Serengeti Snow: Chapter Three: Among Strangers
Time passed slowly with prey stretched few and far between for the pride. After a couple of dismally dry days, the grass, once golden and strong, was starting to singe a little. It crackled under Baridi's charcoal paws as she moved through the pride's lands, her pace slow, almost depressed. The King and Queen were out at Kishoka's old pride, and for the first time since joining this little rag-tag pride of younger lions, Baridi was asked something she wasn't sure she could do. She was asked to meet them and Kishoka's old pride today, to bond with them and be pleasant. Normally, a concept as such wasn't that bad, but it made the white lioness's stomach churn. She was so....not normal. She had been laughed at and ridiculed by darker lions much of her life, and now she feared meeting large groups of strange lions at once. Her fear had risen, so bitter and hot in her throat that she hadn't been able to sleep. Marking this were the deep circles under her eyes, and the tired, half-conscious look that overtook her face.
Neva came up behind the other lioness and nudged her lightly. "Asili's going to watch the cubs...we need to get going...it's quite a run to where Kishoka's old pride is." She spoke softly, trying not to startle the half-asleep lioness. Baridi yawned, exposing sharp white teeth, two of which were broken. "Alright...let's go." She murmured, shaking the sleep from her eyes as she picked up her pace, racing along the dried out grass beside her friend.
As the pair traveled, the scenery around them changed. The drying grass first grew stronger as they came up on a recently dried out creek. The pair of felines lept over the damp muck that marked where the water flowed, and continued on until the grass was gone, replaced with cracked, dusty ground and the occasional termite mound. This land had been hit worst by the lack of rain. The pair slowed to a walk, headed for a rocky outcropping where precious few green things were growing. New plants. Baridi tilted her head in an inquisitive fashion before pressing onward into a large cave entrance. The cave winded down, hot air rising from it's depths, smelling like boiling water, thick with sediment. The hot air condensed on the rock walls and fueled the growth of the new green plants, like a giant hot box.
The white lioness wrinkled her nose and shook out her thick fur, trying to cool herself down a little as she continued onward, the presence of Neva at her side the only thing that stopped her from turning to run. She shrank back suddenly as the sound of heavy paws bouncing on the hot rock floor echoed up from the depths, a large shadow looming on the walls. Kishoka rounded the corner, springing happily with each step. "Baridi! Neva! You came!" He grinned widely, and Baridi smirked. Her pride's fearsome King, reduced to acting like a cub on his old pride's lands. "Of course we came, 'Shoka. How many lions are down there?" She asked, voice hushed. He smiled. "Just my mom, Hasira, my aunt, and my grandma....c'mon."
And so Kishoka led the two females down into the big open cavern where his old pride lived. Baridi had been expecting it to be ugly, grey and brown, and sad, but surprisingly green grass grew on the soft soil, and the water ran in tiny rivulets of warm, bubbling liquid, all culminating in a large pool at the back end. Having seen a hot spring before, Baridi knew that because this water was bubbling so hard, it would burn anyone who made the mistake of swimming in it. But it did grow the plants, and there was a cold pool of water near the from of the cavern, fed by water dripping from the cave ceiling. All in all, it was nice, and the soft sounds of prey animals hidden in the greenery was reassuring.
As Neva and Baridi stood in a awkward manner near the cold pool of water, other lions began to swarm in. Lions who's scents breathed of other prides, or in some cases, of being rouge. So that's what had happened to Kishoka's pride, it had split into members from other prides, all occasionally showing back up here. No wonder he thought it strange when Baridi mentioned how many lions actually lived in her old pride, how her roots were based in a large, strong family that stuck together. There were eleven of them now. A staggering number compared to Kishoka's former pride.
Once the vast majority of the other's had arrived, Baridi politely bowed her head, having been introduced to everyone, and limped back as far as she could toward the bubbling pool without getting burned, and while still being in sight of this odd, peace meal pride. Neva followed, flopping down beside Baridi and flicking out her claws, digging them lightly into her foreleg. "So many lions..." She murmured softly. Baridi nodded. "Tell me about it." She whispered back, sliding one of her paws over to Neva, offering herself up to be torn into. The half-cheetah shook he head. "No, it's fine...the pain helps me concentrate on not running out of here." Baridi huffed. "You too then, huh?" She asked, glancing up as Hasira padded over. "Hey. Kishoka's gonna go hunt down some food....how're you two holding up?" Hasira asked, settling herself between the two frightened females and the large gathering of lions.
It wasn't so much that the lions gathering were frightening...they were mostly all old, their fur greying here and there, a couple grey-maned males, and a grey-furred lioness, Kishoka's grandmother. But there was just so many of them...talking as if the two frightened lionesses weren't there, gracefully being kind to both Baridi and Neva, while doing their best not to try and make them be too social. Another lion padded in now, far later than the others, receiving a head bump in greeting from Kishoka. A younger male with a thick mane that hung down to his elbows, a light caramel color too. Hasira grinned. "That's Kishoka's friend, Mauaji." She explained. Baridi blinked, astonished. "He's huge." She whispered, leaning back a little to put a fraction more distance between herself and them all. And so Mauaji was, easily a few inches taller than Kishoka, with far broader shoulders and a massive head encircled by his enormous mane. Everything about him was huge, but oddly not frightening. He had a goofy grin on his face, and moved with the bouncy, springy steps of a harmless beast.
The gathering proceeded for a while, Baridi and Neva alternating together between sneaking up to pick at the carcass Kishoka had dragged in, and hiding in the back, stopping rarely to hold casual, kind conversations with the others. After a while, the amount of strange lions nearby had Baridi feeling like she was going to throw up the meat she had just swallowed down, which would be a waste, as she hadn't eaten before the run down here. She turned to Neva, and the two decided it would be best to leave. Hasira nuzzled them lightly. "Thank you for staying so long." She murmured, proud of the two for having managed not running out sooner. And with that, they left.
Once back on the pride's lands, Neva and Baridi flopped down in the cool, shady den, curled tight around their cubs, and silent. They slipped in and out of consciousness a little, the social situation they were forced into causing them physical harm. When at last, the two had settled down a bit, Hasira and Kishoka returned, followed closely by Mauaji. They explained that the massive rouge was going to sleep in their den for the night before running off to roam the lands again a few hours after sunrise. Although a bit awkward of a situation, Baridi and Neva adjusted well, as the trio of more social lions lazed about. To a degree both Baridi and Neva made a point of being hospitable to their guest, and when night came, both settled into their usual sleeping spaces.
Mauaji settled for the night not far from Baridi, his massive body landing with a heafty thud on the rock floor, and putting itself like a barrier between the white lioness and the cave mouth. "Goodnight....Baridi, was it?" He called pleasantly. Baridi nodded. "Yeah...Sleep well Mauaji." She replied, resting her head on Paka's back lightly and sighing. She didn't feel as uncomfortable now. Granted, Mauaji was someone she didn't know well, but there was only one of him, and he was kind so far, and a friend of Kishoka, so she trusted him a little. Plus, he had brought a good sized chunk of meat with him, and was kind enough to give most of it to Paka, earning the small cub's respect.
Baridi stared out past the sleeping male at the night sky outside the den before slowly closing her eyes. This could be a long night....but she'd have to adjust herself to living like this. With both Kishoka and Hasira having a huge group of friends, this was sure to not be the last night she spent sleeping less than a foot from someone she just met.