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 Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 6:16 pm
Dah sighed as he moved through the rogue lands. He wasn't particularly interested in hunting, he'd had a rather decent meal the day before. Though that meal had been soured by the appearance of a very disagreeable lioness, one he cared little for. Luckily he doubted he would never meet her again. Little did he know that she was going to be living in the pridelands soon.
It was good to have a walk out of the pridelands once in a while though, good for clearing his mind. Yesterday had not gone well at all, he'd meant to socialize but... well. He guessed old habits dyed hard.
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Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 6:31 pm
 Mwezi had a good kill in the antelope she had laying nearby. She had already eaten from it, so she might as well take the time to practice her dancing again. One must never be out of practice on dancing. She rarely practiced her singing or her drum playing, but dancing, well, that was a different story. She did not think of the fact that someone might happen upon her while she was dancing, or even that they might think the activity odd.
Mwezi was lost in the beat that she felt in her heart. Her steps timed to that beat and moved with a flawless grace and smooth motions. The bangles on her paws jangled along, giving life to the beat inside and making her very aware of her paws mistepped, even without her having to watch them. She did not notice the male that approached until he was almost on top of her. At that point, she had to stop what she was doing and greet him, lest she be rude. With a soft smile and a matching voice, she spoke to him, "Good day to you, sir."
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Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 6:58 pm
He walked for a while, walked until he spied something odd in the distance. There was a lioness it seemed, moving about very oddly. At first glance he'd become slightly stiff, his muscles tense, because her pelt was dark like that other females. But as he came closer he realized the markings were completely different; they were not the same lioness. He was curious what she was doing, but not so involved that the smell of a fresh kill didn't effect his senses. He glanced around, spying the carcass not far off. Good, a huntress. Unless she'd just decided to scavenge it? No, the smell seemed too fresh.
He was planning on passing by, still unable to make up his mind the proper way to start a conversation with another. But she spoke to him as he passed and it caused him to stop and eye her skeptically. "Hello." The word was stated gruffly, not exactly unfriendly but not very pleasantly either. "What is it that you're doing there?" He asked almost without thinking it through, though he was slightly curious. He'd never seen a lion dance before, it was only natural to be curious.
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Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 7:39 pm
Mwezi paused at the question and tried to keep her disappointment to herself. How many lions in the world did not know what dancing was? This was the second male she had run into like this. And she had not met that many lions outside her pride! It was criminal that they did not know what dancing was. She was sure it wasn't everyone outside her pride that was like that, but it was still so discouraging to have met another like that.
She keeps her voice soft as she answers the rather gruff male. "I was dancing. You have never seen anyone dance before?" She did not like the gruff tone the male was using toward her, but she figured it must be his nature. She hoped his nature was not completely unpleasant. She might loose her patience with him if it was. Or do something not so nice like 'teaching him a lesson.' She really did not want to give in to THOSE kinds of temptations.
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Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2012 6:09 am
Though there was something alluring about the way the lioness had moved, overall Dah could only think that it looked a little foolish. Perhaps because of how foreign the movement had been... Wouldn't it just be easier to get snuck up on if you weren't paying attention like that? "No, I haven't." He answered bluntly, one eyebrow raising. How was that supposed to be something one should see? "I think it looks quite ridiculous." Dah often came off offensively, even when he meant no harm.
"Though... it did tug at my heart strings just a little." He added, with a rather wickedly mischievous grin on his maw. Right, his heart strings. Clearly he found something amusing with his words though, though most would never understand his private humor.
Ah! Now was his chance to meet someone, they hadn't gotten into a fight within the first two minutes! "Ah, My name is Dahabu'Chunuka. Er, Dah is fine though." Most of the time he considered that his name was hideous, he despised it. "Do you have a name, or should I just refer to you as the ridiculous dancer?" His brows raised questioningly, the same grin still on his maw.
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Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2012 10:42 am
Mwezi raised an eyebrow at the male, but kept her town civil and even gentle. He was gruff and perhaps a bit rude, but that was something she would just have to deal with for the moment. It did not make her a happy lioness to hear his comments about dancing being ridiculous, but she guessed that to someone that had never seen it before, would not appreciate it quite as she did. "I am sure that to someone that has not seen it before, it would look strange. I was raised with dancing and music, to me it is not so odd."
She had to wonder what the male meant with the way he said about heart strings. There was a part of her that advised she probably did not want to know the answer to that question. There were a lot of odd things in the world, or so she was finding now that she had left her pride and ventured out into it. She probably ranked this male among the top of the list of 'odd things' she had come across. His paws were pretty, though, so at least she had something to appreciate on him.
