It was a bright, new day and Melda was happy to be out on her feet again. She had been feeling a little worn recently, but she imagined it was just because she had been spending so much time with Misri and the other members of her family. Mostly Misri. He was her everything. With Lalaith back, and well again, she didn’t have to be panicked all the time. Her motherly instincts had, for the moment, been calmed. However, it had all left her with a very strange urge. She wished to be a mother again. Not just to adults who sometimes needed a mother’s love, but to young, helpless cubs again. She wanted another litter with Misri. But how could she bring it up to him? If she was already feeling tired, was it really a good idea to have another litter?
She felt the time was right. Somehow, she would have to bring herself to talk to her mate about it. Hopefully before the urge for family died down, squashed by over-thinking.
As she moved along the forest’s edge, she noticed a gray figure in the distance, the small lioness speaking to some kind of small green dog. Tilting her head, Melda decided to investigate, heading towards them with a welcoming smile.
“Hello,” she offered, “your in the pride lands of the Suka’Fumo. My name is Melda- is there something I can do for you, dears?”
“Oh!” Yelped the female lioness, “I’m so sorry! I didn’t know these were pridelands… I was just looking around the forest. It’s very pretty!” She offered an apologetic bow of her head, smiling at the floor before she brought her attention back to the female in front of her. “I’m Kanzi, and this is my friend Luhta. We were looking for a new home.”
“Oh really? Were you rogue lions, or was your other home not to your liking? Either way, you’re more than welcome to see if this pride is somewhere you could grow to love.”
“Actually, my other home… was kind of destroyed. The pride disbanded and we all ended up a bit scattered,” replied Kanzi sadly. Mentally kicking herself, Melda moved closer.
“I’m so sorry,” she said faintly, “I didn’t mean to be so rude… I shouldn’t have brought it up. I hope you’re alright, and the other members of your pride. Especially if you had family there, too.” She frowned. After everything she had been through, family was a big deal in her mind.
“It’s okay,” replied Kanzi, “my family all made it out okay, and no one was hurt as far a I know. Well, mostly. I still don’t know what happened to my mother… but I have a good feeling that she’s alright so I’m going to trust the Gods and hope everything will work out in the end. My father told me that was the best I could do.”
“Your father is right. There’s no need to despair- everything will work out. If you like, I would be happy to show you around the pride. Even if you’re just passing through, it’s somewhere a little different and interesting.”
“I would love that!” Kanzi hummed, “we love different kinds of places. We’ve already looked into a couple of prides, but nothing stuck out at us, begging us to join them.” She smiled and shrugged as best as a lion could, following as Melda led her into the pride. They explored the place together, Melda pointing out the various class systems and how the housing worked in the mountainside. She explained the players and their happy role in the pride, as well as the place the forest took in all the mysterious lore. Hearing about groundlings and actors and costume makers made Kanzi very pleased- it was certainly a different kind of place. Though she wouldn’t be as high up as she had been in her own pride, she knew she could still make a home there. After all, she was an amazing hunter. Any pride could use a well trained hunter, right?
Her father would have been proud of her.
Once the tour had ended, Melda sat down with Kanzi outside of her den, happy to answer questions and generally make information available to the new comer. She was a scholar, after all, so why wouldn’t she want to share all that she had in terms of knowledge? Nothing pleased her more, than being able to be a teacher. And Kanzi seemed to appreciate it very much.
“This place does seem very fun,” Kanzi hummed again, her spirits quite high after everything she had seen and heard, “I love the plays! I didn’t know lions preformed for one another. That was a really nice surprise.”
“This place is very different, but so much fun. I hope you consider it for a future home!” Melda encouraged.
Kanzi huffed lightly. “Oh, I’m not considering anything,” she said, waiting a moment before skillfully adding, “because I already decided to move in! I know it’s a great place for Luhta and I- it’s very exciting!”
“Well that’s fantastic,” laughed Melda, “you had me worried for a moment. I thought you hated the place and just wanted to leave! I thought it might have been my fault.”
“No, you were a fabulous host. I only wanted to join more after you showed me around, Melda. I think you’re so very sweet to be so helpful to me.” She smiled. Honestly, even if she didn’t have a purple coat, she knew there were lions there who were going to be very nice to her. That was all she really wanted. A place where she could feel at home. Just like her former pride, but without all the water. She would always consider that place her true home, but even without it, she was going to be fine. She was strong, just like her parents. At least she still knew where her father was.
If she ever needed him, she would be able to go to him.
