[LOG] Relative Matters (Magebari-gura x Adhabu-shinda)

[Kytora]

Magebari-gura was on her way back to her den, returning from a fruitful hunt. The rabbit she had captured had filled her stomach nicely, along with a good gulp of water from a nearby water hole. Standing at the hole, grinning, she placed her paws in the mud for a moment, making paw prints, then walking backward from the indentions in the mud. Her dirty paws made more prints on the soggy ground, a pretty pattern for her to play with. Like a cub, she was most easily-amused, and this was one of the ways she found entertainment.

Adhabu was just returning from a small hunting trip, though he hadn't caught much of anything, personally. He wasn't too disappointed though - as he had helped the others who had gone to bring down larger prey. They had taken on the job of dragging the kill back, leaving the large brown male to make his way back alone. Now, he was wondering where his twin might be at this hour... stopping by that same water hole for a quick drink before searching for him.

Bari glanced up at the smell and arrival of another lion. It was none other than Adhabu, one of her relatives via her great-grandfather's brother. They had lived together and had traveled back as one big group. Though she hadn't really gotten the opportunity to get to know him better, she did know his name. They had actually spent some time before, when Bari had been growing up as a small cub.

"Hello, Adhabu!"

Adhabu jumped slightly at the sudden voice, looking up from where he'd been concentration on his pawsteps. But he smiled faintly when he saw one of the lionesses from their family - the group that had traveled so far to get here. "Hello," he replied, voice a quiet rumble. He hadn't really talked with much of anyone on the way here, tending to stick close to his twin, though he did recognize her.

Bari trotted closer to the shore, and the mud that she had just made paw-prints backwards from. "How are you doing? I haven't had the time to see much of you and your brother since we got here; I'm sorry about that." She gave an apologetic smile along with a small shrug. "Grandmother Tamaa is keeping me busy, as well as my little brother Dama." She rolled her eyes at the thought of her troublesome brother.

Adhabu offered a little nod at that. "Aah, sounds as if you're settling in well here, then, Bari." Walking around from 'his' side of the water hole, he moved to meet her in the middle - not really caring too much about the mud.

She nodded. "What about you, Adhabu-shinda?" Her front paws happily squished in the mud, and she put her back paws in the same spot to get them all cool as well. "How is your brother and sister?" Bari wondered how they were doing. She missed them both; Kosa was always fun to talk to about everything and nothing.

"I ... haven't seen my sister in a little while, but my brother is doing well," he replied, smiling faintly. Really ... he didn't pay much attention to his sister, even now. But if he actually said that, she might think it a bit strange. "What about the rest of your family?"

"I'm glad," she returned with a friendly smile. She moved closer as well, intent on their conversation. "My family is well, thank you. My grandmother and I went out exploring a little the other day. And my parents and siblings are adapting well to this new pride."

Adhabu nodded at that, now unsure where to take the conversation. Really... he was not much good at this socializing thing. "That's good," he replied - lamely. Then he cast about for another subject, frowning slightly as he thought. "I like the trees and the water here," was what he came up with finally.

She giggled, nodding. "Me too. I found a really nice watering hole a little ways away, with my grandmother, that I've kind of laid claim to. It's my favorite relaxing spot," now that she'd found it, but she didn't say that out loud. "Grandmother says she misses the dry land, most of all. I don't." Bari made a face. "Water is my favorite."

"That's very nice," he replied quickly, with a nod of his head. "My brother and I found a spot to stay in a huge tree that's hollow at the bottom." A little pause, then, "I don't mind the wet ... and mud can be nice and cool."

Bari cocked her head to one side. "Oh? That sounds like a very nice place. I'll have to search around for one, as well, if you don't mind me stealing your idea. It sounds like it could be a very comfy den, actually." She nodded and squished her paws deeper into the mud. "Yes, mud is very nice. Especially on a nice, warm day. Even though it can be really dirty and messy and get everywhere." She stepped backward on all four paws, making her little pattern again on the ground.

