“Ping!” Kaa shouted cheerfully, pouncing on the black and white lion from behind. It wasn’t much of an issue, since Ping was a bit larger, and stronger than Kaa, who was more lightly built. But still, the other male stumbled a bit, then after shaking Yujin, off seemed quite irritated.
“Quit doing that!” He growled irritably, shaking his head as he glared at the younger male. “Besides, I’m mad at you.” He grumped, ears down, almost vanishing in his white mane. Yujin actually knew exactly why Ping was mad at him, but was fine with playing dumb.
“Mad? At me? But Ping, I’m your best friend! One shouldn’t be mad at best friends!” He gasped, raising a paw to his chest and looking very hurt. Ping was a more serious individual, though, and only scowled back at him.
“You could have gotten me in serious trouble!” The black and white lion cried, angrily, then looked around to make sure no one else was about. Because if people heard about what had happened, maybe then they would really be in trouble! “What about my career, Yujin?” Because to Ping, his career was very important. He still really wanted to someday be a royal guard in the central house, and he highly doubted the empress would want a guard that let his friends sneak in and out of the pride lands!
At least now Yujin seemed to have the decency to look sheepish. “I know, I know. I’m sorry.” Ping was pleased to hear honesty in his friends’ voice, and so nodded. Yes, he should be sorry. He scowled and sat, curling his tail around his paws. They sat in silence for a few minutes, with the black and white male looking at the other, who slowly seemed to grow uncomfortable under the grumpy gaze.
But, eventually, curiosity got the best of him. “So…. What was it like?”
Yujin once again played dumb, because he seemed to be in the mood to irritate his friend. “What was what like?”
The older lion rolled his eye. “You know! Outside!”
“Ah, yes… outside. Quite.”
... Silence.
“Well?”
“Oh, right. It was pretty cool.” Yujin said nonchalantly, which, predictably, did little for Ping’s mood. The black and white lion made a face.
“In more details, Yujin. You owe me.”
With a dramatic show of sighing, then flopping on the floor and doing with a small rock, his friend eventually started speaking. “Fine. I went pretty far. Saw the savannah.” That wasn’t too different from the highlands, mostly comprised of grass and a few more forested area. So Ping’s expression remained neutral there. “Passed through a jungle and reached some mountains. Then I came back.”
A pause in the conversation. “That’s it?”
Yujing seemed almost offended, and he looked up at his friend indignantly. “What do you want me to say? Heck, if you think about it, I went pretty darn far, considering how long I was gone!” And that was true enough, Yujin had moved quickly, and seemed to have barely even stopped to eat, looking a little thin upon his return. Now he had already managed to fill out again.
“Okay, fine. But did you at least d anything neat? Did you see the herds of wildebeest? Did you meet anyone?”
The black and red male pondered this a bit, tapping the rock between his paws. “Well, I… uh. I killed a big snake in the jungle. I didn’t see the wildebeest, no. Probably not the right season.” Yujin had actually been very disappointed with that. The wildebeest ddn’t really include the highlands in their normal route, and, as such, he had never had the opportunity to see the migration. But from what he had heard, from those that had, it was an amazing thing to behold. Hundreds, thousands, maybe millions of wildebeest. He hoped he still might see it someday, but, only if he had permission to leave the lands this time. Otherwise it would be stupid, risking himself so much.
“Bummer. Ad did you meet anyone?” Ping asked the question again, because Yujin seemed to have forgotten about it. The other lion seemed surprised for a few moments, then hesitant and a little sheepish. And then a small smile crossed his lips.
“Well, yes… I met a lioness.” Okay, that was definitely interesting. Not really just because of his words, but mostly by the way he acted before speaking. Ping leaned a bit closer, brows raised, trying to get Yujin to say more. “She was in a pride at the mountains, when I turned back. We talked a bit, and… Uh, then I left.”
Ping gaped at his friend. “You…” That was pretty surprising.
“I what?”
“Did you…?”
Yujin frowned at him briefly, trying to look like he thought that was a stupid question, and none of Ping’s business. But eventually his resolve vanished, and, with a sigh, he nodded. “No big deal. Really.” Ping almost laughed, because that was pretty funny. He opened his mouth, but the other lion was quicker. “Really, Ping, forget about it.”
The black and white lion nodded, but decided he would best save the information for later, should he ever want to have something to tease Yujin about, hold it over his head. Then an idea struck him, and he eyed his friend suspiciously. “You did remember to give her your other name, right?”
Yujin pondered this a bit, perhaps just to irritate his friend, because Ping’s expression when he hesitated was pretty amusing. “Don’t worry, I remembered that little detail. I told her my name is Kaa./color]” Ping nodded, satisfied. At least his friend had done something right!
“And do you ever plan on seeing her again?” One last question, just because he wondered what Yujin thought about the whole thing. To be honest, he seemed pretty relaxed about it all.
“I don’t know. Might be awkward, I think. I guess I wouldn’t mind, though. She was pretty nice. Showed me around a bit.” Ping nodded, because he guessed it made sense.
“Okay.” He said, and let the conversation die. It seemed they had run out of things to say. “Okay, buzz off. I need to work.” Ping said with a sigh, and stood up. Yujin had come upon him as he had been heading for his post.
The lion in question stretched lazily, and yawned. “Okay. See you around, Ping.”
“Yep. See ya.” said Ping, then he left.