Secrets of the Past [AustralianChaos & KiarasMate]

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga listened meeky as she explained her pride to him, his look growing somewhat dark as she explain her pride's egocentrism and strict adherence to what sounded like harsh and almost barbaric traditions. He knew someone like him would never have survived there...he was too meek and submissive for that, too willing to abandon tradition if a better, simpler way of life came along.

He was surprised, however, when she seemed to take the fate of his family rather hard for someone who never knew them, and who barely knew him, although he quickly put it down to simple sympathy for his loss. He did widen his eyes when she spoke a soft series of words in what was clearly Ancient Leonid, her tone and body language suggesting she was actually giving his dead family a blessing of sorts, leaving him speechless. "I...thank you," he said softly. "You...you didn't have to, you know," he added, sounding actually rather touched despite his words.

Tanga cocked his head as Singa tried to put weight on her paws, before hesitating, looking like she was struggling with the concept of his offer for help. He guessed her old pride had instilled a sense of morality and pride that suggested she shouldn't take such offers of help. But she seemed to give in at last, Tanga trying not to make his relief too obvious as she agreed to let him stay for a time. "That's all I ask, Singa...I wouldn't impose on you any longer than you wanted," he said softly, before falling silent again, listening as she continued, confirming his idea that her pride's traditions were clashing with her need for help. "I'm not that observant," he replied modestly. "I just noticed you seem to have some trouble putting weight on them."

He frowned as she mentioned how taking him up on his offer to hunt for her would have brought her nothing but ridicule and scorn for her; her old pride seemed to value public image and strength, be it physical or mental, above life itself. "I know this might not be easy to get used to, Singa...but you've left your old pride. I mean no disrespect to you or to them, but you're not among them any more. Out here, I quickly learned that in order to survive, you need to take whatever help you can get when it comes along, particularly if you're hurt or ill. Just...think of it as me paying you back for ruining your hunt before. I cost you a meal, so I'm repaying to favour by providing one for you."

He looked around during the brief silence, though, remembering the grove they were still sheltered in. "Although, we first have to get back out of this place, since I doubt we're getting out the way the came in," he observed softly, looking over to the thorn patches on the far side of the ponds, their sharp mass actually extending out over the pond a ways, making a return journey over them all-but impossible.

[KiarasMate]

”I didn’t have to?” Singa thought apprehensively to herself as she took in Tanga’s appreciative words for her actions. ”How could I not honor those who have moved on from this world?”

Everything the black maned lion did, seemed strange to Singa, but it was growing more apparent to the tawny furred lioness that perhaps it was she, who was the one who acted unusually. After all, she had been born into the Arimathea Pride, had lived amongst their ranks, been fervently set in the etiquette and decorum that any self-respecting member of the supposed Ancient Leonid blood line would have lived and died by, and had always thought that everything that had been instilled into her being, was how the world was supposed to be, and yet, here she was, already making a mockery of herself, or so Singa felt. She dared not express her inner quarrel over the matter however, instead opting to politely smile as she replied to Tanga’s gratitude in a humble voice.

”It’s the least I can do Tanga, trust me on that. The Ancient Leonid Ways state that it is customary to pay respects to any deceased creature whether one is familiar with the fallen or not. After every hunt, when pray is killed, one is supposed to do this ritual as well. Even if a rival lion or lioness is slain by one’s own paws, this rule still applies. Do you see the dichotomy in that?

Shaking her head in dismay from her own thoughts, Singa’s focus turned to the current issue at paw. Tanga was right about the fact that the two of them first needed to find a way out from the secluded forest they were temporarily residing in. Thankful at least, that the path they had entered their current location from, was no longer accessible, as she herself didn’t wish to venture back the way she had come for many reasons, the tailless, bald monkeys in the roaring metallic beast being near the top of the list, Singa looked thoughtful for several moments as she mentally pulled up the map of the surrounding lands in her mind, something she had grown used to doing from her time in the hunting party of the Arimathea Pride. She had stalked the lands, or at least, the northern most regions of them, before she had even begun stalking the small herd of impala she had been after when all this had started.

