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 Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 6:45 pm
 "Now, now." Nombuso chided playfully, straightening up in place. The Umzingeli's fine hairs appeared damp, but were not quite saturated. She had been watching and waiting quietly for quite some time, and it showed. "Let's try to be civil here, for Simosihle's sake. After all she has come to us for clarity. For proper guidance."
"There are benefits for having the Inselelo, as strange as it may be to have him around. Buna, for all of your discontent with him, you should really speak with the Abaholi... at a more appropriate time. They are the ones who appointed him the position, and because of them he is an option." Nombuso paused then, redirecting her attention to Simosihle. The Umzingeli remained rather loose in her stance, smiling faintly. "If you see him fit enough, that is. Might I add, while stupid as it may seem, a fight picked with a crocodile and won is quite impressive. It's not only a show of strength but the certainty of it, and that is a valuable asset. And if it was to protect the children, even better."
Nombuso's approach was blunt, but without guilt. They were family, and she would expect no less from them in return. It was why she returned her emerald gaze to Buna briefly, and almost expectantly. It was only natural for the females to get combative, and despite the fact that she spoke to keep the peace; within her, the discrepancy made things interesting and more of it was welcomed.
Her attention fell to the Busisa, Mhisani then, and with a wink and the hike of her shoulder the lioness cooed. "Your interest in our fine Inselelo is suspiciously close to idolization. Perhaps if Simo decides to seek out Surtak, you could...--" Her tactful hesitation, followed by a lift of her brow left little to question of what was meant. She might have said this jokingly, but there was some truth (and even hope) in the statement.
Nombuso had no interest in seeking out and procreating with any of the males available to them, to be frank. She chose to live vicariously through her younger sisters, for which she had plenty of to do so. It was why she answered the morning wake-up call to begin with; to ensure that cubs were guaranteed in their future. Who Simosihle chose was really beside the point, so long as the decision to multiply was final.
"I do believe Nguvu would give you healthy cubs, Umama Simo. Plus, he is rather charming. Pale, yes, but not necessarily a sore spot on the barren wastelands. More personable, too, then our darling Umholi Surtak that's for sure." That, again, was a joke which held much truth. Nombuso laughed aloud.
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 11:35 am
 Baie had arrived somewhat late, panting as if she’d ran to meet the group in a hurry but quickly caught most of the important things being said. She snorted and not exactly politely – if ever a snort could considered polite. The orange lioness was still shaking the water from her coat, glaring at both Njalo and the broken sky with equal annoyance even if for entirely different reasons. She didn’t think the tri-colored Umzingeli was the best choice for a messenger for such an important meeting of this nature but the unrelenting rain was her biggest issue at the moment.
“I agree with my niece.” She said bluntly, moving to sit next to Buna. “Right now, Surtak is probably the best choice. He is proven, he has fathered strong daughters and despite our earlier concerns, he has done well in the pride.” She didn’t even consider Kamal and Nguvu, while impressive in some ways, wasn’t worthy of mention as far as she was concerned. He was pale and unproven and anyone who knew Baie and her traditionalist views would know that she would never consider a lion with such a light-colored mane as a potential mate. She stuck up her nose proudly in the air. “Then again, Gakere did give me eight good cubs. He’s Matifu’s son and any cub of his is bound to be strong and fierce.”… even if not dark. Baie had been somewhat disappointed at the paleness of some of her offspring but they had been many and their father’s strength was in their blood. It had been a good and surprisingly well-balanced litter and she'd been happy to see them grow into fine adults.
“If the pride remains the same for the next few months, Surtak will be my choice for my next litter. I suppose then I’ll be able to make a better… comparison.” She chuckled, nudging her niece playfully, a wicked grin slowly opening in her maw.
Thuli didn’t like this conversation. The blue-eyed lioness looked around, not even realizing that her ears were pinned-down as if permanently glued to her skull. She was a Lusizi who’d never had cubs and she didn’t think anyone would be particularly interested in her opinion. She did want to have cubs eventually and hoped a strong male with a dark mane would be around for that but she was still somewhat annoyed at Surtak for no good reason. Something about the small Umholi still put her on edge. Gakere was her half-brother. Kamal wasn’t worth mentioning, it was amazing how his cubs hadn’t been born scrawny and with fleas. They were lucky. It was a good thing that the mother’s blood also played a part in the whole thing. Nguvu… well, she would admit to being somewhat interested in the new male but Thuli didn’t think anyone would give the cubs born out of a Lusizi and a pale unproven male a fair chance. No, she would have to find a male with the darkest mane possible. A strong male. Just not Surtak.
