The next part of her life was just starting, Tsillah thought as she entered the pride. She had talked with the head recruiter and it seemed that everything was fine. Almost as soon as she was accepted, Utako took his leave. He had told her that he was leaving, but it still stung. It was odd being surrounded by strangers.
The recruiter told her that someone would be around shortly to show her around. She wasn't sure what she should do until then. Currently she was just walking absent mindlessly, observing her surroundings. There were a good amount of pride members. All seemed to be caught up in a task. They were much too busy to take a moment and notice her.
“Hello again Tsillah.”
A familiar voice, she thought as she turned around to see who spoke. The lion she met the day before was standing there. He seemed more comfortable here then when she spoke to him in the desert. She bowed her head toward him.
“I was accepted into the pride, but I guess you already knew that.” She said, looking at him with a smile. “I am just waiting around for someone to escort me around the pride.”
Devaraja nodded. “Well, you will not have to wait anymore. I requested that I guide you around the pride.” He said.
Tsillah raised her eyebrow. “Aren't you busy though? I do not want to get in the way of your duties.”
“I have some free time right now. Plus I would hate to miss an opportunity to get to know you better. It isn't everyday a gods brings us a new pride member.” Devaraja said.
In some ways, his words made her feel like she was still being tested.
“If you would like, you can follow me. There is a den that I believe you will find interesting.” He said, heading around the water and toward the mountains. She kept close to him. Most of the pride members would nod their head in acknowledgment, but no one spoke to them.
The mountain had the most activity. She heard different pride members speaking to each other. It was hard to make out anything they were saying but the words she did hear were about another pride.
Devaraja stopped at the entrance of one of the larger dens. When Tsillah peaked inside, she found a group cutting into stone slabs with their claws. Beside each of them was another pride member talking to them quietly.
“This is where we record the information we have. We have seekers who leave the pride in order to gather information that they believe is valuable. They bring it back and tell a scribe who records it. The most valuable information is written on the walls.” Devaraja explained. He walked into the den and stopped by one of the scribes. “If you look here, you will see that we have you joining the pride as an event.”
Tsillah followed him in and looked at the rock. The writing was done in the same way that Utako had on his wall back when she first met him. The writing was more elegant though. There were only a couple words she knew, but it only made her want to learn how to read the writing more.
“I was told by the head recruiter that Utako taught you how to read some of our writing.” Devaraja stated.
“Yes. He traded teaching me for me taking care of him. Going hunting, getting him furs.” She explained, looking back to Devaraja. “I do not know that much though. Only the basics. Will I have an opportunity to learn more?”
“Of course. We would never deny a pride member an opportunity to learn more. If you would like I could talk to one of the pride's teachers and see if they can take some time and teach you. From what I know, you are a fast learner, so it would not be a problem. If you learned how to read and write, as well as learn more about our pride, you would be a more valued pride member.” He said. “We should move on with our tour though. We have distracted the scribes long enough.”
Tsillah knew that she would do her best to be helpful for the pride. After she was done exploring with Devaraja she knew she would have to do some more exploring. She couldn't rely on him to show her everything about the pride. There was bound to be something she needed to learn for herself.
They passed by a den where she heard chanting of some sorts. She stopped and looked in.
When Devaraja did not hear Tsillah's steps behind him, he turned to look at what she was doing. “You do not want to go in there.” He stated, stepping toward her. “Those are our blessings. Seers who share with us things we cannot see. They should not be disturbed.”
“My birth pride worshiped seers.” Tsillah said, staring in the den. She could make out the group sitting in a circle, concentrating. “It was a ridiculous practice, especially since I am certain a good number of them were faking it. They just wanted to have power. It was part of the reasons I refused to be apart of that pride and I left as soon as I was able to.”
Devaraja listened to her and nodded his head thoughtfully. “I do not blame you for wanting to leave such a pride. You will learn that we have a balance of sorts. We do have a pride leader, but he does not have full control of the pride. Our seers are not worshiped, but we feel like we must protect them. Their visions are useful when they are coherent. And even when they are not, we do our best to extract any valuable information from it.”
She looked at the seers den again. Some of them looked content, but others looked unhappy with their situation. 'I will have to do more research about the seers,' Tsillah thought before looking back at Devaraja. “I will be careful not to disturb them. What is next on our tour?”
“Well I was thinking I could show you where you will be sleeping. Because you are knew and learning our ways, I was thinking that you could stay with the hunters for now? Until you have decided on a rank, hunting will be the best way for you to contribute to the pride.” He explained. “The rank I would recommend you for, when you are ready to take a new one is seeker. The fact that you were a traveler will make you an ideal candidate for the role. The seekers leave the pride in order to find out what is happening beyond our borders.”
“It sounds like a fun, but dangerous task.” Tsillah said, with a hint of a smile. It did sound like a rank that she would take. But that was something for her to worry about later.
“What ever role you decide on, I am certain you will be happy with it.” He said with a smile. “Now let us continue our tour.”
He took her around the rest of the dens, explaining the different roles as well as where she would find the things she needed. In the end he brought her back to the hunters den. It had been a long day and she was ready for rest.
“Thank you for staying with me today. I never thought I would join another pride, but this one feels right.” Tsillah said with a smile. Devaraja returned the smile.
“I hope that you will soon see this pride as your home. Have a good rest Tsillah.” He said before leaving. There were still things he needed to do. He had not seen the Nayaka since the morning. The young lion had been on his mind lately and he could not help but feel like he needed to check up on him more often. Quietly he headed to the Nayaka's den leaving Tsillah to sleep in peace.
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