[ORP] The Inselelo goes wandering.

[Zosie]

((This is open for anyone to participate, if they wish. For both those glad for the Inselelo to be part of the pride, and for those who are skeptical and want to grill him.))



Nguvu was perched ontop of a dry rock, large arms rippling slightly as he pushed himself into a more comfortable position.

Being back here was strange, but wonderful. He had been very lucky in both his first encounter with the pride again, and with his challenge. He knew this and did not take it lightly.

He was a little on edge lately. He had noticed it himself. Nguvu had kept to scanning the horizon for any threat, although the cubs in the pride were growing up to become juveniles, they were still small and unable to defend themselves.

Picking himself up, he began to pace across the cracked earth.  

[Izzy Makani]

Hadharani was coming back in from a scouting attempt. She'd been looking for food but with how dry the lands had been she hadn't had much luck in finding any game during her scouting attempt.

As she got closer to the pride she could see her brother Nguvu pacing on a dry rock. The way he was acting screamed nervous to Harani and it just seemed a little odd.

She picked up her pace and started over to him. She had to find out what was bothering her brother. She slowed as she reached the rock he was perched on and called up to him.

"Nguvu? You ok?"  

[Zosie]

He heard a familiar voice and turned his big frame, perhaps a little too quickly.

Ah, his sister! It was nice to see a happy face. Not that so many around here had been unkind, its just, well, he still didn't know a lot of them.

"Hadharani!" He bounced towards her affectionately and aimed a rather accidentally rough nuzzle at the top of her shoulders. Sometimes Nguvu didn't really know his own strength. "I'm okay, how are you sister?" He beamed.

One thing he had missed, so so terribly during his time as a rogue was his two sisters, and it gave him so much joy to be back in their lives, even if just temporarily.

Izzy Makani

 

[Kimaria]

Not too far away a pair of lionesses walked side by side, one larger than the other but not by much. The lionesses were Ainra and the Firekin Ambassador Su. For a Firekin, Su was lightly built. She was lean and tall with a gently sloping face that portrayed a nobility that gleamed in her bright eyes. Ainra, though a little shorter, was far more stocky in build, which came from having a huntresses physique and having spent her past out in rogue lands and not as part of a pride.

Still, despite their differences, the pair did consider themselves as friends and it was in this companionship that they walked today.

"---it here." Ainra was saying.

"I agree. It feels better to put some distance between me and my kin."

"Truly?"

"Don't get me wrong." Su was saying. "I love those brutes dearly but I can do my job better when I know they aren't going to be visiting every other day." She smiled and turned to look ahead of them. "Oh. Look. Company."

Ainra, who had been smiling, came to a sudden halt, a nervous expression now playing across her face. She had been incredibly wary of the new Inselelo since his joining and had gone out of her way to avoid crossing paths with him.

Su, on the other hand, had no such feelings and, without much thought towards her much more timid companion, strode forwards towards the siblings. "Nguvu." She greeted politely, dipping her head in his direction. "Hadharani."

Ainra had dropped back a pace or two by this point.  

[Zosie]

Suddenly, they were joined by another pair of lionesses.

Nguvu had seen one of them around, but didn't know her well enough to distinguish major points about her personality. The other, was bright red, and Nguvu knew that she was from somewhere else, however, she was a friend rather than a foe.

He noticed that Ainra, had dropped back a little.

He gave them both a wide smile. "Hello, how are you both?" Nguvu was a genuinely polite lion, and bowed slightly. He also hoped to make a good impression on those that were wary of him.

Kimaria

 

[Kimaria]

"We are well." Su replied trimly, casting the male a somewhat appreciative look. She had been very impressed by his show of strength on the day that they had met him. He had made the migration all the more interest for appearing and with it had come her first glimpse of crocodiles and monkeys. No such things lived in the desert of her homeland and she was starting to realise how narrow her view of the world had been up until that time.

"I do hope we're not interrupting anything. We were just passing by. Thought it only polite to say hello."

Her gaze flashed briefly to Ainra who was still quietly hiding in her shadow. With a brief smile, she stepped aside, leaving the other female vulnerable.

"Hello." She said in a small voice. "Maybe we should just...be on our way?"  

[Zosie]

"Not at all." He said with a broad smile. Su was one of the lionesses who was more open to him taking the position of Inselelo, she was of course, a firekin, though. Nguvu had usually found them to be bolder and stronger than any lion he had met before. That was just an impression though, bordering on a stereotype.

He looked from his sister Hadharani, to the two passing by. "We were just catching up, whilst I was patrolling. Gotta keep the border safe, that's where I'm headed." He explained.

He noticed how Ainra had shrunk away from him, and frowned. A lesser lion could have played on it, made himself feel more masculine. That was not how Nguvu worked, he was simple and honest, and did not want harm to come to anyone. He moved closer to Ainra.

"Why do you fear me? I protect the pride, and everyone in it, I don't bite... well, except crocodiles." He gave a throaty chuckle. Yeah, bad timing for a joke, maybe.

