The grey lioness wandered through the rogue lands. She was bored, tired, hungry, lonely. Yes, lonely! Even though the hyenas were mean to her, at least they were company. And she had grown fond of the little hyena babies, even though some of them were just as mean as the adults. Maybe when she had her cubs they would all be nice.
The trouble was finding someone to give her those cubs. Manyara sighed. So far she hadn't had any luck finding a suitable father. Who knew it would be so difficult? The hyenas had made it sound so easy when they explained the process, but Manyara hadn't found any males to help her out. Humph. She wandered on, not paying much attention to where she was going, lost in her own gloomy thoughts.
---
It was blind luck; it must have been. Because at the very moment that Msiba realized that he was utterly bored and needed some form of entertainment—any kind of entertainment—his very favorite kind had materialized, almost out of nowhere.
He had been stretched out, lying on his side beneath the limp shade of a skinny tree, when all of a sudden his keen eyes had caught sight of a gray lioness, wandering along in his currently-sideways world. He started, rising from the position of dead lion to stand in one fluid motion. Oh ho ho. What had he here? She looked like a young thing, even from a distance. Probably in her adolescence, or just into adulthood, he couldn’t quite tell yet. But it didn’t matter. There was really no sight more joy-inspiring than that of an inexperienced young lioness wandering alone across the savannah. No sight indeed.
---
Even though Manyara wasn't paying much attention, she couldn't help but notice the lion popping up out of nowhere. She paused, eyeballing him. An adult male lion. Okay. He was what she was looking for ... hopefully. The other male lions she had met had mates or were on missions of their own or were mean or something. Hopefully this fellow would do and then she could finally go home.
He didn't seem aggressive. That was a good sign. "Hello," Manyara called, turning and padding in his direction. She smiled, relieved that she had found someone. Even if he wasn't the answer to her quest, at least he was someone to chat with for a while. She halted in front of him. "Hello," she said again, gazing up at him with a pleasant but slightly empty expression. "I'm Manyara."
---
Oh! Damn, she was actually coming toward him. For a moment, Msiba was tempted to think that he had allowed himself to be caught in a dream. Or maybe that he had died on gone to heaven. It wasn’t until she greeted him that he was pulled back into the present and he realized with a jolt that he was awake, and, better yet, still alive. So this had to be the best day ever.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Manyara,” he replied, still finding it hard to believe his good fortune. “I’m Msiba. I hope you don’t mind me asking, but, I couldn’t help but wonder… what’s a pretty girl like you doing, all… alone in the wild?” He peered about him. At least, it seemed like she was alone, and it would be infinitely better for him if that was, in fact, true.
---
Manyara nodded as he gave his name, visibly committing it to memory. Msiba. It was always important to know names, even if she wasn't intending on meeting Msiba again any time soon. The compliment to her looks flew over her head, but she smiled at his kind tone. It was always nice to meet nice people. Much nicer than meeting mean people!
"I'm looking for a man so I can make babies," Manyara said bluntly. Subtlety was pretty much beyond her, as was seduction. "I'm 'spose to make babies for my ... family." She peered up at him, looking at him closely. "Can you make some babies for me, mister Msiba?"
---
She… WHAT?
For a second, Msiba was convinced, again, that he was in a dream. No, he must be, because things like this did not happen in real life. They just did not. Mentally, he ran through the situation again: she had been the one to approach, and now she was asking for exactly what he wanted, no muss, no fuss, no need even to pretend to like her?
He could see where the fun might have fizzled out now that the challenge of having to seduce was gone. But hey, who was he to complain? He reached out somewhat warily, and lightly prodded her with a paw, just to make sure that she was real… and she was. In all likelihood, his expression had become one of slight shock. “So… why are you doing this again?”
---
The lion looked shocked. Most of the fellows she had met so far had been taken aback by her blunt request, but Manyara didn't know how else to ask. Was she supposed to be flirty or something? No one had ever taught her how.
Manyara stood still patiently as he poked at her. Was this some lion mating ritual she didn't know about? She was fairly sure that this wasn't how babies were made, but if wanted to nudge her with his foot that was okay with her. "I told you," she explained slowly. "I want some babies. So I'm goin' out to find someone to make me babies." She left out the part about her 'family' this time. She didn't want to get bogged down in a long talk about the hyenas that bossed her around.
"Are you gonna make me babies or not?"
---
Oh, but it was such an amazing kind of shock. There wasn’t much that could surprise him anymore, not after everything he had seen and the way he understood the world and the creatures that inhabited it, but this, this was something different.
If he had cared a little bit more, if he had been capable of it maybe, he might have noticed how strange it really was that she was so blunt. As inexperienced as a lioness as young as Manyara could be, most of them at least knew how to flirt, no matter how unpolished or purely instinctive it was. Not so with this lioness. But that wasn’t exactly Msiba’s main concern now.
“Well sure,” he said, still a little noncommittally. After all, everything was happening so quickly that he found it hard to believe that he wasn’t being lured into a cruel and elaborate prank.
---
Manyara, being pretty inexperienced with males, didn't know if such a nonchalant response was usual. All she cared about was that he had agreed, and that he wasn't a jerk or anything. She had agreed to go make some babies to bring back to her pack, but she didn't want to make babies with a mean lion. She had seen some lions that were all dark and scary. This fellow didn't scare her.
"Good!" She said happily. Wonderful. Finally her quest would be over with. She just wanted to make sure he really would be perfect. "You're not gonna want to keep any babies, right? 'Cause I don't want a, like, mate or nothin'. I got enough family to take care of already." Her words might sound a little harsh, but her tone was cheerful. She didn't mean to offend. If this lion wanted someone for a mate, she would just go on her way.
---
He could have burst out into laughter. She was him; literally, she was the female version of him, looking for some entertainment (or, in her case, babies) with no strings attached, whether she was aware of it or not. Somehow, he had the sneaking suspicion that she wasn’t. And that almost made it even better.
And even though there wasn’t much call for it now, he allowed the persona of sugary sweetness that he put on whenever he was faced with a female to shine through, and he flashed her a brilliant, bright smile that said he cared and that he could be whoever the hell she wanted him to be. “Of course not, love, if that’s not what you’re looking for.”
---
If she had been a little sharper, Manyara might have noted that he seemed amused by her. She wouldn't have cared if she had noticed. All she needed to know was that he was the lion she was looking for, apparently. Manyara might be mostly clueless to flattery, but his smile and charming manner appealed to something essentially female in her and she smiled back.
Maybe this wouldn't be just a business deal. Maybe it would be ... nice, or at least not unpleasant.
