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Closer... closer... wait, one was looking her way... closer... closer... AND POUNCE!

The small brown form leapt from her hiding spot towards the flock of sedentary birds, paws outstretched in an attempt to nab one of them before they took off. Unfortunately for the cub, the birds were far too experienced to fall at the hands of a young lion. The flock was in the air in a flash, squawking their warning to anyone nearby. Instead of the bird she had been hoping to catch, all Nsundu got was a few feathers and a cloud of dust. So much for that.

Sneezing, the cub stumbled backwards until the dust had cleared and she could see again. With one final sneeze and a shake, Nsundu paused to assess the damage. She hadn't managed to catch a bird, and it would just be her luck if the flock scared off any other potential prey that could be had. That severely limited her options. She could stay here and wait for the commotion she had caused to die down, or she could follow the birds in hopes of catching them unaware. With a disgruntled noise, the cub chose the latter of the two options, and set off in the direction of the cawing.

The grass was tall, and while it was helpful for hiding, it was very difficult to navigate through. Nsundu's leaping and bounding pace had served her well in the grass, but it made following the birds nearly impossible. Still, the cub persevered, bounding through the grass until a very large black figure came into view. Surprised, Nsundu's first instinct was to crouch low to the ground and stand as still as the grass itself, suddenly wary. Who was this strange black lion?

Ukata wasn't deaf or blind, though he thought he could have been if he wanted to be. That thought made him frown and he tossed his head at the buzzing of irrationality within his own skull. That diversion almost kept him from seeing Muhali land, but the flash of blue was enough to attract his attention once more. He heard her speaking to... something in the grass. Through the grass and the cub's own camoflage he couldn't see what it was, nor did the wind help him with a scent. For all that he knew about Muhali, it very well could have been dirt or air to which she spoke.

Thinking to get away from her, he turned slowly about and began to walk back the way he had come--you never ran from anything immortal, after all, it would only attract their attention. The fact that it was Irrationality from which he ran crossed his mind once more, enough to wonder if things would only work opposite with her. It would make more sense that things would work erratically one way or t'other in her mind, but that in itself meant that irrationality would have to subscribe to some form of logic. Of course, if Irrationality subscribed to no logic, as was the very definition of irrationality, then couldn't she act in a logical manner if she felt like it? But would acting Logically mean that she herself was logical, and thus cancel--Ukata winced. He was thinking in circles, and one worse, he was thinking like her.

The male was just about to spread his wings and leave when a rustle behind him gave the slightest warning of the weight that landed upon his back. Ukata stumbled, but didn't fall, wincing once again when the teeth made their presence known upon his ear. Even as she nibbled, she asked questions that seemed to boom inside of his skull for their proximity. He had a choice now--he could shake her free and tear his ear, or he could simply allow her to remain.

Resentment towards her familiar treatment of his person fadded as quickly as it had come--in truth, it was almost as if it hadn't existed at all. Ukata's change of heart caused him to turn his steps back around, carefully balancing her upon his back as he sunk into the grass to lay with her. "I thought you might be, yes," He gave a nod, tipping his head to accomidate her more readily. "You were talking to the dirt?"

Her teeth finally released his ear, tongue coming out to sooth the pelt she's previously ruffled up with her nibbling, only briefly before she seemed to either lose interest or decide that she'd had enough nibbling for a while, "No, I was not talking to the dirt; It's quite foolish," she wrinkled her nose slightly at the thought, "It never talks back, and it allows everyone to walk all over it. Foolish indeed..." a pause as her gaze turned towards the grass, "However, I was talking to something akin the dirt, in color."

It was right about then that the cub's voice floated towards the goddess and she smiled, "But this one seems far from foolish, so I do not think she'd be related to Dirt in any way," it must've been strange how she seemed to stress the fact Muhali viewed each element as a person in itself; hen she talked about rain, she talked about Rain, the goddess, or god, were there any, or as if the actual rain were a physical, living, breathing manifestation that could and would answer back.

Very few had gotten used to her and her strange ways of thought, however, it did not seem to bother Irrationality in the least. Never had, and probably never would; she was tolerant of others' ways, and could not remember a time where she'd been mad. Deep down she knew there had been times she'd been forced to face events in a rational way, but her mind concealed those few times deep within the darkness where she could not see them. She chose to ignore them, irrationally living a lie in a sense, and irrationally enjoying it.

