[PRP] Chilly days.. [Malik/Atz]

[Bronze Coffee]

Malik took a deep breath in the colder weather and let it out in a happy sigh. Fall and winter were his favorite months. The night lasted longer and he didn't get too warm while he was hunting. The pink male sauntered through the pride, glancing at the cubs that had seemed to have doubled in numbers as well as size. The pride was doing so well lately and he just grinned.

Gone was the boy who was nervous. Gone was the mama's boy who clung to her ankle when he'd been kidnapped from his old home and brought to his new home. Well, kidnapped was a strong word. He followed mom with every intention of staying with her until the end of his days because, at the time, he was a huge mama's boy. He didn't want to do anything without her. Some of his siblings had ended up hating Weyard because of how difficult life was after she'd left. But he had just missed her.

He was now a boisterous man-child now. Looking for some good time and maybe more than one friend. It was a little embarrassing telling others his mother was his best friend.

Now the male was making his way to get a drink. A cool drink after hunting was always a good way to end things.  

[mouselet]

The youth who had fecklessly played games and pranks through some of the more momentous meetings of the Mwezi'Johari had long since grown up. She understood now why people, foremost being her mother, had been so upset by her antics.

And yet...Atz'mayiy didn't regret them in the least. Not even the spankings that had followed. She saw others her own age who had also been present, and some of them were now afraid to set a paw outside of their dens. The purple lioness admitted that there was some reason to fear, but really, order had returned once Shangyue had taken the throne. It might not be as peaceful and idyllic as before - a hazy golden age that Atz could barely recall - but it was stable.

Oh sure, there were incidents here and there that upset the balance for a small amount of time, but that would've happened anyway. The Guard had taken it upon herself to insure that not all of those happenings were bad.

As she was returning from a patrol and looking for a drink, her green eyes fell upon the perfect victim. He was ahead of her, and going the same way. Wonderful.

Atz'mayiy moved into a slightly faster pace that would bring her up alongside the pink male. As she pulled even with him, her tail reached over to tap his opposite flank. Then her increased speed allowed her to pass him entirely.  

[Bronze Coffee]

He had noticed another beside him and brilliant yellow eyes turned to look at her just as he felt a tap on his flank. Blinking Malik turned his head the other way. Was someone trying to get his attention? No. There was no one there. He frowned a little and tilted his head a little before glancing at the blue female and arched a brow.

"Well. You look familiar."

And she really did. He'd seen her before, a few times, actually, leaving the pride to go hunting. "...Atz... is it? I'm drawing a blank to your full name."  

[mouselet]

Atz'mayiy slowed again as the pink male hailed her. He didn't seem too surprised or frustrated...pity. She'd have to think of something better. After all, she couldn't back out now that she'd picked him for a target.

Still, she was surprised to find that he knew even part of her name. The purple lioness wasn't that distinctive, given the overall color scheme found in the pride, whereas her victim was quite notable. There weren't that many pink lions in the Mwezi'Johari.

"Atz'mayiy," she confirmed for him, taking a few moments to study him. As she'd just considered, there weren't many pink lions in the pride, so she should remember his name...she definitely remembered that rather unique marking on his back after all...

"Malik, correct?" the Guard asked.  

[Bronze Coffee]

"Aaah. Atz'mayiy." He nodded a little and let his tail flick a little. The pale lioness, in turn, surprised him by knowing his name. He grinned wider and nodded. "Malik. Yes, that's right. Didn't think anyone besides mom knew my name. I mean.. aside from Machholz. I talk to her some times before I head out. She's always there, it seems, at that one exit." He nodded and kept walking towards the drinking spot.

When he got there, he dipped his head in and lapped at it, quenching his parched throat. Cold made his throat even more dry, and he'd been running. There was smears of blood on his paws from his last haul he'd hastily tried to clean off.

"So. ...Hi."  

[mouselet]

The lioness simply raised an eyebrow as the male babbled on a bit more than neccessary. He hadn't mentioned a father, so it was a fair guess that he didn't know a thing about the lion. She wondered briefly about the connection to Maccholz before deciding that if it was important, he seemed sure to bring it up later.

As he fumbled, Atz bent her head down for a long refreshing drink. He seemed...giddy. Fidgety. It made her act more slowly and deliberately by contrast. Where he blurted out whatever was in his head, she would rather think her words through before she gave voice to them.

"Good evening," she replied at last.  

