[PRP] Why the Long Face? [Mlinzi & Monifa]

[Depawsit]

Mlinzi laughed to himself as he found himself again on the pride's outer skirts. He was out here so often these days, all so invested in finding this one herb. What would he do, if he were never to encounter it? He shuddered the thought away, absolutely refusing to focus on it. Of course he would find it, he knew it was here. His silly assistant had eaten it while out scouting one evening. His symptoms were all too obviously from this mushroom. But still it eluded him!

Likely it would help him immensely if had the eyes to see it. But alas he did not, and his assistant was too sick to be his other pair. If only he hadn't eaten that mushroom, things might be alright. But nooo he HAD to eat that darn thing, and now look where he was! Belly aching in his den.

Mlinzi couldn't help but chuckle at the thought, it served him right! How many times had he told him not to do that exact thing? More times than he could count, that was for sure. Now here he was, trying to be his own eyes and whip him up a cure. Mlinzi made a mental note to put a knot on Mez's head when he returned. He could be so ridiculous sometimes.

As he walked, his nose to the ground, lost in his own odd thoughts, a strange scent caught his nose. It was female - but not Kitwana. No her scent was very strong. As though it were mixed with the scents of many other places.. The only question in his mind was, who could she be?

 

[oo Ded]

Depawsit

Sorry for the long wait! ; n;

It wasn't often that the lioness found herself venturing two a single location more than once. It was a surprise even to her, then, when Monifa found herself once again nearing the borders of the plagued pride. She had been here once before in brief passing, meeting a pleasant lioness at the border. The story of the pride, it seemed, struck a deep enough chord to encourage a return. Since her last visit, the lioness had covered a respectable amount of ground. She'd seen a variety of places, stumbled upon other groups of lions… Though none of it really stuck with her. She supposed that if it had, she wouldn't be here, still wandering aimlessly.

The smell of the pride washed over her as she neared, and her pale blue eyes drew upwards towards the horizon. Her steps grew slow and Monifa gave pause. She wasn't far form the border, now, but she knew better than to cross. Instead, she just stood, tall and poised and peering into the distance. Would anyone come and meet her? Perhaps not. But even so, she didn't feel as though she was at a loss.

But as she thought, her gaze caught on a pale form in the distance. A lion, she recognized, but not one that she had seen before. Her brow raised and her tail curled around her form as she sat, waiting.
 

[Depawsit]

The male chuckled as the scent continued to waft into his nostrils. It was a sweet scent, and he yearned to know more about it. The idea of so many scents melting into one ... where was she from? What was her story?

"A little lost aren't you?" He picked up his tone to allow the words to ride the wind to their intended target. Though he wasn't sure of an exact location, her scent had given him a good enough idea.

"Do you have any idea how strange it is to catch such a lovely scent in such a bleak place?" Continuing on, he followed his nose, allowing it to take him wherever it thought best. Though he was rather good with his nose, it did tend to fail him from time to time. He could only hope it was going to right way this time.

oo DeD

 

[oo Ded]

Depawsit

Woo!

"I..." The lioness' mouth pulled ever so slightly to the side as she thought. Lost? No. She knew what this place was. The land of the ill. Monifa had stumbled across these lands before and met with a lioness on the borders. The thought of the place pulled at her heartstrings. She found that it remained on her mind for weeks, months after her travels away. She looked to him and gave a little smile. That feeling, that distant sadness, it was pulling now. "No, I know where I am," she said simple. As she spoke, Monifa seemed to pull her body as little as possible, holding herself with as much grace as she could.

His second comment, though, caught her by surprise and made her give a faint, bell-like laugh. What a compliment. Monifa hadn't come across such charm in a while, now. "And I suppose such charming pleasantries are equally as uncommon?" She smiled. Her voice sounded happy. Pleasant and bright, thought at the same time sounding soft and distant. "I am Monifa. A wanderer. I have... been here. Once before. Seems like moons ago, now..."
 

[Depawsit]

The thought that this lioness had been here before took the male off guard, and he paused in his tracks as he tried to put two and two together. So she had been here before but obviously wasn't a member of the pride. He casually inhaled her scent once more, nope, he had no idea who she was. But that didn't mean he didn't want to know. The fact that she had been here before, and had somehow brought herself to return, well it was intriguing to him. Not many could deal with knocking on death's door more than once. "I see, so you are no stranger to the secrets of this land." He nodded silently as he picked up his pace once more. After taking a few more steps her voice became much more clear, and he knew he was close enough.

Her sweet laugh was intoxicating, almost as lovely as her voice. But he shouldn't come too close just yet, she could be a danger in disguise. A venus fly trap if you would. Elegant and alluring on the outside, but a death trap on the inside. He decided a few steps back would give him his safest range.

