[PRP] The Gossip cometh (Sanele x Emrys)

[Tanakako]

Sanele grinned to herself as she watched a group of cubs playing near by. They were Ilanga’s brood, seven healthy, happy cubs bumbling around playing some indecipherable game. The mother herself was close by, napping quietly as her cubs entertained themselves. Sanele often babysat the bunch of them, along with which ever cubs needed watching, since there were now several litters all close to similar ages, though Ilanga’s were the youngest by a month or so. Today however she was not on duty, she had just been visiting her friend earlier and had yet to find some new diversion with which to entertain herself while the overworked mother slept. Maditah and Dania were currently awake and keeping an eye on the cubs. Dania’s own three girls, though bigger than Ilanga’s were near by, apparently sleeping off their lunch.

Shifting on the close cropped grass Sanele chuckled to herself. So much had happened to her home, but finally, after a lot of bad, it was now turning good. New Umholi, though she supposed they weren’t so new any more, new cubs and new hunting expeditions. Yes, life in the Bonelands was good, and Sanele couldn’t be happier. Speaking of new…. There was apparently a new Inselelo too. A pridelander so she had heard, beating Gabedi on the heals of a Firekin. The story intrigued her, and being the pride’s biggest and most enthusiastic gossip, Sanele wanted to hear the tale from the lion’s mouth, so to speak.

Well! She had found her entertainment for the afternoon! Rising easily to her paws the mature female set off, leaving the gaggle of cubs and their minders as she set off in search of her newest interest. Namely, the new inselelo.  

[SilverLutz]

Emrys finally felt as though he was starting to fit into the pride. He had been here only a few weeks so far, but his presence was starting to be known. He had met a few members of the pride - some friendly, some not so much - and had slowly started putting names to face. It was a tedious process that could be pulled out from under him at any moment, but it was one he faced with glee. This was any male's dream, wasn't it? Living a life of enjoyment with beautiful females surrounding him at any given moment. He had to protect the lands, of course, but that was a given.

He was currently sunbathing on a rock, his emerald eyes closed as he soaked up the rays. Occasionally his ear or tail would twitch to keep the bugs away, but other than that he was dozing peacefully.

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

Sanele had been quiet prepared to search all over the current living area of the pride, as she knew the males tended to go out on patrol quite often. But as luck would have it she discovered him only a short while after starting her search. She had visited the pride itself first, and only spotted one of the Umholi sleeping in the middle of a large group of females. Such a sight was common, as the lionesses were still somewhat over excited by both leaders as those who hadn’t yet successfully raised a litter were eager for the attention of the Umholi. Sanele herself was actually considering it, though she had yet to settle on which Umholi she would approach. She still felt the loss of the two old leaders, and the manner of their disappearance was like an old wound, a dull ache she had learned to ignore but that every so often would pain her anew. She had liked Gabedi, but having been around when he was born, she hadn’t felt any pull towards him as the father of her cubs.

Her musings were distracted when she spotted the unfamiliar grey bulk of a lion laying asleep atop a large rock. That must be the new male, since she knew almost every member of the pride, with only the newly joined being strangers to her. Without hesitation the bold crimson-backed female trotted directly up to where the large male was sleeping and put her forepaws up on the rock near his head.

“Hello there. You must be the new guy, from the Pridelands?” She asked brightly, apparently unconcerned that she would wake him with her question.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Napping was a wonderful thing, but it did allow the chance for others to sneak up on him. Well, 'sneak'. He hadn't been expecting the female to approach him, so when she spoke very close to him he jerked awake. Rolling to his stomach, he looked around before glancing down at the female on the ground. Phew...just a lion.

"Ah...sorry," he said, rubbing at his eyes with a paw. What was the question? He tried to think back to what she had said. Pridelands...oh, yes!

"Yes, I'm the new Inselelo," he said, his foggy brain finally putting two and two together. "Emrys. From the Pridelands, also correct." He finally focused on the female, taking in the details of her pelt so if he came across her later he'd be able to put a name with the face. Once he got a name, of course.

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

She grinned at him with sharp white fangs as he startled awake and rubbed his eyes. Staying where she was, stood upright with her front paws up on the rock beside him, she openly examined him, bright blue eyes sparkling with friendly amusement. "Got a good mind on you it seems. Sorry for starling you, were you sleeping?" Though she spoke a question, her tone was a statement as she arched a brow at him. "I'm Sanele. I have heard that you beat Gabedi. Welcome to the pride and all that, what do you think of us so far?" She continued, barely pausing for his reply, her tone easily confident and curious. It was clear she was an older female, her boldness spoke of experience and she had none of the diffidence or hostility of many of the females. She seemed far more inclined to treat him as a friend, albeit one she didn't know yet. As her next words were more questions. "Is your home pride very far away? What are they like? Did they send you away like we do our male cubs?"

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

The questions came tumbling over him like an avalanche and he mildly glared at her as he struggled to wake up properly. He gave a massive yawn while more and more questions were thrown at him, and finally he had to lift a paw to indicate she should stop to let him answer some of her queries.

