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 Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 2:04 pm
The moment Bari emerged from her pool was the moment that she felt water droplets on her head. It figures. The one day where it was actually decently hot enough to warrant a swim to cool off, it starts raining to make her even more wet than she already was. The lioness laughed and shook her head from side to side, enjoying the feeling of the light raindrops on her fur.
The smell of the rain was a good one, too. Recently she had been on a spree to find pretty flowers for her grandmother to help decorate the spot where she had found to call her own. So Bari's nose had gone through a pretty good workout lately. The calming, soothing smell of rain helped to make it not as exhausted.
Her tuft of hair that always managed to stand up on its own had finally gone down due to the weight of its soaked self, and she didn't even notice it. However, if the lioness were to shake her head and mane out as much as she could (if it wasn't raining, too), then the tuft would spring back up instantly. She always found it a funny thing, especially when her family members smoothed it down with a licked paw, and then it went back up again.
Ukosa gazed at the grey clouds as the rain patterned down her back. Gentle rains like this were rare on the savanna. She wondered how long it would last before the thunder started rolling like a heard of elephants stampeding through the sky. Ukosa smiled. She always liked the rain. It made everything seem gloomy in a pretty sort of way.
Somehow Ukosa always managed to look beautiful while soaked with rain. She wore her dripping fur like a fashion statement as she wandered through the swamp, only shaking when her fur grew too heavy. Swamp water was a different story. Murky, full of bugs, frogs and ugly reeds; she avoided it if at all possible. Rain was pure. She wore her coat of rain like diamonds from the sky.
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 2:48 pm
Mm, the stampede of elephants. That wasn't a common sound on the savannah, but common enough to realize what exactly that sound meant. And what that sound meant was that you had best get out of the way before you got ran over by a big ol' herd of angry pachyderms, that's what.
It was a bit difficult to smell different scents while it was raining, nevermind when your nose was yelling at you for abuse, but Bari somehow managed to sniff and get a whiff of an approaching lioness. One she knew of, Ukosa. She had been in the family circle along with the younger lioness. And though they did not know each other exclusively well, both were still relatives, and therefore welcome in each other's company.
Bari turned her sight to gaze in the direction she had scented. "Ukosa? Is that you?"
Ukosa recognized that voice. She glided out of the tree line to greet her cousin, rain drops sliding off her muzzle. As her family knew, unless she was hunting she rarely moved faster than a trot. This was not due to age; she was still quite spry after her first litter and simply favored grace over speed. Because of her reserved nature her moods were often unreadable. She did not answer until she was in sight.
“Yes, it’s me,” she cooed, nuzzling her cousin in greeting. “It’s good to see you again. I haven’t seen anyone from your side of the family since we arrived, except Tamaa, of course. You look like you’ve been for a swim.”
Bari’s fur looked completely soaked and she smelled of swamp water.
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 3:27 pm
Bari happily nuzzled her cousin in return. It had been a while since she had seen Ukosa; the younger lioness was glad to see the elder thriving so well in their new home. "I have indeed. How could you tell that from the raindrops soaking us?" she laughed. But then, her cousin had always known things like that. It's what made her special to the rest of the family.
"So what are you doing out here, on such a rainy day, cousin?" she asked, curious. It wasn't a usual sight to see a lion walking slowly through the rain in such a muddy place. But then again, each lion was different, and if Ukosa liked to do it, then there wasn't much that could stop her from doing so.
“I’ve always liked the rain. There’s nothing better than a nice, cool rain going down your back, that’s what I say.” She smiled half-heartedly. There was something on her mind. This little weight had been sitting there for some time, sitting and waiting.
“How are you faring in the swamp, Bari? Have you met anyone new?” She kept it casual. Casualness and gossip came naturally to Ukosa so that sometimes she seemed not to have a brain at all. But there was intent in those slate blue eyes. She always knew precisely what she was saying and said precisely what she wanted you to hear.
Except for what happened a few days ago with that male. She needed to figure out how to deal with him.
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 3:45 pm
Bari shook her head, almost wistfully. "I've met a good many new lions, of course, but haven't really made any true friends yet," she replied. "I wish I could find a good one, but I know that the swamplands are big and I'm going to take my time to go about it. I have to be patient, that's all." The lioness could see that there was something more, something else, that Ukosa wasn't saying. But she wouldn't pry. They were all entitled to their secrets, of course.
"What about you, Ukosa? Have you met anyone new and interesting?" She was sure that the older lioness had. After all, if looking for gossip or even a nice conversation, this was the lioness to go to.
Ukosa stepped aside to shake off the excess water before nodding for Bari to follow her. They would find a nice tree to sit under, since standing in the rain made her rather chilly under her coat. A little walk would help. Once they were under the protection of the leaves they wouldn’t need to worry about being cold.
“Yes, a male.” She glanced at Bari speculatively. Everyone in the family, even Bari’s side of the family, knew the story of how the brave male Hori saved Ukosa and her unborn cub from a vicious rogue. In honor of Hori’s sacrifice, Ukosa had not taken a mate since she gave birth. If a rogue male fell into her family’s company for a few days she simply ignored him. She avoided their kind all together, except for blood relatives. There was no temptation there.
This all occurred before Bari’s time, but she grew up at the same time as Ukosa’s son and learned the story. She’d seen the way Ukosa acted around males. Naturally, Ukosa expected an interesting reaction.
