Tai - Tahja Estes
&
Maisha - Das Tor
She couldn't recall the last time she'd seen the last father of her children, nor could she recall the last time seeing her granddaughter Kairi or her friend and Tai's distant niece Lela. Faces were leaving the Pridelands almost at a rate that they previously joined, almost it seemed. She herself was getting on in years slowly but surely. She'd been but a child by the time the former ruler of her home had been a young male in his prime, so it wasn't that she was OLD really, but how much longer did she have? At best she was at the tail end of her prime, hanging on, holding out.
These days her son, Ayato, was the one constant. Her first adopted cub (Ayato's adopted brother Tete) came to visit now and then before he'd come to tell her he was leaving the Pridelands, her second pair of adopted cubs... well, she honestly didn't know what became of them after they grew and left her care. She and Matifu's children had gone their separate ways one by one, and so had at least two of her children with Ezeoha. Though she had plenty of cubs to look after at storytime once before, things never seemed quite as delightfully busy as they did when there were ones own little ones underfoot.
These busy thoughts kept her plenty occupied as she roamed near Pride Rock, open to the idea of running into either familiar or new faces, maybe someone she knew might be up for a talk and a stroll.
Maisha's paws had led him to a place that was far more open to visitors than his birth pride had been. He had been surprised, but...rather glad. He didn't intend to stay for long, but...it was nice to be surrounded by others again. He'd gone so long without seeing more than one or two other creatures a day, three is he was lucky! But here...he was surrounded by others. He couldn't help but smile and feel welcome. It was such a peaceful place Chavvah had directed him to. This was the kind of place his birth pride wanted to protect...
He shoved down a tendril of homesickness. He couldn't afford this right now. At all. Yes, he missed his family...but he had to find where he was supposed to be. And sadly, that wasn't with his family. Of course, he'd probably try to visit from time to time, but he had to find his new home first. And the girl the little Seer had told him of. The leopon found his reverie interrupted by the largest rock he'd ever seen. Sure, he'd kind of seen it when he'd entered the pridal lands...
But it was SO MUCH BIGGER up close. The orange and white male sat and looked up, staring at it in wonder. And the only word he could think to say, to express his thoughts of it...was "Wow". His siblings would never believe him.
It wasn't unusual to see non-lions, though maybe rare. A year or two ago the first hybrids had joined the pride. Tai had the pleasure of meeting them at her storytellings, but never really spoken to an outside hybrid before. The young male she was looking at could actually have passed for a lion if not for his tail perhaps. Curiously, the pale female drew closer, coming down the sloped path towards him.
"Hello there," She purred in a soft way, by means of greeting him. "Not lost, are you, young fellow?" She was smiling as she asked though, clearly not patronizing or anything of the sort.
Maisha started at the voice, and smiled sheepishly at the pale female. "Not lost, really. Just...stunned. I'm not from around here, and I've never seen a rock formation so large!" It was nice to be talking to a friendly face, even in this strange place. "I probably look foolish, just staring at it, don't I?"
He didn't mean to look dorky. He just...was easily caught off guard by strange things, he supposed. Not that all strange things were bad! "It's so large from a distance, and it seems...I dunno, it's kinda like looking at the sky on a day with no clouds in the sky."
"It seems much bigger without the landscape around it hindering it, when viewing it from a distance, you mean?" She inquired, coming to stand beside him as she looked up at the rock that had been her home for a few years now, and even before that. She had been born here, but ripped away as a child, along with her siblings, most of whom didn't survive the journey.
She looked back at her companion and curiosity lit up her eyes in a way that did nothing to betray her actual age.
"Are you visiting us then, simply, or looking for a place to call home? Forgive me being forward, we usually don't get many guests this far into the lands that I've had the pleasure of meeting."
Maisha nodded. "That's exactly what I mean." He grinned, glad she understood him. It was always nice to come across those who didn't seem to mind when he was being a goof, or couldn't quite figure out the right words.
