she was still glaring accusingly at the snow that covered the mountain tops. "I'm afraid I forgot to mention it, Joto." He tried to keep his voice as even as possible, afraid that if he let go of his control he'd turn into a weeping baby. "I didn't think it would be a cause for concern."

Bubu grunted, offering a final snarl to the snowy peaks before turning her attention back to Joto. "Sadiki forgets to mention things to me all the time," she confided in the older lion, "But I forgive him because he is ever so nice, wouldn't you agree, Joto?"

"Oh yes, Miss Bubu. Sadiki is very nice," He said as pleasantly as the older, gruff lion possibly could.

Oh she was definitely a special one. Joto couldn't wait until she departed him and Sadiki so he could ask his dear friend how special the pretty cheetah happened to be. He gave Sadiki a slight scowl, in attempts to get onto Bubu's list of things that were truly nice, "I'm sure Sadiki will try his best not to be as forgetful since you are here now. Would you like to explore deeper within the pride, Bubu? I'm sure many of the pride members would be excited to meet you."

He hoped that dangling the prospect of meeting new people would whisk Bubu away from the males, so that they would be able to talk amongst themselves. Perhaps she could meet the excuses he called Grandchildren, or the other little ones whom she would potentially be surrounded by. Joto was sure Sadiki wanted that to take place as quickly as possible, considering than she would be out of his hair for the majority of the while.

Bubu paused as if to give his proposition thought before speaking, "Yes! I should like to meet Kizuka. Sadiki tells me she's a lovely lioness; where might I find her?" That did sound nice to Bubu. She couldn't believe how utterly NICE Joto was! It spoke volumes of Sadiki's kindness and gentle nature. She turned to glance at Sadiki, "Would you mind horribly if I wandered a bit? I promise not to get lost."

Sadiki shook his head, "She's probably busy at the moment, but her cubs will likely be tumbling around somewhere. Go introduce yourself!" He gave her a smile and a slight headbutt before she went on her way. "Wonderful, please excuse me, Joto!"As soon as she was out of hearing range, Sadiki exhaled a loud, deep huff. With great resignation he turned to Joto, waiting for the barrage of questions to start.

Joto gave Bubu a nod as she took off towards the multitude of cubs dotting the inner sanctum of the pride. As soon as he was sure the cheetah was out of earshot, Joto looked over at Sadiki with a semi-critical gaze. He smirked only briefly before speaking, "So what rock did she fall off of?"

Sure, a little mean, but come now. She sounded as if she conked her head good as a cub, but it didn't mean she wasn't a nice soul. Hopefully Sadiki could possibly shed some light on Bubu's obvious eccentricities and reassure Joto that the female in which he brought back and will be suckering into bearing his children does not have any deficiencies that would possibly carry over to his children. No one would want that after all.

Sadiki groaned, hanging his head in deep... regret? Embarassment? "She's just a little... eccentric, Joto. She thinks she can hear things talking to her. She hears voices, that's all. Bubu isn't all bad, you'll see." He almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself that everything would turn out okay when he wasn't really sure that it would. "I really doubt that the cubs will be affected by her oddities. And besides," he glanced at his friend, "Since my mother had The Sight, doesn't that mean that I am capable of carrying it?"

"That is something you would have to ask the Gods, friend." He commented, finding it amusing that Sadiki would be so hopeful, but it was true. His mother had possessed the sight, and while he did not, it didn't mean his children would not posses it themselves. He would have to pay his respects daily and keep himself in the good graces of the gods, but he was sure that considering Sadiki's dedicated nature, he would be blessed with at least one child possessing what all other felines in the pride desired.

"Bubu does not seem like she is a bad cheetah. She is very pretty for a cheetah," Joto commented, his way of showing approval of Sadiki's choice without directly expressing any interest in his prospects. You do not take interest in your friend's mate, no matter how appealing, it just wasn't done. "What position has she taken interest in?"

Sadiki grit his teeth, knowing that Joto was right. He hoped that he was currently in the good graces of the Gods, but he wasn't feeling so sure, not after bringing Bubu to the pride. Had he done the right thing? Sadiki hoped so, but he knew the question would be a constant source of torment for him.

"She isn't bad. She is very sweet, althought a bit simple... and a bit off." Looking crossly at his paws for a long moment, he suddenly met Joto's eyes directly. "I suggested Umbelethisi to her.. I figured she would do best at something that did not need much patience, and I imagine cubs would have a similar attention span to Bubu."

The old friends continued talking and bantering as they made their way back to the pride. There was much catching up to be done, and Sadiki had every intention of asking Joto exactly how to proposition Bubu.