[PRP] Strange Thoughts (Nehanda x Kokumo)

[SilverLutz]

The pride was still in its migration state, but the collective group had decided to stop for a day or two to let those that had been injured in the rogue attack heal up a bit. While she had insisted the wounds she had acquired were nothing - especially with poor Ifunci getting the worst of it - Nehanda had to admit that she was grateful for the rest. Although her visible injuries were minor and healing nicely, it was the ones that no one else could see that really troubled her. She had surprised herself with a rather successful initial attack against one of the rogues, but had been pinned down almost immediately and had to struggle to free herself. Thankfully Jasiri had come in and distracted the rogue long enough for her to wiggle free. What she had done had been more than enough to make her weak lungs act up and for the few days since the fight she had had more trouble than usual breathing.

That wasn't too out of the norm for her, though. Whenever she went on a hunt she'd have to recover for a few days before feeling her normal self. She hoped the burning, straining sensation in her chest would pass as it always did and she had no reason to believe it wouldn't, but with the constant walking Han felt like it would stick around longer than usual.

Her thoughts turned to the male that had saved her, her chest burning for a completely different reason. She owed her life to Jasiri, she was sure. Even though the rogue hadn't drawn blood or left marks on her she wasn't sure she would have survived the struggle that had followed her attack. She wasn't strong and he had been much larger and heavier than her. Simply pinning her down might have suffocated her.

Finding a tree to sit under, Han was left with her thoughts of the pale male. She had always found him interesting ever since he had arrive and although he wasn't the typical sort of handsome, he did his job very well as yesterday had proved. He had already had a litter with another female and they had all turned out very lovely and she knew she had some dark pelts in her family...

Wait. What on earth was she thinking?

Annchen

 

[Annchen]

"You all right Auntie?" Kokumo asked as she settled down next to the older female. Han wasn't her aunt, but there came a time when it started to get silly trying to keep track of exactly how another Umzingeli was related to you. There might be a convenient word for 'mother's cousin', but Kokumo didn't know one. Auntie worked.

Kokumo had returned from the cub rescue soaking wet but not too badly hurt. It was deeply unsettling that members of the pride had been attacked on two occasions, and she couldn't help but wonder if more of the same were to come. They had Bangizwe now at least... Three leading males should be better able to protect them than two. It gave her grim satisfaction that the males that had attacked the small hunting party were dead or at least badly hurt.

Hunting accidents happen, and Kokumo knew all too well that her sisters wouldn't always come back in one piece. But this was different, and it made her mad. It was cowardly and unfair to attack females and cubs like that. Had Ifunci been a mind reader he might take offense at being lumped together with cubs, but as far as Kokumo was concerned Jasiris cubs simply weren't adult yet. Not adult = cub. Easy!

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Han looked up in surprise as a familiar voice called out to her. Kokumo had accidentally sneaked up on her while she had been lost in thought. Letting out a little breath of relief, she smiled at the darker lioness. Although she called her Auntie they really weren't that far off in age. The family ties within the Bonelands were very strange at times, so it was usually easier to call those that were older aunts and those that were younger nieces, if they weren't first cousins.

"Ah....yes, I'm all right," she said, hoping to ease any worry Kokumo might have. "Just a little tired is all. What about you?" she asked, knowing a cub had gotten lost while she and the other group had their own troubles. "Did you go off in search of the cub?"

She had no idea if anything had happened while they were out, although she did know the cub had been found and returned to the pride with them all. Phew...two dangerous excursions and no loss of life. They were lucky.

Annchen

 

[Annchen]

"Yeah," she said, "We found him in the middle of those elephants. It's a small miracle no one was stomped."

It was bad enough with a snake bite, a small lightning fire and an ambushed Umama. But from what she'd heard the small hunting party had a worse time than the rescue group. She wasn't going to complain, especially since she had only been scared by the lightning and wet from the rain at the end of it. There had been lots of bad luck, but also good luck. It would have been heartbreaking to have all that happen and then find the cub dead, or fail to find him at all.

