Astar:
The huntresses had been more than a little successful during the morning hunt but the young patched lioness was once again heading out to the borders of the pride. Her totem, the wild dog Kuma, had told her of a small herd he’d found during his latest scouting expedition and she was steadily making her way to that location as the sun slowly approached the horizon. A cold breeze ruffled the long hairs that hid her forehead marking but apart from her sleeked coat, there were no signs Astar was feeling uncomfortable.
She had to keep practicing if she wanted to improve her hunting skills so these kind of exercises weren’t unusual: finding prey on her own, stalking a herd for as long as she could, seeing how close she could get to them without being noticed – something that was much easier when the weight of the pride’s meals wasn’t on her shoulders. She wasn’t planning on taking down anything though, the idea of a needless kill firmly against the beliefs of her pride and herself. So even if the opportunity neatly presented itself, all the creatures around her, from hares to gazelles, were quite safe this evening. The thought amused her and Astar couldn’t help but to chuckle lightly and grin a little as she hastened her pace.
Cain & Asalitibua:
"Cain. Cain! Are you even listenin'?" A chipper voice broke through the warrior's thoughts as Cain patrolled the En Gedi lands. He had been lost in thought over his mother's latest vision. She Saw things rather frequently in her dreams, and recently she had been Seeing a dark cloud. It wasn't coming over the new lands of the pride or anything like that, it was just a dark cloud. For all they knew, it could just mean rain and lots of it. The problem was, he wasn't sure and it had been consuming his thoughts for a few days now. He barely noticed Tibby, even with her chatting away on his back. She was a huge parrot, but he was strong enough that her perched on his shoulders didn't bother him much.
But did she talk. Usually he couldn't tune her out, but today he seemed extra distracted.
He didn't even see the lioness of his pride until he was almost stumbling over her.
"Cain! Watch where you're goin', you're trippin' over ladies!" Tibby squawked, her wings flapping a bit as her "perch" backtracked a few steps.
"Oh, excuse me," he said, blinking a bit at the huntress, not sure he recognized her. He knew she was in the pride with him, but for the life of him he didn't know her name.
Astar:
Astar was so focused on looking ahead that she barely noticed the approaching lion. Still, something perched on said lion was making enough noise for the two of them so Astar got a pretty good look at him before they almost collided. She’d seen this lion before. They were about the same age though he might be a little older - like her brother Zakai - so it was only natural that she would recognize him. He was one of the pride’s Warriors, she believed.
“Oh-!“ Astar made a tiny sound as he finally saw her, quickly taking a few steps back as well. She thought he’d noticed her a lot quicker that he had, otherwise she would’ve called out to him. “Cain, right?”
The young lioness wouldn’t have remembered his name even if she tried - she’d merely heard the bird’s words - but it was fun to pretend she knew who he was.
Cain & Asalitibua:
Cain's ears perked up at the sound of his name from the lioness. Tibby and her big mouth. Thank the gods she wasn't a foe, or the bird would give him away in a heartbeat. But that wasn't really true. Tibby was always with him and usually didn't cause a problem. If he noticed something odd, he would simply shift his shoulders a bit and she would quiet, sometimes taking to the air to help him by seeing the area in a different view. This was his fault, he had been distracted and not paying attention to his own duties as he blundered into the duties of others.
"Yes, and this is Asalitibua, Tibby. Um, forgive me, I'm at a loss with your name," he replied, dipping his head politely. He could take a moment from his rounds, he needed to clear his head anyways. And becoming familiar with more of his pride members was certainly a worthy task. His mother hadn't kept him sheltered, he'd just wanted to stay close to her and his family, to protect them. Unfortunately, that meant he didn't have many friends.
Astar:
“Hello.” She greeted the bird, silently pondering on the meaning of a parrot totem. “Asaliti…bua? Quite a mouthful, I do hope you have nickname.” Both lions had pretty short names in comparison.
“It’s quite alright. If my totem was here, he would’ve given my name away as well. I’m Astar. Daughter of Yehudah and Chana?” Though he might know her brother or even her beautiful and lively sister, Astar refrained from adding any more names. It would be a little weird to give her entire family tree to someone she had just met, wouldn’t it? “Are you on patrol?”
Cain & Asalitibua:
"You can call her Tibby, though I assure you her name greatly fits the amount of talking she can do," Cain replied with a wry smile, only to receive a light peck to the back of his head from his totem.
"Mind I don' give you a harder tap, next time you mouth off like that," Tibby replied in an annoyed, yet with an underlying tone of amusement. It was true after all.
"I think I remember when your family came to us, Astar," he added with a nod, ignoring the bird on his back. He glanced off, looking a little sheepish.
"I was, actually, but I wasn't doing a very good job of it..."
Astar:
Astar grinned at the parrot, greatly amused by her actions and words. They seemed to have to share the same kind of close relationship she had with Kuma and that was a very warm thought.
“I’m sure that between the two of you, nothing gets inside the borders without being seen.” She said, still grinning. Though it was a little amusing that he’d taken a while to notice her, it was natural for a Warrior to pay more attention to what came from outside the pride that what stirred within the borders. Thinking about her life before joining the En Gedi, however, was something she worked very hard to keep hidden in the depths of her mind so her grin faltered a bit when Cain spoke of the past. “Yes, we were lucky to have found our way here.”
Cain & Asalitibua:
"I'll admit my mind was on other things. I even managed to tune her out for once," Cain explained, jerking his head back a bit when he referenced his bird.