"I...think I'm just a visitor. I'm looking for someone, following some advice a seer gave me." He closed his eyes. "I'm supposed to belong where she is...though I don't know if it's her specifically I belong with, or just where she is. But...either way, I want to find her. I thought...maybe this place might be it, but there's no lake here that's so vast I can't see the other side." He remembered Kyouko's words very well...It was hard to forget such an odd lioness.
"It sounds like what you're describing is the sea... I'm afraid, if that's the case, then you've still got quite a ways to go, but you should head south." Her gaze went from him to beyond Pride Rock, to the opposite side of it from the end that seemed to point to both the heavens and the North. "I could send my son along to make sure you find your way as far as our pride's border, if you want. If you keep that way you'd be bound to find the ocean sooner rather than later. I would offer to go myself, but I'm a bit too old to be traveling back and forth like I used to, and it'll be time for the evening story long before I make it back." She smiled, hoping that at least she could give him a direction to go on if nothing else. She only knew that. Honestly he could have been talking about lake Victoria too, but since she had never seen the lake, as the Unity Walker's lands were blocked on that side by ravine...
Back south, huh...Hm. Perhaps if he headed south and away from the Mwako...He'd find this 'ocean'. And the girl Kyouko described. He gave the lioness a greatful look. "Thank you. And...that would be wonderful, if it's no trouble to him." It was hard to believe she was too old to be traveling, though...She looked maybe around his adopted grandmother's age, and she was still spry, considering the trouble her scars gave her. Mention of an 'evening story' had his attention though.
"A story?" He thought a moment. "Do...you think I might be able to stay the night? I've been on my paws most of the day as is, and...I haven't heard a story in a while. At least, not one that didn't come out of my own head." And his stories weren't all that good.
"I'm certain that Ayato won't mind in the least." Tai confirmed, realizing then that she hadn't even introduced herself after intruding on his thoughts. "Forgive me by the way, and even after I interrupted your thoughts!" She chuckled, but had the grace to look a bit embarrassed at herself. "I'm Tai, by the way, and I'd gladly welcome a weary traveler to my rock for a tale, especially if it might be in exchange for some of your own?"
The look on her face was inviting, friendly, and hopeful. Being a traveler herself, previously, she knew that sometimes the best stories were the ones you didn't know you had until you sat down with a kindred spirit and started to share.
Mai blinked...then looked a bit embarrassed. "Heh...you weren't the only one who spaced. A pleasure to meet you, Tai. I'm Maisha." With names exchanged...it somehow felt a little less...odd. "If you don't mind hearing the ones I've got, I don't mind sharing. Don't have many traveling tales, since...I've only been a rogue a month or so. But I've got plenty about where I grew up."
"If it's a story, I'm interested, no matter where they originate from." Tai grinned, her eyes twinkling a bit. So maybe Maisha was right, and she was a bit younger than she appeared or let on. She gestured for him to follow her. "Have you had anything to eat yet today, Maisha? I'm sure we could gather some of us up for a hunt if not."
Mai grinned happily. "Then I've got lots." He'd had all sorts of adventures in the Mwako, and he'd been witness to other things, both silly and sweet and brave. "I'm afraid I haven't. I got rather distracted. I can help with the hunt too!" He didn't want to be seen as a freeloader, after all! And he'd gotten very good at hunting (happened when you had to fill your own belly).
"Then I'd say we have a deal, would you agree?"
Her tone was impish, playful. She liked encounters like this, they generally had a nice flow to them and there was fun to be had by all sides. Who knew where the night would take them? A hunt first, though, and then after that they'd see about sharing those stories. In the morning Ayato could see him to the border if he was ready to go then, and he'd leave with direction, a full stomach, and fresh stories to share with his lady friend when he found her and his new home.
Mai nodded. "I believe we do!" He was glad to have found a friendly group to pass the night with. Even though this wasn't where he was looking for...he would at least have some more good memories to carry him through those times when there wasn't anyone to talk to. And maybe he'd learn something from the story told that night. One never knew, but he was certainly looking forward to what the night would bring.