[Bronze Coffee]

He wasn't twitchy, just a little ...twitchy. Malik wasn't usually like this! Not once someone got to know him. Licking his muzzle as he settled next to the water, he just offered her a little smile, watching her drink until she responded. "...I'm sorry if I rambled. I don't usually talk this much. I'm... nervous, I suppose." The pink lion nodded a little as his ears perked up again and just shifted to lick at a paw, trying to get the blood off of it.

"Hunting is messy."  

[mouselet]

Atz pointedly ignored his excuses for his behavior. Oh sure, she'd noticed it, but that didn't mean she minded it. It was simply interesting, and she found somewhat fascinating how it affected her reactions to him.

Speaking of reactions, he'd given her the perfect opening. If he wasn't going to respond to a physical prank...what about a verbal one?

"So is murder!" the female replied cheerfully.  

[Bronze Coffee]

"Well if you think about it, hunting is murder. Only murder with more of a purpose than killing someone you hate or you find super annoying. Hunting is murder for food, which in itself isn't that bad, I guess." He chewed at his claw after a moment and licked between his toes a bit before putting his foot down and grinning, raising his brows.

Atz would have to do better than that. He had a large family and used to live in a large pride. Maybe he'd surprise her with how okay he was with this conversation. That'd be fun, turning the tables.  

[mouselet]

She saw the smile. So, he thought he'd turn the tables and not be as straightlaced as far too many of the older pridemembers? Well then, she'd turn the tables right back on him and take his response seriously!

"That's true..." the lioness mused aloud. "I guess you could say the difference is that "hunting" means we'll be eating what we kill. If we ate what we "murdered", it'd be cannibalism."

There. Try that one on for size!  

[Bronze Coffee]

"Mmn.. I think cannibalism only would work if we killed another lion and ate them." He nodded as if he gave her a sage piece of advice and grinned lightly, burying his toes in the dirt, tail flicking. "Cannibalism is the killing and eating of the same species, isn't it? So if it was a leopard I suppose that would still be hunting. A lion however, would be cannibalism. That's how it works?"

The amount of innocents he put into his words, would, hopefully make her laugh.  

[mouselet]

So now he wanted to debate semantics, was it? Well, luckily she wasn't one to ignore someone simply because they were of a different species. Even the smaller races - birds, snakes, servals, etc. could be quite useful if one chose not to kill them and instead to speak with them.

There were some reasons why she wasn't a Huntress.

"Maybe...but I've heard that lions and leopards can have children together! Not that you or I would ever do such a thing, but if other people can, that means we're not that different, hmmm?" She might have been a bit hasty in saying she wouldn't do such a thing - after all, Atz didn't want to be a closeminded old fart - but it was something that lions in the Mwezi'johari generally seemed opposed to.  

[Bronze Coffee]

"Considering there were a fair share of hybrids where I grew up, yes! I knew that. Poor things are eunuchs. Can't have children." He hung his head pitifully and heaved a great, dramatic sigh. "...Well.. Different species of birds can have children together, yet if we kill them and eat them it's not cannibalism, it's still hunting."

Hybrids weren't a thing in the pride, he knew that. He didn't understand why not, but some people thought hybrids were a plight, and who was he to question them? That could cause a heated debate and honestly? Malik was having too much fun. If he fell in love with a leopard or a cheetah he would honestly consider having cubs with her. Of course, they wouldn't be brought to the pride. And leaving wasn't something he ever entertained, so it meant this wouldn't happen unless it was a heat of the moment kind of thing and he never knew he had children...

Well that was getting messy in his head. So he focused his attention back on the pale lioness and grinned, waiting to see what she had to say.  

[mouselet]

Okay, games were off. She didn't realize that he'd actually come here from somewhere else! Atz knew there weren't a decent number of pridemembers who hadn't been born to the Mwezi, but she'd never really spoken to any of them about it. It was too much like prying and though she might like to play pranks, she didn't want to genuinely upset someone if they didn't want to talk about it.

"Were you born in another pride? Were there really hybrids there? Can they really not have any kids?" Question after question she threw at him, not even waiting for the answers before asking the next. She wanted to, had to know!  

[Bronze Coffee]

And now he was bombarded with question after question and Malik just had to laugh hard at that, shaking his head and held up a paw. "Unfortunately, Atz, I need to head to my den and sleep soon before I pass out right here. Did a lot of running and hunting today... But, if you want answers, I can definitely track you down again and give them to you." Malik just grinned at her sheepishly before stifling a yawn behind his paw and whined when it made his eyes water.

Just great. That really hadn't been planned or staged. "Mm.. That is if you don't mind?"