[PRP] Tripping over Words (Umhlaba & Afya)

[Lightning Shadow X]

Umhlaba was a well meaning lion, a bit too big in his paws for his own good for how often he tripped over them - even as a cub he was constantly tripping over his paws, a walking disaster which was accurate for his family name. As he grew however he settled more into his paws now he only mostly tripped over himself when it came to the females of the pride, he just couldn't help himself! All the ladies of the pride were so pretty and soft and GAH, those stupid adolescent fleets of fancy still followed after him and his big bumbling feet.

So today he was going to chill out by the water, the paws kicking up the dark earth for what he was named as he sat himself down and ducked his head to enjoy a good few cooling mouthfuls of sweet water and such. Nice cool water, no panic, no fuss, no getting tongue tied and definitely no tripping over himself. Just him and a nice drink.

Krysin

 

[Krysin]

The petite lioness had spent her morning by herself, meticulously grooming herself for the day. Afya was a lioness who enjoyed the peace and quiet mornings could bring her. If everything was quiet around her, it meant that nothing was going wrong. She didn't think it so wrong to be a little paranoid now that the Onyeisi had passed on, and between his sons the succession was unclear. The pride had withstood worse trials, but it did set Afya on edge. As if that restlessness and unease had settled into her bones, the dark lioness decided it was time to get up and do something with her day.

She traveled to one of the pride's sources of water, and wasn't surprised to see another lion there. The pride was small and close - Afya knew most of them by name and was at least acquainted with the majority of the pride. Umhlaba was a lion she had spoken with before only briefly and in passing. She usually kept close to the lions within her own family. In the past few months, she had begun to reach out more to the other lions in the pride, cementing herself as a pleasant, if not overly serious, character.

"How are you today, Umhlaba?" she greeted the lion softly as she came up to his side. Bowing her head, she took a few long sips of water to quench her thirst.

Lightning Shadow X

 

[Lightning Shadow X]

Graceful as ever, the giant fluffy clutz was taking a drink as the dark gray lioness talked out to him and he nearly choked on his own gulped mouthful, spluttering and coughing as he got over the shock of not really expecting anyone - which in hindsight he probably should have given it was one of the few water sources they had. But Umhlaba wasn't really a 'foresight' kind of lion.

Shaking the dampness out of his mane he turned to look and saw that it was Afya! Oh dear, one of the most pretty faces to be sure and one he genuinely enjoyed talking with every now and then...fleeting and formal as they were.

"Hey-" He cleared his throat as his voice cracked after it'd been drowned. "-Uh, hey Afya, I'm fine...y-yourself?"

Lord of Death don't stutter! You're a full grown male, just chill, be level headed, be calm. It'll be fine. She's just here to drink like you are.

Krysin

 

[Krysin]

Afya tried her best not to grimace at the unseemly display. How could one possibly turn drinking water into an absolute struggle? She knew Umhlaba had some difficulty speaking clearly (though she had no idea it was just around women), but to think his ailment had taken him this far. She almost pitied the other lion, well, if she didn't feel so disgusted by it. The lioness turned her gaze back to the water, mentally willing the visual out of her head. It didn't work.

After a couple more sips of water she glanced back to the lion, hoping he had recovered enough from his episode to be able to speak with. He really should get that looked at, but Afya wasn't going to intrude on his life's decisions. If he wanted to get better, clearly he would have to take the first steps himself. So, the best she could do for him was try to pretend like she hadn't noticed anything off (though it was probably too late for that). "I am doing well, thank you." Afya answered properly, perhaps hoping her crisp tone and precise execution of her words would rub off on Umhlaba.

"I was thinking of getting a hunting party together to set out later in the evening. If you are feeling well, you should come." Males in general weren't as good of hunters as females, but Afya would feel bad at excluding him. She could make him stand somewhere and look intimidating - prey beast hated seeing males join in the fray.

Lightning Shadow X

 

[Lightning Shadow X]

Oh he was messing up badly, he could tell from Afya's body language and tone, her ears pinned back just a bit in embarrassment against his thick mane as he watched her for a moment before getting another drink and finding the shakes in his limbs slowly settle, if for the moment. Now calm. Easy. It's just Afya, you knew Afya...kind of...at least you spoke with her before....kind of???? Ugh, just calm. Breath. Talk like a normal lion for once and stop being weird.

