Mostafa sighed. He didn't mind patrol. It was nice to get it by himself every once and awhile, but he missed haven't a younger companion to chat with. His paws crunched the dry savanna grass. Suddenly, a sight caught his eyes. A warthog. Totally unaware of his presence. He pinned his ears. Her was supposed to be watching for and enemy pride on these boarders, but if they weren't here...

He croached in the grass, and moved forward. He tensed all his muscles. Waiting until just that perfect moment. Then he launched.

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The late morning sun scorched Rehema's back relentlessly as she carefully made her way through the quiet savannah. While it was unusual to see a lioness on patrol duty, Rehema was a large and strong female. She had trained long and hard to earn this position in the Dawn pride. Besides, she had always preferred to spend her days in solitude. It didn't mean Rehema disliked her pride members or didn't respect her leaders. Quite the opposite, actually. They simply understood her need for space. Rehema appreciated it greatly. Her life in the Dawn pride was really good.

Rasing her dark nose, Rehema sniffed the air. A warthog had passed through here recently. Enticed by the idea of an early lunch, Rehema followed the scent. It led her close to the border. The sight she saw ahead of her made her momentarily freeze on the spot. There was the warthog, but right next to it crouched a male lion. A male Rehema knew belonged to the enemy pride. The warthog was still in the Dawn pride territory, but the male was already preparing for an attack. Baring her teeth, Rehema let out a warning snarl right when the lion was mid-leap. The noise scared the warthog and it dashed away. Rehema rushed towards the enemy. "Stop right there! Another step and you're in our territory," she warned the male with a hiss.

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He could taste the warthog. He was close, so very close. Just before his claws could make contact though, a snarl rang through the area. Mostafa looked to see where on earth it had come from, but in the process of doing so the washing ran off, and to say the least his landing was a face full of dirt. Mostafa coughed and stood, shaking his short, black mane.

"Hey, what was-" He cut himself short as he looked into the eyes of a Dawn Pride lioness. He scoffed. The two prices had been enemies since Neo overthrew their previous king. While the current king want always super clear why they were enemies, Mostafa was inclined to obey the policy of keeping off each other's territory.

"Well, I could say the same to you." He retorted. His nostrils flared. "And even so the warthog was on our side." He extended a claw toward a thin tree nearby. "See?"

Putting his paw down he added, "You should go join your hunting party. And keep away from the food of others."

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While wary of the stranger, Rehema couldn't help the huff that escaped her chest. The sight of him faceplanting the ground was comical. However, she schooled her features back to annoyance right before the male stood up and looked at her. She glanced at the tree he pointed at and shook her head. "That may be true, but were you really going to let it go once it crossed into our side?" Rehema arched her eyebrows dubiously.

At his next remark, she let out a warning growl. "You shouldn't assume things about me. Besides, I don't take orders from you," Rehema added in a huff. Both of them still stood in their territories, so technically, there was no need for a conflict. But Rehema didn't trust this lion to not cross the border and besides, she was on patrol. It was her job to make sure her pride's territory was secure. Realizing that she had no choice but to wait for the male to leave, Rehema sat down on the dry ground, flicking the tip of her tail back and forth.

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"I respect our property line." He remarked. The arched eyebrows rubbing his fur the wrong way. Then at the growl he only rolled his eyes.

"I wasn't trying to push you around, my assumption was that you too might have crossed for a small warthog." He raised an eyebrow. "Lionesses are usually the ones who hunt, not patrol. I simply assumed, that you did too. Of course if my current assumption is right, you are either an explorer or on patrol, correct?"

She had sat down. Great, he couldn't leave until she did. Why didn't this scrape happen with Jafari or Radishi? Both were older and better diplomats than he was. He grimanced, then also sat. He leveled his gazed with hers. This was a horrible idea, but it'd have to do....until she left or one of them fell asleep.

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"I am on patrol, yes," Rehema replied reluctantly a few moments later. She watched the male sit down and lock eyes with her. It would appear they were going to stay here for a while.

Fifteen minutes passed. Rehema didn't utter a word. Silence was something she was accustomed to and actually preferred. However, with the sun directly above them, the sweltering heat served as a reminder to Rehema that she should find some shade soon. But how could she leave her post?

After another fifteen minutes, Rehema let out a heavy sigh. "This is getting us nowhere," she muttered under her nose. Standing up, the lioness approached the territory border. She didn't cross it, simply stood right in front of the male. "I have a proposition," Rehema announced. She could hardly believe what she was going to say next. "I am willing to believe that you respect the property line and won't cross it. I assure you that I won't either. Neither your territory nor mine has been breached. We can forget this encounter happened and go our separate ways."

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Mostafa felt stupid. Sitting here like this. He could only imagine what the questions would be when he got home. What took you so long? An interaction at the border? Food? All the questions he didn't want to hear nor answer. Yet his pride prevented him from getting up first. It was a challenge and one he had taken.

After a sweltering thirty minutes, the lioness stood up. Mostafa eyes her as she came toe to toe with the boarder. Her grey fur shimmering with sweat. He blinked and stood. Holding his chin high he nodded.

"I'll take your word for it." He said. "Nothing has been breached and this encounter never happened." He knew no one would ever heard of it. If his brother the king heard they'd both be in trouble. If the rest of the pride heard the gossip would take many twists and turns and come out in many angles. None of which would be true, nor would he want to be apart of.

Mostafa dipped is head and turned to leave.

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