|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Oct 27, 2013 2:25 pm
 |
|
|
 |
At long last he was home. Even the very air smelled like it. He'd been gone for a couple of moons, in part because of the unexpected migration of the Jini-msemi. And then, well, they'd taken their time on the way back.
He'd never imagined that Tseva would want to come live in the Mwezi'Johari with him. She'd refused the last time he'd asked, and so he'd had no intention of asking again, especially after everything Shangyue had done. Avahk hadn't been affected as much as some people, but he was somewhat concerned about bringing someone else into the lingering political mess.
However, Tseva had insisted. And had, quite reasonably, pointed out that what a single person couldn't weather alone, two could often survive together.
He'd been so deliriously happy when she'd agreed to be his mate.
And now here they were, not too long after sunset when the last rays of the sun still illuminated the western sky. He'd explained to his beloved about how Shangyue had insisted that the pride be fully nocturnal. She had, surprisingly, been quite accepting of that quirk, pointing out that if they worshipped the moon, it made complete sense.
"Nearly there," he assured her, knowing that they were well within the pride borders now.
Tseva looked around with interest, refamiliarizing herself with the lands that she'd passed through so long ago, the place that would now be her home. It wasn't the swamps, of course, nothing could be, but it was certainly much more attractive than that damned mountain. Significantly flatter and greener, it was likely the best substitute the black lioness would ever be able to find.
And it was Avahk's home, which made it all the more important. Yes, this was a place she could live happily. Tseva did feel guilty about leaving her family behind, especially since her father wouldn't even talk to her when it was clear what she wanted to tell him. And her children...any of them who returned wouldn't find her the way she'd found her mother...
...well, none of them had ever met their father either, which was just the start of everything wrong with how that litter had been raised. She was glad her parents had been so willing to help with their grandchildren, but was resolved to do better with the next group. After all, the next litter would have two parents.
She supposed, as Avahk mentioned that they were nearly to the pride, that it was a little strange to find a totally nocturnal pride. But then again, it had seemed that half the Mwezi'Johari were nocturnal anyway, the last time she'd been here. So it wasn't that big a stretch to her mind. The hardest part would be her own adjustment, though they'd been trying to start later and later in the day, and stay up later and later through the night in order to help her out.
They'd been on the move today since the late afternoon and Tseva wasn't that tired yet, but she still didn't see herself staying awake until dawn.
"That's good to hear...but shouldn't we have seen someone by now?" the black lioness asked in return. |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 27, 2013 2:40 pm
|
|
|
|
It was still fairly early in the night but there was no hunting scheduled that either Ota or Kamia were expected to take part in- which was lucky because Ota had somewhere she wanted to be. Though she had adjusted to the shift to staying up all night, she still had to fight her own mind to stay cheerful about it. More than anything now she objected on principle, but she was happy it was easy, at least, to stay up until the sun rose.
"Anything?" she called to Kamia, who was a few yards away, squinting into the darkness.
"No!"
Kamia was happier in the night, she was doing far better now that the whole pride was with her then- but most importantly, now her friend was practically forced to rise when she did. She liked having Ota around more at night. Though tonight's scavenger hunt was somewhat confusing, Ota seemed to be leading them farther and farther away without much excuse.. but Kamia didn't question her. There was usually a reason, maybe it was something they didn't want to be in the middle of the pride for.
"Wait!" she said suddenly, straightening up, "A couple of guards are heading towards the pride-- how did we get so close to a patrol route?"
Ota blinked at Kamia's exclamation, then looked out to where she was looking. They'd already passed some guards out on patrol, and she was sure she'd spotted a royal guard but they didn't follow the same well-known and predictable patterns.
"We're not," she said, then she ran out past Kamia towards the lions she could barely make out in the darkness (Kamia, it seemed, had better night vision!), "Come on!"
"Hey! Wait!" Kamia cried, following after Ota with no idea they were actually headed towards Avahk and Tseva- and not caring that her wailing would very likely announce their approach. |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 27, 2013 2:46 pm
|
|
|
|
"We're actually in the middle ground right now," Avahk answered. "There's patrols further out, to protect the border, and then there's the actual lands where the pride lives further in. So we just got lucky, I guess, seeing nobody until now."