"Great, good, been a while since I've seen you...think I didn't have this much useless fur the last time we talked." He ran a paw across his mane and frowned a little at the dampness he'd caused before his blue eyes turned back to her and he tilted his head quizzically. Her offer was kind and it made him smile, but only briefly as small flashes of messing up infront of such a large number of females immediately had him clearing his throat again as he felt it clench in his neck out of nerves.
"T-That's a kind offer, Afya, but I'm not really a hunter...more like a walking earthquake with how much trouble my big dumb paws get me into, the prey'd probably hear me coming a mile off...not like you and the others." He offered her a genuine smile once his nerves settled. "You ladies are amazing...I'm just good at looking big...and apparently choking on water."

Krysin

 

[Krysin]

"It suits you," Afya answered kindly. That sort of self consciousness was something she hadn't quite outgrown herself. Compared to Umhlaba, however, her confidence was leaps and bounds ahead of his'. For a moment, she tried to picture Umhlaba as he was now without a mane, and silently decided the lion was far better off with one than without it. She was glad she did not have to carry around all that extra weight in pure fur, but she looked quite a bit better without it. "It'll only get thicker and bigger the more time passes, so I suppose you best get used to it sooner rather than later." An amused smile briefly passed over her features.

"You won't get any better at hunting if you make excuses for yourself not to go," she chastised him gently. It was his decision in the end, but if he wanted to be able to hunt for himself eventually, he would need the practice. He couldn't be young and clumsy forever. "We're only as good as we are because we've practiced, and learned how to be quiet when stalking prey. Movements become easy, and I hardly notice now where I place my feet when I'm stalking. They naturally settle in the best position."

She nudged her shoulder against his, trying to rally his confidence. "Come, now, if you set your mind to it I'm sure you'll be an expert at hunting in no time. The more of us there are, the less likely it is that we'll fail."

Lightning Shadow X

 

[Lightning Shadow X]

Oh good lord she bumped him, he felt his muscles lock into place as he offered an awkward smile and he gave a slight shrug as the big male just listened on curiously to her words whilst drying to mentally flush away the burning in his cheeks - so thankful for his dark fur hiding his flesh.

At the note of practice he nodded in agreement, he couldn't argue that, practice did make perfect and he watched her for a few seconds before gently nudging her shoulder back and taking another drink.

"I suppose I could try...if all else fails I suppose I could be good moral support." He then looked back to Ayfa, having settled just a bit more. "So how's the family?"

Krysin

 

[Krysin]

Afya finally seemed satisfied with his answer. She could always use extra bodies in a hunt, even if it meant just strategically placing him somewhere and telling him to stay put. It was time for them to shake off their youth and put hard work into the pride, especially now that their members had dwindled. New cubs were few and far between, and she had seen some direct bloodlines die out entirely. It was up to the survivors now to hold up the pride, and Afya wasn't going to fail them now. She was headed full force into adulthood with nothing or no one to hold her back.

"Good, then I expect you to be on time this evening for the hunt." Most of everyone knew that to be late when Afya was expecting them was something intolerable. She was far too strict at times when it came down to business. It was perhaps why she hung around so many light-hearted lions and lionesses. She needed them around to pull her back when she got too strict or too hard-headed.

"Oh, my brother's well. Much the same, really." Her brother was all she had left in her family, and while she cherished him dearly... he was her brother. There were natural sibling annoyances between them that she couldn't escape. "I am thankful to have some time away from him, however. And how has your life been lately?"

Lightning Shadow X

 

[Lightning Shadow X]

Umhlaba had to admit, Afya was strict...but honestly that's kinda why he admired her, every female in the pride had something about them to culminate to their whole which made them all strong and beautiful individuals, Afya was no different.
So as she spoke about expecting him, all he could do was smile and nod towards her politely. "You'll see me there."

Going back to drink at the water he listened to the conversation about her brother and smiled lopsidedly, usual sibling stuff then, seemed accurate and then the question of his life came about and he chuckled with a slightly awkward cough in his throat.

