[FIN] Winds of Change (Mazuri and Ahlaq)

[belloblossom]

There was a lot on Mazuri's mind lately. Everything was changing, from the drought being a faded memory in the past (thank goodness) to the change in leadership. It was the latter that she was still uncertain about. She hadn't approached any of the new Abaholi just yet, she was too... shy? No, that didn't feel like the right word.

Maybe going up to talk to one of them personally would make everything too real, she thought. It would mean that her father, Andhaka, was really gone for good. Yet, recently, she had been trying to face up to the reality of the situation, hard as it was. The new Abaholi still intimidated her, but her dear friend Mokosh had helped her realize it was time to accept life for what it was and move towards the future. Literally, too, since they were migrating.

So Mazuri tried to relax. She had been recently asked by a lioness, Nehanda, to assist with the lioness' delivery and was off looking for a nice den where the cream-coated lioness might do that have her cubs. Mazuri was going to be diligent in her assistance, she decided. Nehanda had looked so anxious when she asked for help, so Mazuri vowed that she would be the best companion the older lioness could ever ask for!

"I just hope that it's a litter of all females..." She mused as she walked. The new leaders had made it clear that any new males born into the pride would not be treated with the same relaxed attitude as their predecessors. If Mazuri were to have cubs one day, she certainly hoped that she would have an all female litter too. She huffed at the thought. "There are certainly more options now." Before it was only Kuhasa, but now with the new leaders... She could probably take her pick of the lot of them. If she ever got used to having them around, of course.

oo Ded

 

[oo Ded]

It was hot out, but not terribly so. Though Ahlaq hadn't been in the pride during the drought he had still been in the desert. The change in temperature was welcome. Things in the pride seemed prosperous and for that he was thankful. Perhaps not for his own comfort—at this point he had becomes used to the hot, arid environments—but he imagined that the change in leadership would have been much more difficult had the drought still been upon them.

Mazuri wasn't the only one that hadn't come up to talk to the new leadership. Sure, there were some talkative ones among the bonelands lionesses that made a point to chatter with the new Abaholi. For the most part, though, Ahlaq hadn't really conversed with many of them. They seemed to mostly talk about them. Lots of gossip. Gossip, and staring.

The sandy lion had decided to take advantage of the fair weather to scout out at the outskirts of the migrating group. He had settled in pretty well into the pride, he thought. Things were feeling comfortable. A routine had been settled in to, and things were going pretty well.

His thoughts were interrupted by a voice. 'A stranger?' he thought? Maybe a female to join the ranks, or a male for him to chase off.

Ahlaq neared enough to catch the last statement as the brown lioness came into view. She seemed vaguely familiar. One of the lionesses from the migrating group. "Options?" he asked. He tried to keep his voice low in an attempt to not startle her, though his tone had the touch of gruffness it seemed to always hold.

belloblossom

 

[belloblossom]

When the voice of someone who was definitely not a pride sister came from behind her, Mazuri spooked. She whirled around with bristling fur as she turned around to face one of the new males. She took a deep breath and forced her fur to lie flat, but still looked wary at his arrival. She felt the need to get defensive, but why should she be? She wasn't doing anything wrong, she was helping an older pride sister! There wasn't a nobler task than that!

"O-Options?" She echoed his question, only to realize what he must be asking and she felt her face heat up. "Oh yes! Options for, uh, well you see..." She sighed. May as well be truthful. It was always better to be honest with folk, after all, even if it might sound a little awkward. "Options for, well, breeding partners. I was thinking about, er, how previously we-I mean, the daughters of Andhaka anyway-only had Kuhasa to look at, but well, uh..." She fidgeted.

"Y-You're one of the new Umholi, right?" She asked, trying to change the topic. She glanced behind him, but saw he was alone and then turned her gaze back to him. "What's your name again? Sorry, I know it's probably something everyone should know by now, but it's been a little... crazy recently. I'm Mazuri, by the way." She introduced herself, regretting explaining what she meant about the options statement. "Anyway, yeah... How can I help you?" She asked.

oo Ded

 

[oo Ded]

"Mmm, I see." Ahlaq supposed it made sense. It still seemed a bit strange to him that the pride talked about having children like this. It was so… forward. Something that he'd have to get used to, then. It was just part of the job.

"I am," he replied, perhaps a bit too cool-ly. The lion scolded himself silently for it. He had to do a better job of making good impression. It had been a long time since he was in a leadership position, and even when he was Bey of the Burkuteshti he was more a warlord than a charismatic leader. He'd have to work on that.

"Ahlaq. I'm Ahlaq. I don't think we've formally met, Mazuri" he continued, his voice growing more amicable. "And you don't need to apologize. I can't say that I've gotten used to all the same new names, either." The slight smile touched the edges of his mouth.

"You're a daughter of Andhaka, then?" The sandy lion asked, powder blue eyes blinking a few times. He didn't really know much about Andhaka, other than the fact that he had put up a good fight. It must have been strange living with the three males that essentially drove out one's dad. "I hope it hasn't been too difficult. Your father suddenly not being around." He imagined it was the way of things, around here. Things lionesses would come to get used to. Still, it probably wasn't easy.

belloblossom

 

[belloblossom]

Well, he certainly seemed the serious type, didn't he? Mazuri thought, her first impression of him secured in her mind. Her intimidation cast upon her by the other lion was still present and she was still fidgety as a result, but she tried to monitor her behavior. She was in the presence of a new leader, after all. She had to act proper and not freak out about it.

