FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

When Nala was within a good two pouncing distances, the other lioness dropped the carcass she'd been dragging from her mouth. And it indeed was a carcass as Nala had expected; from the looks of it, it was a stringy buffalo foal. She sat on the ground and awaited Nala's approach.

Nala kept her head low, but not so low as to look predatory. She didn't look the other lioness in the eye for fear of intimidating her. She slowed her pace as she neared the other lion and then sat when she was just over half a pouncing length from her.

"Greetings to you. I mean no harm and I wish to parlay for a while."

The other lioness inclined her head. "We may speak for a time."

Nala breathed a small sigh of relief. If the lioness was willing to talk, then the most difficult part of this encounter was over. "I am a stranger in these parts. I was washed far down the river from distant lands when the Ancestors decided to release their flood."

The other lioness took several long moments to look Nala up and down, lifting her eyebrow in curiosity. "Quite a strange tale, if its true." Nala's eyes widened just a little in aprehension, then the lioness continued. "I think I can believe it though, given your bedraggled state."

Nala frowned ever so slightly. Whoever did look good sitting in ankle deep water and mud as they were now? "I'm very fortunate to be alive." she admitted.

"Indeed you are." She nosed the carcass leaning against her flank. "I found this foal drowned not far away. Luckily, the crocodiles were all too fat and lazy off the ill-fated to mind me taking this one."

To Nala, who hadn't had a bite to eat in the last three - or was it four? five? - days, the buffalo colt looked like a feast. Even looking at it for too long, however might provoke hostilities. Instead, Nala asked, "Pray, do you mind me asking why you are dragging it away rather than just eating it?"

The other lioness looked at her paw. "I don't mind. Other than the fact that I'd rather not eat while sitting in murky water, I intend to share this prize with the rest of my pride."

"Very admirable of you."

"Perhaps..." said the lioness, setting her paw back down after giving it a few cursory licks. "But I doubt that the rest of them will have much need of this morsel, seeing as fresh carrion is currently in abundance thanks to the flood."

Nala's gut began to growl, so she stifled it. "Then why bother bringing it?"

The lioness sighed and suddenly she looked younger, perhaps younger even than Nala. "I just want to feel useful. I haven't been successful with my hunting attempts so far and I'm too young to learn a profession yet."

Profession? wondered Nala, What does she mean by that? Perhaps she meant a certain position in a hunting team, like the flusher or the chaser. That must be it. "Give it some time. I'm still not the best at hunting, and I'm a little older than you." She decided not the mention that she hadn't honed her skills yet because there was nothing to hone her skillson back home.

"I know... That's what my mother keeps saying." The strange lion's eyes drifted off and Nala had the sense that there were likely some personal matters that complicated the matter. Well, it wasn't right to pry.

Nala leaned to one side and crossed her forelegs forlornly. "To tell the truth, I'm very lost right now and was hoping to find some other lions, or at least a dry place to rest for a while."

The other lioness smiled. "Yes, dryness is a little scarce right now." The younger lioness went quiet for a little while which scared Nala. She kept expecting her to come up with excuses to deny her, like 'one more mouth to feed' or possibly even suspect her being a spy. The other lioness bobbed her head a little side to side as she thought over Nala's fate. "I guess I can take you back home..." Nala breathed a sigh of relief and then, "IF..." Nala held her breath. "If you carry this foal home for me."

Nala smiled. "It's a deal. Thank you. My name is Nala, by the way."

"Mine's Mirembe." said the second lioness, also smiling. Nala got up and moved over to take the foal by the neck. Mirembe had already started to move and Nala followed her, dragging the carcass through the shallow water.

Although her bruised leg pained her, Nala found that it was not hard to pull the relatively lightweight foal. She'd dragged much heavier things into trees before, but the overland distance did seem to be large. Nala was careful not to put too much weight on her leg, lest she provoke further injury. All in all, though she didn't think things could have gone better; despite the fact that her mouth was watering holding the soft neck in her mouth as she walked.

