[PRP] Wandering in the Shadows [Woha'li Galu'nadi & Mamoru]

[Vashtya]

It was dusk, the last rays of sunlight melting into the oncoming darkness. It was also one of Woha'li's favorite times of the day - there was something about the transition of light into darkness (and vice-versa) that had always made her feel connected to the constantly changing landscape of her homeland.

Giving herself a mental shake, the lioness got to her feet, tilting her head slightly as Danuwah darted off - he never wandered too far, and was likely looking for a suitable hiding spot in which to sleep the night away. Shaking her head, she smiled fondly, affection for her long-time familiar apparent.

Getting to her feet, she shook the dust off her dark coat, then stretched, her claws extending, digging into the dry dirt. Hopefully we get some rain soon. Everything seems so dry... straightening, she padded off in a different direction from her wayward hare - before she did anything else, a drink was in ordee, now that she'd taken her time appreciating the sunset.

Peppermint Coffee

[[I wish I could promise my posts aren't always this bad, buuut alas~]]  

[Bronze Coffee]

Coming back from hunting was always an interesting time. Sometimes he got to come across pride members from other clans, and Mamoru loved that chance. He liked to linger back just a bit, see if any stragglers were making their way back.

Something dark caught his attention against the sunset background that cast a beautiful array of colors upon the world. He saw the shadow just out of the corner of his eye and he turned his head to look. It was a lioness, from the looks of it. No main, and too big to be a cub. The large male lion steered himself toward that figure. He wasn't much darker than her, he realized, approaching cautiously.

"Hello there," the male rumbled, his voice deep and from his chest more.

Vashtya

 

[Vashtya]

Woha'li hesitated at the unrecognized voice, for the barest of moments, as she tried to spot him in the fading light. Good thing I'm being observant she noted, slightly appalled by her own lack of awareness. Spotting him, she padded a few steps in his direction, before sinking back onto her haunches.

"Hello yourself," she replied, a small smile preventing the words from coming across as sarcastic or unfriendly. Her own voice, rather low itself, seemed less so when compared to the newcomer's deeper rumble.

"It's a lovely evening, isn't it?" Surreptitiously, she looked him over to see if he bore any of the tattoos that made the ela'wadiyi so distinct.

"Although it would be nicer still if we got some rain," she continued, lifting one paw to indicate the dry, dusty ground she was sitting on. Small talk felt a little odd - and, she couldn't help but observe silently to herself, was not something that she seemed to be good at.

Peppermint Coffee

 

[Bronze Coffee]

The lioness, he had been correct in guessing, settled on her haunches and Mamoru did the same a little ways in front of her, comfortable talking distance. He gave a little nod at her greeting and let a smile tug at his lips. Unfortunately the male sported no tattoos, but he did have the typical Ela'wadiyi accessories adorning him. He did take the chance to look over her tattoos, or what he could see of them in this lighting. They blended so well with her, that he almost mistook them for natural born markings until he noticed they were a little lighter than the color around her muzzle.

"It is a lovely evening," he replied with his rumbling voice, trying to sound a little softer. "As for the rain, I agree with you. Droughts aren't something I enjoy going through." He looked up at the sky as if the gods could hear them and rain would grace them any time now, but there was nothing there.

"My name is Mamoru. It's a pleasure to meet you. I don't meet too many outside of the little group I call family."

Vashtya

 

[Vashtya]

Her posture eased minutely as she finally took note of the accessories he wore. "Hopefully something changes soon," she agreed, tilting her head up and making a face at the sky.

"I'm Woha'li'" she replied, inclining her head in his direction. "and I know how that goes - I've missed most of the sky festivals in recent memory, and my family isn't particularly social the rest of the time," she replied with an almost-laugh. That was the understatement of the year, since Binti had never gotten comfortable being in close contact with the pride as a whole.

"What clan are you?" She asked after a moment, still smiling slightly.

Peppermint Coffee

 

[Bronze Coffee]

"Shadow," came Mamoru's immediate response. He was proud of his clan. Mamoru was just happy to be in a pride, honestly, as calm as this one seemed to be most of the time. The spotted male just gave her a lopsided smile before shrugging.

"Sometimes I like to linger to see who I can find to talk to. I very rarely see anyone outside of my clan." It wasn't a complaint, just an observation he made. "What about you, Woha'li? What clan are you in?" The male seemed to shift a bit then, changing his weight around to a far more comfortable position as his tail flicked in a relaxed way to his side.

Vashtya

 

[Vashtya]

Woha'li's smile widened slightly in response. "Sky Clan" she replied easily. "And I know how that can be - one of the results of our being nomadic." she continued. "Which is why events like the Sky Festival are nice, and give us a chance to meet some new faces."

"Did you compete this year, or did you choose to support your clan from the sidelines?" As far as she was concerned, both options were equally important. "And if you competed this year, how did it go?" she continued, tilting her head ever so slightly.

Peppermint Coffee

 

[Bronze Coffee]

"Sadly, I didn't compete. I still feel like a cub learning it's way around the pride," Mamoru confessed, looking a little ashamed. "It's taking me a long time." At least it felt that way to the spotted lion.

He felt so wobbly, not sure of himself. The pride felt like home, everyone so far had been really kind to him, but...He wasn't sure of himself. "I feel like I'm just mimicking you, but did you compete this year? Or... have you competed before?" He was taking in her tattoos. They were really extensive and complicated. He wasn't yet tattooed. He was trying to figure out his story.