He'd added the last two words as his ears perked up, hearing a voice. A very familiar voice, even with that whine. The grey lion grinned and picked up the pace, glancing back at Tseva to encourage her to follow.
"Kamia! Ota! Is that you?" he called out cheerfully.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hmmm....how was it then that they'd managed to penetrate so far into the pride lands without encountering any guards at all? Was it really luck? Avahk didn't hide anything from her, she knew, so maybe that's all it was. But now it seemed their luck had run out...
...or been replaced by a different kind, considering how happy Avahk looked to see the two shapes heading towards them. Well, if he trusted these people, she should too. Maybe she was just nervous, this being the first time she'd come to a strange pride with the intent to live amongst them...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 27, 2013 2:56 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 27, 2013 3:05 pm
|
|
|
|
Avahk slowed down when they came near, his cousin and her best friend, a smile crossing his face. It was impossible to be anything other than happy around Ota and Kamia, and he couldn't think of anyone he'd rather meet first on his return home.
"Yep!" he agreed. Turning slightly, he saw that the black lioness had kept pace with him. Wonderful!
"Tseva, this is Ota," he nodded to the white lioness, "and Kamia," a nod for the brown lioness. "Girls, this is Tseva Reygehl. My mate." And oh, weren't those words sweet to say aloud! He savored the feeling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tseva smiled as she caught the knowing look that passed between the other lionesses. Somethings were universal to lionesses, regardless of pride. Of course, she couldn't blame them, it was fairly obvious since Avahk had returned with her openly. Still, seeing how friendly he seemed to be with the pair, the black lioness found herself hopoing that these two would approve of her.
"It's very nice to meet you both," she told them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 27, 2013 3:14 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 27, 2013 3:19 pm
|
|
|
|
"Yes, we are," Tseva replied for them both. She certainly didn't want these friends of Avahk's to think that he was bringing her here against her will. Then again, it would have been difficult for him to force such a journey upon her...whatever. The point was that she was here now, and here to stay with Avahk.
"And I'm sure that we'll have plenty of time to get to know each other...and that you and Avahk's sisters will tell me anything that he might have forgotten to," the lioness added with a mischevious grin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Avahk had been beaten to the punch of answering Kamia's question, so he just stayed silent, grinning. Already this was going so well. Tseva was happy to be here, or at least to be with him, it looked like Ota and Kamia were happy as well, and he would've been upset if his friends didn't like his mate.
Of course, then she mentioned that the lionesses might tell her things about him...what was that about?
"Tseva! I'm sure there's nothing I've forgotten to tell you!" he protested. Well, maybe he hadn't mentioned the places he was ticklish...but that was beside the point, right?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 27, 2013 3:33 pm
|
|
|
|
"You've come back at a good time," Ota said, finally turning her attention from Tseva to Avahk. As much fun as it was to ignore Avahk and focus on his lady, it needed to be said. He may have waited out the worst of it before departing but there was no telling how things progressed since then- perhaps seeing them so far from the center was a good sign, but hearing it was important, too, "The King seems to be relaxing a bit, the royal guards don't seem to be quite so menacing anymore."
They were still around but focusing on the positive seemed more appropriate in this situation, she wasn't sure how much Tseva knew about what happened and whatever instability the pride could be facing.
"It's about time someone got us all back to business as usual," she said.
Kamia nodded as Ota began filling Avahk in on the goings-on since he left, it wasn't much but it was something. And she was right, a wedding would probably do everybody some good. It was a happy occasion that wasn't focused in any way on the King or royal family, worst case scenario Tseva would be a slave but even then Kamia doubted they'd be asked or bullied into the royal guard.
"Our family is so big, practically the whole pride would have an excuse to come to your wedding," she agreed, though she doubted anybody would need an excuse to go if they were looking for some cheering up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 27, 2013 3:41 pm
|
|
|
|
The grey lion stiffened and sobered as Ota changed the subject. He'd waited for things to settle a bit before leaving, but they hadn't been stable by any definition of the word. It seemed that things were getting better, from what his friend said. Even so, Avahk doubted he'd ever completely relax under Shangyue's reign. Well, maybe Tseva's presence would help ease his mind.
But then Kamia, cousin that she was, began pointing out the consequences of being related to so much of the pride...
