Uzalishaji stood over the small carcass of a gazelle, his golden muzzle stained red with blood. But, this was the circle of life at its finest, and even a small gazelle would be enough to stave off hunger. Even sharing it, Uzalishaji would not complain. His younger brother sat beside him. It was almost ironic that Shaji, one of Ezeoha's oldest children, and Dayo, one of his last were actually the closest together out of them all. Perhaps it was their similarities that strengthen their relationship, and at least once a month the lions got together to share a meal and discuss their lives.

"Aren't you a little too old...?" Dayo spoke to Shaji with a skeptical tone in his voice. The black and white lion sat back from the meal, allowing his elder brother to have the first few bites. Dayo was still a single male, and to hear the news that Shaji wanted more cubs almost shamed him. It wasn't for lack of trying that Dayo couldn't find a suitable female. Things just... never seemed to go his way. His love life was entirely lacking. It also didn't help that every which was he turned he ran into a cousin, aunt, uncle, or some sort of relative.

The Pridelands were... prolific, and his father was definitely included in that statement. Though Ezeoha had finally settled down, it wasn't before he had sired numerous cubs. All of his siblings seemed to have spawned a decent amount of offspring as well. Over time, Dayo learned not to trust anyone with a gold pelt. Even those who were tan or black were a risk he was not willing to take. The most unfortunate part was that Dayo looked nothing like his father. He deceivingly looked like he wasn't from the Pridelands, and when had a cousin take interest in him he decided it was time to stop trying.

"You can never be too old. Besides, I hear having cubs makes you feel younger," Shaji answered, beaming with excitement. If there was a difference between the two males, it was that Shaji still carried a youthful enthusiasm for life despite his older age. In comparison, Dayo was far more calm and level headed. He couldn't help but find Shaji's enthusiasm... charming. Shaji was far younger in spirit than Dayo, who felt like an old man and just a little tired of trying so hard in life to get nowhere.

He wanted a family, but Dayo was not so desperate as to seek one out like he had in his more youthful days. "You still look pretty old," Dayo finally replied to his brother with a smirk. "I say having no cubs has made me far younger."

"You just had a head start... or well, I had a head start." Shaji rose a paw, wiping the blood off of his mouth. "Having cubs will change you for the better, even if it puts bags under your eyes and makes you far less appealing to all the females. C'mon, Dayo, you should put yourself back out there. You're giving up without really putting in a fight." He reached over to his brother and playfully shoved his paw against his shoulder. They had toed around the subject many times before, but no matter how much Shaji tried to persuade Dayo to put himself back onto the market, the black and white lion never caved.

"Even if you have to leave the pride to find someone, you should. We do have new members joining all the time - probably for the good, there's so many of us here related." Shaji didn't believe Dayo had to leave in order to find love, but perhaps it was what Dayo needed to hear. Getting out of the Pridelands for a couple of weeks wouldn't be so terrible for the lion, Shaji thought. "Go out there, make some new friends, meet some new lions!"

Shaji's helpfulness was constantly overbearing. The level of care he had for anyone even remotely related to him was unimaginably large. He had a heart of gold, but at times he just tried too hard to make everyone around him happy. He had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that not everyone could suddenly choose to be happy.

"Uh, I'm fine where I'm at, brother." Dayo answered gruffly. It was a good thing they kept their meetings to only once a month, or his brother's overbearing attitude would have smothered Dayo by now. He sighed, unwilling to really dash Shaji's hopes of him being able to find happiness. His brother cared, a little too much, but it still mattered. "I'll keep my eyes open, but I swear, every which way I turn I just run into another relative. I'm getting to be too old, I think. I'm certainly not appealing to all the young lionesses filling the ranks now."

Shaji snorted in disbelief, "You know some females like older males. You've got a nice dark mane, strong muscles. You're very handsome, if you try, you'll have all the young available ladies swooning over you." He bumped his brother's shoulder again, trying to encourage Dayo and build him up from whatever pit of self-pity he had fallen into.

"Okay, okay!" Dayo inched away from his brother, and with purpose moved to the other side of the carcass where he would at least be a little bit away from his overbearing family. "I will see what's out there, you have my word. Now, can we just sit down and eat before this gets cold?" He had gone through all the trouble of catching this meal fresh for Shaji, and they were too busy talking about cubs and females to even eat it.

Shaji laughed, his voice pleasant and warm, "All right, I'm sorry. Let's eat." Together the two lions sat back down and dug into their meal. There was no better way to silence their little debate than to fill their stomachs with the meal Dayo had so determinedly caught for them.