[PRP] Sunset Walks [Dineo and Nyarai][fin]

[Z o m b i k ii]

Nyarai was heading back home after another unsuccessful hunt. She was not sure why the Pride’s luck seemed so bad lately. There was game to be had, but not enough feet on the ground to ambush prey. They were far off going hungry, especially since there were not many cubs at this time depending on them. However, small kills could only sustain them for so long. Soon they would have to take down something bigger.

Strong shoulder muscles rolled as she walked; with all the grace and elegance that came with being a Lioness in her Prime. Nyarai was not long out of adolesce; still trying to find her place and prove her worth. However, she also had responsibilities now, expectations, duty. It was a strange age to be, when your body had changed but your mind was still young and curious.

Almost back home, she spotted another Lion ahead of her. In the fleeting light it took her a moment to recognise who it was, but the pelt was a familiar one. “Dineo!” She called out, picking up speed slightly to catch up with him. She then walked by his side, vibrant eyes looking up towards him. “It has been awhile, how have you been?”  

[demon_pachabel]

It had been a rather uneventful day as far as Dineo was concerned; his usual rounds had been mostly more of the same - nothing new to see, nothing suspicious seen, lots of vultures lurking, waiting, hoping. How many had they passed to the birds in the past few years? How long would they linger, hoping for another free meal while he had to snarl at them to leave bones behind? He'd been returning to the inner den area when he'd heard a fairly familiar voice calling out to him.

Pausing mid-step, he turned to look back over his shoulder as Nyarai approached. "Good evening, Nyarai," he greeted in his low, soft voice, bowing his head in greeting. "It has been some time, though how it has passed for me has remained relatively the same - nobody unusual has been found at our borders, nobody has seen anything strange, and we still wait to see how the Trial of Kings treats the two brothers undertaking it." It was only on his mind because Juu had expressed so much concern for her brothers currently undertaking it to determine who their pride's next leader would be.

"How goes the hunts?" he asked in turn, though he had a feeling her answer would be much the same - nothing exciting.  

[Z o m b i k ii]

demon_pachabel

“Do you expect to to see strangers lingering around our borders? We are very isolated.” She raised a brow curiously; trying to recall the last time she had seen a rogue. Their Pride seemed to have found itself in the middle of nowhere and though she knew outsiders had jointed their ranks at some time, it was hard to believe at this point. The lioness took in a deep breath as he spoke, letting out a sigh. “The Trails, yes.” She hummed, brow furrowing. It was a time of change; and it unsettled her. For now, she was trying to keep busy, to try not worry herself too much.

Though her expression softened as he asked about the hunts, her ears flattening just for a second. “Difficult, not from lack of prey. We have just been very unlucky.” A small shrug. “Too few paws on the ground.” She mumbled to herself as vivid eyes turned towards the darkening sky. There was very little point in giving chase when there was nobody up front cutting off escape routes. Nyarai was proud of her stamina, her strength, she was capable - but even the most seasoned hunter could succeed in straight chase.

She pouted, the conversation getting too heavy for her liking. Boredom. Trails. Failed hunts. It all seemed so gloomy. So instead she forced a smile on her face, her ears standing erect once more. “The girls better get busy, we need more hunters.” The orange lioness joked; though there was some truth to her words. Their Pride needed to gain numbers somehow, and soon.  

[demon_pachabel]

"From other lions, perhaps, but scavengers of non-bird variety," namely he was thinking of Hyenas, "could always be lured in by what it is we do, watching, waiting, and sometimes being impatient for what is within our borders." It wasn't always the case, but relying on solitude to be what kept them safe could and would be foolish. "I would rather check and be certain."

So it sounded they needed more paws in the hunt. It didn't surprise Dineo to hear it, but it was disappointing to know. They had plenty of at least youngish bodies capable of helping - at least ones such as himself that were a little farther out of adolescence than Nyarai was. He wouldn't have been considered an old lion by any stretch, however. "It sounds as though perhaps sending out what paws we have in a larger group rather than a handful of smaller ones would serve better."

The jest about getting busy caused Dineo's brows to raise. "Hopefully they only get busy one at a time. We can't have all of our huntresses out of the game suddenly," he replied, not taking it as jokingly as it had been meant. Though he was hopeful that soon they would be able to start growing their numbers a bit more. Soon. Everything would be soon.

Z o m b i k ii

 

[Z o m b i k ii]

demon_pachabel

“Impatient for our lives to end, you mean.” Her smile faded, her expression returning to that of concern. The scavengers had received more than their fill as of recent years, Nyarai was in no rush to allow them to taste the flesh of anyone else. She looked up at the older Lion once more, her joking words making way to sincerity. “Well, I am sure we all sleep well at night knowing nothing will get past you, Dineo. Everyone is grateful.” It was her turn to bow her head slightly, her vibrant gaze then drifting to look at the trail ahead of them.

