As was suspected in an encounter she was not actually present for, Hitilafu did not disappoint. She was where she was projected to be, at the watering hole, taking a drink from the cool lake. It fed off a small river, which kept the lands lust and cool. Very green, very quiet. She liked the area, it was like a little piece of paradise stuck in where it didn’t belong. Go too far in any direction, and it was back to the yellow grass and treeless expanse. True, she blended in a bit better out there, but it didn’t really matter to her. In any case, she was simply taking a drink from the watering hole when a purple lioness emerged from the bushes to greet her.
She had no idea that Kilgharrah had met this lioness and allowed her to come and say hi.
“Hey there! You’re the other one that lives here, right?” Fimbo called, making Hit all but jump out of her fur. She looked back at the purple lioness in wonder, stepping to the side so the other could dip her head and drink from the water. She did so eagerly, apparently quite parched. She drank for a long while, not stopping until she had filled her stomach. Lifting her head, her muzzle damp, she licked her chops and looked at the brown lioness beside her, offering a smile. They looked to be near the same age, which Fimbo approved of.
“What’s your name?”
“Hitilafu…”
“I’m Fimbo! I just met your friend. She said I could come and get a drink, but I wanted to meet you, too. Do you live here with her? Are you mates?” Coming from a pride where all females took female mates, this idea was not strange to her. In fate, she thought it was rather natural to assume that the arrangement was such. Even if Hit was quite a bit younger than Kil: they didn’t look related at all, different fur, different eyes, different body build. Plus, Kil had referred to her as her ‘ward’, which did not indicate any kind of true blood relation. Fimbo swished her tail.
“Uhm, no,” Hitilafu said, shaking her head. She was doing her best to be polite, as that really was the only way she knew how to be. She smiled, blushing slightly under her fur. Not that Fimbo would be able to see it. “She’s more like my guardian. She’s taking care of me because I got lost and ended up here. Well… I guess I wasn’t lost so much as… I didn’t know where I was. But I didn’t know where I was going, either, if that makes any sense. I just… ended up here and she let me stay.”
Fimbo laughed, almost ruefully. “Really? Because I just got here and she’s making me leave. She must like you better, or something. Though I guess you do look like you’re too thin to be taking care of yourself. Not much of a hunter? I’m a good hunter, so I’m never in need of food. Unless the lands I’m hunting in suck, but that’s not my fault, is it? I can’t control where the food is, just if I can catch it or not. So if it’s there, I usually catch it. Oh! So you were traveling too, huh? Are you going to just stay here then? I’m looking for my father.”
Hitilafu looked perplexed. She had the thought that this lioness said too many things, too quickly. She couldn’t keep up, and had no idea how to lioness’ mind could possibly work that quickly. But Fimbo seemed to have no problem with it, and clearly thought she had made perfect sense, as she was staring at Hitilafu now with her tail swishing behind her. She frowned thoughtfully, then took a breath and tried to digest everything she had heard, one piece at a time, so she could reply to everything and not be rude by ignoring her. She offered Fimbo a meek smile.
“Kil is just protective of her home, and of me, I think… now, at least. I’ve only been here a little while, but she takes very good care of me and her home. She’s really nice, I promise,” she had to urge that point, because she knew her guardian could come off as a bit gruff. Particularly because things had been so busy recently, with so many unexpected visitors, she was just wound tightly about that. Hit felt guilty, really, because it had all been happening since she had arrived. Had she brought all these invaders with her, without realizing it? Invaders was a bit harsh. Passers through, perhaps.
“Uhm. Like I said, I was lost when she found me, or I found this place, and she’s been helping me eat well now. I’m not… the best hunter. I’m glad you are though! That must be nice, being able to truly fend for yourself. I’m really working hard on learning.” She smiled brightly, and Fimbo nodded. This brown lioness was very sweet, she decided, as Hit moved on, “I want to stay as long as Kil will let me… I don’t have any where else to go. I hope you find your father, though. Family is very important, I think, though I don’t think it has to be through blood.”
She didn’t mention running away from her own. That was a bit of a bummer, sometimes, and she didn’t want to bog the conversation down with sad or difficult things. She just wanted to have a nice chat, and keep things pleasant. She tilted her head at Fimbo, who was grinning ear to ear. She was turning, though, and Hit tilted her head to once side in wonder. Was she leaving already? That was a shame. But she had said she was only staying to meet Hit and to get a drink, both of which had been completed.
“Am I keeping you? I’m sorry! Anyway, I mean it, I hope you do find him soon.”
“You’re a very cute lioness. I hope you stay like this forever, huh? I might come back just to see. And risk the wrath of your guardian.”
Fimbo chuckled and moved, nuzzling her affectionately. She nuzzled Hit and licked her on the head, then bounded off happily, calling a goodbye to both Hit and Kil. Hit was baffled, but very amused. She wasn’t used to distinct personalities, as she had only met a handful of lions and other creatures, really, but that one had been the strangest so far. But not in a bad way at all. Hit smiled, absorbing the compliment as she looked at herself in the reflection of the water.
Fimbo hummed to herself as she left the trees, looking around to try and make sure the place stayed in her memory. She wasn’t lying when she said she wanted to come back, and she was doing her best to take a mental note of where the place was, and how to get back to it. She would keep that idea in her mind the further she got, telling herself to recognize the path she took so she could, in time, no matter how long it was, take it back to visit Kil and Hit again.
(Word Count: 1216 in Word)