”If you’ll allow it Tanga, might I take lead? I think I might be able to guide us out of here, or at least, I hope I can. I’m none too familiar with this area, but my skills from the uwindaji…erm, hunting party, sorry, should be enough to get us by.”

Refusing to do anything more until she was given the affirmative by Tanga, Singa merely stood at attention, her stance slightly altered so that the majority of her body weight was being applied to her hind paws which weren’t as sore as her fore paws. While she waited for her company’s approval, the young lioness continued to meld over what Tanga had said prior. It was never the case of any male lion being an inconvenience or Burdon to any lioness of the Arimathea Pride, quite the opposite rather. If anything, Singa felt as though she herself, was taking a risk by allowing her new companion to help her without proper reasoning, even though Tanga did in fact have a valid point, and she desperately needed nourishment of some kind. Doing her utmost to suppress her quandaries for the mean time, Singa prepared herself to venture forth as her tail swayed ever so slowly behind her.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga nodded as she explained her pride's tradition of paying respect to any deceased creature they were aware of. To him, it seemed somewhat excessive, but he could respect the traditions she was brought up on, and knew he would do his best not to offend them or her in any way. He did, however, see some sense in their tradition of paying respect to their fallen prey after a successful hunt...they were creatures, too, and had heard rumours that some prides even communicated with the local prey, managing to forge a relationship of sorts, not letting thir nature of predator and prey get in the way of helping each other out when not hunting each other down.

As Singa mentioned being familiar with this area, and requesting she take the lead, Tanga nodded softly, although he was curious by her rigid, attentive stance. "Please, Singa...I've never been to these lands before, and judging from everything I can tell so far, you're probably far better with directions than I am," he said softly, before pausing, leaning in towards her slightly, finally noticing her somewhat coflicted expression.

"Is everything okay?" he asked softly. "You seem troubled, Singa...look, if you don't want me around, I understand, and I can leave..." he said softly, praying that was not the case. She was the first leonine not of his family to treat him with any sort of kindness and respect, but he was still aware that rogues had something of a bad impression, particularly amongst pride lions, and since Singa was formerly of a pride, that prejudice was what he figured was the reason behind her troubled look.

[KiarasMate]

Pleased in the fact that Tanga had accepted her proposal for her to take point, although feeling slightly bewildered by his recent assessment of her appearance, Singa made a mental note to try and cut back on the formalities of her old ways. It would be an extremely hard habit to rid herself of, but not wishing to confuse respect with hesitance, she would try her best to. After a split second scan of the path ahead of the two felines, Singa cautiously began to press forward as she verbally reassured the yellow furred male that his company was most welcome.

”Please Tanga, I wish nothing of the sort. It would actually be nice to have some camaraderie after wandering these lands alone for so long. Besides,” Singa stated, her voice shifting to a more humorous tone as she continued. ”You don’t expect me to pass on a free meal, do you now?”

Glancing over her shoulder briefly to make sure that Tanga was following closely behind her, as well as to flash him a friendly looking smile, Singa turned her full attention now to the business at paw. Using every trick of the trade that she could utilize from her past experience with tracking pray, combined with the little former knowledge she had of the area around her, the tawny furred lioness picked up her speed as she traversed through the thick vegetation of the grove, stopping every now and then to flag her tail in the air, her tail tuft gently swaying in the light breeze that rippled through the canapé above the two wandering felines. Swiveling her ears this way and that, Singa mentally calculated every single sound that she picked up, using the audio of the forest as a natural guiding mechanism.

”I believe this path here,” Singa remarked, motioning with her muzzle towards a distant division within the lush landscape ahead of her. ”Will take us out of here. If you hone in your hearing, you can tell that the sounds coming from that direction, echo far less, indicating that there are open plains down that way.”

