[JRP] Learning the Land

[Cajanic]

It hadn't been very long since they had been there, but it felt like they were slowly getting their footing. They had gone through the ceremony, and had been placed in what was known as the lower middle class. But for them, it didn't matter what class they were in, as they were just happy to have been accepted into the lands in the first place.

The pride was a lovely place, and seemed just the kind of thing they had spent the latter portion of their lives looking for. A place seemed to believe in the same things they did. While it felt like things were a little... unsettled, it was still a much safer home than living in the rogue lands, of that they were certain. It was just a shame their daughter had decided not to join them, expressing the need to explore and learn more before settling down in one place.

Whatever made her happy, that was the rule of a good parent, right?

""I want to meet some of the other pride members," Elenheril said lightly to her mate, who nodded along for the sake of keeping her happy.

"That's why we're out today, isn't it?" He replied with a chuckle, his dark blue mane bouncing as he shook his head, "have patience. I'm sure we'll find someone to speak to."

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[mouselet]

It was remarkable, Tseva had decided, how much of the pride she remembered from her previous visit. Most locations had taken on the status of half-remembered - things that looked familiar, though she couldn't quite remember where they were in relation to other landmarks. Luckily, those times when she'd gotten lost and turned around, there had usually been some helpful pride member willing to set her straight.

And no few of those looked to be related to Avahk...well, that was a part of what she'd let herself in for when she'd agreed to return to the Mwezi as his mate.

She had nowhere particular to go today, and so was intrigued to note a pair of lions wandering with that same aimless abandon she herself displayed. Wonderful! It was always good to meet more pride members!

"Good evening!" she called out to the twosome, angling her steps for the pair.

Cajanic

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[Cajanic]

Two pairs of ears perked when the voice broke through the air, both lion and lioness looking over at the gray lady. Their reactions were as different as night and day. Nin took on a thoughtful frown, nodding a quiet hello in the direction of the female. For him, that was more than enough in terms of interaction. He wasn't what one would call the overly out-going type, and for him that was perfectly fine. It suited his mate, too, so what could he complain about?

Speaking of, she couldn't have been more different. She grinned wide and sprang towards the female with a moment of hesitation, closing the distance between them quickly. "Hello!" She offered brightly, needing more than just a nod between them, "I'm Elenheril! It's a pleasure to meet you! This is my partner, Nin." She motioned for the male to join him, and he let out a defeated sigh.

Of course he would- he couldn't say no to her. So he wandered up behind her, sitting just a bit further away than she was.

"Hello," he greeted, "we were just exploring a little. This place is very new to us."  

[mouselet]

"I'm Tseva Reygehl," the black lioness introduced herself with a smile for the other female. She'd met lions who were close-mouthed and quiet like the male, and while she didn't care for the attitude, she was going to try not to let it affect her too much.

Tseva gave a sheepish grin as she replied to the implied question. "I don't know that I'll be able to help you too much, I've only just joined the pride myself. But these are the lands of the Mwezi'Johari." She left a pause, in case the pair already knew something of the lions who lived in these parts.

Sometimes people knew about their neighbors. Sometimes they didn't. She had no way of knowing how far these two had come, or if they had any destination in mind.  

[Cajanic]

Elenheril smiled brightly. "Yes! We just joined ourselves, and we were looking to get to know the place better," she said happily, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Tseva! You have quite a lovely name." And a pretty coat. Where they had come from, there weren't a lot of gray lions. She looked very different, and that made her interesting. She liked interested. By extension, that meant she liked her already.

"We're happy to see that we aren't the only new ones around here," Nin added, trying his best to be talkative. He was used to keeping to himself- it was difficult for him to branch out. Probably why he found Elenheril so captivating. She was able to do so much more than he could.

Even being civil seemed to escape him most of the time.

"Do you have a class?" Elenheril couldn't help but ask, "we don't know too much about it yet, but it seems like the social standings are very important around here. I would like to know more about them!" was that rude to ask? Like asking for a female's age or weight?  

[mouselet]

"Oh, I see!" the black lioness replied. And she did, now. At first she'd thought the pair were wandering rogues who'd somehow gotten fairly deep into the Mwezi lands. Now she realized that they weren't rogues any more than she was.

"Your name is quite lovely as well," she went on, "and I'm glad to know that there are others who are just as new as I am!" It made her feel less lost when she thought about the pride politics Avahk had attempted to describe to her. They'd tried a few times now, and Tseva was still having trouble keeping track of who was who. It didn't help that most of them seemed to be related, even if only distantly.

"I am in the upper middle class," Tseva answered the question a little slowly, wondering why on earth she was being asked. It seemed like a silly thing, especially since there weren't a great many differences between the lower middle, middle, and upper middle classes. Besides that, she didn't see any reason to treat anyone differently just because of their class. Except for royals, but that was different. Or rather, showing deference to royalty was something seen in every pride that had a King or Queen.  

[Cajanic]

"Oh, I see!" Elenheril seemed pleased with knowing the answer, though Nin couldn't imagine why. He didn't see much difference between them, just standing there, and he imagined most of the lions got along well regardless of their class within the pride. But it seemed to interest his mate a great deal, and he wouldn't ruin the experience for her just because he didn't understand what she was thinking.

"were you a wanderer too?" He asked, in hopes of changing the topic without making it seem like he was irritated by it, "We've never been part of a pride before, which is probably why we're so excited about finding out information." He looked at his mate, who only smiled.

"It's a very exciting experience," she hummed, "being a part of something like this. It's entirely different from being on your own!"  

[mouselet]

Well...now how should she answer that question? No matter where she'd been, Tseva had always considered herself to be part of a pride. But she'd definitely wandered, on her name quest. Hmmmm.

"I guess you could say that," the black lioness answered at last. "My birth pride sends us out at adolescence to find our true names. So I did wander for a time."

And yes, living in a pride was very different from having to survive on your own. She just wasn't certain if that was what Elenheril meant.  

[Cajanic]

Nin nodded. "I see." Leaving one pride and finding another- it was probably hard, especially if she had family in her old home. But whatever had happened, she didn't look like she was upset or that she was there against her will, so he had to assume things were working out well for her. If he were more of a chatty lion, he might have commented on it. Instead, he let himself fall back to silence awkwardly.

"I'm glad you found this place, then," Elenheril smiled, "and I'm glad we found it, too. I hope we can be friends!" She was sure she would need more help getting used to a pride, and she wouldn't be against helping someone else if possible, either.

"We should be going," Nin said softly, "there's still a lot to explore before we find our place to sleep. It was very nice meeting you, Tseva."

"Yes! It was absolutely lovely," his mate agreed warmly.  

[mouselet]

"It's always good to find a home," Tseva answered simply as she felt the conversation beginning to wind down. The two of them seemed fairly nice, and perhaps they would indeed become friends. Only the gods could know how that would or wouldn't turn out.

"It was good to meet you," the black lioness agreed, taking the hint and taking herself back to her wandering. The night was young, after all, and there were so many others that she might run into.

Maybe the next one would be related to Avahk. She gave that good odds.