It was nighttime, Mkali’s favorite time of the day again. Generally she tried not to wake up at all until the sun was well past fading. She liked to cooler air, the relative darkness, and the reassurance that most things were sleeping or less vigilant than during the day.
Mkali had kept herself away from the rest of her family while she slept, as was her habit ever since she grew old enough to wander off without worry. The aloof cub had grown only more so as she aged, and by now there was only one member of her family that she seemed to respect enough to bother hanging around at any length. And it was that member that she was looking for now.
Mkali stretched leisurely and stood up, glancing around. For all she knew she wasn’t alone here, after all.
The bright adolescent happily gnawed on a bone that she had hidden from her sisters earlier that day. It tasted even more delicious now that it was all hers and she wouldnt havr to fight to keep it. Adanna was for the most part, a horrible fighter. She tended to use her pretty face and sway of her hips to get what she wanted. Luckily her sister was more the the muscle. Its likely why they complimented each other so well. She hadnt heard her sister rouse though she knew her father would soon. Usually he waited till really dark to emerge from slumber. Her siblibgs werent as easy to predict.
Where Mkali blended in with the shadows at night, her brighter sister Adanna stood out like a star. She could see her through the grass, barely, and crept forward to see what she was doing. The dark lioness was naturally sort of quiet when she moved, but she was making no attempt to sneak up on her sister. Had it been one of her other sisters, she probably would have tried to. Or her mother. Mkali had long since found that for whatever reason, her sister Adanna was the only other family member she could tolerate for long periods. Even her father, whom she greatly respected, didn’t have the sway over her that Adanna did. Adanna was her “yang.”
“Evening Adanna,” Mkali greeted her as she approached, sitting nearby and watching her light sister. Her voice, as always, was almost devoid of inflection and very soft.
She suspected that someone was approaching. She could hear the footfalls and it caused her to flick her ear towards the sound. She lifted her head from her prize and waited for the approacher to show thenselves. She shifted the bone under her paws, ready to keep it away from her siblings at all costs. When she saw the familiar shape of Mkali, she smiled with a small purr. Thank goodness. Mkali woukd be the least interested in the bone and sge was pretty much Adannas best friend. She flicked her tail, standing to stretch out her body which was long and lean by now. She was a pretty female even if she was the oddball of the litter. The only blonde of the family..well except for father.
"MKali. Im glad its you.. I was preparing my claws for a stranger." she giggled. She had a habit of seeming friendly however inside the female used that to her advantage. What was that saying? You catch more flies with honey instead of sour water. Yes that was the motto she lived by.
Mkali nodded, smiling serenely in a way that she only did at her sister. She very rarely showed facial expressions of any kind to others, keeping a cold, stony countenance that reflected what she felt of most other lions. Mkali’s appreciation for her sister stemmed from her respect of her strengths, which seemed to be many of the dark lioness’s weaknesses, and for the few things they also had in common.
“We’re quite alone, I think,” Mkali replied, glancing around as she sniffed the air experimentally just to be sure. She doubted that there were many who could escape the notice of both of them.
Good. Once her sister agreed that they were alone, she relaxed. Thats what she felt too, and it was always good to have a second opinion. She chuckled, grabbing the bone and gingerly placing it back into the dirt hole that she had dug it out from.
Patting the dirt back, she looked proud of herself, even if her paws were muddy and brown. She just wasnt letting anyone near her treasure! She looked around them, and when she was quite sure they were alone, and free to talk about whatever they liked,
she smiled.
"So what diabolic acts are we going to do tonight? A little killing, a little stalking, whats on your mind?" She asked, excitement in her voice. Unlike Mkali, Adanna tended to be a rather happy individual, so long as things went her way. Fiercely jealous,
and incredibly spiteful the female wasnt the easiest to get along with most times. She truly was unpredictable.
"Maybe we should set a jackal on a sisters tail. That would be fun." She grinned deviantly.
Mkali watched as her sister reburied the bone with no interest of digging it up later. It was pretty well-gnawed already and she didn’t like to quibble over such small things anyway. Better to let Adanna have the things she wanted Mkali knew from experience, it was just easier that way.