“Nguvu seems strong. Someone will have to test him eventually.” Should the Umama take that risk though? Thuli wouldn’t. She’d just spoken out to contradict the traditionalists present. She did allow herself a small smile when Nombuso spoke, following her green gaze all the way to Mhisani. Maybe someone was going to test the Inselelo soon.
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Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2013 2:25 pm
Her ears lifted up with her eyebrows as her mouth hung open for a moment, before Mhisani covered her face with her paws, glad for the darker skies to hide how red she'd turned under her tan fur. "Am... Am I that obvious...?" She couldn't help it - Her birth pride hadn't much cared about the colors of a lion, so long as he or she came in shades of brown, gray, the odd white, and the odd black. Therefore the Busisa didn't see much problem with such a pale Inslelo, especially if he could fight crocodiles.
Her pale-blue gaze turned to Baie and Thuli as they approached, feeling a bit of pity for the Lusizi. So shy... But she had said words that DID make her happy - Somebody else, besides herself and Nombuso, were defending Nguvu. "Well..." She looked pointedly at Baie, then Baie's niece. "Just because Nguvu is pale, if that's what you're most worried about... Doesn't mean ALL of his cubs sired will be pale. After all, look at how dark Umholi Gakere is, and he sired THREE pale cubs from an otherwise dark lioness. Nguvu has two sisters, who are both rather dark, so any cubs he sires could very well be dark, as well." And, as Nombuso had pointed out, a pale tan coat was a blessing in the grasslands. "Maybe I WILL see about testing him out to prove that to you..."
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Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2013 7:06 pm
Giving Njalo a long, impassive look, Simosihle was glad to have the opinions of plenty other lionesses to distract her from the bizarre things her friend came out with, turning a gentle smile on Toboa. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. I could see how it might be overlooked, we don't look anything alike, I don't think.
Taking the monochrome lioness's opinion into consideration with a nod, though Simo was certain she had heard hesitation in Toboa's voice, she hoped her fellow sister would come to feel that she could speak freely amongst them. Sometimes it took a while for the shy ones to feel comfortable enough to speak their minds despite whatever controversy it might have caused, others never did. She hoped Toboa would prove to be the former, some day.
As her attention was drawn towards the quarreling Mhisani and Buna, Simo considered what she knew about the Inselelo. It wasn't much. He was a pale fellow, not that it particularly put marks against him for the ashen Umama had never really taken the squabble over light versus dark very seriously. However, the fact that he had two sisters in the pride concerned Simo more than she realized. Had Nguvu been born here with them? Crocodile killer or not, she couldn't help but feel herself frowning upon the idea of one of their males returning to the pride to do anything less than challenge his own father--or one of the acting Umholi if his father had already been over thrown--for a rightful place. Maybe that made her less accepting of the Inselelo rank within their pride--whatever the case she was glad for the distraction that drew her thoughts from it.
Purring with pleasure as a few more familiar faces seemed to appear without any introduction. Some who had only just arrived and others who had quietly been awaiting the right moment to speak. One just in time to rescue her from the escalating argument. Baie, Thulisile, Nombuso! You're here!
She called over the rising voices, no small amount of relief upon her face when the older lioness cut in to speak as the voice of reason. There was certainly no lack of extremists in the Ithambo, but lionesses that believed in their convictions and stood behind them was what made them such a strong pride in the first place. Deciding to add her own thoughts on the matter in hopes that they could at least agree to disagree. Regardless of who I choose, I appreciate everyone's opinion. They all matter greatly to me, but we are a diverse group of individuals! Can we at least agree, whoever she should decide upon, it's every lionesses personal choice as far as who she wishes to be the father of her cubs?
She didn't mention that the vast majority who spoke in Surtak's favor had certainly swayed her own opinion, after all, it seemed that Mhisani might already have intentions of proving Nguvu's worth to those who saw him as less than the Abaholi. Simo had to admit that she might take a particular interest in seeing how well that litter turned out. It wouldn't bode well should he sire only a few cubs or only those with pale coats. As an Umama, the female didn't particularly want those sort of expectations directed at her. The disappointment of her sisters would have been heartbreaking.
-------
If she was even remotely aware of the rising tension amongst the females gathered, Njalo'sasa was impeccably skilled at feigning oblivion. Watching faces around her with bright, happy eyes even as she nuzzled the nervous lioness leaning into her shoulder. Grooming Toboa's fur as she spoke with clear enjoyment, Talking about cubs makes everyone excited!