"What? You must be joking," he protested weakly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tseva's eyes narrowed as Ota related the political situation to them. Avahk had told her a bit about the coup, but it seemed to be a fair bit more difficult to live with than he'd intimated. Not that she regretted her decision to come here, but enough that she was a bit worried by these royal guards. She'd have to make it a priority to get Avahk to tell her all about them.
Then she had to blink as Kamia talked about the whole pride coming to a wedding. She was familiar with that kind of attention going to the royal family, but an ordinary hunter pair like the two of them?
"Wait...just how big is your family, Avahk?" the black lioness asked suspiciously.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 27, 2013 3:53 pm
|
|
|
|
Ota smiled when the subject changed, and laughed at the reaction both Avahk and Tseva had to Kamia's remark about practically the whole pride being invited to their wedding. She wasn't surprised Avahk hadn't mentioned it, his family outside of his sisters probably hadn't really come up in any conversation.
"Well," she said, jumping in to answer despite Tseva asking Avahk, nodding to Kamia and herself, "Pretend we're the pride."
Kamia was grinning when she glanced over to Ota as she began answering, it took her a second to realize what Ota was trying to do but once she did she straightened herself up and smiled.
"I'm Avahk's cousin," she said, nodding back to Ota, "She's not."
Ota nodded.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 27, 2013 3:59 pm
|
|
|
|
Tseva blinked and looked from the two lionesses to Avahk, and back again. Then she repeated the motions, trying to make sure that they weren't pulling the wool over her eyes.
"So you're saying that you, Ota, who actually looks like Avahk a bit, isn't related to him. And you, Kamia, who looks nothing like him at all, is a cousin?" Everything from Tseva's tone to her expression said that she seriously doubted the truth of what she was saying.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Even the grey lion had to chuckle a bit at Tseva's patent disbelief. He supposed that, if he hadn't known better, he might agree with her.
"It's true. Kamia and I may be distant cousins - I think we're third or fourth cousins, once removed? - but we are still related. Ota, however, is strangely not related to most of the pride." It was complicated, sure, but from the bit he'd been able to see of the Jini-msemi, they had similar family lines that were entwined throughout the pride. So it shouldn't be too foreign a concept for her.
Then again, the Jini-msemi also had a physical build that was quite different from any other lion he'd met. So maybe the fact that the Mwezi weren't so very different from rogues Tseva had seen made her focus more on coloration.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 27, 2013 4:10 pm
|
|
|
|
Ota blinked as her demonstration took an unexpected turn, she looked over at Kamia critically and tried to stop herself from seeing that she and Avahk were related.. but she couldn't do it. It was probably because she knew so many members of their family. Though Kamia was off on a more.. earthy branch of the family that didn't look quite the same as the rest of them. But that was another thing entirely.
Kamia was suddenly aware of having too many eyes on her all at once but she nodded despite it, she didn't mind that Tseva couldn't see how they were related.
"Second cousins, actually," she said, glancing over at Avahk, "Ota is related to some, but her grandmother and her grandmother's brother are as far back as her family go. Our great grandparents are both here and have had way more cubs."
Ota nodded.
"It's easier to see if you meet more of the family, I think," she said, "My point was half.. except there are three hundred lions in the pride."
Kamia paused when Ota actually stated a number, it sounded like too many that way but.. when you thought about it, it was probably right.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 27, 2013 4:16 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 27, 2013 4:34 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 27, 2013 4:38 pm
|
|
|
|
The grey lion managed to stop laughing finally and snorted in response to Ota's words. "Frankly, I don't know which of those I'd rather less. King Shangyue...or the sisters I never told about Tseva." Actually, he'd probably prefer to find one of - any one of - his sisters, but he really wasn't looking forward to being raked over the coals for not telling them about the black lioness. Because, after all, sisters seemed to hate being the last to know things about their brother.
"But sure, let's go in together."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tseva had also stopped laughing by this time and while she didn't know as much about the pride as the other three, she could easily read Avahk's face and body language. He was worried, even though he was glad to be home.
The black lioness rested her head against her mate's for a few moments, wordlessly reassuring him.
"I'm sure whomever we find will be good, thank you Ota, Kamia," she told the other females.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
