[PRP] Investigating the newcomer (Khethiwe x Umkhombo)

[Tanakako]

The red lioness had been away hunting when the pride's world was turned upside-down once again. By the time the party had got back with their prize, the whole of the Ithambo had been alive with gossip, grief and excitment, in unequal measure. Khethiwe, being a confident and curious young female, had instantly started asking around. Trying to find out exactly what had happened, offering support to her friends who needed it, and fielding the many questions of the others. While not a gossip like Sanele, the younger female was not shy about sticking her nose in and had at last tracked down the newcomer.

The big-a** male was dark as the night, with just the barest of white markings on his coat. Well, that should please the traditionalists... Khethiwe mused to herself as she strode across the short grass towards him, making no effort to look as if this meeting was by any chance an accident. He was her goal and he would not escape her easily.  

[Meepfur]

When the hunting party returned, Umkhombo wouldn't have had a chance to take his Umholi's share of the kill even had he had the appetite to do so, as he quickly found himself overwhelmed by his family. His mother, Ukuthula, had wasted no time in berating him, not only for taking 'so damn long' to come home, but for not letting his predecessors live rather than killing them. She'd given him quite a swat to the head, as a matter of fact, and she hadn't spared the claws, raking shallow cuts into his cheek to go with the assortment of other minor wounds he'd received thus far today. He'd borne the assault with little more than a grimace - what else could he do? She was his mother.

He'd been 'rescued' by his grandmother, Wodi, who chased off the most obnoxious of her daughters and set to grooming him. This, too, he bore without complaint, while his much paler dappled sister expressed more subtle disapproval than their mother, and predictably probed for more details about his partner, who had yet to appear. He deflected, much to her annoyance, until she finally left him in peace. By this point, he'd had rather enough of his immediate family's company for the morning, and extricated himself from his grandmother's attentions, promising to visit with her more later. A fond headbutt later and he was free to catch up with the Qyrhyeshti, unless someone interrupted him.

Which they did, of course. It was obvious, from her color and her stripes, that she was one of Andhaka's offspring. The question was, did she mean to welcome him or scold him? He'd soon find out.

The dark male acknowledged her with a polite dip of his head, but would wait for her to speak before saying anything himself so that he would have a better idea of what he was dealing with.

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

Khethiwe walked round to his front and halted there, looking up at him with a curious yet intense expression. "So you are the new guy." She remarked, looking over his many and varied wounds. "What was it... Umkhombo?" She half asked, half stated, finally looking back at his face. "I heard you are with those new lionesses." Again, it was less of a question and more of a statement as the bold young female studied him. There was no anger or malice in her, just a complete and unapologetic confidence. "I'm Khethiwe. What are your intentions here?" She actually asked this time, ears forward and bright eyes alight with intelligence. Yes, he had defeated the old males with a partner that had not yet shown himself, but aside from ruling the pride and, obviously, spawning lots of cubs, what did he intend to do? By the gossip of the older females, he was related to many of them, and several of the newcomers from that fighting pride. So... why was he here? And what about his partner?

Meepfur

 

[Meepfur]

He answered the question of his name with a nod. "Yes, I am...with those new lionesses, as you put it, though more accurately you could say that they are with me, though they arrived first."

"Pleased to meet you, Khethiwe." Umkhombo continued to walk, expecting that she would follow - she was clearly interested in a more in-depth conversation, which was easier to have in semi-privacy. Otherwise, the odds of someone butting in to interrupt with this or that were high. (Of course, he knew well that anything he said to anyone outside of a very select few would not remain private.) "Intentions? To be Umholi."

He smirked, wry humor showing through. This was not the first time today he'd been asked what his intentions were, or what changes he intended to make, and he doubted it would be the last. "It's early yet, to say for certain 'I will do this' or 'I will do that.' If I know anything well, it is that plans never play out exactly how you would like...or even close to it, for that matter."

"I've been gone a long time, and I intend to assess the state of things before I go doing anything drastic."

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

She did indeed turn and walk along beside him, apparently not at all phased by how big he was, or that he was male. Showing none of the defference some of the females tended to exhibit around the Umholi. "I guess thats fair." She agreed as he explained about having to wait and see before making any descisions. Not that she could really think of anything that needed to be altered in the pride.

