Flopping down onto his stomach the large lion gazed up the mountainside. Maisha was up there… though he didn’t know what she was doing, probably hunting, or spending time with her family. The only thing he knew for certain was that he wanted to be up there as well. Preferably with Maisha at his side and her sons and daughters popping in and out to visit them when ever they wished.

Not that he particularly wanted cubs, but he assumed Maisha would want her family close and he wasn’t sure how old her litter was, though he assumed they were younger than he himself. Otherwise that would just be weird…. Step-daughters that were older then him? The idea made him pull a face. But after a moment’s thought he surmised that even if they were, he still wanted to spend time with Maisha… He didn’t care if they stayed here or went home, though he did want Maisha to meet his mother and siblings, he assumed the tie between himself and his mother wasn’t as strong for him as Maisha’s tie was to her children. Wasn’t that how it went? The cubs wanted to leave and the mother wanted them to stay. Well, he had stayed home longer than most, not for any particular reason other than the fact that he had been quite comfortable there and had possessed no desire to leave. Though eventually he had gotten itchy paws and now look… he had ended up pinning after a lady on the edge of some strange pride…

Heaving a second, huge sigh, he shifted on his belly to a more comfortable patch of rock, tucked his cheek against a paw and closed his eyes. At least this clearing was comfortable and a little bit warmer than where he and Maisha had hunted yesterday…

----------------

Renáta padded along, having stepped of her usual path after scenting a stranger. She was now following the trail but it was confused, twisting and turning as if he had walked back and forth over the area. More the behaviour of someone who lived there than a rogue passing through. But she was certain it was no one from the pride. He, for it was most certainly male, smelt of warm sand and salt water. It was the strangest scent she had ever come across, though she recognised the slight damp tint to it, as if he had lived near a large body of water for a long time. She used to have that self same smell, but hers had been from the swamp and so had been a far riper, richer version.

Pausing to check her location she moved to step through the dangling leaves of a low-growing tree, only to nearly fall over a huge lump on the other side. Catching herself she quickly side-stepped, scooting round the large figure laying slumped upon the ground. After a moment his scent clicked and she knew this was the male she had been tracking. Putting on her fiercest expression she glared down at him.

“What are you doing here!?” She demanded.

---------------

The sudden voice booming out above him woke him with a start, causing him to flinch back even as his shaggy head lifted. The female before him was a petite little thing, delicate in form yet with the fiercest expression. Still, he was very nearly eye-level with her even laying down so he didn’t immediately feel threatened, as he likely should have. Instead he tilted his head and looked at her curiously.

“I was sleeping…” He pointed out, knowing very well that she wasn’t referring to his current state of activity and was instead referencing his presence within the pride’s boarders as a whole. “Maisha isn’t here right now, if you were looking for her…” He added, hoping a name-drop might prevent her outright attacking him as her expression was growing steadily darker with every word out of his mouth. The name did make her pause and she eased back form what had been starting to look very much like a pouncing stance.

-----------------

“Maisha?” She frowned, eyeballing the stranger. “As in Maisha Katika'mvua?” At his blank look she scowled again. “Brown lioness with a grey mane, white tops to her legs?” At his nod she relaxed further. It seemed that he wasn’t entirely a stranger then… though she wondered at how this rogue knew a member of the Jini. Granted, she half remembered Maisha once telling her about growing up in the roguelands.. maybe they knew each other from way back? But this male seemed… a bit young for that. He wasn’t so much older than herself, if his apparent cluelessness was to be believed.

Yet before she could ask anything else the male spoke up. “Do you know Maisha very well?” He asked, a tone of hopefulness in his voice. Arching a brow she regarded him suspiciously for a while, but finally relented at his honestly nervous expression. As the longer she stared, the more he started to twitch.

“Fairly… She is a good friend to my parents. And I grew up with her litter acting as older siblings.” This seemed to reassure him as he finally pulled himself up to sit, though it made him tower over her she settled down herself. After all it seemed they were going to talk now, rather than her having to chase him off.

His continued expression of hope mixed with nervousness was mildly alarming, and was only partly eased when he finally asked what had clearly been on his mind. “Do you think she would… be interested in younger males? I mean, younger than herself.. not young-young…” She swore he was already blushing and she knew he was talking about himself, and not in a very obscure manner. She almost felt sorry for him, he had to be pretty inexperienced at this kind of thing, he was simply so transparent. It almost made her feel a little bit protective. She could see why Maisha, if indeed what he said was hinting at what she thought it was, would be taken with this guy.

Taking pity on him she smiled. “I can’t see why not… so long as the male is a proper adult. Though I think it would be weird if he were the same age, or younger, than her own cubs… “ At his brightening expression she knew she had said the right thing and felt secretly relieved. This advice-giving malarkey wasn’t all that easy after all…

He asked another question, again about the tawny female he was clearly fixated on, and Renáta settled into answering as best she could. He clearly needed some reassurances and soon enough they were discussing particulars about the pride itself, not just the one lioness.



(Word count = 1,129)