Kimaria

 

[Andranis]

"Perhaps it's because you're a face she doesn't know yet... As many who joined or were born in the pride after you departed as an adolescent wouldn't know you." Mhisani didn't know him, but because of the nature of her old pride, she didn't mind a new face. As long as he did his job in the pride, she was happy to see him. She had yet to earn her own bit of respect with many, though, something the lioness hoped to accomplish one way or another. Food was a good place to start, and while she'd been on her way to find smaller game, the chance conversation had distracted her from her little foray. She offered Nguvu a smile. "I don't distrust you... You help keep us safe from not only outsiders who wish to do us harm, but from crocodiles."  

[Zosie]

At the surprise of the sight and sound of another female, Nguvu twitched gently. He was so used to being on patrol and being aware of his surroundings, that when he wasn't, he couldn't help but feel his heart quicken.

He whipped his head around clumsily to see the beautiful form of Mhisani. He had always been a fan of her bright, blue eyes.

"Perhaps." He agreed. Although he hoped that in his more recent times, as one of the only males, he would be recognised.

"It is not only my job, Mhisani, but this was - is, my home. I would not let any terror or tragedy claim it." He looked at her almost defiantly, but it was not a comment that was meant to question her. He was a loyal lion and sometimes he wanted to make his thoughts and love clear.

Andranis

 

[Andranis]

Zohwhee

The lioness couldn't help but smile. "Of course, one wants to protect their home!" She found a spot to sit down, stretching slightly. "I don't know why lions wouldn't want you around, though..." Her smile only seemed to broaden. "Any lion who can kill a CROCODILE, even a smaller one, is DEFINITELY worth having around in MY mind!"

She paused to look him over. "Besides... You're not hard on the eyes." She didn't know about the other lionesses, but Mhisani rather liked the Inslelo. Any cubs of his, unless they were mothered by a lioness related to one of the Umholi, would be unrelated to the rest of the pride... Besides his sisters, anyway. Of course, she didn't imagine her opinion mattered much to the other lionesses, what with her being new blood.  

[Zosie]

Andranis

Nguvu was rather taken aback. He was used to skepticism, but this female seemed to be using a new approach altogether. He felt flattered, and had his face not been covered by thick, pale fur, there would have been an obvious flush.

"Protection, is the very thing a male wishes to provide." He said simply. It was one of his major thoughts in life. He was very protective of his family and of his home and anything he cared about.

"A smaller one?!" He boomed with a chuckle. "Whatever you say, miss"

Now he had become more comfortable with the pride, he felt he was able to joke around a little more and settle into his skin.  

[Andranis]

Zohwhee

Izzy Makani

Kimaria

She gave a shrug. "I'm not saying that one was small. Any crocodile that's not a baby is dangerous, though, especially to cubs, and they have tough skin. So ANY lion who can kill one is valuable." She wondered, how would his cubs turn out? Would his sons be that strong? Being from another pride, Mhisani didn't hold the same beliefs about strength in relation to one's coat and mane color. A lion with a black mane could be the weakest thing on the savannah, while a lion with a white mane such as Nguvu... Well, he HAD killed a crocodile!

She glanced at the other lionesses. "What about you three? Wouldn't you agree, a lion who can kill a crocodile is worth having around?" She was sure of Hadharani's answer, being one of Nguvu's sisters and all. But what about Ainra and Su? Granted, Su was from another pride, one of the Firekin... Mhisani was positive, though, that a lioness from such a strong pride could understand wanting strong lions around.  

[Kimaria]

Su regarded them all thoughtfully, her tail twitching. She had to admit that the male's strength was something to admire. Facing off a crocodile was certainly not the easiest task to take on with all it's hard skin and sharp teeth.

"I would say he was worth keeping close," she replied at last with a small smile. "I'd rather like to see him fight again, though. Just to make sure it wasn't just a fluke. Besides, to keep his rank he'll have to fight other lions. Not crocodiles. Isn't that right?"

She inched a little closer to the male, observing his muscular frame.

Ainra simply gave a small shrug and dipped her head lower. "If he keeps us safe then that is all that matters."

Zohwhee

Andranis

 

[Zosie]

He nodded and gave Su a small smile. She seemed like she had always been more supportive of him than some of the other lionesses. Maybe it was because she had a different past to a lot of the lionesses here. She was a firekin. It was a past that mystified him, and he hoped that one day he would find out more.

Ainra was a little softer. He turned to both females with a chuckle. "I'm sure I will fight again, and then we will see how I fare."

Mhisani never seemed to have a bad word to say about Nguvu either, and it was the combination of her attitude and lovely pelt and that drew the inselelo towards her.

"It's nice to think I am worth having around."

Kimaria

Andranis

 

[Andranis]

"Of course you are!" Mhisani was practically beaming with appraisal of Nguvu. Her, a crush? It couldn't POSSIBLY be imagined... Could it? Perhaps it could. She glanced at Su, smiling at the other lioness' words. A crocodile was, indeed, one thing. But how WOULD he fare with another lion? How would he fare against, say, Surtak or Gakere? Or even a rogue challenger? Okay, now she wanted to know... She REALLY wanted to know. "I think we need a lion for Nguvu to fight! Preferably one from outside..." It wouldn't look good, after all, for him to fight one of the Abaholi so soon.

Zohwhee