“So you just woke up today and thought we should walk to the ends of the Earth just to hunt down some dumb fluffballs?” The incredulousness in Ryder’s voice had Tanga’s nose twitching in irritation.

"Yes." The curt reply from the patchwork king had Ryder coming to a stop, fixing her father with a look of displeasure.

"Is anyone else getting a ‘funny’ feeling about this?" Ryder pushed her pridemates to chime in.

"No, not really, so can you shut up and just keep walking?" Yaoundé grouched and brushed past the slack jawed lioness.

"How dare you tell me to shut up, uchafu." The golden lioness spat out the offensive insult and watched in delight as Yaoundé’s eyes filled with anger.

"Will you both just be quiet? Is is really so difficult for us to have a nice outing for once?" Tanga spun around and fixed the bickering lionesses with a harsh look. The group had been at it since this morning and between Ryder’s prying questions and the back and forth between the girls Tanga was already at his limit. And it wasn’t even midday yet.

The sudden and uncharacteristic outburst from their king took all of the girls in the party by surprise. The agitation in his eyes tipped them off to the fact that this most likely wasn’t some casual ‘family outing’ as Tanga had originally suggested. The youngest in the group was the first to speak.

"Sorry papa, we’ll behave." The soft voice of the huntress seemed to relax the king a bit and he nodded. Chicken Bones offered her father a smile, Tanga gave CB a small one in return. The king forged ahead, hoping that no more arguments would break out for the remainder of the trip to the meeting place. They couldn’t afford anymore delays they were late enough as is.

As they reached the edge of the plateau CB broke into a sprint with Lydia and the rest of the small group close behind her, the pair bounded up the steady incline and Tanga watched with apprehension as they disappeared over the edge. He wasn’t as young as the ladies so it took him a bit longer to ascend, it wasn’t a steep slope but it was enough to have him a bit winded as he climbed over the edge. He was pleased to see the members of the Pride of the Deep Glens but that soon turned to panic as he saw Ryder was snout to snout with a tawny colored, dappled lioness. Ryder tilted her head and Tanga opted to intervene before his troublesome daughter could spoil this union.

"Ah, well if it isn’t my good friend Aristophanes! How goes it?" Tanga hoped his face didn’t fully reveal how panicked he was as he waited for the darker pelted king to respond.

You have liked this post!

(( So super smart me forgot to subscribe to my own thread. Sorry for the wait!!))

Aristophanes settled by the very edge of the clearing in his usual posture, down on his belly with one paw folded over the other and a wishful look in his eye as if he were plunged into deep thought. There was a pleasant breeze up on the plateau and, compared to the dense humidity of the jungle, it was welcome. Felicitas stayed near him but didn't join him in his recline; unlike the King, she had less of a hold of her nerves and paced slowly in long lines as the others sniffed about.

"Will they be here shortly?" The tawny coated lioness spoke in hushed tones, a certain air of dignity about her despite her softened voice. There was clear worry etched over her youthful features, however, and the darker coated lion just nodded sagely.

"Shortly." He seemed to promise, before nodding over to the others who were sniffing around a hole in the ground where a nest seemed to be. There was Saturn and her two daughters, Sylphide and Lavandières, both a little odd in the head compared to their mother, but each with the dark eyes that parted the veils of reality. None of them had suspected a thing, or at least, none of them had voiced any sort of doubt with their King. Then there was Eurydice off on her own, quietly pawing at the grasses beneath her feet in quiet contemplation. Truth he told, she hadn't quite been the same since her brother disappeared. Somber, quieter, a little less involved in the hunt despite being one of the more talented lionesses...

Felicitas looked out at them, but there was little time to discuss it further. There was a new smell on the breeze, a scent that was unfamiliar to all except the King himself. They came over the steep ridge, right towards them, and he was glad that King Tanga had made it... but of course, things didn't always turn out as planned.

A golden lioness with deeper red swirls on her was almost snout-to-snout with Felicitas, who seemed initially startled enough to pull her lips back in a vague snarl that marred her usual serene expression. It was quite unlike her, and Aristophanes himself didn't like that look. He got up to his feet, just about ready to pull them apart when the other King made his appearance with a jaunty question.

"Ah yes, good morn', King Tanga." Aristophanes tried to sound very casual about it. This was... precarious. He stepped forward, at the very least looking like he knew what he was doing. "And who is this fine young lioness?" He nodded towards the golden one who was face to face with Felicitas.

The others had their attention piqued by this time, muscles tense and staring over at the new pride that had made themselves known.

You have liked this post!

