[PRP] Lok'Tar, Traveler! (Golka/Ali'dido)

[Lightning Shadow X]

The dusty orange bathed plains that fronted the red rock canyons was a sight in itself during the hot months, this season had been considerably kind, enough rain to fatten the river, enough herds coming to calf and eat on the fresh roots found by said fattened river or coming to simply quench their thirsts. It was a paradise for prey and predator alike and all in the deep terracotta glow of the territory that turned from sunny golden-orange to a rich red with the sunset, but that wasn't for many hours now - right now the sun was at it's peak and everyone was enjoying their fill.

Well, not everyone, one creature lost their life today as it ebbed into the dusty dirt, but its loss was its hunter's gain as dark sand colour muzzle turned to crimson with every second it spent inside the dead warthog's belly. It'd been a clean kill, an easy one, there'd been no chance for the creature to even get a second to fight back and probably far better for it. The fat body of the dead sow lay atop a flat bathing rock as the hunter, or rather, huntress consumed her kill vigorously.

Damn thing, she'd been hunting it for several good hours since dawn broke and her belly had been aching by the time she'd finally clamped her jaws around its neck. But any frustration it'd caused was quickly relieved the moment she'd had some blood on her tongue.
Besides, it gave her some time to take a look around the territory, observe the herds, the scent marks left by other animals.

And keep an eye out for strangers.

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*Ali`dido x Lief`dido*

The terrain had changed drastically from the lush appearance of forests to a much dustier lands. Ali`dido, with his daughters in tow, had been slow moving. He had anticipated finding water soon and had been pleasantly surprised when a number of creatures helped them, without knowing, find a place to drink. "Look, straight ahead." He spoke to the small lump of fur closest to him as he pointed out the water ahead. The girls had been complaining of thirst for a little now and Ali had the pleasure of explaining that sometimes this just happened. He did try to have it not happen. He was learning the limitations of cubs very quickly, but he also recognized that they weren't weak as they first appeared. They didn't stop his traveling, they simply made him a little slower and it forced him to stop and actually look at things he wouldn't have dared to glance at before for fear of missing something bigger.

There was always time to appreciate the little things.

"Are we there yet?" The age old question was asked by his eldest, Lief`dido. He glanced to his other side where she walked and was amused by the dramatic way she was dragging herself forward. She had her ears pinned back, paws dragging through the dusty terrain which ended up leaving trails in place of paw prints and her eyes looked moist. "Yes." He remarked plainly, choosing to save breath this time around. He'd answered the question a few times before and realized they would just keep asking, it didn't matter the explanation he gave - it likely never would.

The water was still fairly far when he suddenly felt like there were eyes on the. The fur on the back of his neck stood a little taller and he brought the cubs beneath his paws. Out here they would be ripe for the picking. They still continued to move, but the cubs were keenly aware of his sudden nervous reactions. "Are we .. ?" The question was stopped by a look from her father and Lief grew silent.

Lightning Shadow X

 

[Lightning Shadow X]

Spotting them had been far too easy, the colours had been a dead giveaway for sure as if they'd been highlighted beacons on the horizon where the forest had met the dirt plains and she had watched them walk deeper in quietly amidst her eating. But her eyes hadn't left them.
When they got a bit too deep into the territory for her liking she finally decided to push her robust bulk up to her paws and see to these 'intruders', she had faith that nothing with a brain would go after her kill...but she still settled it under the shade of the rock, just in case. There were always going to be the odd scavenger here and there, it couldn't be helped, not without an act of force that is.

Speaking of asks of force, she wondered if this little party that had wandered out from the forest would need such - just by observation and the smells on the wind that carried from them - it seemed to only be one adult...and a cub? Interesting. Possibly just a couple of wandering rogues? It wasn't uncommon with this much prey and the river swollen as it was, but there wasn't any cause to not make sure it wasn't a ruse with more ill intent behind it.
Even if they weren't the green colour on the male's pelt was enough to cause the fur on the back of her neck stand on end, what a disgusting shade too, it caused a growl to rumble in the back of her throat but it quickly vanished as her eyes settled on the cub and she attempted to regain some semblance of calm. The days of the tainted one were gone, this was just a rogue...but the stigma still remained.
It was hard to get over something like that.

