A Lost Son Returns (Samaki and Narifia)

[Kai]

Continued From "The Sun Rises"

Not far outside the borders of the Outlands, a lone figure walks. His gait is not entirely steady, he walks with a noticeable limp. He has tried to hide it in the past, sometimes among other lions he still tries, but the injury that caused it was so severe it nearly claimed his life. He was lucky to get away with just a mangled leg and a crooked jaw.

Not that this good luck helped his sour disposition. The lion grumbled as he walked, his usual grumpiness was exacerbated by yet another unsuccessful hunt. His lingering injuries threw off his ability to hunt. For the most part he could only catch smaller prey: hares, rodents, maybe some of the very young animals. His black mane, scraggly and thin though it was, also tended to give him away when he tried to camouflage himself in the grass.

His red eyes scanned what he could see of the land from his position. He knew this place. It had, in fact, been his home at one time. It had changed significantly since he had seen it last. In his time it had been little more than a wasteland. It had flourished under the reign of these new monarchs. Whoever they were.

He had no idea who had taken charge of the land after his mother. His sister had gone ahead to find out just that. Nuka had decided to try and find them some food in the meantime, and was just heading back to their designated meeting place. Feeling useless and furious after missing his kill, he was not paying particular attention to where he was going.

[Samaki]

It was still quite early in the morning, not long after the sun had risen, but already the air became dry and hot and the dark grey fur on Azra's aching back seemed to stick to her heavily and make each step increasingly tiring. She smiled to herself as she mulled over the thought that yes, she was getting old. Back in her youth, this short trek would have been easily carried out.

Her green eyes lifted from the grass that covered the ground in front of her and spied just the lion she was looking for. Azra scowled to herself as she looked over him. Nuka definitely looked out of shape, and to any other lion, he surely looked like a waste of flesh, just as Decimus described him. He was really the only lion Azra had really bonded with over the years though. It was a friendship that was never really understood by any others, but was still important.

Azra raised her head as she walked up to him calmly, burying her thoughts back into her head. "Nuka," she smiled to him, glad to see he was okay. Sometimes she was still a bit worried when he went out to hunt; he would always be her little brother, "This is Narifia. She is our sister," she paused and turned her head towards the black lion, giving him a warning look, "and I'm sure you remember Decimus,"

[Narifia]

      As the three lions made their way across the hot morning savannah, Narifia couldn't help but notice how quickly Azra seemed to be tiring. She looked on in sympathy and began to grow anxious to find their brother quickly so that she could get them both home and fed. Then, almost as if in answer to her concerns, she looked up and spotted him. Immediately she grinned and bounced a little in her excitement as she trotted up beside Azra to get a good look at him. Shock wiped away her grin at the sight of him; he was scrawny and undernourished, his mane thin and unkempt. He walked with a noticeable limp, and most shocking of all was his crooked jaw. On top of that, he looked absolutely miserable. Narifia was stunned at the sight, she had expected him to be tired and hungry-looking like Azra, but she certainly hadn't expected him to be in this kind of condition.

      "Nuka, this is Narifia. She is our sister."

      Azra's introduction shook Narifia out of her momentary shock. She felt immediately embarrassed at her reaction and felt her cheeks flush. She dearly hoped that Nuka and Azra hadn't noticed. Narifia stepped forward a little and smiled sheepishly, somewhat timid because of her embarrassment, but her eyes were warm and welcoming as she said, "Nuka, I'm very glad to meet you..." The reality of the occasion hit her again and suddenly all she could think about was that she was meeting her brother and sister for the very first time. Her timidness melted away as she beamed and almost giggled out, "... my big brother! I can't tell you how happy I am to meet you both, my big brother and sister!" Without hesitation she laughed and gave Azra a quick but heartfelt, loving nuzzle, then bounded over and gave the same to Nuka, oblivious to any reaction they might have to her sudden show of affection.

