Well darn. Libra had always been one to keep herself on the move. Too much to do to consider settling down in any family or pride. Sometimes it was a little lonely, but it had never been a problem. Not until now. Living alone meant hunting alone, and that usually also meant small prey. Hares and genets and other things. But she'd grown overconfident, and dared try her claws in the hide of an old, but still strong wildebeest. It had twisted about and thrown her from its back, and she'd landed badly on one paw. It had crumpled under her. Only by luck had the thing decided it would rather run than stomp on her. She'd limped away no further harmed, but still sore, and still hungry. With an oof she let herself flop down into the shade of a thick tree. Her paw would heal, but it was going to make hunting very hard for a while.
Kukuruza was lazy, to be put bluntly. He hated hunting, and had never been good at it. But he was a slick talker, and friendly. He'd been all too happy to watch the lioness go after the wildebeest, determined that if she succeeded he would be able to talk his way into a share. Not like she could eat it all anyways. But just his luck, she'd been thrown, and it looked like she was hurt in the process. He watched the 'beest go snorting and trotting away, and once gone, the lioness limping back to her tree. Ouch. She wasn't dead though. Maybe he should have offered to help...nah. And get himself kicked for the trouble? No thanks. But he could at least go over and see that she was in fact okay. He stood and trotted out of the bushes, quickly skimming through the long grass that divided them.
She felt no fear upon spying the cheetah drawing near. She might be hampered, but she could still take one lone troublemaker. Still, he was too obvious to be here for trouble. Right? "Hello," She called to him while he was still a small ways away. "I suspect you caught the show, hmm? I made myself look sort of foolish." Self-deprecation usually was a hit with making friends. She liked friends. And he smiled and nodded, so that was good. She thought of getting up to meet him, but the first weight on her paw made it twinge, so she lay still. "I'm Libra. Can I help you with something? Or just coming over to say hello and better luck next time?"
"Oh, the latter, I suppose. Really I'd been hoping to talk my way into a share of that old bull, but neither of us had luck today. Thought maybe I'd see how you were, and maaaybe see about talking my way into whatever you kill next. Lionesses are much better at hunting, even alone, than a cheetah, after all." He made no effort to hide his intentions. He'd always been upfront, after all. And he hadn't been mauled yet. Then again, he could outrun anyone. Especially a lion with a turned ankle.
"Really? Well bother for us both then, hmm? I would have shared. Though given his attitude, that bull would have been as tough as jungle vines anyways." She motioned to the grass beside her in the shade. "What's your name, stranger? Since you have mine, I don't imagine you'll mind sharing. And since I won't be on the move for a bit, maybe you'll give me some company?" That would be nice. And something about him made him seem like a nice fellow to her. Maybe she'd been hanging about on her own too much lately. She watched him expectantly. If he chose to sit and stay a while, great! If not she'd be alright though, really.
Similar thoughts were flitting through Kuku's head at about the same time. He'd tried his paw before at joining prides, but always ended up leaving for a lack of good fit. He had never had any family, and momentary friendships were about all he'd really ever come to expect from any social endeavor. On a whim he let himself flop to the ground beside the lioness--something about her seemed quite nice to him too. Never mind that he'd always been a sucker for a pretty face. And a nice body. And nice to him had always meant big. Cheetahs just seemed too underfed. He'd never been able to explain it. "I'm Kukuruza. Roamer first class, wanderer extraordinary. Nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you too Kuku. Seems we're both rogues then. Not that that's shocking. Never found a pride or whatever it is your kind, cheetahs, call home?" She was curious as to his motives for staying alone. Hmm. Maybe she had been more lonely than usual lately. It would be so nice to have someone to roam with. She still didn't think she could bare to have to stop and stay in one place forever. Maybe not a family of sorts, but friends at least. That could be really nice. It didn't occur to her at the moment to ask Kuku to be that friend, but for the moment he was enough.
"Nope. Tried some. Never seemed to be a good fit. My paws itch too much. And I never really met anyone in any that kept my interest enough to change that." He shrugged, the movement rippling the grass. His dual-hued eyes shifted around to fix on her. He could imagine she'd felt the same. Otherwise she would probably have found a home long ago. She was certainly pretty enough to catch some well-groomed pride goer's eye.
"I see. Well, I understand that." She twitched her paw in the grass. "I guess for me it's just been...that. Never found the right place or the right one. It's kind of sad, really. For us both."
"Well, true. But then, if we had, think of all the people neither of us would have met! Including...uhm..." An urge became an idea, and that led to a word. "Us?" That seemed forward, but looking up at the blue lioness he saw that she didn't seem to mind.
