[JRP] Plagued

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The longer he lived in the Kitwana'antara, the more Nagua realized that the pride's inhabitants weren't that much different from the ones he'd known in the swamp. There were the people who were happy every day, the people who were unhappy, the people who would claw you at the slightest provocation, the people who wouldn't shut up about how horrible that nasty habit of clawing others was...etc.

True, some of those personality positions were filled by nonlions, which was still a bit disconcerting, but the more time he spent among them, the more accustomed he became. It was still a bit weird to the teal lion, but he wasn't going to argue with what was obviously a long established fact.

He still shuddered whenever he thought about where hybrids came from, but as long as he didn't do that in front of said creatures, there shouldn't be any repurcussions. Shouldn't. He wasn't sure what the Master Warrior would say if she knew he still had those kinds of thoughts...and wasn't sure he wanted to know what she'd say.

The young Scout was returning to the pride after a patrol and looked up to see something...very intensely maroon. Someone, rather, for that was no bush! It was, in fact, a lioness. A rather attractive one, if rather bright. Not to mention someone he'd never seen before...

"Hi there!" the words slipped out of the male's mouth without thought and before he could stop them.  

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A wave of relief swept through him as the lioness replied to his thoughtless greeting. Then she looked up and smiled and Nagua felt his own lips stretching in return. At least she didn't seem to think he was an idiot thus far!

"I'm Nagua," he introduced himself in response to her question. "But look who's talking! You're not so dull yourself," the teal lion pointed out with a grin. Hadn't he just been observing how brightly intense her own coloration was? He knew about his own, of course, but he didn't exactly look in the water hole to see himself that often. Or ever. That was for lions who were looking to impress someone. Or leopards. Or cheetahs. Or wild dogs...  

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Nagua laughed as she mentioned brothers. He knew exactly how that went, having not only two brothers, but also three sisters to boot.

"That's true, and I know exactly what you mean! I have brothers and sisters too, though you wouldn't believe we were related just looking at coloration," he admitted. "But my brother Zerrin has the same markings as I do, so we look sort of alike." The teal lion explained all of this cheerfully, avoiding mentioning the weird looks he and his mother had gotten when he was young, the ones that wordlessly said "and where did he come from?"

"It's great to meet you, Ebha," Nagua replied at last. And it was. For the first time, he'd met someone in the Kitwana (he was assuming that she was a pride member if she was here) with whom he could really...be himself. And not have to spare a thought for disease and plague and sickness. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed normal conversation until now.  

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The teal lion frowned a bit in concentration as he tried to imagine a lion - a male - with Ebha's colors, except white instead of yellow. He got lost somewhere around trying to imagine a male Ebha, which was weird enough to make him want to stop right then and there.

"I can't picture it," he confessed aloud. He supposed from the way that the lioness didn't offer to introduce him, that Gairnéad wasn't to be found in or near the Kitwana'antara. Since he'd been here for several moons and not seen anyone with colors that bright, regardless of yellows or whites, he was pretty sure that the unimaginable brother simply didn't belong to the pride. Probably for the best...

"Oh! I'm a Scout," the lion answered, realizing he'd been asked a direct question. "Since I'm not originally from the pride, and haven't shown any signs of being diseased yet, it makes sense for me to range further out than most," Nagua explained. He was kind of disappointed in himself for bringing the disease into this wonderful conversation, but on the other hand, it allowed him to tell her that he was not suffering from it in any way...always a good thing in this pride.  

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The male grinned sheepishly, embarrassed that he'd made her frown. "I guessed as much, I mean, I've been here for several moons now, and I'm pretty sure I'd remember meeting someone like you before." Nagua realized that that line sounded pretty...well, pretty bad. "I mean, someone with your coloration! It's, uh, very distinctive. And bright."

It was a good thing that blushes didn't show well on fur, especially anything darker than white.  

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The lion laughed hesitantly as Ebha giggled. It was nice that he'd made her laugh, but he hadn't really meant to, and he was still embarrassed and confused and not very good at this...

"Oh, you do stand out!" he babbled. "In a good way, of course, why would you stand out in a bad way..." Nagua trailed off, trying to keep his cool and failing miserably. It didn't help that he was so confused by her last words.

"Twins?" he asked after hopelessly pondering the words for a few long moments.  

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"Dop-pel-gan-ger," Nagua sounded out the unfamiliar word. It sounded like nothing he'd ever heard before, but that didn't make it a bad thing. "What's it mean?" He was also the last person to understand what it was like to blend in a crowd so he tactfully (or confusedly) ignored that remark.

"Oh, I guess so," the lion replied when Ebha mentioned returning to the Healers. Those sorts of things did tend to take priority in this pride, and he had no reason to argue with it. "I don't suppose you need any help finding the way," he fumbled. It sounded like the lioness had been here long enough to know where she was going, which meant he couldn't justifiably offer to help her get around.

Oh well. That was just his luck.