Characters: Kimondo & Liuhe (both early adol)
Word Count: 1177
Kimondo's parents were always going on about the buddy system, how there should always be someone they trust with them at all times.. But Kimondo found herself alone quite often, though not always unintentionally. It was not so much that she was too trusting, it was more that she was outgoing.. and she wanted to believe the world was not so bad. The older she got, the harder it was to stop her.
She was on her own by the watering hole- where there were many other lions, truthfully- staring intently at the water's surface as she gently touched a paw to it when she was noticed by a fiery haired young lion.
Like Kimondo, Liuhe was not exactly encouraged to go off on his own.. but who was going to argue with the eldest prince? Besides, he could handle himself.
It was only by chance that he came to the watering hole, he hadn't really made a plan when he wandered away. But he liked it here, he often enjoyed being social. When he noticed a young lioness, about the same age as him, just staring at the water's edge.. he became curious. Soon he was looming over her shoulder, looking curiously at the ripples she made.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
Kimondo started and turned around, nearly hitting Liuhe's head with her own in the process. She was surprised to be sitting only inches away from the prince, she'd never seen any of the royal family this close up. Not unless you counted Umepatwa, Ndogo, or the parts of it her grandmother was related to.
"Nothing!" she answered instinctively, stepping back.
"I was just asking," he said with a shrug, though somewhat put off by her reaction.
"You're Liuhe," she said.
The prince paused and then nodded.
"Yup. Who are you?"
"Kimondo," she replied, staring intently, "We were born on the same night, you know."
"What?"
Liuhe tilted his head and made a face. It was an odd thing to say, never mind having it follow an introduction.
"Is that why you're called Kimondo?" he asked after a pause, "The stars travelled through the sky to welcome me and my brothers and sisters, why would they name you like that?"
There was no malice in his voice, only sincere curiosity. He'd always been told the stars fell for him, it was generous to include his siblings. Never had he entertained the idea that there might have been other things going on that night, other cubs born.
"I dunno," she answered honestly, "I had nothing to do with it."
Well, except being given the name.
"Weird," Liuhe mumbled. Could she be lying? It seemed much easier a solution than thinking about it, it was curious but more thinking than he typically liked. But why would she lie? Shooting stars were good luck, it was a perfectly ordinary name in that way.
In the end, he decided it didn't matter much.
"So, you're a lady," he said, and was surprised when she shook her head.
"I'm not, I'm going to be a huntress," she corrected him with a smile, seeing the doubt in his eyes.
"Why?"
"Why not? I want to help," she said brightly, "Don't you? You'll be king someday, right?"
Liuhe made a face but nodded.
"Well, yeah," he agreed, "But why work if you don't have to? Even you can let everybody else do the hunting and the patrols and all that, then you can do whatever you want. That sounds way better."
Kimondo thought about it. Not what Liuhe proposed but what she thought about their future king thinking that. It wasn't that surprising, and based on her history lessons (and his age).. he probably wouldn't be king for long. Or until a distant future that was hard to imagine now.
"I want to hunt," she said simply, glancing up and the sky and trying to think up a way out of this conversation. Had she said too much? Was she supposed to talk to Shangyue's heir at all?
"But why?" the prince demanded, "There are an awful lot of hunters, even if nobody in the high class hunted, we'd be fine. If they ever need help, that's what slaves are for."
His mother liked to encourage (nag) him to keep busy, to find something to work at.. But following around his father wasn't work the same way hunting was. Not even the same way patrolling was. He didn't hear anything wrong with his logic at all, but Kimondo did.
"I guess it's just how my family is," she answered carefully, wondering if she could win an argument about this with a spoiled prince, "I wouldn't know what to do with my time if I didn't hunt. How do you keep busy?"
Making it about herself and avoiding the remark about slaves seemed most appropriate.. And turning the topic back to him seemed the most likely to keep it cheerful.
"Uhhh.."
Liuhe didn't have an immediate answer. He didn't have just one thing he did a lot, he did whatever seemed fun, interesting or necessary at the time.
"Whatever I want," he said with a shrug, "That's how I ended up here, and that's not so bad."
Kimondo blinked, surprised that he seemed pleased enough with their conversation that he actually said it wasn't so bad. Even more surprising was the thought that she actually agreed. For all the secretive behaviour in her family, for all that she knew of the rebellion and what she had been taught of the usurper king and his family.. Liuhe didn't seem bad at all.
"I suppose you're right," she said finally, "But I still ended up here, too, even with a job to do."
She smiled.
Liuhe was out of arguments. He knew stomping his feet and insisting wouldn't work, even if she hadn't really changed his opinion much. So he decided to brush her off as a curiosity, with a smile of his own. She was fascinating. He wondered how many of the other lions around the watering hole were worth talking to.
As his gaze wandered, Kimondo's eyes went up to the sky and back before she cleared her throat.
"I should get going," she said, hoping to make her getaway, "I have hunting practice soon."
Liuhe's eyes came back to Kimondo and he nodded, but he didn't say anything else. The young lioness returned the nod and mumbled a farewell, not actually getting out any coherent words but feeling that it might be rude not to make an effort when talking to a prince.
When she turned to leave, the prince looked back to the other pride members in the area, already pushing his new acquaintance from his mind and focusing on finding his next target. Maybe this would satisfy his mother, he ought to be familiar with his people and now he knew it could be at least mildly interesting.
Kimondo waited until she was (hopefully) out of earshot to breathe a sigh of relief and make a run for it.
Fin.
