It had been a couple of days, and Bomvu was beginning to think he had made the right choice in going to the pride lands. They were calm, peaceful, and friendly. The lions there were not like the wild, boarish beings he had known in his last home. They weren't always looking for a battle. These lions... they were very kind. Well, at least the ones he had met, anyway. It was probably foolish to think the whole pride would be kind to him when only one or two lions had met him since his joining. Still, first impressions were positive, which honestly surprised him.
He had never thought that he would be the type of lion to live in a pride. Now it was already starting to feel like he had found his real home. Had he just been missing out for the majority of his life? Not aware of the splendor of living in a pride? Or had he just not been ready for that kind of home yet? He had to admit, he didn't really regret having been out on his own, living a life of a warrior in the rogue lands. Things had been exciting and constant, even if it had been a little on the stressful side. Always thinking you were going to be killed had a lot of downsides, true, but it had also helped shape him into the male he was right at that moment. Maybe he had been meant to spend so much time out in the rogue lands, just to make his time in a pride that much more worthwhile. Certainly, he found himself appreciating his time there a lot more than he might have if he had always known a quiet life.
It was very different, but he liked it.
He noticed a female sitting by a small pond, looking into the water with such intensity that he wondered if she thought the image looking back at her was another lioness threatening her spot. She wasn't growling or trying to attack the water, or even speaking, so he suspected she was just a little bit smarter than that. So then, why was she sitting there, looking into the water with such a serious expression? He just had to know, venturing over to speak with her.
"Hello, my dear," he offered faintly, his gruff voice making what was meant to be a nice greeting sound terribly sinister. The female jumped in response, landing right smack in the middle of the small rain pool. "Gah! I'm sorry!" He yelped ,"it was not my intention to startle you... or to get splashed."
The female, however, laughed in response. "That's okay! Don't worry about it, really, I was just so caught up in thought that I didn't even notice anyone coming up behind me! Jumped right out of my fur, didn't I? Oh, I'm Sikio! It's a pleasure to meet you, um... tall dark and creepy."
"My friends just call me Bomvu," replied the large lion, sitting at the edge of the pool. Sikio laughed again, standing up and shaking herself off. Only her paws stayed in the water.
"Well, bomvu, that's a much easier name to say. I like it! I guess you're pretty new here, huh? I don't think I've seen you around before." Bomvu gave a nod, looking at the female with a raised brow. "What?" She asked, "do I still look like a drowned rat or something?" She moved to shake herself off again, but he motioned to stop her. Smiling, she tilted her head to one side. "Well, what is it?"
"I was just wondering why you were so deep in thought," replied the large lion as Sikio slowly moved out of the water to join him back where it was dry, "When I came up to you, you were staring so intently at the water that I thought you might make a dive at it. But it seems you were just thinking about something, right?" He continued to look at her, ignoring how close she got when she sat beside him.
"Oh, well..." she started awkwardly.
"It's alright, you don't have to tell me," Bomvu informed her quickly, "we all have our secrets. I know there are plenty of things I don't want to talk about." he shrugged his large shoulders, indifferent one way or another. But Sikio still looked like she had offended him, shaking her head quickly.
"No, it's not that I don't want to talk about it, it's just that I don't really know how to explain. You see... I come from a very clumsy family... I think it has something to do with our past. But I don't know exactly WHY we're all so clumsy. It's like we just were born with an inability to keep out of trouble. And it's not just people with my mom and dad- my father seems to spread his awkwardness through any female he breeds with. So I know it comes from him, at least, I just don't know WHY. I guess I was sitting here trying to give it a good think, without really getting anywhere. Landing in the water was something I was expecting to happen, I just didn't know it would be because of someone else!" She laughed lightly at that, offering a heavy sigh.
"Sounds like you have a heck of a mystery on your paws," Bomvu told her easily enough, thoughtful, "perhaps it has something to do with the Gods? They have the power to curse lions- I've seen it happen in the rogue lands before."
"Really? Maybe that has something to do with it! maybe father got cursed or something! Wow, I didn't think you would be able to help me with something like that, thank you!" She laughed merrily.
"I don't know if I helped... well, I'm glad. I didn't like seeing you looking so sad. This pride seems like such a happy place. Hopefully you'll be able to figure everything out soon."
She grinned and nodded, before getting to her paws. The two decided to head back to the main portion of the pride together, just in case anyone was starting to worry about them. Apparently she had a lot of family in the pride.
He had to admit, he was curious to see if they were just as kind as she was.
WC: 1,063