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Kuhesh was not happy. No, not at all. He was still lost, even though now he knew where he was. The problem was that, despite knowing where he was, he had no clue where that was in relation to his home. And what was worse, now there was a female hanging about with him. Anyone being near him long term (that being anything longer than a few breaths) was bad enough, but a FEMALE! They were trouble, and more so because to him they were forbidden. He was a half-soul, a lion born with half a soul, according to his pride's laws. He'd failed to kill his twin, who held the other half his soul...as such, it was taboo to even be too friendly with a female. He grit his teeth and snarled at nothing in particular. Now one was following him. Great.
Amuxiahd hadn't really meant to follow Kuhesh. She hadn't planned on seeing him again at all, but as her luck would have it, she had. It seemed that he always seemed to show up in the grounds she frequented most when hunting, and even when she traded hunting locations with other Mwindaji, somehow he would show up. It was annoying, having to see him everytime she went to gather food for the pride. She hadn't spoken to him since they'd first met, but on this particular day, something within her finally cracked. With an annoyed growl she finally approached the other lion, tail twitching behind her.
"Can I help you?"
Okay, that was it. Kuhesh had always tried to be a patient lion, though since leaving his home he'd been sorely pressed more than once. But this...this FEMALE just wouldn't leave him be. Couldn't she see the snarl on his lips? Or hear his grunts of anger? Probably she just was ignoring them. That pissed him off. She dared to say something, and he wheeled on her, eyes flashing and spit flying from his open-fanged mouth. "Yes you can help me! Stop following me! Leave me the hell alone and go back to your precious pride that you care so much about! I would if I could! I would..." He suddenly grew silent, steaming and furious at himself for saying that he couldn't go home.
Amuxiahd let out a low snarl when Kuhesh snapped at her, the fur on her haunches bristling upwards and her lips pulling back. She could already feel a snappy retort building on her lips, but it died down as he continued. With a long sigh, she allowed the tension to melt away, shaking her head. "I'm not following you. You just so happen to keep appearing when I am hunting. Believe me, you're not the only one annoyed with it. You have a bad habit of scaring away all the prey."
She was silent for a moment after that, pressing her lips together. She knew she was going to regret even asking, but somehow she felt the need to. "What happened that you can't go back to your pride?"
He managed a bitter growl when she condemned her poor hunting skills on him scaring the prey away. As if! He'd chased the hare before right to her. On accident maybe, but still. If there was no prey it was because she was looking in the wrong place, surely. Her probing question made him hiss angrily (when wasn't he angry?) and pace back and forth a few steps, tossing his head like a bull about to charge. Teeth clenched he spat, "I don't know where it is anymore." That was embarrassing, to be honest, but if she dared say anything he would slap the words right out of her mouth. The look on his face made that plainly clear.
A single brow rose at his explanation, but Amuxiahd didn't say a word. She would not belittle him for losing his way - even the best of lions did sometimes. And there was always the possibility that the pride was one of the very few that actually traveled with the seasons, which would make finding one's way back to it nearly impossible after a certain period of time. She was not ignorant to the ways of the world; she knew that there were a variety of reasons that could prevent a lion from returning to their home. After a long moment, she spoke up, reaching out to place a delicate paw into Kuhesh's path to halt his pacing. "I'm sure that is through no fault of your own, but perhaps it is good for you to spend some time in the rogue lands. New experiences keep the mind fresh and alert, and ready you to face anything."
For a brief moment he almost felt grateful to the lioness. She was being silent for one, and not laughing at him for another. He drew up with a snort when she blocked his path. Was this to become a habit then? Fine. He side stepped her and kept pacing. Until she spoke, at least. A curious look came over his face, and then at last he...laughed? It was a bitter laugh to be sure. "I knew you wouldn't understand, but thank you for trying to make me feel better. Were I still green as a wanderer, or maybe some whelp of a cub, your words would actually mean something to me."
Her eyes narrowed at his words, and for a brief moment she entertained the idea of wiping that look from his face. He could certainly do with an attitude adjustment, but now was not the time or place for her to be attacking him. She could just as easily cut him to the quick with words. "Oh, I understand perfectly well. You are bitter, and blame yourself for your inability to find your way back. You deflect this by lashing out at others when they offer you help or empathy, leaving you on your own and far more resentful than you would be otherwise. You are nothing but an overgrown child."
That was it. Without warning he turned on her, huge paw sailing through the air to slap her across the face. "SHUT UP." He roared, sending birds wheeling into and through the air overhead. "I do not blame myself for anything. My pride is sacred, and hidden. That I cannot find it does them honor. I wish to return to them so that I can die by THEIR paws as is dictated. Forgive me, your highness if being delayed in the only task I have left in this world, makes me a little put off. At least I have something to live for, if only for the time being." His words were venom, half spoken, half roared in her ear.
Amuxiahd snarled when his paw met her cheek, and without warning leapt forward. She forced all of her weight into the other lion's chest, forcing him to either tumble onto his back or push back. She growled low in her throat, rumbling against his ear. "That you would lie down and accept death at the paws of your own pride mates is a disgrace. Have you no will to live? To fight for your life and prove your worth?"
She pulled back then, crouching low to the ground and lashing her tail behind her. Every muscle was pulled taught and poised for the fight that would likely follow, and her ears were pressed flat against her head as she roared at Kuhesh. "Prove yourself, Kuhesh! Show me why I should allow you to die at their claws rather than someone else's!"
