[PRP] New friends

[Lisirra]

((Okay so I don't know how Laini and Safiya would meet, so I left it pretty vague. *shrug*))

Safiya knew Muroki was going to bring at least two other lionesses with them on their journey, but she hadn't met either of them yet. She was so excited, though - as nice as Muroki was as a friend, he was a male. A friendship with a male was so much different than with a female. She sincerely wished the two lionesses Muroki had spoken about would be nice, and that they would like her...oh, she hoped so much that they would.

 

[Asparegus]

Laini had always been rather ...cold and emotional-less on the outside towards others she did not know, keeping emotions inward. And she was more so on the outside after losing her boy. But Laini had the random need for interaction. However, Muroki was busy with "his woman" as Laini termed Johari, so her other choice was this mysterious other lioness who was to be travelling with them.

Might as well get the hard part over with, right? She went out searching the other and finding a white lioness in a green-gold savanna wasn't hard. "Hi, my name's Laini'Ukungo," she said bluntly. "Just call me Laini, though."  

[Lisirra]

"I'm Safiya," the white lioness said cheerfully, happy to be approached for once. "It's so nice to meet you, Laini! Muroki told me about you." She tried keeping her excitement scaled down - she wanted to make a good impression, and not scare her off immediately with her big mouth.

"So you lived in this pride called Unity Walkers, is that correct?" Safi thought she remembered something about that. "Was it nice there? Are you excited about going on this journey to Muroki's pridelands?" Oh, so many questions she wanted to ask; it was hard to keep her curiosity contained.  

[Asparegus]

Laini nodded blankly. She didn't know this was how the lioness was normally, happily and bubbly. She guessed that Muroki had told Safiya something along the lines of how moody Laini was. "The Unity Walkers was a nice place although I cannot compare it to other prides as it is the only one I have lived in. However compared to the outside, it is comfortable if not as devoid of interaction unless one purposely goes seeking it." She hadn't really met anyone except for Muroki and Mteule while she had been there.

"Yes, I'm rather excited about this journey to his homeland." she said with a smile. Truth be told, she was going because she had nothing to do with her life and Muroki was her only friend, and her best friend. Like a brother to her. So it felt only natural to her to go with him. Although she was quite looking forward to teasing Muroki and Johari about each other. She hadn't a very good idea that they had already confessed to each other. Laini was in no way shape or form an expert on it. She had never been in love nor with the conscious desire to.

"So what brought you here to us?" she asked, friendly.  

[Lisirra]

Oh, good. Laini seemed to be pleasant enough. Safiya was happy to carry on the conversation in her cheery tone.

"I'm excited to go as well. Muroki invited me when we ran into each other near the Unity Walkers. I had been there simply by chance, just...squandering my life, really...nothing to do. No family or friends. But then Muroki comes along, tells me about how he and some of his friends are going to try and reclaim his pridelands...and now here I am." Safiya beamed, proud and happy. "He is a good lion, and I'm very grateful to be invited."

Safiya paused, wanting to ask further, and yet still sensing walls that made her hesitate to make any more friendly overtures.  

[Asparegus]

Laini nodded and mused to herself. Muroki seemed to have an affinity for making female friends and a disability for making male ones. She pondered over the issue a bit but not much. There were very little facts that she had.

"So here you are," she agreed with a nod. Laini rolled over a collection of things to say trying to pick the right thing. Muroki and she had once gotten into a fight over it, when they had first met, about the importance of conversation. She still maintained that it was important and that a conversation could easily be killed by ill-chosen words. "So then this journey to reclaim Muroki's pridelands must be a way to make a life for yourself?" It wasn't an insult but a curious question in hopes to carry the conversation forward and to a satisfactory end, when the time for such an end came and only then.  

[Lisirra]

Safiya looked at Laini with a smile of pleasant surprise. The teal lioness had gotten it just right. Happy with being understood, Safi nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "Yes, that is my hope. To have a new life." There were so many things she was looking forward to: learning about her new home, living in a pride, having friends..having a family.

"Do you have any family?" Safi asked, suddenly curious. "I don't. That's part of the reason I wanted to come. Being in a pride is sort of like being in a family, right?"  

[Asparegus]

Laini flinched at her question. Family. It echoed through her mind like out of a horror film. She did... no she had had a family. But family had a way of escaping from her. And now she had none. No immediate family. She had an uncle out there... somewhere... She had met him once. He had been incredibly foolish and she was sure he still was. Back then, he had been keeping a little juvenile girl safe. Laini had gone hunting with the girl, gotten separated, and had found her way here. Hadn't seen either since.

"Once upon a time," she answered finally, trying to appear cool about it. It wasn't something she liked to talk about. "This is my family now."  

[Lisirra]

Safiya nodded her understand and sympathized with the other lioness. "I suppose I also had a family once upon a time," she said, liking the phrasing that Laini used. "I mean, one must have parents, right? I used to wonder what happened to mine. Sometimes I still think about whether or not I have siblings out there in the world. But even if I did, how would I know?" Safiya laughed, despite the unhappy topic.

Safiya had a sense about what others were feeling; she could tell this conversation was not bringing about good emotions for the other lioness. Attempting to change the subject, she asked, "So how much do you know about Muroki's old pride? Their customs and such? I want to get to know the rules very well so that when we get there, I can do the right things. Has he told you much? Perhaps I should just bug him about it." Safiya smiled, friendly.  

[Asparegus]

Laini was glad for a topic change however she couldn't offer much for this one either. "I actually don't know much about his old pride except that this is his second time trying ...and last time the girl who was to be his mate vanished. We'll probably have to bug him," she agreed, including herself in the statement.  

[Lisirra]

Safiya frowned at that. She didn't know his mate had vanished - his first one, that is. She knew he liked Johari now, from the way he had called her "my Johari." Safi had always wondered why Muroki had seemed down; now she knew a little more.

"Oh, yes, let's go do that!" Safiya exclaimed. "We can go ask Muroki and get him to tell us all about his old pride, that way we both can know. Wouldn't that be neat? I'd like very much to know about it."  

[Asparegus]

Laini nodded although her enthusiasm wasn't as evident as Safiya's. "Yes, let's! And maybe we can find out what sort of job we can do while we're there."

She started off in his direction, expecting Safiya to follow close after, and paused to think out loud. "I wonder how many more lions other than Muroki are of the Dawnwalkers, if there are any others still alive."

((had to set it up for dramatic irony xDDD ))