It had been far too long since Bannie had entered into a conversation with Zimran, the current head nanny within the Pridelands. The situation had started about a petty competition that was to see who could produce grandchildren for their mother the fastest, but it had ended with the red lioness thinking much harder on how important spending time with her sisters really was. It had not gone the way she had expected, but it was nice to get hit in the face with reality at some points. Despite all attempts though to convince her otherwise, Bannie still had this notion in her head that her sister 'beat' her at something and it bothered her.
Perched upon a familiar spot, she watched where during the day, dozens of cubs were playing, learning and growing, all while being watched over by their parents and the nannies within the Pridelands. The night had come, the moon was out and all the cubs had returned to the dens for their rest. The only ones out now where the scouts, keeping watch over the borders but they were a distance away by now, those who hunted by night, those who needed to be out and Bannie. It was odd being at a spot she had frequented as a cub. It seemed so unfamiliar, her youth and everything around it. It was like the Pridelands didn't feel so much like home as it used to. Perhaps it was the distance her mother was putting between herself and Bannie, or rather the over-protective nature that Bannie had grown up with from her mother was causing a wedge between the two of them. Regardless, looking back, her cubhood didn't seem like a normal one now that she was full grown as her eyes were open now.
What was she supposed to do now? She was a full grown lioness, an aunt to five cubs who were also grown now. She had relatives everywhere, but the relation to everyone was also a blur. Who could hope to keep track in such a large pride like the Pridelands? It definitely made finding a mate hard, what with everyone so careful about bloodlines where as Bannie could hardly care less so long as it wasn't like...her uncle, grandparent or something.
Bright eyes looked up from the indention that made up the cub's play area to let them wander towards the border. The rogue lands. It seemed almost mystical at times. It was where he father lived from what she had been told her mother while growing up. It was where so many lions who didn't know their blood or didn't care as well came from. It was also where the father to her sister's cubs came from. An unknown male of unknown origin who didn't care for the cubs. He never visited and left Mkali to raise all five by herself.
It seemed also too good to be true sometimes. Being able to raise cubs without the influence of a father. How hard would it be to decide how to parent them correctly if the two disagreed on something? Her mother had raised her with little problem! Her flame-colored tail flicked forward and landed by her side as she continued to look out over the Pridelands, towards the lands where rogues resided. Perhaps a venture there wouldn't be so bad. Maybe she could even find someone to father her own cubs, to continue her family's line, since it seemed as though none of her siblings would, nor would her mother conceive any more. Ki was aging after all and nearing the point of being able to safely birth her last litter.
Her mind was made up. Bannie rose onto her paws, drawing the attention of a few birds that were perched on a nearby tree. They looked amongst one another before taking the sky, leaving the seer standing there by herself. Her tail was still and her ears back, pinning against her skull as she stared into the pit before her.
Why did she care so much about cubs of her own? Was it something her mother had instilled in her mind as a cub? To carry on a family line? Was it some kind of natural urge to find a male at this point in her life? Perhaps it was her hatred for losing at anything. She didn't really know, nor did she care to know as her paws carried her down the rocks that bordered the play area and into the grass that surrounded the area. The grass grew in length as she walked farther away from the center of the pride and closer towards the borders of the Pridelands. Eventually it was up to her belly, running against it as she walked. Avoiding the scouts was fairly simple. She had done it as a cub even. Even if one stopped her, there was nothing they could really do to prevent her from leaving the pride. They were in the middle of no war, no strife, no trouble. There was no reason to stop her other to make sure she was alright and she wasn't a rogue invading their borders.
It was quite the opposite, really. She was wandering into their lands, the unclaimed lands between prides, not with the intention of becoming a rogue herself, but simply finding a suitable male. The lifestyle of a rogue just wasn't for her. Possibly for a short time, but she was spoiled and she knew it. Family was always around her, even if she didn't always want it and somehow she knew she'd miss her family if she just left for good.
The seer could not help but grin as she grew closer to the scent markers that warned wandering rogues that this land was occupied; as if the pride members running around everywhere during the day and the large rock formation in the distance didn't let them know that already. It was definitely exciting and what a tale this would make to tell her sister, assuming all went well and she actually found a male to sire her cubs.
Her walking had come to an end and none had stopped her. With only a few more steps, she was out of the Pridelands and in and rogue lands. Let the search begin.
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