The ruddy red clay and white male walked with a somewhat slow and measured pace around the outer edges of his pride's territory. There was always something going on around out there, interesting or not. It was also one of his Inselelo duties, too. However, usually he did not have a lioness keeping him company. But today, his old friend Disin bint Kiskac was along for the patrol. She had invited herself, of course. The scarred, dark brown, ex-Jahy Sarlarin, covered in scars, had been heading out for a solo hunt when she had spotted the Inselelo and changed her plans on the spot.
"And what are you up to today, Sayilmaz?" She had asked.
"Just out doing my job, Disin. And yourself?" He had replied.
"Just out doing my job."
Since then, they had been walking along in compatible silence, him keeping an eye out for any foreigners, her watching for any sign of prey. Who knows, maybe they could kill two birds with one stone- so to speak.
The former but reunited pride members were not long out on their expedition before they had an encounter. Disin heard him first, but Sayilmaz smelled him first. They froze in their tracks and turned to look at one another in unison.
"Did you-?" They asked each other at the same time. Without finishing their question, they nodded and began a stealth approach. The scrubby savannah grasslands territory of the Bonelands pride did not offer an abundance of territory, but they were luckier than their neighbors, the Firekin. The brown lions sunk low into the grass and their padded paws muffled the sound of their steps while the breeze blew their scents away from their quarry until finally they were within range.
It was a black and blue lion alone and fairly unassuming. He was not hunting, nor did he smell of a recent kill. Their eyes scoured him and met after they had made their determinations. Sayilmaz rose to his full height first, with Disin following shortly behind him.
"Hello, traveler. How do you fair? Did you know you are near the territory of the Ithambo'hlabathi? Do you have any business with our pride?" Now that Sayilmaz was seeing him unobstructed by grasses, he was even less intimidated. He knew to never truly count out any one as a threat- even an opponent who would otherwise be a pushover could be incredibly dangerous when their life (or the life of their offspring or life of a loved one) was hanging in the balance by a thread.
Hayato was in for quite the surprise when he was ambushed by a lion and a lioness. He jumped visibly from the shock, he could only pray it had not been too noticeable and that the wind would carry away the strongest part of the scent of his fear on the breeze. He was a rogue- wandering was what he did. Pride and pack members had ranks that dictated their life purposes and, well, being a rogue meant that he was destined to wander fairly aimlessly for his days.
"I- uh, hello. No, uhm..." He stammered. His ears were flat against his head and his fur was standing on edge.
Disin stared at him critically. She could easily tell that he was more afraid than aggressive, but cornered animals- or ones that perceived themselves to be threatened or in a tight spot- were especially dangerous.
Hayato tried to finish his thought but did not seem to be making much progress as he continued to struggle to find the right words, or really any words at all.
"Are you alright?" Sayilmaz asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm just a rogue, sir, ma'am..." he finally managed to say, staring at the ground and anxiously raking the earth with his claws- a nervous habit of his.
"Honestly, I have not even ever heard of the pride you say you are from, sorry... I don't really keep up very well with what prides are where... You know how it is... Some have been around forever but are tiny and really isolated, some only last a couple of generations... I mean I've heard of the Pridelands, you know, ones like that, but..." he could only offer a shrug and a small, lopsided half-hearted grin to appease them. The lion seemed slightly less critical than his lioness counterpart, but he knew it was still a dangerous situation for him.
"I have done no hunting- and I won't- if you could just let me pass on by through..." He looked up at the lion hopefully. He figured he was the one he had the best chance of appealing to.
Disin looked from the black and blue male to her companion and back. She believed this stranger that he was not going to cause any problems. She knew some lions might try to be this pathetic as an act to get them to let down their guards and gain access to the pride to try to challenge an inselelo or umholi or take some lionesses by force, but she could read his body language, and more importantly, smell his fear, and determine that this was authentic.
Sayilmaz looked at Disin to see what she thought and even a quick glance at the scarred brown lioness confirmed his guess. After their time together in the harsh environment of the Jahy, it was easy for the pride members to read one another- they had to when they were at war. She gave him an imperceptible nod that was missed by Hayato and he nodded back. The Inselelo turned to address the passer-by once more.
"Of course. You are not even in our territory. We do these scouting patrols as a matter of prevention and to increase our own awareness of any potential threats on our borders. You may linger here for another day or so and take a meal or two of small game to sustain yourself before moving on. We wish you health and safety in your journey." Sayilmaz put enough emphasis on moving on that his point was clear.
"Y-yes... And thank you." Hayato bowed his head and turned before briskly walking off, looking over his shoulder a few times in worried glances to see if he was being followed, but true their word, he was safe.
Disin watched the black lion disappear and looked to Sayilmaz. She was glad her friend was good at his job, it made her life just a little bit easier some days...
the end
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