      Decimus' eyes widened, the look on his face somewhere along the lines of "you've got to be kidding me" without him actually saying it in words. His queen's outburst had been downright childish, and not at all becoming of the ruler of a pride. Azra's voice next caught his attention, "and I'm sure you remember Decimus." He glanced at her with narrowed eyes, then scowled and looked away with a snort, not even acknowledging Nuka's presence. He spotted a tall acacia not more than a few tail-lengths away and padded nonchalantly over to it, sitting down with his back to them and his head straight up, ears back as he made it clear with his body language that he was keeping on guard.

      He had absolutely no use for Azra and even less for Nuka. He didn't even consider that thing to be a real lion. If it wasn't for the fact that Narifia was in their presence, he would have a few choice words to sling at the pathetic meat-bag and its treacherous sister. 'But as mother always used to tell me,' he thought to himself with a frowning smirk, 'If you have nothing nice to say, turn your tail to 'em and give 'em a good look. They'll get the message.' Then again if Narifia wasn't around, Deci mused, he wouldn't really be slinging words at all. He'd be slinging claws and teeth. Wouldn't take much, either. Deci's tail tip swished with the thought and he made a little huff of pleasured discontent as he thought about doing just that.

      Narifia turned from Nuka and watched Decimus, sighing. "Oh... don't mind him. He'll come around." She turned back to face her siblings and smiled encouragingly.

[Kai]

He spotted the three lions approaching well before they arrived. For a brief instant, he looked a bit startled. It almost looked for a moment as if his mother was next to Azra. This lioness was the very image of her, right down to the stripe that began at her head and ran down her back. As the group got closer however, he began to notice the differences.

Her eyes for one could not have been more different than Zira's. His mother's eyes had been deep red, and this lioness had bright blue eyes. There was no notch in her ear, softer features, and she certainly didn't have anything resembling Zira's militant, ruthless demeanour.

He spotted her grin fading as she looked him over. That didn't bother him. He was used to reactions like that, such had been his life since he was very young.

"Nuka, this is Narifia. She is our sister."

That explained the resemblance. Curious though, she looked rather younger than himself and Azra had told him Zira had died not long after his apparent death. Before he could think too far into it, Narifia's expression changed.

"Nuka, I'm very glad to meet you..." Suddenly she wasn't looking at him like the scraggly rogue was used to. She almost looked... happy?

"... my big brother! I can't tell you how happy I am to meet you both, my big brother and sister!" When she beamed and nuzzled him, he couldn't help freezing momentarily from surprise. This was unlike any reception he had ever had. He didn't seem to be opposed to it, he just didn't even know how to react to it.

"and I'm sure you remember Decimus." said Azra. Turning to something his brain could compute, his eyes met Decimus' with mutual disdain.

"Oh... don't mind him. He'll come around." said Narifia. Nuka was sincerely doubtful of that. Finally able to gather his thoughts, he spoke.

"What... happened to this place?" He looked around. "It was just termite mounds and dry earth."

[Samaki]

Azra's muzzle turned up in a small smile as she watched the warm welcome her brother was receiving. She wasn't used to it either, even close family members in the past had treated him as lowly as dirt, so long as her mother wasn't around. Zira had always been a bit disappointed in him, but losing him was never something she wanted to happen. After all, he was the one that came through for her in the end. He at least tried; he was loyal to his own pride, a lesson Azra learned earlier in her years..

She shook her head out of her deeper thoughts and returned to what was in front of her. A family reunion. Her green eyes flicked over to Decimus who had his back turned to the scene. He certainly wasn't afraid of blatantly showing his feelings to the whole ordeal. It was almost childish in Azra's mind, but she had to look to the bright side of things. At least it was harsh feelings and not harsh claws towards her brother. She would have to keep an eye on him.

She responded with Nuka's own question, "I would like to know too. Maybe the lack of our own bad feelings made the plants grow, hm?" she said more in sarcasm than anything, "Well, most of it anyway. It seems like some things haven't changed.." her gaze found its way back to Decimus. No, some things never change.

[Narifia]

      "What... happened to this place?"

      "I would like to know too. Maybe the lack of our own bad feelings made the plants grow, hm? Well, most of it anyway. It seems like some things haven't changed..."

