Dina could hardly believe it, the vote had been cast and they had decided to move as a group to what would have hopefully been a better destination. The lioness couldn’t help but feel some small fraction of satisfaction to the idea, as she had been part of the majority to cast her lot in with the group that had decided it best to pick up and cut their losses. In her eyes, that was the best decision for the pride, and look where it got them! There was actually prey to be had, and small ponds of water to enjoy. The trip had been a success to the painted lioness, but the consequences had not been lost on her. After all, it was always difficult to lose a pride member, and this trip they had lost two; a cub and an older female.When she thought about it, Dina couldn’t help but check a portion of her mind that screamed: that could have been you! Or worse, What if Mimo had perished? Luckily, none of those things had come true. That’s not to say she didn’t still feel the loss of her pride mates due to the traveling, but she was selfish in the way that she was grateful no harm had come to her or her kin. It was now, as she was reflecting on these ideas, that Dina sought the solace of a cluster of dust coated rocks, where shade could be offered away from the early morning sun. She hadn’t traveled far, having gotten onto Mimo for the very same behavior not but a few days before the pride had to decided to move. Regardless, the older lioness felt as though it were a fair distance away from the pride and those she had come to call friends, in need of some time to reflect on their current situation. Others, she wasn’t as close to, but even then she considered that lack of communication rather than a general dislike of anyone in particular.
Having stared at the large cluster of rocks for far too long, the lioness scowled at their height and mentally berated them for being as troublesomely out of reach as they were. It wouldn’t be too much of a problem to get to the top, but for all she was worth Dina simply couldn’t muster up the nerve to go wasting her energy on climbing boulders. For as nice as this place was compared to their old home, it would be fool-hearty to think they could go off like rambunctious cubs all the time. The land simply didn’t have enough resources to support a pride of wastefully energetic lions. That or she was beginning to feel her age more as the years crept on, but Dina stubbornly pushed that thought back. She was still close to her prime years, though granted further up than she would have liked, and clung to the idea that only rickety old bone bags should be considered ‘elderly’. Perhaps also, that was one of the more prominent reasons she worried and fussed over Mimo like she did, feeling as though she needed to relay all this information as quickly as possible. Even if she had stuff it into every crevice of her daughter’s mind even if Mimo was kicking and screaming about it. There was no doubt for Dina when it came to taking care of her daughter, she was right, and eventually Mimo would just have to see her side of the argument.
With an agitated flick of her tail, and a glare that could send even the most stubborn of scavengers thinking twice, Dina finally gave in to the morning heat. As much as she wanted to sprawl out on the tops of those rocks, she decided that it would be a much better use of her time and energy to simply lay beneath them under the shade they offered.
After a good matter of moment Dina found herself sprawled out under the fairly comely assortment of cool dusty dirt and refreshingly chilly undersides of the rock formation. All things considered, this was possibly the better option of the two she could have chosen, thinking of how high the sun would have gotten all too quickly. It wasn’t like Dina to consider an option more than once anyhow, often sticking to a decision as soon as it’s made. Granted, a good deal of thought is always a nice addition before making such decisive actions.
Feeling all to fed up with the current situation of the pride, and having felt her own mortality on the trip here with how slow and hot it had been, the lioness was all too ready for a change. Not just moving to this new area, but something else that stirred itself just under her hide and made her want to dig her claws into the earth. Something restless clawed its way from the depths of her being, struggling to be set free while remaining just far enough buried to where Dina hadn’t a clue what it meant. It was all very frustrating to the grown female.
With her mood dwindling down thanks to the lack of proper feeding and watering thanks to the drought, Dina lowered her chin onto her paws and stared out at the open savannah. It would take some time to get to know the land, and to understand how the prey beasts moved in this area, but the lioness remained adamantly certain that this had been the right thing to do. For if they had stayed in place, who knows what the cost would have been? Starvation and death for certain, but at least this place offered a little more of a promise to rain. Though she was in no means callus when it came to thinking of the loss of life they had suffered, and so she resulted to leave those members to mourn without interruption on her part. That may even be one of the reasons she had snuck off to be by herself, even if it was within visual distance of the pride, no more than a few leaps and bounds from the furthest member out. With a deep sigh the lioness thought back on their journey here, remembering when times had been tough even for her to keep up with the group, and completely dislodging the idea that she was growing older with a stubborn huff.
