Zamba was enjoying a rare (for him anyways) lazy afternoon in the waning sunlight, it was nice laying stretched out on the rock like he was and basking in the remainder off the day's warmth. It was nearly the perfect time of day..neither to hot nor to cold. Typically this perfect time of day was spent in training, training which had turned him from a rather chubby type of cub into a well muscled fully grown male – and while he had yet to actually realize the dream all this training was aimed towards he could at least draw some comfort in his looks. Not that his mother would have allowed him to grow up chubby anyways, that would have been unsuitable for one of Maua's perfect little children.
Perfect little children, ha! That was a laugh really when he thought about his sisters and the endless amount of trouble they caused, Nyota had run off with a rogue...and Pur had apparently gone to visit her though Zamba had his doubts about that excuse and Raziela had recently been caught playing around with a player. Zamba almost felt sorry for Raziela in all honesty – she had always loved the players with they're goofy stories and the player she'd been spending time with had a decent reputation as far as commoners were concerned – not that Zamba would ever actually confess to that. Doing so would just earn him his mother ire..and he tried very very hard to keep that from happening. Mother was far easier to deal with when she was pleased with you. Still he fancied talking with Raziela himself, perhaps he could offer to escort her to a play or one of the little social gatherings they held afterwords – they should could speak with the lion under the guise of propriety. No one could say she was messing around with a player while in the company of her brother, not even their mother.
And speaking of his mother...it seemed as though this afternoon of quiet thought was going to be interrupted, unless he was mistaken – which he was sure he wasn't that was his mothers highly distinctive pelt heading in his direction. Letting out one last yawn Zamba stood and stretched before turning to greet her as she arrive. “Mother, what a wonderful surprise!” He greeted the lioness as she came to a halt in front of him.
“Zamba” Maua greeted in that arm tone of voice she always found effective when it came to dealing with her children. “It seems as though you've had a plesantly free day” She remarked with a glance towards the spot he had been laying only moments ago – Zamba unlike some of the noble class was not prone to simply laying about. It was unusual and as such a curiosity.
“For once” He agreed with a slight nod “Was simply take advantage of a rare opportunity to relax this evening”
“Mmm” Maua said “Nothing wrong with that I imagine – but I thought perhaps you might wish to take a stroll with me?” She asked and because this was an unusual request, Maua was generally pretty good at doing for herself she made sure to add on one last statement before he got suspicious and came up with an excuse to get out of it. “Your father doesn’t want me walking about alone in my condition, you know how much of a worrier he is.” It wasn't a complete lie – Kivuli was a worrier and surely he would fret if he were here to do so, she was quite close to term after all.
“Of course, I'd be delighted” Zamba replied and while he was jut a touch suspicious – he could hardly say no when his mother put it like that. Just imagine if something really did happen to her, He'd feel awful and his father would have his hide for sure. 'Did you have a destination in mind?”
“No place in particular” Maua told him as she started off down the path again with her son keeping pace beside her, turning her head she gave him a fond look “Merely wished to get some exercise and as you didn't seem busy I figured it would be a good chance to catch up – we haven't been able to talk much lately.” She added with a sad lilt to her voice.
Zamba cringed inwardly at the tone of his mother's voice “I am sorry mother...I keep meaning to stop by.” And he really honestly did – he just never seemed to get around to it. He tried to recall the last time he had topped by his parents den and winced as he realized just how long it had been “I'll try to stop by more often, I promise” He said in an attempt to mollify Maua.
“No worries darling” Maua told him, shooting him an understanding look while they circled about on of the prides watering holes “I'm sure a young lion like you has many demands on his time....a lioness perhaps?”She questioned innocently.
“No lioness yet mother...” Zamba told her with a slight sigh, this was an old conversation, one they had had many times and one that Zamba was sure they would have many more times in the future – at least until he found a reputable mate.
“Well...” Maua responded with a bit of a huff at his sigh “you can't really blame a mother for asking, I'd just like to see you settle down before your past your prime”
“Mother...I'm barely in my prime...” Zamba replied though his mother didn't seem to pay any attention to his inturuption.
“None the less, it will go by before you know it and if you keep spending all your time training – which is commendable darling it truly is – you'll never find a nice young lioness to settle down with and you'll regret it” She warned him as they rounded the watering holes tip and Zamba closed his eyes and lowered his head as he prepared for another long winded lecture and list of suggestions about how to go about finding the perfect noble lioness for him to start a family with. Zamba now remember just why he didn't go to visit his parents all that much.
W.C - 1074
