Life had a cruel sense of humor. Now that Aolani was finally old enough to be on her own without one of many aunts or uncles becoming worried about her whereabouts and dragging her back home by the scruff her neck, her brother went and had a litter of his own. So now, instead of enjoying her well earned peace and quiet, she had to take turns helping watch over them. She didn't understand why. It was only four of them, did they really need such a large team of adults and adolescents to take care of them? No, they did not. She'd spent so much of her own youth around her large family. That exhaustingly large family. By the time the new cubs didn't need watchful eyes, she'd be even older. Would another family member or two pop out some more kids that she would be forced to watch over? She wasn't having it. She didn't ask for babysitter jobs.
Panting, the white lioness stopped from her run, leaving her noisy family behind. This was nothing new to her. For as long as she was able to steadily walk on her own legs, she had been disappearing to somewhere more quiet. Aolani was just not a fan of noise and crowds. Never was and never would be. She wanted to be somewhere where she could hear her own thoughts and where there wasn't anyone constantly banging into her.
She already knew she wasn't going to stay around. As soon as she was deemed old enough for independence, she was gone. How far away she went, she didn't know. It wasn't like she disliked her family. Even she had the potential to miss them if she was away from them for too long.
What a confusing conundrum she was in.
Cephas, much like Aolani, was also seeking a bit of quiet from his large family. Not nearly as large as hers. He didn't have many aunts and uncles who had stuck around to create a pride in its more truest form, though he was apart of an equally large litter just as she was. In fact, once he and his siblings were able to survive on their own, his parents would be splitting up. He suspected soon. Adolescents had a bit of independence already. He'd already been spending as much time as he could exploring the world around him, to gain the skills and knowledge he would need when that time came. Maybe even scope out a potential territory for himself. He liked having a home to come back to and didn't think he'd enjoy the life of a wanderer.
Finally, one day, he came across the white lioness who lived nearby. Not yet knowing the need to be wary of others, Cephas approached her, tilting his head at her as he greeted her, noting that she seemed to be around the same age as him.
"Hello. Are you out here alone or also taking a breather from family?"
Her eyes had been closed. At the sounds of paws coming towards her, Aolani's green eyes shot open. Without moving a muscle, she watched the strange lion coming closer, only tensing her shoulders when he stopped to speak to her. She really didn't like being randomly spoken to out of nowhere. She was hardly the friendliest of felines, but with good reason, considering how difficult getting a bit of peace and quiet could be sometimes.
"My family is nearby," she responded with, purposely making it sound a bit like a threat. Should she be in trouble, all she'd need do is call out and an entire pride's worth of lions would come down onto this male. What they would do to him depended on the lion who answered the call. Eli did try to teach forgiveness and respect for others, so most of them wouldn't tear him apart. Hokulani might. No. Hokulani definitely would.
Her standoffish behavior wasn't lost on the young male. He had only wanted to meet someone new, see who might be a neighbor. Intruding on someone's space hadn't been his intention.
The smile dropped from his face as his tail flicked nervously behind him, back and forth in gentle sweeps. "Oh. I'm sorry if I intruded on your territory. My family is also nearby and I---"
"Are you also trying to find some peace and quiet?" Aolani couldn't help asking. She'd never met someone-really, hadn't met anyone outside of her family besides that hyena and her daughters-so seeing that others sometimes needed some quiet time was intriguing to her. She was sure her family did this from time to time. She'd never seen it, so absorbed in her own mind was she.
"Well...Sort of." Since she was warming up to him, Cephas decided it would be okay if he sat down. She sure seemed to change her mind about someone quickly, but he soon put that out of his head. That was okay. Everyone was different. Maybe she was just a bit shy. "I'll be on my own soon, so I was also taking the time to check out the areas around me. Should I...Be worried about your family?"
The answer to that wasn't as straight-forward. Eli was the one in charge and most followed her advice, given she was so much older than all of them. Even before joining the only pride she had before the birth of her first litter, she'd been in the roguelands on her own for a long time. They all respected her for her wisdom and experience. Still, if certain family members acted first and without Eli, he might have something to worry about.
She didn't tell him that, though. Instead, she looked him over. He didn't seem like much, if she was being brutally honest. He looked barely older, or younger, than herself. She'd only just gained a lot more freedom recently. She still wasn't old enough to be on her own, so that must mean he wasn't, either. Thus not really a threat to an entire group of full-grown lions.
Giving a little sniff, Aolani settled her head back down on her paws. "I don't think you have anything to worry about."
Huh. Did she just...Dismiss him as nothing? And not even react to doing so, as if she hadn't even noticed? Cephas blinked in confusion at this answer for only a few seconds before bursting out into laughter at it. It was such a silly answer, he couldn't help it.
"Did I say something funny?" the white lioness asked, rising her head to look at him fully. She didn't appreciate the laughter. Not at all. She wasn't being funny. When he didn't answer, she shot up to her paws, fur bristling on her back and a low rumble of a growl in her throat. "Is that what you do when you meet people, laugh at them?" she spat out angrily. Finally, he started to calm down, but instead of letting him answer, she turned her back on him, flicked her tail at his muzzle, and left at a run. She wasn't going to give him more of her time if he was going to treat her that way.
"Hey, wai---" No point in trying to call her back. Clearly she didn't want anything to do with him. He hadn't meant anything bad by laughing at her. He hoped he could get the opportunity to tell her that. He thought her company quite interesting. Her boldness had intrigued him.
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1250 words