Sleeping Under the Stars (Open)

[sacredfire]

Malka in his younger days would have loved to come out as a cub to watch the heavens here. The place was such a delight to see, and the Pridelanders had it. They were certainly impressive to have such a spot, not that he was jealous of them, just awed. The male lioness made his way through the sweet smelling Savannah grass only moments before. The soft grass tickled his brown fur but he knew better than to laugh out loud, someone nearby may have thought he was a bit strange. Well there was no argue on that, Malka was known to do some strange things like getting lost easily and not finding his way back. But this time he brought his bravery back one more time in order to try and help a fellow pride. He had at least set one foot in the Pridelands before and hadn't forgotten what his friend had asked of him, to maybe return one day.

Malka was on his journey now back to the Pride Lands to see what was going on. However, his old ways of getting sidetracked happened again. Once he was out of the savannah grass and onto easier grass lands he shook his coat in order to get any thing out of it that he may have attracted along the way. This place seemed like a decent place to rest. There was nothing around to bother him with. And those who were nearby wanted nothing to do with trouble. So he sat down half way letting his feet collapse in the savannah grasses in order to look up at the many stars. Many thoughts raced through the male lion's head as he knew he needed to sleep but this wasn't helping.

"If I can't sleep now I'll be sleeping when it's hot out tomorrow. That won't be fun at all." He said to himself. He perferred when the temperatures were just right, cool in the evening so he could go out and enjoy it without burning up from the sun's heat. No one enjoyed that he figured, He also knew other parts of his body had wanted this well deserved rest soon, his paws ached from the long journey that he had walked so far. And he knew he had a longer way to go at this point. He was going to need all the strength he could get.

[Indigo<3]

She was quickly approaching adult hood and with her age came independence. Her mother was busy raising her baby sister and she had learned almost everything she needed from her anyway. Well at least when it came to stalking, hunting, and even sparring. Which was what she happened to be doing this evening, she had decided to test out her hunting skills again.Soon she would be up for her first hunt, and would have to successfully bring home a kill to become a part of the pride. With a soft sound the young lioness continued her search for a herd to stalk. Some herds were returning to the pride lands but not many. Lulanti frowned softly as she walked along the western hills, her brown eyes looking hard for any sign of life. The land seemed empty to her, and that was depressing. However she saw a large form resting in the distance and she decided to go an investigate. Which probably wasn't the smartest idea since her uncle still lived. The lion in question however was a lot larger than her uncle and so she relaxed slightly. Lulanti finally stopped a few feet away from where the male rested, he lokoed exhausted.

"Hello there. I am Lulanti. Who are you?" She asked him quietly, unsure of this. Her mother had explained to her how dangerous lone males could be. That they could rape a lioness or even murder her if they happened to be violent enough. However she had to take a chance, how else would she meet anyone new? Glancing over her shoulder she wished that she had drug Mheetu along on this little venture of hers. Her best friend however was far off at Pride Rock fast asleep no doubt. Returning her eyes to the male lion she waited to see what he would say.

Lulanti padded back a few feet and sat herself down, cautiously watching the male for any sign of aggression if there was any she would bolt for home.

[sacredfire]

Malka had thought he had been alone out in the savannah. Apparently he had been wrong. A voice called out to him, or at least he guessed that it was for him. His attention turned when he saw a female lioness nearby, she looked rather young. In fact too young to be called an adult completely. He figured at this point that she was ending her teenage years, and was eager to go with the new independence she had. Malka’s eyes traveled up and down the lioness’s body to get a better look at her at first. Recalling what she had said earlier about her name, Lulanti. She also seemed to be rather excited that she was meeting another lion, he couldn’t blame her. He himself hadn’t seen another one since he left his pride out in the mountains. Other than that he was pretty much on his own. So he took this as an opportunity, and remained calm. The last thing he wanted was for her to think he was cruel and villainous, no that wasn’t him at all.

Finally after what seemed like a long time he spoke up to Lulanti, “It’s nice to meet you, my name is Malka. I was heading to Pride Rock but I guess I got a bit side tracked along the way. I’m one you could say that easily gets lost in these areas.” Malka explained to Lulanti as he watched her. He got up in more of a sitting position on his back paws instead of all four like he had been previously. It felt more comfortable than the previous position that he was in. Plus if Lulanti had wanted to stay awhile with him, it would look like that he was paying attention, which was entirely true. He wasn’t about to doze off now, but his feet still ached from the long walk that he had already come from days ago.

[Indigo<3]

This meeting was going surprisingly well for the young lioness, she had figured the male would either rebuff her or end up being evil. Then again her thoughts were tainted by her uncle and his evil ways. For a time the entire pride was tainted by his madness, and slowly they overcame those nasty thoughts. Her ears twitched silently as the various sounds of the night reached her, the sound of the hunt. Most likely it was a leopard out hunting on this night and not one of her kind, most of the pride was located at the den. Now that they didn't have to hunt constantly they could afford to sleep and just enjoy one another. Her ears continued to twitch as the hunt progressed out there in the darkness, the death cries of a impala reached them next. On instinct her mouth watered for a moment, remembering those times of near starvation. She however did not race off into the darkness to steal the meat from the leopard instead she focused herself on the male before him. As he spoke his name she blinked slowly, hadn't Nala mentioned a Malka before? Maybe she could ask him?

"Well Malka I may actually know of you.. My sister in law and Queen Nala has mentioned a Malka on various occasions. That he used to be a close friend of hers and my brother Simba's long ago..." Lulanti told him softly and watched for any reaction from the male. If he was indeed that Malka then Nala would be so excited to see him again. As would her brother when he returned from his 'vacation away from his responsibility. The rest of the group of friends had stayed here as well, Kula, Chumvi, Tama, Tojo.. they would all be happy to see their cub hood friend again. She hoped he was that Malka.

Lulanti looked down at the ground silently, her eyes taking in each detail of the ground. Every pebble and each blade of grass. She had learned to appreciate grass quite a bit now that it was back. Absently she ran her paw along the soft blades in a absent manner as she listened for his response.

[sacredfire]

The male had also noticed the sound of the kill going on. His ears moved a bit to capture everything that was going on in it. The noises of the impala did not make him flinch at all. But he wasn't hungry like Lulanti had been, he had not been around for those horrible starving times like the pridelanders had been in. He had maybe been lucky? No it wasn't luck, he was from a different pride, almost completely cut off of what was going on in there. And when word did come over to his area, it had already been over. Scar had left.

"Yes, that Malka is indeed me. Just grown up to an adult." Malka said as he looked back at Lulanti. He wasn't at all surprised that Nala and Simba may have still remembered him as a kid. Yet, now what he did wonder was another thought, what did they think of him now? He had similar features that he did when he was a cub, the fur on the ridges of his ears, his eyes, and even the color of his mane was the same. He was sure that they could recognize him by those things. Or even if he had too go to the other resort, he would have to think of several memories that they had together. That would work as well. He noticed that Lulanti was not looking at him at this point, she seemed to be facing the ground. As if avoiding eye contact. Though he wasn't sure if she'd say anything else though, but added in one more idea that might help Nala and Simba's memory.

"The other thing I was known for was getting lost. I still kind of do to this day get a bit side tracked. That's how I came across the pride in the first place." Malka added.