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 Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:32 pm
Orion didn't have any particular goals in mind for his evening after spending the day hunting. He was bad at making up his own things to do and his attempts to be social had such mixed success, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to go out of way to try that. He was too tired to deal with rejection or yelling, but the latter was only a concern if he tried to chat with Caritas, really.
Going to visit mom and dad didn't count as social, though, right?
Before he realized where exactly he was headed, he was getting nearer and nearer the slave dens. It didn't look very busy there right now, though, so he wasn't sure he would run into his parents or even his grandparents.. but you never knew, maybe they were sneaking a nap out of sight while they had a chance. You never knew.
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:39 pm
Halili was wandering around the slave dens as was her wont. Now that she was an adolescent and thus officially a member of the low class, she had more reason than ever to be here. Ostensibly, she was considering places for a den. Not that she didn't love her parents and her siblings, but honestly, a girl needed a bit of space! Plus she just loved being here. Everyone knew everyone else, all the lions were friendly and willing to help out. There was an attitude of "we're all in this together" that just warmed the young lioness right to her marrow. All of this meant that Halili was reasonably familiar with everyone who lived here and could tell that the big black and grey lion was not from the low class. He was sort of familiar though, in that vague way that meant he was a pride member that she'd seen around before, though never spoken to. If they'd talked, she'd have remembered his name. Still, he was interesting and he was here and she didn't have anything better to do for now. A den could wait. Conversation couldn't! "Hi there!" the brown lioness called up, diverting her steps towards the older lion. "What're you up to, roaming around down here?" He didn't seem to be looking for anyone, so she doubted he had a job to be done or someone expecting him. So obviously he had time to talk!
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:02 pm
He was surprised when he was met by a young, cheerful lioness. He hadn't seen her around here, though she also looked familiar. Weren't her parents in the high class like him? Not that it mattered. He put on a smile.
"Hello," he replied, hesitating before taking a few mores steps and stopping at what he decided was a comfortable distance, though unsure if she would come closer, "I'm not really up to anything, I came here to visit."
He was sure he should know her name, or remember her parents' names. He just couldn't remember.
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:39 pm
Visit? Well, it wasn't at all uncommon for lions of other classes to have low class relatives. Or friends. Actually it was incredibly common for families to span almost the entire range of classes. Royalty was a little different, but that also didn't affect Halili much, so she tended not to think about it.
"Well, who are you visiting? I'm sure I can find them, or tell you if they're busy right now." She paused, looking him up and down as she considered who he'd be visiting. Ah, now she had it. It was the black body and grey legs that did it.
"You're part of Mawu's family, right? I think she's out, but I bet she and Ulivuma would be okay if you just went to their den. I mean, they're your parents, right?" Parents were always okay with kids in their dens. Unless if they were really really mad and even then they were still pretty okay with it, at least in the lioness' youthful experience.
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 10:48 am
It was weird calling his parents by their names but he didn't get a chance to say anything because Halili was very quick to recognize him. Or.. recognize his parents. He did look a fair bit like his mother, mane aside. He nodded, suddenly very aware of how his mane moved when he did, when she explained that his parents were out but probably wouldn't mind his hanging around.
"Right," he murmured, noticing how she seemed to ask a lot of questions but then answer them all herself. It didn't make it very easy to say something but.. that wasn't a big deal, he guessed. He got his answer.
"I'm Orion," he said suddenly. Introducing himself was a good next step.
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 10:52 am
She smiled as he replied to her deduction. Yup, she'd thought those markings were distinctive! But oh, what was this! He - Orion - had just reminded her that she'd been totally remiss in courtesy!
"Oh, I'm sorry! My name's Halili and my parents are Kibetinyota and Uchanjaa, I think you're in their class, right? So you've probably met them and maybe we've seen each other around but I know we haven't met before."
The adolescent pasued for a breath. "It's very nice to meet you!"
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 11:09 am
Kibetinyota and Uchanjaa, of course! She looked very much like.. well, both of them, actually. He should have been able to figure that out but then.. he never did like guessing games, even in his own head.
"It's nice to meet you, too," he said with a sheepish smile when she concluded, "I do know your parents, I feel kind of silly I couldn't recognize it myself."
And now he felt sillier, admitting it- but he had to say something, didn't he? Chattiness wasn't exactly infectious but it did make him feel more pressure to contribute to a conversation. It was almost as bad as a slow conversation where there was a pause after every sentence, demanding an answer or remark even if he didn't have one.