And why not? It made Njalo excited too! Her gaze flicking back and forth between Buna and Mhisani's animated discussion until Nombuso spoke up, causing the bongo Umzingeli to suddenly leap across the crowded shelter beneath the trees to barrel over her surrogate mother. Nomma!
Trilling at the dark lioness as she rubbed her face against Nombuso's deep brown chest fur, her golden tail wagged almost violently, lifting her head to call to Toboa and her daughter, Thulisile--who hadn't escaped her notice, despite the fact that the less than appreciative glance Baie shot at her went well over her head. Come here! Meet Nja's mommy! Nomma has met Nja's babies, yes Nomma?
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Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 5:41 am
 Buna was thankful for the support her Aunt Baie offered. She knew she was right, but it was always nice when other's agreed.
She didn't look pleased when Nombuso chided her, but her expression hadn't changed much at all from her previous frowny face so it wasn't very noticeable. Buna might not agree with the decision to let an "Inselelo" live with them, but she wouldn't dream of challenging the Abaholi's decision. It wasn't proper! No, the best way to deal with this was to ignore Nguvu until the problem disappeared, and to give sour looks to anyone thinking about going to him for cubs.
The brown lioness had strong beliefs about what was proper, and didn't see any problem with the fact that her beliefs sometimes seemed to contradict each other. She didn't agree with rogue swaps and Inselele (in her mind they were essentially the same), but she would never openly suggest that the Abaholi should change their decisions.
"It is," Buna agreed when Simo begged them to agree to disagree, but she reserved her rights to think that some of her pride-sisters made the silliest decisions...
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Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 1:35 pm
When the Busisa mentioned her litter, Baie felt a little annoyed but she refused to show it especially considering Mhisani did have a point and those very same thoughts had crossed her mind before.
“Gakere is dark but not like his father was. He is quite pale underneath his markings. And I also have pale markings so it was to be expected in such a large litter. Nahmba, Gakere’s mother, is quite pale as well.” It was hard to talk calmly without rising angrily in defense of her progeny but she remained perfectly composed. She felt a small line of hairs standing on end along her back but there was nothing she could do about it. It wasn’t something anyone could see unless they were standing right next to her anyway. “Still, most of them have their father’s size and strength and all the girls except for one have dark tufts so I think they’ll have cubs with dark manes.” She didn’t need to explain why that mattered so much to her. The idea that darker cubs with dark manes were generally stronger was a well-known belief deeply ingrained in a good number of the pride’s Abazingeli.
“Of course.” Baie replied pleasantly in a way that clearly showed that her opinion wouldn’t be swayed in the slightest by this conversation. “But I will state my opinion bluntly just once. You are one of our Umama, Simosihle. I don’t think it would be right for you to choose an unproven male for your first littler.” It didn’t matter that Nguvu had strong – even dark – sisters or that he’d defeated the previous Inselelo. He hadn’t defeated one of the Abaholi and he hadn’t had cubs that they knew of. He should be judged based on his children, not his sisters. Also, the idea that an Umama would pick an Inselelo over two perfectly acceptable Abaholi bothered her deeply. Personally, she would infer many things such a radical action.
--------------------------------------------
Thulisile pondered briefly on genetics, remembering how her own litter hadn’t been particularly dark either, despite Matifu’s legendary dark coat and mane – not that she remembered it personally. Perhaps her grandmother’s blood had been too strong in him even if somehow hidden and now her older brother shared the same fate.
Her ears raised a little when her mother called out to her but Njalo's public antics always put her a little on edge so it took Thuli a moment before she decided to move closer to her near clone and Nombuso.
“Hey mom.” She said quietly as hoping a calm demeanor would balance out her mother’s excitement.
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Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2013 11:28 am
"Exactly my point!" She motioned to Baie. "Here is proof that even a pale Umholi or Inslelo, or even lioness, CAN and likely WILL sire or bear dark cubs! The chances are very high that it WILL happen." She crossed her paws, satisfied with her justifications about the Inslelo.
Her ears pricked, listening to Baie's words. "If you DO go with one of the proven males..." That she wasn't related to... "I'd go with Surtak. He had cubs with Wodi... Four strong girls and one strong son." And a bonus, three of the girls came out as dark as their father!
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Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2013 7:16 am
'Toboa's ears pricked forward at Njalo's beckoning. She was acquainted with Nombuso, but not very well. They had been in hunting parties together and she had seen Nombuso around the pride, but that was about all.
Welcoming the distraction, 'Toboa rose to her paws and padded across the group toward Njalo and her family. Brushing past the other lionesses, she noticed that some had spiked pelts. Apparently this conversation was irking some more than she had thought.