Head held high she took strong set of steps whilst approaching to assert herself, no point hiding herself when she very obviously wanted to see what these two were up to but she stopped herself a decent distance from the male and his cub just in case. Eyeing the little one first to inspect the state of her before her hardened golden eyes settled on the green, oddly marked lion and huffed.

"Lok'tar, traveler...I trust this is a brief visit to these lands?" She came off rougher than intended, but just the sight of that green fur caused her to feel uncomfortable.

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Ali's ears were twisting and turning. He'd already been feeling wary of the lands and now it had gotten worse. There definitely had to be eyes on them. "Girls. Stay really close to me please." He was nervous now and there was no way he could hide that from his daughters or even any possible predators. With a slow breath he felt himself pull together quite a bit.

That was when a lioness came into view. Likely the eyes he had felt before. She painted the picture of having made a fresh kill - which made him a little more at ease.. at least she wasn't approaching them hungry. The way she walked gave Ali the impression that she was of power, but of power in what? Curiosity began to burn in the back of his mind, last he had heard these lands were unoccupied, but he tried to recall how old that information was and who had given it to him. Either way, a lioness with such appearance surprised him.

"Hello." He said in return. "We're just here to get some water and if you wish it we will be on our way." Fear had caused his daughters to tremble at his feet, but they also seemed in awe at the lioness with earthy tones for her pelt. The female was clearly radiating strength and it impressed the girls. Ali was impressed as well, but his intuition told him that this wasn't going to play out nicely for them. He hoped that if this were a prides leader of some kind that he wasn't going to have to explain that cubs shouldn't be harmed. He just didn't know where this was about to lead.

"May I ask, where are we?" He hoped, briefly, that she would be willing to at least give him that much.

Lightning Shadow X

 

[Lightning Shadow X]

Those were some small cubs, not newborn certainly but definitely small and it took a hefty amount of self control not to balk at the sight of them cowering under whom she could only assume was the actual father, the markings on one of them definitely gave it away. Surely he knew better to bring such youngsters out? Maybe this green male was inept? Many reasons rattled off in her head down the list but at the same time they could all have been tapped to this lion who she stared at, occasionally flicking her ear as he spoke and kept herself at a domineering height.
Just because this little group wasn't here for trouble, didn't mean she wasn't about to stop showing her pride.

After sizing the small group up she finally responded, at first with a rough huff out of her nose and then eventually with words.

"You're in Vita'Alizaliwa territory, everything past the forests from the river to the canyon belong to the Vita." These were definitely new here if they didn't know that much and the thought brought a small half chuckle to her throat as she aimed a smirk their way. "You're also lucky it was me and none of our grunts that found you, they tend to be a bit rougher with visitors...diplomacy is for our shaman."

Again her eyes cast down on the cubs and despite her disgruntled temper boiling at her core at how any male could be stupid enough to drag such cubs out here, they didn't need to suffer for it in these lands with her knowledge. Groaning with a slight snarl as her ears flattened to her skull she turned partly.

"But if you must have a drink, I suppose I can escort you to the river..." The words were more so aimed at the cubs before she shot the male a look. "...Even if you whelps should be staying with your mothers at your size."

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The father was keenly aware that the lioness had eyes on his cubs. He'd never thought about how odd it might look for a male to be wandering around toting along three youngsters and he was suddenly thankful that at least one of them looked like him. That saved him from the questions of 'whose cubs were these' and so on. Ali found himself wanting to explain his situation to the lioness when she made a noise that almost made him leap out of his pelt and then she spoke once again. As she spoke he found himself letting go of a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.

Ali nodded firmly as he made a mental note of the name and the territory. That'd be ideal information to have moving forward - this was not territory he'd suggest to the feint of heart. Then a chuckle, finally something warm. "We appreciate that honesty." Another breath was let go. He just couldn't seem to stop himself from holding them. Much like he couldn't stop himself from corralling the cubs that were beneath him and staring wide eyed at the lioness. If Lief had been asked about what she thought of the lioness she'd have gone off on a tangent about how incredible the experience was to be in the presence of such a strong female.

The ears worried Ali. He watched as they lay flat against the lioness' skull and he lowered himself slightly.

Had he been anywhere he'd have gotten mad. Ali chose not to react and breathed through the rage that gurgled below the surface. His fatherhood was being questioned, she hadn't been wrong about his actions, but nonetheless. It was then that Lief`dido took the stand and offered up some clarity.

