[PRP] I know you, but I don't know you.

[Light Atago]

A gold figure marched her way across the Nchi'Mahadhi lands. She was right by the beaches, her brown-tipped paws turned black with the sooty sand of lake Victoria. She was going for a more formal beat today, more military-like. She kind of enjoyed such a beat from time to time, it wasn't everyday someone drummed it out. She knew it wasn't going to be her own beat, though. She liked it, but not that much. She added her voice into the mix for a melody, but it was a very simple "duh, duh duh duh!" Jua Na-Taka wasn't any good at making up lyrics on the spot.  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

Nsundu hummed absently to herself as she waded about in the water, searching for colourful shells or pretty rocks. She had already been out collecting feathers earlier that morning, and had decided now it was hot enough to get in the water. Besides, there were always nifty little things to be found in the black mud that surrounded Lake Victoria. Anything they couldn't use now for jewellery could always be kept for later, so it wasn't like this was a waste.

As the lioness tossed another shell onto the beach, she noticed Jua or rather, Jua's rhythm. Nsundu grinned to herself as she sauntered over to the cub, recognizing her as one of Isithunzi's cubs. "Nice rhythm you got going on there. Any particular occasion?"  

[Light Atago]

The cub hadn't even been aware of the queen's presence, surprisingly. Normally water was very noisy, making it impossible for one to be stealthy. Perhaps, Taka thought, she had been too absorbed in her little song.

"No, no particular occasion," Taka answered honestly. "Just playin' around like mom said to. What are you doing?" She couldn't help but ask. It was such an odd sight to see an adult (Nsundu was close enough to one that she considered her an adult) in the water as the teen was. No, she couldn't have helped but to ask. Taka's pink eyes danced with curiousity.  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

Playing around? Sounded good to Nsundu. You did have to experience a bunch of Rhythms before you could find one that fit your own. It was nice to see a cub starting very early. No doubt she would have no trouble finding herself and her Rhythm when the time came to do so. Such could be expected from the daughter of the Umshayi. Now if only she could convince Kitambi to start practicing a little more.

"Me? Collecting shells and pretty stuff. Always need new stuff for jewellery and decoration, otherwise life would be boring, you know?" Nsundu's grin widened, before she was hit by a sudden thought. "What's your name again?" Isi had probably told her at some point, but because she hadn't met the cub the name just hadn't stuck. Now that she had a face to put the name to she would remember it.  

[Light Atago]

"Ah... Shells..." Taka said thoughtfully before leaping into the lake suddenly, a huge grin on her face. She had lept far enough away from the queen to not get her soaked, but deep enough that she would make a big splash without hurting herself. She came up out of the water giggling. "My name's Jua Na-Taka, Taka for short, but you can really call me whatever you want, as long as it's not mean." the cub said, her voice was relatively high pitched, though not like a chipmunk's. "My name means "Sun and dirt" kinda fitting, dontcha think?" She asked cocking her head at the queen before looking into the water again.

She spotted a flat, pink shell and picked it out, holding towards the darker lioness. "Your Nsundu, I believe. I've heard of you, of course, never metcha though." She gave the lioness a smile. She was a cub, she had no idea how to treat a queen, and Nsundu didn't seem that different anyway.  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

Nsundu closed her eyes instinctively when Jua jumped, only to open them when she realized she wasn't going to be splashed. The enthusiasm that this cub had was catchy, and the young lioness couldn't help but laugh along with her. It was only fitting that one of Isi's cubs was so happy-go-lucky. This one was cute. Jua Na-Taka was it? Well it was definitely fitting. Not a bad name either. Descriptive, and cute. She liked it.

"I'd never call you anything mean, that's just not cool," the lioness replied, grinning from ear to ear. "I like your name. Sometimes the best names are the simpler, fitting ones. You don't wanna be named something you can't live up to." This was coming from a lioness whose name meant 'brown', but Nsundu meant what she said. The Nchi'mahadhi weren't exactly the most creative namers.