The orange lioness nodded her head in agreement with his words. “Possibly, we need to mix things up sooner or later.” One push; it would allow them to sleep with full stomachs and lift their spirits. It seemed that everybody a distraction, something to celebrate, so their minds were not so focused on the trails and uncertainty. Her trail of thought was interrupted by his words though; a laugh escaping her lips as she shook her head. “I will make sure everybody gets the message to take turns.” Dineo was dryly humorous but she was not sure he realised it.

She composed herself, clearing her throat, but not quite managing to allow the smirk to fade from her lips. ”I think I am going to visit the watering hole before I meet my brother, I would not mind some company, if you are not in a rush?” She could not remember the last time she had a decent conversation with him, it would be nice to catch up properly.  

[demon_pachabel]

It seemed she understood why he would be checking after such beasts now, and Dineo left it at that. "Whether they know or not, all I want is for ours to sleep well at night. If they don't know I have to check, they don't even have to worry that it's a possibility," he assured. He wouldn't state if he'd found any trouble in his patrols, but watching over the dead alone had given him plenty of experience in keeping the scavengers from taking more than they deserved - such as bones.

"I'd appreciate that. I can only help with so much hunting," he was only a decent hunter after years of taking up post as a guard, but he could at least help with the less skillful tasks in a pinch. "Really the only way I'd help that." He said it so deadpan it was uncertain if it was meant to be humorous or not.

Still, he could appreciate that he had amused her to some degree. "I have nowhere to be quickly," he answered in reply to her invitation to make his way towards their watering grounds with her. "Water would do me well."

Z o m b i k ii

 

[Z o m b i k ii]

demon_pachabel

“That is a heavy burden to carry, I don’t think I will sleep at night knowing it rests on your shoulders.” She mumbled softly to herself, she knew there were other protectors, but she did not know what kind of support system they shared. The orange lioness frowned, not wanting anyone in the Pride to feel like they needed to do things alone. There was nothing she could do though; she was young and probably too idealistic. All she wanted was for everyone to be happy, to help them let go of the gloom that lingered over the Pride, an impossible task maybe.

All she could do for now was smile, and try and not to give Dineo something else to worry about. “Leave the hunting to me, our luck will change.” She reassured him, nodding her head like she believed it. Though truthfully she was not too sure, deep in her heart she knew things were going to get worse before they got better. A storm was coming.

She shook the thought from her mind and nodded her head in agreement. “You and me both Dineo, me and you both.” Nyarai had no plans to help repopulate the Pride anytime soon, her idealistic nature probably leaked too much into her love life, giving her expectations she was not sure anyone could live up to. Besides, anyone who wanted to court her had to get through her overprotective brother. That alone was too much effort for most.

The lioness smiled warmly as she followed his change of direction. “You know; I go to the watering hole most nights before returning home. I get the driest throat and usually end up choking on my brother's mane so… If you ever do want to unload some of those burdens. I am there and listen better than I hunt.” Her eyes were on her paws as she walked, unsure of how he would take that. She did not ever want to pry, she just worried, about everyone.

This was her family.  

[demon_pachabel]

"Don't." Dineo frowned at the idea that he had perhaps shared more burden with Nyarai than he should have, his mane seeming to bristle with the frustration. "I sleep well enough at night knowing and doing as I do, that you should not worry in the slightest," he pressed his words with more insistence than perhaps they needed, but it was never the less true. If he, who faced worries head on daily, could sleep well, there was no need for her to fret on his behalf.

"Well my offer will be open should you ever be down a lioness," he reminded, but left it at that. There would be a time when such offerings wouldn't be needed. No, they would soon prosper as they deserved and they would have so many young paws underfoot that they would not worry for numbers. Though there was a whisper of seeing if the old families would take in one not born of their blood. Strange, perhaps, but.....necessary. They had been secluded for far longer than they should have. It would be sometime. It wouldn't be overnight, at the very least.

He slowly began his paces towards the watering hole. "Hmm. I will keep that in mind. Do you return home at the same...." he glanced towards the sky, pondering the right word for it, "generally at the same colors of the night?" Time was a relative thing, and it was much easier to determine consistency thru the skies lights. "You must listen well enough, then, if that is your standard," he added lightly. A single lioness wasn't expected to feed the entire pride on her own, after all.

