[PRP] Reunion (Tawa x Umthunzi)

[SilverLutz]

He had done it. He had survived in the rogue lands on his own for months, biding his time and healing from his initial fight for entrance. Now Tawa had sent the ex-Inselelo running with his tail literally between his legs, a scarred rump a reminder of his time with the Bonelands. Emrys was gone, Tawa was here, and he was on the hunt once again. This time, though, he wasn't looking for a fight. He was looking for a friend.

Well, friend was a very broad term. Tawa had fallen hard Arita when they had been in the Firekin once they had started growing up, but she had been sent away due to her coloration. Or lack thereof. He had thought of his friend for days, weeks, and eventually months before he had decided to follow her trail. It had led him here, to the Bonelands, where he had learned that only a few males at a time were allowed to live. To get in, he had to fight. He had still been too small to hold his own against the males here, so he had to wait.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, his goal had been achieved. He was here and he would find Arita and hopefully she would return his feelings or, at the very least, be glad to see him. If she didn't recognize him...well. He'd cross that river when he came to it.  

[Quaji]

Scouting. That was what she had been reduced to. Hunting was nigh impossible with the rains having left weeks ago and the ground so parched, most herds had since moved on. Only a few remained, but the pride was trying to stretch how far they could go between hunts. So now she was scouting, a job better suited to someone paired with one of those vultures.

Scouting for what? Water. As it always seemed these days. She was firekin, well ex-firekin, and droughts were something her body was built to endure through generations of hardship. So obviously she was the one called on to go see if there were any new small watering holes that had cropped up overnight. So far? Nothing. Not a single puddle. Instead the pale lioness had been walking on parched earth, with light red eyes scanning the horizon for any glimmer, any hope, but nothing came. Darkened ears fell back in disappointment as the failure of the early morning search proved to be in vain.  

[SilverLutz]

Tawa had to admit he was pretty surprised that no one had happened upon him yet. He had been walking - slowly, of course - but he had thought the pride was fairly well populated. He knew that in the Firekin if a rogue joined they were escorted in and monitored for a bit to make sure they would integrate normally. Here though...here he supposed he was just supposed to walk until he found someone.

Finally a shimmering silhouette appeared on the horizon. A large, pale lioness was heading his way. Good! He turned in her direction, hopeful that she'd be welcoming of her new Inselelo.

As he drew closer his heart skipped a beat. He knew those stripes...he knew that strange coloration. He didn't let his hopes get too high, though. It could just be a coincidence. He held his breath as the distance between them closed, each step making him want to charge forward. If it wasn't Arita he'd probably startle whoever it was and she'd attack.

Finally, though, Tawa knew without a doubt it was her. What a stroke of luck that she'd be the first he happened up. "Arita!" he called out, his voice much different than it had been with Emrys. It had been low, snarling, challenging. Now it was happy, light, and had a tinge of laughter to it. After all these moons of waiting!  

[Quaji]

They had both grown, grown so much since the last time they had seen one another. She had been but a young lioness then when she was pushed from her home with the promise that she could visit from time to time, but somehow it had never felt right. They had said she was still firekin, but that somehow she wasn't firekin enough to be able to stay, with her siblings, with her family, with... "Tawa?!"

Umthunzi held no reservations with the loud exclamation. Sure she had been approaching the male so far passed the scent borders, especially after the fact that she hadn't spotted Emrys. That and his red color and size had tipped her off that he may be from the firekin, that he might have news of home... The thought of those dunes and the sand beneath her paws again made the pale lioness' heart ache something terrible.

Giant paws thundered beneath her as she swiftly closed the gap between the long-separated lions as she jumped at him. There was no anger, no mean to attack him, but simply push him, to feel her paws against him, to know that he was real.  

[SilverLutz]

His name had never sounded as wonderful as it did when it reached his ears. Tawa quickened his pace as he saw his friend do the same, and when they met halfway he was laughing with delight. The weight of the other ex-Firekin hit him harder than he had anticipated, but he held his ground and leaned into her. It had been ages since he had seen her and finally, finally getting to smell and see and feel her was well worth the wait.

"I can't believe you're the first one I ran into!" he said with a laugh, pressing his cheek against Arita's and rubbing it along her neck and head. This was what he had been hoping for and here she was, just as beautiful and strong and perfect as he had remembered her. Maybe a bit bigger than he had expected, but that was more than okay.  

[Quaji]

His affections were returned in kind and with nearly as much zeal as well. A rumble grew in her throat and it was in that moment that she wished she could purr as the cheetahs did. It was simply a pseudo-purr as she exhaled that she was left with though.

"I..how...why.." Each question never made it passed the first word as she ran her tongue along his cheek, taking in the time to groom his ruffled fur with care. This had to be a dream, right? But the way he pushed against her and her against him, this had to be real. It felt real. His voice sounded real. The feel of his mane pushed against her head and neck felt real. This had to be real. It couldn't be a dream, a daydream to escape from her reality. There was no way her mind would be so cruel.

It was suddenly that Umthunzi recoiled away from his touch, her ears pinned back against her skull as she stared at him with wide eyes. "No, no you can't be here if Emrys one finds you, or worse one of the Abaholi...Tawa, they'd kill you."  

[SilverLutz]

Tawa didn't bother trying to answer the questions she started but never finished. Talking could happen later. Right now he just wanted to enjoy being in her presence again. The attention he received made his heart beat faster, his tail swishing happily back and forth, the dry grass tickling it a bit.

