Asali - Redbud-Tree
&
Fuu-penga - Das Tor
Asali sighed softly to herself as she meandered along. She wasn't heading in any particular direction - rather, she was letting her paws take her where they willed. It hadn't been very long ago that she was certain that she was incapable of taking another step, and even now she had yet to shed herself of the last vestiges of that bone-deep weariness that had plagued her during the long flight.
The Simbafutaji was a nice pride, she decided, though she knew that it would take a little time to feel at home here. She had old memories that still haunted her, particularly of the pride that she and her sister had last tried to make a home with, and though the gentle lioness knew that they would fade with time, it still made her sad to think of those whom the storm had taken.
But it was best not to think of such things right now. It was a beautiful day, everyone was long-since safe, and there were so many pride members that she had yet to meet! She wanted to meet as many of her new pridemates as she could; it would be wonderful to have new friends to talk to! Maybe she could even find someone to make Aanga happy. "Ooh, I wonder if there's someone here who can sweep her off her paws," Asali giggled to herself, wondering what Aanga would like in a mate.
Not that she was, um, going to be looking or anything. It was just all in idle fun!
Asali glanced around hurriedly, hoping that her sister wasn't in hearing distance, and nonchalantly resumed her stroll. She didn't see anyone around, so she dropped her guard and allowed her mind to wander as she walked. She probably wouldn't notice an elephant charging her until it was too late, at this point.
Fuu-penga was, quite bluntly, hyper. Oh sure, he was a sweet boy...but that day, he'd found some honey. And with honey came sugar, and with sugar came one very hyper little leotah cub. His brothers had long since zonked out with their mother. But Fuu...Fuu was running about, playing in the sand and chasing the surf. His mind had been filled with nothing but idle cub thoughts, until he ran smack dab into someone's front leg. The little purple fluffball made a squeaking sound, tumbling backwards and stopping on his back, little legs in the air.
"Oo...Did I run into a tree?" It certainly felt like he had! Though...were trees white and blue?
Asali blinked and looked down when something crashed into her, and she jumped in surprise when she saw that it was a cub. "A-ah, where did you come from?" she asked, tilting her head at the tiny thing. Then another thought occured to her, and she dipped her head down to sniff at the upside-down little fellow. "Are you okay? You didn't hurt yourself when you ran into me, did you?" Oh, she hoped not - it would be a sad thing to see and adorable little one like this be hurt, especially after something simple...
Fuu blinked, then smiled brightly. "Oh no, I'm not hurt, miss!" He rolled over onto his tummy, then turned to face her. "I came from playing over there." He pointed to a group of tide pools. "There's nifty things in there, especially after the tide goes back out!" He loved living on the beach! "You're new, aren't you? I'm Fuu-penga!" His smile grew to a grin. "Nice to meet you, miss!"
Oh, this cub was just too cute - and full of energy. Asali smiled and obligingly looked out over the tidepools, before turning back to the little one. "Nice to meet you, Fuu-penga," she said, taking a seat so that she didn't tower over him quite so much. "I'm Asali, and you're right - I am new here! Maybe you can tell me what it's like to live here!"
Fuu sat, his tail twitching back and forth as he swayed from side to side. "Well...it's lots of fun, Miss Asali! There's lots to do and see, and when we wanna see something new, we can go Seeking! Or...the grown-ups can, anyways. Mama says outside is so big, a cub could get lost easy!" He looked up at her with wide eyes. "Is it that big, miss?"
Asali nodded. "Oh yes, it's very big. Actually, it's so big that a grown-up can get lost, unless they're really clever - but that just means that there's lots to learn out there too, I think," she said, wanting to be realistic yet keep from frightening the little one "If you know what you're doing, though, it's not too scary - my sister Aanga kept both of us safe, and we never got lost!"
It was so big that GROWN-UPS got lost in it?! That obviously flabbergasted the young leotah, his eyes growing wider. "You have an awesome sister if you never got lost!" He tilted his head to one side. "I've got two big sisters. But I only see Jua a lot."
Oh, that was something Asali could entirely agree with! "I do have an awesome sister," she said, and stretched out on the sand to peer, nose-to-nose, at Fuu. "I only have one sister, but I see her all the time. Do you have good sisters? It looks to me like they have an amazing little brother!"
Fuu giggled in a cubbish manner and nodded. "Yeah! They're really awesome! And I've got two brothers, the same age as me!" He grinned again. "They're sleeping with Mama right now."
“Wow," Asali said, smiling. "It must be fun to have brothers; I never had any. What's it like?" Really, a grown lioness probably shouldn't be having so much fun just talking to a tiny cub, but Asali didn't particularly care - one new friend was the same as another, regardless of age. Besides, she hadn't been around cubs very much in her life, and it was interesting to talk with one at length. And Fuu was adorable company, at that!
Fuu thought. "Well...I get to wrestle and play with them a lot! And...and they're just like me in how they're made, so they don't ever look at me funny! Some new creatures do that sometimes. But...but it's awesome, 'cause Ten SEES things like our sister Jua!"
Sees.. things? Asali wasn't quite sure what that meant, but she had a vague idea of Seers, so that might have been what he was referring to. "Anyone who looks at you funny just doesn't know how awesome you are," she said, swishing her tail dismissively. "They're just silly - is Ten one of your brothers?" How cruel of others to make this little one feel like he was different - a cub was a cub was a cub. At least, that's what she thought!
Fuu nodded. "Uh-huh! Ten's the youngest of us! He's the bestest brother ever...even if he can be a little creepy at times." He grinned. "You sound like my Mama! You should meet her!" His Mama always said he and his siblings were perfect gifts.
"You know Fuu, I think I'd like that," Asali said, smiling. "Your mama sounds very nice, but thn I guess I shouldn't be surprised." She paused and tilted her head, sitting up again. "After all, she has a very nice son!"
Fuu ducked his head, slightly embarrassed. "It's 'cause I got such a good Mama." He stood and danced around Asali a bit. "Come on! I'll lead ya to Mama!" He knew she'd like her! And his Mama always loved meeting new faces!
Asali got to her paws and stretched for a moment. "Alright then! You can introduce us," she said, unable to keep from giggling happily as the cub dancd around her. "Lead the way!"
Fuu grinned and started off, tail swishing behind him as he ran. His pace would be easy to keep up with...after all, he was still a small cub.
