Something hurt. It was deep in the Ukushisa's chest, but it was there and it stung something fierce. Pale blue eyes watched a beetle struggle against a small bird that was attempting to make it it's meal for the evening. In the burnt orange light of the setting sun, the red lioness' pelt seemed to almost burn like a flame.
Her chin rested atop both of her paws as she laid near one of the many umbrella trees that were scattered throughout the pride. It was obvious to anyone that she was moping around, but only those who knew their grandmother truly knew why. Suddenly Ukushisa's grim expression turned to one of anger. Her body sprung into action as a paw swiped at the bird, catching it under her massive paws. Leaning down she wrapped her mouth around its body as she turned to head back to spot, giving the hopefully thankful beetle a passing glance.
As she raised her head, she was met with the sight of a tan lioness.
"Sister, what are you doing? The pride isn't even resting around here right now. We're near the outpost." Golden eyes narrowed as she spoke. Those eyes belonged to Ukwazi, the red lion's older sister and one of her two surviving siblings. She stood much prouder than the others as she occupied the spot where Ukushisa had been calling her own only minutes ago. "Well? Spit that filthy thing out and explain."
Spitting the limp body out of her mouth, Ukushisa's pale blue eyes narrowed back to meet her sister's. "I was mourning our grandmother, something you don't seem to want to do." She wasn't exactly dead yet, but she was gone, on her death walk so she would be joining other lionesses and Abaholi somewhere that wasn't where Ukushisa was at the time.
"You seem to think as though she is not my blood and I will not miss her. You may be my sister, but watch your tongue. We are all brothers and sisters here. Everyone misses her, not just you and I. Even Zotikos is missing her presence and her stories." Snapped Ukwazi as she snapped her teeth in her sister's direction. They should be sharing stories of her, remembering her legacy, not fighting. This wasn't how their grandmother had raised them to behave.
Both of her ears quickly swiveled backwards to pin against her skull. Ukushisa wasn't exactly fond of the sinking feeling she got when her sister was right. That still didn't help the stinging though. The lioness that primarily raised them had spent more time with her then Ukwazi or Zotikos, so of course she was going to be a little more vulnerable and a little more pissed off right about now. "Why are you even here?" She hissed, tailing flicking around wildly behind her.
"You didn't help hunt today."
The red sister winced.
Ukwazi's head rose, her eyes looked down her muzzle at her sister as she held herself with a bit more poise than minutes before. "You know Gakere won't be pleased. A lot of his and Surtak's cubs are growing and are moving onto solid food. We need to hunt more to feed those new bellies and by we, I mean you too." She paused, watching her sister's aggression turn to almost shame. Her words softened in response, "We will have our time to mourn...together, but we have our obligations. We're two of many, but two can make a difference."
"Wait...did you not go either?"
"Of course I did!" The tan lioness blurted out in her own defence. Quickly she composed herself while listening to her sister burst out laughing. "But I left early to look for you." The laughter quickly stopped. "You're a healthy lioness in the prime of your life! The pride needs you, especially with Surtak missing. We're down a protector so we need all eyes on the cubs." She still had mixed feelings about the Inselele, and part of her thought one of them had something to do with Surtak's disappearance, maybe that white-maned one... Still, it wasn't something she was going to bring up, not lightly anyways.
"So my big sis is worried about me~?" There was a teasing tone in Ukushisa's voice as she approached her sister, leaving the dead bird behind for some snake or jackal to make a meal of later. It would have been a nice snack, but her sister's chatter made it impossible to retrieve it without some sort of comment. A little hunger was worth not hearing her talk for a little while.
Flustered, Ukwazi's ears came forward and her cheeks puffed slightly. Her tail flew wildly behind her as she shook her head. "I was not. You're a fine hunter. I knew you'd be fine, but our beloved aunt was not so sure. Besides, it's not like you to miss any of our hunts. You like showing off after all. I wanted to make sure you were okay." Part of that was true, part of that was a tiny white lie. "Anyways! We should go back. I think Zotikos has cub-sitting duty again for the injured cubs who couldn't go on the Inqina. I'm sure he could use the company."
"Sure, sure." It's not like Zotikos really needed saving. It was his job to help out, just like the lionesses afterall. Still, maybe being around family right now would be better than being off by herself... Damnit, Ukwazi was right again. But her family was important and she had been neglecting them since their grandmother left on her death walk. The celebration of her life had been enlightening to learn more about her and she hadn't taken the time to really say goodby. Maybe that's why she was mourning so much... There would be time for reflection later though. Apparently Zotikos needed saving from rowdy cubs. Ukushisa approached her sister, rubbing their heads together for a moment.
The show of affection was odd to say the least and caught the blue-eyed lioness off guard. As quickly as it had happened, Ukushisa was done and gone, heading back towards the direction of the rest of the pride. A smile crept onto Ukwazi's face as she silently followed behind her.
[word count: 1041]