“We could kill something…” Mkali agreed, because that was always something she was ready to do. Ever since she’d learned to hunt she’d been very fond of it, especially the attack itself. The feel of her claws sinking into something living gave her a thrill that nothing else did. She’d only killed prey so far, but she knew that it wasn’t beyond her to kill something else… another feline maybe, or another lion. She knew her sister probably felt the same. She smirked at the idea of setting a jackal on one of their sisters. As far as Mkali was concerned, they all deserved it for one thing or another.
“I actually had something I wanted to talk to you about,” Mkali mused, watching her sister carefully to gauge her reaction, “I’ve been thinking recently about leaving our family and joining a pride. I wanted to know what you thought about it.”
A new pride? Shed never thought of that before. Mother took decent care of them and she knew that mother would miss them terribly. But the idea of exploring abd being their own selves? That was an idea that she was angry she hadnt had the idea herself. "Hmmmm... That isnt a bad idea. I would like to see the world... And all the handsome males in it.."
Mkali snorted, amused that Adanna was interested in males. Mkali herself left those matters to her sister, since usually males seemed more into her, anyway. But she was glad that Adanna liked the plan.
“I heard of a pride called the Mwana-a'Lela,” Mkali explained, recalling what she had heard earlier, “I’m not quite sure if this is true, but I heard they are hunters who worship blood.” If such a thing were true, Mkali thought, that was the place for her! And she hoped her sister would feel the same…
“Well, I know where to find their lands now,” Mkali continued, gazing off into the distance, “We could leave tonight. If you’d like.”
She thought about it rather deeply. It wasnt a decision to be made quickly.. But she was good at not really caring about much of anything. A wry grin speead across her maw as she thought aboit worshipping blood. That sounded perfect for her and her sister. No wonder Mkali wanted to leave! This place sounded great. She nodded with a chuckle. "I think this sounds like an adventure I cant turn down.." she purred.
“Okay.” Mkali stated this simply, unsurprised that her sister agreed with her. They agreed on many things. “Do you want to say goodbye to the family?” This statement seemed offhand coming from the dark lioness, who had clearly already made up her mind that she wasn’t going to bother with that. She cared for her other family… probably. But she knew that they wouldn’t be so far away that seeing them again one day would be impossible. She gazed off towards the dark horizon again… Secretly, she hoped the information she had gotten was right. There was no way of proving it since she’d never been to the pride’s lands before. But worst case scenario, she would be alone with her sister. So that wasn’t that bad, they could look out for one another.
No, saying goodbye would upset her, and that was one thing no one wanted. She was truly an evil little girl when she was upset.
She had a temper like no ones buisness, and a self entitled attitude. She was gods gift to her family but.. She really wasnt into
the sad thing. So she grinned, and walked next to her sister, nuzzling against her, and letting her back curve into the curve of her sisters
throat. Much like a domestic cat that had wandered upon its masters leg.
"No, no I think we should just go." She purred, looking at her sister lovingly, before pulling away and letting her tail fluff flick the other
against the leg. Though she was no where near attracted to her sister, since she was DUH! her sister.. She still felt this sort of..unnatural connection
to her, and was usually affectionate with her the way others might be a mate, or lover.
Mkali knew the way her sister felt and echoed it in herself. It was why they were so close and why Mkali would never dream of going off without Adanna. They were not mates or lovers but they shared an affection Mkali doubted she would ever be capable of feeling with any other lion family or not. Maybe this was the way twins felt, feeling like two parts of the same being?
Mkali purred as her sister rubbed against her, and nuzzled back. She felt strangely at peace now that these things had been decided, as though all her worries before had evaporated now. It didn't matter if there was nothing there now, Adanna and Mkali together were an unstoppable force!
“Okay,” Mkali stated simply, standing up gazing in the direction she had been told to go. “I'm glad we're doing this. I think it's he right choice.” And with that, she began to move in the deliberate, slow way she always did, knowing her sister would follow her, towards the Mwana-a'Lela lands...
