Lesedi
Kubwa'Jazi
Rinh was sprawled under a big acacia tree, dozing off with her head in the shade as her body was kindly warmed by the obliging sun. She was full and happy, feeling just every bit as confident as usual. On days like these, the blue-eyed lioness felt there was nothing could possibly get her down. Well, unless she’d consider the strong wind gusts that ruffled her coat from time to time, trying to ruin an otherwise perfect day. Rinh yawned, quite loudly, completely devoid of caution of any kind.
Lesedi had left his family only a few days before and he was making his way through the rogue lands. One of his brothers had left in the opposite direction and Lesedi wasn’t planning on meeting any family members anytime soon – not that he wouldn’t miss them, of course. The yawn caught his attention and he followed the clearly feminine sound all the way to the tall acacia tree. It wasn’t hard to spot the resting lioness.
“Hey there.” He greeted, drawling his voice as he offered her a cocky grin.
Unbeknownst to both lions, there was another feline watching the both of them as their paths slowly started to cross. Up in the tree, a dark shape lay sprawled on one of the highest branches of the massive tree. Jazi was a watcher of others, in a sense that deeply enjoying studying and understanding the actions and relationships that creatures formed amongst themselves. He was a natural at it, too, and there were few signs that Jazi wasn’t able to pick up. So he was quite happy that another lion had come to his tree even if, quite honestly, Lesedi didn’t appear to be a particularly challenging subject.
Rinh’s head rose quickly when he heard the greeting but she did not move from her spot. A sly smile had already taken over her expression and the lioness’ tail danced playfully behind Rinh.
“Hey, handsome.” She returned with a rumbling purr. He wasn’t bad-looking, not at all. Perhaps a little younger than herself, though not by much. She liked his confidence but a part of her warned her that he was getting too close and closing off any escape route she might require later. She was definitely not in the mood to start something at that moment.
She liked him! He’d set out to make a good impression and apparently succeeded. Lesedi’s grin grew even wider and the young lion took yet another step closer to the stranger. Lesedi was not really used to living on his own as his idea of personal space was still somewhat twisted if you would consider it from the viewpoint of someone who had lived his entire life as a rogue. As someone who’d spent his entire life in a small family group, cautions behaviors between lions didn’t always come naturally.
“Beautiful… day, isn’t it?” he said with a wink.
Jazi’s mouth pulled up in a small smile as he enjoyed the small interaction. Perhaps he shouldn’t be amused or smug about the fact that the other cats hadn’t noticed his presence but Jazi had little space in him for such thoughts. At the moment, it was as if he didn’t truly exist. There was only a lion - whose every action and word boasted heartfelt confidence but also contradicted his rogue status – and the lioness he was trying to charm who appeared somewhat interested in him and yet… hadn’t even stood up for him. He had to thank the wind and his own ability to remain perfectly still for long periods of time for the fact he hadn’t been found out but if they decided to do something more intimate, he’d have to find a way to make a polite departure.
Rinh’s eyes narrowed as the green-eyed lion moved closer and stopped just a couple of steps away from him. Like most males, he was bigger than her and now that he was too close for comfort, doing what she assumed to be flirting, Rinh finally gave in to what little caution she had inside her.
“It is. Perfect for a nap. And I think I’m going to return to my beauty sleep.” She dropped her head a little but her muscles tensed up and her tail stopped moving. Anyone watching closely would be able to detect a slight tension taking over her body.
“Oh, you don’t need that.” Lesedi said quickly, forcing a cheerfulness he didn’t really feel into his tone. He was actually rather disappointed the lioness hadn’t openly invited him to stay though he still assumed she was clumsily playing hard to get. “Can I join you?”
He wasn’t used to dealing with females outside his family but his grandfather had greatly influenced his perception of the opposite sex. Lionesses could be lovely to look at but they were often manipulative and cunning liars who took advantage of stupid fools.
Oh, so she was not interested. Not in the slightest, apparently. Kubwa’Jazi stood on the branch looking down with curious eyes at the young male’s reactions. The lioness’ pose had suddenly become so closed off that the leopard doubted anyone could misinterpret its meaning but the lion seemed to be so eager for attention that he wouldn’t realize what she meant unless she actually told him. Probably bluntly, too.
It really was none of his business but Jazi couldn’t simply turn his back on someone in need and he readied himself to intervene should the situation prove necessary.
