A leisurely dinner [ Chilali x Mlinzi ]

[Schicksalswende]

Chilali was, for once, lesurely eating a wayward young Zebra that she'd chased. It had been clear that it was simply wandering lost in this seemingly barren landscape. So, that had been the best oppurtunity for the leopardess. It may have, perhaps, been the best oppurtunity in her life. Even though it seemed like no one else was around in the deadened land, old habits still popped up. The monochromatic leopard couldn't help but check around, every now and again. Sniff the air a bit, listen to the wind, and if everything was okay, Chilali would resume eating; and process would repeat itself all over again. It was almost nightfall, and that was also a blessing as much as a curse, when food was involved. She loosely knew there was a Pride on the lands and it was still risky to be this leisurely with her hard won food. Hopefully if a lion did encounter her, there wouldn't be a food fight. As well fit as Chilali was, she preferred to settle with words. Fighting was always a last resort, which sometimes, unfortunately, became the only option with some.

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

"Ugh" The day hadn't been a very good one for the sickly male. Not only had he been out in the rain all night the night before, now he was up with the chickens. His joints screaming in agony at his every move. OK Perhaps rain hadn't been his best time to go looking for that ... temptress ... but at least he'd succeeded! Though, how much more he trusted her was beyond his comprehension. He would need to sleep on it, for a while. In the meantime, he couldn't exactly stop Mezlijin from seeing her, he would just try to keep him more occupied. Good ole' Mez was always up for a good chore run, good ole' dedicated Mez ...

Speaking of which, where was he this fine day? He hadn't been back at the dens, and his scent was nowhere to be found! That alone had given away his most obvious location - he had gone off in search of her once more, taking along a few of Mlinzi's herbs as well.

Now here he was, along the borders once more doing a job he was highly incapable of doing. Perhaps Mez would come seek him out - but in the process his nose would have to be his guide. And we all know how well that works out ..

He knew his sense of direction was terrible, he also knew he had a bum nose! But his paws? Oh they were wonderful for this type of thing, certain herbs only grew in specific soil types, and his paws could easily tell the soils apart.

Taking a step further, his white paw took a sudden sip into something warm and slimy. Immediately he knew something wasn't right, lifting his paw to his nose he took a whiff. A fresh kill. That meant someone was nearby, but who would be way out here hunting? Obviously the only way he was going to find out was to follow the scent of the blood, however stupid it may be.

The trail seemed never ending, but soon he got an idea of what he was dealing with. It was a feline of some sort, though not lion. The scent wasn't very musky so he could only assume it wasn't a male. Though with his nose, nothing was every really certain. The more he limped, the stronger the feline scent became, until he seemed to be drowning in the scent. It was obvious he'd found his hunter.

"Well it seems like i've found you afterall" He smiled faintly to himself as he waited for someone to acknowledge his presence. "Might I ask what you're doing hunting so far away from the pride? Is the meat not so fresh there?" He giggled at his own little joke, knowing darn well that all the prey within the pride always seemed to taste a little off when compared to the one's on the borders. Of course, he had no way of knowing who he was talking to. He had just decided she must be from the pride.

Schicksalswende

 

[Schicksalswende]

Chilali had fallen into the bad habit quickly enough, and didn't hear or smell the lion that had come upon her. Then again, it was sort of hard to keep a nose out for others, when your own is coated in blood. Her body had stiffened as she'd licked her pink nose clean. Sniffing the air for a second or two, the leopardess could tell that her newfound ' company ', was a lion before she even turned around to take a look. Even when she had slowly craned her head around and looked over her shoulder, Chilali still had some meat in her mouth. She'd never seen a pale pelted lion before and ..certainly had never come across any other that mistook her for another. Obviously, there had to be something wrong with his senses. Or.. was this a strange way of flirting. She didn't really know, but chewed her food silently.

" ..I think you need to fix your nose. "

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

" HA! I think you could be on to something there my dear! But I do believe my nose is beyond saving. Thank you for your concern though." Dipping his head in her direction he tried to discover her identity from smell alone, but as he did so her words began to make more sense.

"O-Oh, my apologies I think i've made a mistake. Are you not of the Kitwana?" His head fell in slight defeat as he realized the likelyhood of that being the case.

"Yes, definitely a mistake on my part. I'm sorry to have bothered you, please continue your meal in peace, i'll leave you be." Nodding his head once more, the male turned on his paw in effort to leave. "Enjoy your dinner madam."

