[ORP - West] The Moon Comes to Visit

[KasaiLoki]

Krysin

"Come on, Taaka, let's go introduce ourselves." The lioness stated, nudging her friend as they began to scout. Red eyes settled on a light purple female. The color, reminding Sanaa of herself, is what made her want to initiate the conversation.

"Hello there," she said as she walked up to Zambarau. "My name is Sanaa, and the big goof here," she pointed at Taaka, "is my friend Taaka. Thank you for welcoming us into the land." While she knew it likely was not the lioness' decision, she was still part of the pride that had granted them to stay.

"Hello," Taaka greeted with a warm smile.


---


Neoma was more of a quieter individual. While a few full moons had passed when she joined the pride, she still found herself slightly uncomfortable mingling with the pride members. It was part of the reason she joined this trip. She wanted to immerse herself with others.

While she was pretty quiet during their traveling, now that they had arrived, it was now a good time than ever to start mingling. She opted to speak with another guard nearby, before introducing herself to the Tianxia members.

Approaching Taigi, she flashed him a small smile. "What a trip, eh?" She asked the other guard.  

[Krysin]

Zambarau hadn't quite expected anyone to go out of their way to speak to her, but she wasn't unpleasantly surprised by it. She stood up as the two Mwezi lions came to speak to her. It would surely be impolite to remain sitting while her guests were now standing.

The smile she held was polite as she offered a polite greeting to the pair. "We are pleased you have come this far to visit us. The journey must have been tedious." Her voice was sweet and soft, but there was a clarity to it that made her easy to understand. "I am Zambarau, and if there is anything I can do for you, please let me know."

Just then, one of the pride's cubs came rushing up to her. She recognized the little darling, and since no one seemed to be chaperoning the poor thing, Zambarau was fine with keeping an eye on her in present company. "There are, perhaps you should properly introduce yourself to Miss Sanna and Mister Taaka here." She chastised the cub sweetly, lifting a paw to ruffle the girl's fur at the top of her head.

---

Taigi turned to look at Neoma, and smiled. He recognized the lioness as one of the newcomers to the pride. Taigi had a fairly good ability to place faces with names, but he had to grasp at straws for a moment to recall her's. It was a little embarrassing, considering they had traveled this far together. The diplomatic party was not so large that he hadn't noticed her until now, after all.

"Neoma." Ah, there it was. "It has been a longer one that I had anticipated." Technically, they weren't even halfway done with the excursion, but he tried not to think about the long trek home. For now, it was better to dwell on present company and happenings. "Things seem to be going pretty... okay for now. They seem pretty welcoming."

He finished speaking just as a slender cheetah came over to greet him, and for a moment he panicked over how to properly introduce himself. Taigi supposed he just wasn't quite ready to throw himself out there, but he stumbled through introducing himself like a champ. "Ah, hello!" he grinned. "Thank you for your concern, but I have managed just fine. Oh, I am Taigi. It is nice to meet you."

KasaiLoki

AstoriaFallen

 

[KasaiLoki]

Krysin

AstoriaFallen

"Of course, thank you." Sanaa spoke.

Taaka nodded in agreement. "I actually have a question." The male shifted on his paws, his tail beginning to curl around his hind leg. "Sanaa and I are..rather new to the Mwezi'johari lands, but I am sensing some...tension." He thought for a moment before settling on the words. He had learned a little bit of the Mwezi history during their travels, but he wanted to hear it from the perspective of an actual Tianxia member. "If it's not too bold to ask, what happened?" He asked quietly, hoping he did not overstep his place.

However, before he was sure Zambarau could answer, a young cub came up. "Hello there young one. I am Taaka." He did not introduce himself with a mister, or Lord for that matter.

Sanaa, while intrigued on the question asked by Taaka, turned her attention as well to the youngster who had run up. She gave the cub a smile, "and I am Sanaa."

---


Neoma could not help but nod in agreement. "I don't think I have ever traveled as much in such a short period, whether it was on my pilgrimage or just as a rogue in general." She joked lightly. "Part of me is curious how the pride is doing without Kimondo there. I don't know much about Hodari, but she should be okay, right?" There were capable members of the pride left too if the appointed leader had any questions she was sure.  

[Krysin]

Zambarau wasn't confident that it was proper conversation to have in front of a cub. That and it was certainly a sensitive subject that she would have to dodge around. Thankfully, she was an expert at these sorts of things, and she supposed a short explanation of past transgressions would suffice. "From what I understand, there was an arranged marriage between two valuable members of both of our prides that made up the Queen of King of the Mwezi. Your pride has had... quite some turmoil in the past, and they were brutally overthrown.