"Isn't it strange that Thula didn't help look for him?" she said, grooming the other lioness thoughtfully, "I mean, he's just a male, but I'd think a mother would still be frantic."

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Han winced slightly at the thought of that tiny little cub in a herd of elephants. It was a wonder he hadn't ended up squished, or any of the lionesses that had gone after him for that matter!

"Oh...I suppose it could be looked at either way," she said as Kokumo began to groom her. "As you say, he's just a male, but at the same time he's still so tiny it's a surprise her mothering instincts didn't take over. Or perhaps she was too distraught and knew she'd just get in the way." There were many reasons for not joining in the search but Han wouldn't be the one to say why. She didn't want to make any of the lionesses here seem like they didn't care. She had a feeling if the cub that had wandered of was a female, though, Thula would have been among those searching.

"If I were in her place I know I'd probably stay behind, just because I'd slow everyone up and probably pass on my worry to everyone else," she added with a little smile, tilting her head to nuzzle Thula's in thanks.

Annchen

 

[Annchen]

Kokumo nodded at that possible explanation. She didn't know how she'd react in a similar situation, but if she had to she knew she could always trust her mother and pride-sisters to look after any remaining cubs, or help her find the lost one. They were family, even if there weren't always tied together by the same blood.

"I still can't believe that we have two Abaholi again," she said, looking at the group of males resting in a shady spot in the distance, "And it's funny how Jasiri is still hanging in there..."

She trailed off. Funny might not be the right word. Interesting, maybe? The white maned Inselelo had been part of the pride for as long as she could remember, and it felt a bit odd to her that two comparatively new males were in charge while the supposedly "temporary" male had been there way longer. His white mane stood out like a sore thumb, and she studied him with an unreadable expression on her face.

It was easy to see who she was looking at, but harder to guess her thoughts.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Han nodded slightly at Kokumo's statement. She glanced in the direction of the few males that occupied the pride, watching them carefully. Both were new - one more than the other, of course - and she knew there were those in the pride who weren't happy with the red-pelted male being in charge, but now that this neutral colored male was also a head honcho perhaps they'd settle down. Han had been raised to appreciate a dark pelt and mane in natural colors, but that didn't mean she felt as though those with bright or unnatural colors were any worse.

At the mention of Jasiri her ears twitched a bit and a tiny smile showed on her face. "Ah...yes, it's a bit strange, but at the same time not at all. His markings and coloration don't really sit well with the rest of the females. He doesn't really have the personality of one who would be in charge, either. He does his job very well, though. Without him I doubt I'd be talking to you right now."

He had distracted the male that had her pinned during the fight, after all. She should really find him to thank him at some point. Glancing back at Kokumo, she felt her ears twist back a bit in embarrassment. "Perhaps it's the fact that he saved me, but I've been starting to find him more...suitable to be a father of cubs in the pride, I suppose. One of his sons was in the group I was in as well and he's got a good head on his shoulders, if he's a bit feminine."

Annchen

 

[Annchen]

"Well, it's not as if he's green or blue," Kokumo said and giggled at the ridiculous thought. "He's just bright. And you can always find him in a crowd."

Kokumo had heard various versions about what had happened while she was out cub hunting, but she hadn't heard Han tell the story. She'd picked up that Andhaka and Jasiri had thwarted a gang of attacking rogues, with help from others in the pride. She knew that both Han and the new Ahluke had been injured, but there seemed to be a different version of what had happened depending on the lioness telling the story.

"He saved you?" she asked, ears tilting forward with interest.

It was one thing to keep challengers at bay, and something else entirely to protect pride members during an attack.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Kokumo's question made Han nod again. She knew there had been different versions of the story going around - the other females in the group, for instance, probably would have twisted the story just a bit so it didn't have so much of them slipping in the mud. She had really made the only attack on the males before Jasiri and Andhaka had shown up, even though it ended on a sour note for her.

