Once rest had been attained, and she'd had a moment to breathe, Mayrah had been more than ready to start on the trek back to the Nguvu'Utawala. Her paw still twinged, though pain had lost its edge, and she now was able to tread easily as she made her way across the ground. She knew that Kero was worried about her, and would occasionally stop her quicker pace to lick his ear, and assure him that everything was alright. Her heart was soaring, and she was more than eager to see if she could take up a position within the clan making something. Her paws were good at that, after all.
Kero whined low in his throat as he walked next to Miss Rainbow's End (okay, he DID know her real name by now, but she was always going to be Miss Raimbow's End anyway!), his dark eyes alight with worry. "You're sure you don't need to stop again? We can stop again if you need to, there haven't been any other rocks attacking you right? You're okay? No more bleeding? Do you need me to get anything?" On and on the questions went, as inanely prattling as his typical rambles were, albeit in a different direction then usual. At last, however, he looked up and his ears pricked. "We're almost there! We're really almost there! You can meet my family now!"
Her nose raised and she sniffed the air, curiously, listening to Kero rambling on. Glancing over at him with those gorgeous amber irises, she smiled, tail wagging a bit, "No more rocks, Kero. I am alright. There's no more bleeding." Her voice was soft, and she could hear her heart pounding as he said they were almost there. Family....She'd have a family, and get to meet his.....It was a big deal, "Lead the way, dear one. And quickly~" She cooed eagerly.
Zalika was doing what Zalika usually did when she was tired of her family. Zalika was hanging out around the outer boundaries of the clan, which had been hard to do thanks to Sakelo following her around like a lost little puppy. Outwardly Zalika moaned and groaned about Sakelo and his clinging but inwardly it thrilled her. She'd found a Consort before Kibibi, and that was all that mattered. Kibibi would probably never find a consort on her own, and knowing Bekeli he would bring back a mildly dysfunctional hyena with one eye and five legs. That made Zalika laugh inwardly to herself as she peered out across the savanna, eyeing the horizon.
As they made their way towards home, Kero's ears pricked up further, and his prattling turned from worried questions to excited descriptions of his family, more than a little embellished in some cases as he tended to flatter his female relations more than his fellow males - and it wasn't much longer before he spotted Zalika, and he almost tripped in excitement. "Look, look! That's my sister! My oldest sister! You're gonna love her, Miss Rainbow's End! She's a princess so if you're not nice she can be mean but that's not a problem for you at all and she'll love you and mom will love you and you'll get to stay forever - but will you miss the rainbow?"
Her nose flared again as she scented Zalika, eyes training on her, as she looked back over at Kero. Listening to him, she smiled softly, ".....I suppose I shall, but who knows, dear Kero. We may find ourselves with a rainbow somehow." Looking over at this 'Zalika', she canted her head, curiously. Time to meet the the family.....
Keen eyes caught sight of her brother as he approached, and Zalika debating just running away until she noticed that he wasn't alone. No, he wasn't alone, and whats more, he had a female next to him. Zalika scowled softly to herself. Kero, with a female? She blinked rapidly, hoping that her vision would clear but no, no... the female was still there. She waited until they drew closer before she spoke, looking at the bright female while she spoke to her brother. "Kero," she snapped, frowning at him. "So you've returned, hmm?" She narrowed her eyes, almost as if she were sizing up the female he was with.
Kero nodded, wagging his tail and completely oblivious to the angry tone in his sister's voice. "Uh-huh! I found the Rainbow's End and it was a hyena so I brought her back with me and she's really nice and kind and smart and she needed a home but I don't see why she left the rainbow it's such a nice home and - " and the marathon mouth was off again, prattling inanely in any direction his thoughts happened to wander, though he did pause in the middle of said rambling to lick Mayrah's ear gently for a moment.
She turned and licked his nose to quiet him a moment, before turning to look at Zalika, bowing her head, and speaking softly, "My name is Mayrah'Kirra. It is quite the pleasure, Zalika." Keeping her head down for now, she knew better than to look the female hyena in the eye. Until she was accepted into the Clan, she was an outsider.....
Zalika didn't really want to pay attention to her brother. All of her attention was on the female -- a respectable female, too, one who had addressed her properly. Yes, that was promising. She'd been half expecting the female to be as odd as her brother but strangely enough she wasn't, not at all, in fact, she quite the opposite. She couldn't help but dip her head in greeting, surprised beyond belief that she was... well, that she was a normal female. "Mayrah'Kirra. I welcome you to the clan."
She smiled kindly, "I thank you, Zalika." Her voice remained soft, "I have been looking forwards to joining the clan since Kero told me about you all." She smiled sweetly, and raised her head, stretching out a bit, "I must ask, out of my own curiosity....Is there a place for a crafter amongst you?"
Zalika dipped her head in the affirmative. Since the clan had been gaining more members, they'd found the need for different roles to be filled, different tasks to be done. These decisions had been made, of course, by Bahari and Dikeledi, and there were many ranks that still needed filling. "Yes, you will need to speak with my mother and my aunt about the particulars on what professions we have available. After all, they are the Queens. I can say with certainty that we do need someone capable of crafting things that we might find necessary."
She nodded her head slowly, her tail wagging, "I would like that very much. I like to keep my paws busy, and would be more than glad to assist." Looking up again, her green eyes sparkling, she moved forwards, "Thank you for bringing me, Kero, love." She leaned over and licked his ear again, gently, lovingly.
Kero, who had been quiet throughout the exchange due to Mayrah's simple hushing gesture, somehow managed to stay quiet for a full two minutes after Miss Rainbow's End and his sister had finished talking. "I'm glad you came, you didn't have to but you did and I'm so glad you did!" The silly male was practically wiggling all over with pent-up excitement!
Zalika could only roll her eyes at her hyperactive brother. It was a dismissive gesture, really, as she couldn't be bothered by his actions, and she couldn't help but wonder why the female didn't seem to mind him. Then again, she had been able to silence him for longer than a split second, so maybe she did have something valuable other than being a strong and polite female. Zalika smugly jerked her head, indicating that Mayrah hould follow. "I shall introduce you to my mother and my aunt. They will be pleased that... you have joined us."
Nodding, Mayrah padded forwards, licking her paw once, as a twinge of in hit her, but she didn't mind it too terribly. Shaking her mane out, the girl could't help but let herself study the whole area, curiously. Stunning....so stunning! It would be perfect.
Word Count: 1375
