[SRP] Feisty Lusizi (Baie'mooi, Thulisile) - FIN

[Mogami]

The cold day was grey and not particularly inviting but Baie’mooi smiled as she watched a group of cubs playing in a small puddle. She recognized a few of them as Njalo’s and her smile faltered for an instant. She wasn’t quite sure what to think of them. As children of the former Umholi they were certainly Lusizi… but they were related to the current Umholi who didn’t seem to view them in a negative way so it was a rather complex matter. Their colors were also confusing enough for a lioness who wished she’d been born of a darker color. It was a strangely diverse litter with colors ranging from the darkest brown to the lightest grey. Not that color seemed to matter quite as much anymore… but it was still confusing.




Thulisile had been happily playing for a good while now but she was started to get the strange feeling that someone was watching her. Not knowing who was doing it and even not being sure of that she was being watched made her feel exposed and even a little annoyed but the young girl wasn’t one to give in to such feelings. She moved away from the small group and looked around until she spotted a lioness who was looking right at her and promptly moved closer to the orange adult.

“I’m Thuli. Were you watching me?” she asked somewhat defiantly. It was a blunt question and she expected an honest answer. The young lioness’ weakness was being called a Lusizi and she wanted to confront anyone who would call her that – even if just in thought. And, obviously, because Thuli couldn’t read minds… she ended up confronting a lot of pride members.  

[Mogami]

Baie looked down and then cocked her head at this funny little cub who was glaring at her with her lips pulled forward in strangely adorable pout. She had clearly been too obvious in her observations but this wasn’t a bad outcome as much as an opportunity to get to know one of the new cubs she was so curious about.

“Hello, Thuli. I’m Baie’mooi. And yes, I was watching you.” She didn’t explain herself any further and the amused smirk that appeared on her maw was a good indicator that it would take some prodding to get more words out of her.

-----

Oh, Thuli really disliked that smirk she was seeing in the older lioness. She felt as if she was being judged, belittled and mocked with just one expression and her nose twitched repeatedly, betraying the barely restrained indignation.

“Well, why were you watching me?” she asked after a long pause, doing her best to keep her expression neutral. Still, it was clear the little lioness was fairly annoyed with how the situation was progressing. Her tail twitched irritably. “Why were you watching me?”

-----

“It’s my job to watch you. You and all the other cubs.” Baie said without a hint of hesitation in a rather annoying matter-of-fact way. ”That’s one of the things we do when we’re not hunting, you know?” Her tone was amused and somewhat condescending. Baie was a little impressed by the spunky cub but she was no pushover. She liked pushing buttons and watching the reactions but she had no intention of being bullied by someone whose head barely reached her elbow.

-----

For a tiny fraction of time, there was a snarl on the cub’s maw before Thuli somehow managed to regain her composure. She was pretty upset though and she wasn’t even trying to hide it any more.

“It looked like you were looking at me. At my sister and me. Really looking. Like you were thinking something.” It sounded like an accusation and she’d meant as one. She didn’t like the orange lioness’ expression and hated not knowing what the adult was thinking. Out of habit, she assumed she was being called a few less than friendly names in Baie’s mind. But she couldn’t be sure and that, even more than the judgmental words she often had to endure, really irritated the little blue-eyed cub. It felt as though she couldn't win.  

[Mogami]

Baie saw the sudden crack in the young one’s expression – how could she not? – and instantly regretted giving her a hard time. She could imagine some of the things she could be thinking so it wasn’t long until she felt guilty enough to ease up on the attitude and cease all the cryptic words and expressions. She was no bully, after all.

“Don’t be angry, Thuli. I was just thinking of how much you look like your mother.” She was smiling now, lying though her teeth but for a good cause. “I was remembering what happened yesterday. You and your sister played a little trick on my niece, didn’t you?”

----

Whatever Thuli had expected to hear, this was not it. She relaxed at once and leaned back to sit, a tentative smile gracing her features. Oh… so she wasn’t judging her. She had simply caught in some mischief.

“I don’t remember playing a trick on any cubs yesterday…” She would’ve remembered, too. She was so proud of her little pranks, after all. “Are you sure it was me? And Orabela?” There were no other cubs similar to the two sisters but Thuli didn’t want to break the sudden truce by accusing the lioness of being wrong.

----

“Oh, I’m quite sure. A dark lioness named Buna? She’s my niece even though she’s a little older than me. I believe you tied a good amount of twigs and leaves to her tail while your sister distracted her. Very ingenious.” She had a little smirk now and a very “Gotcha!” expression.

“You seemed really happy while you were tying all that stuff to her tail…” It was a rather cunning little plan though and Baie liked to believe it was something she would’ve pulled off when she’d been younger. “By the way. I’m Baie’mooi. I should’ve given you my name when you introduced yourself before but I was having too much fun teasing you.”

----

Oh… busted! She hadn’t realized someone had seen that little prank she’d played the day before. She was actually happier with this new revelation. She was proud of her pranks and even though she did her best never to get caught, this was proof that the older lioness had a good reason to be watching her.

“How can you be younger than your niece?” she asked in a not-so-subtle attempt at changing the subject. She chuckled at Baie’s last words before repeating her name. “Baie’mooi… it’s pretty.”  

[Mogami]

“Well, Buna’s mother is my older sister so she was born before my mother had her second litter. Did that make sense? Did you understand?” she wasn’t sure if was being clear enough or if the concept itself was too complicated for a young cub to understand.

----

“Of course I understand. I’m not stupid.” Thuli replied quickly even though she was still working out the problem in her head, instantly reverting to her previous confrontational tone as her expression hardened. She looked more adorable than angry but it was clear she didn’t trust the adult completely. Orabela must’ve seen her face because she ran past Thuli at full speed, giving her sister a friendly push as she passed her. Feeling this would be the perfect cue make a somewhat gracious departure, Thuli managed to force a small smile. “I have to go, now! Bye!”

----

“I know you’re not stupid, Thuli SharpTongue. Peace, child.” Baie’mooi said in an obviously appeasing tone, trying to end the conversation on a good note. She was grateful for the little interruption for it gave her a chance to gather her thoughts and consider the best way to approach the cub. For some reason, she knew she wanted to get to know these poor cubs a little better. “Go have fun, then.”

- FIN -