"Well ... that's what the water is for," Adhabu suggested, nodding toward said water. "To wash off the mud." So that there could be more mud... it was a nice circle. "I don't mind if you look for a tree too. Just don't steal ours," he said then with a smile. Conversation was going slightly better now... just slightly.

"I won't," she reassured him, stepping back into the mud for a moment to make more patterns. This was fun, and interesting. It seemed like every time she pressed down, with the same paw, each print was different. Sometimes she pressed down harder than others, and other times there was more mud on her paws than other prints. Interesting. "I'll find a smaller tree so I don't have to share with anyone else."

Yet. If things kept going the way they were going, her parents still annoying her about finding a mate one of these days (aka: the sooner the better!), she wouldn't be able to fit only herself in a small tree-den.  

[Kytora]

Eventually, Adhabu noticed she was doing odd things with the mud and leaned a little closer. "What are you doing?" he asked, curiously pricking ears forward.

"Making patterns," she replied absently, head down and watching her paws move around. "They all seem to be different, each time I step in the mud and then put it on the ground. Even though I'm using the exact same paws to do it each time." Bari grinned and glanced up at him. "Sorry, I'm easily fascinated by little things like this."

He blinked and looked at the way the mud was squished up around where she had stepped. "You're right..." he said after a moment, reaching out to press his own paw into the mud for a moment. His print was larger than hers, and went just a bit deeper. "It's interesting..."

"Isn't it?" she repeated excitedly. "Now, you put it on the ground, too. Then try again with the same paw, and even print it right next to the first. It'll look the same, but still be different." She demonstrated with her own paws again. But with his, especially since his were larger than hers, it would be easier to spot differences.

Adhabu nodded at that, lifting his paw up and then setting it down just beside the other print. He tried to put exactly the same amount of pressure... but when he lifted his paw up again, he could see that there were differences between the two. "Hm... I wonder why.."

"I'm not sure either," Bari admitted. "But I do know that it happens every single time, without fail. I'll have to ask Mother and Father about it, maybe even someone else who would know about it. Maybe there's a...healer, or a crafter, or someone who would know." She laughed. "I'm sorry, that was a bit silly."

"Maybe..." Adhabu agreed with a nod, sitting back again. His tail flicked back and forth, the tip of it covered with a bit of softer mud from around the water. "Someone might know anyway. Or we could experiment with a lot of different lions and see if it still happens. Try to figure it out..."

She nodded, thinking. "That's an idea. It's an experiment, at least." She giggled. "We'd have to get a good number of lions to try it out on, though! But I don't think that would be a problem at all. There are a lot of lions here we can ask." Except her little brother. Dama wouldn't do anything, really, when asked. She felt bad for her mother and father, who had to watch him so often.

"Yes, there are..." Adhabu replied with a nod. "This is a pretty big pride... I never knew much about it until we came here all together."

Bari nodded as well. "Exactly. It's going to be tough to meet everyone here, but it won't be a problem. In time, I'll get to know each and every one of them. I can be patient. And I didn't think that such a large amount of lions could be in one place!"

Adhabu laughed softly at that. "I suppose that's what makes a pride work... is that a lot of lions want to live together..." It made sense to him that way, anyhow. They probably had some purpose too, other than common beliefs but he wasn't sure what that might be.

"Yep, makes sense," she agreed. The more lions there were, the more jobs and the more helpful they could be to each other. Bari glanced at the sun and laughed in surprise. "Wow, look at that! I didn't realize it was so late."

She stood and backed away, wiping the rest of the mud off her paws as best she could before dipping them in the water to get them cleaned better. "It was nice getting to know you better, Adhabu-shinda." She smiled at him.

He smiled back with a little nod and also began to wash his paws off. Nice as mud was, he didn't want to track too much of it inside the tree he and his twin were sharing right now. "It was nice... thank you," he replied, a bit of that awkwardness coming back.

Bari gave him a last little nod, flicked her tail once, and trotted off towards her current den. She had to remember the idea of going to find one in a hollowed-out tree: that really would be a neat thing to live in. Not so much if it rained (which it was bound to do), but it would still be a nice place.