It has... left a sour taste in one's mouth at the thought of it. But I do hope our prides can move past this." She had partially tried to cover up little Xiu's ears, but one paw was too small of a task for it. Zambarau hoped by making the topic seem sensitive, that the curious Mwezi pair would perhaps stay away from it.

---

"Hodari is capable enough," Taigi reassured Neoma. Truthfully, he wasn't certain if Hodari was up for the task, but Kimondo had put her faith in the lioness, and so Taigi did as well. It wasn't like the pride could completely fall apart while they were gone. The Mwezi had suffered through far worse than a little political trip out of the pride lands. "I am sure nothing will have changed by the time we get back."

His gaze shifted back to the cheetah, "A pleasure, Bai Lin." Taigi bowed his head to her in a polite gesture. "It is a wonderful area, and your pridemates are all quite kind. I don't think I could have imagined a warmer reception. Thank you. I hope we're not intruding too much upon you guys."

KasaiLoki

AstoriaFallen

 

[KasaiLoki]

Krysin

AstoriaFallen

Taaka listened carefully at the cautious words of the other. He accepted what she was saying, noting there was likely more to the story but it was not for little ears.

"Maybe we could meet a little bit later. You could tell us a little bit more about your pride, and us what we have learned about ours?" It was maybe an unfair trade, but Taaka could fill in the gaps with his history if anything.


While Taaka was speaking with Zambarau, Sanaa had taken a moment to speak with the younger cub. As soon as the adult had mentioned the word brutally in the conversation, she knew it probably was not the best to speak about with one so young around.

"Xue Chen, that's a pretty name!" It was definitely different, and something she had not heard before. She knew a lot of parents told cubs the meanings of their names when they were younger, and the purple lioness was curious what it meant, having not even heard the particular tone of the name before. In her mind, it sounded quite foreign. Only fitting for being in a land she did not know. "I think you are the first I have ever met with that name." Even in her pride, there was another Sanaa. Coming across a name she had not heard was quite rare.

--

Neoma nodded towards Taigi before before spotting the female cheetah. She bowed her head in an apologetic greeting. She had missed her just a moment previously while conversing with Taigi. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Bai Lin. I am Neoma." She gave the non-lion a warm smile.

"We thank you and your pride for your hospitality." The guard stated. "So far, it seems quite different than what the Mwezi is like, but that is a good thing sometimes, no?" She asked. "We can learn from each other, and help both our prides prosper."  

[Krysin]

Zambarau found it increasingly difficult to focus on conversation with a cub trying to grab her tail. Indulging Chen, she swished her tail a couple of times to keep the cub occupied while the 'adults' talked. She doubted anything she said would have a lasting impact on the young one, but she also wasn't the cub's mother. It was best to keep unsavory topics short. So, she was far more happy to gear the conversation towards pleasantries.

"I would not mind that at all," though she had already told herself she wouldn't give too much information away. The duo seemed curious about all the wrong things. Zambarau would happily tell them about her pride, just not the circumstances of the tension between the two prides. "I am sure you know far more about your pride than I do, so I am interested in hearing of the different culture. I've never left my pridal lands, and to be honest, I'm not sure anything will ever drag me away from here."

---

The nature of the Mwezi's visit was to try and rebuild relations with the Tianxia, which Taigi thought as an uphill battle considering all that had happened. But even this cheetah seemed to be very welcoming to them, and it helped to put the brown and blue lion at ease. He felt his nerves slowly calming, and he was able to bring himself to speak more openly. "I am quite the homebody, so I think this is teetering on the edge of too much excitement for me. I must be getting old," Taigi joked.

It was true, however, that he found this a little overwhelming. He felt like he was way out of his league. "I am sure Neoma here is more used to travelling and excitement than I am."

KasaiLoki

AstoriaFallen

 

[KasaiLoki]

Krysin

AstoriaFallen

Taaka chuckled. "Sounds like a plan then. I say we name a time, you name a place to meet?" Not knowing the layout of the Tianxia yet, the lion did not know if they needed to stay in a certain area of the pride, or if they were welcomed to wander around at their leisure once the formalities were over.