Mirembe walked on ahead. She appeared to be leading them to a small stand of trees several dozen pouncing lengths away. Nala couldn't talk carrying the foal, but Mirembe seemed to feel the need to fill the silence. She seemed slightly chatty for a lion her age, in fact. "I think you'll like our home Nala." she said. "We're a close family and we're always looking out for one another."

"Mhmm..." Nala mumbled, but Mirembe didn't look back.

"Not that we don't mind strangers of course. But it's been so long since we've had a visitor, even a rouge male which father usually drives off pretty quick. But you know that's his job and all, heh... Even if the last one I saw was pretty handsome..."

Nala blinked. Sure fantasies about running away with a tall, dark maned lion were part of any lioness's cubhood fantasies; and sometimes reality, whether willing or not. But by the time one reached the size and weight to become a huntress, loyalty to the pride usually overcame such selfish feelings. Nala couldn't help but feel increasingly that Mirembe was childish for her age, maybe even a touch shallow.

"I don't even remember the last time we had a female join us. Not that I'm saying you have to stay, of course! But you're always welcome to." Mirembe looked over her shoulder at Nala dragging the foal alongside her briefly. "But imagine the stories you must have to tell!" Mirembe trilled and even hopped up a little on her forepaws. "Stories from a distant land unknown! I'll be honest, it's gotten pretty dull around here lately. Mom's just stopped nursing my new brothers and now they're more annoying than cute. Running around all the time, putting their muddy little paws in the fountain. It's disgusting! Oh, Nala, I much prefer them when they're small, don't you? But mother's not due to come into season again until after summer. Then there's months to wait after that even for new little cubs."

Nala frowned. Back in the Pridelands, no new cubs had been born in over a year, or else they came weak and sickly with their mother's malnutrition, which was even worse. No what was worse was how Scar blamed the miscarriages on the females, even as he continued to demand his right as Pride leader from whichever lioness happened to be unfortunate enough to still be able to come into season. It was a very stark contrast to the "plight" Mirembe was describing. Nala was so angry in fact, that she forgot to ponder what Mirembe might have meant when she used the word "fountain."

"Anyways, no one should have a problem with you joining us for however long you wish, Nala. And you shouldn't have to worry about father either. He's quite mellow... and he's getting a little grey around the muzzle if you know what I mean." Mirembe trilled again in that little laugh of hers. Again, Nala was puzzled. Sure, it was good that she was less likely to be raped and kept in the alpha's personal harem, but it was also the responsibility of the pride leader to ward off rogue males and other dangers. pride leaders seldom lasted long enough to get grey hairs before either being removed from office in battle, or succeeding the title down to one of his sons. For her own sake, Nala hoped that she did not have to suffer through a bloody change of regime in the time she spent in this new land.

"As for mother... ah, just try not to be too loud or strut about if you know what I mean. She manages most of our affairs and is very important among the neighbours. Sometimes she can be a little intense. But most of the time she's not really angry with you... er, most of the time." Mirembe flashed another smile back at Nala, who tried to reciprocate as much as possible with the dead animal in her mouth. Neighbors.. Nala wondered. So many little things about what she was saying didn't make much sense. I guess I'll find out when I get there.

"I'll take you to meet father first..." Mirembe paused and looked back at Nala. "...Why don't you give him that as a present? I'm sure it'll get you on his good side."

Nala was stunned. Dropping the foal momentarily, she asked, "Really? You don't have to do that, Mirembe."

Mirembe just smiled and waved a paw at her. "It's not a big deal really. It probably won't even get eaten. But it will give you points with father, so it'll help you more than it will me."

Well, Nala was not exactly in a position to refuse, so she just bowed deeply. "Thank you." Mirembe just smiled and went on ahead. They were almost at the trees now, which looked to be less a forest than just a small scraggly copse in the middle of the savanna. Nala thought about Mirembe's gift. She might be childish and naive, but she seemed to have a good heart. Maybe they could be friends after all.