Z o m b i k ii

 

[Z o m b i k ii]

demon_pachabel

Nyarai pouted at his reaction, her ears flattening against her head as hs spoke. Her tale flicked as she looked the other way. She was a lean female, slender and low to the ground. Most of the males in the pride were a lot bigger and stronger than she and she had no intention of getting on the bad side of any of them. She decided to drop the topic all together, looking back in his direction with a sigh. Her poutiness did not last long though, replaced by a content look on her face as her eyes went upwards.

She might have overstepped a mark, but he still seemed to want to talk to her and of that she was glad. “Every night, I am a creature of routine, and he worries if I stay out too late.” She replied, nodding her head as she observed the lights above their head. If there was a possibility he could be waiting for her here, well that just meant she would have to make extra effort to be back on time. So she could listen, offer the only aid she possibly could.

“Well enough.” She rolled her eyes at his words, wondering if that was meant to be a compliment? Nyarai held herself and her work to very high standards. She wanted to be useful, she wanted to make a difference to the Pride. Thus her work was never done, and her achievements were never enough to satisfy her need to be… needed. ”I don’t know, I just feel like I should be doing something. The older I get the more helpless I feel. Nobody warned me about that as a cub, you know?"

She bounded on ahead with a spring in her step, arriving at the edge of the water first. Vibrant eyes looked at her reflection, even in the dimming light she still was so visible. Night hunting would certainly prove fruitless with a pelt like hers. She looked back towards the male; if her pelt was like sunlight, Dineo was the moon.

”Is anyone waiting on you, back at your Den?” She asked curiously, Nyarai had never lived on her own and she was not sure if she was too fond of the idea.  

[demon_pachabel]

"Ah. Routine can be good, and to have someone who will worry for you is better." There was a part of him that was jealous of such thing. Nyarai had a brother to worry for her. Juu's brothers had her to worry about them. And he? Well, he didn't mull too much about it.

Her concerns caused his brows to raise, but only slightly, ears flattening back as he considered what it was she was really saying. "One of the greatest hurdles I found in being a grown up, was figuring out how everybody else who was older than I was made it look so easy," he admitted, though there was no embarrassment in imparting the wisdom. "It took some time before I stopped looking at the horizon all the time and turned my eyes down towards my feet in front of me. In some ways, it will always feel hard, but it won't always be hard." He wasn't sure if he was making too much sense, or perhaps if his advice would be unnecessary or unwanted.

Still, Dineo watched as she bound off ahead of him, smiling thoughtfully to himself as he watched her, before slowly pacing up next to her to peer into his own reflection. He always looked so tired when he looked back at himself. How dreary.

Her question caused him to look away from himself and instead towards her. "No. There is nobody waiting up for me. It's only slightly unpleasant."

Z o m b i k ii

 

[Z o m b i k ii]

demon_pachabel

“He will always worry, until our bones are laid to rest.” She stated concern on her face. She had always known that the chances or her being laid with him were slim, when she took a mate she might be called to a different house and buried in a different tomb. The orange lioness did not like the thought very much and doubted she would ever be brave enough to say it out loud. She looked at him as he stood next to her, then at the water which showed both their faces, could he sense that fear in her heart?

She leant down first, letting the cold liquid fill in her mouth, disturbing the image before them. “Thank you.” Her voice was soft, sincere, though the serious tone did not last too long. “Though, you make it look easy.” She smirked, not that he was that much older than she was. She laid down then, her paws resting on the edge of the pool and letting the fluid brush her toes. It was so peaceful tonight and she was admittedly enjoying herself, and the rather odd company she found herself in.

Nyarai’s mouth moved to say something, then closed again. Her brows furrowed and she pouted at his words. “Well, if you do ever come and meet me here. We can walk back together, who knows. Maybe Kwhezi’s would not be so insistent I be home on time; if he knew a protector was keeping an eye on me.” She tried to make it sound like it was for her benefit; but in truth, the idea of anyone going back to an empty cave saddened her for some reason. He might not have anybody to go home to, but she could walk him to his front door.

”I am just saying, it would help me sleep better.” She shrugged, splashing the reflection in the water as it tried to reform. ”Knowing that someone at least says goodnight to you, before you go to sleep.” She did not take that for granted and knew how much of a difference something so small could make to someone's psyche. So many people were gone now, and she missed saying good morning to them all, she missed wishing them sweet dreams. It meant more to her than it should, she was a sensitive fool; and Dineo had made the mistake of letting her know such things.  

[demon_pachabel]

Dineo was not a seer, and if he had been, there was no guarantee that he would have been able to peer into the worries that plagued Nyarai's mind. If he had any inkling that such fears weighed down upon her, he made no indication of them.

