[PRP] This is a normal conversation... not.

[Sasu Berry]

Today was well... typical, of course, for Hisia, whose normal routine consisted of waking up, grabbing a meal, going out and hunting, and returning. Nothing changed. Nothing ever changed. Though she should have felt peeved by her seemingly meticulous schedule, she found herself unable to complain. Everything around her was the same; the same schedule, the same life. She did not feel unsatisfied with her life, she had realized earlier that day, resolving past problems that had often plagued her during the long moons after the earthquake.

Really, she should think about changing her outlook on life. Though she was rather happy, her gaze betrayed her. Maybe that was why she had decided on taking a morning expedition to the edges of the pride to find a meal to bring back later on. Before anyone could spot the lioness, she had disappeared into the misty dawn without a word.

Bad idea, she thought. With a twist of her paw, she slunk into the brush easily, her gaze zeroing in on the prey she had been stalking since she smelled it on the wind. Hisia didn't take her duty as a huntress as seriously as others, but she did do her fair share.

After all, it did take her mind off of things.  

[wooga Paes]

Today would have been a typical day. Like Hisia, the black male's routine usually didn't vary. He'd get up, walk around a bit, hunt, deliver the food, walk around a lot, then do some more walking, then go back to his den once he was tired enough. He'd usually be awake at different times every day, because of this. But that wasn't why today was atypical.

He'd actually got kicked in the face while hunting. Mapatano actually being injured by his own prey hadn't happened in a long time, so, though he'd be fine, he was naturally unhappy about it.

Not that Mapatano was often happy.

He was so distracted in his walking around and bleeding that he hadn't noticed Hisia hunting, which was also atypical, since he'd usually notice everything, and rather unsubtly walked right between her and her prey.  

[Sasu Berry]

At first, Hisia didn't notice Mapatano. The black lion wasn't exactly in her range of sight, so, of course, she just didn't notice him walking in her direction. Her attention remained on her prey, snuffling around and eating grass like a brain dead brute. Everything was coming into place. The beast would stumble briefly into her path, giving the lioness enough time to strike and kill.

But something got in the way.

In fact, something big got in the way, blocking her vision of the animal before she could spring. But it was too late. Her muscles bunched and she jumped, unable to stop herself as she sprung at Mapatano. The prey had escaped long before she jumped, spotting the black coat and knowing what dangers would head in it's direction it if stayed. Hisia didn't know that.

The only coherent thought going through her head was that she was not going to land on her prey, but on another lion, whom she felt the most sorry for.

Well, oops.  

[wooga Paes]

Of course his day was bound to get even weirder. Mapatano had been confident that getting kicked in the face was enough for a day. Of course it would be enough for a day! He was bleeding from his forehead, and all. That should do him in for a month, at least.

But no, of course Mapatano doesn't get a break. And his walking was interrupted by someone suddenly jumping on top of him. That was just lovely. The result was exactly what was supposed to happen when someone suddenly launched onto you; the black male toppled over, landing in a pathetic heap before scrambling away to get on his paws and turning.

He never had trouble telling the triplets apart. It was just who he was, he automatically knew who was who. But nonetheless, when he turned to face his attacker and it turned out to be Hisia, the male froze, falling weakly back on his haunches. He'd managed to smother the urge to say her name.

His first reaction would be to snap and complain, but Mapatano could never be nasty to Nyonda's family, especially not the ones that looked so (painfully) similar.

"...I'm sorry, did I interrupt your hunt, Hisia?"  

[Sasu Berry]

"I'm so sorry!"

Oh Hestia, whoever she crushed, let them be alright! Hisia dug her claws into the ground to balance herself, turning her head in both directions to spot the large black form she had landed on. There! She rose from her spot and stared at the lion, a sense of intense guilt building in her chest. Mapatano.

She had landed on Mapatano. Who was bleeding from his forehead, looking anything but happy, and certainly pained. Hisia resisted the urge to inspect the wound, instead hanging back as he appeared ready to snap. She wondered if the injury was her doing.

Hopefully not.