Without missing a beat, Singa’s pace remained neutral as she trotted along, the muscles adorning her furry physique flexing delicately with each stride she took. The chosen path that Singa had decided upon was a bit longer than she had anticipated it being however, the young lioness was confident in her selection, and this just gave the two traveling companions time to get to know one another more. Breaking the short silence that had fallen over the pair, Singa piped up in a curious tone as her tail constantly raised and fell, her tail tuft testing the winds to ensure that they were heading in the right direction.

”So, would you care to tell me a little more about yourself Tanga? I hope I’m not being too snoopy by asking you such a query.”

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga nodded, smiling somewhat shyly as Singa dispelled his fears of not being wanted, nodding at her assessment that a companion would be nice after months of lonliness...it was exactly how he felt. He smiled again at Singa's comment about a free meal, nodding...he was going to have to make up for ruining her hunt, after all.

The golden-furred lion soon fell into step behind his tawny companion, following her as she scouted out a path for them to take, impressed by her tracking skills. He considered himself a decent tracker and hunter...you had to be if you wanted to last any amount of time as a rogue...but Singa was obviously well-trained. Tanga would not have been surprised if she was even better than his parents, and he had always thought they were masters of the art.

When she pointed out what she believed was the path out of the grove, Tanga took her advice, pausing for a second, his ears flicking as he strained to listen to the sounds around him, looking at her in no small amount of awe as her advice proved correct, and seemed to suggest a way out. Before he could comment, though, they were off again, trotting silently through the lush foliage.

Tanga paused in his curious inspection of the greenery around him when Singa drew his attention, asking him about himself, waving a paw at her worries about being too snoopy. "Nah, it's fine, Singa. But to be honest, there's not an awful lot to tell about me, really. I'm a born and raised rogue, since my parents are...were, a rogue couple," he trailed off slightly, looking up at the tree canopy, and the sky beyond it, sighing softly. His parents were with the Great Kings now, all he could do was understand that they were still watching over him, and try to be the best lion he could be for them. "I grew up with my sister, learning how to hunt and fight. As a rogue, you had to know how to survive early on. But my parents made sure life wasn't all work and no play, and were happy for us to just take time to just...be cubs, you know?"

He looked down at his paws as he continued, his expression growing darker. "But some months ago now, when I just reaching full maturity, I was out on a solo hunt, since my mother was stuck having to care for my little brother, who was still too young to really look after himself at all. And when I came back...there they were, all dead. Another rogue group had obviously found them while I was gone and just...killed them. I couldn't even find a trace of little Juhudi, anywhere..." Tanga's voice by the time he was finished was clearly choked with emotion...while he had accepted and grieved for the loss, it was painfully obvious he was still hurting from it.

[KiarasMate]

As she listened on as Tanga unfolded his bittersweet past to her, Singa could feel her heart sinking in her chest with each tragic detail the black maned lion divulged. Not only had her golden furred company been born a rogue, something that was most unthinkable to one who was raised in the ways of the Ancient Leonid, but on top of that, his family had been murdered for no apparent reason whatsoever. The thought both sickened, yet bewildered Singa at the same time. Swallowing down the lump that was beginning to form within her throat and cringing slightly from another twinge of guilt that raked her conscience, the tawny coated female did her best to try and lighten the mood without treading upon Tanga’s toes, so to speak.

”My heart goes out to you and yours Tanga-Mwokozi. It sounds as though you’ve lived even a rougher life than I myself have. I only hope your family was able to find peace, and not become walaani, those who are forced to walk the lands after death, cursed until all misdoings are resolved.” Shaking her head slowly, Singa resumed speaking, her voice laced with anguish. ”If only Tiba were here. She was my pride’s Seer. She always had the answers to everything.”