Inside the copse, the rugged savanna trees grew fairly close together, but there was space enough between each branch for many lions to walk abreast. The wind was cut slightly, but the shade under the scraggly, spiky boughs was pleasant. Here the roots held the soil together which was damp to the point of soddenness, but was still a far cry from the mud-plains Nala had traversed so far.

"The pride is on the far side of the stand." said Mirembe, still plucky as ever, though she was not the one having to drag a 150 lb calf nor did she have a bruised leg. "Wait until you meet my older sister, Kalisha. We can give you a good bath and get you cleaned up and you can share some of your marvelous stories with-" It was then that she turned her head and seemed to notice something about Nala for the first time. "Hey, what's wrong with your leg?"

Nala was at first puzzled, though she couldn't deny that her limp was worse for the mile or so that they had trekked so far from the place where they first met. "Oh, this. I bruised my leg pretty bad when I was in the river, I think. I'm fine though." Her response was naturally a little guarded, it was never good to flaunt weakness in the wild.

"Oh, you poor thing! Why didn't you say something sooner?" cried Mirembe, with apparently honest dismay. "You're injured and I made you carry that thing almost all the way home. I'm so sorry!" Mirembe came close to Nala and brushed the top of her head underneath the Pridelander's chin a whiskers; a sign of submission and repentance. "Please forgive me. I do want to be friends."

Nala could not be angry at Mirembe for her obliviousness. The other lioness already seemed as a child to her and besides, she had considered the pain worthwhile for a formal introduction to this local pride since they had first started. "It's alright Mirembe. Really, don't worry about it."

"Just let me carry that the rest of the way." Mirembe said, reaching for the foal's neck.

Nala moved her paw over the neck to block her. "Really, I'm fine. Besides, you said I should present this to your father to get on his good side. It won't work if you're the one bringing it into the pride, remember?"

If Nala's tone was condescending, Mirembe didn't realize it. "Oh yes! That's right. Father will love you if you bring him this. He's always saying that we need some fresh blood around here." Her ears twitched. "Not that he's gonna... you know. He really quite mellow and-"

"Yeah. You told me before." said Nala with a laugh. When Mirembe swatted her forehead with her paw, Nala laughed again. When the older lioness began to pull the buffalo foal once again through the trees, it was less than an hour before they reached the area where the pride was residing.

Nala dropped the foal from her mouth in surprise when she first glimpsed the area where Mirembe's family was staying. She was surprised mostly because there was far more to the area than Nala was used to seeing in a typical lion den.

Most lion dens are spartan and simple. A shady area to sleep away the worst of the midday sun, some flat dry ground to sprawl out on and that was about it. Those basics were present at the edge of the copse, but it was obvious at a glance that there was so much more. For starters, there was the ground. Stones had been set in the ground everywhere and close together so as to form a firm and level surface. Dark earth was visible between the stones and the area was coated with grit and stray leaves, but otherwise this place was blessedly dry. That alone was something of a shock, but there were more elements to this place that seemed utterly unnatural. The placement of the trees was one. There were fewer trees, but spaced so as to maintain the shady cover, and Nala noticed that there was clearly space made for the trees between the strange rock formations. There were also... things hanging from many of the boughs. They reminded Nala of vines or partially dismantled bird's nests in the way they hung, but the cord was dead and dry and only a single piece was used to support the strange objects that hung here and there.

Nala walked behind Mirembe her head low and her paws flinching slightly everytime she stepped on the hard surface of the pride area. There was even more of this strange organization as the two lions got deeper inside the grounds. It was really more than Nala could take in at once. The place was far larger than any but an extremely large pride really needed, she could tell. But the interior was filled with many more strange rock formations, far more complex than the ground. Some of these seemed like conveniant benches for lying, but others seemed to have other purposes. Even stranger, wood seemed to be shaped here as well into very unusual shapes that Nala could not begin to comprehend. She'd never seen the like before.

