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Grinsen really hated walking. As much as he enjoyed seeing new places and meeting new people, he despised the getting there bit. His paws ached after days of walking and he was incredibly thankful to finally find a water hole. The past few days had been nothing but dry grass and dirt with only a few small prey animals here and there. Thankfully, he had happened upon an old kill that still had some meat on the bones. After picking it dry, he had set off in the direction that the predators had gone, figuring they knew the area. And right he was!

Walking over to the water, he waded in a few feet before starting to drink. The cool water soothed his aching paws and, with a sigh of relief, he walked back to the bank to lay under the shade of a tree. It wasn't terribly hot out, but that was just about the only blessing he could count for the time being. It was nearly mid-day, so he decided it would be a good time to rest. He wasn't really tired, despite walking all night, so he simply rested his head on his paws and watched the life around the watering hole.

There were some hippos and zebras that he could spot right off the bat, and a few elephants off in the distance. He enjoyed this part of the rouge lands quite a bit - some places were dry as deserts, and then there were areas like this that thrived with life. Granted, he wouldn't be eating the hippos or the elephants, but he got great enjoyment out of watching them move about. Herbivores were so funny...eating the whole day long! How boring.

Grinsen let his eyes slide closed after a while of herd watching, the warm sun lulling him into a doze. The wind shifted a bit and he caught a new scent on the air, though, so he opened his eyes and lifted his head again. It smelled like another lion, and it was close by...but...where?

He looked around and nearly leapt into the air when something bright green dangled in front of his eyes. As it was, he flinched and let out a surprised yelp just as he heard a calm voice from above him. He looked sharply up, yellow eyes focusing on a mostly white lioness directly over his head. What? How had he missed her?! Shocked at his own lack of common sense, he remained frozen for a few moments before shaking his surprise out, his mane fluffing a bit in the breeze.

"You gave me quite the start, my dear," he said, trying to keep his cool and act like he hadn't just reacted like a little cub. Goodness, how had he survived all these years out here? As his heart stopped pounding in his chest, he glanced back up at the lioness with a wide grin. "Yes, it is a nice little spot to relax. Great minds think alike, as you can see." Yes, yes, always one to toot his own horn whenever he could.

"Terribly sorry to encroach on your space," he added bobbing his head in apology. Had it been a male he might not have been as courteous, but since it was a pretty female hanging over his head, he slid right into his gentlelion role. When it came to the ladies, he took no chances. Most of the lions he had met out here were male, and this was quite the rare treat.

"How kind of you," Grin said with a gracious bow of his head as the white lioness slid down from the trees. He lifted his gaze to meet hers, a tiny little smirk of a grin still on his face. He really hadn't had much chance to practice his amazing flirting as of late, so he was probably a bit rusty. She seemed incredibly sweet, though, so he knew he should lay it on light so he didn't scare her off.

"It does, it does," he agreed as he sat up a bit straighter, folding his paws in front of him with a weary expression to match. "I do despise walking. I was just thinking about that when I reached this place. It seemed to be a lovely spot for a rest and, lo and behold, there's company too! My feet sure do know the right time to get tired." He gave her a little wink as he smiled again, tail flopping up and down against the ground lazily.

"My name is Grinsen, by the way," he added, figuring that if they were to be shade buddies for a bit, he might as well tell her his name. "You can call me Grin if you so desire."

"I only tolerate it because it brings me to beautiful places and interesting people," Grinsen said with a little yawn. There were, of course, the times that he was brought to ugly places and rather boring people, but he didn't like to dwell on those times. Luckily this time he seemed to happen upon a rare instance of beautiful AND interesting people.

"M'dimu...a beautiful name for a beautiful lioness," he said with an easy purr, not needing to force the compliment at all. There were times when he'd tease a lion of the opposite gender to see them get flustered and embarrassed, but M'dimu was an instance in where his praise was genuine and his interests mild. "I am most honored to share this spot with you this afternoon."

A loud splash made him glance over to the water and he chuckled as he watched a few zebras play around to cool off. "Aren't they such odd creatures?" he mused, deciding to let his thoughts become the topic of conversation for the time being. "They literally eat all day and sleep all night. When do they have time to lay about and chat with friends?" He glanced up at the now seated lioness, an amused look on his face. "That's why they're the prey and we are the predators, I suppose."

Grinsen had to laugh at the thought of a lion doing nothing but eating and sleeping. Atrocious, that's what that was. What was life if you didn't explore and get to know other lions? See the sights, experience danger, success, loss, happiness...if all you did was eat and sleep you missed out on quite a bunch.