Mwezi was just about to give him her name when he suggested something to call her. She took a deep breath and as she let it out, her calm came right back into her as if nothing had been out of place. "It is very nice to meet you, Dahabu'Chunuka. I will be honored to call you Dah. I am Mwezi'Nuru. You may call me Mwezi." That grin on his muzzle made her want to hide out of notice like she did as a cub in her pride. Perhaps it would be just as nice to wipe it off his muzzle at some point. She would have to see.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:10 am
If he was offending her, he didn't notice. Heck, if he had noticed he probably wouldn't have cared. "Hmm, I guess that's a good point. What, have other lions seen you do that?" He sounded skeptical. "I mean... I can't think of anyone I know looking at that and going, 'oh swell, you're dancing!'" Mostly because he doubted any of his pride members knew what dancing was. Maybe some of them did. "Don't you find it odd that no one knows what that is? I mean... besides whoever it was you learned it from." Maybe she was from a different pride?
Dah smirked a little, feeling like the female was very patient. Here was where the trouble started, because he always had an itching desire to test the limits of patience in others. Sometimes it happened a lot faster than he expected, that usually turned into an explosive fight. "Mwezi huh? What about Nuru, may I call you that?" His brows climbed on his head as he slowly sat himself down, uninvited. He finally glanced over to the kill, not far off. A few vultures has landed on and near it now, were picking at the remains. "You catch that? At least your urge to hunt isn't odd."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:03 am
Mwezi sat down as soon as the male did. It was very much a point of if he wanted to be comfortable she would be too. "Nobody has ever called me Nuru, but if you wish to be special, I am sure you could. I just cannot promise that I would always respond right away. It is not something I am used to being called." She was starting to get beyond irritation with him. She guessed she was getting used to his special kind of irritation. "I find it odd that others do not know the joy of dancing, yes, but my whole pride danced. My mother was my teacher."
"It is likely my littermates did not learn to dance as they went with my father to his pride. I do not know if his pride dances or not." She was starting to wonder about this male. Either he was very curious, or he just liked poking at things. She was going to hope for the first one. "My hunting urges are like anyone else, I get hungry and I hunt. I am not the best nor the worst hunter. Hunting is always easier with a partner to drive it to an ambush. What about you, Dah? Are you a hunter? Do you have a pride?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 1:53 pm
He snorted. "Want to be special?" He repeated, finding the very idea slightly amusing. Wasn't every creature on this earth special? "Or maybe all the same." He murmured out loud, not filling the lioness in on his thoughts. She seemed to be skirting his question anyhow, giving an answer that implied that she did find it strange, but at the same time didn't. Ah, whatever. "What good is joy in this world?" He asked this question seriously, as if he really didn't understand. It wasn't necessarily true, he was at his happiest and most joyful when he was hunting.
"I doubt it." He said skeptically. How many prides did that sort of thing? It was weird... what was the point of it? And now with her whole philosophy on hunting... He sighed slightly. "I see. You enjoy impractical over practical. Yes, I'm a hunter. A good hunter, at least I think so. And I come from the Pridelands." He didn't bother explaining it, he felt like almost every lion must have known about the pridelands. It was weird if they didn't, wasn't it? "We're not dances." He grinned here. "But we do have some talented hunters... certainly many more talented than myself." At least he could admit to something like that! "It's too bad you don't take more pride in your hunting skills." At least she wasn't off begging for someone else's meal, right?
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 4:06 pm
Mwezi smiled a little at the male. "The pride I was raised in believed that dancing and music lifted the hearts of the hunters and would mean their next day's hunt would be better for it. I do not prefer impractical things, I just know what I am better at is dancing, not hunting." She looked off into the distance for a moment. "I am sure I will become a much better hunter with time now that I am out on my own... I am sure your pride is very proud to have you as a hunter." She wasn't trying to feed his ego, it was a simple statement of fact to her.
"I will take more pride in my hunting skills when I have had more time to practice them and have something to be proud of... less than perfection at anything is nothing to brag over." And she did not brag over much if anything. Mwezi was nothing if not humble on most things, but she had her moments. "Your paw markings are nice." She had been looking at his paws a lot over the conversation, so she should know. She had met few others with paw markings that stood out like hers. It also gave her a way to take the male off paw by a change of subject.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 4:33 pm
"Hmm." He seemed to actually consider her words, but then shook his head. "I guess some good luck is... a good thing." He said slowly, grudgingly. He really believed hunting had to do ninety-nine percent with skill, and maybe one percent luck. He knew other things could affect a days hunt; weather, location, other predators out hunting. Still, he privately thought such superstitions were over the top. He was learning to hold his tongue though, because he did not want to happen what had transpired the day before. He was sick of always being by himself, never socializing. "Hah, hardly. My pride is so large... I doubt many know who kills what. I don't participate in hunting parties usually." He liked hunting by himself, even though it limited what he could hunt.
