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 Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 4:56 pm
 Kauta was feeling much better a few days after her brief evening outing with Mteule. Still nervous as hell, but feeling better.
The heiress stepped quietly through the jungle's thick foliage to where the plants and trees came to a gradual halt, just around the waterhole. Having eaten some of a waterbuck one of the pride hunters had taken down the day before, she wasn't particularly hungry, but parched of thirst.
As much as she enjoyed being around the other members of the pride, she liked her occasional time alone. The jungle, with its constant chatter of birds and the occasional trumpet of a bull elephant or roar of a lion or jaguar, provided its own special kind of company. She wasn't a loner by nature, though, and the presence of a pridemate was always welcome.
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Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 5:22 pm
Mteuli had arrived back in his jungle home early that morning. He had just returned from a short trip outside the pridelands, a typical pass time for the seer-male. Despite how normal it was it still wasn't something his brother really approved of. It was often thought to be his way of skittering around responsibilities, even if that wasn't his intention.
Despite what others might think, he truly adored his pride. Wandering around only strengthened his love for his lands and their blissful beauty. He traveled due to the fact that he wanted to bring others to share in the fortune they had here.
He slipped along through the trees lightly, his gate casual and comfortable. He headed for the watering hole, thinking he'd get in a nice relaxing swim before he went to inform his brother of his return. He adored his brother, but it was a common fact that he'd be loaded with responsibilities upon going to see him.
As he came out of the trees he caught sight of Kauta. He smiled smoothly, eyes twinkling with good nature. "Hello, your highness," while the tone wasn't overbearingly serious, there was no form of mockering in it at all. It was said in a way that almost made it seem like he had just been using her name.
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Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 5:46 pm
Mteuli's scent came to her nose eventually, and she turned in time to see him approach through the trees. "Hello Mteuli," she responded with a smile of her own at the use of her title. Normally she hated being addressed as such by her closer friends and pridemates, but with Mteuli it wasn't formal at all, and neither was it disrespectful.
"Come back from another jaunt?" she asked curiously. She was interested, rather than disapproving.
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Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 5:51 pm
"Ah, as a matter of fact I am," Mteuli replied warmly, loping over to her side. There he settled back on his haunches, facing toward the clear waters of the watering hole. He spoke while scanning its glittering surface, only to shift his gaze to a flock of birds overhead and then the heiress near by, "It was quite a nice trip. Though I must say it was rather windy out on the grasses these past few days." He spoke of otherlands with a familiarity that was unusual for the pride, for many of its members had not been outside the jungle and all over the place like he had.
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Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:26 pm
She listened to his recollection, fascinated. She'd only been out of the pridelands a handful of times, and of those, never had she ventured out of the jungle. It wasn't as if she had any great urge to -- she had a home here, where she was comfortable, and would eventually take the position of Queen. But it didn't stop her from wondering what lay beyond the jungle's reach.
"Did you meet anyone there?" she asked, taking her eyes from him long enough to lap at the water's edge.
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Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:31 pm
"Yes, I did...I met a lioness who had great faith in the wind," he smiled a little. He had liked her a fairly good amount. Her gentle way of following the way the wind blew reminded him a little of his own wandering ways. It was a fond memory he would keep, nestled among all those rememberences of all the lions he had met. He never forgot a soul, a strange talent of his.
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Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:46 pm
"How do you mean, she had great faith in the wind?" Kauta asked, puzzled. Was the wind perhaps a spirit? The twin priests sometimes spoke these cryptic comments, and often it was up to Kauta to decipher them as she saw fit. "Is she a seer too, then?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:06 pm
"Mm...no, she was not...but she was greatly aware of the way the wind behaves and how it moves. She followed its ways and believed it to be a friendly guide in her life," Mteuli replied with a small, thoughtful flick of his ear. It was a rather difficult thing to explain, he supposed. It certainly wasn't something you encountered every day. But the femme had only reminded him of a bird, who knows the ways of the wind but does not see it as a god or anything quite like that.
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Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 10:02 am
"Interesting," Kauta murmured, not without sincerity. While she couldn't quite undertstand the logic of the idea like Mteuli did, she was fascinated by the concept. What sort of travels had this lioness undergone; where was she from?
She remained silent, however; either Mteuli would take up the flow of conversation, or they might sit in companionable silence.
((Er, if you need more, I can add more... this was kind of a crappy post. xD;; ))
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Posted: Sat May 06, 2006 11:17 pm
"Yes, quite," Mteuli chucked good-naturedly. Some things were hard to understand if you didn't go out in the world to see them for yourself. That was probably the only downside to being in one place and residing there for your entire life.
Mm...perhaps if Mteule allowed it he could take her out on a little trip. After all, she wasn't ruling just yet. If not...well, maybe he'd steal her away for a day or two. Seeing the outside lands would be a good experience for her. "Perhaps I could take you traveling sometime," He suggested off-handedly.
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Posted: Tue May 09, 2006 12:32 am
"Really? I'm game," she responded instantly, her tail lashing and a smile on her maw in instant playfulness. Finally, she could maybe feel and act her age again! Kauta often wished she'd been given a little more time to cling to her cubhood. Her mask of stoicism rarely came off. Most of this seriousness was self-inflicted. She felt as though her position demanded it, even though most who knew her knew there was still a cub in there somewhere, itching to come out.
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Posted: Tue May 09, 2006 11:57 am
Mteuli chuckled, offering a small wink her way, "I thought you might be." He rolled his shouldered in a relaxed fashion, his tail curling around his paws, "After all...everyone needs a break once and a while. More then that I believe, but...Mteule...well, I'm sure I could steal you away for a while. He's oh so good at handling everything, after all."
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