Nsundu murmured a soft 'thanks' and took the shell, leaning over to place it near her pile. "That's riiiight. Well now we know each other, so it's all good. Nice to finally meet once of Isi's cubs." She paused for a moment to nudge at a rock under the water, trying to decide if it was a good one. "You wanna help me gather stuff for Vinya?"  

[Light Atago]

"Yeah, I dunno why anyone would ever be not cool," Taka said in agreement to Nsundu's comment. "I haven't ever run into anyone not-cool though." she tacked on brightly.

At the mention of the name, Taka had to pause. Not to consider whether she'd help or not- she definitely would, but to ponder where she'd heard that name before. "I'll help!" she said soon enough. She dug around in the mud before continuing her ponders... "Vinya... Who's she again? I've heard the name before." She extracted a shiny rock from the black muck at the bottom and handed it over. "I do try to remember everyone... It's hard sometimes, though, even if our Pride's not hugemongous like the Pridelands." She stated, only knowing that her dad came from a big pride called the Pridelands.  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

"Well there aaaaare some uncool people," Nsundu responded, nose scrunching up a bit at the thought, "But they're usually boys. Not that some boys aren't cool too, but there are enough stupid ones to make you wonder if all boys are just born dumb. One day you'll find a cool boy though. You have a cool name, so that means that you'll find a cool boy." Nothing like relationship advice from Nsundu. Personally, she wasn't all that interested in finding a cool boy, but she wouldn't be adverse to one if he came strolling along. Banny hadn't been too bad. Either way, Jua would have to find a cool boy if she wanted him to come and stay in the pride. There would be no uncool males hanging around here.

The lioness tilted her head while waiting for a response, nodding brightly when Taka said she would help out. Excellent. Cubs always had a good eye for pretty things. "Vinya? Oh, she's the one who makes all the jewellery, so we'll bring her all sorts of pretty stuff." Nsundu made a face at the mention of the Pridelands. "Bigger prides mean less coming together. I don't even believe the Pridelands have that many lions. Nobody's ever around."  

[Light Atago]

"My dad's from the Pridelands, and my sister lives there," Taka explained. "...The sister I'll probably never know as well as Mawi." She added before she continued. "And they're big, apparently. I don't know much about them. Apparently I look a lot like one!" A traveling maned wolf had told her that much. Vinya- pretty stuff- makes things, got it. Taka logged that away for future reference, knowing it'd be best if she got to know everyone in the Pride.

She chuckled at Nsundu. Boys are uncool. "But the boys around here aren't uncool." she stated as she continued to look around in the comfortable waters. "Like Juke, he's cool! I'll bet his cubs are too, though I haven't played with them all that much..." She said, making a mental note to go hunt them down and play with them at some point.  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

"Oh so that's where your dad it. Maybe one day we can go on a little adventure down there again to see him and your sister. I made a bet with one of the cooler males down there, so I definitely don't mind going back." Nsundu was secretly interested in the male that had won Isithunzi over, having only gone for a male close to her colouring when she'd been interested in having cubs. No love there, but it wasn't something that concerned the young lioness. "You do look like one, with all that yellow." Come to think of it, she looked a lot like Saffer. She should find that lioness again, see how she's doing.

Nsundu grinned at the mention of Juke, nodding her head. "He's very cool, and so's his mate. Wouldn’t have invited them if I didn't think so. Need more males like him around." The last comment was more to herself than her companion. Perhaps Sen would know of a few good males that could come and hang out over here. If they were as accepting of Rhythm as Hari, life would be good.

The lioness turned over a shell with her claws, scrutinizing it. "You enjoying life here?"  