His eyes narrowed a little as he studied her face. He decided she was telling the truth, she was a perfectionist. "I respect that." He said, a little more softly than any of his other words. "It's good to work hard, good to improve yourself." His tail flicked and he looked down to his paws, raising one slightly. He'd always thought the colors to be slightly... unattractive. Not to mention a big bother while hunting. "A gift from a father I never knew." He said sarcastically, and then laughed. His humor often seemed crude, but it also could be bitter and sarcastic. "Yours are much more beautiful though." He gestured to them, glancing to the sky. "They remind me of clouds. The contrast with your dark fur is lovely as well." He didn't know many lions with white markings, to be honest.
"A lot of my pride carries pelt colors of golds and browns, for the most part."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 5:17 pm
"I try to work hard at everything I do... It has yet to fail me in any respect." Mwezi smiled and curled her tail around on her paws. "Hunting with others can be very pleasant... if one likes company. I cannot see anyone missing you no matter how large your pride is." The way she said it, showed that she was taking his company as good company now. He had made up for being gruff the longer they talked. Though she did wonder a bit about him still.
Mwezi looked at her own paws again and chuckled. "Yes, they are a bit like clouds... I barely remember my father, only met him once and was given the choice to go with him or stay with my mother. I was the only one that wished to keep our mother company. I think the adventure of going to a new place appealed to the others." She did regret leaving her mother now, but she was going to find Aziz. She had to as far as she was concerned. "There were many different colors and patterns in my pride... Mother gave me the dark fur at the little bits of yellow... my father gave us white and some blue-grey if I remember correctly."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:03 pm
It wasn't that Dah didn't like company, in fact he yearned for company and contact with other lions often... he just knew he was bad at socialization, for the most part. Right now was going terrifically, if he compared it to how interactions had gone in the past. After things with Ki and him had sort of blown up... well, he just stopped trying with others. He felt if he was such a bad guy, as the gold and red female had pointed out, than he would play that part. "Er... thank you?" He cleared his throat, and for the first time there was a tentative, almost shy smile touching his maw.
"I... never met my father, myself. I think my mom was lonely... it's just me." He frowned though, glancing down to his paws. "Well, I do have some half siblings but..." That was a rather sour subject with him, he felt as though his mother was throwing him away when she'd taken a new mate and announced she was pregnant. It'd been just he and his mom for so long that... no, that wasn't quite right, was it? Ki's mom had watched after him most of the time, and Dah did not get along well with Vikali. "Er, anyways." He wasn't sure what to say, he'd never opened up about these sorts of things with another before. "I guess I don't come from the most ideal of family situations... my mom had a hard time taking care of me when I was very young. Usually her friend looked after me, she had cubs my age." But he'd gotten on best with Ki, mostly because her mother taught the boys that they were objects of beauty, something to be looked at and nothing more. It was disgusting! "It's sort of the reason I work so hard at my hunting, you know? The female that took care of me... she didn't really... er... I guess she just saw males differently? Like... like they needed taking care of, and couldn't do anything for themselves."
Boy he felt like he was talking a lot! He glanced up, meeting her eyes. "Sorry, I don't mean to ramble." This was... odd. Not exactly awkward or anything, it just made him feel... different.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:33 pm
Mwezi sat there and listened closely to what the male had to say, especially once it seemed he started to open up to her. He did not seem at all gruff any more. He seemed rather lonely really. She could relate to being lonely. Was she not out on her own away from her pride of birth and with no idea of when she would be in another pride again? It was not an easy journey. This poor male was surrounded by a huge pride but still felt alone and distant from them. She wondered why that was.
When he mentioned half siblings, something dawned on her. Half siblings could mean a new mate for his mother, perhaps... She could not have imagined her mother getting a mate in the pride and how it would feel to have siblings by him. The fact that he was taken care of by a friend of his mother made Mwezi wince. Her mother may have struggled at times, but she was never shoved off on someone else. She reached out a paw and touched the male's chest. "You were not rambling. You were speaking from your heart. Males can do much for themselves, but taking care of a male can be a nice gesture." She winked at him and smiled a little brighter.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:52 pm
He couldn't help but smile gently at her, feeling encouraged by her words. He hadn't been able to speak to another so intimately since his days with Ki, and those had long since passed. As she placed her paw on his chest he felt almost felt nervous, and he thought that was almost laughable. But how long had it been since he'd actually had physical contact with another? Arg, sometimes he felt as though he'd screwed his life up big time!
"Um... thank you." He mumbled, clearly he was slightly embarrassed. But what was he supposed to speak about now that he'd brought up such a serious subject? "Would you like to take a walk?" He suddenly asked, deciding that it might be the best course to 'change the subject'. Not to mention the sun was starting to head for the horizon, which Dah considered to be the nicest time for walks, when it was becoming evening.
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