[PRP] Puppet Master [Ali x Lief x Boneka]

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The green lion and his pink daughter had begun to scout the area. His other two daughters had taken to a couple other things and he entrusted the pride itself with their safety. Needless to say he hadn't been so relaxed in such a while. Lief, however, wasn't going to let him enjoy it until they'd found the puppet maker and begun the process in getting a puppet - at least for her. "Where is she?" The youth demanded of her Father. She'd grown incredibly excited already and had been at him every moment following the discovery of getting this particular trinket.

"I'm sure we're almost there." He had to bite his tongue, like many other occasions, and respond in a smooth tone. Fortunately he'd been laid back before the cubs came along or he'd have had more trouble adjusting. As it stood he still found himself wanting to verbally give his girls a piece of his mind. But he maintained keeping his cool - besides she was just excited, who wouldn't be? "Look, we're at least in the right area to find the lioness. This is exactly where Shauku told us to go." He said. Now he was just as excited as she was. This was all so intriguing. He'd recalled the other merchants and artisans warmly. They'd be incredibly kind to him on his first go around. He even spied the artisan that had prepared his drum.

A wave of his paw told the artisan that Ali couldn't stop for the moment. "I'll come around and say hi after." He yelled over the particular lion. To which he received a nod. Fortunately they were all so understanding. Then suddenly he heard a shriek. It was easily recognizable as his daughters own voice and he would have been concerned had they been out in the roguelands again. Still he nearly jumped out of his skin. "I think I found her!!" He heard Lief shout at him. Sure enough it seemed they were at least closer than they had been before. He just wasn't sure they found the right place.

"Boneka?" He asked out loud. Receiving a few looks, but he didn't care to enter a place without being sure he'd found the right one.

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Boneka had been buried in her sketch, deftly sketching out the plans with a thick tufted brush that Emas has made for her. It had taken her years to get used to holding the brush between her teeth and learn to sketch with it. The jar of ink used to be spilled constantly and smatterings of black would end up on her already dark fur. But now, she masterly drew out lines and squares, putting together an idea on the large leaf.

”-eka… -eka… BONEKA” Boneka blinked, dropping her brush onto the leaf, ink splattering across it. She frowned before sighing at the opossum, rather put off by the now ruined plans. Fortunately, she wasn’t too far in to the idea to be too angry.

”What is it?” she asked sharply. Her tone was usually sharp and Emas took no offense. He rolled his eyes before gesturing to the front of the hollowed out hill. It had been a small hill, the size of two of her tall and several of her long. She had begun slowly hollowing it out as a cub, not wanting to go home to the stranger of a mother. She had even played here with Shauku’s cub, Elaziya. Now, it was much larger and, with Emas’s help and the other assistances, had a network of wooden structures on the inside along with leaves to help prevent collapsing. The meerkats have been particularly helpful with how to structure the hollowed hill until it made a sizable den and work area, lit by small little holes that serves as windows all around. There was even a… the meerkats called it a chimney? It was made out of clay they had gathered underground and had been designed by Emas and them. She wondered about Emas’s network of friends. It was definitely the right thing to do to leave him in charge of customers. But now, she was able to have a fire within the little pit in order to light the den. She learned many things from Emas, his father, and their friends.

”There’s someone calling for you outside, Boneka,” Emas said with a frown before scurrying outside. Boneka sighed and gave one last look to her ruined blueprints before following the opossum outside. The light was much brighter outside than it was inside. She sized the green lion up that Emas was standing near.

”I am Boneka,” she addressed formally. ”How might I help you?” Just then, her eyes caught sight of a small pink fluff. She blinked before bending down. A grin bloomed on her usual serious expression. ”Aren’t you pretty. Are you a princess?” she asked in a light tone, eyes twinkling.

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The name rang out several times before Ali`dido distinctly heard the sounds of a possible tumble then voices. Naturally his head tilted a little bit with ears forward. His daughter did the same, but much more dramatically. She was nearly peering into the den sideways by the time the voices ceased and movement continued once more. The movement, this time, produced a face to match with the voices. The face just wasn't entirely what the father/daughter pair was expecting and Lief`dido noticably leaped a little bit, then scurried back towards her dad. Typically she was brave and faced just about anything, but the opossum startled her. "Dad, what is that??" She asked in alarm. Ali smiled at the small creature. "Why, if I remember correctly, this is an opussum - certainly nothing to fear." He responded to his daughter.

Without hesitation his daughter seemed to regain her confidence through his answer and moved towards the small creature. Before she could get out a question to ask for his name she was suddenly hearing the name she desperately was excited to hear. "Boneka!" She bellowed happily and would have bounced along with it had she been peered at in such a way. Her view was suddenly taken up by that of a purple lioness, Boneka. The 'how she could help them question' was set aside for the moment in favor of a squeally girl. "Thank you! You're pretty too. Which means if I'm a princess you are too!" Ali felt himself blush a little at his daughters enthusiasm.