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 11:13 am
Halili giggled. Some people weren't good at recognizing others, even if they remembered every name they'd ever heard. She guessed Orion was one of those. Not that there was anything wrong with that - not at all! He probably had a great memory. It just made him a little awkward in conversation, though it was a sweet tendency.
"Don't feel bad," she chided him. "Mom and Dad don't do a lot of social stuff in the pride, so most of the people I've met have been on my own, learning what the low class does and how I can help out." She'd been practically everywhere in the pride, but that didn't actually mean she'd met a lot of people. Not that this was a bad thing. How boring would it be if you already knew everyone?
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 11:28 am
"Your dad's a guard, right?" Orion asked, trying to remember what exactly each of her parents did. He knew Kibetinyota was a priestess, but everybody knew that. You had to know that. Her dad had been the royal nanny, he was sure he remembered that. It was like babysitting but it was a guard job, right?
"I'm just a hunter," he explained, "And I was born here. I guess that's another reason why I wouldn't see them much."
He was around the slave dens plenty, though, since he had grown up around here. It was surprising he hadn't really crossed paths with Halili before but she was young and her parents were high class so maybe it wasn't so surprising. She seemed very cheerful for a slave, he noticed.
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 11:32 am
"Yup! He's always been a Guard but for a while they made him the Royal Nanny and he had to go with Selene everywhere!" That had been right before Halili and her brothers and sisters were born, thank the Great Lion, and Uchanjaa had been released from that duty in order to be a father. Well, in this adolescent's opinion he was obviously the best father in the whole pride and she was glad that his being a Royal Nanny had ended when Selene had become an adolescent.
"Nothing wrong with being a hunter," she went on. "I'm low class, as you might've noticed, but I'm not old enough or big enough to help out with the hunts." It was a little odd that she hadn't noticed him before, since it was pretty obvious he'd have had to grow up down here, given that his parents lived here. But, then again, he was a bit older than she was. They'd probably just missed each other.
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 12:17 pm
Orion nodded, privately pleased with himself for managing to come up with that much of the story behind her family. He remembered seeing Selene around with Uchanjaa, that helped. He couldn't help but notice that this meant he was at least an adolescent when Halili was born, he wasn't muuch older than his cousin.
"You must be starting hunting lessons, though," he said thoughtfully, looking her up and down, "You don't look that young or small."
Hunting was a lot of what slaves did since it was a necessary task around the pride and wasn't something done alone or unsupervised. Those were the better, easier days, Orion had observed from his parents. When you managed to hep with the hunt but spend the rest of your time unbothered.
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 12:23 pm
"Well, that's true enough," Halili replied. Yes she was actually learning how to hunt...but it wasn't one of her preferred things to do. There were many other duties she could be doing, and most she found more enjoyable than hunting. Though that could be because, as Orion had pointed out, she was just learning.
"I'm really not very good at hunting," she admitted. "I'm learning, yeah, but it's just...not going well." The lioness hated to say that she wasn't very good at something she was supposed to be doing. It wasn't a good feeling. But...wait a minute! Orion was a hunter, wasn't he!
"Say...maybe you could help teach me? You must know lots of little tips and tricks, since you do that every day, right?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 3:22 pm
"You just need to be patient," Orion managed before Halili asked if he might be able to help teach her to hunt. It probably would be easier than learning as a part of a group and he should be a better teacher than her family where neither of her parents were hunters and her siblings were all learning with her.
But could he really be a good teacher?
"Um, I guess I could help," he stammered, trying to build up the confidence necessary to teach after quickly determining he lacked the confidence to turn her down at such a kindly worded request, "Do you have time now?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 3:25 pm
Patience wasn't something Halili was very good at. Maybe that was why she had a tendency to talk so much and so fast. Whatever the reason, waiting was not an option for the lioness.
"Sure I've got time now! I'm not needed anywhere until later," she confided to Orion. "I'd love any help you can give me, I'm really terrible at this."
Hopefully this would make everything make so much more sense and then she wouldn't have to be so self-conscious about being asked to assist with a hunt.
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 3:29 pm
This wasn't at all how Orion had planned to spend his evening but it would have been impossible to stop it now, even if his parents walked by at that exact moment. He was stuck and, while she agreed enthusiastically, he knew it.
"OK, then," he said, putting on a weak smile, "There's not much use in doing it here, let's go find somewhere better."
He turned himself around to lead the way.
Fin!
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