"It's certainly different from what I'm used to, but I like it," he said, skipping over the first rhetorical question. "The Pridelands are a considerable distance from here even if you walk without wandering from the shortest route. I was a rogue for quite some time before coming here."

He shifted a bit on the rock again now that he was fully aware of his surroundings, settling down to look at Sanele with a more comfortable and proper expression. "It's quite large, the Pridelands. I left on my own, mostly because there was talk of trouble brewing. Visions of blood and such. No one is sent away from the Pridelands based on color or gender, but anyone is free to come and go as they please."

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

She laughed easily as he raised his paw, blue eyes sparkling along with her broad, friendly smile. But she did wait, letting him gather his thoughts and wake up enough to reply to her. Once he started to speak she listened intently, one ear flicking as he spoke of his home pride. As he went on her expression sharpened, a fierce intelligence in her eyes. "Visions? What kind? Does your pride take them seriously?" Sanele had never really paid much attention to lionesses who claimed to have visions. Mainly because so few of the Boneland females would admit to it. A good prediction was always welcome of course, but a bad one carried so much social stigma that it was usually best to just not talk about it. And seers that came into the pride from the roguelands and started boasting of their powers risked ostracisation or in the most extreme cases where cubs ended up injured or dead, the seer themselves would be killed. So Sanele found his admittance of seers being the reason he left his home an interesting and slightly disturbing one.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

The attention of the lioness shifted from jovial to serious and it startled Emrys a bit. He had no idea about how the pride viewed Seers and he probably should have treaded a bit softer initially, but the damage was done now.

"Redness descending upon the lands. Some said it was blood, others said it was simply the time in which the moon passes in front of the sun during the daytime. Many Seers had the same vision, though, so I'd consider it a legitimate one. I didn't want to hang around and see which it would be, though," he added with a little snort, obviously not too concerned about what was happening in his old pride. "That, and I felt like one of a million there. There were so many lions...I needed to get away from it. And I found after a few moons that being a rogue wasn't exactly the life I was looking for either."

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

Sanele listened intently as he spoke of the happenings in his homeland, finally nodding along with him. "Well, I guess whatever it was has happened by now then.... Though, I wouldn't mention such a thing round here... " She added with an easy smile. "Not that we don't believe, but.... Well, it's just not a very good idea to bring it up. Is all." She finished with a lazy shrug. After all, while she was fairly laid back about the whole thing, visions were just stories to her after all, many of the other lionesses would react badly to such a topic. And she already knew that he wasn't having the easiest time fitting in, talk of the new Inselelo's green markings was all over the pride. With more than a few of the females claiming they would never have cubs with such a colour. Personally Sanele didn't much care either way, beyond the fact that it was just how the pride was and she had been born to it, so to her it just.... was.

Picking up on his last comment she tipped her head again. "So your old pride was bigger than us?" Sanele though the Bonelands was a pretty big pride itself, the idea of one so much larger was a little difficult to imagine. "And what was being a rogue like?"

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

"Noted. Thank you," Emrys said graciously, bobbing his head in genuine thanks. He still had a lot to learn about his new home and he'd rather stuff his paw in his mouth with someone like Sanele who didn't seem to mind much rather than a traditional lioness who would take such a comment much worse. He was sure he would have some moments like that regardless, but hopefully with less touchy subjects.

"Well, I've yet to meet most of the pride, but yes, much bigger. Males and females alike," he added. "It's much more even there, about fifty-fifty. The rogue life...it was a strange combination of dull and difficult. I'm a very social lion so going along alone was very unpleasant, not just because I had to rely on just myself for food and protection. It's much easier in a group, and then you have the companionship of others to enjoy as well."

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

She grinned back at him, bobbing her head in acknowledgment of his thanks. Sanele was by far one of the more easy going pride members. A renowned gossip, not much bothered her unless it was truly serious like a lost cub or a local flood. She was a friend and confidant to many of the pride and was usually one of the first to greet a newcomer. She was also fasinated with news from other lands and so settled down to grill the new Inselelo about his home and then what his life had been like while travailing.mshe had never been a rogue herself and found his many tales of trial and tribulation to be fascinating. Though she sympathised with his complaint of hunting alone. Such an endeavour was always more irksome when one was stuck with no choice in the matter.

She questioned him in her typical friendly manner, prodding him over family left behind and then about what his plans were after his time in the Ithambo, that was, if he didn't wish to challange one of the resident Umholi for a pernament position. Eventually, with her curiosity sated for the time being and her belly starting to rumble, she invited him to hunt with her. It had been a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon and she was more than happy to trade meat for more stories.

SilverLutz

Fin?

 

[SilverLutz]

Emrys enjoyed the chat and the hunt that went along with it. So far the majority of the lions he had met had proven to be kind and accepting. It was nice to see that his home for the next good chunk of time would be an enjoyable place to be, at the very least.

Tanakako

Last!