It was difficult to continue to drag the carcass with the strange environment that had been presented to her, but fortunately there came distractions right away. There were several lions lying about in the central area of the pride grounds. One of them, oddly enough was a male lion who appeared a bit older than Nala was herself.

After giving a massive and toothy yawn, he hopped off the rock he'd been spread out on and strode up to Mirembe. "Why hello my cute, darling sister. What have you dragged back home today?" He shot a glance at Nala, "It seems like you caught something scraggly in the river. Probably should have thrown it back."

Mirembe boxed him lightly on the snout, but to little effect aside from a sneer from the male lion. "This is Nala, Fauzi!" She sidled up next to Nala and laid her tail protectively across her shoulders. "She's from a strange and distant land, and she's our guest!"

"Harumph." snorted Fauzi turning his head. "If she stays, that's for father to decide. Although it certainly looks like she could benefit from a few regular meals..." Turning away from Mirembe, Fauzi came forward uncomfortably close to Nala. "No offense you you, of course... Nala was it? My fluffy headed little sister has a strange fascination with foreign places and is always bring things home. I'm sorry that you've seemed to have gotten caught up in her games. My name is Fauzi by the way."

Nala furrowed her brows slightly. "So I've gathered... Now if you'll excuse me, I'd just like to find your patriarch so I can stop dragging this thing and rest for a while."

Fauzi grinned slightly and looked like he was about to answer, but Mirembe beat him to it. "At this time of day, Father's usually out on the sun shelf."

She began to walk off along a visibly outlined trailed, but her older brother smirked and added, "He's not there, cotton-head. Does it look like there's any sun out today?"

Mirembe bunched her shoulders in irritation, but stopped moving anyways. She spoke without turning. "So where is he then, Mr. I-know-everything?"

Fauzi lowered his head and began licking his forearm. "How should I know? I've been here all day. Last I saw, he was heading to the clear side to watch the savanna."

Mirembe began to walk down a different path, also set with stones. She muttered harshly. "Gee, thanks you are so helpful!"

Fauzi continued to lick down his arm. "Always glad to help, dear sister."

Seeing as it wasn't her place to comment on sibling rivalry, Nala simply picked up the foal for hopefully the last stretch. Thinking on how they interactive, she really didn't think that their bickering was at all unusual. Under Mufasa's reign, Nala's older siblings had often fierce rivalries that lasted sometimes all through adolescence. The only difference here was that Fauzi was male and it was unusual seeing a mature male seemingly comfortable here in the pride, no matter how he teased and baited Mirembe. Usually by his age they'd gotten restless and wandered off. Again, Nala was left with a sense of mounting strangeness that was now mounting on vertigo. Why were these lions so different from what she'd known all her life. Were all other lions like this or were they an exception?

No matter, Nala figured that she needed to simply focus on getting through with meeting the patriarch and hopefully earning herself a temporary stay here, and perhaps a meal as well. It wasn't long before they were indeed coming up before the male leader of the pride.

The pride area was situated on the south-western side of the copse. As the trees thinned moving out from the center area - still they were walking on the unusual flat stone pathways - beams of sunshine broke in increasingly large gaps... well, at least relative sunshine. It was still overcast and gloomy overall. However, it was apparent that there was a strong afternoon sun behind the thin grey film of clouds still coating the sky. Those were rapidly moving away to the north. Nala felt right in predicting that tomorrow would be clear and breezy.

The strange stones suddenly ended before the last of the trees gave way to savanna beyond. Among these stand alone was a tall rock and sitting on that rock was a lion. He was almost as still as the stone beneath him so that Nala didn't even see him until Miriembe bounded up a queer set of grooves set in the back of the majestic stone. Nala pressed her lips together and swallowed. She could only guess at how the patriarch would react to her.