- Canicus had been able to keep much of his past follies off of his mind with the high tension that seemed to fill the pride lately. War had been declared, and with it he hadn't had much time for anything besides training. He still felt useless with the mysterious Nergui threat looming over the lands, every day he wished to strengthen himself. But there in lay the problem; he'd never considered himself stupid, but he was by no means a genius. Some days he felt like his physical strength alone was not enough, and other days he felt fine with himself.
He'd just finished a long session of sparring in the pits, and was letting himself walk slowly through the sandy lands so that he may cool down.
Moja did her best to not let the thoughts of war and battle weigh too heavily on her mind, but with her only blood relative in the pride, her grandson, being a solider, sometimes she did worry. Thankfully, her position as a nanny did distract her, and quite effectively. Due to her duties she hardly had time for anything else. That didn't keep her from still wanting more, though. Despite her long time spent among the Firekin, she had yet to find a mate. Or even any male willing to put up with her long enough to give her children. Sure, she'd had a little bit of interest here and there… Maybe it was her rogue lineage that turned males off… Though she'd heard from a mother or two who dropped their cubs off for nannying that it wasn't really that much of a drawback. With the close relation many lions had in the pride, rogue blood for the sake of diversifying the pride and preventing inbreeding was supposed to be a good thing.
With her wards picked up for the day and other nannies now beginning their shifts, Moja could head home. However, today she couldn't stand heading back to an empty den alone. She chose instead to wander. Maybe she'd find a friend or pride member to converse with and that would take her mind off of cubs for another day.
- He had never been the most social of lions, even more so after his last... slip up. He'd been very pained at having almost partnered with a close relation, though he'd not realized for a long time. There hadn't been any way of knowing this at first, she'd been of the rogues and accepted into the lands... He shook his head. He didn't want to think about it, it filled his stomach with bile and made his brain ache.
Often when his mind wandered to the topic, even briefly, he found himself lost in it. So he didn't realize when he came upon Moja at first, otherwise he probably would have tried to avoid her. He'd heard a few things about the lioness, but mainly tried not to listen to gossip. It was more of the who having to be social aspect. "Good day Moja." He called anyhow, ever the polite lion.
Moja squinted her bright green eyes. Was that… "Canicus! Hello." She bobbed her head politely. Her grandson had also had a brief stint as a Hunter after he joined the Firekin with the Hongshan. With some knowledge of hunters from that and having been in the pride so long, she recognized the lone male. Without any hurry in her step, she made her way closer to him. "How are you today?"
If he expressed any destination he had to get to or was in any rush, she'd let him be on his way, but if they were both just wandering aimlessly, why not wander together?
- He would not be a hunter all of his life, especially now with the threat. It was more than just a threat to their pride, and that bothered Canicus. One day he would climb the ranks and become battlemaster. But as things were... he still was not good enough.
"As well as can be." He said, his words short but his tone calm. He was not surprised when she began to walk along side him, and since he didn't have anywhere to be he didn't mind. "Sparring." Which was common place with firekin, but even more so now. "And how are you Moja?" If he remembered correctly, she was a nanny of the pride. "Are the young behaving these days?" A slight smile touched the corner of his maw. Most youths did not behave, but that was natural.
Moja's usually sedated and glad nature fell away for a moment when she nodded. True, it was uncommon for any Firekin to be doing very well given the current climate of the pride. Moja nodded. She'd never been sparring before, but it was quite the past time for other pride members. It just wasn't the sort of thing she could see herself getting into, and that was just another part of Moja that made her better suited for the tender job of nannying.
"Aah," a sigh left Moja and her eyes got wide as though she was having some sort of post-traumatic flashbacks to what she had dealt with from the cubs. "I'd be better if the cubs behaved better." She shrugged. "But, it's the least I can do for the pride." To herself, she thought Well, I could do more… Of course, thinking of cubs. Like she always was…
"Is hunting going well?" She cocked her head, curious.
- His smile grew a little, and that was almost like a laugh coming from Canicus. Sure he did laugh, but it was much rarer. "We all have our roles." He said quietly, gaze flickering over the dunes. His voice was flat though; he did not want to be stuck a hunter his entire life.
He glanced to her and frowned, suddenly very somber. "With the drought..." He shook his head slightly. "We do our best." The drought was effecting everyone though, prey and hunter alike. He glanced up, realizing they were approaching close to where his den was located.
Despite not being one for social interaction, and feeling boring at best, when he did get that interaction he often wanted it to keep going at least for a little while. "Would you like to rest out of the sun for a while Moja?" Even though it was nearing the end of daylight, it was still very hot in the lands. And once night hit... well then it would be freezing.
Moja nodded at his serious tone. She had noticed that the hunters were having a tougher time, but the Firekin would prevail, they always did. It was a bit of a one-two punch with the war and drought, but still. They were a sturdy pride.
She blinked hard at his offer. "Ah," Don't read too much into it! She nodded. "Yes, that would be very nice." She looked down at the sand between her toes. "I have my familiar, and a bit of family in the pride, but it does get tiresome to always go straight home to my empty den." She shrugged. The lioness wanted very much to have company, for however long.
- He blinked, wondering why she was bringing that up all of a sudden? His tail flicked and he eyed her for a moment. No, he must just be imagining things. He cleared his throat, waiting as they got to her den for her to enter first.
"... I know the feeling." He finally decided that it would do for a proper answer. "I have my siblings here..." He trailed off. "And though I am related to most... I find it hard to... communicate with others." He frowned lightly, then shrugged. "Ah, this feels better." He said softly once he was also in his den. He sat after a moment, slightly awkward.
Still, the company was nice.
Moja empathized more than he knew, but she didn't think he'd be comfortable with her going on in conversation about how she'd found her rank but not quite her place in the pride, like she still felt unsettled for some reason. She made herself comfortable without much hesitation, sitting, then laying down and crossing her one paw over the other.
She shrugged. "I might not be a 'typical Firekin,' because I wasn't born here, or because I'm not one to fight for fun or purpose, but I still can't imagine being anywhere else." Maybe, in time, she could say the same thing about being with a mate. But such things would be far off and in the future. But for today, and maybe tonight, she'd have made a new friend, and that was always a step in the right direction towards belonging.