Trying not to dwell upon this thought for too long, as Singa knew that there would be no chance for her, let alone being in the company of a rogue lion now, to ever come back to her pride, so the chances of Tiba even being able to help Tanga were virtually nil. Finding herself now at a loss for words, Singa was relieved that the two of them were finally breaking free of the forest they had been traveling through, as the path she had guided them down was now transitioning into the more familiar grasslands of the savannah. As luck would have it too, their trek had placed the two felines smack dab in the middle of a migration path, providing plentiful targets for a potential meal.

”Well, looks like we made it out of there in one piece Tanga. At least my uwindaji skills haven’t forsaken me…yet that is.” Singa stated as she casually lowered herself to her belly upon the crisp grass of the ground, giving her achy paws another much needed rest. Glancing up at Tanga, her midnight eyes showing the utmost thanks and appreciation within them, the young lioness addressed Tanga once more. ”So, what’s on the menu for today, hmm?”

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga kept his head down as Singa offered her condolences and hopes, lamenting the fact that she couldn't get him to meet her old pride's seer for guidance. "It's okay," he said softly. "I happened a while ago, and I had time to grieve and put them to rest. I guess it just...it still hurts, sometimes. They were my whole world, since no-one really wants to associate with rogues. You're actually the first feline outside my family I've ever held any sort of conversation with," he added rather shyly, still not looking up.

He did finally turn his gaze upwards, however, when Singa told him they'd escaped the forest, and found the open savannah once more...and better yet, had stumbled right into the middle of a migration path. He looked to her as she settled onto her belly, looking very relieved to finally give her paws some much needed rest as she reminded him of his promise, making him look around the herds around them, searching for their next meal. "Hmm..." he mused under his breath as he scanned the migration herds, looking for something that would be an easy target, only feeling a mild twinge of guilt as he spotted a small, frail-looking zebra. Hunting was a cruel business...but the creatures all understood it was a way of life, and that, in order for some creatures to survive, others had to be sacrificed.

"Just wait here, Singa," he said softly, ducking low to the grass himself to hide better. "And I hope you haven't had zebra in a while..." With that commented, he was off, stalking through the grass with practiced silence and precision, avoiding the groups of herbivores between himself and his prey, not wanting to alert them. If one migration herd got alarmed, the others would most likely panic, too. He needed to be particularly careful, too...his dark mane was difficult to hide in the grass, making it much more likely that someone would spot him and sound the alarm.

And sure, enough, just as he was closing in on the frail zebra, something behind him either caught his scent drifting on the winds, or spotted his black mane, quickly calling insistently, shouting an alarm. Growling in frustration, Tanga shot off the mark, knowing he needed to use the precious split-second the herds would take to react to the alarm. Sure enough, even as he took his first bounding strides, the zebra herd was off the mark, sprinting away from him in a rush, clearly desperate to escape being his and Singa's next meal. Tanga narrowed his eyes, using his small size to as much advantage as possible, sprinting after the frail-looking one, who indeed was struggling to keep up with the herd, beginning to fall behind as Tanga closed in. Just as Tanga was beginning to tire, and feared he may have missed his chance, the zebra, clearly frightened, tried to make a sharp turn in an attempt to lose the lion chasing him, making it's last mistake. Tanga's agile frame took the sudden shift in direction with ease, actually cutting the corner as he pounced, his claws sinking into the zebra's flank, dragging its hooves out from under him as they collapsed to the ground.

"I'm sorry..." Tanga muttered softly, before his jaws made quick work of the zebra's neck, putting it out of its misery. He gave a triumphant roar as the adrenaline of the chase began to die off, his sides heaving as he panted heavily, grabbing the zebra and roughly beginning to drag it back towards Singa, which was slow progress thanks to the black and white creature being a good measure bigger than his own undersized form.

[KiarasMate]

”Zebra sounds divine Tanga.” Singa murmured, keeping her voice purposefully low just to provide her company with as much protection from being alerted by the distant herds.

