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 Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 12:53 pm
But the Head Matron had been insistent, in fact, she had harassed him enough that the only reason he agreed to meet with Faraha was in hopes of getting the pale, and rainbow-splotched female off of his case. The sooner he could prove he hadn't a thing in common with the lioness, and had no interest in her, the better they would all be.
Relationships were not his strong point, after all. . . . He was rough around the edge, bitter about his lot in life, and certainly wasn't the easiest of lions to get along with. That was probably why he hadn't picked a mate or settled down yet, because he was just . . . too. . . . .difficult. Besides, he was plagued, and deep down knew that it was just a death sentance.
His mother, father, and sister had abandoned them . . . Ndale refused to abandon another thanks to his condition. No. It was better he stay single, stay detached, and focus purely on his duties as a guard. But he couldn't do that with Yeye constantly pressing him. . . .
So today was the day he would put his paw down.
Furaha. The name sounded familiar, but wasn't someone he could visualize. Pacing a bit impatiently, back and forth, the only thing the large lion could do now was wait. Wait and see if she actually would come. . . . and then see how much a catastrophe Yeye's plan would be.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 1:10 pm
What did they have need of her for? Certainly the Matron did not have her happiness in mind, because how could she ever be happy if she had to trust her heart to another? No, she was simply going so that the insufferable splotched lioness would leave her be and be satisfied with her statement that there was absolutely no male she could stand to be around long enough to have cubs with.
Oh, and look, he was already there. If she was lucky he'd want to get this over with as quickly as she did. If not, well... he was a male, she would have no trouble thinking of reasons why he would be unsuitable as a match for her. All he would have to do would be to open his mouth for just long enough.
Slowing her pace to a walk and forcing herself to move in a manner that was less visibly angry, Furaha stepped towards Ndale, canting her head to one side and frowning.
"Greetings," she said, and though she came across as curt and irritated she could feel no guilt over it. After all, she didn't want to be here and she was unafraid of making that obvious.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 1:31 pm
The sound of someones approach had Ndale instantly on edge. His ears swiveled, and he turned to face the approach of another. Part him hoped it was someone else, Sliabh, or maybe Haruma. But deep down, when his gaze turned on to the dark coated lioness, he knew. Furaha. She looked familiar -- he was certain she had passed him a time or two in the pride -- but to look upon her now as Yeye had, to know she was the one that had been picked. . . well. . .
At least she had enough sense to be pretty.
But that mattered little to Ndale. Her words, her greeting, followed by her frown made the pale coated lion grateful. She seemed about as pleased to be here as he was, so hopefully that would mean they could get this ridiculous meeting over with, and quickly too! Dipping his head formally, the large lion's tail twitched in aggravation. "Furaha," he acknowledged, his own voice gruff and deep.
Well this wasn't awkward.
The lion honestly didn't know what else to say. Conversation had never been his strong point. What had Yeye expected him to do by having him meet her!? He was no romantic, he was no silver-tongue sort. He was gruff, easily aggravated, and had many emotional scars. He was also dying. "I won't take up much of your time." He added, not sure how else to proceed.
He wasn't interested in a relationship.
He wasn't interested in pursuing anyone.
And he was only here to humor the Head Matron and get her off his back for awhile.
"Thanks for coming, anyway." He added with a shrug.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 2:36 pm
Well, it sounded like she had the best possibility here, after all - he sounded just as annoyed with the situation as she was. He wasn't bad looking, though Furaha honestly thought that was more of a fault than a good thing - a handsome lion would have more opportunity to be unfaithful than an ugly one. Nevertheless it was clear that he was just as unappreciative of a certain Matron's meddling as Furaha herself, and this put the dark-furred lioness at ease.
Taking a seat near him - but not too close, lest it give that meddlesome gossip ideas, she shrugged slightly and rolled her eyes. "Here to get the matchmakers off your back as well, I take it?" She asked, glancing around the clearing to see if there were any unusually splotchy patches peeking out from behind a rock or hidden in the grass.
"Well, I suppose we should talk long enough to satisfy the pridal gossips." She could make civil conversation for that long,she was sure. "I'm not interested in a mate, however - so if you have your hopes up for a pretty denmother to come home to after a long day's work, you're in for a disappointment if you're seeking me for the position."
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 4:49 pm
Ndale was pleased that Furaha was just as put off about this situation as he. Honestly, he wouldn't know what to do if he'd met a female that was starry eyed and waiting for him to come sweep her off her paws -- he just wasn't the type, thanks. So this would be easy, simple. What did Yeye know anyway? Just because it was her duty to pair up matches didn't mean she couldn't make mistakes, and certainly didn't mean she couldn't have misread him . . . or Furaha.
