Shujaa wandered the border of the Tani'Ajiri's territory, closest to the river. It had been several days since Thunzi had given him his new rank and task, and since then they had spoken briefly on what he should be doing. It was all rather straight forward, and the large male was happy to be doing his part for the growing pride. Of course, he still hadn't had the chance to meet the pride's new hunters, which was the reason for his new rank change in the first place. He figured he'd see them around eventually, as the pride wasn't so large that everyone didn't know everyone. It was just a matter of time. Eventually his paws took him to the river's edge, which marked the border of the territory, and Shujaa bent down to lap at the cool water. So far the morning's patrol hadn't been very eventful, but he supposed that was a good thing as well.
Damu had gotten to know a good bit of the pride and its expectations thanks to her talk with Bamba. And though she hadn't really made it a priority to seek out new faces she had been briefly introduced to some of them while Bamba had been taking her around the pride to show her different parts of the territory. So far she had been keeping her distance as she adjusted to this new lifestyle, despite Asali wanting to go around to talk to everyone. In fact, the sisters had parted ways earlier that morning, with Asali going to find those she had not met yet, and Damu going out for an early morning hunt, She wasn't as good at hunting as Asali was, but Damu had still managed to catch a small warthog for her efforts. She had just gotten the thing to the river's bank when she realized there was already someone down there. A dark pelted male by the looks of it. Damu hesitated in approaching any further, unsure of if he was part of the Tani'Ajiri or not. Bamba had mentioned that the pride often entertained outside guests, and Damu was not yet familiar with everyone to know who was and who was not a merc.
Shujaa may have been one of the more laid back members of the Tani'Ajiri, but even he knew when there were unfriendly eyes on him. Call it a battlefield sense of sorts, to know if one was in the presence of enemies, but the large male got the sudden feeling that he was no longer alone this morning. He took one more careful drink from the river's cool waters, before standing straight and glancing over his shoulder. He was surprised to find a lone lioness with a small warthog dangling from her mouth had snuck up on him, and even more surprised that she seemed to be glaring at him. Carefully Shujaa turned his body to face her, and he watched as she took an uncertain step back. Hmm, he had not met her before, but then the Tani'Ajiri did just welcome a few new faces into its midst recently. Perhaps she was one of them? "I am Shujaa," he offered loudly, his fiery eyes watching her in case she was not who he thought her to be. For good measure, he added, "I am a guard of the Tani'Ajiri. Who are you?" That sounded guard like enough, he supposed.
Damu watched him with suspicious eyes as he slowly turned to face her. She wasn't bad as she use to be about males approaching her, but without Asali at her side the small female definitely felt vulnerable. She had taken a step back, if only to maintain the current distance between them, but her claws slid quietly from their sheathes. She was no stranger to fighting off unwanted attention from males, and she was prepared to do some damage if he came any closer. However as he spoke her ears twisted forward and she studied him quietly for a moment before responding. Carefully she placed the warthog at her paws, her olive eyes never leaving him for a second. "I am Damu, a new hunter of the Tani'Ajiri," she told him cautiously, uncertain of if she could trust him or not.
Ah, so his suspicions were confirmed then. Shujaa allowed his posture to relax, as he could see this lioness was still on edge in his presence. Which was a shame, as he had essentially been given this rank to protect her. The large male allowed a more welcoming smile to grace his maw as he sat back non-threateningly on his haunches. "Then well met, Damu! I take it you're our Bamba's mother, then?" He knew the kid's mom and aunt had joined the pride, and he remembered Bamba telling him one time that his mother had a surprisingly dark pelt compared to him. If he was wrong and this was the aunt instead, well, then he'd be quite embarrassed.
She wasn't sure if he was trying to lull her into a false sense of security or not, but Damu did not move as he slowly sat back. His tone caught her off-guard though, and she raised her head when he mentioned her son by name. Maybe he was who he said he was after all. Strangers wouldn't possibly know Bamba was her son, and she could only imagine word had spread across the pride already of their arrival. "I am," she replied slowly, still a little hesitantly. This would have been much easier for her if only she had Asali by her side. Her eyes dropped down to the warthog at her paws and she regarded it for a moment before turning her attention back to the fiery eyed male. "I caught this for myself this morning, but if you're hungry..." where was Asali's bubbly personality when she needed it? "You can join me, if you like," she stated, watching him for his reaction.
He wasn't sure what he had expected her to say, but an invitation to eat with her had not even crossed his mind. "That's very kind of you," he told her, a warm smile spreading across his maw. She still seemed a little hesitant, so Shujaa was careful to stand up and approach her slowly, not wanting to startle the little thing by any quick movements. It was only when he got closer that he noticed her claws were still quite unsheathed and he stopped a few paces away. Better to take his time in getting to know her first. "I've been with the Tani'Ajiri for quite some time now, back when it was just a hand full of us. In those days, Siyo'Jini and Thunzi took the whole crew out on contracts together," he reminisced, hoping that his continued talking would help sooth her doubts about him. After all, if he was going to protect her, then he couldn't rightfully have her afraid of him.
So he'd been with the pride for awhile now? Curiosity was more Asali's trait then it was hers, but Damu did like knowing that he wasn't as new the pride as she was. She'd have to get Bamba to tell her about him later, she decided. "Is that not how things are done now?" she asked more out of her own curiosity than anything else. Bamba had briefly explained contracts to her and how they worked, but she hadn't been too keen on learning about them at the time. After all, she had no intention of fighting for the pride as a mercenary or any other rank. She was beginning to get use to this male's presence and the careful way he approached her, so unconsciously her claws slid back into their protective sheathes. "How well do you know, Bamba?" Perhaps it was a little out of the blue, but she wanted to learn as much about her son as possible. She had missed so many years of his life already.
"Not quite," Shujaa replied easily, slipping into a more conversational tone. "Some contracts only call for a mercenary or two, and very rarely does the whole pride get involved for a single job," he told her, taking a few more steps to slowly close the gap between them and the meal she had offered to share. "He's a good kid," Shujaa said with a shrug of his heavy shoulders. "Admittedly I don't know him very well, but he does good work as a ranger." That being said, Shujaa didn't really know the other lion very well. Bamba was still fairly new to the Tani'Ajiri, and he mostly hung out with Khanyo and Neze.
Damu listened carefully to the explanation before nodding her head in understanding. She wouldn't be getting much information about her son from Shujaa then, but that was okay. She had time to get to know Bamba on his own terms. Without much more need for words Damu settled down to her belly to start working at the meat on fresh kill. "Come join me," she told Shujaa after a moment. She felt more at ease with his presence than she had been with anyone, other than immediate family, in awhile. Perhaps it had been his slow way in approaching her, or the genuine way he seemed to speak, but Damu appreciated that he took his time to get close to her. Anything else may likely have been met with claws.
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