Zii and smeagol were heading out to start their guard duties early in the morning. Since Zii had taken in the little snake, it had been happy times. She rather enjoyed her little companion, so much like her mothers two snakes. Smeagol wasn't one for talking but Zii didn't mind. At that moment, her snake familiar had crawled off to do some hunting while Zii sat and gazed into the distance, ever so concentrating on any movement, anything that could pose a threat. She was an adult now and her responsibility was great but she was ready for it. Ready to defend her pride and her people, at all costs. She was a bit sad though, since her role as guard became full time, she didn't have much time to see her sister Azar. And they were different classes, so it was going to be tough to meet.
Kich loved when he was on duty. He was good at being a guard, and though he loved his pride and the land they dwelt in...he didn't do so well with socializing. Oh he was better than before, thanks to Zii and Iirte. But he still had some problems relating to others. But he was out on the borders often enough that he didn't have to worry about reaching his limit. Blinking, he chuckled. Well...speaking of the white lioness..."Hello there, Zii!" She was just a bit ahead, and he picked up his pace to close the distance quicker.
Zii was gazing off, her golden eyes soft. She was in thought. So many things were going so well for the pride... danger seemed to be a thing of the past. She sighed, hearing her name being called in greeting. She lifted her white head, spotting the lion she knew as her mentor. "Kich!" She called back, a smile upon her face. She stood and went to him, beaming. She admired her Mentor beyond words, considering her original intended mentor hadn't had time to do it... she was forever grateful to him. "Good morning Kich... how are you this fine day?" She asked, seating herself as he neared.
Kich gave the lioness a calm smile. His unintended student had grown up very well. He was proud to call her Student and Friend. "I am well today. A full belly, good rest...I am ready for any challenge that awaits me this day." He sat just in front of her. "What of you? How are you today?"
Zii lifted her chin proudly. "I am pretty well... me and smeagol are out early so she can fill her belly before it gets too hot for her... she's still getting used to the environment!" She said, glancing around for her familiar. "She must be off finding something, I don't see her... hope her hunting is successful." She turned back to Kich and chuckles. "You are always looking for a challenge. I am pretty thankful we haven't had any for a while now... it's rather nice to have a bit of a relaxing jog around the borders..." She paused. "Though I still keep my eye open."
"That's good. It does take a bit to adapt if you aren't familiar with the environment." He remembered that period of time for him. His coat had once been the shaggier, thicker coat of a wanderer. Now his coat was as sleek and smooth as any born in the pride and he could dance across the sands just as easily. "I cannot help it...It is in my blood." He nudged her shoulder with a paw. "It is good you're keeping your eyes open, even though we have peace." Only the occasional lost rogue had been what they'd encountered lately. Or those seeking to join or rejoin the pride.
Zii nodded. "Yes... I imagine adapting to the lands when one is so used to-other... climates can be difficult for some. Smeagol isn't from here... she was lost and i saved her... but otherwise... I don't really know anything about the outside except for what was told of me by those who came from the outterlands." She said, lifting her gaze to the horizon. "My friend Udd, he was a huria... he is gone now... I wonder how he is doing now... If he enjoys his life out there!" She smiled. "As a cub I envied him almost... I wanted to see what it was like out there but... this is my home... I no longer wish to see the other places that life can thrive. I love it here..." She paused. 'I could never leave."
Kich nodded. "I was born on the edge of the desert...but my mother took me from there because of a pain she would not speak of. We traveled a great deal...There are places like this one, and places completely opposite." Jungles and lakes, rivers and plains...Kich had seen a lot in his life, felt a lot with his own two paws as his mother's urges took them to new places. But...the desert had always called him. "This place, however, has always been home. And it shall always be. I traveled for the sake of my mother, but she is gone now. So I am free to be home."
Zii swiveled her ears to him so she could hear his words. She was interested. "Really?" She said softly. "I am sorry to hear that your mother is no longer with us. I don't know what I would do if my parents left me... I have always had both my mother and father and they-have been my family and my king and queen." She said, shutting her eyes. "I sometimes Imagine what it would be like if the pride was like it was in the old days..." She paused.
Kich shook his head. "I stopped being sad about it long ago. She lived a every moment as if it was her last, and I remember her like that. I think you and her would have gotten on well." Nafsi had been such a bright, smiling lioness...stronger than she let on and wise beyond her years. "I've heard small bits about what the pride used to be like. In some ways...it sounded good. But they were letting themselves stagnate. One can only go so far with a few bloodlines."