"I don't know what they were thinking. Honestly, they should just let us tend to our own lives and mind their own business." His words were sharp, but they weren't intended for Furaha. In part, the male lion was always a little gruff, it was just the way he worked. Unfortunately, the match makers of the pride had incurred his irritation, and that much was made quite obvious.
Still, he looked as she sat and settled himself, allowing his tail to curl around his paws. Like Furaha, he didn't want to give the match makers any idea, and made sure to sit not quite facing her. Enough they could still talk, but making it clear he was not happy or enjoying himself. Which he wasn't, not at all.
When the lioness made her intentions clear, Ndale relaxed visibly, even as he gave a derisive snort at her suggestion. "I am here for no such thing. I . . . have no interest in a mate either. I don't believe in happily ever afters and certainly don't have the inclination or patience to woo a female with pretty words. I'm not that sort of lion, and would rather just tend to my duties. At least we're both on the same, disinterested page." He added with a small grunt.
He had his reasons, she had hers. Ndale wasn't the sort to poke and pry, so he wasn't going to say anything. At the very least, he was pleased she wasn't the sort of female who was looking to be wooed.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 5:23 pm
Furaha huffed irritably and stretched out, resting her head on her paws. "I wouldn't put it past the nosy things to be hiding somewhere nearby, spying on us to make notes for their future efforts," she said, relieved that she need make no effort to come across as a simpering fool like so many other lionesses did.
"Anyone who believes in a happily ever after is a fool who has no idea how the world works," she added upon hearing his comment. "Secret lovers and second families and favoring one cub over another for reasons out of their control, and not to mention little things like illness and death to break apart those lucky few who actually manage to find someone decent."
Finished with her brief stretch, she got to her paws again and tossed her head a little. "Those who believe in happiness are either touched in the head or clueless."
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 5:38 pm
Ndale glanced around at the chosen spot. Thankfully, it was quiet, away from the heart of the pride so there wasn't any one to disturb them. Granted, just because it looked quiet and secluded, didn't mean there wasn't someone or something snooping around. How the matchmakers got all their information, the lion just didn't know. . . . . But he wouldn't put it past them to know damn well what was happening with Furaha and himself.
Thankfully, he could find satisfaction that they would walk away empty pawed. They had nothin' on either of them. She wasn't willing, he wasn't willing, and that was good enough for him! Hmph. Maybe next time they wouldn't be so intent on pairing up strangers.
Ndale listened as the lioness responded to his words. "I think happiness is fine for some people. My sister, Haruma, she seems happy enough. . . " She had a mate and just had a litter of cubs herself. Granted, Ndale had at first wanted nothing more than destroy Euderyn, but Haruma had looked so content. Sure, if the other ever caused his sister to cry, there would be no telling what Ndale would do but . . . . until then. . . .
Bah.
"But happily-ever-afters are indeed foolish. Some can really believe, if that's what makes them feel better at night, but that's just not me. I've seen first hand the cruelties of others, of those that should have loved another unconditionally. And I've seen the aftermath when that falls to pieces." He gave a snort, thinking firmly about his mother, his sister, the two that abandoned him and his remaining sisters, left them for dead.
Promises, promises. . . . Promises meant nothing because they could so easily be broken. "Let others pretend, I won't let myself be fooled." Ndale typically didn't let himself open up to his behavior -- he was usually much more quiet, but Yeye had pissed him off. And it was actually somewhat refreshing to unload his irritation with another who seemed at least partially understanding.
While he couldn't comprehend all that she had mentioned, he knew about abandonment, about favor, and broken families. He came from one, after all.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 6:00 pm
"Well, I suppose happiness can be real enough for a few, but it's not something that everyone can have," Furaha said after thinking through Ndale's words for a long moment. "But it's nothing to put your faith in." She sighed a little and cast another look around; there didn't seem to be anyone nearby, but you could never be too careful.
"Promises and lies are two sides of the same coin, if you ask me. You can't have one without they other, and love is all too often a mix of both. Pretty promises while all the while never planning to keep any of them." She snorted and batted a pebble out of the way with a paw. Love was cheap, too easily used as an excuse for hurting others and earning immediate forgiveness.
Well, she would never be so easily won. Which meant ages and ages of putting up with matchmakers, especially since she was unaffected by any sort of illness at this point in time...
Unless...