"We're here because rumor has it you craft quite the puppet?" He dialed back a little and brought up the original question, which was why they were there. "This little princess would just be so pleased to get her paws on one of your pieces." He said happily. It seemed the lioness adored cubs - it was to the point he half expected to find a litter within the den she came out of. Instead his peering eyes meant what seemed to be an endless cavern.

"Would we be able to place an order for one?" He queried.

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Emas looked a bit affronted, straightening up to his full height… which was still half the size of the cub, if not less. ”Emas is the name!” he squeaked before grinning widely, moving past Boneka’s head, patting her cheek. ”’neka, focus. They want to place an order,” the opossum reminded before moving up to the cub, still grinning.

Boneka grinned wider, before straightening up. ”Thank you, dear. I hope to be as pretty as you one day!” She gave a playful wink before turning her attention to the green lion, smile melting away slightly to have a more serious expression. Her eyes, however, still held joy. ”Yes, you certainly are. Would you like to see a sample of my work before deciding? We have premade ones and custom ones. There are discounts for cubs, too” Boneka told the green lion, earning a sharp look from Emas. There had been no such thing as discounts and even though Emas had explained to Boneka time and time again that finances were, in fact, a thing, the starry lioness still insisted on giving discounts on customs and giving away premades for free. To cubs only, of course.

Boneka saw the look and chose to ignore it, beckoning for the lion and his cub to follow. ”I have many pieces inside. It’s a bit hot during this time of day, I’m afraid,” she excused, not bothering to point out that the fire she had lit inside to provide light was more the cause for the heat.

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"I like that name." Lief`dido was quite pleased to meet him. "I'm Liefdido and this is my Daddy." She made a dramatic pointed paw towards her dad. The lion gave a grin to the opossum. When the opossum was closer to her she took to bowing and waving her tail behind her. Always ready to play, but more curious than anything. She hadn't seen anyone like him before so it was baffling to her. "You already are." She straightened up with Boneka and replied with a blush and big grin.

"I'm sure if Shauku trusts your work that whatever you might make would be perfect, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to look out of pure curiosity." He smiled warmly. It hadn't been his intial intention to drop Shaukus name, but it slipped out once in a while. She simply had spoken so highly of this particular artisan that he had the lioness on his mind. "Did you have an idea in mind Lief?" He figured a custom puppet would be the best option. It'd give his creative little girl a chance at flexing her artsy side.

"I want gems and pretty stuff." Of course. Lief hadn't the foggiest what she'd want on a puppet, but it had to be pretty. The gems would just make it sparkle. "How will I carry it though?" She queried her Father. "I already told you that you and your sisters would see the basket weaver soon." He grinned. "Now, why don't you go and see what Boneka has to show us?" He gave the cub a tap on the rump to get her moving forward. Once inside Ali held back a gasp that Lief simply couldn't.

"Look. At. All. This. ROOM." She bellowed. An echo quickly followed her original shriek and needless to say she was stunned into silence.

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The Malenga had spoken of her? Boneka felt her skin heat underneath her fur and she graciously nodded her head, hoping to hide the blush. Pleasure ran through her at the thought of Shauku praising her… no, she mustn’t get full headed over it! Leading them inside, she went through the mental list of gems to get Liben to fetch. Emas will deal with the insufferable lion, however. She had only met the lion once and just the memory sent her bristling. It was good proof that his merchandise was well worth his attitude.

A grin quickly swallowed up Boneka’s serious expression at the bellow, a laugh escaping her. ”Yes, I was very fortunate to meet Emas. He practically coordinated the construction of this place,” she remarked. The next project Emas was working on was fixing their little bit of flooding issue they had during the raining season. It had quite ruined a lot of her blueprints the last time it flooded. Going to a small opening that she had to duck under, she emerged into a way smaller room that was dwarfed even more with the clutter of puppets. Besides the very first puppet she had made with Emas, every single prototype and premade was stacked within the room, the newer ones to the front. Emas grabbed a small puppet made of jewels and in the shape of a lion, awkwardly walking on his hindlegs to bring it to the main room. Boneka picked up a slightly larger one with jewels, scales, dried flowers, and feathers. It was also the shape of a lion, with the feathers making up the mane, the jewels used for eyes and claws, the scales and flowers being the main body. It was a bit heavier but it was an example of how intricate it could be for a cub sized puppet. Twine was attached to the tops of each leg and the head and attached to sticks that were tied together at angles, followed by a small loop. Boneka carried it by the small loop and moved her jaw around, making the puppet walk into the main room and over to the cub.

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Baffled. Would be the way to describe the look upon both father and daughters face. Ali had regarded the comment about how the den had been manufactured - that itself was a spectical. The pair were rightfully excited about the space. But the puppets brought out was what truly had rendered the pair speechless. Lief was the first to react while Ali chose to correct the look on his face to a much more gentle smile while his daughter lunged at the pair of puppets. First she went for the one being handled by Emas. "Wow!" She gasped excitedly. Her eyes were darting around and inspecting the figure. "This is really neat! I looove them both so much! These gems are exactly what I'm talking about!"

