[PRP] Water

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IDAKA

The young lioness watched the older male as he went fearlessly to the water. She hadn't seen the events that had allowed him to claim the rank of Inselelo, but she had heard about it. In detail. In great detail that had probably been expanded upon repeatedly. In a pride that had a limited number of males, they did tend to be a topic for discussion.

"The water's safe then?" Idaka asked, not-so-subtly announcing her presence. She desperately wanted a drink for herself, given how dry it had been. She got what liquid she could when she could, but it never seemed to be enough.  

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Reddish brown eyes glanced over to the large reptiles lurking in the distance. She hadn't spotted them before, which was a stupid mistake and one that could very well see her dead if she wasn't careful. It was a good thing Kuhasa was here.

"I hear you know a lot about crocodiles," the adolescent replied, taking a few steps closer to the life-giving water. The male looked almost like a ghost in the sun-baked land, paler even than her father. Idaka, on the other paw, had inherited her mother's dark coloration. Someone had once joked that blood wouldn't show terribly well on their fur.

As a joke, it had fallen rather flat.  

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"Idaka," she answered. She didn't bother asking for his name, she already knew it. Gossip went through the pride fast. And if he hadn't figured that out yet, well, he would soon enough.

Her name meant "mud," and Idaka still longed to be able to play with it the way she had as a cub. But if drinking was no guarantee during a drought, playing in the mud was absolutely not going to happen. Not to mention she was no longer a cub, and therefore had responsibilities.

To cover her longing, the lioness finally came forward for a satisfying drink before looking back up at Kuhasa.

"I think it tastes sweeter, don't you?"  

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"Perhaps they have an oasis that they keep from the rest of the world," Idaka suggested. She didn't know a lot about the lions of the desert, but she did understand that the desert was a large place and that if you didn't know where the water sources were, you could easily get lost and die without ever once coming near.

He was probably right now, that it was the scarcity of the water which made it taste better. Or maybe it had been long enough that she had forgotten what water was supposed to taste like. Not a pleasant thought.

"It almost seems like there's a god or some other force forcing this drought upon us," the lioness mused idly.  

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"I don't really think that's the case," Idaka chided the male with a small smile. "I only said it seems that way." Sometimes bad things happened. Sometimes they even happened to good people, the way her mother told it. But that was life. Just like when the girls' brothers had to leave the pride because only a few males were permitted to stay.

It sucked, it hurt, but it was for the best. Especially right now, when it allowed the boys a chance to possibly escape the drought. Of course there was also the possibility that their bones would be found sometime in the course of the pride's travels.

Needless to say, Idaka wasn't doing very good at being optimistic today.  

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"I suppose," the lioness replied, doubt clear in her voice. She was not and could never be the optimist Kuhasa apparently was, but she wasn't going to beat the point into the dust. And he was older than she, so presumably more experienced in the world.

Not to mention that he hadn't been born to the pride, so his experience was not nearly as limited as hers. Really, he wasn't the most reassuring lion when it came to the drought. Just with crocodiles.

"I guess duty calls," the adolescent concluded aloud with a sigh. "I should be going."