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 Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2016 3:59 am
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Amakhaza grumbled loudly as she shifted, her slender body no longer the pure silver it had been before, but now covered in a dusty yellowish-red hue. She was laying where a watering hole used to be, the bottom now only containing dust and a few small rocks. Rolling over she clawed at the dry and cracked surface as if in mute protest at the water that was no longer present.
Heaving a thick, dry-throated sigh she went limp again. Only her paw flexed, clawing shallow groves in the dusty lakebed. She was thirsty, so very thirsty and she didn't know what to do with herself to take her mind off it. Being one of the least social lionesses of the pride she had never before had cause to regret her natural temperment. But now, when those close ties were all that was keeping the family together, she felt the lack of them keenly. There was no one to come and cheer her up, no one she could grumble to without them taking offence, and no one to sneak down to the last remaining drinking places with. No one was going to be looking out for her and if she passed out here, no one would notice she was not with the main gathering until it was far too late.
Heaving a large sigh that only succeeded in making her cough, she wrinkled her nose. "Now what..." She griped sourly. |
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Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 4:28 am
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The deep voice calling her name startled the dusty grey female so badly that she rolled over hard enough to nearly send her all the way onto her other side. It wasn't even the fact that it was a male voice. Any voice would have brought the same reaction from the solitary female. No one ever bothered to call her name unless they were out hunting.
Twisting her head round, as the voice had come from somewhere behind her, she narrowed her eyes against the dust until she made out the pale form of the Inselelo. "Kuhasa?" She asked in a clearly surprised tone, as the hostility that had rippled through her body a moment ago faded away. While she would never be mistaken as welcoming, the large male got one of the oh-so-rare half-smiles Amakhaza barely ever bothered with. "Come to enjoy a dust bath too?" She asked, only half joking, still sour over her persistant thirst.
She noticed his limp then but didn't say anything about it. She hated it when she had been injured -long before this blasted drought, just a regular hunting accident- and everyone had spent days asking how she was and if it still hurt. She had known they didn't really care, they had just felt the need to be polite, and maybe figure out when she would be useful enough to go hunting again. So she figured Kuhasa had probably been plagued by concerned females long enough to drive him a little crazy. But as she couldn't think of anything that wasn't trite or damned obvious, she said nothing.
Ecavi Ack, sorry for my horrid typos in the first post. I was using my phone.
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Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 4:41 am
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"That certainly looks like all this waterhole is good for now," he commented grimly, though he smiled at her, "I'm surprised to see you. Is this how you spend your time when you're not out adventuring?"
He remembered their last meeting very well, it would have been difficult to forget the panicked lioness who had come rushing to him when he, by chance, found her testing her limits. What was really impressive, though, was that he remembered her name.
Or.. if he had messed it up, she didn't call him out on it.
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Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 5:49 am
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Chuckling, he shook his head at her, glancing back to where the nearby crowd was spread out for the afternoon. They were surely as disappointed about the lost water as Amakhaza, but had a less dramatic approach to it. This certainly seemed better in his opinion, if a little lonely.
"I'm trying to keep a low profile after the incident," he said, gesturing to his injured leg and clearly making light of the situation on purpose. Kuhasa had had his chance to yell at a crocodile about it and shortly afterward had quickly determined that being angry wasn't getting him anywhere. Besides, it didn't suit him to hold a grudge.
Well, maybe against the croc who mangled his leg and snacked on Isasa's tail. But in general.. nah.
"I was just trying to check out how our water situation is doing," he said, "I suppose this one being dry shouldn't surprise us."
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Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 3:02 pm
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Kuhasa watched Amakhaza with open curiosity. It was apparent she was comfortable around him, and he wasn't sure if he thought that just might be her personality after their last encounter. Maybe that was something you couldn't go through without becoming friends. He followed her gaze to his leg, and took a seat on the dusty ground when she reassured him.
"Good," he said, hoping she was right- even if he was sure there were at least three lionesses who wouldn't soon forget, and at least one that was unlikely to forgive. He looked up to the clear blue sky when she commented on the need for rain and sighed.
"I've never been through a drought this bad," he said, "I don't know if it'd be easier or harder on my own."
Taking care of an entire pride, keeping them all fed and watered.. that was a huge undertaking in a crisis like this. But fighting for whatever water you could find and trying to hunt when the herds were sparse and thinly populated (and mostly by the hardiest members by now) .. that wasn't easy, either. On the other paw, a rogue lion could simply wander off without worrying about abandoning the lands he considered his home.
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Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 11:05 am
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She waved a lazy oaw at him, her smirk amused. "Most of them are airheads. They likely are more concerned about your mane colour than any crocodile incident.." She huffed in clear disgust. She had no idea where the nonsense about a lion's mane came from, but she didn't believe a single word of it. After all she was a fnie huntress, strong and healthy, and she couldn't much paler than se already was.
Eyeing him as he confessed his concern she shrugged slightly. "I've never been away from here." She knew he knew this, after all he had witnessed her little 'issue' first hand. "But I imagine even out there it's pretty difficult. There is no food..." She didn't know how far the drought extended, but the cinga hadn't been able to find anywhere more suitable, and it wasn't for lack of trying.
"And you couldn't guard the watering holes on your own." She added, looking back at him. "Personally, I think we have a better chance together." As much as she hated to admit it, the pride was useful.
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Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 4:54 am
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