"There were two rogue males that appeared and one started to attack Ifunci, as I'm sure you know. The other was trying to hold us off from getting to the other two. I attacked the male and actually held his attention...long enough for him to pin me down in the mud."

She lowered her head a bit out of embarrassment, even though for someone of her size and strength it was impressive that she had landed the sort of attack that she had all on her own.

"He wasn't using his claws or teeth or anything but he was very heavy. I was having trouble breathing already because of the high energy of the situation, plus the attack...but then Jasiri came in and attacked the male long enough for me to wiggle out from under him and get to safety."

Well. 'Safety'. It was just a few minutes later when the herd had gone off in a stampede and she had gotten hurt. But that was a minor detail.

Annchen

 

[Annchen]

"Good," Kokumo said when Han told her about getting out from under the hostile male. She'd been silent up until then, and she bumped her head gently against Han's side to offer some comfort. "That's just awful... Good thing Jasiri was there. Is it true that Andhaka killed one of them during the fight?"

When she was younger Kokumo had been obsessed by the thought of possibly missing out on exciting things, but she wasn't sad that she'd missed this particular excitement. And by now she knew that she couldn't possibly be everywhere and experience everything, so she wasn't as anxious about missing things anymore. There had been plenty of drama during their rescue mission too.

"I'm glad he got there in time," she said, looking again at the resting Jasiri, "I guess I'll have to thank our Inselelo next time I talk to him."

Not that she usually talked to the male, but thanking him for rescuing Han would be a decent reason. Surely even Buna would approve of that.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Han gave a soft 'mm' at the question, confirming the stories she had probably heard. "The one that attacked Ifunci. They were locked in battle for a while...it was obvious the other male knew if he didn't win he'd be killed, so he was fighting for his life. Andhaka bested him, though, and didn't give him a chance to repeat his attack later down the road. It helped scare off the other two males, too...there was a third that had been hiding behind the rocks they had come out from."

She shivered at the thought of that third male joining in the fray. It would have made for a far worse situation than there had already been. She returned the little nuzzle, a smile on her muzzle as she pulled back.

"I certainly would. I feel like he doesn't get much appreciation for everything he does for us. I remember when he joined and he was teased about having flies around him...as if that's not a problem for everyone time and again," She shook her head slightly before yawning just a bit. "Oh...excuse me. I'm still a bit exhausted from the other day."

Annchen

 

[Annchen]

"Flies?" she asked, "That's funny. I mean, some days they're just all over everyone."

She hadn't heard that particular story before, but she was somewhat familiar with the teasing and testing a new male had to go through. She remembered that Andhaka had been teased a bit at first, even if she was a bit young to participate. She supposed that part of the reason was to see how the males reacted. If they couldn't handle a bit of teasing, how would they handle their other duties?

"Here, let me groom you for a while," she said as the older female yawned. She certainly had every reason to be tired, but a bit of grooming and relaxing might just help. "Just relax, and don't worry if you nod off."

She resumed her grooming, taking care not to upset the healing wounds. Kokumo enjoyed the familiar motions, and her own breathing and heart beats slowed as she worked through Han's fur. It was funny, grooming was really nice both for the one receiving and the one giving attention.

SilverLutz

Good place to end perhaps?

 

[SilverLutz]

The rough tongue was appreciated and Han didn't hesitate to lower her head to her paws. She didn't need to be told twice to relax.

"Thank you," she said with a fond smile, turning her head to nuzzle Kokumo's chest with her nose for a moment. "I owe you one. Next time you need a little doting don't hesitate to come to me."

After that she closed her eyes, her ears twitching from time to time as her tired brain tried to sort out everything that had happened. Jasiri kept coming back to her thoughts and, just before she drifted off, she made a promise to herself to find the male and thank him for what he had done...and possibly pay him back in some way, if he would allow it.

Annchen

Yup, last post! Now we can focus on the other one XD