      Narifia chuckled a little. "Well, I don't know about that. I'm not sure that plants grow on feelings. Only Aiheu knows those things. All I know is, it was like this when we came here. It was abandoned by lions for a very long time after the original Outsiders' pride broke up. Maybe that gave it enough time to renew itself."

      The contempt between Azra, Nuka, and Decimus did not go unnoticed by the young queen, and again Narifia was reminded that there were a lot of ill feelings from the past that she could probably never fully understand. Still, despite having only just met them Narifia loved and cared about her siblings, and as her adviser and--perhaps--best friend in the pride aside from her mate Morobi, Nari cared a lot about Decimus too. She held out hope that, in time, their ill feelings would subside and they would eventually get along.

      "Well," she said after a brief pause, "I bet you guys are hungry. Now that we're all together, whadda'ya say we all head back home and get some grub? There's a little leftover gazelle from last night, and if that's not enough then I can send out a hunting party a little later." For a brief moment, Narifia looked a little sad. "Hunt Mistress says there's an injured zebra that got away from them in a hunt a few nights ago. She says it's only a matter of time before it dies of its injuries, and she knows where it holed itself up. It's kind of grim to think about, but we're pretty much guaranteed another meal tonight anyway." With a small sigh, she looked down with a bowed head. "Aiheu provides. Let's hope it doesn't suffer for too much longer."

      With a little sigh she looked up at them again, then smiled as her reverent sadness quickly melted away. Even her compassion for her prey could not outmatch the excitement and happiness she felt at having met her long lost kin. Beaming again, she motioned for them to follow. "Well, let's all go home, shall we? I can't wait to introduce you to everyone!"

      Decimus stood up on cue and padded over imposingly to walk beside her as they began to head home, thinking with a frown that for at least some of the pride, there would be no introductions necessary.

[Kai]

Nuka was caught between a feeling of excitement and a deep anxiousness. Some part of him was glad to be home, but he didn't know who else he was going to meet today. They couldn't be much worse than Decimus, he thought, and he has always been an asshole anyway. His mood improved slightly at the thought of food as well. Azra could catch some decent sized kills once in a while, but hunting large prey was hard going solo and Nuka found himself to be absolutely useless. He had made an attempt one day out of pure stubbornnes, and nearly gotten himself killed... again. Azra had not been happy about it, although she understood why he did it.

He was so very looking forward to eating something other than mice and hares. he raised his eyebrow at her talk about the injured Zebra. She may look like Zira, but her personality was very different. Getting to know her would be interesting.

[Samaki]

Azra tiredly smiled at her younger sister. Her seemingly impenetrable jubilation was.. inspiring, to say the least. As the younger lioness turned her back and began to walk ahead of them, Azra's smile slowly faded, her expression grim and unreadable. The elder was unsure of many things at this point, such as her new found sister, and without a doubt, their future. Their arrival to their long abandoned homeland would bring new horizons, and presumably, unearth their past as well. Azra also wondered at Narifia's pride and their loyalty to her. The lioness earnestly hoped that this queen in front of her had won their adoration with her enthusiasm and good spirit.. but Azra also feared that perhaps that loyalty was temporary and fragile, like to a thin pane of ice, ready to crack beneath the weight of a stronger force. Where did their loyalty belong after all? Was it really to Narifia, or was it to the honour and remembrance of her mother? Zira's pride had been rough, hardened by the times, but oh how they were brimming with passion and reverence for their queen.

Has Narifia really the strength to bring them together, if turbulence were to uproar into her harmonious rule? Azra's expression had contoured into one of deep, unsettling concentration, her heart and her thoughts belonging to vastly contrasting feelings.. Her anxious green eyes rose towards the horizon, now in the present. The others appeared to have gotten a bit ahead of her, but not terribly so. The lioness growled silently to herself and waded through the stalks of bleached, dry grass, the parched earth collecting into small clouds at her feet as she began to quicken her stride. I will have to see for myself... her chest began to heave .. when we get there.


Continued On "Back Home at Last..."