((Sooo, sooo backlogged.))
It was not without satisfaction that the striped red male had left the afternoon meeting of lionesses that had ended with him declared the new Umholi of the pride in the absence - and likely death at each other's claws - of the former Abaholi, Gakere and Surtak. There was no shortage of disapproval, particularly from the gray Umama who had never liked him and probabyl never would, but in the long run it mattered little. She had been outvoted, and she would have to stomach his presence for however long he lasted. A long, long time, he hoped, though nothing in life was ever certain. Jasiri had had some support, and it was possible that if he were to attempt something, the white-maned male might have some backing from the lionesses. Thus far, however, there was no indication that he needed to be paranoid...but Andhaka would err on the side of caution and keep a careful eye on the golden Inselelo, just in case. In truth, he needed him, and if the vote had gone differently, the reverse would still have been true; it would be borderline impossible for any one lion to keep the pride safe and fend off all challengers for any significant length of time. It had been with good reason that Gakere had brought in two other Abaholi, and that the rank of Inselelo existed at all. So he would watch Jasiri, but also depend on him.
In light of all that was happening, sleep did not come easily. His mind was busy with thoughts of it all and thoughts of the future and what it might hold for him, as well as the responsibility that was now his...and the danger that came with it. It was difficult to stop and sleep amidst thoughts of possible challengers who might appear, whether they appeared from within or from without. But he wasn't foolish enough to try not to sleep, as that would very quickly lead to weakness and then to an unpleasant. Light sleep in small increments it was, then, and that was what he was doing now, curled up alone just before sunset. He'd been dozing pleasantly for nearly twenty minutes when a rustle in the grass caused his ears to twitch and one eye to crack open. He watched the tall grass shiver with the movement of some small creature, probably a honey badger of something similar, for a moment before dismissing it and closing his eyes to return to his nap.
Less than a minute later, that something whumped into his side not only with all of its rather insignificant weight but also with its little pinprick claws and gnawing teeth. Andhaka started and swatted it away with a grunt, watching the little dark form tumble away with a squeak. It wasn't a honey badger at all, but a lion cub, and a somewhat familiar one: one of Ukuthula's lot, the dark son of Gakere. Andhaka couldn't remember what their names were. Whatever his name was, this one had gone bumbling away from his mother, which frankly wasn't surprising. The dappled lioness was far from overprotective, more of a 'sink or swim' type. If one of her cubs wandered off and got stepped on, well, served it right for being stupid.
Speaking of stupid, the cub popped right back up from its tumble and charged him again with its best rendition of a ferocious growl. Andhaka scowled and flicked it away again, only for it to come at him a third time. This time, the red lion stepped on him, holding him down so he could get a better look at him. And also because it probably wouldn't go over too well if he addled the thing's brain or some such, not that it seemed to be making much use of its brain at that particular moment. "Just what do you think you're doing, kid?"
The only response he got was a distinctly un-terrifying 'rarr!' from the cub as it flailed and tried to bite him, but fortunately he'd pinned it in such a way that his paw was safe from its sharp little cub-teeth.
"I'll ask you this one more time before I throw you so far your mother never finds you, if she even bothers to look: just what do you think you're doing, kid?"
The cub snarled as viciously as it could, glaring, but as Andhaka began to apply more pressure with his paw, he huffed and admitted, "I'm gonna fight you!"
"That much I gathered. Why?"
"Mom says I have to!"
Andhaka snorted. Of course she had. "Is that so? Did she tell you why?"
"I'm s'posed to, so I can beat you and I can be Ab...Ab...Ab'holi!"
"Ah, I see. I do believe you mean Umholi, though, and also that you're a bit small for the job at this point in time."
The cub, who had finally stopped struggling and accepted his defeat for the moment, let out another huff of annoyance, but said nothing in response, so Andhaka continued, "And if I might add, your form is lacking. You do have the element of surprise covered, I'll give you that, but you wasted it. If you're going to kill someone while they're sleeping, you don't just jump on them."
"...you don't?"
The new Umholi shook his head seriously. "They're much more likely to wake up and fight back. You want to kill someone while they're sleeping, you stay quiet, move slowly, creep right up and slit their throat with your claws." He released his hold on the cub to mimic the motion over his own throat. "My mane's thick, though, you don't have the claws to get through it yet. And anyway, assassination's not the way around here; they like fights to the death, grand shows of strength and all that. You're not strong enough yet, kid."
"I will be!" he declared.
"Will you? Saying it doesn't make it so. You have to work at it, devote yourself to it. Weakness will get you killed in a heartbeat."
"Mom says she'll teach me. She can fight."
"Your mother learned at the outpost, and probably a little from her mother, but it's not the same. They don't fight to kill." Andhaka considered the cub again, one of Gakere's last sons. "Tell you what: let me get some sleep, come back tomorrow, and I'll teach you a few things. I can't promise any miracles, but maybe you've got some potential to go with those guts."