[PRP] Paying Your Dues (Nantale x Ndoto)

[Hopefolly]

Days had passed since the feast, and this was the first time Nantale had been alone. The pride saw her most often in the company of Csoa and Hanyu, who by then, were rumored to be joining officially -- among other things. Bored gossipers would argue over which she was romantically involved with; some might go so far as to whisper it was both. How scandalous!

Nantale was blissfully out of touch with these suppositions regarding her love life (which to be honest, was not lively at all). Although plausible, they were grossly inaccurate. The ones that surmised the males might be obtaining membership were not. And that they each may be appointed some rank the equivalent of a leader's assistant was not farfetched either. Nantale was considering it.

There were things she needed to speak about with her mother and Mawi before any of that was decided. They hadn't managed to be in the same place at the same time yet.

No surprise. Nantale had not stopped moving since the morning after the celebration. Just to be thorough, she was again briefed on everyone's name, their rank, what had happened since she was gone; what had changed and what had not. She was given a list of known survivors and those confirmed or suspected dead from both her pride and that of their former neighbors.

The last chore had been the toughest, and it temporarily isolated her from even her dearest friends. She wanted to remember her brothers and best friend / cousin in solitude.

The night crept up on her quickly, and with the stars as her witness, Nantale visited the place that reminded her of lost loved ones the most. Strangely, it was the borders. Why? Because being in the rogue lands had made her think of and appreciate them more than pride life ever had. She sat and stared out at the vast plains.

You never knew what you had until it was gone.

And until it happened, she never knew how much getting it back could hurt as much as comfort.  

[SilverLutz]

The feast had been wonderful. There had been so much singing and dancing Ndoto felt slightly overwhelmed. He was new to this life still, though, and he hoped he'd get acclimated soon. Not even walking through the rouge lands for a month had made his paws as sore as they had been after that night. His throat had even been a bit hoarse the following day from all the singing he had done! That was unheard of. He had recovered nicely, though, and could sing and walk once again without wincing. He'd need to practice if he wanted to keep up with the rest of the pride.

As much as he loved his new pride, Ndoto decided he needed a break from the constant stimulation. He loved talking to people, singing with them, laughing with them...but sometimes he needed to walk on his own and listen to himself breathe. It helped him keep in touch with the fire inside that made him sing. In his old pride, he'd often walk around the river and hum to the water as it ran down to the lake at it's end. Here, he explored as he sang softly to himself.

This walk brought him to the edge of the pride, where the land stretched out before him endlessly. The rougelands had been kind to him, thankfully, so he looked upon them with a fond smile as he continued his slow journey. The memories there were joyful, filled with song and laughter and stories as he, his brother, and their little troop had traveled from their old pride to here. He was grateful for the experience but glad it was over.

Ndoto stopped humming as the breeze blew a familiar scent his way. He turned and spotted the brown lioness - Nantale, he recalled - not too far from where he stood. She looked to be in a rather down mood, but he couldn't blame her. From what he had heard, she had lost those very close to her and suffered a great deal herself. It made his ears droop a bit to think of losing his own brother.

"Good day to you, Nantale!" he called out from his place, wanting to alert her to his presence so he didn't take her by surprise. "It's a lovely day, isn't it?"

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

SilverLutz

There was always someone to greet you surrounded by kith and kin. Nantale’s grieving would have to take an intermission, perhaps a long one. This epoch in her life would not afford much time to brood. As was the proper thing to do, she smiled at her visitor. They’d encountered enough of each other by now his voice went tattling on his identity before she looked: Ndoto, the hearty lion who had migrated to the Nchi in her absence.

“Yes, the weather’s fair. I don’t think anyone would complain if it was a little warmer.” Nantale never gave a straight answer and always did her best to sound informed. This was what lionesses with political standing should do, tranquil pride or not. The rogue lands had taught her that wars and the savages starting them had no qualms overwhelming weaker opponents. She could not allow herself to get in the habit of seeming complaisant and suggest to outsiders the Nchi’Mahadhi had lax leadership.

Nantale faced the open land ahead. She resembled more of a guard than a queen. “Have you thought of the favor my family owes to you yet? What you’d like?”  

