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Well, he'd finally found the mountain where the Jini-msemi had made their new home. The lion he'd run into at the border had known who Tseva was and had been happy - perhaps suspiciously so - to bring Avahk to her. The grey lion had been ready to collapse with relief after his long journey had finally been concluded.

Then he realized that he had far more reasons to be nervous than he'd ever suspected.

First and foremost he'd learned he was a father. That he had eight kids, six sons and two daughters. Of course, he didn't get to meet a single one of them, as they'd all left on their name quests several moons ago, and not a one had returned as of yet. On top of that, Tseva had family. A brother and parents. Oh, Avahk had known that she had brothers and parents. But that was in a more "everyone has parents and littermates" fashion, not a "these are my parents, this is one of my brothers" kind of way.

Needless to say, the whole situation was far more awkward than he'd ever anticipated and the brightest spot by far was Tseva herself, who had matured into probably the most beautiful lioness the Hunter had ever seen.

Avahk kept his mind fastened on that image of why he'd come all this way as he sat with Jitokeza, Tseva's father, and waited for the black lion to speak. This was the first time he'd been alone with the older male, and though Jitokeza didn't seem to be a violent or angry type of person, that didn't mean this interview would go well.

Those pale eyes seemed to bore into him and Avahk, though he was a fully grown lion and accomplished hunter, quivered a bit inside. He tried to keep from showing his fear outwardly, but only partially succeeded. The question, when it came, took him by surprise.

"Only a few days, no more!" he answered, startled. "I promised Tseva I would visit and that's why I came!" The grey male could have gone on, if the words hadn't died in his throat, explaining how from what she'd seen of his pride and what he'd been told of hers, neither had wanted to give up their own lives for the other's, but they hadn't wanted to simply forget about each other either. Hence the promise to visit, to maintain the connection that they'd made on her pilgrimage.

Avahk was constantly fighting with himself to not fidget, to keep his eyes on Jitokeza and, above all else, to not run away. He understood that something in what he'd said had surprised the older male, but wasn't certain what that was. So when he was asked a non-rhetorical question once more, the grey lion started and looked up, eyes wide.

Now wasn't that a loaded question.

"Well...I meant to come within a few moons," he admitted. "But my father...he disagreed with a lot of the pride's values. And so after he was evicted, I didn't want to do anything to jeapordize my own standing, or that of my sisters," the younger lion explained. The more he spoke, the more easily the words flowed.

"After that...I guess I just got caught up in the day to day life of the pride. Hunting, helping my cousins with their cubs, that sort of thing. Then, I was about to ask for permission to make this journey a moon ago and, well..." Avahk swallowed nervously, "...we got a new King. It was only after the dust settled that I did ask and was given leave to go."

Oh please please please let Jitokeza not ask about the pride politics. He still wasn't entirely certain where he even stood on the issue.

It seemed like an eternity before Jitokeza spoke again, and Avahk spent that time rehearsing how to describe the travails of the Mwezi in simple and uninformed terms. So he was understandably taken aback by the next question. It was a good thing the grey lion hadn't been eating or drinking at that moment, because he choked on the air in his lungs despite the lack of anything physical to block them.

After a series of coughs to settle himself once again, Avahk was at a loss for words and he gaped as he grasped after an answer that was true and would...satisfy...Jitokeza.

"I...er...well...it's not like that!"

The grey male forced himself to breathe before he tried again. "Sir, I honestly had no idea whatsoever that there were cubs! And no, Tseva and I haven't...we didn't...damnit, do you think I would have let her go on her own if I'd known she was pregnant!?"

The younger lion straightened his spine to look Jitokeza in the eye. He didn't like being picked on, nor the insinuation that he was doing all of this on purpose. Yes, he felt guilty about failing to come sooner. How could he not? But neither had Tseva made any effort to try and inform him of their children! He'd missed out on all their childhood! To be honest, between that fact and the addition of Tseva not inviting him to sleep with her, he'd begun to fear that she'd found a mate within her own pride and he was just...leftover baggage from a time long past. She hadn't said one way or another, but that didn't help his overactive imagination.

"Sir, Tseva Reygehl is an adult lioness fully capable of making her own decisions and I would never dream of invading her privacy if she didn't invite me. Which she hasn't of late," he answered stiffly.

Great. How was he supposed to reply to that? Oh sure, Avahk was relieved that Jitokeza didn't seem to have any more questions to ask him, but that didn't change the fact that said queries had been quite prying, personal and exceedingly uncomfortable to answer, let alone hear.

From the little he'd heard and what he'd seen up until now, he was sure that the older lion was a great father. He just pitied the mate of any of Tseva's siblings who next came under that pale gaze.