“Thank you for the compliment.” Rinh said neutrally, curling herself tighter as the lion stepped even closer. She was very much annoyed by the way he seemed to be ignoring her signals and a little afraid as well. She was a strong lioness but the obviously younger male was already bigger and most likely stronger than Rinh. She wasn’t a very good climber so there weren’t many places she could run to if the spotted lion tried anything funny. Standing up slowly in a clearly defensive stance, Rinh growled quietly under her breath. “But I really want to rest. Stop getting so close.”
What the…? She had been so friendly just a moment before, almost asking him to sleep there with her (well, that’s how he’d read it anyway) and now the flighty lioness was actually growling at him and telling him to back off. The only females he allowed to growl at him were his sisters and even them never did it with such infuriating hostility. And this one was doing it without provocation, too!
“Who do you think you are?” Lesedi snarled right back at her, his tail lashing out angrily behind the spotted lion. He wasn’t a weakling she could play with! He was a lion in his prime who was looking for one of the fiercest prides around! “Just a moment ago, you were all friendly.”
Alright, enough was enough. Time to intervene before things got out of control. There was enough miscommunication between those two to make the situation take a sudden turn for the worse and Jazi would rather not have that happen right under his nose. With the grace inherent to all leopards, Jazi climbed down the trunk of the tree and landed quite heavily next to the brown lioness taking one step forward to stand just a little ahead of and uncomfortably close to the lion’s head. “She’s not very good at explaining things. But please leave.” After a brief silence is stone was neutral and his posture relaxed even if surprisingly solid.
Rinh almost whelped when a sudden shape landed ridiculously close to her and it took her a while to realize what had just happened. A leopard! And a rather big one at that though males often were. It didn’t take as long for Rinh to realize she was being protected by the new stranger. She glanced up slowly with a look that clearly said “Where did this guy come from?” before she took one step forward to stand by his side just in case the lion felt inclined to start a fight now that he was outnumbered. “I think I was very clear…” she said in a grumbling whisper.
Lesedi jumped back in a ready-for-battle stance, growling in surprise. Someone had just jumped down from the tree! He eyed the leopard warily, measuring him and his potential for damage as he tried to understand the relationship between the leopard and the blue-eyed lioness. Suddenly, it became clear why she was rejecting his advances. Like most deceiving females, the horrible woman had simply been using him to make her leopard lover feel jealous. It was too gross for words.
“I get it now.” Ugh, he could already picture the little mongrels they’d produce. If that was her taste in males, than Lesedi was definitely not interested. Slowly, he started to leave but he still threw the odd couple a disgusted look over his shoulder. “You can have her.”
Jazi remained strong but neutral even as the slightly bigger feline growled in his face. It wouldn’t do well to provoke the angry lion further. As the lioness appeared to be interested in saying something back, Jazi gave her a quick nudge to keep in place. He had just diffused a potentially dangerous situation but a thoughtless action could easily start a fight and Jazi would rather avoid that outcome – that’s why he had intervene in the first place. When it seemed clear the lion was truly leaving, Jazi stepped back and moved to the trunk of the tree.
Rinh was visibly offended by the look and words the tawny lion threw at her and feeling a lot more confident with a leopard by her side, the lioness was about to shout at the insufferable buffoon when she felt a surprisingly gentle nudge on her side as the leopard silently told her to stay quietly in place. Their eyes never met as the brown leopard’s never left the shape of the lion who finally did leave without another word.
“You can stay down here. I wouldn’t mind your company. Thanks for the help.”
Jazi gave the lioness a very thorough look before he started climbing the tree. It was important to him that he pointed out that he didn’t want anything in return for helping her with the over-eager lion.
“Thank you for the offer but I’ll return to my nap now.” The look of annoyance in the lioness’ expression wasn’t missed by the leopard and he tried not to look amused as he settled himself in a branch. “We can talk before we rest though. I like hearing traveler’s tales.” He was not surprised when the lioness, probably out of gratitude for his help, immediately obliged his request and started describing a meeting with an adolescent lion from a very odd pride.
Lesedi snorted but he had to admit he was a little amused at how well the leopard seemed to keep the annoyed lioness quiet. He was stupid enough to start a fight which was smart but kind of cowardly as well, in his opinion. And he didn’t even look that interested in the annoying lioness either so perhaps she was the one following him around. What a waste! As kept walking, Lesedi hoped he would give her a good smack or two.
- Fin! -