[Light Atago]

Taka's pink eyes brightened. "Oh I love it!" Her response was genuine. "I think I like most the part mom likes most, the beat of the drum. Sometimes, when it's real loud, you can feel your guts beat with it from far away!" While most would've found this annoying, Taka got a thrill out of it. "It's so much fun, the area with all the drums just seems like a big party to me, even when there's not much going on there." She was so caught up in just the idea that she had stopped rummaging in the mud for a moment, remembering the first big event they had in her lifetime... So much fun!

"Makes you wanna dance just thinkin' about it!" She said, making two or three clumsy moves in the water before returning to sifting through the mud. She pulled up a rock, but couldn't tell if it was ugly, or if it was pretty and just covered with the muck. After a few scrubs, she replaced it, deciding it was just ugly, and continued searching. "How 'bout you, Nsundu? You like it here?" She figured it was a dumb question- of course she was! Still, she felt like asking/  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

Nsundu couldn't help but grin when Taka's eyes lit up. She loved it? Excellent! The smile remained as the lioness paused to watch the cub talk. So she liked the drums, just like her mother. It wasn't surprising, really. With the drum circle rebuilt, there was always the opportunity for cubs to practice a few of their learned rhythms on actual adult drums. Taka would build her own when she got older, but for now she got to learn on the adult drums. Nsundu had no doubt that Taka would enjoy herself when she set out to find her Rhythm. If only Kitambi would feel the same way. Perhaps her daughter would benefit from some time with Isithunzi and her cubs.

"It is like a big party," Nsundu agreed, turning to look back in the direction of the drum circle. That was definitely her favourite place in the pride lands, seconded by the lake. "Perhaps one day we'll have such a full drum circle that only some of the pride will be able to drum while the others dance." The idea made her heart swell. One day. Perhaps even when these cubs were older, they would have a full drum circle. It would be amazing.

The question made Nsundu tilt her head, before she nodded. "Of course. I never grew up here, but it feels like home to me. I like living with others who understand Rhythm, and love to dance and drum as much as I do. I'm glad your mother stuck around, so that she can help me rebuild this pride. You and your sister are going to be a big help too."  

[Light Atago]

"Really?" The idea that Taka would be important to the Pride's revitalization made her heart soar. She always knew that she'd be a part of it- Isi was a huge help to rebuilding the pride, but Taka never thought they'd be significant in it. She had a slightly new outlook on her purpose. Not completely new, just altered a bit.

"A full drum circle must be a lot more awesome!" Taka said to the idea of a more powerful beat even than the ones she'd heard. Yes, the cub could hardly wait until that day. "When will that be?" She asked the adult. Nsundu had made it sound like it had a set date, she wanted to know so she could start a countdown. She pulled yet another shell, a spirally blue and white one this time, from the waters and admired it before giving it to Nsundu.  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

Nsundu nodded intently when Taka asked if she was really a part of the pride's revitalization. "Of course you are! Everybody is important in their own special way. We all are unique, but we make up the same whole, you know?" It was a strange concept, but it was the central idea of the pride nonetheless. Rhythm as a unifier and divider. Taka may not understand, but Nsundu would still explain it to her as though she understood. Perhaps cubs born into the pride had a better understanding of it than anybody else.

"When?" The lioness repeated the question, before shrugging her shoulders. "There doesn't need to be a date, just in the future sometime. It'll be in your lifetime, though, that much I can be sure of. You'll see it. One day." Nsundu made a pleased sound at the shell that she was offered, adding it to the pile. "We should see if Vinya can't make you something pretty with all these shells and rocks we're finding."  

[Light Atago]

"Wow," Taka said excitedly at the thought of such a bigger party even than the ones now. And she'd live to see it! The smile that had grown across her face more and more over the course of this conversation seemed to grow yet more. She could hardly wait. She dipped her muzzle into the water to get a quick drink and responded quickly. "I think we ought to go too, how would we carry any more than these?" she smiled at Nsundu's idea. She'd sure like something pretty, and this would be a good chance to meet Vinya. It was easier to remember someone when you had a face to tie their identity to.

"I can take some, if you want," Taka offered before they left the water.