Vashtya

 

[Vashtya]

Woha'li nodded sympathetically. "That's understandable - I cannot imagine what it is like, joining a pride I didn't grow up in. I've been out of the loop for some time, and it feels like I have missed a lot, but joining and having to learn everything from the ground up would be...intimidating, I would imagine."

Her expression then shifted slightly, and the lioness looked nostalgic. I didn't compete this year - the only year I competed myself was the first one where I was old enough to do so," she said with a grin, the expression almost cublike with remembered enthusiasm. "It was both nerve-wracking and exciting, to represent my clan in that way," she continued. Seeing his attention on her tattoos, she motioned lightly at the ones that wound around it, telling of the events she described. "And while I was far from the best competitor, I was blessed with good luck, and was the sky champion that year."

With a slightly sheepish expression, she hoped she wasn't coming across as bragging. "It was a long time ago, of course..."

Peppermint Coffee

 

[Bronze Coffee]

So she had competed before. Mamoru was now fixated on her and he couldn't help the grin on his face that formed. She'd won? She was the Sky Champion for a year? He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped and he nodded.

"You know, I might have just met you, but I can see that happening. Everyone here, so far, seems like they could all be the Champion." His tail flicked this way and that as she sheepishly added the last line and Mamoru just shook his head. "Being humble is a good trait to have, but with an accomplishment like that, I think you should flaunt it to the world."

The usually serious lion was finally starting to relax a bit here. This pride might really be home. He was really enjoying his stay here so far.

"I haven't yet decided what...kind of tattoos I want.." He didn't even know if that's how it really worked, but Mamoru was nervous for his first one, whenever that happened. "I imagine they hurt a bit? Did you get one in celebration of winning? It seems like a big life turning event."

Vashtya

 

[Vashtya]

Woha'li's smile returned, along with a small shrug. "It was an honor, and one I remain grateful for," she replied with a small laugh of her own. "But in the scope of things, I think there are other things that are more deserving of praise" this was said easily, still with a smile, and accompanied by a small inclination of her head for his words, which she took for a very generous compliment.

"That's fair - it can be hard to decide what parts of your story you want to tell," she went on, nodding thoughtfully. "And they do, yes, although nothing unbearable - and it is relatively short-lived." She continued, happy to talk about it.

With a slightly mischievious grin at his last question, she motioned at her left foreleg, tapping the tattoos that wound upwards from her ankle. "It's a part of my story, so yes, I did," she replied, winking. "Knowing that life is going to have failures as well as triumphs to show for it, I wasn't about to forgo a positive one!" She was still smiling as she finished, her sense of humor coming through.

Peppermint Coffee

 

[Bronze Coffee]

When her foreleg was brought to attention, Mamoru looked down at the tattoos and just gave a wide grin. They were so intricate and beautiful, honestly. The dark male's tail flicked from side to side as he looked up at the female again.

"Well. I'm excited to get my own. I'm not sure what to put there. I've had very few hardships, very few... real dramas, honestly. Nothing too exciting other than joining this pride." Mamoru felt so lame comparatively most of the time, but he was working on not judging himself against others. Everyone had different lives, he knew. It wasn't common to have an easy time by oneself, but here he was. He managed to keep himself fed, clean, and in good health before he found his home.

"Ah. I'll think of something."

Vashtya

 

[Vashtya]

"If nothing else, your journey, and how you came to join the pride was likely more impressive than you realize - I know that, with the few others that I have spoken to who originally came from elsewhere, the journey is rarely easy - whether it's mental, or physical, it seems to...refine who they have become, in fundamental ways." And then, she shrugged. "Hardship is relative - what can seem tame, or unexciting to you might be something notable, or even terrifying to someone else."

She smiled broadly at his final statement. "The nice thing is, there is no rush - you have as long as it takes for you to decide what parts of your tale you want to make immediately visible to others. The last thing they should be is something that is a burden, that you feel pressured to rush into." She said this gently, not wanting to offend.

"And besides, there is a lot more to being Ela than our tattoos." This was said with a slight laugh "Although I admit it' the most readily apparent, at a glance."

Peppermint Coffee

 

[Bronze Coffee]

"I suppose that's true," he said after a moment, his head tilting to the side. The dark maned male took that in for a minute and nodded. She was right, of course. His journey here could be the inspiration behind his tattoos.

She was also right about there not being any rush. Mamoru had time to build a life, to settle in. His tattoos didn't have to come from his life as it was now. He could settle down, find a mate, have kids. Gods forbid some major event happened and shook the pride.

He had time.

"Oh, yes. I've found the family aspect of the pride my favorite. Very family focused, and it makes my heart swell, honestly. I came from a small litter. Just myself, sadly, but my mother raised me well, and my father was the primary one to teach me to hunt. I want.... that kind of life eventually."

Vashtya

 

[Vashtya]

Woha'li's expression softened slightly. "Yes, family and clan are at the core, that's for sure." There were times she wondered how her siblings fared, as it had been far too long since she had even seen them in passing. It was her own history, in part, that made her appreciate the pridal history as much as she did, as it gave her a more extensive feeling of closeness and familial bonds than her otherwise small family tree would have done.

"I'm hope you find what you're looking for, then - with the joining of more rogues into the pride, it's not as rare as it was previously, to find a mate, and start a family." She smiled as she said it, for although she had yet to have found a partner, herself, she had been thrilled to see more cubs being born into the pride, giving hope for the future.

Looking up at the sky, she made a small face - when had dusk become night? With a small mental sigh, she supposed she should probably contemplate making her way back to where the rest of the clan was likely alreafy sleeping soon, so she could get up for an early morning hunt the next day.

Peppermint Coffee