The sudden space before him made him topple forward slightly, his weight leaning too much on the now absent Arita. Catching himself, he laughed at her concern. "Emrys...that coward won't be showing his face here any time soon," he said, an easy smile on his muzzle. "I challenged and bested him without so much as a fight. I had to swipe at his retreating rear end to even draw blood."

He didn't have a mark on him from the 'battle' which might be hard to prove to the other pride members, but the fact that the small grey lion was now nowhere to be seen should be proof enough. "I won my battle, so I may say."  

[Quaji]

"You beat him? Truly?" Umthunzi asked, though she already knew the answer. He had no reason to lie to her, not now, and the look on his face only confirmed that. It didn't take long for her hearty laughter to fill the air. "I knew it!" she exclaimed in a momentary pause, "I knew he wouldn't last. He was too scrawny, too thin. Some of the other lionesses though maybe he would last at least until the next rains, but I knew otherwise."

Pale red eyes fell back on her childhood crush as a faint smile grew across her face. With only a few strides she once again closed the gap between them, burying her face in his blonde mane. "I'm glad you're here, but it'll hurt more when you leave..." There was a tinge of pain in the final syllables of her words as the realization sank in. Inselelo never lasted forever. They were fleeting, temporary, just like the rains.

It didn't take long for her mood to recover momentarily--enough to at least turn the focus away from the pang of sadness that built in her chest--as she commented on his mane. "I wonder how the other lionesses would like your mane. Much paler than the other males." She made a slight hissing noise, "Ooo, and you red coat. They don't really like firekin here you know? Calls them redpelts. Fitting, right? I'm sure at least one of them would want their cubs to have your size at least. It always seems to be the one thing they're in awe of."  

[SilverLutz]

Tawa nodded, a rather dumb, giddy expression on his face as Arita laughed. It was like music to his ears, hearing her again, whether she was laughing or simply talking. Her voice had changed since they had last seen one another, as had everything else about her. It was now that of a fully grown adult, more melodious and charming than anything else he had heard.

He lowered his head to rest his chin between her ears, inviting her to stay close once again. He closed his eyes as she spoke, snorting quietly as she commented on the other lionesses in the pride.

"I have no care what they will think," he said quietly. "I came here for you, after all." He pulled back just a bit to look at her, brown eyes soft. "And I will stay as long as I can. I grew strong in the rogue lands. I'll hold my own for some time."  

[Quaji]

"You've become quite the sweet-talker since the last time I saw you, Tawa. But oh you should care about them. You are an Inselelo now after all. It's your job to care." Regardless of her words, Umthunzi was content to stay pushed against him and let the day that had hardly begun drift away in this way, but they couldn't. She would burn.

In time though she took the first step back. Later that would have to deal with the fact that his position was temporary, fleeting, and would eventually end. For now they could enjoy his victory. "You'll need to meet the others, introduce yourself to the Abaholi, rescent over Emrys' marks..." The list grew longer, but the words grew fainter and fainter as she went on, all the while she looked into his brown eyes. "This is like a dream," Umthunzi suddenly blurted out. "You, here...You've grown and your mane. Last time I saw it, it was just starting to come in."  

[SilverLutz]

If he could have, Tawa would have blushed at her observation. He hadn't meant to come out so heavy-handed, but he couldn't help himself. He'd been waiting on the edge of this pride for months now, and his goal of getting in and finding her had been fulfilled. Everything he had ever wanted to say was bubbling to the surface and it was all he could do to keep it to himself. They had barely been adolescents when they had last seen one another so he couldn't be sure how she felt, although the greeting gave him hope that there was still something there. They had never really talked about it as cubs simply because they hadn't understood it, but time and distance had taught him exactly what it was he felt for the pale lioness.

"It's quite handy, the light color helps keep me cool," he said with a hint of pride in his voice. His pelt didn't do much to help thanks to the dark tones of red, but his head got relief from the unforgiving sun thanks to it. "You've grown as well," he added, leaning in to bump their foreheads together. "Will you show me the lands a bit? Or at least bring me to these Abaholi? I feel as though I won't be taken seriously thanks to how unwilling Emrys was to fight."

He felt as though he should have something to show for his victory, although the scars from Gabedi were still visible on his body.  

[Quaji]

"I'm sure it is. You'll need it out here. We're in the middle of our dry season and," There was a pause, a nervous one at that. "It hasn't been kind." It was clear it was a sore subject by the way Umthunzi began to fidget, her paws shifting nervously on the cracked earth. "Well, you'll see later anyways. I'm sure one of the Abaholi will take you around and help you learn the ropes." There was so much for him to learn, to adjust to. At least she would be there to help him.

"Oh!" The word--thought it was more of just a sound--suddenly fell from her mouth. "My name. The lionesses here gave me a new one, to symbolize their acceptance of me. Here I'm Umthunzi, but..." Her eyes broke from her state to quickly glance to the ground before focusing on him again. "Between us, I can be Arita."

"I think you'll like one of our Umholi. Andhaka is his name, sort of reminded me of you when I first met him. Well, minus the blonde mane anyways. He's red, looks like he could have come from home. He's certainly got the spark to be a firekin." Tossing her head to beckon him to follow, she began walking--slowly at first--before picking up her pace to a light jog. The chatter turned to lighter, simpler talk now to fill the time as she took point in leading Tawa'shilah back towards the pile of rocks that was 'home' for now.