"You would be right my dear. Not many of us are quite so welcoming of visitors. I however love them, its my way of getting a glimpse of the outside world, without having to travel." Plopping his rear end on the ground, he smiled faintly at the female, just hoping he was actually sitting in the direction that she was. A fool was not, but it didn't stop him from looking like one.

"Monifa ... I am sorry but your name has never reached my ears before. Such a shame, it would seem that if I were to meet someone so alluring as you, I would want everyone to know about it." He listened intently as she went on, hoping to get more of an idea of who she had met before.

"I am Pumbaa'Mlinzi, but you may call me as you wish. I am a sort of ... name collector. I go by many names, to many lions. I carry my names with pride, much like I do my manners." Puffing out his chest slightly, Mlinzi sat back and awaited more on Monifa's story telling. He loved listening to the stories of others, no matter how mundane or exciting everyone else thought they were.

oo DeD

 

[oo Ded]

Depawsit

"A stranger I am not," Monifa said with a distant smile. As the lion continued to speak, she found herself rather comfortable. She thought it funny, how she could feel so comfortably in a place that seemed so solemn. Monifa watched as he moved, and as he went to sit... slightly angled away from her. The smile at the side of her mouth twitched upwards. What a quirky lion. She surely enjoyed his company.

"Mlinzi the charmer, it is my pleasure to meet you." She chuckled as he spoke, shifting slightly so they were facing each other even though, she had the feeling, that it didn't too much matter. "My name is Monifa. And I must say. Through my travels, I have yet to be charmed in such a way."  

[Depawsit]

"Well then I suppose a proper welcome is in order for your return!" He flashed his toothy little grin, and dipped his head politely. "Welcome back to the Kitwana'Antara, Monifa, it is my pleasure to be your welcome party."

As he quieted down, he was quite pleased to hear she had taken him up on his offer. "The charmer eh? That is a new one to me, but I will wear it with pride all the same!" He huffed happily at the name, and winked at the lioness, who he hoped was in the direction he still faced. By the sound of her voice, it seemed she was but he had been fooled before.

"Aww well that is such a shame, that someone such as yourself would have to come all the way out here to be treated the way you deserve. You are welcome to come anytime, I would be glad to be your charmer any day of the week." He smiled softly this time, much less wary of the lioness than he had been before.

"So tell me Monifa, what brings you to these lands of death and decay? Forgive me for intruding, but someone such as yourself it doesn't seem like the place you should be."

oo DeD

Sorry for the wait <3

 

[oo Ded]

Depawsit

Thanks for the reminder! Sorry I'm a failboat > n>

A faint laugh left the lioness' maw. "Yes, a charmer. You must know this, Mlinzi, or are so so humble as not to realize your own charms? I have spoken to many during my travels and few, if any, had the knack for flattery as you seem to, my friend." The lioness' tail swished back and forth behind her in the grasses as her eyes turned upwards to the sky.

What was she doing there? That was a good question, actually. Monifa herself didn't think much about where she went. She merely found herself places and went with it.

"After the amount of time I've spent wandering, I've learned to just follow where my paws take me and not ask questions." The lioness smiled and chuckled, thinking about how strange that phrase might have been, and how indicative it was of just how much of a wandering soul hers had become. She must have sounded crazy.

"So, Mlinzi, why don't you tell me about yourself?" she set her head on her paws as she stretched out, laying down. "It has been quite a while such I have had such favorable company."  

[Depawsit]

The faint laugh that escaped her was music to his ears, and he allowed the melody to echo in his ears as he listened on. "Well I don't know much about this humble you speak of, but I have certainly never considered myself a charmer. I suppose i'm blind to my own blessings though. But then, in some way aren't we all?" He mused happily, before continuing on, "I would wager you haven't traveled far enough if that is to be the case! Someone as simple as me being such a flatterer, who'd have thought it!" Shrugging his own shoulders, he kept his cheery smile about his face as Monifa continued on with her self bio.

"Well, I don't see anything wrong with that. There are those of us who would die to be in your paws y'know!"" Of course, she already knew where this would lead, so he need not carry it forward. He would simply allow it to die in the air, there was no sense in beating a dead horse. He could never leave, there was nothing that could be done about that.

"More about myself? Well that's definitely a new one to me. Most ladies I meet would rather tell me about themselves. You are a gem all your own aren't you Monifa?" Without his smile wavering one bit the lion took a deep breath and pulled his haunches in.

"Well what is it you'd like to know about me? I suppose there's a lot to cover, and I don't quite know what's interesting to others!"

oo DeD

No worries, it happens :3

I wasn't sure if you wanted to continue it or not, so I figured i'd quote you and see :]