"Mama left us with him and went traveling." The cub had stuck herself out a bit more and confidently strode forwards. Freeing herself from her fathers shadow. "He takes us everywhere and shows us some cool stuff." Ali stare in disbelief at the little girl, but he wasn't sure if this would help him or hurt him even further - at least they'd be given a drink. They were his primary concern after all.

Lightning Shadow X

 

[Lightning Shadow X]

Seeing the cub step up and explain everything for her father was not winning points for him, not one bit, even with the explanation that made things a bit simpler to understand. However seeing this one be a bit more bolder definitely softened her expression as the large lioness turned her bulk and lead the way as they walked, every now and then she would pause and check on the horizon how the herds were moving to keep a mental tag on where to sent the grunts for an evening hunt, before continuing to walk the small family to the river.
A soft huff of amusement escaped her as she looked down to the little female with a faint smirk.

"Oh truly? Tell me, bold little whelp, what have you seen on your travels?" There was no condescension, she didn't know these cubs personally and they could've possibly been much smarter than the male taking care of them. Every now and then glancing at said male, he was also someone he was keeping mental tags on.
Inept or not, she still had no reason to trust him fully.
Most of her attention however was still on the cub.
"I haven't lead a warband in many a moon, not heard much news beyond the territory."

Many herd animals and prey were drinking this and they wisely gave a wide berth as the predators approached, especially when the lioness heading the group gave her bloodied maw a small warning lick. One good pounce and any of these stupid animals could end up in the same position as that warthog she'd left by her sunning rock.

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The walk began. For Lief`dido it was suddenly an exciting adventure, but for her father it felt like a walk of shame or doom. He wasn't incredibly excited about the way the lioness had immediately reacted to his daughters sudden burst of confidence - it didn't seem to be doing anything good for him, but what was a father to do. Ali couldn't contain the pride he felt for the way his daughter spoke (regardless of if she may have caused more harm than good).

"Lots and lots!" Lief`dido was exagerating a little, but for the cub that had known very little the little bit they had seen became a lot. "Drums, stomping, singing, puppets.." She had skipped ahead to walk with the lioness instead of her father. She was extremely pleased that she could talk about things with someone who wasn't a sibling or her dad. "I have a puppet of my own! I can make it move and talk.." She babbled away about the prizes she'd gotten when she had entered the Nchi`mahadhi lands. "I saw some fireflies too!" Her eyes widened at the thought of the little lightning bugs that flew about her head when they had visited a pretty little pond.

"Do YOU know what a firefly is?" She gasped at the end of her question. "They are these little bugs with light up butts." She mused happily. When the lioness spoke about a warband the cub peered at her curiously and Ali couldn't help, but do the same. His own home called bands of lions that left the territory a 'warband', he had to assume that this was a similar concept. "What does a warband do?" Lief`dido didn't give her father a chance to ask a single thing - forcing him to remain a silent party to the conversation for the time being. "What do YOU do?" Suddenly curiosity flourished.

Lightning Shadow X

 

[Lightning Shadow X]

She wasn't a mother. She'd bared no whelps, taken part in no courtship hunts of her own, but she had to admit - the enthusiasm of this cub couldn't help but bring a small smile to her bloodied muzzle as a deep, rolling chuckle rumbled in her chest. Granted she wasn't sure what to make of half this little one was saying, dancing, puppets? Drums she understood, wardrums or drums during a Mak'gora. But all this other stuff? Sounded like peon nonsense, but she didn't say anything of it, her life was not this cub's, or apparently her father's life.

As the question of fireflies rolled off the cub's tongue, she huffed thoughtfully whilst her large paws crunched the grass beneath them. "Not in a long while, whelp, they tend to be in the longer grass during the greener moons though."

Of course the eventual questions came, curious little thing wasn't she? She couldn't help but notice the intrigue of the father either and she hid the smirk she wanted to bare in the back of her head instead of on her muzzle. Giving the area a quick almost mechanical look over, she answered the cub as she surveyed the territory between them and the river.

"A warband is a group of lions, usually our grunts or a couple of Blood Guards to go out and check the borders of our territory to hunt, deal with threats like dangerous rogues...sometimes now and then we bring a shaman with us to talk diplomacy with those who would seek it with us." Her amber eyes settled on the cub again. "I am the High Warlord of my pride, whelp, it is my duty to watch over the pride's grunts, Blood Guards...it is also my duty to lead them and my Generals into fights at our Warchief's behest and to overlook sparring sessions or Mak'Rogahn fights to make sure no blood is spilled."

