Mwako'Tu had not seen his mother in a long, long time. Sometimes he longed to find her, to tell her everything would be okay, but then the images of her last fight flashed before his eyes. Seeing her lay there beaten, her ego nearly destroyed was more satisfying than it should have been. He never wanted to cause he pain, but he needed to know there was more to her than what she had become, and the tiny insecure lioness had began to peek through the cracked exterior. He had left her. Guilt plagued him still, but he could bear it no longer.
He had been travelling on his own, making his way through different lands, but he knew where he was heading. The Pridelands. Why did his mother tell him that it was a dreadful place, especially if it was filled with her family? It did not match up to the other stories he had heard about the Pride, not in the slightest. His father was long gone too, he hadn't seen him after his last fight with Mbaya, and doubted he ever would. Was he even still alive? His white toed paws beat dully against the earth as he moved across the savannah, he looked up and he could see it. A large rock formation his mother had forewarned him to avoid, Pride Rock. He took in a sharp breath and his blue eyes widened, butterflies beating against the walls of his stomach. He was here.
Ufara was out hunting, for herself and a couple others. She was plotting to go adventuring with Null and Femizi, at least, later...and no way was she doing it on an empty stomach. Empty stomachs were a distraction. An effective leader did what she could to prevent such distractions. Of course...she hadn't expected to see a new face in the process. All thoughts of food were forgotten as she spotted him, all sandy and brown fur. Ufara blinked a moment, then curiosity won out. Hmmm...
"You're not from around here." The lioness made her way over to the male, smiling. "Looking for a place to rest, or something else?" She knew the Pridelands had been used by more than a few creatures as a resting point on journeys, or just a night or three of safety from the tempestuous rogue lands.
Soon enough he was approached by a lioness! She seemed friendly enough. The lack of social interaction on his journey nearly made him recoil from surprise. "Actually..." Mwako began nervously. "I-I'm looking for my family here, My mother was from here originally, but she left." He knew nothing of the lands, but had managed to prise his grandfathers name from his mother. "I'm just looking to know more, about here, I guess." He realised how primitive he would sound to those who had been apart of the land for so long, and began to look at his paws. Mwako definately felt out of his comfort zone. Would his grandfather even still be alive? He must be very old now... He hoped he could find him, to find a sense of closure as to where he really belonged. He didn't belong out there, in the wild with all the danger and the... hatred. He thought of Mbaya again as he twisted his head back to look at the long path he had just walked. No, he wanted comfort now, and he felt he deserved it.
Poor guy was nervous. Ufara gave him a calm, friendly smile, sitting in that nice area of 'close enough to be personable but not close enough to be a threat'. "Well...we're always happy to welcome family in, staying or not! Who're you related to? Even if they're not around anymore, we can always talk to a Historian to see who's related to you that still is!" Perhaps he was even related to her! Wouldn't that be quite the surprise! "Ah! I'm Ufara, by the way."
"Ufara, that's a nice name." He said, truthfully. He always loved to hear names. He never heard too many on his travels, just saw a few faces. He began to sit too, comfortable with the distance between himself and the lioness. What he had seen from his mother taught him to always be wary. "Thats kind." Mwako found a genuinely large smile. There certainly seemed nothing wrong with the lions who lived here, then again Mbaya had a rather skewed view on, well, everything.
He looked into his mind for a moment and plucked out the name he had been holding in it for some time now. He knew he had a large family line and odds are he would find someone related to him, or that knew him. "My Grandfathers name is Mahiri, he was mated to Bakhti...." He trailed off, unable to provide any more information in the time being. He didn't even know what he looked like.
"Thank you. I'm rather fond of it, personally." It sounded nice, and was easy for others to say and remember. She listened to him, to the names he spoke. Mahiri and Bakhti? Oh! They had one of the larger lines in the pride! "Mahiri's still around! Bakhti sadly passed away, but...your grandfather is still around." He was lucky! If she remembered right...Mahiri was pretty old. Especially with how many of his line were running around. "And aside from him...you've got a looooot of family!"
"Wow... really?" He stopped for a moment to look at the ground, the news washing over him and creating a warmth inside him that he'd never really felt before. He wasn't alone. He didn't have to stay lonely for the rest of his days. He could meet his family. He could have friends. Mwako would take it slowly and carefully, but he would more than certainly want to meet them, all! If possible. He began to feel a little giddy and took a deep breath. "T-Thankyou. I did not expect such good news. I feel I owe to my grandfather, alot of things my mother couldn't give him." That was one of the main driving forces behind his journey, not only self idenitiy, but because he knew how Mbaya and Mahiri had parted, and he wanted to try and right any wrongs he could. "Yes, he would be rather old by now..." His mind began to trail off and he shook it gently. "I do apologise for my lack of concentration, Ufara, but I have been looking for this for a long time." Without any directions to the Pridelands he had wandered with vague hope, and stopped to ask directions occasionally, but many of these were themselves vague.
Ufara nodded, honestly glad she could help. "I'm glad I could be the bearer of good news, rather than ill." She chuckled at his apology. "Don't worry about it. You've reached the end of your search, found something more than you expected. That's good reason for a lack of concentration." He was a good soul. His family would definitely be happy to meet him, she thought. "If you'd like, I can lead you to him? He shouldn't be too hard to find. After all...you don't get that old without everyone in the pride at least knowing who you are. Well...at least the members that are raised here." Some of the newer faces might not know him. But those like her, born and raised in the lands, would know him, and it was just a matter of asking the right creature.
He nodded enthusiastically, all of the questions he had and everything he wanted to say to Mahiri all running through his head at once, He wasn't expecting such good news. With his luck he was definately expecting news of more deaths, or illness, or...something. "Y-Yes, yes please. That'd be great." Mwako was overcome with a sudden nervousness, mixing with his excitement and making him feel rather sick. It was akin to childlike excitement about your first hunt, or in his case, training, and that soon waned. A sudden jolt ran through his body. Would Mahiri be accepting of him, though? Would he want to talk to the grandson birthed by someone who abandoned him? But the fact he had found the Pridelands and found Mahiri, surely that would account for more. He clambered onto his feet. This was not the land he had been led to believe it was. His mother was wrong.
Ufara stood as well, shaking some of the grass from her fur. She could finish hunting later. Uniting a family was more important. At least, in her mind it was. "This way." Best place to start...the dens around Pride Rock itself. Most of the older lions and lionesses tended to be around there during the day. Oooo...she couldn't wait to meet up with Femizi and Null later to tell them about her encounter! They didn't get to meet incoming rogues often!
He followed her eagerly. This was the pinnacle of his life so far, and he was well into adulthood. What a shame, but better late than never. Approaching the dens he looked at the group of lions and dens and assumed to ask around there. He guessed older lions would be resting, so would have to tread carefully. Before approaching the group he turned to Ufara. "I could not thank you enough for this. Please let me know if I can ever do anything for you in return." He bowed his head gently with a smile. Maybe... if this all worked out, he could stay?
