Not hiding her fur was nice, Noh decided. She was clean, not smelling like a bunch of berries, and she looked good. This meant going out and doing things, even if it meant walking with an idiot, soft-hearted sister with barely a whisper of a demon. Still, it was a nice evening and the small light lioness was with her sister. Kabi, for her part, was content, dancing and batting about, beaming and moving gracefully around, and the brown lioness was easily able to forget her troubles, walking along with a content hum and sniffing about.
For her part, Noh mostly watched for others, the Chil attentive to the area as she hummed, tail swaying a bit. At least it wasn't cold. Yet. The young Chil liked that. She was less inclined to speak to her sister after all, and her lack of need to warm herself worked well. Besides, Kabi had no drive to take a seat of power, and while Noh understood, Noh'Vah saw no point in talking to her.
Kabi was fine with this - it suited her needs, and it worked. Still, she hated being alone, and Noh was better than loneliness.
Mpeko had wandered from the Firekin. She wandered away to find someplace to belong and to find a place safe from the Nergui, leaving deep in the night and moving rapidly to escape her homeland and now she was safe - but alone. The massive lioness shivered and lay out for the night, feeling very isolated and lonely, and wondered how Hana years ago handled it - if her sister knew she wasn't a drain... Because Mpeko felt like one now. She did not fight, she loved. She didn't even raise a paw to protect cubs - all she could do was scold or seek anyone. Hunt? Certainly. Fight others? Oh, goodness no. Thus, the massive bi-tone lioness rolled on her side and stretched, before rising to all four paws and blinking at the startled form of quite possibly the tiniest brown lioness she'd ever seen. Mpeko's ears swivelled and she blinked, head tilting before she settled to espose her paws.
Kabi stared at a giant - a true giant like the male often at Hakuna's side and the small female was mostly alarmed by the lack of wings, the size, and how very mortal she seemed. While Kabi was used to forms for mortals, this female was thinner than most, and unless she was a starvation god, this was a mortal.
Kabi responded the only way she knew, and screamed.
Noh spun and tore towards her sister rapidly, braking next to her, claws and teeth bared as she studied the lion staring, ears pinned, and Noh'vah looked her over before making herself as big as possible. Just a potential sador. Nothing special.
"Who the hell are you?" Noh snapped, pulling her sister to hide closer to her, the lioness' ears flicking before she shrugged, blinking.
"Uhm, I'm Mpeko. I'm sorry, and you?" The female asked amiably. Noh'vah snorted, paw rising to her chest proudly.
"I am Noh'Vah, and this is Kabi. What are you doing here, slave?" Noh grunted. Kabi shivered, peering at the large lioness for a response, and she was rewarded with a confused, unhappy expression from Mpeko, the female looking positively downcast.
"Slave? Oh, I'm not a slave, those are horrible. I'm Mpeko formerly of the Firekin!" She puffed with a small bit of pride, then slumped, frowning. "But... I don't belong. I left. I don't fit there anymore. My pride went to war... Like a coward, I ran.... Because I'm expected to fight if the enemy attascked us. Or cubs. Even with soldiers." Mpeko's ears drooped and she hung her head a bit, looking down. Noh'Vah grunted.
"So you're-"
"That's horrible Mpeko!" And Kabi wriggled out from under her smaller sister, nuzzling the large, sleek female, who squeaked in surprise, before tentatively nuzzling back. The Firekin were not a pride of cuddlers or lovers and Mpeko had once been an exception - abomination in fact seeing so many lions join ready to fight and die.
She was less shamed with the young female snuggling into her to offer some comfort, the first time she knew of it so free, and while she wanted to pull away, her paw rose and she pawed the fenale affectionately, giving her a swipe with her tongue appreciatively.
"Thank you... What did your sister mean though?" Mpeko asked gently. Noh opened her mouth to speak, and Kabi sat on her.
"Our pride keeps servants, and slaves. Slaves are things, and servants are well tended. But.... We were born earlier, and back when we were littler, the pride kept slaves only." Kabi explained. Noh whined under her sister's butt, trying to wiggle free, and Mpeko blinked. Her expression became one of concern and she eyed Noh when the younger lioness wiggled out from under her sister's butt, looking up. Mpeko made an uncertain look, before sighing, licking the smaller lioness' nose.
Were all outsiders like the Firekin?
"Sorry, sweetie. I'm afraid I'm probably not very useful to you." She admitted gently. She was a pacifist outside hunting and she didn't seek fights or challenges - something most Firekin desired by nature. She was too weak, too soft to fight. It was her shame, and she wasn't sure she wanted to admit it to the lions here. Not when one paler than she was was sitting and trying to enslave her.
Mpeko sighed and looked at Kabi, the brown lioness looking entirely sympathetic to Mpeko's plight and she shook her head, Mpeko smiling faintly to her. At least this lioness understood her worry. The female rose to her own height, Kabi moving off Noh for the female to see. Noh blinked, brows raising. Laying, Mpeko was big enough, but standing the female was sufficiently intimidating, and even Noh's brows raised. What looked like a challenge before was now a rather nasty terror and Noh'Vah looked to Kabi uncertainly, ears going flat. Mpeko chuckled and licked Noh's head softly, giggling.
"Don't worry, I won't bite." Mpeko said lightly. "I think I should go, actually. I'm intruding and prefer not to be enslaved."
The former firekin smiled, turning to pad along away from the pair of sisters, leaving Kabi to swat Noh.
"Mean." The brown female grumbled. Noh huffed indignantly, and turned, shaking her head.
"Lets go back. Mom will want to know about this,."
Kabi nodded, and began padding after Noh calmly, sighing.
It was a weird evening.