Feeling more than happy to oblige Tanga’s request, as she wouldn’t have been able to do much of anything other than to play spectator to the golden furred male’s upcoming performance even if she wanted to, the young lioness rolled onto her side to completely free her tender paws from having to support any of her weight, while keeping her head slightly elevated so she could observe and critique Tanga’s actions. It was a most intriguing sight to behold for Singa, as Ancient Leonid custom as it was practiced within her pride, strictly left hunting up to the lionesses, and any male who was ever forced to hunt for himself was severely chastised as being what was known in the Ancient Leonid tongue as ikutumikieni, one who has lost dominance, often times shortened to kutu.

Regardless of the slight taboo of the situation though, Singa couldn’t help but to feel a sense of admiration for Tanga’s efforts. While he lacked the finesse of a well-trained female, his agility and quick thinking more than proved adequate. More impressed was Singa, with the fact that even sporting the burdensome black mane that he did, Tanga still managed to stalk quite proficiently, almost reaching striking distance without being detected. Even with the minor setback of his position being advertised by an overly nervous group of gazelle that had sounded the proverbial alarm, Singa looked on in fascination as Tanga’s perseverance paid off in the form of a rather tasty looking meal. Completely ignoring her own condition for the moment, Singa rose to all fours as she let out an answering roar to that of the black maned lion’s, her voice cutting through the thick afternoon air like a clap of thunder.

”Sifa kwa mtoa! Praise to the provider!”

Trotting up to greet Tanga as he was towing the newly slain zebra towards her, Singa quickly rolled onto her back before reaching a fore paw upwards to stroke gently under the young male’s chin in a respectful fashion, repeating the Ancient Leonid phrase she had just used, once more in a lower voice before rising to her paws once again. Turning her attention to the now deceased creature next to the both of them, the young lioness thoughtfully reached out a fore paw, and with the utmost care and sincerity, gingerly closed the fallen zebra’s eyelids with a paw toe before whispering softly, the words of respect to the dead as she had previously done for Tanga’s family.

”Furaha ya milele. May your life, give us life.”

Having fulfilled her tradition, Singa moved in close to the lifeless zebra before skillfully opening its stomach with precise movements of her needle-like claws and piercing teeth, the crimson life stream of the slain animal beginning to stain the grass red, filling the air with the unmistakable odor of a fresh kill all around the two felines. Delicately maneuvering her muzzle into the midsection of the slain zebra, Singa immerged holding the most succulent piece of meat imaginable within her muzzle. Making her way over to Tanga, the tawny furred lioness politely deposited the contents of her maw at Tanga’s feet before licking the blood off of her face.

”Nyara, Tanga-Mwokozi. Hunter’s Choice. You must take it.” Singa stated as she bowed elegantly before him, her belly letting out a low rumble from hunger, yet she dared not help herself to the kill until Tanga had devoured the spoils of the hunt first.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga paused in his exhausting efforts to drag the zebra along when Singa approached him, giving her an odd look as she rolled on her back and brushed his chin with a paw, obviously another custom of hers. He quickly schooled his features, trying to respect her ways, listening as she said something in her language, which she quickly translated for him, her high praise of him making him blush and look at his paws slightly. He always had been that whenever he took a compliment, even from his own family. From a stranger, though, the effect was much more noticable.

Tanga once more paused, however, as she closed the zebra's lifeless eyes, whispering something in her ancient language, smiling softly at her profound sense of respect, even for those they had killed so they could live on. He liked that ideal...but before he could ask her further about it, Singa had already dug into the best meat of the kill...only for Tanga to pause as she dropped it in front of him, claiming it was the Hunter's Choice, and therefore he must take it. Every instinct screamed at him to protest, that it was fine and she was welcome to have it, but he suppressed it, realising it was another tradition of hers, her belly's low rumble letting him know she was waiting for him, against her stomach's protest.

