After her encounter with her cousin, Kumbuko was... Wary. She wasn't sure she wanted to run into anybody else, that was for sure. At least, nobody as broken-minded as Kizu-- No, her name wasn't Kizuka anymore, it was... She couldn't remember. The other lioness would always be Kizuka to her. The violet lioness sighed, closing her eyes as she turned her face up to the sky and the morning sun to the East. It felt so good...
It wasn't often Ni'andama left Najisi with Xavier, since the cub was so small and seemed to get on the god's nerves so very MUCH. As cute as it was... The god didn't seem to appreciate it. Regardless, he DID need to cubsit now and then, as it was just the four of them. And a hare wasn't good enough to cubsit... There was too much that could go wrong with somebody so small and eatable watching somebody so hyper and prone to danger. Now, she was out for a morning walk, not really doing much of anything with it. So she was surprised when she spotted a lioness some distance away, facing into the sunrise with closed eyes. The dust-brown lioness tilted her head, before going over. "Well hi there! Fancy meeting somebody out here!"
Kumbuko let out a surprised sound, jumping a couple feet in the air and whirling around. When she saw the other lioness, she took a slight step away. "Oh... Hello..." She hadn't expected to meet anybody out here, especially another lioness. Who was she, and where had she come from? "I-I should warn you now, you shouldn't touch me... Bad things happen..." She was afraid to know what pain this lioness had suffered. After the lands her cousin had taken up residence in... She didn't want anymore of that.
Ni'andama's head tilted, blue eyes watching the lioness. She seemed skittish... "Oh... Like a curse, then?" She smiled broadly. "Then you should come back with me, maybe Master Xavier can help you!" She bounced around the lioness, motioning with a paw. "Come on, come on! You said no touchy, I'll try to direct you without touching!" She then paused, blinking. "What kind of bad things, anyway?"
"Well, you could CALL it a curse..." Kumbuko shook her head, starting to walk. Why was she following this lioness, anyway? They'd just met! "I'm a Seer, I can See the past... Mostly, I see the hurt that others have suffered in their past... And only when I touch them..." Her ears went back. "I don't like it... And I don't think your master could help me..."
Ni'andama let out a light sigh. "Maybe he can... Who knows! Gods work in weird ways!" She hurried ahead, hopping up and clinging to a tree. She leaned back, smiling at the other upside-down. "I don't think you'd find much bad in my past, I had a very happy cubhood! No big hurts, and no hurts outside what everyone feels when they fall down!"
The purple lioness stopped, ears back, face showing her surprise. "A... GOD? Your master is a GOD?!" She'd only ever really seen one god in her life, and then not for long. And yet this lioness professed to traveling with one! She circled the tree, green eyes on blue. "How did you meet a god?! They don't pop up in the mortal world too often, and then most aren't going to SEE them! What is he the god OF?" She had so many questions, never having met one before.
"I met him while walking... Like I met you!" Ni'andama dropped from the tree, smiling at the other lioness. "And he's the God of the Cursed! He named me for the fact I follow him around ever so loyally!" She sat down, looking proud of herself. "My old pride didn't name me, because my tail's blue. They taught me how to hunt, sure, but never named me, so they could turn me out of the pride when I became an adolescent and not feel any attachment to me and me none to them. I think it worked, I don't really mind. But it's lonely out here, even traveling with Master Xavier, Mister Yutu, and Najisi..."
Kumbuko listened intently, processing the information. She met him just... WALKING... "Okay, you're officially an enigma to me..." She looked around, wondering if maybe the god was lurking around now. "So, who are Yutu and Najisi? And just what did he name you? You seem like the hyper type to me, so... Is it Hyper?" She had some questions, she wanted some answers. Maybe this lioness would hold still long enough to answer them.
The dust-brown lioness stopped, blinking, then grinned wide. "Oh, Mister Yutu is a hare! He's all green and pretty! He mostly stays with Master Xavier. And Najisi's a cub we took in! His momma vanished, and a dark lioness gave him to me to take care of since she couldn't find his mother, either." She started back towards where the god, hare, and cub had last been. "Master Xaveir named me Ni'andama le'maluuni, because I follow him! It's the first name I've ever had." She paused. "And only!"
The purple lioness blinked a bit, still following. "A hare... Well, I hope he doesn't mind an insane hare... I have my own... He's also green... His name's Brahma..." She looked around, ears folding back. "I just don't know where he's gone to." Her gaze returned to Ni'andama. "But he'll find me, he always does." It was also creepy how Brahma did that. Had the hare's brain roasted or something? He had to be insane, otherwise he wouldn't be wearing wings. Dead bird wings...
"He sounds... Um..." Ni'andama's ears went back, the first sign she'd shown so far of discomfort. "FASCINATING..." Maybe there WAS more depth to her than there appeared. It was time for a subject change! "So, what's your name, anyway? You never told me!" She could smell Xavier, too, and Najisi. Yutu wasn't so easy to smell, but he also kept very clean. It was a prey animal thing, she guessed.
"Yeah, he's... Special..." She had to admit that, whole-heartedly. Brahma was... SOMETHING. Her ears pricked, surprised at the question. She was quiet for a moment, as she processed it, before letting out an "Oh!" Walking beside Ni'andama, she offered a smile. "I'm Kumbuko." It seemed there was no question about her past, but she didn't mind. She had to See it too much to want to dwell on it.
Ni'andama's face lit up in a happy grin, as she brushed past some bushes. "Well, it's good to meet you, then, Kumbuko!" She moved a branch, revealing the napping god, cub, and hare. "And this is Master Xavier, Mister Yutu, and Najisi! Welcome to our little family fold!" She went over, looking the sleeping males over. After a moment, she nodded, satisfied. "I think Najisi wore them out..."
Kumbuko slowly walked around the sleeping god, amazed at what she saw. It was a god... It was really a god... She was seeing a god up close! The sight of the hare draped across the sleeping beast's side, with a cub nestled in the front paws of the pale sea foam green lion, was certainly a funny thing to see. "I already think I'm going to like it here..."
