The black and red firekin female padded her way softly down through the wide, open mouth of the canyon that led to the watering hole that her pride shared with their neighbors. The leaves of the acacia trees were still, undisturbed by the lack of wind that did not pass in the canyon. She considered them thoughtfully and walked on by. She stooped, leaning down to take in mighty laps of the refreshing water. Azar did not make a habit out of coming to this place. It was too easy. True firekin knew the daily struggles of life in the desert and to rely only on one water source would be asking for trouble. That, and she did not care much for the fact that the spring was communal with another pride– and quite a rather large one at that. She shook her head as a fly buzzed around her ear and she straightened up, licking up the last droplets of water from around her maw and her whiskers. Never waste a drop.
She was surprised to be so alone for the time of day and the popularity of this place. But as her eyes wandered around, she cursed to herself that she must have jinxed her luck when she saw a male approaching through the bottleneck of the southern approach- the one owned by the Bonelands pride. He had a curly mane and white patches crossed his body back and forth. She studied him thoroughly until he was near enough where he may have noticed. Then she cast her golden eyes back to her own reflection and bent once more to drink some water, but this time it was more of an act to seem unassuming. She supposed she would leave now rather than have the company of a stranger but –
"Hello!" he called. Sayilmaz sim Sulta was feeling most carefree this afternoon. The sun was shining but not as harsh as usual. Until he had entered the valley the breeze had been gentle and constant. And his stomach was full with a meal the lionesses had procured earlier in the morning. All that was left for him was to drink heartily, and the outpost at the spring was an ideal place to go. He had passed a few Bonelands lionesses as they were leaving and expected to see some more once he got there. However, he was rather surprised when it seemed the only company he'd have was a lioness from the Firekin. He was not displeased by this, though.
He smiled as he reached the water's edge and bobbed his head in another greeting. She was quiet and not meeting his gaze. Sayilmaz had not met many Firekin, but found their ways a little bit unfamiliar and more foreign than he would have expected. It did not bother him, though.
"Nice day, don't you think?" He tried to make polite conversation.
The lioness nodded, stiffly. Finally, she looked up at him and resumed her survey.
"Are you one of their ... Inselolos?"
"Inselelo," he offered, but thinking he may have offended her with his correction (Firekin were awfully proud, you know), he cleared his throat and quickly tried to continue.
"Uh, I am. For about a season now." He nodded and wondered how much of their ways this lioness knew about. Enough, probably, to get the gist of the pride's circumstances. To know that he was one of the males who was entitled to breed. Who should have bred by know. What was taking him so long? His hide twitched as he tried to rid himself of the thought.
"And you? What is your rank?" He tried changing the subject, or at least the object of the conversation.
"A huntress," she answered. She could have been a number of other things. A soldier. A guard. A warden... But hunting seemed to suit her best. Some other prides did not have the same wealth of choice, but it suited her best, she figured. She shrugged as though that was the end of her sentence.
He shifted his weight from one foot to another, not sure how to proceed. Should he keep trying to push conversation? Should he turn and leave? His ears flicked back and forth, as though he was hoping a third party would join them to break the silence.
"I have heard some of our huria join your pride once they leave ours."
He was a little surprised that it had been the Firekin who extended the conversation. But he nodded.
"Uh- yes... Uhm, that would be correct. I have not met many myself but to me it seems to be a good arrangement. Keeps the family close to home."
"Yes," Azar agreed.
"Though we do sometimes have a bit of a problem with too much family around home." She tried to smile. Everyone had heard of the struggle the Firekin had with choosing mates that were unrelated to keep their bloodlines healthy. Luckily the rules for joining and breeding had been relaxed just a little. She could even breed with this male if she wanted to. She did not want to, though. His browns were ... not ideal. No offense to him. He seemed fine and his status as an Inselelo testified to his strength. The lionesses of the Bonelands would not have allowed him to rise to his rank if he was not fit.
Sayilmaz returned the black lioness' smile and added a weak shrug.
"All prides have their own problems and their own ways of solving them, right? This spring is a good example." It was a mutually beneficial agreement between the lions of the Firekin and the members of the Bonelands prides. Sure, they could have struggled until the rights belonged exclusively to one pride or the other, but it served all in the area best to be shared and Sayilmaz hoped it would remain that way even after he was gone. Hopefully it would benefit his offspring one day. Hopefully one day soon.
the end
word count: 1,002
word count: 1,002