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 Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 2:53 pm
The warm early morning light allowed a gentle vapour to rise from the sea's surface and sweep inland to cover the immediate coast with a sort of elbow-high fog. As ethreal and beautiful as it looked, it was lousy for hunting in.
Tamba had awoke to the mist, and silently scowled at it, ruining his plans for this early morn. With a gentle nuzzle and lick to her delicate grey head, he left the sleeping Mlinda to rest in her heavy pregnancy and he set off to see if he could salvage anything of this hazy morning.
That was one thing Tamba could truly revel in - the coastal air. It was always so fresh and crisp, and could even sometimes mask his scent when hunting. The vapour was thick and seemed to cling to his feet and fur, trying to weigh him down. Aggitated, he clambered onto a nearby flat-topped boulder and flopped there, keeping a lazy lookout.
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Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 3:07 pm
 Not that she would be hunting that morning. Leboya instead found that something more enchanting to her mind called for her. The water. Somehow she always found herself walking towards some body of water. Less it be out of her love for the water, or for her love of the creatures that lay within it's deep and vast body.
Her vibrant body moved, breaking the fog with her body, as in her mind she was unaware of the area being pridal land. No. It hadn't even entered her mind that a group of any sort of creature would bring themselves out to the ocean coat, no matter how enchanting it was.
Sitting when she felt her paws touch the water, she took a deep breath of the same air that Tamba took to as well, she yawned, licking her lips, before staring off towards the horizon ahead.
Beautiful.... she thought to herself a purr rumbling through her half-woken form.
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Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 3:37 pm
The fledgling king was half-asleep in the hazy sunlight, but not too dozy to miss the brightly coloured lion that padded towards the beach. Doing a double-take, he bolted upright and used the rock as a vantage point to better assess this visitor.
The absence of a mane told Tamba it was either a young male or a female, but he picked up something else about her too. There was a sort of aura about her, just a way she walked that suggested calm and peace. Chewing his tongue for a moment and swishing his tail in the thick air, he just watched her as she came to a stop at the waters edge and then just sat down to allow the water to lap at her feet.
"Well, she seems just as crazy about water as Mlinda...how bad can she be?" he said as he hopped down from his rock and padded after her.
He stood a few feet behind her, respecting her peace and calm.
"What brings you to the water?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 3:54 pm
Indeed, it would be very hard to miss the bright colors that adorned her pelt in the likeness of one of the very fish, in name only, that lived in, and on the surface of, the water.
There was a pause as another voice peirced the silence that surrounded the entire shore, aside from the gentle sound of the waves that rushed to and against the sand, before washing away, only to return again anew. A strange cycle that brought peace to the mind.
Looking lazily towards the voice that spoke, Leboya smiled ever so coyly, watching as he approached, while mulling over his inquiry in her head. It was.. a good question. What had brought her all the way out here?
".. The things that guide me have no strings of reason." she replied, pondering as she did if the statement was far too.. cryptic for her own good. No, they weren't... were they?
She allowed to thought to pass for a moment, before piping up a question of her own; "And yourself? Do you live here, or were you passing by?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 12:38 pm
Leboya's cryptic and somewhat fanciful reply broke Tamba's straight-thinking brain. As accepting as he was of other lions' beliefs and religions, he was never one to fully grasp the concept for being controlled by something other than his own will. Although, Leboya could simply be talking about the indefniable pull and attraction of water, just as Mlinda suffered of.
He was taken from his inner workings and back to the morning and his visitor with her question.
"Actually, I do live here. Well, a little way over there," he said, inclining his head over his shoulder and to the right a bit. "We don't get many visitors this far out."
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Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 3:02 pm
It wasn't meant to be as cryptic of a statement as it had came out to be, just a complicated declaration that she had -no idea- why she was there at that moment in time. No, nothing but her own feelings led her anywhere.
The lioness surpressed a slight giggle as it was confirmed indeed that the male lived there... and apparently... so did more.
"We?" she inquired innocently, ears perking ever so curiously. So there -were- others out here.. how.. fascinating. To her mind at least. Mulling for a moment, she rose up, lingering in place for a moment, before looking to Tamba and bowing her head thoughtfully towards him.
"Well, stranger, before I am allowed to pry further, I introduce myself. I am Leboya, the rogue."
The words fell off her tongue as if the introduction was the only one she'd ever made in all her life. The same one, over and over... hmm.
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Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:22 pm
Tamba thought it best to tackle Leboya in the reverse order - introduce himself now and then answer her question. She seemed perfectly polite and a pleasant and strangely calming influence to be around, unlike his hyper-tensed mate.
"A pleasure to meet you Leboya," he dipped his head in greeting. "I am Tambuzi, of the Bahari'mtoto pride."
Loosely translated, Bahari'mtoto meant 'Children of the Ocean.' And this certainly applied to Mlinda, but the vast undulating ocean still had to make a lasting impression on Tamba. He was fascinated by its unpredictabilty and seemingly endless blue.
"And yes, my other half is Mlinda. Currently hiding herself away in our den," he smiled.
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Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:31 pm
Leboya's expression seemed to light up a bit when Tambuzi introduced himself, or perhaps more at the name of the pride. "Pride? There's a -pride- here?" her voice hinted the intensely interested curiousity that a cub would have in their tone at something that sounded to be of fun.
