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 Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2018 7:29 am
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Things had finally settled in the wake of their ill-fated attempt to migrate south, it seemed. There wouldn't be much of any migrating anymore, from the look of things, which was itself quite bizarre, but the initial tumult and uncertainty had mostly calmed, especially once her brother had rejoined the main bulk of the pride, seemingly full recovered from his injuries. She'd had quite a few reservations about that, and if he hadn't been her brother, she might have had something to say about an injured Umholi actually staying Umholi, but...he had saved an Umama, so that bought him a bit of credit, too. It was a good thing he'd brought Faust and Ahlaq in with him, after all, as they'd still had two Abaholi to defend the pride - and, ostensibly, him as well.
She was less sure how she felt about their new Cabanga, especially when she had very quickly proceeded to have cubs, and the fact that Umkhombo was particularly attentive to them. Up to this point, he'd behaved much as expected of a Bonelands male, and not stuck his nose into the mothers' business. Perhaps it was because she was Firekin, and they generally expected fathers to play more of a role, but...all in all, it struck her as a very peculiar and potentially messy situation. Su had always stayed quite Firekin, from what she'd observed, while Turiya in some ways was going native. So where did being Motoujamii stop and Ithambo begin?
A puzzling question that only added to her restlessness of late. Her brother had produced several litters, his compatriots had had a few, with others here and there from Inselele, some with lionesses younger than her, and here she remained, cubless. It was absolutely for lack of trying and nothing else, as she'd not taken to any of the available males. Ahlaq's mane wasn't quite dark enough to make up for the fact that he was a bit small, and while Faust was better, she just found something displeasing about potentially choosing one of the males her brother had brought with him. The Inselele had mostly been objectionable, in one way or another, from Kuhasa's overall pallor to Pahana's starkly white mane. Budek's had been better, but bordered on odd in her book, and in light of the way he'd left, she was quite glad she hadn't stooped to that level.
Which left her, now, with Giruvegan. His mane was acceptable, even if it did fade to a lighter color in places. As for the rest of him...well. He had some very unfortunate spots, and the yellowish markings on his legs and muzzle were terribly odd. He wasn't a looker by any means, at least by her own estimation, but she supposed he would suffice. It was that or continue to wait and hope that someone more suitable would replace him or Pahana, but she was growing impatient.
So Uheshe sought him out while most were getting in their afternoon laze, and offered a terse greeting, "Inselelo."
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Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2019 5:51 pm
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The morning had been rather pleasant for the inselelo; he had quite a good discussion with his sister about each of their futures. She seemed rather content here, and showed signs that she would stay. She hadn't shown interest yet in having a litter of her own, but there was a small part of him that was thankful for it. It would make it all the harder to leave her, rather than easier. Family roots would grow a bit too deeply for him, and he would probably have taken drastic defensive measures to stay. A fight to the death.
Although he knew his time here was limited, he would do his best to protect Cerobi and all the pride. The thought of his future beyond these dry, warm lands would come another day, and hopefully it would be far enough away in the future.
He had begun to get lost in his thoughts, thinking about the past contrasting with his future. A short, quick greeting of his title drew him out of himself, and he blinked a few times before turning to see a creamy, dappled female. "Ah...yes? I am here to help," he said with a quick bow. He cursed the fact he did not know all the ladies of the pride, as impossible as that would be. It always felt rude that they would know of him and he wouldn't know anything about them.
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 5:52 am
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Well, he might be unattractive, but at least he was respectful. It seemed she'd caught him lost in thought, but once she had his attention, he was quick enough to focus it on her, with a little bow and an offer of help. Did he suspect what he'd be helping with? Or was he just one of those generally helpful types? Those were useful, certainly, but could also get a bit grating to be around, at times. Not that she was interested in spending a great deal of time with the Inselelo either way, but after all the judgemental staring she'd been doing for weeks now, she should finally talk to him, now that she'd decided he was a possibility.
If he proved to be dumb as a rock, though, she might have to reconsider. She could deal with her cubs potentially inheriting weird yellow feet, but stupidity? Unacceptable.
"Relax," she responded after a moment, "There's nothing I need right this second. I think the odds of any pressing needs this morning are fairly low, overall." Especially so close in to the pride.
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Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 8:40 pm
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Hm, were his ears burning? But that would mean someone was talking about him... correct? He couldn't remember if that was how the story went, but he was certainly having an unsettling though. Perhaps his preoccupation with concerns about Cerobi were distracting him from what he really needed to do, which was handle the dappled lioness before him.
He had considered adding onto his initial greeting, but her cool eyes and her body language told him to shut up. She was different than some of the other lionesses he had dealt with. Confident, driven, and selective. She had never spoken to him before, but he was fairly confident he had caught her glancing at him before. On more than one occasion. She wouldn't be here if she didn't have a reason to be.
"Ah, right." Something also told him that apologizing to her over something as trivial as this would more than certainly offend her. "Habit, I assume, from the rain and earthquake on that far back night." Things had been much better since them, but it was a night that the brown lion would more than likely never forget.
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Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2019 4:06 pm
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"You must come by a lot of habits, if you can form one in a night," Uheshe observed dryly, settling primly into a sit and curling her tail close around herself. She very deliberately didn't focus her attention entirely on him - not out of any shyness, certainly, more a subtle assertion that he didn't need (deserve?) her full attention. He had some of it, for now, but he wasn't owed it, whatever she was seeking. "All the same, I should hope we're past such...eventful days."
By the way she said it, squinting at the sky through narrowed eyes, even she was skeptical. Strange things were continuing to happen, if not on a daily basis still often enough that many of them didn't do much more than raise eyebrows, although since the earthquake none had seemed dangerous. But who knew?
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Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 7:56 pm
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He couldn't help himself. He laughed. She was harsh; a stark contract from what he was used to. And a part of him liked that, and felt a twinge of jealousy. He felt rather obligated to be nice to everyone. It came naturally to him, especially coming from the previous position as a merchant of sorts. Being an Inselelo, he felt it would reflect poorly on him if he had attempted to treat any of the lionesses with a harsh word. They highly outnumbered him, and even if they didn't bother to bring the Umholi into it, they could chase him right out of these lands and into the far-off ocean.
"A severe concussion can do that," he replied when his throat cleared from chuckling. He hoped he'd never have to deal with that sort of odd sensation again. He was carefully watching her, trying to gauge her interest, or lack thereof. It felt like a test, to see how much she could needle him before he gave in. He followed her eyes into the sky, the lazily drifting clouds showing no sign of danger. "Looking foe earthquake weather?" he mused in the gap of discussion.
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