"I am, yes." She replied when asked if she was one of Andhaka's daughters, but then she smiled and added. "Aren't we all?" And rolled her eyes a little, which allowed her stance to relax and her defensive nature to drop. Then the lion, Ahlaq, he had said, mentioned the difficulties of her father suddenly not being around and she drooped a little.

"It is hard, if only because he was around for so long, I kind of thought he would be around forever, but... I was one of his last litters, so it makes since that I saw him during the end of his rule. Even then, I never actually spoke to him, so..." She looked up at the pale lion in front of her and suddenly there was gratitude and warmth in her gaze. "I don't know which one of you decided it, but thank you for not killing him." She smiled a little. "It was probably a smart move, considering there are so many of us that were sired by Andhaka and Bangziwe that you may have had a revolt had you killed them." She laughed a little at that, but it ended in a purr.

"What about you, Ahlaq? How are you adjusting to the pride? Are you used to all the staring yet?" If Mazuri knew her pride sisters, which she did, of course, then Ahlaq and his companions would be the talk of the pride for seasons to come. At least until some litters were produced from it.

oo Ded

 

[oo Ded]

'Aren't we all?'

Ahlaq gae the hint of a laugh in response. He had come to notice that the former Abaholi had a fair number of daughters about. No wonder the lionesses had to be forward thinking when it came to their choice in the father of their cubs. If this was the way things had always been, it must have taken a lot of watching the family lines to make sure things didn't get… uncomfortable.

"Mm," he started, thoughtful of her words. "I'd heard that children have a tendency to be a bit… distant from their fathers here." Also a strange thought. "And as far as the decision to spare him," he shrugged, thinking back to their battle. "Neither Umkhombo, Faust, nor myself are really the type to rule under an iron fist. It seemed like the proper thing to do."

Proper in a sense. Again, everything about their actions felt strange. He was from a place of war. There was no mercy in war.

Another brief laugh escaped him. "Adjusting. It's a process. Though, I come from a rather small group. Insular. Staring and gossip just comes with the territory, I guess." He followed his words with a toothy smile. It was nice to talk about his own home. That is, with someone that wasn't the Qyrhyeshti. Someone that wasn't a former enemy.

belloblossom

 

[belloblossom]

As surprising as it was to see it, Mazuri found herself smiling in response to the small about of amusement that Ahlaq displayed in her commentary. She wanted to make him happy, she realized, like she wanted to make her pride sisters happy. She was still wary of him, naturally, this was the first time she had really spoken with a male who was properly eligible for, well... the obvious.

But even while he was stoic, she found herself intrigued by him, especially when he spoke about where he came from. He had stories that she had never heard of before, tales of all manner of interesting notions. She just needed to find out how she might hear them for herself.

"If it's not too much trouble," Mazuri began, trying not to sound uncertain of herself, "I'm rather interested in hearing about you... or, about where you came from." She added quickly, fur heating up in embarrassment at her own words. "I mean, I was born here and I've never left the pride, but you, you have and... well, I'm sure you've gathered quite the tale to tell." Maybe her request alone wouldn't be good enough, so when a thought came to her mind, she sprang on it. "And... And I can hunt for you! In exchange to hear about what your pride was like before you made it to the Bonelands. And what the journey here was like! And all manner of other things, but I am a good hunter and I would be happy to work this trade with you!"

She perked her ears and her eyes rounded slightly, she looked quite hopeful now that she had made, in her mind, a good offer on the topic.
"Are... Are you interested?" She asked.

oo Ded

 

[oo Ded]

belloblossom

Apologies for the short and late reply. Trying to get back into the swing of things!

Ahlaq blinked, raising his brows a touch. She would hunt for him? It seemed an odd offer, but if that was how things were done around here he didn't want to go around shooting down tradition. His tail twitched thoughtfully.

"If that's what you want, I certainly wouldn't stop you," he responded as he considered her. "I wouldn't want to force you into doing such a thing, though. I don't mind telling stories. It passes the time, and it seems like we have plenty to spare…"

Migrating and guarding. Raising the young ones and hunting. It seemed a relatively easy life in comparison to where he had been before. He supposed it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, though.
 

[belloblossom]

Mazuri smiled at the other and shook her head.
"It's really no trouble." She went on. "I like hunting. It's..." She smiled somewhat sheepishly. "It's one of the things we get to do here, aside from mothering all the cubs in the pride." She said and went on quickly. "Not that that's a bad thing, of course! I'd never suggest that. It just means I've gotten rather good at it, not that I'm bragging, though! Oh, and now I'm getting all tongue-tied and..." Her smile got more shy than sheepish as she shrugged a shoulder.

"Anyway, if you'll just follow me, let's see if we can find a herd. Do you have a preference for what you like to eat?" Mazuri inquired, stepping away and inclining her head towards the savanna, meaning for him to follow her. "And on the way, I'd love to hear about where you've come from, or how you got here, or anything new, really." She informed him.

oo Ded

So hey, since this is actually the 5th post mark, do you want to continue this RP, or start a new one where the hunt and storytelling takes place? Cause more RPs means that your boy can fling sooner and the like. Just lemme know what you're good with~
(You still need to reply in order for this RP to qualify as a completed RP, btw.

 

[oo Ded]

belloblossom

Fin!

Ahlaq shrugged. "I'm not a picky lion," he responded, blinking at her. He followed her lead, maintaining a casual and relaxed pace. He hadn't had the chance to really socialize with anyone here yet. It was a strange feeling. The lioness seemed kind, and the flustering had a different but endearing sort of feel.

"And I can't imagine my origin story is all that exciting, but if you'd like to hear it then I guess I don't have any sort of opposition." Ahlaq lifted a paw, gesturing forwards.

"After you."