[Request] A Chance Meeting

[GoodGrief]

Premise:
[quote]Umbali has been a rogue for sometime, his life has become a matter of simply looking after himself. No one to worry about, no one to rely on. He's about to have a chance meeting with young lioness Aluna, who is about to lead his life down a path he vowed not to travel again.[/quote]
Amy & I agreed that anyone can jump in providing they PM either of us and meet the same requirements she laid out in her partner search post, and that they have a developed OC!

who is playing who: show

GoodGrief: Umbali, Cheshi, Makamu, Nyota, Tulivu
UncoordinatedPisces: Aluna, Johari, Kejeli, Kuto, Nishati, Mwezi

DISCLAIMER: All art are either commissions or bases that I've paid for in points on DA!

Adults:

Cubs:

For Umbali, it had been a plentiful rain season. Travelling from territory to territory had been relatively easy, there was always water and prey to be found. He'd been lucky in terms of the prides he had come across too, most had let him stay a couple of days on their lands to take advantage of watering holes and prime hunting spots. He was glad he appeared to not pose a threat, perhaps him being somewhat scraggly played a helping hand in that. Though he had to say that he'd filled out a little bit, he always did this time of year. The rains were coming to an end however, like other animals Umbali could sense it in the air. Things won't get hard for a few moons yet, he thought.

He was lounging beneath a large, hanging tree away from the prying sunlight. The air was humid and he decided to avoid all travel until dusk. There was not another animal in sight, aside from the occasional insect. In quiet moments like these, Umbali could reflect. He most often thought of joining a pride, he was sure one would take him. Especially one with only a single male, as he would obviously be happy to submit and follow instead of lead. It was partly his curiosity that prevented him from staying in a single place, but what held him back above all else was his need to be distant. Distant from the hustle and bustle of pride life, distant from the responsibilities, distant from family. He hadn't had the best of experiences with that.

With a deep breath, he shook his mane and lifted his paw to groom himself. Two butterflies flickered towards him, then past him towards the open plains. He watched them for a moment before licking his paw. Then, suddenly, his eyes darted back up. A single lioness a distance away was sitting with a mound, which looked like a kill, appearing to be staring at something near by. The wind was against him, so she didn't know he was there. Though by the looks of it, she was more focused on something, or someone else.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Aluna let out a deep warning growl and she began to stand over her kill, a warthog, protectively. Unfamiliar smells filled her nostrils, she knew she wasn’t alone. Then finally, through the tall grass, approached two cheetah brothers. They were stepping lightly, their slender frames snaking through the wilderness far more elegantly that lions did. Though they were about her size, the added pressure of one against two made Aluna’s small frame shake tentatively with renewed anxiety, as well as anger. One of the two licked their muzzles in anticipation of stealing her hard earned kill.

“Look, sweetie-” slurred the slightly larger cheetah, presumably the dominant of the pair.
“Don’t call me sweetie, you’re not having my kill. There’s plenty to go around in these plains” she retorted sharply. Surprised at her tone, the cheetah’s brow furrowed. A silent glance was exchanged between the two brothers and there was a flurry of movement. The larger cheetah tackled her suddenly, and the other quickly grabbed at her kill at an attempt to pick it up.

The young lioness let out a yelp at the feeling of his two sets of front claws digging against her shoulder. She swung around and freed herself from his grasp, managing to get a swipe in against her attackers muzzle. Angered by the searing pain of fresh claw marks, the cheetah yowled and went for Aluna’s neck. A warning roar from another lion made him stop. He turned his head, surely his brother had made himself scarce with the stolen kill, but to his alarm, his brother lay under a male lion. Aluna, dazed from the fight watched on hesitantly, debating whether or not to just run.

[GoodGrief]

Umbali had been watching cautiously from the sidelines as the cheetah brothers had made their appearances, creeping closer and unnoticed. He himself debated whether or not to get involved, but the lioness looked as though she was struggling. So he had tackled the fleeing cheetah, sending the warthog carcass out of his grasp and towards a nearby bush, he proceeded to pin the cheetah the ground forcefully.

That’s what he made himself known with a low, rumbling roar.
“I suggest you back off” Umbali warned the other cheetah, baring his teeth at the one below him.
“Why should we do that?” the cheetah snarled. The male lion’s lips curled into a smirk as he slowly pushed one of his paws against the cheetah’s throat, making him thrash and choke for breath. Panic-stricken, the dominant cheetah stepped forward. “Stop! Okay, we’ll go!” he exclaimed, watching his brother’s eyes grow heavy. Satisfied with the response, Umbali lifted his paw and the cheetah, after gaining back his breath scurried from beneath him.

Begrudgingly, the two realised they had met their match and snaked off back into the tall grass. Umbali sighed heavily and turned to the lioness.
“Perhaps next time they’ll pick a fairer fight, huh?” he said, his tone softer now. He scanned her frame for injuries, the cheetah had really sunk his claws into her shoulder. “How’s that feeling?” he asked.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Aluna had watched anxiously, staring at the male lion’s strong paw pressing down against the cheetah. The smile that crept across his face as he did so unnerved her; he was definitely not playing around. Her eyes followed the cheetahs as they made their departure, observing them until they were way out of sight. With them gone, her attentions turned to her saviour.

“Thank you” she murmured, keeping her distance as she was weary of the stranger. “Though what you did to that cheetah” she added, shaking her head in disbelief,“I thought you were going to kill him”. She paused, assessing the young male. He looked a year or so older than herself, a bit rough around the edges. He’s probably been in many more fights than this one, she thought. At the mention of her injury, she noticed her blood soaked fur and grimaced. The pain wasn’t all that bad, just a burning sensation. She hadn’t lost enough blood to be in any sort of trouble.

“It’s okay” Aluna grumbled, rubbing her opposite paw gently over her shoulder. “Where’d my kill go?” she asked, a growl rippling in her stomach reminding her that she was desperately hungry.

[GoodGrief]

Umbali simply nodded at her gratitude, it wasn’t as if he had done same great act of heroism. He would expect the same to be done for him if he ever got himself into a similar situation. He raised a curious brow upon hearing her opinion of his tactics; had he scared her? The young lion hoped not.

“I wouldn’t have killed him unless his brother decided to have another go” he retorted blankly “Besides, I think they needed a scaring - don’t know who they thought they were. Picking on a solitary lioness who’s what, no more than two years old?” He looked at her shoulder again when she affirmed it was alright, she was lucky to have not gotten worse.

It was his turn to assess her. She was definitely younger; her fur a darker tone than his own. She had not been eating enough, he could see the outline of her ribs, albeit only faintly. Was she a bad huntress? Probably not - but from her age, he assumed she had less experience. At the mention of her kill, he quickly turned and recovered it from the bush it had fallen into, dragging it towards her. “There ya go” he mumbled as he dropped it at her feet.