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Thabiti rested at the Red Quarters, his attention alert but his posture was at ease. Laying as a sphinx with forepaws turned inward, keeping them off the sand when able. He watched as the going-ons of the Fire kin and the other Hongshan's daily lives here at the Motoujamii, but since the recent events, they were acting as if they were on a mission. Each member that seemed to pass his gaze strode with such urgency that it was as if they had no time to talk. He hoped this wasn't what it was like regularly or relaxation between training will be nothing but watching urgent-walking-lions, and that was going to get dull quite fast if that was the case.

Since the events of the southern post attack and the immigration of the escaped Hongshan, the members of the Motoujamii were fewer than usual. The leader, he assumed, had allowed the members to wander beyond the boarders in search of water. At least, that was what he believed. Understandable, but he wondered why they hadn't already done that already. They were living in a blasted desert! How they lived thus far with little water was beyond him, and he would soon find that he, too, will have to adapt to their lifestyles or grow weaker.

The dark lion keeps attention, picking up small phrases of passing lions of the tongue they've chosen to use - one that Navwlee has ordered them to use as well. Also, thoughts have plagued him of a fellow member and of other things. His paws were slowly healing but they still itched from time to time. He was growing restless and the urgent-passing-lions helped none.

"Thinking, yes. Lot on mind." He nodded as he looked into his paws. Her presence didn't go unnoticed as her presence was all too familiar to him that he noticed long before she sat beside him. His paws flexed, flaking off the dried blood that had caked onto his pawpads. They'll likely scar, but it will just be another reminder of a hardship he had to face through his life. "Serious, I do not think so."

Turning to his sister-in-arms, he looked her over. She seemed well, she wasn't running around with her head cut off like everyone else seemed to be. And she was still here, so perhaps she didn't want to wander over the borders like the rest of the prid emembers to seek out the water that they desparately needed. She was here with him and the other Hongshan.

"Do you not want to go to other lands?" He asked. "It will be adventure and you be safe with Fire kin. Just like here." Curious thought really. He was half tempted to go himself, but the looks the Firekin gave him was annoying. It seemed as if they only tolerated him because their leader said so. If he was stuck with a group of them, he was sure his temper would go high and he was bound to swing at someone if they pushed his buttons the wrong way.

"If I should go," he answered plainly. And by that he meant with the Fire kin on their adventure outside their lands to places unknown and different than this. He wondered if he could be of some help, to win favor with the Fire kin, to make them respect the Hongshan, to see their usefulness. At the same time, he could not see himself around them for long periods of time without doing something. "What do we do here?" the dark lion asked. With the pride up and about, perhaps the Hongshan are left here to defend the territory, but there were still handful of lions here that were native.

"Neither do I, but they live with us. We live with them. We will have to spend time with them," Thabiti tried to justify for some reason when he agreed with Tswana, he didn't want to spend more time with then. But perhaps it will enable him to learn more of their language, forge some bond with the native to be accepting, and perhaps even train some.

He smirked. "Though I like staying here, but my paws are restless."

"The Fire kin look ready. But if they find no water, what will they do?" He questioned. It was only logical that a force of this size would require some decent amount of resources to fuel such an impressive army. Without it, even the mightest of armies that even gods could muster would fall to starvation and thirst. Putting it in that light, water was probably the best idea to find at the moment.

Thabiti nudged her with a more stern expression.

"Do not wish for them to come. They don't need to come. If they are not ready, they will be crushed and we be slave again. I am not going back, keksar (sister)."

Raising to his feet, he groaned at the ache in his back. Suppose laying around all afternoon wasn't a smart idea. The heat was high, but it was slowly cooling as the day went on after the fire circle waned from the sky. Poking his head out, he continued to speak, but among their tongue.

"Tho dalokav varr ko davo. Wo ulo dhoal urraok. Id vo ka ail kuld, dhoav varr ka dhoalk. Thoav varr uddokd ik uvk lokkodd ik uk vo varr av dilv. Wo ulo kudo holo uvk vo huxo ail klodhlov." (The firekin will be fine. We are their allies. If we do our part, they will do theirs. They will accept us and respect us as we will in turn. We are safe here and we have our brethren.)

