"What do you think of your pride?"
The question somewhat caught the pale lioness off-guard. Her chin raised to look up at the speaker and her eyes caught the amber ones that were watching her. It was obvious from his mannerism that he was waiting for her reply.
"You can speak bluntly," Bangizwe added upon seeing her puzzled look as she struggled to find the words he was waiting for.
"It's...calm. Like the dunes of my homeland, it seems to be smooth until something rocks its foundation to the core. I was not here for when you took your place as an Umholi, but I heard the stories. About how the previous Abaholi perished in a bloody battle against one another, about how Umholi Andhaka was promoted from Inselelo and how you proved worth by aiding in saving one of Gakere's final cubs."
The cub had been male and the mother had scarcely cared if it had survived, but enough of the pride had. In those moments they had met the golden male that laid in the grass, his mouth hanging open as flies surrounded him.
"But like the dunes, they shift. The pride seems fragile, as if though it would only take a strong gust to topple it." There was an extended pause as Umthunzi thought heavily on her next words. "But perhaps that is just me thinking of how rigid the structure of my home-pride was."
"No, you're right."
Pale red eyes widened at the sadness that laced his voice.
"I'm aging, my son is grown and gone, as are my grandsons."
Umthunzi's mouth opened to reply, but she was never given the chance.
"Soon my other sons will be the same and I will be old, out of my prime. It is only a matter of time until it is not an Inselelo that a rogue challenges, but me and it is only a matter of time until I fail." Anger grew in his voice with each word until he was nearly yelling by the time he was done. With a sigh, the Umholi let himself collapse onto the ground in an ungraceful heap.
Amber eyes watched the ground, following a nearby trail of ants. "I will fade from memory and even my children will forget me in time."
"We are fleeting, but you give yourself no credit. Your bloodline will survive long after you and your children are gone. It's strong, stronger than most Firekin I knew. Very few would have the patience for fathering so many and ensuring each cub gets the best shot at life." Of course Umthunzi left out the part where the parents had to raise the cubs together until adolescent, but that wasn't important right now.
"Your pride may be shaking in the wind, ready to fall, but the roots of the tree are stronger than you see."
That final statement seemed to be exactly what he needed to hear at that time as she watched his firm frown crooked upward toward a smile. It seemed like he didn't need to hear anything else, at least not now. With the slight nod he gave, Umthunzi dismissed herself to let the Umholi continue basking in the light of the moon in peace.