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 Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 3:55 pm
 It had been a long night on duty keeping watch over the resting cubs of those with evening and early morning duties. Although he was very tired Madzimoyo, better known as 'Zimo, was not quite ready to retire to his hammock among the branches. Instead he sought out his favorite place not far from Hometree but shielded enough by the surrounding plantlife to provide one with the illusion of solitude. A trickle of water babbled over smooth rocks and the moss grew think and soft. Zimo bent and took a drink of the cool water before sinking to the moss. He breathed deeply and evenly relaxing under the soothing influence of the water. Where other lions of the pride found connection through the life that surrounded them, Zimo's connection was to places like this where water flowed sources that made the lushness possible.
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 5:16 pm
 A quiet evening alone, just what she needed! Inhaling a deep breath of fresh air, Mtoto smiled her toothy, innocent little grin. She loved being alone, and she always had. It gave her the opportunity to be herself, to talk to the plants free of judgement. Though it did get lonely sometimes, she tried not to mind it too much. Minding only made matters worse and she didn't need any stress on her mind. Exhaling the breath she had taken in, she bent low to the ground and whispered as lightly as she could. "Good evening little flowers. It's time for some of you to wake up, and for others to get some sleep!" She smiled as she cooed lightly to the plants urging them into their daily routine. "We wouldn't want any of you to lose your beauty now would we?" Giggling to herself she padded lightly through the flowers, careful to keep a watchful eye on her footing. As she walked, and listened she felt a slight disturbance in her routine. It was almost as if the natural flow of her evening routine were missing a note. "Hmm someone's not feeling up to par today..." She mumbled bending down to a flower near her paw. It's petals were sagging and it's dry stems threatened to snap at the slightest change in the wind. "Oh man! You stay put i'm going to get you some water real quick!" Nodding her head in approval, Mtoto disappeared into the brush allowing her ears to follow the sounds of the babbling brook.
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 8:27 pm
Zimo wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there communing with the water, but he was pulled out of his meditation by the sound of something approaching through the brush. He lifted his head toward the sound and wondered who or what was coming. Knowing that there were dangers in the jungle he got to his feet prepared to defend himself or run if needed.
Although his mind worked out the possibility of danger, he didn't acctually feel like a threat was approaching and dared call out, "Is someone there?"
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Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 9:58 am
Snapped from her concentration, the fur along her back began to stand on end. She crouched low, and tried to remain hidden among the underbrush. But she was fooling no one, her color caused her to stick out like a sore thumb, and in the right light her bright red eyes were sure to give her away. Trying to hold back the urge to speak, she quickly failed. "I-I am." She stammered lightly, her eyes catching sight of the brook, but not daring to approach just yet. "I'm only here for water, my friend ... it- HE needs some really badly.." Ss she finished commenting, she immediately jumped into chastising herself! How dare she call a plant a thing! He was a boy! She knew that! Shaking her head in aggravation, she remained low to the ground, listening for some sign that it was safe to return to normal.
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 6:14 pm
Zimo noticed the eyes first and his first thought was of Ezili but no there was white fur gleaming around them and no glowing red tears. Something was familiar about her, one of the many cubs he'd cared for since joining the pride perhaps? A name didn't come to mind.
"I see you, sister," he replied, proud that he'd remembered to use the traditional greeting. "There is water here," he stepped aside to allow her clear access. Zimo watched her curiously. The young babysitter wondered at her stuttering especially when it came to the pronoun for her friend. Maybe she'd found a fallen bird or other young creature that needed tending?
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 8:46 pm
Mtoto found herself stumbling over her words even more once the lion properly greeted her. How could she be so silly as not greet him in the traditional sense? He was her elder, she should be ashamed.
"A-And I see you... brother." She bowed her head in regret quickly and could only hope he had seen. She had not meant to offend anyone, she was just in a rather important hurry at the moment. "Aw great!" She exclaimed, quickly bounding over and dipping her shell with water. Turning back to him, she nodded her head noting the confusion in his face, "Oh um no need to worry - my friend isn't a 'friend' in the traditional sense." She smiled fondly.
"You may come along and meet him if you would like.. Brother."
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Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 3:20 pm
Not a traditional friend.. What did that mean? The lion was almost ready to ask, but Zimo saw she was in a rush and decided to find out for himself accepting her offer to come along. "I'd like to come meet your friend, Sister," he said smiling and moved to follow her. Perhaps when it wasn't so urgent they could talk and take care of little things, like reintroductions. He was ashamed he couldn't recall her name, some pride member he was...
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Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 8:38 pm
Grinning a small toothy smile, Mtoto prepared herself for the male to refuse. Most pride members did, she'd become accustomed to it. They either didn't want to be injured by her clumsiness, and didn't want to put in an awkward situation by being seen with a plan talker. It didn't really bother her, except this time someone had said yes!
