[PRP] Friends (Eione/Lutum/Dabulamanzi)

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Lutum was wandering around, as was his wont, when his eye fell on the one person in the pride he was guaranteed to pay attention to. Eione, his one and only sister. The yellow lioness was lying down, staring off into space. Thinking, probably. As a Healer, she undoubtedly had a lot to think about. He was still impressed that she'd decided on such a path - not that he'd ever doubted she could do it, just the fact that she wanted to.

"You," he said, coming up to her, "look like you've got a lot on your mind." The brown lion flopped down beside her. "Want to talk about it?"  

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"Well, that's good to hear!" he replied with a grin. It's not that he wouldn't listen if she did want to talk, but, well, they didn't always see eye to eye. Eione was much more willing to give her all to this pride where they lived and he...

...well, he had some questions he'd very carefully avoided asking himself for a very long time now.

"Eh, busy enough," the brown lion told her. Really, he didn't do a lot. Sometimes a bit of hunting, sometimes a bit of covering for a Guard...little things. He hadn't really found an aspect of the Kitwana'antara that he wanted to dedicate himself to the way Eione had.

"And what about you? Enjoying being a Healer? Or is that the right word for it..." he fumbled verbally, realizing too late that in this pride, "enjoy" might not be the operative term.  

[Kimaria]

(( =D !!! ))

It could not be said that Dabulamanzi was happy with how things had turned out. Being struck down by plague and living the rest of his life in one place, forever separated from his family, was not his idea of a happy future. Especially for a lion who had been a bit of an adventurer and one with a competitive streak, too, even if he had only rarely come out on top. However, whilst this life was not what he would have chosen, he had begun to begrudgingly accept it.

He loved life and even though being plague-ridden was not much fun and promised only suffering and an early grave, he was all too aware that he could have been killed that day when he had strayed into Kitwana'Antara hunting grounds and suffered the injury that he had. Left untreated the deep wound would have likely festered and there was no saying what might have happened under those circumstances. So, in a way, things could be worse and that's how he had been trying to deal with what was happening to him. He was still grumpy - particularly when his condition swayed back into the 'bad' category - but when the sickness was 'bearable' the spark of his old self couldn't help but shine through. Eione had helped with that, too. She had found him, helped heal him and broken the news to him about what was in store for him. And, when the sickness was confirmed and his fate was sealed, it was she who had come to cheer him up and encourage him to try and make the most of what life was left to him. He'd been doing okay at that, too. He was getting about a bit more and had made sure to eat even on the days when he really would have preferred not to. His only problem was that now he had been turned out of the medical dens he was struggling to come up with excuses to visit with Eione (apparently being her friend was not enough of a reason).

So, that day when he was picking his way very carefully down the rocky terrain, he brightened at hearing her voice. The only problem this presented, however, was the fact that if she was talking she was not alone. Perhaps he ought not to bother her...

Glancing around quickly, he decided he would try to cut across the rocky slope to circle back the way he had come and make sure that he kept his distance. Unfortunately for him, his balance wasn't what it had once been and his hind legs slipped out from under him, rocks rolling free beneath the pads of his paws and clattering down the slope.

And, if that hadn't been enough, he'd yelped in surprise, too. He really needed to work on his finesse.  

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Well, that was good! Except for the unimpressed cub...but he supposed if he'd been the cub, he wouldn't have been too impressed either. Since he'd been that kind of cub. It wasn't that uncommon, or so he thought. But he wouldn't comment on that.

"Practice makes-" Lutum failed to complete his thought at the sudden noise of falling rocks followed by an unknown brown lion falling into their conversation with a yelp. The dark brown lion craned his head around to stare at the intruder.

"Do you need a Healer, after that fall? My sister Eione could probably help you out," he offered dryly. True, the lioness might swat him with her claws for promising her help without even asking, but the timing was too sublime.  

[Kimaria]

"Oh, hahaha, um...n-no I'm fine." He looked incredibly embarrassed as he pulled himself back up onto his feet, coughing as he turned to look across at Eione and her friend. Or, not friend, but brother. The pair of them had such unusual markings that it would be impossible to not realise they were related. The realisation had him craving his own brothers. They fought a lot but he loved them, too.

"I'm totally fine." He said again, using a fore paw to brush the dust off of the front of his mane. "I...wasn't listening in or anything. I was just...wandering by and tripped." His ears dropped a little. "Just getting some exercise, you know? To, uh, build up some strength."

He gave them a large, sheepish grin. "I'll--just be going now."  

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Grey eyes widened, then narrowed as he realized that not only did Eione recognize the other lion, she knew him by name. Well, he wasn't her keeper, but he was a bit anxious that he didn't know this other lion at all.

But Lutum did know cubs who were better liars. This Dabula, as Eione had called him, wasn't particularly good at concealing a guilty conscience. Or maybe that was just embarrassment. The dark brown lion decided to give the other male the benefit of the doubt for now.

"No need!" he told the other lion heartily. "We weren't discussing anything particularly important. But tell me, how do you two know each other?" he asked, with a sharp look for his one and only dearest sister.  

[Kimaria]

"Oh...okay then." He paused and turned back to fully face them, nodding a little in agreement. "That's right. But you can just call me Dabula if you like." His name could be a bit of a mouthful at times and Dabula worked just as well at getting his attention.

"Yeah...I was kind of an idiot and got myself hurt so Eione helped me. Then I got sick." He trailed for a moment and then picked up again. "You're her brother, right? Nice to meet you."

He wondered if the adult male was immune, too, like his sister. They must have had strong genes, if so. "I'm kind of new so...I don't know too many people yet."  

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A patient, ah, that did explain it. And he'd heard that Healers often became friends with patients they worked closely with, so that was also unsurprising. What did seem off was the fact that Eione, Eione of all people was suddenly shy. Lutum raised a mental eyebrow as he turned to give Dabula his attention.

"It's nice to meet you too," he responded - the phrase had finally become automatic thanks to Nawiri's reinforcement. His gaze flitted from one to the other. It was almost as if they were both hiding something...from him? Must be from him, since he was apparently the only person not in on whatever it was.

Some suspicions reared their ugly heads, but he didn't know Dabula well, and he'd long ago given up trying to predict Eione.

"It may seem like there are a lot of people here, but if you make the effort you'll find out there aren't so many of us. Not hard to meet most people," he offered at last.  

[Kimaria]

"Lutum. Right." Dabulamanzi gave another nod (accompanied by a short cough) and moved closer, finally taking a seat. His fur was looking in slightly better condition now - something he was thankful for. Meeting others with a scraggly pelt wasn't the best way to make a good first impression.

"And there are...non-lions here, too?" He wasn't used to that, seeing canines and other felines wandering about at ease around lions and one another. "Can't say I've interacted with them much before." Not at all, in truth, though he didn't want to admit that out loud. It might seem a little rude. Still, he'd been taught to steer well clear of most other species when possible.

"I'm not really all that busy." He continued, hoping that Lutum wouldn't mind. "Are you a healer too?" He asked the other male, not sure whether Eione might have mentioned it before or not. He blamed his sickness on being so forgetful.