There was a break in travel, and for that she had been thankful. Thankful for the weather for not being too harsh. Thankful to the herds for stopping their travel, if not just for a brief time. To be honest, Yithemba had become a bit bored. It was the same routine, day in and day out. Sure, she should be thankful. No excitement meant nothing crazy and I think everyone had their fill from the last drought. No fires. No risky hunts. Just… calm.

Calm and boring.

Yi sighed. It was an upwards turned breath that blew her bangs from her face. They had hunted recently enough that, as far as she knew, they weren't going out today or this evening. She had seen one of the Abaholi start to do some rounds. Not the one she was looking for, though. Which meant he had to be around here somewhere…

Ahlaq was, indeed, around there somewhere. Specifically, he was resting underthing a shrubby bush. It was quiet enough for him to have some peace and secluded enough to where no one would come bother him unless they were specifically seeking him out.

It wasn't that he actually disliked anyone in the pride. For the most part, everyone was very… nice. He supposed that was one way to combat the harsh environment. To band together and be there for one another.

It was just so… different than what he was used to. Sure, in the Burkuteshti they were close like family. They were brethren in war. But that desert was cutthroat and one showed love by training one another to become competent fighters. Killers. And the Impibutho… That was just something else entirely.

Sometimes he missed the curt words and battle-ready atmosphere. It was just another sort of battle out here, he supposed. And he still had his fights. Sometimes rogue males would make it difficult and he had the pleasure of fighting them off. It just wasn't the same.

It was in this contemplative thought that Yi found him. It seemed that the Umholi had made himself hard to find. She wondered if he did this on purpose. Then she wondered out loud.

"So, Ahlaq. Come out here to get some thought? Or do you just like to brood alone?" The words came with a cheeky, beaming smile as the dark striped lioness moved towards him. She sat at his side, unafraid of the close proximity. Yithemba was the type whose limits of comfortability stretched as far as the eye could see.

"A bit of both," came the brief, gruff response. It only made her smile toothier. It was a known fact that the pale, sandy Umholi was a lion of few words. Some lionesses were put out by his rought-around-the-edges personality. For some, it made them like him even more. There was a sort of air of mystery around the lion. Quiet. Mysterious. Sure, not as large and traditionally handsomely colored as Umkhombo (whom Yi had a personal taste for—the tall dark and handsome sort), but there was a charm to him.

The lioness felt as though she could feel the sigh escaping him.

"How can I help you?" Ahlaq continued, glancing towards her with his lavender eyes.

Yithemba just shrugged in response. "What, a girl can't just come over to say hello?" She stretched out her legs in front of her, then settled next to him. The dark lioness kept her eye on him, curious as to how he might react.

"Somehow I doubt that's all that's happening here," Ahlaq responded curtly. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. He hadn't directly interacted with this lioness before, but she had seen her around. He had a feeling for what she was like. And at the moment he felt as though she was trying pointedly to push his buttons.

The lioness clicked her tongue. "So assuming," the murmured. "I just wanna chat. Honest. Paw to my heart." Yithemba rolled onto her side, facing him. It was a posture that showed how obviously relaxed she was.

"Is that so," Ahlaq returned. "And what is it that you'd like to talk about?" To be honest, he rather liked the quipping. Friendly conversation with just a taste of playful hostility. It was lively and reminded him of his old homes.

"Oh, you know. You. You're a bit of a mystery around these parts. Why don't you talk about yourself more?"

A crease formed in the lion's brow. He snorted, turning his head to peer at her. "What's there to say? Plenty of others around here have the same story as me. Just go ask Umkhombo."

"Yeah, but I want to hear it from the source," Yithemba replied. She smiled, reaching out a paw and pushing at his shoulder gently.

Ahlaq rolled his eyes, shaking out his mane. "What is it that you want to know?" He had been asked multiple times about his life before the bonelands. Were the lionesses so bored that all they wanted to do was gossip and prod about his life? He wasn't that interesting.

"Was your life like how the other lionesses said? Fighting all the time? Fighting, or training to fight?" Yithemba's expression became just a touch more focused. Clearly, she had been thinking about the question for a long while.

The lion shrugged in response. "It's a different sort of lifestyle. But that's what it was like. Both at the Burkuteshti and the Impibutho." Even though he technically wasn't from the same group as the other lionesses, it seemed as though the lifestyle at the Qyrhyeshti was a bunch of the same. "What of it?"

Yithemba became very focused, now. Sure, there was the occasional scuffle here and there. Among some of the Qyrhy lionesses especially. It was always a bit of excitement in their lives. And she had always been a lioness who loved excitement.

"Will you teach me?"

"…What?" Ahlaq peered at her.

"You know. Teach me. To fight."

Ahlaq opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again when he realized he had no words. His loss made Yi grin. Well. He supposed this wouldn't just be another one of those afternoons after all.

"Yeah. Fine."

(WC: 1039)