Mtoto nearly did a double take before properly composing herself and nearly jumping for joy. "Great! It isn't far, just a bit into the forest!" She quickly gathered her senses and began to walk back to the flowers, leaving a nice walking pace between her and the new male.
As they neared the entrance to her secret garden she turned to the male and put on a stern look. "Just be careful where you step! These guys have feelings too!" She lectured, then went back to her innocent smile. With a turn of her head, she grabbed a large branch with her teeth and opened the entrance way in. "After yew!" She managed to say.
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Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 7:42 pm
Zimo's return grin glowed like his markings as he felt her enthusiasm. She was surprised, how odd.... Suddenly she reminded him quite a bit of himself before coming to the pride. Even his closest friends out there hadn't quite understood him. With a shake of his head to stop the flow of memories he followed.
It really didn't prove to be far, and Zimo was taken aback by the stern look and sat down for a moment. "I'll be careful, promise," he said and grinned as she opened the way for him. He moved cautiously placing each paw. He was so focused on his steps that it took some time before he was comfortable enough to acctually look around...
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Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2012 4:37 pm
Releasing the branch from within her teeth she smiled sweetly and murmured a small apology to it. "Sorry friend, thank you." She then took a small bow before turning her attention back to her new friend. "Welcome to my garden!" She grinned, her paw raised to introduce him to the area. "These are my friends, be careful what you say they can hear you." Giggling, she tiptoed forward to the small drooped plant she was so worried for. "Hello friend, I have returned with your water." She paused reaching down to her neck to better adjust the shell wrapped tightly around it. "Here take a drink!" She smiled faintly as she poured a small amount of water over it's petals. "Oh sorry!" She squeaked as she turned her attention back to the male. "In particular this is the one I was worried for - See? His petals are droopy, and he wasn't like that yesterday. It worries me." She frowned as she glanced back at the plant in question.
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Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 3:37 pm
Zimo smiled back. "It's a lovely place," he replied still not quite understanding as she talked about her friends. Then when her attention turned to the drooping plant, he looked around again. These wonderous plants filling this garden, they were her friends. "It's a pleasure to meet you all," he said in awed wonder before turning his attention back to the young lioness.
He made his way closer to her moving easier now that he new what he was watching out for. "I see. The water from the spring is very pure so hopefully it'll be just what he needs. I know good water always does the trick for me when I'm feeling a bit droopy."
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Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 8:03 pm
Mtoto beamed with pride on the inside as Zimo complimented her garden. But on the outside, she was all business worrying over the well being of this plant. Although her new friend didn't seem very worried, she was devastated. The loss of a friend was hard to bear, but the loss of a friend at your own hand? She wouldn't know what to do with herself. Looking back to her new friend she smiled as much as she could, allowing her tail to fan the poor weak flower. "I hope you're right Brother." Dipping her head slightly, she quickly jerked it back up. Her attention now somewhat drawn to a new topic. "YOUR NAME!" She gasped, nearly jumping out of her fur in the process. "I didn't ask your name. Oh i'm sorry, I should have asked that by now!" Again she bowed her head in apology. "I'm Mtoto'wa'Dunia, but I go by many names. Some are nice, but others are not so nice. But I trust you, so you can call me whatever you'd like!"
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 6:15 pm
Zimo was prepared to comfort the young lioness and perhaps try to help figure out what might be wrong with her friend when her head jerked up and she shouted at having not asked his name.
His fur bristled a bit at the surprise but he grinned back reasuringly. "Its alright. I feel just as bad because I should have remembered your name from when you were a cub under the babysitters care," he admitted ducking his own head for a moment. "I'm Madzimoyo, most just call me Zimo. Do you have a nickname that you prefer? I wouldn't want to accidently use one you don't like." His eyes held the childlike sincerety that was so familiar to Zimo's friends; he was genuinly concerned about worrying the lioness further.
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 5:49 pm
"Well that's just silly!" She exclaimed with a giggle, "There are waaaay too many cubs in the pride to remember one's name. Especially once i'm all grown up." She smiled, straightening his posture to further prove her point. "Anyway, it's very nice to meet you Z-Zimo." She paused, nervous as to whether she truly was allowed to call him by that name. "And nope! I don't really have anything I prefer, I just don't like the rude names." She flung away the statement with her paw. "Thank you for coming here with me Zimo, my friends really enjoy having company!" She smiled and turned back toward her plants happily, "See they're already starting to perk up a bit."
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Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 1:10 pm
Zimo brightened at her giggle, though he still felt like he should have remembered. "Thank you Mtoto. I won't forget your name this time."
He looked around and it did seem that the plants were perking up. "Its a pleasure to meet all of you as well," he said looking around to address the garden's life. He gave a contented sigh. "This place is really lovely, would it be ok if I visited again? I'll be sure to bring a gift of water from the spring too."
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