Shirin was lonely. She couldn't help it. As one of fifteen siblings, she wasn't used to being by herself for any real length of time. Things like personal space and alone time just weren't concepts that existed in a family of seventeen, and that had never bothered her in the least. She had never been without a friend, or conspirator, or shoulder to cry on. She had had a busy, beautiful childhood, but she was grown now, they all were, and the chaotic assortment of siblings had begun to drift on to their own lives as they reached adolescence and, finally, adulthood. Their mothers certainly wouldn't have minded if they stayed forever - well, Giza'hawara would have acted like she minded, grumbling on about them having to grow up someday, but she would have been as happy as Kilindi if they'd all stayed together - but with adulthood came the need to live their own lives. They all had their own futures and families to seek, and while Shirin had been among the last to separate from her mothers, she knew that that was for the best.
She had very quickly realized, however, that being alone was horrible. It was much more difficult to hunt, for one thing, but more importantly, she was lonely. Miserably lonely. There were plenty of other wandering rogues, some more pleasant and more willing to chat than others, but that temporary company was never enough. Within a few weeks, she had come to the decision that she needed to find some kind of pride or pack or whatever, somewhere she could call home with other she could, in time, come to call her family. That had proved to be a little more complicated than she had initially expected it would, as most of the groups she came across or heard of had limitations on what species were welcome, and that didn't suit her at all. Even if they were cheetahs or accepted some cheetahs, it wasn't enough if they didn't except everyone. Since she had not only been raised by two mothers, but two mothers who were a cheetah and a wild dog respectively, an opening and welcoming environment was an absolute requirement for her when choosing where to settle. She was still quite startled and disturbed that so much of the world was not so open and kind as the family she'd grown up with.
Finally, however, she had found the perfect safe haven in the form of the Nil'nocere, who accepted everyone, and not just as members. They were perfectly happy to help anyone who needed it, regardless of whether or not they intended to stay. It was wonderful, and Shirin was beyond delighted to have found them - and eager to be helpful herself, and acquaint herself with her new pridemates as well. The options for her life here seemed practically endless, the number of paths open to her almost intimidating, but ultimately had decided that the journey to become a Healer was the one for her. As such, she was now considered an Assistant. Even the fact that she had a title was exciting! It was new and different, a hopeful reminder of her goals and the work ahead of her.
This afternoon, though, she had some time to herself, and intended to use it to better familiarize herself with her new home, and to get to know the other residents. Surely somewhere among them she would find a friend! The day before, she had met an Apprentice, a young lioness who had yet to officially decide what path she would eventually commit to, and she'd seemed very nice, a bit quiet but obviously eager to learn. The amiable youth struck her as a good place to start in her quest to find a friend, as she was only just a little younger than Shirin herself, and the fact that they were both still learning also gave them something in common and made it a less intimidating prospect. Shirin kept an eye out - doing her best to not look like she was keeping an eye out - for the gold-and-cream adoelscent as she went about her afternoon business, until finally she did catch a glimpse of her. Oh, good!
Endeavoring to look casual, as though she had just stumbled upon her by happenstance, the cheetah controlled her steps to a stroll rather than a bounce as she approached with a bright smile, "Oh, good afternoon! Ahl-e-Safa, isn't it?"
At the sound of her name, the Apprentice looked up, mirroring the Assistant's smile with one of her own. There was a hint of shyness in the expression, but no unhappiness or annoyance at being disturbed. "Please, you can just call me Safa. The whole thing's a bit much. You're Shirin, right?"
"Safa it is, then," Shirin agreed before chirping an affirmative, delighted that Safa did indeed remember her. "Yes! You're not busy, are you? It's just, I saw you, and we met yesterday, and I'm new, so I thoguht I'd say hi..."
"I thought you looked new," Safa said after a moment, looking the brightly-colored cheetah over, "But I didn't want to ask. I thought it might be rude, not everyone likes to talk about where they came from."
"Don't they?" As idyllic an upbringing as she'd had, Shirin had no real concept of the idea that some people would prefer not to speak about their pasts. "Well, that's alright, I don't mind!"
"You don't?" An eagerness lit Safa's face before she looked down at her cloud-marked paws and shuffled them. "If I can ask, then, where are you from? What was it like?"
"Nowhere specific, really," Shirin answered, "We didn't have a pride or a pack or anything like that, and we didn't really stay in one place. It was just me and my family, but there were a lot of us." After a pause, during which she considered her words, she chuckled. "Enough of us we could have been our own pride-pack-thing, I suppose."
"Really? That many?"
"Yep! Seventeen! Me, fourteen brothers and sisters, and our moms." Her time on her own had made her aware that many would consider her family quite odd, but she didn't expect that to be the case here, especially since Safa seemed so nice.
"That is a lot!" Safa agreed, wide-eyed. "How did they manage with that many of you? There were only six of us, and my mom still had trouble!" Well, Ankhon-se was a rather...casual parent, so the fact that Safa and her siblings had had more or less free rein to get into trouble was no great surprise.
Shirin laughed, tail wagging behind her in a gesture she'd picked up from the canine contingent of her family. "Sometimes I wonder! What was it like, growing up here?"
And so it went. By the time the sun set, Shirin had herself a much-needed friend.