[SilverLutz]

Ndoto laughed softly at Nantale's reply. Very diplomatic of her, he had to admit. She seemed to fit the role of queen very well, even if she looked a bit down. He wondered how much of how she had acted at the feast had been a mask of sorts. Was she really as calm and level-headed as she had made out to be?

The question caught him off guard, and for a moment he tilted his head in confusion. Finally their brief conversation back at the feast floated to the front of his mind, and he gave a soft 'ah' of understanding.

"No, I haven't given it any thought," he replied without any sort of worry in his voice. "Being accepted here is enough, really. Although," he added, giving his companion a little smile. "Aside from the few that I arrived with, I'm afraid I don't have many friends here. I don't know what the protocol is here for things like this, but you seem like a very interesting lioness. I wouldn't mind getting to know you a bit better."

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

SilverLutz

She would have given him an extra favor if he promised to make neither a social obligation. Her being overly private did not mean she was stupid: she knew by now he wouldn't take the bait. This Ndoto was too upstanding to be reeled in by promises of luxury he didn't think his actions warranted to begin with. Too much modesty for one lion. Whether or not she was right, Nantale certainly convinced herself she was.

She could rally enough hunters to feed him the best the lands had to offer for a week. She could more than likely talk those with leverage in the pride into appointing his first born to a rank of importance. There were many things she could do, and what did he ask her for? Getting to know her better.

"You should learn to take advantage of an opportunity when it's offered," she said, but was not scolding him, merely making a suggestion. Those who overlooked their own accomplishments would soon find everyone else doing the same. Thinking on that, Nantale rolled her shoulders forward. She'd grant his request if this was really what he wanted. "What would you like to know? I'm not very good at speaking aimlessly, sorry."  

[SilverLutz]

Ndoto shrugged slightly at her comment. He supposed she had a point, but it somehow felt wrong to ask for anything of 'value'. She and her family had been taken from this pride, where they belonged, and he had merely helped to bring them all back. He had had the help of a goddess as well, so it wasn't as if he had been out alone sniffing in the dirt to find them. It had been very straightforward and pretty easy, if he was being entirely honest. The map and the lantern had helped immensely. He saw it as a stone that had rolled out of place and, in passing, he had pushed it back. Noteworthy, perhaps, if the whole pile had been falling down, but otherwise a simple courtesy to those around him so they wouldn't trip.

"I'm taking advantage in the way I see most fruitful," he said with a little nod before chuckling softly. Not at her reply, per say, just the manner in which she delivered it.

"Ah...I didn't mean asking questions about your time away from the pride or as a cub. I meant more along the lines of friends. Like..." How could he explain it without sounding weird? "Just spending time together. I learn more about lions that way than just having information given to me. Most of the lions I've seen here are very calm and smile a lot but you...you're different. And that interests me. So I'd like to hang around and see just why that is."

He bobbed his head lightly out of respect, not wanting Nantale to feel threatened or suffocated. "Of course, I understand that whatever you've been through has not been easy and I don't wish to step on any paws. I won't make my presence unbearable. Hopefully."

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

SilverLutz

"I'm taking advantage in the way I see most fruitful."

So he claimed. Nantale didn't have to understand his preference for a reward to respect it, but she wondered if he was just humoring her and if it was more about sedating his curiosity than accepting compensation for what he was owed. She thought again how he'd be better off asking for something tangible like food than a bunch of questions. Except, as it turned out, his intentions were stranger than that.

Most of the Nchi were calm? Most of the Nchi smiled? She was calm -- just tense about it. And she smiled -- sometimes.

She was further distraught by talk of 'what she'd been through'. Was this how they saw her? A leader that was traumatized and helpless? A leader that couldn't connect with her people? So, either she was a crybaby or a tyrant.

In reality, Nantale was being ridiculous; taking things too personally and assuming too much. A leader had to take criticism. Especially one who had volunteered to hear out any complaints in front of the entire pride. Unfortunately, having a shiny new title did not erase all the flaws from one's personality.

Nantale felt everyone treated her like she was some dried out leaf that was going to crumble and blow away in the wind. Yes, horrible things occurred. She didn't want to be known for what happened to her, but instead, what she did. No one was coddling anyone else in the pride!