Zii nodded. "Overall, I think the pride has flourished! We have new blood, old blood returning to us and litters of cubs running amok. I think it's really making up for the past... the past sadness's and such." She said, scratching her ear with her front paw. "It must have been amazing for you... to come here and be accepted, after knowing this was your home-after feeling it call to you..." She said. She had been born with the firekin blood inside her. She wouldn't know how it felt. "I just hope that someday, this pride can really show how resourceful and amazing it really is.!"
The male chuckled. "Yes...there's been so many little ones running around at one time or another, I've had to watch my step more than a few times!" Cubs were so easy to trip over if you weren't paying attention. "It's hard to believe we start out so small, with how large we tend to get." And despite himself...he couldn't help but hope that maybe, on day, some of those cubs would bear his markings. "Someday, we'll be able to. It's just a matter of patience. Something this pride has certainly learned, don't you think?"
Zii sat in thought. "Oh yes...I think Patience is something Firekin need to survive. We can't just run around with our heads cut off... we have to be careful. It may be our pride but... somedays the gods don't let us get away with things so easily. I keep worrying that the water sources will leave us... With so many cubs that need water... it'd be a bad omen." She looked over at Kich. "And we have to be patient for the little ones who are starting to learn their proper roles too... I love watching the older cubs wrestle... It's pretty entertaining!" She flexed her paws.
Kich shivered at the thought. "I pray the water does not run out." If it did...well, he didn't want to think about that. He'd survived a dry season in his adolescence. He never wanted to see something so deadly again. He smiled again at the thought of the learning cubs. "I would guess so! They're learning...so there must be quite a few mishaps and accidental humor." Perhaps he would watch one of the wrestling matches himself after his shift.
She chuckled. "They still aren't that stable on their paws yet... I've seen a few matches that ended only because no one could gain ground... but at that age it's just practice and play... so no fault on their part." She recalled some of these play fights with her sisters. "But they grow so fast.. and I can't believe how High our numbers have gotten so quickly... at least it feels quick to me.. " She took a deep breath of the desert air. "Hopefully someday... I'll be able to teach my cubs to be guards... I think that would be wonderful!"
Kich couldn't help but laugh. "Ah...the pride seemed so much smaller when I joined. Now...now it has nearly doubled, it seems!" So many new lives, so many cubs that he'd seen grow...He truly felt part of the pride now. He'd seen a generation grow and another born. "That would certainly be wonderful. I'm sure you would teach them well before they are apprenticed." She would be a good mother. She had inner strength as well as outer, and a good heart.
She knew she didn't have some of the normal traits of other firekin. She lacked a temper of all things, and some of the other firey ways of her people. But her loyalties lie with her home. "It seemed like it was only the other day I was waddling behind my siblings to meet my Father for the first time!" She said with a beaming grin. As she sat smiling, the piebald snake of white and yellow crawled up over the dunes, making its way to Zii. Zii smiled, stepping over and scooping it up in her paw, lifting it so it could go on her shoulder. "Hello smeagol friend." She said softly, before turning back to Kich. "I remember when you first offered to teach me... I will forever be grateful!"
"And I will be forever grateful to you, Zii." He nodded to the snake, an acknowledgment and greeting. "I became a student quite often to you...I didn't do so well with dealing with others when I first joined." He was embarrassed to admit it, but it needed said at some point. Best Zii was the one it was said to. "I'd forgotten the value of words, and I'd never known the value of friendship. I'd only had my mother for the longest time. You taught me a great deal Zii, in return for me teaching you."
Zii smiled, her cheeks showing a bit of redness at his words. "Aw. Kich..." She said sweetly, blinking her golden eyes. "Thank you..." She said, looking down at her snake familiar, who seemed to just stare into space. "Well, I suppose I should take Smeagol back to the dens. It gets to hot for her out here... but I will be back... don't you worry!" She said, standing up. "I'll talk to you later Kich... have a good sunrise!" She said, before turning and briskly padding off.
Kich nodded. "See you later, Zii!" He got to his paws again and stretched, then started back on his round. There was much land to cover, and only a certain amount of time to do it in...but he'd not minded the talk. He would never mind talking with Zii.
