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Life was good. Kai was utterly in love with his mate, he loved his pride, he loved the Mother Ocean and all the gifts she provided to him. This morning, Kai was beachcombing for little bits and baubles that he could present to his love Sabbia; with them, she would craft beautiful trinkets for his pridemembers to wear.

The air was calm and Kai was lulled into relaxation by the rhythmic waves that crashed against the shore. The grit of the sand beneath his paws soothed him as well, as did the mist that ever-so-slightly dampened his mane. He loved the mornings almost as much as he loved the Ocean, and he loved the Ocean almost as much as he loved his mate, Sabbia.

He hadn't seen the lioness before she called out to him; his thoughts were consumed by Sabbia as they usually were. Her smile, her pretty eyes... everything about her was just perfectly perfect. When the brown lioness' greeting brought him out of his daydreams of his mate, he instantly grinned. Though he lived in a close-knit pride, he had yet to meet all of them individually. There was no rush, though; the Ocean would bring them together when the time was right.

"Good morning, friend! Indeed, it is as lovely a day today as it was yesterday." Every day was lovely to Nohokai; the lion did not know the meaning of the word 'bad'. "I am Nohokai," he introduced himself, moving closer to the lioness.

Nohokai grinned, a happy smile that turned his eyes into gleaming little half-moons. He liked the way this lioness thought! Each day having its own personality? That was a refreshing way to think about things. "A pleasure to meet you, Kivumbi!"

He shook his head at her next question, "No, I wasn't. But I knew when I first stepped foot on the sand and felt the Ocean on my toes that I was meant to be here. The Ocean has a way of bringing lions together. I met my mate while in the Ocean, and a few other friends, and now you!" He grinned, pleased by the prospect that the Ocean brought them together.

"Were you born into the Bahari'Mtoto?"

Nohokai nodded, completely understanding how the lioness felt. H felt quite the same way. "Ahhh, someone dear to your heart! That makes living so much sweeter, wouldn't you say? I too have someone I hold dear to me." Kai grinned. He didn't want to gush about all the wonderful qualities that Sabbia had, but he couldn't help himself sometimes.

"My mate is Sabbia. I met her when I first arrived in the pride." He didn't mention that she was but a juvenile when he first met her, or that she was now glowing in her adolescence. "She is my heart." He spoke those words with such reverence and dedication.

"We are two lucky lions, hmm?"

"She's a crafter," he grinned. "She loves to beach comb and collect little pieces of shell and glass, feathers, coral and she can turn them into beautiful jewelry." He wouldn't boast or brag, but Kai thought Sabbia made the prettiest little trinkets and jewelry. The work of others dimmed in comparison... but that was probably just love talking.

"I tell stories to the little ones," he continued, still smiling. "I love what I do." He peered at her, dark eyes full of curiosity. "And yourself? What do you do, Kivumbi?"

Kai shook his head, a smile on his muzzle. "No. She doesn't think that she's very good at crafting, but I do. I think she's wonderful at it. Perhaps someday she'll make me something that I can proudly wear while I tell my stories." He hoped that someday she'd see how wonderful her skills were, but until that day he could only keep telling her how fantastic her creations were.

"I tried my skill at crafting, once. A simple bracelet, one that I gave to Sabbia. She acted like it was the most beautiful thing in the world." That was the day he'd told her he loved her, and from there his life had only gotten better.

"I'm a terrible hunter," he admitted to Kivumbi, "if it weren't for the hunters in the pride, well, I would never eat!"

The more that Nohokai talked to Kivumbi, the more he liked the lioness. She seemed to have the same outlook on life that he did, and that made him happy to know! It was truly wonderful to make new friends, and Nohokai felt like Kivumbi was a great lioness to be friends with. A good friend, maybe even a lifelong friend if he was lucky.

"It didn't go well? Well then, what was the story about?" He grinned at her, a robust laugh bursting past his lips, "Perhaps it was your listeners that needed to listen better?"

Nohokai shrugged, smiling at Kivumbi. "Ahh, well. I suppose we all have things we are better at. You and hunting, me and stories, my Sabbia and her crafting." He beamed at her, nodding his head as if to punctuate his point. "If we were all the same, think of how boring the world would be?"

Truer words had never been spoken in Nohokai's opinion. He wasn't wise about many things, but there were some things that he was confident about. Encouraging each other to be different, celebrating diversity - these were important things!