While 'Toboa understood the pride's rules and customs very well, she had never been one of the extremist lionesses. She didn't put much stake in the darker-paler argument, and she didn't have a problem with Nguvu's presence among them.
That being said, she found that she agreed with Baie; even though she personally favored Nguvu, the Umama's first litter should not be by the Inselelo - especially when it was his first litter, as well.
She reached the other lionesses soon after Thulisile, and sat down beside them.
"I think Baie is right. While Nguvu does seem to be strong, perhaps it would be best to let another lioness have his first litter - just in case." 'Toboa's voice shook slightly as she spoke. She wasn't used to voicing opinions that didn't have a little wiggle room.
To try to alleviate some of the tension, she shot a jokingly suggestive glance at Mhishani.
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Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 8:37 pm
The address turned her head, and to Simosihle she bowed it in both acknowledgement and agreement. It was just like the slate female to remain as neutral as possible. Inwardly, Nombuso had a sweet spot for those who showed traits of similar resolve...
Ahh, how ironic. She spotted her adoptive kin Njalo about as soon as the lioness came bounding forward, gasping in surprise. Simultaneously, a more permanent smile began to spread. "Well, yes of course." She returned and held her gaze with Simo for a moment longer before bouncing her shoulders in a shrug. Nja's touch was received and earned her a rumbling purr; but for now, nothing more. "Your decision would stand to set a precedence for others, but I suppose they are right. An Umama must be made fully aware of her actions and their consequences." And... well perhaps that was that.
It would seem that the crowd favored Surtak. If Simosihle wished to sacrifice one genetic for another, it was her own decision. Nombuso silently hoped the litter would come out with all of the things favorable in the eyes of the pride-- but more importantly, that they would come with their mothers sociability, and not Surtak's lack-there-of... All the same, Nombuso could not, and in fact would no longer, dispute what seemed to be an almost conclusive finale. Even Mhisani, the most supportive of their Inselelo, appeared to be out of arguments. Although, in the back of the her mind, Nombuso humored the idea that an ulterior motive was the cause of the Busisa's agreement. Much like the glance 'Toboa gave to their fellow pride mate, the Umzingeli also seemed keen on shipping a rather insinuative look Mhishani's way. Why yes, she had been that obvious... but it was adorable.
With Njalo's company not yet forgotten, Nombuso shifted her weight some to account for it. Braced by what strength she had when stretched on her side, the lioness followed the other's voice to two whom she knew well enough of but had yet to speak formally with; and did her best not to topple over. The distinct lack of excitement in Thuli's posture, and the cause for it, gave reason enough for the Umzingeli to reel in the excitable lioness as best she could. "Yes Njalo, settle down, settle down." Rising to her rear, Nombuso would attempt to exchanged pleasant glances with both females who, by now, had found their way through the crowd. "Thuli, 'Toboa, I don't think an opportunity like this has presented itself before now, outside of the hunt."
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 10:09 pm
As the conversation drew to its inevitably inconclusive conclusion--and really Simo had expected nothing less given the diverse and opinionated group she sat sat with now--the young Umama smiled warmly at the lionesses who surrounded her. It was good to have so many sisters to confide in. She might not have been entirely sure of her decision where the father of her cubs was concerned, but she was glad to have had the others weigh in on her options. Their concerns and views carried a surprising amount of insight and wisdom for which she was grateful.
Some of their concerns hadn't even crossed her mind, but they did now. Of course, whoever the father was, she would be certain to raise her offspring in a manner befitting of their pride and naturally; she'd have help with that too. Thank you again for coming, even in this dreadful weather. I'm glad I asked you all here. I'm certain between all of us.. the future generations of our pride will be ones we can be proud of.
-------
As if she were still a tiny cub Njalo immediately obeyed the patient, calming words of her mother figure--though it was clearly difficult for the lioness who seemed to vibrate visibly with her sheer delight. It was like something out of a distant fantasy, the thought of her mother meeting her daughter and vice versa! The sort of thing she daydreamed about in her younger days. Luckily, Nombuso had silenced the excitable female in time for Simosihle's announcement that the meeting had come to a close. It certainly explained why the milling pride had begun to disperse back into the now trickling rain.
Without waiting for Nombuso's permission Njalo darted out into the rain, promptly returning whens he realized the rest of her little group hadn't followed to squawk breathlessly in her enthusiasm, Nomma! Thuli! Follow Nja! We can go to the caves and Nomma can catch up with Thuli!
[ FIN ]
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