She was proud of her position in the pride, but she didn't let it show too much. Maybe a smile, a soft an pleased huff, but other than that she still looked all business and looked back down to the cub.
"Anymore questions, whelp?"

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Bright eyes watched the lioness as the group made their way towards the waters. Greener moons? She was curious to know if that meant the moon was green? She had never seen a green moon before. "Daddy, we will come back for the green moon?" She looked back at her father with hope in her eyes and hein turn cast his gaze towards the lioness. "We'll see Lief." He said with a little more of a stern tone than he had anticipated. It was the nerves.

The group listened carefully to the lioness as she described a warband to them. Ali-dido felt his thoughts were confirmed to a degree. The only thing that was left to the Stormborn were that they went out and pillaged when they had ample opportunity. The prides warband here appeared to be more of a defensive group.

Shock disturbed the attempted calm expression Ali wore when the lioness mentioned her position. "Oh wow! You must be important." The cub gasped before Ali could even collect himself. Had he known this from the start he'd have gotten his family away - though the position may also be why they were even alive to consider the option. "You guys.. fight each other?" The cubs eyes widened. "That doesn't sound very nice at all." Her brow furrowed slightly, but the curiosity still flared.

"Why do you fight each other?" She asked following the question 'anymore questions'. She hadn't seen anything like fighting one another - so her home would be a bit of a shock. The thought just hadn't occurred to her.

Lightning Shadow X

 

[Lightning Shadow X]

As they walked and talked, Golka lead them all to the edge of the river with an approving huff - partly ignoring Ali's apparent nerves and almost seeming to relish in it. She liked the idea of this one keeping on his toes in a stranger's territory, the cubs were exempt, but this one had to learn...but maybe after she fed these small one's curiousity. Again she couldn't help but feel her chest swell with faint pride at this one's interest.

When it came to the mention of the fighting, a soft chuckle rumbled in the broad lioness' chest as she surveyed the river briefly to make sure it was free of any crocodiles and then turned back to the whelps. "It isn't out of malice, whelp, our pride has always fought...even before we were a pride." She smiled as best she could as she tried to explain. "With so many lions born from battle and strong parents...tempers tend to flare now and then and the best way to ease our tempers is to spar with each other...that's why I make sure those fights don't go too far, my brother the Warchief wouldn't be too fond of the idea of having wounded grunts and Blood Guards out to fight if an actual threat came here."

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The conversation had strayed from him for the moment, something he was pleased with, it meant he didn't have to try to answer questions that could land him in some shake down. "So you fight all the time?" She gasped softly at the answer and her already large golden eyes widened to compliment her surprise. "Could I fight my sisters?" This was a silly question as they already bickered like little crazy cubs and Ali had to roll his eyes slightly, which was followed with a light chuckle. "You and your sisters fight like a bunch of crazy little lionesses already." He spoke his mind hoping to put that to bed, but Lief only glanced in his direction as they padded along.

Instead of heeding his words she considered more questions for the lioness and wondered briefly how much she could fit in before they got to the waters. "So there are badder things than you?" She queried the lioness. Her mind couldn't fathom a lioness bigger than the one speaking to her and so she shied away a little bit, but was still pleasantly surprised by the thought. "Why would they try to attack you if you're so strong?" Her lips seemed to move a mile a minute and Ali, for himself, wished that the water was much closer. Even a few feet would be too long for all this chatter.

Lightning Shadow X

 

[Lightning Shadow X]

When they reached the water Golka ushered them all, even the oozing green male following them, to drink at their leisure as she kept an eye out with her paws settled on the ground and her golden eyes shifting over the area. Ever the militant watchout before Lief's question caught her attention and she chuckled ever so softly despite her large and gruff self making it sound a tad more rough than she intended.

"That is the world, whelp, even the biggest things will have someone or something stronger than them, it's why we work together to keep our pride and our own whelps like yourselves safe and sound." She then shot Ali a pointed stare. "And in their dens where they belong till they're strong enough." However the stare didn't last and she looked back over the river again. "Take your fill, no doubt the walk home will be a bit shorter with quenched thirsts."

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