Aya stretched and yawned as he woke, licking his lips to rouse himself a bit quicker. It was one of the very first nights in his new pride with his sister, and it felt great to know that there was good and water not too far away. They'd been rouges since they were just barely adults, and now so much time had passed he had forgotten what it was like to have a home. The Kwa Kikombe were not only inviting, but they promised trinkets and trophies to the winners of their games! What more could he and his sister ask for? Not much, that was for certain. He pulled himself from their den and shook his fur free of dirt before heading to the watering hole.
Taji, who didn't require much sleep for a lion, was already up and about. He was helping himself to a drink at the main watering hole when he heard a set of paws approaching, so he quickly lifted his head to greet whomever they belonged to. A smile crossed his maw as he spotted one of the newer recruits, Aya. He was very large for a wild dog and very strong, but his will seemed a bit lacking. He was very loyal to his sister from what he could tell, and perhaps he could use that to find that player deep down inside of the male.
"Aya!" he called out, which made the wild dog's ears p***k in interest. "Good morning!"
The wild dog turned to face the lion, trotting over after a few moments hesitation. Taji was right to think that Aya was timid, but he was also a very good actor. The large dog could play a ferocious beast as long as his audience didn't start to question him. He had scared away quite a few lions in his day, but had also turned tail and fled from his fair share. His sister was the driving force behind his facade, but right now he didn't need one. He had found the co-leader of the pride was very friendly and genuine, and his tail began to wag a bit as he got closer. "Good morning, Taji," he said as he got closer. He took a moment to take a drink, refreshing himself before looking back at the lion. "How are you?"
"Fine, my boy, fine," Taji said with a nod, reaching out to paw at a little bug in the dirt, his attention captured for just a moment. The bug flew off, though, letting his eyes return to Aya's. The smile came back, and he let out a little chuckle. "Ah...you look much better now that you've had something to eat! You were skin and bones when you and your sister first arrived." That much had been true: the past few weeks had been hard on the wild dogs, and Aya had been lucky to sniff out the pride. He was sure his sister wouldn't have made it. She was much smaller than he and didn't have stores of muscle to live off of as a last resort.
"So. Have you given any thought to what you might want to do here?" the lion asked after a few moments, letting Aya get another drink. The wild dog's ears folded down, and he glanced back over his shoulder in the direction he'd come. "...my sister says I should be a recruiter," he said, before looking back at Taji. "But I'd really like to be a player...the games look like so much fun!"
That made Taji grin, and he chuckled just a bit. "My boy, I think you'd be a fine player. With your size and strength, you'd be amazing on defense. And," he said, leaning in a bit, motioning with his paw for Aya to do the same. The wild dog leaned in after a moment, ears forward to pick up on Taji's words. "And," Taji repeated, "the rules here say no one is to dictate what position or roll someone else fills. So no matter how much your sister may dislike it, you get to be whatever you want."
As he spoke, Taji watched Aya's eyes light up and heard his tail start to thump on the ground. That was more like it! He watched the other male start to pant in excitement and chuckled softly as he pawed at the ground. "Really?" Aya asked. "Anything I want?"
Taji nodded and smiled. "Anything you want. Even if it's just a spectator!"
"No! No...I want to be a player," Aya said, yipping softly in excitement as he got to his feet. He chased his tail for just a moment, indulging in his delight. "Ha...I'm going to be a player! Oh...but I don't know how to play," he said, stopping mid spin to look at Taji with a little frown. The lion, however, shook his head and waved a paw.
"Nothing to worry about, Aya. There are trainers for that purpose. You can join up with one of the practice teams that play in the off season and learn the rules. Basically all you'd do is keep the other players from putting the shell in your goal. It's very simple."
Aya nodded just a bit, his mind working a mile a minute. It seemed very simple...he was sure there were other rules, but he couldn't be bothered to wonder about them too much right now. He was going to be a player! Not a recruiter! Ha, take that Mica! "Well...I've got to go find a team, then!" he said, bounding off in the direction of the practice fields. "Thank you, Taji!"
The lion chuckled to himself as he watched Aya run full speed towards where the youth were starting to gather to hone their skills. Kikombe was a fun, easy game once you got the hang of it, and he was sure Aya would pick up on the rules quickly. "He'll go far, that one," Taji murmured to himself as he got up, deciding to head out and make his daily rounds a bit early. Then he could go and watch the young ones practice.
(Word Count: 102 cool