"Other..half...?" she paused for a moment, before realizing that he probably meant that it was his mate by that.. or a sibling. Either were a reasonable guess to that. She then shook her head. "Mlinda....hmm.. I don't recognize that name from anywhere...." she murmured, pondering to herself if she'd heard -either- lion's name in her travels.
She quickly determined that indeed she'd heard nothing of the pair, and turned her gaze back out to the water, her expression thoughtful as her thoughts turned back to the mention of the word 'pride'. Yes. It had interested her that greatly, being an 'ocean child' herself, in a sense.
"... Yes.. this does seem like a good place for a pride as long as you keep little ones out of the water, less they be whisked away from the lack of strength to swim against the pull of the waves.."
Little did she know that there -were- going to be little ones involved soon enough.
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Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 2:04 pm
Tamba smiled widely, feeling a glow of pride inside his tummy. It was quite an experience being linked to a pride, even if his was only just forming.
"Yes, there is a pride here...or at least there will be. Mlinda has only recently thought of re-forming her pride," he explained with an air of all-knowing. "We are linked by our love of the water and the life it gives."
His amber-eyes never quite left Leboya, even as her attention shifted from lion to sea and back again. He always felt that good eye contact was the best way to converse. And it was a way of surveying her for emotions, like tell-tale signs in body language and posture. The brightly coloured femme exumed naught but an air of untethered and unhindered devotion.
Tamba cocked his head slightly. Indeed, how did she know cubs were on the way?
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Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 2:35 pm
The changes in her expression changed ever so slightly as Tamba explained the entire thing out to her in a fuller sense, preventing her mind from filling in the blanks with presumption. Indeed, it seemed from what he had said that it -was- a pair of mates, and not siblings, as it was 'her' pride, not 'their' pride.
The red eyes of the jellyfish lioness again looked towards the future-king of the pride, a slight smile forming over her maw, before she nodded a bit. "I see..." she stated simply, mulling over the thought in her mind.
"This place.. is quite a ways out, now isn't it?" she inquired, out of the blue. "Do you get many visitors, or am I a rare occurance?"
It was an innocent inquiry, but there was a deeper questioning to it, or at least a deeper purpose with her.
"It must be hard to form a pride out where nobody is." she then announced, nodding firmly.
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Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 2:54 pm
Leboya's words did strike a chord with Tamba, and although he would never admit to Mlinda, it bothered him so. In the heart of the African plains, one need only turn around to bump into company. But out here, despite all the healthy supplies of water and food, lions seldom had cause to travel this far out.
"Unfortunately," the diminuative lion began with a sigh, "you are a rare occurence my friend, although it has been my aim to gather more allies and pride members before the litter is birthed."
He looked down at his large paws as he sifted them idly through the sand, revealing a weaker moment in himself, before looking up to address the female.
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Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 3:02 pm
Leboya's attention snapped straight to him when the unexpected mention of the future cubs was brought to her attention. A litter? Out here? Why...
".. A litter? How many?" she inquired, frowning a bit. Yes, if they were having quite a few, they would have to put a leash on the poor youngin's in order to keep them from wandering away and possibly being hurt. Indeed, this same sense of concern showed itself on her face, though she didn't mean for it too.
However, she did have to drop the concern and smile again when she rethought the thought of little paws pounding down the beach after their parents.
"Mmm... perhaps.. the God of Fish and the Goddess of the Sea will bless this place and others will find their way out here as I did.." she suggested, nodding a bit.
"In fact, I'm sure they will."
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Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 3:15 pm
"We're not sure yet," he answered honestly. He could only guess at the number of writhing cubs in Mlinda's tummy, but would bet bones on it bein four or more.
Leboya's almost immediate show of concern wasn't ignored by Tamba, and in fact gave him much food for thought. But he would have to test the waters a little more...
"Indeed, Mlinda has already offered to the Goddess of the Sea for a safe birth, and she is far enough away from the water to stay dry," he said, reassuring himself as much as Leboya. His smile was innocent and full of promise, as were his ideals for this pride.
"Would you like to take a walk?" he asked rather suddenly. Maybe Leboya would like more of what she saw of this coastal home.
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Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 3:23 pm
And the words did well to soothe Leboya's nerves, and this relief showed on her expression, though mentally she did her own silent prayer for the saftey of the children of the ocean to be born to the pair. Hmm... Mlinda, she would have to see this one later and perhaps see if she could make a guess at the number of cubs that the pair was going to come to the pair.
However, the unsurity in Tamba's reply did bring her the notion of that more then likely, he couldn't tell from the larger size of his mate.. so presumably a nice-sized litter.
Her thought process was broken quickly when her morning companion chimed up in sudden inquiry, which she quickly responded to with a polite smile.
"Oh! Why yes!" she purred, her front paws shifting back a bit, leaving their own minature grooves in the sand they had been sitting in for so long.
"I would love to see more of your home here.."
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Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 3:32 pm
Tamba beamed a warmed smile at Leboya, quite happy to show her around the beach and immediate inland. Had this meeting taken place before Tamba's feet had stepped on sand, he would have been trying to woo the female with his prowess in the plains and his ability to swim. But the affect of a beach and its subsequent defender was permanent. Granted, he was still male afterall, and was allowed a look, but that was all his inner mind would allow him.
Taking the lead, Tamba gently strode down the beach, deciding to take his new friend first to the great offering place - a large, jutting cliff that was climbable by adults but insurmountable by wee ones.
"Mlinda was originally sleeping much closer to the waters edge, but I eventually dragged her to somewhere warmer and drier," he chuckled, as if he'd known Leboya for years.
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