Kilgharrah was more than grumpy. She was infuriated, most of the time, and irritable or lacking patience, or both, the rest of the time. It was her paw that irritated her the most, though she and her ward had taken good care of it. The fact that the wound existed was what bothered her. That whole stupid fight. At least now she knew better than to just jump on someone. No, she had learned quite a few things recently, that would better help her defend her home and keep intruders out. Why she was getting so many visitors was another thing to ponder, but not right now.
As she was thinking about how strange it was that so many lions, and a cheetah, had been coming around, another strange lioness had wandered into the territory. This one came from a far away pride, and was looking for the sea. She had heard that her father lived in a pride near the sea, and she wanted to visit him, see how he lived, what kind of a lion he was. She also knew her brother had stayed with him, and though she couldn’t remember either of them, she had nothing better to do than try and find them. After all, what was more important than family? She wanted to know hers, if she could.
And anyway, it gave her a reason for wandering around, and kept her focused.
Kilgharrah sniffed the air and smelled something that was not her or Hirilafu. She turned her head, looking through the trees, trying to spot whatever new intruder had come into her lands. Again! For such a small area, with no real worth as far as location or prey worth went, it certainly seemed to be high traffic these days. Maybe it was just coming in spurts. Once these guys all go bored of the area they would wander off and leave her the hell alone. Except for Hitilafu, of course. She was welcome to stay as long as she wanted. Or at least until Kil couldn’t see her ribs any more. Damn thin little lioness, made Kil feel guilty.
Fimbo wasn’t in that kind of state. She was a very successful huntress, and managed to keep herself well fed. She cleaned her fur regularly, and took pride in how she looked. She had her mother’s purple fur, though the yellowish brown seemed to have come from her father. Maybe. She was going to find out, at least! Padding through the trees, she slowed when she spotted a green lioness standing in front of her, glaring at her intently. Fimbo cleared her throat and offered the other a confident smile. She was always composed, and tried to appear smart and strong and sure of herself.
She smiled.
“Hello there! Do you live around here? Is there a pride? I just came from one, but I’m looking for the ocean. Do you know where that is, maybe?” She spoke quickly and confidently, spilling out all the questions she wanted to ask without much thought to it. She wasn’t really good at making conversation, so much as talking at someone, hearing what she wanted to hear, and saying what she wanted to say. She didn’t like beating around the bush, nor did she take to sugarcoating things, or trying to be subtle. The art of tact, as well, was completely lost to her.
Kil frowned, not sure how to respond. Don’t attack, she reminded herself. She shook her head. “You’re just passing through, then? You’ll want to keep heading that way,” she motioned with her head, though she didn’t know if it was true. What did she care for water? She never traveled that way, and was mostly just indicating in any way that would get the lioness ‘out’. But she didn’t need to tell the other that. She sighed, trying to remember all the other questions. “This isn’t a pride, but these are my lands. Not a lot of it, but this… particular area is mine. So yes, I live here. And hello.”
“Great! I’ll go there then. To that way, I mean. Oh! My name is Fimbo. I’m looking for my father. I don’t know his name, though, so it’s kinda… difficult. But I do know he lives near the water. Anyway, why do you live in the trees? There can’t be anything big enough to hunt in there, is there? It looks too small for… anything. Is it just you? I smell someone else near here. Oh, you’re hurt! How did that happen? Did you lose a fight?” Fimbo once again poured out everything at once, sitting down and making it clear that she intended to stay until all of those questions, at the very least, were answered.
Kil looked vexed, but took a deep breath. “My name is Kilgharrah. No, you don’t have to try and say it, or even remember it. I don’t know your father’s name, either, so I can’t help you. There aren’t really many lions around here, of any kind. It’s just me and my ward, Hitilafu. But she’s only staying until she is strong enough to travel. And perhaps knows where she’s going.” She shook her head, sighing, “I did lose a fight, thank you for bringing it up. Let’s talk about that some more. Or maybe we should talk about the time I killed a lioness for asking too many questions?”
Fimbo stared at her, considering her like she wasn’t sure if this was a true statement or not.
She decided it wasn’t, but knew well enough when she wasn’t wanted. “Well, okay then! It’s nice to meet you, Kilgharrah. Do you mind if I find some place to get a drink? Then I’ll head on out. I won’t be long, promise. I can tell you don’t want me here, but that’s okay! I wouldn’t want some stranger in my home, either.” She smiled warmly, at least understanding what Kil was driving at. The older lioness sighed and nodded her head, motioning with her paw to the left.
“Through there you can find a watering hole. Hitilafu might be there, but she won’t give you any trouble. If you stay too long, though, I might. Got it?”
“Got it! Just a drink, then I’m off. Thank you for your help!” She grinned and bounded off toward the bushes. She disappeared, off toward the watering hole to get herself a drink, as she had said. Kil wasn’t too worried about her. She seemed… perky, but honest, at least. Still, the green lioness would keep an eye on her new purple guest. But this was the last time she would let someone stay, even for a few moments, damn it! Grumbling to herself, she followed Fimbo at a distance, though instead of going to the water she just hopped up into a tree and reclined, opting to take a nap.
(Word Count: 1152 in Word)