Schicksalswende

 

[Schicksalswende]

Well, that had affirmed Chilali's knowledge that there had been a Pride nearby. Although.. she hadn't really counted on it being that close. Then again, she should've figured. At the very least he had seemed polite and apologized for his mistake. Why he did so, she couldn't quite figure out. The monochromatic leopardess had never been mistaken for a Pridal member before. So, that was an interesting first. The fact that the lion was leaving was intriguing enough. Didn't lions usually try to steal meals, whether they were hungry or not? Obviously, this one was different.

" Are you looking for someone? Or.. I guess I should be saying, trying to ' sniff ' them out? "

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

Mlinzi perked his ears at the female's words, and changed his position to face her once more. He was slightly confused by her sudden interest, but at the same time, he was embarrassed. All too often his weakness came out for the world to see, wasn't it time for him to not have it noticed? It gave off the impression that he was a weakling, when in reality he was far, FAR from that.

He shook his head slowly, sort of worn out from the walking he'd been doing. The pain in his joints wasn't helping the problem either. "No, I was simply passing through. I stepped in a pool of blood a while back and thought you might be a pride member. That's all. I hope I didn't bother you too much. I'm blind, so I only have my terrible sense of smell to take me places. As you can see, it isn't exactly the most accurate sense I have." The male laughed dully at his own joke, hoping to lighten the awkward situation between the two of them.

Schicksalswende

 

[Schicksalswende]

Well, that had certainly cleared things up. The lion was actually blind and had a semi working sniffer. Well, this was interesting. He hadn't seemed weak, nor did he seem to rely on others to get around. Chilali had heard that some blind individuals chose to rely on others to help them get around. Or just stayed to one spot, and let everyone else do everything for them. The leopardess had heard just the same about individuals that were sensitive to light. But that was an entirely different case, that she's always wondered about. If Albinos couldn't come out during the day, did they come out at night? Hm, this would have to warrant some sort of investigation at some point.

Chilali rolled her gray striped shoulder in s shrug, " You didn't bother me much. You'd be a bother if you had tried to steal my food. I knew there was a Pride nearby, but.. I hadn't known that I was so close to it. " A light laugh escaped her, after hearing the remark the lion had made about his nose. " Despite your lack of sight and semi broken nose, you seem like a strong fellow. "

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

Mlinzi let out a small sigh of relief, at least he hadn't bothered her during her dinner. He knew how annoying it could be to try and eat, only to be driven crazy during the entire process. His memories brought a smile to his face, and made him a little more comfortable with speaking with the female. Though he would have to be careful not to be too much of a bother. If she ever gave him a signal that he was indeed getting on her nerves, he would be up and gone.

"I'm glad to hear that, as its the last thing i'd want to do to such a nice lady like yourself." He paused for a moment taking in the pride talk, "Oh no, you aren't that close at all. We're a pretty secluded pride so we have an inner sanctum and then this area, we call it our borders. We ave many rogues come through here, so i'm not quite sure why I assumed you were a pride member." Though he knew it was because of her choice to eat here, he wouldn't mention it. If others didn't know of the details of his pride, he wouldn't go into them. Her meal would in no way harm her, so there was no ill intent involved.

"I assure you I will not try to steal your food, I prefer herbs anyway." He shrugged a bit at the mental image of a lion eating herbs, but that was his way. It always had been, and likely always would be. Though a nibble of meat every once in a while had never hurt him before.

"Ah then you're eyes may deceiving you, I may look like a big, rough and tumble fellow.... Do I? I've never known how I look -" Chuckling at his own loss of thought, Mlinzi carried on, "But i'm actually quite the teddy bear."

Schicksalswende

 

[Schicksalswende]

Even though the lion couldn't see her, Chilali still made nodding gestures here or there, to acknowledge what Mlinzi had been saying. Which was silly to her, but it was a reflex, too. And everybody knew that old habits died hard. Perhaps even though he couldn't see her making those indications of body language, but maybe he would hear them. It seemed like a sound train of thought, even as she listened to the lion's words. Chilali didn't have much knowledge on how Prides worked, since they were for Lions and.. she was no lion. Seemed like Prides were always secretive anyhow, just as this one seemed to be. Everyone has that right though, supposedly.

She wouldn't ever say it, but it did seem odd for a predator to eat only greens. To each their own, though. She had no right to say anything, which is why she just kept it to herself. Perhaps, that was just the food he was raised on. Or.. some other reason that she wouldn't know of.