"Ahem, well, it's been...pretty much the same as always, only we're waiting for a new Onyeisi...I wonder how it's going between Owu and Itri."

Krysin

 

[Krysin]

Afya sat straight, looking out over the watering hole. The trials were coming soon, and she hoped that Owu and Itiri's relationship wouldn't be harmed because of it. They needed an easy, straightforward succession. The pride needed to build itself back up, and the next few generations were critical. The last thing Afya wanted to see for her pride was for it to die out (but that also didn't mean she was so desperate to trust rogues being brought into the pride).

"We'll find out which one of them it is soon enough," Afya assured Umhlaba. He may not have needed the reassurance, but in a little way, Afya did. She wanted the trial to commence and be over already, so that there could be a newfound stability within the pride. Afya wasn't so confident that the void left by the previous Onyeisi did not effect her. She was still a young lioness who simply wanted the best for her pride.

"You'll see then, things will start to turn around after we get a new Onyeisi. You'll finally find yourself a pretty girl to mate with, and we'll see an obnoxious influx of cubs in the pride." Afya joked lightly, a small smile gracing her features.

Lightning Shadow X

 

[Lightning Shadow X]

Umhlaba's ears flicked forward curiously as he listened to Afya's reassurance, seeing none of her personal worry - she was a calm and level headed figure in his eyes and to hear her speak so assuredly made him much more at ease.

And then she mentioned mates and cubs.
Whuh oh.
He felt the heat in his cheeks under his fur and chuckled nervously as he raised a paw to rub at the back of his mane.

"Well heaven knows there's not a lack of pretty girls in our pride, it definitely won't be any trouble for you to scoop some lucky male up yourself."

Krysin

 

[Krysin]

"I'm not in the market for one yet," Afya informed Umhlaba with a smile. Well, if he had any hopes now, they were certainly going to be effected. Afya hadn't directed the comment towards him, but rather towards the population in general. She was nowhere near being ready yet. The lioness wanted to make a bit of a name for herself before jumping into the life of raising cubs, if she could even have any. Cubs were essential to the health of the pride, but Afya was not near being ready for that level of commitment to another, let alone a bunch of little lives.

That was a future far off. A male would have to sweep her off her paws, and none so far were capable of that. "We're still young yet. Let the rest of the pride have cubs. I'm more interested in being able to feed all of them." The lioness stood up, stretching her paws out in front of her to ease some of the muscles along her shoulder and back.

"On that note, I should probably start prepping for the hunt soon. I am not going to suffer through another day of failure." She frowned, brows creasing, blue eyes brooding. Afya wanted a big kill, something more successful than the scraps of meat she had barely managed to secure the past couple of days.

Lightning Shadow X

 

[Lightning Shadow X]

Oh. OH. That was embarrassing, ofcourse Afya wouldn't be in the market for a mate yet - not that he'd have pressured her but she definitely had a point. They were young lions, they had all the time...well...a decent amount of time till they could settle down, he could get a lovely mate from another family and then she'd join his.

As the other stood he raised his head and watched her curiously before nodding and standing himself up where he was sunk down by the bank drinking. "W-We'll do fine today, Afya, I promise to be there with the others like you asked."
He wasn't going to do great, at least he didn't think he'd do great, but he wanted to try for her sake if she was that worried about the hunt. He would try his best.

Krysin

 

[Krysin]

"Of course we will," Afya responded, full of confidence. While the past few hunts had ended in favor, the odds were leaning back towards the lions now. They had failed so many times that one of the next hunts had to be successful. Afya wanted a large meal to fill her belly with. She wanted to have a day where she had gorged herself so much that she could do nothing but lounge around and enjoy the sun's warmth. For a lioness who worked so hard, it was those few rare moments of peace that she cherished the most.

"I will see you there, then. Don't be late - I'll know." There, briefly, a smile graced her features, sly and playful. The dark lioness turned away from the young male, offering him a brief wink before she took off in the opposite direction. Someone needed to locate the herds before they started the hunt, and Afya would take it upon herself to do so.

Lightning Shadow X

c: A wrap, maybe?