(w/c 1170)
That afternoon, Winza woke up knowing exactly what was going to happen to him and exactly what he was going to do in response up to the point his vision had progressed before a ruckus outside had freed him from the prophetic dream.
First, he would roll over. He rolled over.
Next, he would get up and trip over a rock. The one perk of this otherwise unfortunate gift was being able to avoid pitfalls like this. That's what he would have thought had he not avoided the stone only to stub his toe on another he hadn't noticed was in front of it.
Gods help him, Winza thought, and - shaking his head - he found himself outside. Outside and destined to be greeted by a piece of scenery he had already seen before, as if fate itself had painted a picture of the future in his mind.
Fate very well could have been the one to blame for his abilities. Who knew?
---
Not Sen, that's for sure. She didn't know much about anything and that was just how she looked it. Being blissfully unaware let her enjoy the simple pleasures in life like basking in the sun after she'd bagged her best friend's grandson. Most friends would have gotten angry over it, but not her. She'd probably find it funny. That was just the kind of lioness she was. So was Sen. That's why they got along, duh.
Speak of the devil, she turned back to see the man of the hour. "Hey. You have fun?"
---
That bluntness... he should have expected it from someone like her. Then again, who was he to judge? He'd gone right along with it.
Still, she didn't need to be so shamelessly forward. He hadn't known what was she was getting at, and by time he had, it was too late for him. He wasn't a pillar of reserve and self-control like the women in his family always seemed to be. Even if she had run off, he was sure Talis was out there somewhere practicing some kind of fancy religious ceremony or something.
Him? He was here. With Sen. And his awkward tension to keep them both company.
He decided he wouldn't return to the pride with fake stories to tell Araiya. Time to be a man. Time to be tough and forward and... everything Sen was acting. He was at her side, determined.
"Uh..."
Hm. That hadn't come out right.
---
Sen, however, was not so quiet. She was never speechless, and broke the silence like a stone dropped onto glass, "Did I break your brain? I hope not. Even if they can afford to send off some of their lions, they probably don't want them returned broken." Another wink and she elbowed him. "Lighten up, why don't you?"
---
Lighten up? If only it were that easy. He had to admit she made it look like it was.
"Are you still traveling with my grandmother? Won't she be...?"
Angry? Irate? Enraged? All of the above?
---
Sen didn't just laugh, she cracked up. No one understood Nsundu but the lioness herself and her best, most awesome friend. They were always trying to put them in some little box where they expected to behave 'normally'. Like everyone else. What was 'normal', anyway? If it was getting mad over trivial things like that, she was glad they were strangers to the word.
The least she could do was offer the kid some assurance, calm him down some.
"Drum Girl won't mind," she promised.
Sen wasn't one for giving her word, but her tone of voice did as much on it's own. This was the one incident she wouldn't mind. If anything, Nsundu would be thrilled they finally had some relation to each other. (Seeing as neither were aware Mtembei was, in actuality, Sen's nephew.)
"How is your mom doing? I know you said the pride is fine, but is she handling everything okay?"
---
The first born son of his beloved mother, target of Sen's question, hesitated. Anyone else asked and he would have just dismissed it, telling them something easy like she was fine as always or that everything was normal. Sen was different; Waseme spoke of her like she was still a queen and the current one merely a humble servant. She was her hero, from what he could tell. No less than that.
"To be honest, she's always seemed lonely. I've had visions of her from before, when she was younger with Kitambi. They were always competing over something and she never seemed to win. It's not that I don't love my aunt, I just..."
---
Yikes. That would show her to bring up topics like this. She knew it was her own fault (though it was rare for her to take the blame).
"Your grandma never really noticed," Sen confessed.
She would have given anything in the world to help Nsundu out, and no matter what she did, Sen would stand by her, tall and strong. Like... like some kind of really big, badass tree that grew really quickly and wasn't too old yet. She didn't want to be compared to something really old.
This was all a serious mood killer, so she moved on. "What's being a seer like?"
---
That was no less a 'mood killer' for him than talking about his family problems, but Waseme was used to his powers and the woes that came along with them. He shrugged, wondering how you could put into words a situation like his.
"It's pretty annoying." Yeah, that sounded about right. "I'd rather not have them if I had the option. Mine are more of a burden than anything. My sister got more useful ones, and maybe my brother. I'm not sure if he has any."
---
Two seers in one litter? Again, yikes. Sen didn't want to think about what would happen if one of her many charges got a hold of abilities like that. They'd probably blackmail her like Hari had done.
"Mwokoti told me once that all the offspring of the Gods are seers. I know Waseme didn't bring your dad back to the pride with her and wouldn't tell anyone about it. Could be because he's a God."
Or it could be she just happened to have two seer children. Wasn't really Sen's place to judge; she was just thankful none of hers were awakened. Hopefully.
"I'm going to hurry up and meet up Nsu. Don't worry so much about all that stuff. Once you're out here, it's smooth sailing. You can do whatever you want." Sen offered a grin and final words of, um... advice. "Next time find someone your own age, now that you know a thing or two."
