Setsuhana considered herself to be good at many things. She had an interesting, light singing voice, was graceful in how she moved, could creep very quietly or stomp very loudly depending on her mood, and was highly persuasive when her heart was in it. This was all self-assessment, so she knew others might see things differently, but she also firmly believed that the most important opinion about oneself is your own. But still, however she might take pride in herself, she had to admit hunting was not her thing.
Well, that was unfair. She was a lioness and therefore meant to hunt. But she took no joy in it and had no real talent, as she did with other things that interested her more. Frankly, tracking prey was tedious, chasing it down strenuous and frustrating, and the meal she got at the end of all this not even a guarantee. The day was hot, the midday sun shone down in it’s full oppressiveness, and Setsuhana had retreated to her den. Leave the hunting for the lionesses that didn’t mind! Setsuhana had her head on her paws, dozing and watching everything outside with half-interest.
Samia had spent very little time outside her family den. Despite her mother's disability it was often very difficult to sneak away, she could hear even the slightest stirring. The fact that she had managed to get away this afternoon was sheerly fluke, her brothers had been causing such a ruckus that she had managed to slip away. She didn't intend to be gone for long, so the fact that her mother might notice didn't bother her much. All things considered, she wasn't much concerned for the moods of others. It was as good a time as any to meet some of the other members of the pride, there weren't really any cubs for her to play with so she'd have to suffice for adults. The thought struck her as she crossed by Satsuhana's den, the bright purple of the lioness's coat catching her eye. Pretties, she had pretties of her own, but none so bright as that. "Miss flower?" she said timidly, sticking her head beyond the threshold.
Setsuhana’s ears twitched, hearing a small voice. She lifted her head and presently saw the little white cub peering into the mouth of her den. It took Setsuhana a moment to respond, because she was trying to think if she’d already met this cub. She was very familiar with the adult members of her pride, but this cub looked so young, it was unlikely she’d run into her before. So who did she remind Setsuhana of?
“Yes? Hello.” Setsuhana replied, unable to come up with an answer, so she went the blunt route and asked. Kindly, she spoke, “That’s very close. I’m Setsuhana. What’s your name? Who is your mother?” No point in asking about the father, Setsuhana didn’t really care about that info.
"Samia," the cub said proudly, puffing out her chest, "My mama is Tulia, I'm her only daughter." It was something she was quite happy with, as much as her brothers annoyed her. She didn't need to deal with any sisters to compete with, all of that could be kept to her brothers. "Do you know my mama?" she asked curiously, settling in the opening of the den, "She's blind, but her sister isn't." The cub may have had a small problem with filtering what she said, but for the most part it could be chalked up as innocence and perhaps a bit of hubris.
Listening, Setsuhana had to think for a moment, to place a face to the name Tulia… but as soon as Samia mentioned that she was blind, Setsuhana knew who she was talking about right away. Tulia did sort of stand out, in that way.
“I’ve never spoken with her at length, but I know who she is,” Setsuhana replied, nodding, “I didn’t even know she had cubs now.” But then, Setsuhana thought to herself, she did try to stay out of other’s business. In the future, she’d try a little harder to keep up with the goings on here, though. Apparently she spent too many afternoons like this napping when she should be out socializing!
“It’s nice to meet you, Samia,” the lioness continued, speaking softly since the echo carried throughout her smallish den, “I’m sure your mother is very proud of you! What are you doing out and about?” It was small talk, but Setsuhana actually was curious. Samia seemed quite young, and she hadn’t seen her out playing before.
Samia straightened herself up to look as tall as she could, the silver toned fur that accented her markings picking up a bit of the sun coming in behind her. It was true that it was the first time she'd been out and about, but that didn't mean she wasn't able to handle herself. She was much smarter than her brothers, that much was obvious, and there wasn't anything that could happen to her within the boundaries of the pride. "I'm exploring, my daddy lives further up the hill, I was thinking I could visit him. He comes down to see us but he hasn't yet today," she said cheerfully, secretly hoping she'd be able to sneak in a bit of one on one time with him before they made it back down the hill where she'd have to share him. "Do you have any cubs?" she asked bluntly, looking around the rest of the den.
“Oh? And who is your Daddy?” Setsuhana asked politely, going over a mental list of the males she knew in the pride. Sure, it was more important to the lioness to know who her mother was, but she also supposed the father deserved some recognition. Setsuhana was aloof about these things but not blatantly rude.