By that point she'd moved onto looking at the one Boneka held. Being that the lioness was much more stable than the opossum she didn't hold herself back from leaning on her to get a better look. "Dad, do you see the mane? The gems? The scales?" She could barely contain herself. "I'd like one just like this in pinks and greens. Did you see the way she made it move?" The cub was exasperated. Ali could hardly keep the thought from mind that he may actually have a free evening as this would exhaust the cub. "Is that what you'd really like?" He asked his daughter, while looking between the two puppets that were suspended in such an animated way

"Yes, yes, YES." She proclaimed. "Boneka, are you able to make it in those colors? Pretty please?" She whirled away from her father and looked right up at the lioness. Her already usually big round eyes seemed to get bigger with the plea.

"It would just be so perfect!"

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Boneka was absolutely delighted by the look on both the father and daughter’s expression. It brought her joy to see such marvel on those who have never seen her puppets before. Her passion for her craft grew even more. Laughing around the loop, she made the puppet dance a bit when the little girl leaned against her front leg, eyes twinkling. When the cub moved away, she carefully placed the puppet to the side. ”I could do it in those colors,” she reassured with a grin, nodding. She rubbed a paw over the top of the cub’s head affectionately. ”I’ll make you the prettiest one yet.” Emas was still passing her displeased looks. Probably because he lectured her about making promises like that.

Laughing a bit over the cub’s enthusiasm, she moved over to the green lion. ”She has a wonderful personality,” Boneka mused, before eyeing his drums. ”Those look Nchi made. Have you been here before? That is assuming you’re from out of this land.”

Emas placed the smaller puppet to the side, moving over to a small hole in the grounded covered by a weaved rug. Quickly, he pulled out a fruit, dragging it over to the cub. ”Go ahead and munch on this. I need to discuss prices with your father,” the opossum offered before moving over to Boneka’s side.

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Lief was absolutely blown away that Boneka could do what she had asked. "Oh my gosh I'm so excited!" Ali was grinning from ear to ear. He'd pay whatever the cost. This kind of reaction was worth every bit of item he'd have to trade. "What do you have to say?" The little cub peered up at the lioness with a toothy grin. "Thank you!" Though now he caught the side glances from her opossum companion. He knew those glances, but the damage was already done.

"She does. Lief and her sisters are fantastic company." He might have sounded a little odd, but he was a fairly new father. "You have a keen eye." He mused. Looking at his drums. "These were items I picked up during my first visit. I came here shortly after Shauku returned home with her cubs. It was then that I met her, her cubs - or at least one of them - and then went on my merry way. This is one of my favorite destinations." It also made him familiar with the costs of trade. That didn't mean that Boneka might ask for something different.. or perhaps it was Emas he would be dealing with.

"Thank you Emas!" Lief remarked and immediately began to nibble away at the fruit provided.

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She blinked, once again giving him a once over. He looked good for being old enough to be her own father. Boneka smiled again before speaking. ”They are beautiful drums. I am happy you find this pride to be one of your favorite,” she murmured happily before straightening, deciding to get to business. There was work to do, after all. ”Emas will take care of the price range with the discount,” she added with emphasis while looking at the opossum. ”We could… speak later tonight about any other details? If you are free, that is. I am interested in speaking with a friend of our Malenga. She has done me a great deal of good.” Nodding, she headed towards the front of her den, beckoning for the father to follow. And cub in tow.

”Emas can speak with you outside. I must focus if I’m to get this order in time. Please let Emas know if you will be able to speak with me tonight.” With that, Boneka went further into the back of the den, searching through materials.

Emas stared after her, before beckoning the lion and his cub to follow. ”Come come,” he hastened before turning around once outside. ”With the discount, it would only be the equivalent of a few gold pieces, Nchi weight. Around three. Payment will be officially decided after the product is made and expenses assessed.” And Boneka convinced on discounting the discount.

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Had they not just shared a full conversation consisting of her need to get down to business he would have been offended by her ability to simply brush off the pair. Yet he'd seen the way she had looked at his daughter. It was clear that she had no cubs of her own and yet she adored them. She appeared as though she needed to make her happy as she could. Even if it meant giving up some of her own value. It warmed his heart.

"We'll let you be." He said with a grin. Once they were outside he had welcomed the cost. "Thank you Emas. Please let Boneka know I'd be happy to see her later this evening. I'm sure the girls will be quite exhausted after their first day in the Nchi." He chuckled.

"Let me know if you need any of the cost up front. For now I'll go ahead and get Lief home to her sisters." Home was a simple den on loan to him for his stay. "Have a great day Emas." He smiled and took Lief away with him to get settled.