"I feel badly for those lions, and I never hope to meet them," he said with a nod, the smile still on his face. Oh man...those lions didn't know what they were missing out on. He rolled onto his back after a moment, rocking back and forth to get a scratchy spot on his spine.

"That's very true...there was a wily little gazelle the other week that I needed another lion to help me capture. Once there were two of us we brought it down quickly, but it was very, very quick. Too quick for just one. We had to set a bit of a trap." Normally male lions hunted on their own, but Grinsen knew that it was better to put aside pride for a few minutes to accept the help of someone else in order to eat.

"Ah...those animals always taste so much sweeter once they're caught. It's nice to know that they're not all just mindless beasts."

Grinsen peered up at M'dimu from his position upside-down, finding this angle just as lovely as the last. There was something about a white coat that made him shiver in delight. Perhaps it was that unblemished look, but her fur color coupled with her sweet demeanor was keeping him on his best behavior. It wasn't often he felt the need to impress someone - normally he'd string them along, acting as if he were helping or completely interested, and then simply turn away or laugh in their face. But M'dimu was already bringing out the best in him and he hadn't even been around her for more than ten minutes!

...strange.

He rolled onto his stomach again, a thoughtful look on his face. "Oh, I enjoy zebra just as much as the next lion. My favorite, though, would have to be wildebeest." It was a rare meal but well-earned if successfully brought down. "I've never taken a strong one down on my own, but the sickly ones and the young are fairly easy. Although with the babies you have to watch out for their mothers."

Wildebeest were extremely protective of their young, and extremely dangerous. That was what part of the fun was, though. Could you get the rare meal without getting hurt? He had tried a few weeks ago and had taken a hoof to the shoulder, but that had healed up pretty quickly. It had also deterred him from eating for a few days.

"Of course, I haven't had that in a while. A nice, strong adult wildebeest is hard to bring down, even with a few friends," he said with a wistful sigh. "I suppose that's part of the perks of being in a pride. And who is this Taabu you spoke of?" he added, perking up his ears. Hopefully just some friend...he'd be a bit crestfallen if she were already mated to someone else. Where was the fun in flirting with a taken lioness?

That surprised Grin a bit and he tilted his head, wondering how she could have never had wildebeest. Once you had it, it was like you couldn't live without tasting it again. It was so delicious! Even if the animals were a bit smelly before you cut through to the meat...ah well, it was worth it.

"Well, my dear, if you stick with me you'd be in for a treat. I've got a horrible craving for some in the near future," he said with a wise nod and a small wink. "I bet together we could take down a fairly decent youth. The adults taste the best, of course, but they're a bit dangerous unless you've got five or six lions and lionesses behind you." He could certainly 'settle' for a yearling. Yearlings were pretty fast and strong, but horribly stupid. They'd run as if they were foals still instead of using their horns and hooves to protect themselves. Still, it was always better to try to take one down with at least a partner.

"Ah...kids," Grinsen said with a nod. A fling, eh? And they were grown, from the sound of it...good. It hadn't been recent, then. If it had been, he might have watched what he said and did so as not to step on the toes of the other male. While he enjoyed being a bit of a jerk to other males, he did know when lines were drawn into the ground. One of them was to never take another's mate. "That's lovely. All grown up and off on their own...do you miss them?" he added, noticing the slightly wistful look in her eyes.

Grinsen let his claws come out a bit to scratch at the dirt, enjoying the damp soil beneath his paws. He was used to the dry, crumbly dirt of the savanna, but the ground beneath him had soaked up most of the water that had come off his fur from his short dip. It was nice feeling soft, warm earth rather than that horrible scratchy stuff.

A light chuckle left his jaws as he shook his head. "Oh no, I've been flyin' solo my whole life," he said with a wink. Sure, he had courted females and yes, he had had a fun night with one, but nothing had ever come of it. He had been horribly young then as well, just barely an adult, so it hardly counted for a fling. Unbeknownst to him, it had counted, and there were three adults roaming the rouge lands that looked a bit like him, but he'd never know and really didn't need to.

"Gets kinda lonely at times, but hey. What are you gonna do?" he shrugged just a bit before tilting his head to the side, a mischievous grin on his face. "Cubs might be nice. I've always heard that they're more endearin' when they're yours. If I did have cubs I'd make sure that they weren't whiny little things. Show some respect and manners to their elders and all that." Some of the younger lions he had come across had attitudes the size of Kilimanjaro. If he had kids, he'd be sure to raise them properly. Dimu seemed like she'd instill the same kind of values into her kids.