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Posted: Mon Apr 03, 2017 5:31 am
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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.
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Posted: Mon Apr 03, 2017 7:38 am
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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.
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Posted: Mon Apr 03, 2017 7:59 am
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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?
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Posted: Mon Apr 03, 2017 9:19 am
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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."
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Posted: Mon Apr 03, 2017 11:30 am
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"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."
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Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2017 1:44 am
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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.
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Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2017 4:19 am
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"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."
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Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2017 7:19 am
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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."
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