So, next item on her curiosity checklist. "Who is your partner? The one who fought the old males with you?" Surely as an absentee figure, he was of even greater interest that the male currently beside her, if only for the fact that she knew even less about the mystery lion than she did this one.

Meepfur

Sorry, short.

 

[Meepfur]

"Someone I can trust to defend this pride and our interests," he answered, firm in his conviction despite the vagueness of his reply. If he noticed that she didn't defer to him, it didn't bother him - he had, after all, just been smacked and scolded by his mother with no shortage of witnesses to the event. "He's a strong fighter, and we work well together. If it's his stature and the color of his mane you're curious about, well, you'll just have to wait and see for yourself."

He quirked another little smile. "I don't pay much attention to such things, myself. He can fight, and I can trust him. That's all that matters."

Tanakako

evasive reply go~

 

[Tanakako]

She huffed at him for that, giving him the side-eye as they walked along. She knew when someone was avoiding a topic, but what she couldn't work out was why? After all, he was going to turn up pretty soon, right? "Do you at least know his name?" She asked, looking up at Umkhombo with a cheeky grin, knowing full well she was being pushy now. But, no one had yet told her 'no' so what was the harm?

Some might have wondered why she was chatting with the lion who had kicked her father from the pride, but Khethiwe had always been a practical lioness, much like her mother, and she knew Umholi came and went. Less frequently than the Inselelo for sure, but it was still just a normal part of pride life to her. Sobala had treated the whole thing as a matter of course ever since the litter was born. So now Khethiwe did the same. Rather, she was intrigued by this stranger and his even more mysterious friend. "Well, what can you tell me? What was your last pride like? What did you do there? How'd you get all those scars?" She throw questions at him, hoping to tease more information from the polite but frustratingly vague male.

Meepfur

 

[Meepfur]

"You know, I'm afraid it's quite slipped my mind," he replied with a grin. He knew very well it wqs frustrating to her - and all the rest of the curious, gossip-loving lionesses, and it was giving him a great deal of amusement to withold the information and make them wait.

"My last pride? If you mean the Qyrhyeshti, they've been here all this time - haven't you asked them? Or are you guessing I've been elsewhere since?" The questioning didn't bother him at all, though his answers were less than forthcoming thus far. "As for my scars, well, they're from fighting of course." He winked. "If you're intrigued by any in particular, I can attempt to remember how I came by it."

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

She blew out a frustrated breath at him, cheeks puffing briefly before her rich laughter spilled free. Giving a shake of her head she eyed him, amusement making her dark eyes dance. "Very well, Mr Mysterious. It is clear you aren't going to assuage my burning curiosity." She grinned at him, teeth flashing. "So instead, tell me what you can talk about. What do you think of the pride after all this time? It must have changed some, or maybe not?" She kept her attention on him, apparently content to simply chat rather than attempt to grill him for information now that he had proven impossible to get an answer from. But her stance was more relaxed now as they wandered and she finally quit her laser-like focus on him. Instead she glanced about, habitually checking on who was within eye line and where the two of them were within the lands while they talked.

Meepfur

Last post?

 

[Meepfur]

"The Ithambo'hlabathi? Change?" Umkhombo laughed at that. "No, things seem much the same to me. Everyone is still in everyone else's business, tradition yet reigns, and my mother is still a harpy." This was said with almost as much affection as it was annoyance. Almost.

"But I've only been back half a day, and I'm sure there's more to see. New faces, if nothing else, though there are still some old ones I need to catch up with."

"Perhaps I can entertain your questions again another time?" He was not entirely averse to answering them...when he was ready.

Tanakako

8D

 

[Tanakako]

Khethiwe laughed again, bobbing her head in an agreeable manner. "Alright, I see your point." She replied amiably, though she did glance up at him as he mentioned his mother in a tone that wasn't entirely playful. Still, that was gossip Khethiwe had no interest in. Families could be fractious even on the best days, everyone knew that.

recognising a dismissal when she heard one, she nodded again. "I'd like that. If nothing else you need to actually tell me something of your travails beyond the Tthambo. Ok?" She didn't wait for a reply, but turned and set off back towards the knot of lioness in the near distance, tossing back over her shoulder as she went.

"See ya later, Umkhombo. You can count on it."

Meepfur

Had to do one more. XD