Muhali did not know many things, but amongst those few was the fact she knew Belief was a strong power. It'd once made her seen the world through eyes she chose to ignore; watching the small cub approach them, Irrationality needed no more evidence to decide she liked her domain and the way it made her see things. Ukata's own realm did reach her however; she denied a time where she'd seen the world or acted otherwise. She ignored those few times, and they erased themselves into darkness, thus smiling, to herself and to Denial himself, she allowed her head to drop against him, "You're quite large; I wonder why," a pause, "Did you wish me to leave?" her train of thought never seemed to focus on one thing for more than two bare seconds, however, the question had been fluid, "I did not approach earlier; I did not wish you to Deny me. I'm lonely, and my stars are not singing," despite the sad nature of the words held to them, ad the hidden meaning, that she missed Truth, probably as much as he did, her voice remain calm, musical, never showing any of this,

The conversation between Ukata and Muhali went wholly unnoticed by Nsundu, the cub too busy making her way through the tall grass towards the pair. In all honesty, the conversation would have made little sense to her. She knew not of gods or goddesses, and most certainly wouldn't have understood Muhali's talk of dirt and Dirt. And besides that, though she was known on occasion to eavesdrop, the cub had more important things on her mind. Like getting through the grass. Hiding in the grass from the lion was much easier than trying to weave through the stalks to try and get closer to the pair. Eventually, after much stomping and grumbles, Nsundu was finally clearly visible to the pair. She stopped then, getting a good look at the lion for the first time, as well as the cub-lioness on his back.

Nsundu, having lived most of her life under the tutelage of her mother, had never come into contact with many other lions. Any that her mother had hung around were all solid colours, their only markings a few darker patches on their legs or face. Her own fur was a prime example of this. Only her paws and her ears were a darker brown, but the rest of her fur and even her eyes were brown. Call her mud or dirt, but among her family, the uniformity of her colour was seen as a blessing. It did, after all, allow her to blend into the dirt, so much so that she had even been confused with the substance itself. Talking dirt. Really. But these lions were a jumble of light and dark colours, and Nsundu found herself intrigued by the strange colouration of the pair. What was it that would make a lion such odd shades of brown and blue? Very curious. She would have to ask him about this strange colouring.

She took a seat on the grass that she had recently trampled, staring up at the lion when he addressed her. Of course it was her, who else would it be? Dirt did not speak, at least not in her experiences. The question that followed the statement was simple enough, however the male went off on some tangent about lying and Nsundu couldn't find it in herself to decipher what he was trying to say. With a confused frown on her face, Nsundu replied, "The name's Nsundu, though I don't know what you're gettin' at with that last bit. I got no reason to tell you lies, and if there innit a reason, why bother?"

This male was weird. Perhaps this was what her mother meant when she spoke of the "educated" lions. She said that they thought too much, and the thinking warped their poor male brain (which was not meant for such things). At the time, Nsundu hadn't been entirely sure that her mother was right on this issue, but this lion seemed to fit the stereotype. Obviously a think-too-much would turn a simple question into a soliloquy. What a waste of breath.

She remained silent while the male addressed the female on his back, still unsure about their connection but figuring they were related. If not related, then they were members of the same pride. Whatever the relation, they were talking, and she didn't see any need to interrupt them. Nsundu had just started to drag her claws through the dirt in an attempt to amuse herself when lion addressed her again. His question made her laugh, apparently amused.

"Mam said I was good to go, an' I didn't need to be her trainee anymore so she left. Need practical experience, she said, and the only way to get it is to go out by my lonesome," Nsundu replied, puffing up in a gesture of pride. She paused for a moment, before asking bluntly, "You gonna tell me your names, or do I have to ask? And I'm not going to ask you 'bout truth and all that 'cause I'm not interested. Name or nickname, doesn't bother me."

She glanced between the two, waiting to see who would answer her question. The lion seemed to be the one doing the talking, so she was banking on a reply from him.

The cub was obviously a practical creature, much more so than many he'd met in his lifetime. Ukata wasn't certain wether to consider that a good quality or annoying in its simplicity. Probably the former, he decided after a second's pause--after all, it meant a good deal of honesty on the cub's part, as well as not having to second guess meanings. That in itself was one less headache, considering the other females he was normally about--present company a good example of that.

"Well, as long as you have your reasons for it," He teased with a shrug towards his companion. More seriously, he added, "It isn't my place or buisiness to tell you what to do with your own realm or life." Shaking his head, he looked back towards the spot of talking dirt , unable to help his brows from raising in surprise. Contrary to Muhali's thought, he considered it rather harsh to toss a cub out by themselves as a cub. Indeed, the cub could survive... occassionally, if they didn't run into hyenas or wild dogs, but Africa was a very dangerous place. To simply leave your child alone in the middle of no where....

But what he'd told Muhali still applied, for Ukata wasn't the kind of God that held his kind over mortals. So, he said nothing to that, even though his thoughts must have been written upon his face--he wasn't inclined to decieve, even if he didn't always speak his mind. "My name is Ukatazaji, though you might call me Ukata, its shorter. Have you been out here long?"