Despite his comfortable status, life for Badiri had been anything but pleasant for the last little while. His family seemed to be in such a mess. He and Ukene stood up for their son, who deserved far better than he got, and it cost them both some reputation, Ukene her job and Badiri his best friend. Even before the pride went a little crazy and blamed the slaves, Badiri worried about his cubs. Now it seemed to be all he could focus on, but part of that seemed to be to draw his focus away from the awkwardness that was developing between him and his mate.
Hoping to find one of his sons or his daughter, he had headed for a common area the slaves tended to rest and present themselves for any work. It was very quiet as he approached but he refused to change his path. Perhaps one of them would show up soon.
Ulivuma was hanging around in the central pridelands where he knew anybody looking to give a slave something to keep them busy would look first. He wasn't particularly busy and he knew it was important to look helpful more now than ever. He was laying in the sun, enjoying the quiet while he could. Someone would be along, someone would have something for him to do.. whether it was a pridemate in need of some assistance or a friend.
He wasn't all that surprised when Badiri approached-- until he realized it was Badiri and not one of his sons. There were a number of slaves who looked quite similar to Badiri after all. Even once he realized, he couldn't help but stare. It was easy to guess why he was there.. but if it wasn't seeking out family, it would be kind of awkward to talk to him now. No reason to get worked up, though!
It took Badiri some looking around to notice that there was, in fact, someone else around. Ulivuma blended in much better than most of Badiri's own family. Most surprising, though, was the fact that he was looking at him. He paused to stare back, reviewing what he knew of the lad. A slave, son of Unyezi. Not a bad guy, as Badiri generally found of the slaves where he and Ukene had to deal with them because of their cubs. One of his daughters was shaman now.. and another had taken Ukene's job. There was no use blaming him but it still made Badiri uneasy. Especially since everything else already had him on edge.
And because they were both staring, of course, he had to approach. With a sigh, he moved in closer to the other lion. He could be polite and ask about his sons.
Sigh.
Ulivuma knew he was caught staring and after the initial moment of panic passed, he decided not to look away. It was rude to stare but it would be worse to ignore a guard around a common slave area. If he wasn't here looking for help he might simply be checking in.
With a sigh of his own, he pushed himself up to his feet and put on a small smile.
"Good afternoon," he offered politely, "Is there something I can do for you?"
Badiri made note of how Uli got to his feet, carried himself rather passively and spoke politely. Hard to dislike him even from the start out here, even if he couldn't stop thinking about his connection to the priests. He probably had a part in encouraging them, after all, he was probably a good father.
"Good afternoon," he returned, "I came looking for my sons, do you know where they are?"
He couldn't help but be more stiff and awkward than necessary. He needed to find a way to relax but this certainly wasn't the time. He needed his best friend to rant at, but half of it would be about that best friend so that wasn't going to happen.
"Of course," Ulivuma murmured, pausing to think about where they had all disappeared to, "I haven't seen all of them today. I believe Lunik and Wamba went off to help in a hunt, I did see Koray around but I don't know where he went off to. Mazin left with Aysu, she looked like she might need some help with the cubs."
Who did that leave? There were two others and then the daughter, Didi. But he hadn't seen them. He took a breath, pondering mentioning that, but he decided it was unnecessary.
Badiri nodded, that was four of the seven. Perhaps one of the absent three might appear.. or one of the named four might return shortly, depending on if they had been gone long. He had no idea there was a hunt right now, but maybe Ukene had just forgotten to mention it. He didn't exactly say where he was going.
"How long ago did they leave?" he asked, pondering his next move.
"It's hard to say, but it was some time ago," he said, trying to think back, "The hunt was most recent and takes the longest, I wouldn't expect them back soon."
Was the guard going to stick around until they showed up?? That seemed unusual. At least Ulivuma was pleasant and out-going enough to deal with it, but even he wasn't immune to the awkwardness in their meeting. He felt bad for Badiri but it would have been inappropriate for a slave to show it.
"If you'd like to wait here, I'd be happy to keep you company."
Badiri did a very good job not reacting to the offer of company. It was kind but unwelcome, Badiri was having a hard time handling just asking him about where his sons had gotten off to. He hesitated before responding.
"No, I'd like you to go and see if you can find them," he said, "Mazin should be easiest to find, tell him I am looking for him. And if you run into any of the others. They'll know where to find me."
He immediately regretted it but this interaction had to end now. It wasn't a good day to be social.
Ulivuma was taken aback and he was far worse at hiding his reaction than Badiri, but he was quick to nod and put on a smile to cover it up. Not an unheard of request, though rare amongst the things slaves were sent to do.. by those that were not noble, at least.
"Of course," he said, "I'll do what I can."
With one more nod, he immediately set to work. He walked past the guard, not daring to glance back but unable to stop himself from making a face. It was lucky Badiri couldn't see him or it would have been way worse. He didn't know what to make of what just happened.
Badiri returned the nod and settled himself in, watching Ulivuma go off. Today wasn't a very good day, but maybe one of his sons would cheer him up in the end. Then it would be worth it.
Fin!