"Da avai huxo kaikdk, keksar?" (Do you have doubts, sister?)

He shook his head with a look of innocent question, "If they come, they shall feel what we suffered." he replied plainly as he strolled idly through the Red Quarters, taking in the sounds, scent, and surroundings of his new home here in the Motoujamii. The Firekin's dens were far to where the sun sets from where they were. Perhaps, in a way, they were keeping their allied 'guests' at arms length. Wouldn't be surprising if paranoia was not uncommon.

Since everything that happened to the Hongshan, Thabiti lost himself with time, his old personality was struggling to recover inside; a brash, blunt, masculine male who challenged anyone to a friendly round of rough play. Now, he was wounded, thinned, and malnourished to do any of that. In due time, he suspected, that things will turn to the brighter side of things.

"You shouldn't hold doubts, keksar. Doubt leads to distrust. Distrust will lead to hate. If you have doubts, settle them. We are here to hear."



Thabiti climbed a path up one of the dens, to the top of the rocks, curious of the view it would have. The land was barren, but it was still a different experience nevertheless. If he was to be a good warrior, he would have to know the lay of the land and how to navigate. With little landmarks, he'd have to dead reckon...

"Do you ever wonder if you have a mate?" The dark lion paused. "N-not I asking. Just thinking."

The Nergui consumed much of his active thinking mind when he had the ability to think deeply. He wasn't like Ukuba, but when a slave is chained and restrained, he had not much else to do but to think. Now, he could only wonder what doubts his sister had and hope that it wasn't anything detrimental to their plans to remain here with the Motoujamii.

The sands drifted like ash over the distant dunes. Squinting amber eyes, he gazed over the sun bleached sands to the hazy distance of the horizon. This was the home of the Firekin, but was it to be his as well? What really tied him here were his brothers and sisters, but what of their homeland? Were they going to abandon it completely?... will no one search for it?

Thabiti gave a sheepish laugh. "If that is what want, keksar." Apparently she did not know him too well. Before all of this Nergui non-sense, he was a self-encouraged male who did nothing but fight and eat and rough house with his fellow brothers. He was a free, kind spirit who just liked to fight, but never was it to really harm any of his own kind. With all that, why would he settle down? He had no interest, his time was filled with hunts and fighting. Though, he still smiled.

Turning his head to her with a smirk, "I not so good with girls, keksar."

"Yes, I fight with them and they love me!" He beamed with excitement. The logic was flawless. The males will cower to his prowess and the females will swoon at his strength. But... That never worked back at the Hongshan's lands. The other males would spend most of their days with their mates, even when he invited them to a spar. Then again, he couldn't remember the last time he sparred with a female... Always felt like he had to hold back.

Remembering those days left him with a blank expression before snapping himself back to look at Tswana.

"I no good with girls back home. Maybe that change here..." he mused the idea.

"Wait a minute, why I need girl? I am good alone!" He puffed himself, redeeming his old self. He didn't need a girl, no, he was fine by himself. He never needed a girl back home. He was never jealous of the other guys and his friends who rather spend time with their mates than spar. "Though, you could find a good, strong male here, keksar." he winked.

"Yes, but they were warriors. Here, they seem not so much. Maybe a... rukomsec (romantic) here." He gave a hardy laugh as he returned the nudge to his keksar. Not to say that he believed the firekin was weaker, he suppose there was a wider variety of personalities and behaviors than then the warrior-blooded Hongshan. Considering the fact that there were cubs wherever he looked whenever he strolled through the main den area.

He scoffed as he looked back to the horizon.

"I put Nergui out of my head. I will fight with Fire kin and they will get better and more ready. Need more male power." Thabiti grinned. Oh yes, he intended to fight quite a bit here after he heard that they sparred often. He was developing his old behavior and mannerisms back now that he wasn't be restrained, whipped, and starved.