"Oh, no," she said, shaking her head vigorously as she walked over toward him. "You didn't. Trust me." That was probably the wrong thing to say. Probably. Yet she couldn't help herself.

"Are you alright?"  

[wooga Paes]

Mapatano's ears flattened uncomfortably, because he honestly wasn't mad (couldn't be mad at any of the three, really), but he knew Hisia enough, her being an open book and all, to know she'd probably be very apologetic. And that just made for an even more awkward encounter. "It's fine, it's fine!" He attempted to sound calming, but his voice was just almost fixed on that slightly annoyed, impatient voice of his. Maybe he should practice having a 'friendly' voice.

When she asked if he was alright, though, Tano was quickly reminded of the cut on his forehead, and immediately knew what it must look like to her. "Oh! No, I'm fine, Hisia, just fine." He attempted to offer her a reassuring smile, and it's not that Mapatano couldn't really smile, it's just... In the current situation, it ended up looking like a grin and a grimace's unholy lovechild.

"It's just a small cut! A wildebeest...kicked me earlier." He hated to admit such an embarrassing hunting failure, more likely to occur with less experienced lions, but he'd at least need to let her know it wasn't her fault.  

[Sasu Berry]

Even if Hisia was an open book, she really needed to work on reading everyone else’s expressions. It wasn’t as if she was completely unskilled at it; she chose certain periods to observe (especially around her children) when she felt it was necessary. This, of course, was not one of those periods, and she was left feeling guilty and apprehensive. Though she was more than aware of Mapatano’s past relationship with her sister, she did not know the full extent of how much it meant to Mapatano. This paired with the rather apologetic manner she regarded him with made for a very… awkward situation.

“Oh,” she responded, unable to stop an overwhelming sense of relief from hitting her. At least it had not been her fault, though, it was strange for a experienced hunter like Mapatano to be wounded so easily. “It… happens, I guess?” Hisia offered him a small smile in return, hoping he wouldn’t be too embarrassed by the accident.

“Karma can play a part too,” Unintentionally, she sounded bitter, angry; Hisia realized her mistake too late and held a curse that almost escaped her throat. She didn’t want to sound that way, not in front of Mapatano, and not in front of anyone.  

[wooga Paes]

He frowned slightly. Yeah, it happened. It shouldn't really happen to him, but he was over it. Everyone got hunting injuries sometimes. And he was a little surprised by the comment about karma, not so much about the comment but her tone.

...Still, he could agree with that. "No kidding." He huffed, in a similar tone. Karma. Mapatano wasn't completely sure he believed in such a thing, but sometimes it really made sense to him. In a still unfair way. What if whatever bad things happened to him was actually bad karma coming from his father? But, no, that was a little self centered. Though Tano would always gladly blame his father for several of his issues, plenty of it was a failure of his own character.

That didn't exactly make it any better.

"It seems like the whole pride just has bad luck." Well, things were looking better now. Suddenly, he came to the realization that this could become a rather dark conversation, and decided maybe he should make a feeble attempt at diverting it.

"...Er, how are your kids?" Awkward change of subject, but the black male was actually interested. Hopefully they had less daddy issues than he did.  

[Sasu Berry]

She shouldn't have felt happy that he was agreeing her, but nevertheless, she did, and that fact made her feel an equal amount of guilt and sorrow. Mapatano did not have to agree with her pity party, she thought, because all that did was make her feel like the idiot (or, at least, in her mind). One thing Hisia vowed to do since the earthquake was to remain happy and upbeat as best as she could. Well, that went out the den, didn't it?

Hey, that vow did go out the den as soon as she remembered Msiba, so...

Hisia never caught the subtle change in subject. Too busy caught up in her own thoughts to notice, she let out a weak laugh, attempting to divert her realization from the suddenly dark turn this conversation could have taken. "They're... good, I suppose," she frequently wondered if Naamini and Kamau did know of their heritage. Both were very smart, capable of finding the truth when it eluded them.

"I wish the others wouldn't act wary around them," she admitted quietly, "they aren't their father." Far from it, Hisia added in her mind. Her children grew to be fine additions to the pride; she would never deny that.

"So, uh... how have you been, recently?"