"They'll never stop hounding us, will they? Not until you or I give them what they really want for the pride." She frowned, something in her gut churning at the thought of giving birth to cubs only to have them die. Though she probably wouldn't have to raise them, at least - that might make their inevitable death less difficult... but either way it wasn't a very pleasant thought. If she did have cubs someday, as she was likely to have to do for the pride, she would at least ensure that they would never do to others what Jozo had done!
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 6:30 pm
Ndale continued to let his tail tip thump with aggravation, even if his annoyance was actually beginning to disipate. Furaha wasn't as awful company as he had expected, and in fact they had found some common ground. She wasn't starry eyed and ridiculous, which was a refreshing change. But just because they could converse didn't mean anything. . . .
He was not looking for a mate. End of story.
"True enough. I look around the pride and wonder how many of these sorts legitimately love one another; or what is just a false promise so they're not alone at night." He knew his sister was in love, but . . . .Haruma could love anyone, anything. It wasn't so easy with Ndale. Love didn't happen overnight, if it happened at all.
He loved his sisters, yes. But to put such faith and stock in a stranger? Another lioness of the pride? Someone who didn't know the rocky path he walked, who might not understand why he was the way he was? Bah. "I'm not afraid to die alone." He added, more to himself than Furaha. It was the truth, it was what he expected to see happen. He needed no family, he needed no mate to bring him comfort, and he wouldn't subject himself to promising forever when he very well couldn't give it.
His life was slowly fading. . . . It was better this way.
Still, he said nothing for awhile, even as Furaha continued to speak. He glanced over at her, hetero-chromatic eyes narrowing ever so slightly as she reminded him of the reason they were their. The damned, nosy matchmakers. Still, he knew the truth behind her words, even if he didn't like them. "Likely not. It is their job, after all, to make sure new life is supplied. I suspect they won't back down until we've fulfilled their agenda." He snorted, digging his claws in to the earth, a low growl radiating from his chest. . . .
Hmph. He'd fight them until the day he died if he had to. He wasn't going to settle with someone just to amuse the pride.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 6:49 pm
Furaha huffed again and took a seat, wrapping her tail around her and rolling her shoulders. "I wonder how much they would force the letter of the law... if I provided them with their cubs but didn't keep the father around to warm my den at night." She closed her eyes and shrugged slightly, not quite daring to look at the male, as she had the feeling he was the type who would rather fight forever than try to find a loophole in their mutual predicament.
"They're not really out to make anyone happy, even if they say they are. I... understand that they want to keep the pride from dying out, but setting us up and expecting romance is another thing entirely." She looked away and grumbled under her breath for a moment.
"But if I gave the pridecubs once - just once - and raised them, maybe they wouldn't keep shoving me at anything male." She looked at Ndale, then shrugged again. "Not that such an idea need involve you, of course. Just a thought to get them off of your back for as long as possible."
Standing again and walking a few paces away, she looked to the sky and growled. "How my sisters and half-siblings can live this life, I have no idea..."
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 7:11 pm
It was true -- Ndale wasn't the sort who looked for loop holes, at least not when it came to these sorts of things. He was to frustarted at Yeye to actually consider other options -- what options did he have, anyway!? He either found a mate to shut them up, or fought them and ignored their demands. And finding someone to have cubs with wasn't something he would ever ask another.
So when the lioness stood and began to speak, the lion paused and turned to stare at her. The cogs of his mind began to churn, and he understood clearly what it was she might be suggesting. To give the pride what it desired, to keep the matchmakers off their backs for at least a little while. . . .
He didn't necessarily want to be a father, but . . . it was something that the Kitwana'antara partially demanded, and obnoxiously encouraged. It was a big role, but . . . "You would do that?" He questioned cautiously, brows knit as he kept his gaze fully on her. "You would sacrifice your body to appease them as opposed to fight?" His words were gruff, but he wasn't judging her decision. He was merely trying to understand. As a male, he had the easy role. . . .
But it was Furaha who would have to carry cubs, who would have to give birth to a litter. Surely she wouldn't so easily sacrifice herself. " . . . . you wouldn't have to raise them alone, you know. I would help." He added, his statement firm. There would be no arguing -- if she did go through with what he was certain she was suggesting, even if they weren't necessarily mates, he wouldn't abandon his children like his wretched mother had. Oh no. He would make sure he was a presence in their life.
Guaranteed.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 7:34 pm
"What is there to fight?" Furaha asked, turning to look him fully in the eye. It appeared he was trying to understand her proposal, at least. She was thankful for that much. "Everyone in their pride gives up their body in some fashion; if I do this I will at least be left in peace once I've provided a litter of cubs." She sighed softly. "Fight them will just make them throw ever more males my way, hoping to find someone I 'click' with. I'd rather just do away with the process entirely; they're eluding themselves if they think I could ever take a mate after -well, it doesn't matter."