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 4:10 pm
Bari followed obediently, pausing a little behind the other lioness to shake her own coat a bit drier before they found a good spot to sit and chat. Her legs easily pumped up and down in a slow, casual walk next to her cousin. It did surprise her to learn of the new 'male' that Ukosa had met. This was not a thing to be taken lightly, of course.
"Oh really? Well, cousin, you know that it would be sooner or later until you met one of those males, of course. I met one just the other day, myself." For the most part, she didn't really care whether she found a friend in a boy or a girl. As long as they were friendly towards her as well, Bari was open to anything.
But then again, the lioness had grown up learning, and she knew all about her cousin's experience with males. And while Hori's sacrifice was a brave and valiant one, perhaps Ukosa had waited long enough for his memory to forever be engrained in both her own and her family's memories for ever. Perhaps he would have liked for her to move on and become happy with another.
Ukosa released a stubborn sigh as she laid herself beside Bari. “I suppose. Maka found his mate and settled down.”
Not that she approved of that girl. Maka could have done better. The rain played a beautiful rhythm in the branches. Ukosa tilted her ears to catch the music. Suddenly she missed Maka as a cub. Even though his mane left bitter reminders of Hori, she always felt so needed when there was a cub to take care of. Who needed her now? Bangili had her mother and father and Dama had two older siblings in addition. “How would you feel about more cubs in the family, Bari?”
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 4:27 pm
Now that they had reached the shelter, dryness-providing tree that they were looking for, Bari also sat down and licked a paw to start washing her face. She knew that in a minute, with the lack of water, her hair-tuft would spring up. She chuckled at Ukosa. She had always heard that Maka "could have done better" according to his mother.
"More cubs?" she repeated, ears curiously perking up. "Well, of course I'd love to have more cubs in the family. Who are you thinking about having them?" It wasn't her, of course. For one, she felt it wasn't the right time. And for another, she hadn't met the right male just yet. These things took time, after all. And Bari understood that more than anyone.
Ukosa was too lost in thought to approach grooming. She poured a lot of focus into her grooming and now was not the time. “This male is quite… nice. I’m not sure how to describe him, exactly.”
A pleasant little ring escaped into her voice before she could rein in her inner-girlishness. Mysterious, funny, sensitive, short tempered but generally well intentioned. She could have said all these things and more about him but found girlish ranting unbecoming for someone her age, so she kept tried to keep her words to a minimum. “That is, I don’t think he would make a bad father, and even if for some reason it didn’t work out between us it would be nice to have cubs of my own again.”
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 5:10 pm
Bari calmly swiped her licked paw on her face, and again, until she was satisfied with herself. It felt a lot better to have a clean face again. She giggled at her cousin and grinned slyly at the other female. "Nice, hm? Males are hopefully going to be nice, yes, cousin."
Her smile softened and she scooted closer to Ukosa. "If your gut is telling you that it's time to take a mate and have cubs, even if the mate doesn't work out. If you know that it is time to have cubs again, then you can. You go ahead and do that, because that's what will make you happy, Ukosa. And I sincerely doubt that anyone from our family or anyone else from this pride will look down on you for that choice."
Cubs were a wonderful thing, and all families desired them. Bari wished for her own someday, and hoped that her litter helped her family to become even more secured in their homeland.
“Do you really think so, Bari?” Ukosa stared at her for a few seconds and turned to her paws. That was a strange thing to hear. When she had Hori’s cub she felt so certain that everyone would be ashamed of her. Could it be that her transgression was not as bad as it had seemed?
No, but Hori was different. Unus would not leave her to raise her cubs alone.
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 5:19 pm
Bari nodded. "Of course I do. What happened before...it was heartbreaking. And it should never have happened. But we've all seen you grow up even more, and we all know that you deserve and even need something as good as what you had before. And if this male can give you that, why would we want anything different?"
Her smile widened. "Besides, it would give Bangili and Dama some more cubs to play with in their own family. Although Dama would be a bad influence, of course," she chuckled. "But I, for one, would be very happy for you. I am also here to help if you need me," she added.
“Ah, Bangili… she could use a friend.” Ukosa smiled slightly. Perhaps Bangili would adjust better if she had someone to play with, and of course she would play with her aunts and uncles. She always liked her family best and it was a shame there were not more cubs her age running around.
“Thank you, that means a lot to me,” she purred, nuzzling her cousin. “If you find the right male I’ll be there for you, too. Wouldn’t that be nice, raising our cubs together? I wish my brothers would settle down.”
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 5:36 pm
Bari laughed aloud. "Yes! Wouldn't it be, though? I'm sure our cubs would be the very best of friends, no matter what. I will surely let you know when I find my male, and you keep me updated on how you and yours are going, Ukosa." She smiled warmly at her cousin.
"And I'm sure the boys will find some lady-friends soon enough, of course." She giggled. "I met one of them a few days after we first arrived. From his tale, they're both adjusting nicely. I wouldn't worry too much over them." She nuzzled her cousin again, and glanced at the sun. It had finally come out, and the drizzling rain had stopped. Today was going to be a beautiful day after all.
Ukosa smiled. It would help to know that she had someone else going through the same thing as she was, but she wouldn’t hold Bari to finding a male. These things take time, after all. Sometimes it happens when you least expect it.
((End!))
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