"You want to follow me?" Nantale eyed him. She must have seemed incredulous about his intentions. All this just so they could be friends? He was a Nchi. That made them friends by default. "If that's what you want... I can come get you at sunrise."  

[SilverLutz]

Ndoto winced slightly at Nantale's wording. Following her sounded like he was stalking her. That wasn't what he had intended at all. But she didn't seem upset by it - a bit annoyed perhaps - so he'd go with the flow.

"Sunrise? You start your day that early?" Impressive, but understandable, he supposed. "Sure, if that's how you wanna do this. I don't wanna intrude on anything you have to want to do, though. It's not as though I'm asking to be around you every waking moment of the day." He had done that on their journey back to the pride, after all. He didn't want to be too overbearing as he knew he could be to some.

Stretching out a bit, Ndoto shook his head to clear out some of the heat that was trapped in his mane, enjoying the little breeze that followed. "I enjoyed the feast, by the way. It was very exciting to be able to participate with everyone even if I'm not the best dancer. It's really not my forte," he added with a chuckle. 'Is that what you enjoy most? Dancing? Or are you more of a musician?"

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

SilverLutz

Nantale didn't let much slip by. That wince hadn't fallen through the observational cracks. The more she heard, the more she argued with herself that she'd gotten too sloppy with her word choice. There wasn't time to repair the damage before he was asking about her preference for singing or dancing. A common topic in the Nchi, for obvious reasons, however...

"I would be a poor Malenga if I wasn't trained in both," she replied. There was nothing haughty about it. Nantale did not sound arrogant. Rushed and dismissive, yes. This casual chatter was not her 'forte' and she was worse at it when circumstances suggested she'd just messed up. That was unacceptable.

"I'm sorry if I offended you, Ndoto." Turned out, Nantale could sound sincerely remorseful and formal at the same time. Some might feel her apologies were shoved in their face like an insult might be if they didn't hail her as just being direct. "It's possible my social skills expired out there. I would welcome your company for as long as you'd like mine."  

[SilverLutz]

"You don't prefer one over the other?" Ndoto asked, tilting his head. He preferred the instrument side as he considered his voice an instrument, even though it was impossible to see or for others to play. It made music, didn't it?

His eyes widened in surprise, the topic forgotten, as Nantale suddenly apologized. What was this? "You haven't offended," he said quickly, wanting to put Nantale's mind at ease. "I should apologize as well for not making myself clear. I don't want to be a bother to you, you see. You've very busy after all." He had also found her out here on her own, away from the pride and those two males that she always seemed to be around. Perhaps they were all the company she needed and he was growling up the wrong tree.

But then her tune changed and made him second guess himself. Was she just being polite? She sounded sincere...why did pretty females have to reduce his mind to murky pond water?

"I'd very much enjoy the chance to be in your company again," he said with a nod, putting a small smile on his face. "And don't worry about your social skills around me. I may look surprised or startled, but I promise I'm very hard to offend or put off. Perhaps I'll be able to help you get them back."

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

Perhaps he would, or perhaps she'd never had any to start with. She remembered socializing coming natural when she was young, but weren't all the cubs that way? Now, she relied on cues like facial expressions and voice -- if he didn't look how he felt, this was going to be an learning experience.

"I can come get you in the morning," she said. It was better to retire soon, before her father came out here and had one more joke at her expense. He was already taking playful jabs about Csoa that got under her skin. "Or the afternoon, if that's too early..."

SilverLutz

I can set-up a follow-up if you whenever you want. Just let me know. =]

 

[SilverLutz]

Ndoto nodded his head, tail flicking back and forth in delight. "Tomorrow morning will be perfect," he said with a smile, bowing his head out of respect. "I'll be ready for you when you come. I'll think of some topics we can talk about that won't be considered 'idle chatter'." He was fairly good at keeping lions entertained, so he was sure with a day to spare he could cook up some topics that would keep Nantale engaged.

With a final farewell, he turned and headed back the way he had come. He didn't want to overstay his welcome, after all. She'd be spending some time with him tomorrow so he'd let her have her peace now. He tried not to get too excited about it, but it was hard. He loved making new friends, and Nantale seemed like she needed a few.

Hopefolly

That would be great =D Just tag me in it whenever you're ready. This was my last post.