She shuddered briefly then, a low, rolling shiver, and cocked her head at him. "...You would? Well, that would only be good for them, I suppose." Better to have a father and understand why he and their mother didn't spend time together than to have none, or to have a father who pretended to love you and your mother when he really didn't...
"At least, if I do this, it's with the full understanding that no-one wants a mate or expects to fake being a perfect family. If I have cubs as I'm expected to, there will be no lies or deceptions for them... do false promises." She tilted her head and glanced at Ndale in an appraising manner. "Better to do so with someone equally disinterested than to give my heart so someone who will deceive me, only to love another instead."
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 7:57 pm
Ndale didn't exactly know what had happened in Furaha's past. The pride was large enough now that not every member's history was knonw; certainly, he recognized her, but he couldn't place her in a particular family lineage. He knew of the Jozo, Eppie, and Gerda incident through rumor only but he didn't know that Furaha had anything to do with that bunch.
It sounded to him, that she had been wronged in the past by some sort of ex-love interest. That she had been cheated upon, deceived, and obviously hurt. She didn't trust males, that's for certain, or at least the idea of a mate. He didn't blame her. Though a small part of Ndale wondered if having cubs out of obligation was better than having them out of love or desire, he . . . he just couldn't make that moral judgement. Not there. Not when they would have cubs in a land that would, potentially, most likely, kill them.
No, those of the Kitwan'anatara were broken, desperate, twisted. But even Ndale, who did not have a strong paternal instinct or need fo children, could understand why litters were subjected to this evilness. Because life did and could move on. Not all were ill, not all suffered. And deep down, even Ndale couldn't escape that sort of instinct.
The pride wouldn't leave them be until he did. And maybe, just maybe, the smallest part of him recognized his mortality. He could die at any given moment . . . wouldn't it be nice to have some legacy? Bah. Not something he wanted to consider, even though it was exactly what Furaha was offering.
"At least, if we do this, it's on our terms. Not theirs. Furthermore, I don't see the pair of us raising fools." She seemed down to earth. She was as mistrustful as he felt, so maybe, just maybe, this could work out. She didn't expect him to be some chivalrous knight, and he didn't expect her to abandon their cubs. Besides, he would be there. Even if she did betray their trust and love, even if she did abandon them and he was their only parent remaining, at least his children would know SOMEONE . . .
They wouldn't be disposed of as if they were nothing.
They would have a family, even if it was a bit dysfunctional and atypical. But it would be a family nonetheless.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 8:14 pm
Had Furaha known about Ndale's assumptions, she might have corrected him - or she might not, after all, the mess left similar results upon her despite the perpetrator being her father rather than a lover. Either way, she had been left emotionally scarred and broken far earlier in life than was fair to an otherwise healthy cub.
She would ensure that any cubs of hers would know how hard life was... but only when they were old enough, she thought. They would deserve to be happy, if only for a time. "Precisely," she said, nodding a bit. She was pleased that he understood her aims - neither of them would be dictated to by twittering, love-addled fools who spent their days and nights with their heads in the clouds!
"If we must raise cubs to satisfy them, I would much rather do it in a manner that I can stand, and teach those cubs how to survive as long as they can in this world." Perhaps one of them would even inherit Jozo's immunity, as she believed that she herself might have, and get to see the lands outside of the pride's territory...
But that sounded too much like a dream, and not at all like good, practical planning, so Furaha dismissed that thought immediately.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 8:22 pm
Ndale gave a small grunt and a nod of his head. It sounded logical enough to him . . . And it made sense. If cubs were a necessity -- which they very well were -- then at least this way he didn't have to drop his defenses. He had found a female that was as guarded as he, and perhaps that was just as well. Love wasn't needed to create offspring . . . .
And while he did have higher hope for his future offspring, he would make sure they were protected, and had someone to depend upon, and maybe they would be happy. Where his own mother and father had failed him, maybe his children would have a better life.
Sure, they would have to deal with plague, death, and the seriousness of the pride. But . . . .he would make damn sure that they at least were supported and cared for. Perhaps Furaha and him would be nothing more than convenient, temporary partners . . . but the children would be raised properly. They wouldn't suffer a fool.
"Very well then. I believe we have a deal." And that was. . .well. . . .that, at least as far as Ndale was concerned. There was much to think about, much to prepare for, but he figured if he had to pick a mother for his cubs, Furaha would be perfect.
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