"Well I never! That's it, see if I talk to you anymore!" Tibby cried in feigned indignation and flapped off his back, winging her way over to a nearby tree. She did her best to look uninterested in the pair of lions, but she was actually rather keen on what transpired between them in her absence.
Cain sighed and shook his head. The change in Astar's smile didn't go unnoticed; he marked it with a change in his own expression.
"Did I say something wrong?" He wasn't trained for this. Fighting and watching, sure, but interacting with others was a completely different matter. His mother and Tamar and his siblings were fine, Tibby he'd known since he was growing into his mane so she was almost family. His mother's mate was something of another story, but at the least he could talk to the lion as he was close. Talking to others... There were things he didn't know, things that they might favor or dislike, topics to avoid or bring up.
Needless to say, it was tough for Cain to meet new individuals.
Astar:
The green-eyed lioness smiled as the parrot made a sudden change of perch and slowly leaned back to sit even if she wasn’t – consciously, at least - planning on talking for very long.
“Oh no, no! You didn’t say anything wrong.” Astar said quickly but then hesitated for a bit as she tried to find the right words. “I just don’t like thinking about what happened before we came here. Things weren’t easy out there.”
And while she wasn’t exactly keen on elaborating, being cryptic at this particular moment might be a little rude.
“My parents were always away on hunts and my older brother had to watch me and my sister.” And they were hungry all the time. But that was just too much information at the moment and the young lioness made a not-so-subtle change of subject, a tone becoming more lively. “So… have you seen anything interesting lately?”
Cain:
Cain understood her position. He didn't like to think of life outside of the pride, either. Evil things lurked outside of his home, just as good things. But at the very least, in the pride all the members had someone they could come to, to lean on. Nothing terrible had ever happened to him, but his grandparents were dead because of outsiders, before his mother was even half-grown. And his mother...
It had been no secret among the family and the king, the origins of Yokheved's pregnancy. A crazed lion had been hunting his "older brother" Li and their mother had stood against him. He overpowered her and took liberties no male should ever take from a female. His mother loved them very much, and they her. It was why Cain had been determined to be a warrior, to protect her from anything else that could hurt her.
He blinked his own thoughts away and shook his head.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. To be honest, I prefer it that way. It's best when we warriors don't have things to fight." It was true after all. Sure, they sparred to keep in fighting form, but most preferred that they not have to use their skills.
Astar:
While what had happed to Yokheved might be regarded as public knowledge within the pride, it had happened before Astar’s family had joined the En Gedi and even then, it was not a matter easily or carelessly discussed with younger lions. Therefore, the green-eyed lioness did not know much of Cain’s past. Still, she believed she saw a shadow briefly cross the lion’s expression and in that moment, Astar couldn’t help but to feel a sort of kinship towards him.
“Not having to fight is good. A sign of peaceful days.” she stood up – which might be seen as amusing considering she had just sat down a moment before – and took a few steps towards Cain. She had always been very intuitive, very sensitive to the emotions of others and it was not in her nature to ignore a sudden shift in someone’s mood especially when it might’ve been triggered by her presence. But neither it was to openly acknowledge what she’d observed. “Hopefully not too boring when you’re out here on your own… with Tibby, of course.” She’d almost forgotten about the large parrot watching them from the tree.
“I should get going.” She said with a gentle smile, moving past the warrior at a slow pace, her tail flicking in a way that the pale tuft brushed against the Cain’s side. The fact that she had just met him was barely enough to contain her urge to give the lion a friendly and perhaps encouraging nudge, something that she would’ve certainly done had he been her sister, her parents, her brother… or just about any of her closest friends. “I want to get back before it gets dark.”
Cain:
Cain watched her stand and gave her a small nod.
"Not really boring. There's always something to do, or think about. And there's no loss for company," he replied, glancing away to give his totem an apologetic look. He sighed when she fluffed up her feathers and snubbed him. It was all bluster, he knew, but it was still somewhat exasperating.
Bright green eyes followed Astar as she passed him, catching the smile and returning it with a small one of his own.
"My watch goes into the night," he said a little offhandedly, his own tail-tuft brushing against hers as he turned to watch her go.
"Travel safely, Astar. Maybe next time we'll have time to talk at greater length." Why he was compelled to say that, he'd probably never know. She was rather pleasant company and he wanted to know a bit more about her. He really didn't know anyone besides his family, his mother would probably think it wonderful for him to meet with someone his own age that wasn't his brother or sister.
Astar:
Astar was still looking back when their tails brushed against one another and her smile widened ever so slightly, taking it as a sign that Cain hadn’t been offended by her small gesture.
“I’d like that.” She said honestly, grinning as she turned her head away. But it took only a few steps before she twisted her neck to look at the green-eyed lion again. “Maybe we’ll meet again when I return.” Astar was always eager to widen her circle of friends and to keep creating roots that tied her to the pride. Now, it seemed she might’ve just made a friend and the young lioness was rather happy about it.
Cain & Asalitibua:
Cain nodded slightly and turned away, walking to the tree Tibby still sat in.
"She was nice." Cain looked up at the parrot.
"And you were rather rude," he replied as she flapped down, landing rather heavily on his shoulders.
"You couldn't let the snide comments end. 'sides, I was thinkin' it might be nice for you to have some time with a lady to yourself. Make a friend and all that," the parrot shot back with a small wink of her big blue eye. Cain merely huffed and headed back towards patrol.
But he did glance back once, maybe twice to see if he still had a glimpse of gray and white fur.