“I don’t have any cubs yet. Maybe one day when I meet the right lion.” Setsuhana replied, irrationally feeling the need to explain herself about this, even though it probably didn’t matter to Samia at all. But it was a somewhat touchy subject for the lioness. The ladies of this pride were all expected to eventually breed, after all, even if ‘when’ was left up to them.
Then, Setsuhana thought of something and looked about beyond the mouth of the den quickly. No other lions in sight… wasn’t someone watching this cub? “Does your mother know you‘re out alone?” she asked, getting up slowly from her prone position and looking about, just to be sure.
"Mkhai," The cub said cheerfully, though her father's name was a little harder for her to pronounce and it came out a bit slurred. He was a chubby male, but strong, and he was teaching her brothers how to fight so that when their time came they would be ready. Even she knew they wouldn't all get to stay, anyone could see that, but it was nice to watch them. She didn't have to get involved, even if daddy would like her to. "No, I don't think she knows yet," she chirped happily, glancing down the hill with a giggle, "My brothers were being noisy so she didn't notice I left. I make sure to be extra quiet all the time."
The name didn’t ring any bells for Setsuhana, but then, she wasn’t well acquainted with any of the pride’s males. That was probably part of her problem. So she smiled and nodded, and pretended she knew who Samia was talking about. “Oh, he’s nice,” she replied, thinking that was a fairly safe, generic comment about someone she wasn’t sure she knew at all.
At the cub’s next admission, however, Setsuhana wasn’t quite sure what to say. As the responsible adult here, she knew that she should probably tell the cub to go home before her mother found out and got worried. On the other hand, though, Setsuhana herself had always been sort of a free spirit, so it didn’t come naturally to tell Samia what to do. This wasn’t her cub, so it wasn’t really her problem, was it? But then, her mother was blind…
“Uh, well…” Setsuhana struggled to come up with a solution that satisfied her, and ended up, rather lamely, with, “As long as you don’t go far, I guess you’ll be fine.” With that, Setsuhana tried to dispel the nagging thought that on the off chance something did happen, she would feel incredibly guilty about it.
Samia glanced back down the hill, a little more nervously this time. No sign of her mother, and no sign of her father coming down either. She was safe for a while. "I have a few minutes before she notices," she said with a little laugh, "I won't stay if she gets scared, I'll say I went to look at the river, so you won't get in trouble." She wasn't sure if her mother could punish other adults, but her auntie was more powerful, maybe she could. Either way this flowerly lady was nice, she didn't want her to get in any sort of trouble just for talking to her. "Do you want me to go home now?" she asked with a little hint of sadness, her head cocked to the side.
Setsuhana blinked with surprise. Such a conscientious cub! Setsuhana wondered if all cubs were like that, or if Samia was particularly smart. “Oh… well, thank you,” she replied, feeling actual gratitude for the cub’s unexpected presence of mind. Part of her wanted to tell Samia that she wouldn’t tell on her, she could go visit her dad if she wanted. But then, that wouldn’t be very responsible of her. And it would be especially awful if her blind mother panicked when her cub seemed to be missing. At least, that’s how Setsuhana assumed she’d react.
“Well… you’ve done a good job of sneaking away,” Setsuhana started, knowing she’d feel a little guilty either way, “But, it’s probably best if you went home now. Your mother might worry.” Setsuhana considered taking the cub down to the male’s dens herself, but Samia’s mother might be equally upset if she took her daughter there without permission. So she added, “If Tulia ever needs some quiet time, you can tell her you’re allowed to come here, and I’ll look after you. If she thinks that’s alright.” Honestly, Setsuhana didn’t know what Tulia knew or thought of her, but it didn’t hurt to offer. After all, Setsuhana had no other obligations presently.
"Ok flower lady," she said cheerfully, turning to head back down the hill. She paused, turning back with a curious little grin, "What's your name actually? So I can tell her all of that stuff." If she didn't come back with a name her mother might not believe her the next time, and then she'd be back to sneaking out again until she was old enough to leave by herself every day.
“Setsuhana,” The lioness told Samia, smiling, “But flower lady is close enough, it means close to the same thing. You take care, and I’ll see you again soon?” In the shade of the den, Setsuhana laid back down and rest her head on her forepaws once again. There were two things on her mind right now. For starters, she realized the pressing need to get to know the others in her pride. Today had been a clear example that she didn’t know enough. And secondly, she had liked cubs before but never thought about them as much now. This one seemed nice… were they all nice? Maybe this was something Setsuhana should interpret as a sign to begin thinking about starting a family of her own. Why not?
