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Hawnu trudged through the forest with his kill on his back, a small antelope that had gotten separated from the herd outside the forest. His paws made no sound as he moved fluidly through the foliage, the blue lights shining on his dark fur, making his markings stand out and blend in to the surroundings at the same time. He was a shadow, golden eyes the the only odd color on him, but those he kept half closed. Hawnu had been trained to be a skilled hunter and warrior, and he used those lessons at every turn.

He froze when he caught the scent of another lion. A few sniffs let him know it wasn't an intruder, and that she was alone. He moved forward once again, spotting her by a little stream. "I see you, sister," he said to announce his presence, bowing his head as his mother had taught him to do to all females. Some prides didn't respect the other gender and he found that disgraceful. As he approached he felt his face flush slightly as it did whenever he was around a pretty lioness, and he cleared his throat just a bit before stopping a few paces from her.

Hawnu, large for a male, has assumed as he had grown up that he would have no weaknesses. He was smart, strong, fast, deadly...nothing could beat him! Until he hit his adolescences and his mane began to fill in. Then he knew what his weakness was. Females, particularly very sweet and pretty ones. His brain would shut down and he'd look like a fool standing there, and he had been giggled at more than once during those awkward months. Now he was an adult and, while still plagued with that awful tendency to freeze up, could force himself to make polite, if awkward, conversation.

He nodded in return as the female gave the kill a proper thank you. He had done the same of course, but it was always good to give thanks whenever possible. The offer made him clear his throat and nod again as he tried to get his voice to work once more.

"Thank you, sister, but it is quite light. You are more than welcome to accompany me back to the pride if you wish. This is to be the first solid meal for some of the cubs in the pride...it's always entertaining to see them try to eat," he said with a tiny grin, hoping she'd take the offer to walk with him, if not to help carry the dead creature. "I'm afraid I have misplaced your name," he added, bowing his head in apology. "I see so many faces and am introduced to many new lions that the names and faces jumble together."

Hawnu began to walk once the lioness was beside him, repeating in his mind over and over to keep cool, play it off like its nothing, you can do it. He listened to her speak and, when realization dawned, he felt a lot better about forgetting her name.

"Ah...you've recently joined, then," he said, relaxing just a bit. That information alone let his mind calm down. She didn't know him, didn't know his relation to the leaders of the pride...and that in itself was a blessing. He felt as though he had to be perfect at every turn, or else disgrace his family name. Now he had a bit of wiggle room to mess up and trip over his words.

"Hawnu," he said once she asked for his name. "It's an honor to meet you, and welcome to the Na'vi. What made you decide to come to us? And how long have you been here?"

He had thought the pink stripes on her back a bit out of place. There were other colors on pelts here than blue and black, of course, but they were generally on rouges that had come to live in peace with them, or their offspring. Generally after a few generations the odd colors were lost, though, and the whites and blacks and cool colors were dominant.

Hawnu nodded slightly as Lana mentioned how long she'd been here. That was hardly anything at all, maybe enough for a cub to grow a bit of a mane, but that was it. He wasn't surprised that he hadn't met her yet: ever since his mane filled out, he was an active soldier and hunter for his pride, on top of keeping up with his royal family.

The question made his ears press back against his head for just a moment. She hadn't asked him his rank, just that he had lived here his whole life. Lying was something he would never do, and while it really wasn't an issue for newcomers to know his royal bloodline, he did get tired of the stiff postures and measured way of speaking around him.

"Yes, born and raised," he said, finally answering her question. "As are my brothers and sisters. Seven of us in total," he added, smiling just a bit. It had been a huge litter for the royals and everyone had been very pleased by it, sensing the Great Mother had blessed them with so much joy and chances to further the numbers in their pride.

Hawnu nodded slightly in agreement. His family was, even with all this trouble concerning his parents as of late. They had grown children to lean on when the time called for it, though, so there was nothing to fear now that all his brothers and sisters could look after themselves and not worry about when their next meal would come.

"When I was younger it seemed like it was," he said with a tiny smile. "I was the youngest of the boys, so of course I was teased and picked on the most. And now I'm bigger than all of them, so I thank them when I can for toughening me up at a young age," he added with a quiet laugh. "But now that we've grown we work together like a large team, helping one another when we need it, so it's turned into something wonderful."

He had heard stories of families that all turned on one another once they were older, fighting over who had the right to lead the pride or be in charge of this, that, and the other thing. With them there had been no squabbling like that. There was too much love in this whole pride for something as silly as that.

"Here we are," he added softly as he paused outside the den area. He slid the kill off his back and murmured one final prayer, that the food offered here would help the cubs that ate it grow big and strong and swift and smart, before backing away. "The mothers will do the rest."