With a small nod, he looked down at the fresh, drool-inducing meat. "Thank you, Singa. Please, don't wait on me any longer," he said softly, before ripping his first bite off the meat, digging in, hoping that his own initiation of the meal would be enought to satisfy her sense of tradition as he dug in, devouring the first, juicy piece as his own hunger took over.

Before moving onto the rest of the meal, though, Tanga paused, looking over at Singa. "Umm, Singa?" he asked softly. "That, that thing you said over the zebra, 'may your life give us life'...think you can teach how to say that, properly. It's nice, being able to show one last bit of respect to them, knowing that they unwillingly gave their life to sustain ours." His question asked, he went back to his meal, although kept his focus on Singa, ready to hear her answer.

[KiarasMate]

As much as it went against the tradition that had deeply been instilled within her, as a lioness who even took the smallest of morsels of a kill before any male had satiated his hunger, regardless of rank, would be lucky not to have her head chewed off in her former pride, starvation quickly won out over custom as Singa settled herself near the far end of the zebra carcass, making sure to still leave the prime entrails and nourishing organs of the slain creature for Tanga to consume. As the first few mouthfuls of life giving protein disappeared down her gullet, the tawny furred lioness could almost feel her energy being rejuvenated, the pain slowly beginning to dull within her once achy paws. In the midst of her feeding frenzy however, Singa’s ears stood erect as she attentively listened to the question being posed to her by her company. Taking a brief moment to tidy up her muzzle with a few skillful laps of her pink tongue, Singa answered Tanga’s inquiry in a pleasant voice, that same noticeable accent that she used whenever she spoke any words in Ancient Leonid being clearly present in her tone as she annunciated.

”Mei maisha yako ya maisha. That is the phrase in Ancient Leonid, although with most prides that still practice the custom of honoring the fallen, it usually is shortened to this.” Singa remarked as she sauntered over to the front half of the deceased zebra. Placing her fore paw ever so softly upon the dead animal’s neck where Tanga had ended its life from, the tawny furred female whispered lovingly. ”Maisha,” before moving the same fore paw over her chest, against her own beating heart where she repeated the word again. ”Maisha.” Turning to face Tanga, Singa elaborated on her performance, just in case the message hadn’t been clear enough, although she was fairly certain that the black maned male already understood the meaning of her actions. ”It is said that the spirit of the creature one kills, escapes through the means in which its life was ended, thus, since our meal here was dispatched via the throat, one must place his or her paw upon that area and give thanks for the life that was given, Maisha meaning life in Ancient Leonid. That same paw then covers our own life source, where we once again, give thanks for the life that has been selflessly relinquished to us so that we may live longer.”

Hoping that her explanation was satisfactory for Tanga’s likings, Singa returned herself back to her spot amongst the zebra carcass, her hunger not yet subsided. Typically, it never took the young female very long to fill her stomach however, things were different now. She needed to eat as much as possible while she could. Granted, she had been offered this free meal rightfully so, but that was no guarantee that there would be any future such meals in the proverbial deck of cards that now symbolically represented her life, and the more time that passed, the more the cards seemed to be stacked against her. For now at least, things seemed relatively tranquil and having the companionship of Tanga helped to put any worries Singa had, at ease, at least, for the time being anyways. After several more minutes of voracious eating, Singa finally felt her appetite starting to appease. Rolling lazily onto her side, her full belly bulging from just how much zebra meat she had devoured, the young lioness let out a satisfied sounding yawn as she closed her tenebrous orbs, looking quite the picturesque example of peacefulness as she spoke up gratefully to Tanga.

”I must commend you once more on a hunt well done Tanga-Mwokozi. I can’t remember the last time I’ve felt this full and content. You’ve honored your word and have gained my eternal gratitude. I only wish I could repay you for your kindness. Perhaps if I am up for it come dawn, I will try to catch you an equally substantial meal, that is, if you’re not planning on leaving now that your obligation to me has been fulfilled?”