Following her lead, he too leaned down to drink from the pool. Water always tasted so nice at the end of the day, though if he'd been a less stubborn creature he would have done well to keep himself hydrated better through the day. He was going to find himself sick one of these days from such lack of upkeep. Would Nyarai have worried if he did that? Would anybody? That was a silly thought. Of course they would. There was no reason to become another body laid out for the vultures when he was still so young. As she laid down, he sat back up, inclining his head curiously at her words. "Do I? I try very, very hard." he admitted.

Her concerns were sweet. It tickled his heart a little bit, though he wouldn't outwardly betray that to her. "Unfortunately I do not den with any family now," though if it was because he had none, or simply because they lived apart, was vague. "Except for that which I always carry with me. I do not say it to make you sad. Only because it is the truth," he had no reason to take up other company either. Not because the idea displeased him.

It just had never been the right time.

Z o m b i k ii

 

[Z o m b i k ii]

demon_pachabel

I am good with wrapping this up, but would love another RP between the two very soon!

“You are not going to make me sad Dineo, curious and worried maybe, but not sad.” Nyarai was an outwardly upbeat creature by nature, with a optimism that many considered infectious. Even when she was not feeling her best she could at least fake it to all but her closest of friends. The older males situation did not upset her as much as it made her question his reasoning. If anything had become clear from tonight, it was that they were two very different people. Her brow raised slightly as she shrugged and smiled, pushing herself back onto her paws.

She stretched, a yawn escaping her mouth as if to remind her that it was indeed time for rest. "That is strange to me though, I have never been on my own, I do not think my social heart could bare it.” She liked talking to her brother during the early hours, having someone besides her to gossip with until she fell asleep, to wake up next to a loved one. No, his words did not make her sad, in a way they made her pity him. He might think that worse. She thought to herself, deciding to keep the thought private.

The orange lioness nudged closer to him, knocking his shoulder with her nose. “It doesn’t matter that you don’t live with the family though, I will still walk you back home; just lead the way.” She encouraged, clearly not giving up on the idea. When she had made up her mind on a matter it rarely changed. It was tonight she had decided she would going to befriend the protector, if he was keen on the idea or not. Vibrant eyes looked up at him once more, her mile reaching them.

”I have really enjoyed spending this time with you, we should do it more often.”  

[demon_pachabel]

"I wonder if anybody could handle being in my company for too long," he mused, though he also secretly pondered if there was anybody he would enjoy being in the company of for too long. Not that he had ever found himself in one's company long enough to grow tired of them, but it was possible. He was more concerned on the behalf of others than himself, however. As much company as he seemed to invite, Dineo was a bit of an acquired taste.

As she nudged up against his shoulder, he half-smiled, nudging hers back with the top of his head in a playful shove. "As long as I don't keep you from getting home in time to not worry your brother, Nyarai." As much as he'd appreciate the extra dose of company, he also didn't want to be the reason another was concerned in the early darkness of evening.

"Well, if it so pleases you, I can add the water hole to my round in the evening so we may talk again?"

Z o m b i k ii

Yes! biggrin I'm enjoying my lion writing.

 

[Z o m b i k ii]

demon_pachabel

Nyarai almost wanted to scold him. Of course somebody would be able to handle his company, she could. Though her stern face changed as he nudged her back, not expecting it. The orange lioness had never thought Dineo as the playful type, but maybe he was open to some silliness if you managed to crack through his proud N’echebe exterior. She did not want to push it, through a small part of her wanted to to. She was still young, and not quite over the stage in her life where she enjoyed rough housing. Still, the fact he was able to relax at all she counted as a small victory.

Her ears twitched slightly at his words. “It would please me, if you are not too busy with your duties… and if you want to, that is.” She did not want to come off too strong, and she had to question why she had pushed the idea. She was at a very strange time in her life, and though as a cub most of her friends and companions were male, her choice in company seemed to be under more scrutiny these days. Even though she was coming from a place of innocence, maybe it would be best to tell Kwhezi she was spending her time with Afya… or risk causing him a different kind of worry altogether.

“I think you are wonderful company.” And she was going to prove it to him by her presence here, ready to meet and put up with him as long as he was willing to do the same. The orange lioness really thought they could be friends, their personalities seemed just different enough for their always to be something to talk about. More so, it would be good to have someone a bit more serious and level headed around as the Trails progressed and the Pride continued to change. ”As for Kwhezi, I will handle him.” She almost winked as she said it, confident in her ability to wrap the male around her paw if she really wanted to.

Her being his only family made it very hard for him to say no, and that worked vise versa of course. She was the one that turned first, keeping close to his side and brushing past him as she did, then waiting to follow his lead. The evening was starting to chill and his warmth would have to do until she returned home to her brother. Her next question seemed to come out of nowhere, but it was one that she felt the mood was relaxed enough to have her ask. It was rather personal after all.

”Dineo, what made you decide you wanted to be a N’echebe?”