" Well, I didn't quite mean that upon looks alone. "

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

Schicksalswende

He could tell, that though the female next to him remained silent, she was sticking to a rather old habit of nodding. Not only could he hear a slight shift in her movements, but the air around her changed as she moved. It was slight, but he could still tell, the sense was extremely strong when he was still, much like he was now.

"Oh? Well how exactly did you mean it then?' He laughed smoothly, and purred slightly. He wasn't sure whether the female was trying to come on to him, or if she was just making a comment, but either way he could accept it. Why wouldn't he? He was a male after all.

"I'm sorry my dear, I don't think we've exchanged names quite yet. How rude of me, I am Pumbaa'Mlinzi." Placing his paw gently on his chest, he then extended it toward the female hoping she would offer her own in exchange.

 

[Schicksalswende]

Chilali wasn't much for sharing her name, unless someone offered first. She'd been called rude before, because of it. Which always confused her, considering the other was the rude one in that situation. Besides, she had full right not to say it. But this was different, considering her company right now. He seemed quite polite, and that was refreshing. She'd come across a good few lions that were..rather crass. While the leopardess wasn't the most proper of females, she could, if she wanted to, be just as crude as any other male. " It is nice to meet you, I am Chilali. And as for my earlier comment, I meant ' strength ' in an abract notion. Despite your blindness, you are just as active as I or anyone else is. I have heard of others whom let their family or friends do everything for them. "

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

Schicksalswende

"Chilali huh? That sounds like a very exotic name, almost fragrant in a way~ The letters sort of roll off the tongue don't they? Unlike mine, you may shorten it if you'd prefer." He smiled contemplatively, wondering whether now was a new chance to add another nickname to his collection. Though he doubted it would be, this female, she didn't seem like much of a talker. One of those 'say what you've gotta say and be done with it' type of girls. Which was fine of course, he could respect that, though it definitely clashed against his jibber jabbering personality.

"Ah you're right there! I don't allow others to look after me, though I have no doubts that others would do so. I guess i'm too full of pride for my own good ... in a very literal sense ..." The male's voice began to trail off as he contemplated her words, no one had ever mentioned having another take care of him before. Though it was a constant thought on his mind.

Coming back to reality he noticed the deafening silence between them. "Oh! I'm sorry, I don't mean to bore you with my every thought, please feel free to cut me off if my jabbering bothers you. Heck, you could probably even leave, and i'd never even know." Mlinzi snorted slightly at the comment, wondering just how true that was. Chilali was quite a silent lioness, with that type of award winning silence, she probably could leave unnoticed.

 

[Schicksalswende]

Chilali chuckled a bit, and she couldn't help it, really. Of all the lines ever used on her, the leopardess hadn't heard that one before. Sure, her name might sound exotic, but certainly not, when compared to others. But then again, ' exotic ' was something depending upon the person. Perhaps to the names that the blind lion was used to, it truly was foreign to him. She wasn't much of a talker, and more of a listener. That's just how she'd always been. It never really crossed her mind that her silence ever bothered anyone, whether they were talkers or not. From Mlinzi's behaivour though, with all the jokes he was making, it seemed as though her demeanor was. " It's hard to really bother me, so don't worry, you're fine. "

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

He couldn't say ti was much of a surprise to hear her make that comment. He didn't get an impatient vibe from her at all. She was definitely laid back and mellow to an extent. His random intrusion was more than proof of those thoughts.

"Well in that case, Chilali I think I may stay a while. I have to admit your defining silence is a pretty attractive trait right now. It gives me a slight escape from the chaos of my work within my pride." He offered a large toothy grin to her in thanks for her company, "I hope that's an agreeable term to you. I'd really like to get to know you a bit better.."

Schicksalswende

We can end it whenever you'd like, just let me know C:

 

[Schicksalswende]

Depawsit

I think that we could end it on my post. :3

Not that Mlinzi could see it, but the leopardess returned his smile whilst taking a bite from her meal. Although, for Chilali, it was more of a smirk than a full blown smile. She'd done that before, and almost choked that time. Another time, she'd been chewing and some food feel out of her mouth. Needles to say, she was a little embarrassed, but was glad no one else had been around. It a was a little comforting to have another around, especially someone who wasn't interested in stealing her food. If Chilali heard the lions' stomach growl, though, she'd most certainly offer him something to eat. " I'm glad that I can oblige you with some well needed relaxation, Mlinzi and I would enjoy your further companionship. I'll sharee something about myself, if you do the same. "