The purple lioness thought for a moment. "Afternoon would be a good meeting time I think." She offered to the other adults, before her attention turned back to Chen. "Chen it is then! Do you have sisters and brothers, Chen?" The female asked, inquiring about her family. Her red eyes looked around to see if there were other cubs nearby, but did not catch any sight of them.

--

"I will admit," Neoma began, "I am rather new to the Mwezi'johari myself. I was originally born in the Jini-msemi Swamplands, where it was our tradition adolescents go out on their own to find a new name for themselves. This travel reminded me like that." Although, the pilgrimage was at her leisure and not so much a time crunch.

"I do find this pretty exciting though. It's not every day you see a pride travel to form bonds, or..rekindle old ones," as Bai Lin had mentioned. She made a mental note to perhaps as Taigi or one of the others what that meant.  

[belloblossom]

Yoru had wished Kgwedi would be able to join him after his mother assigned him to watch over Aunt Kimondo, but when she was unable to on accordance to her new rank, he promised that he would think of her every day they were parted. So far, he hadn't lied in regards to that promise.

He stuck by his siblings and Belial most days, happy to have so many family members come with him and he smiled knowing that he would be in good paws, even if he wasn't at home. It would help him overcome the anxiety of leaving he thought.

He had Hoshi at his side, too. The hare's fur sparkled like a starry night sky and his eyes gleamed under the moonlight. He had made sure that everyone knew the hare was his and under his protection, so no one accidentally tried to eat him. He vowed that when he got to the Tianxia, this would be made clear again, since he wasn't sure if they kept familiars in the other pride.

Now that he was there, he looked in wonder at the others, but kept close to his twin and her mate. Hoshi was always positioned under him, looking out at the others. Did he have the nerve to approach any of the strangers from the Tianxia? No, not yet. But should one approach him, he wouldn't turn away... probably.

Hoshi was a loyal hare. He loved his Yoru very much and had once said that he would do anything to see Yoru happy. He liked hearing Yoru's stories, which were like adventures without having to go anywhere. He liked providing comfort for the lion and getting protection in return. He had learned how to be awake at night instead of the day. However, he still disliked travel and the journey that they had made together was unpleasant at best.

Yet, he stayed by his lion's side and wondered if he would meet any lovely lady hares on his journey. It was hard to say, of course, with so many predators about. Even if he met a lady hare, would he be able to say hello? Glancing at the clawed paws around him, he pressed closer to Yoru's legs. No, very likely not. Not until he had a better read of the situation, anyway.

AstoriaFallen

 

[Puhterodactyl]

Quote:

"Welcome," the Central House princess said to a lion whose purples seemed familiar to her. Not in their arrangement or on the lion himself. But she had heard, when the visitors were announced, about the shared blood between the prides.

"How are you finding that you like things here? Or is it too soon to say?" She swished her tail and her dark amethyst eyes studied him carefully, noting his furrowed brow. She was very curious about these visitors. How odd, she thought, that they only had one name. What other of their traditions had not made it to the Mwezi'Joarhi?

Quote:

Yanazunguka'jua was often not far from a royal family member. They had the best gossip, after all. The lion was just far too susceptible to good dirt and the royals usually either had the most or heard all of it first. So when he found out about another pride visiting the West House, the Southern House secretary wasted no time in making his way over. Walking up behind Msumari, he stopped and joined her in eyeing the purple male. As an aside, to himself, he wondered how many cubs would be conceived thanks to this convention. And could he be the first to find out?

Ctrl F Greenie

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

The male had been lost in his thoughts about this and that, little things that made up the bigger picture truly. So when a voice interrupted his thoughts he didn't react right away. Seconds passed before he finally realized he was being spoken too by not one, but two lions. Both of whom were a very sharp red, both pelt and mane. Quickly he recovered from his previous shocked expression and relaxed into a warm smile before speaking.

"Why thank you." He responded, humbled by the personal welcome. "It's too soon to say, but based on what I've seen thus far your home is rich with history." His eyes were alight with curiosity and joy at the thought of learning more about this foreign place.

"Pardon me. My name is Shida." A blush formed on his cheeks as he realized how informal he had been. "And you are?" He queried them with a tilt of his head which tossed his mane slightly and in the motion bits of it fell into his face. It was in that moment that he admired the ornament decorating the other males mane. What a useful and quite beautiful item! Shida dragged his eyes away from it to look back at the female that had spoken. As it was the male was there, but not participating in the conversation - Shida wondered what the purpose of that was.

Puhterodactyl