((Haha forgetting that you don't automatically subscribe your own threads is my fav! Also apologies for this response being a bit choppy))

The greeting was enough of a distraction for Ryder although Aristophanes’ question seemed to put Ryder in a mood. Her lips lifted in a snarky half smile and she turned slightly to face the other king. Her eyes flashed and she opened her mouth and hesitated slightly before she gave her response.

"Ryder." The lioness’ response was reserved and her posture was a bit guarded. Tanga stepped forward and cleared his throat, warning Ryder that she needed to rein it in a bit.

"And I’m CB," The grey-furred lioness piped up, excitement written all over her face. This was her first real encounter with lions from another pride. Her mother had been very overprotective of her and unlike her peers didn’t allow her to go out on hunts until a few months after her second birthday. The thought of making friends that she wasn’t related to in any way had her ears twitching in excitement and she was glad she had asked the baboons to fashion her a new flower diadem. "This is Lydia and Yaounde."

At the sound of her name Yaounde’s head snapped up. She had been trying to recall a faint memory as she thought she recognized one the other lionesses. Yaou intermittently wandered into the territories of neighboring prides and she was almost certain she had seen the reserved lioness with the dark swirls marked on her fiery pelt. Yaou could tell her father was nervous about this meeting but she had no idea why. Initially she thought his anxiety was due to hostility from the other king but after their greeting she sensed no ill will from the handsome, aged king.

"So nice to make your acquaintance King Aristophanes. I see we are not the only ones who are taking advantage of this prime fluffball hunting spot." The oldest lioness in the group finally chimed in. Lydia had been taken by surprise by the group and quite frankly didn’t know how to react. Her brain short circuited for a minute and could only stare with wide eyes at the group. She chalked up her slow start to her age. Lydia shot A’mira a pointed look, silently scolding the young polecat for not giving her a head up about this. She had an inkling that this meeting was far from accidental, but couldn’t for the life of her figure out why Tanga would plan such a thing. Let alone go to such lengths to keep it a secret.

You have liked this post!

The others were beginning to come closer now, creating a sort of half crescent behind their dark coated King in both curiousity and wariness. Felicitas remained at Aristophanes' side as the True Heir, but she had her eyes closely faceted on the lioness who called herself Ryder, so upfront and in her face right from the get go that it had put her on edge. Aristophanes just nodded a little at her answer, half snark and all teeth.

"Very good to meet you all, Ryder, CB, Lydia and Yaounde." He tried to address the lot of them overall, but they all seemed to be on even footing. Having so many in one area, on the very cusp of both their territories, but both of the elder males immediately on edge. As if trying to extend the olive branch first, Aristophanes once again took on his sagely, relaxed posture and flopped back down onto his belly, one paw crossed over the other.

"These are my wives. I'm sure they are more than glad to make your acquaintances." He nodded towards the small group that had gathered around him, furs mostly fiery with darker marks laid out on top. He was fairly sure it had started with Mercurius' genes; he remembered vividly the First King's fur had been a dark, earthy red, something that Felicitias carried with her even if it was only in a slightly lighter form.

"Saturn, Sylphide and Lavandières." He introduced the seers, not exactly by title, but their inky, jet black eyes seemed to stare at the other group with a distant sort of calculation. Only Saturn's expression seemed to carry any sort of warmth, her two daughters and especially Sylphide had a sort of gone gaze.

"This is Eurydice..." He nodded at the darkly coated lioness whose swirls somewhat resembled his own. She nodded with a vague grin in turn, obviously a little wary, but she was the spontaneous sort who would warm up soon enough.

"And I, Felicitas." The tawny coated lioness spoke up to introduce herself. She held herself up high, with a certain grace and dignity about her as she looked upon the new troupe. They looked like an interesting lot, and kind enough that at least King Tanga had agreed to try and help them if they were able to help in turn. She had been privy so far to the plan, but she was the only one insofar.

"Mmm, yes, a prime fluffball hunting spot it is, and with spring arriving there are plenty of the little ones to catch for your own cubs." Aristophanes observed, his gaze going briefly out towards the vast field riddled with holes before them. "Please, feel free to hunt here as you please. We're just here for leisure, and we'd be glad to join you."

Hopefully none of this sounded too... off. He knew how on edge his own lot could get at times, especially with the recent unease; they all knew Aristophanes had recently been restless and worried, but they didn't know about Asbeel. Not yet, and hopefully he wouldn't be problem enough to have to announce to them.

You have liked this post!

The Mugumu girls nodded in greeting as Aristophanes introduced his wives. Lydia quickly worked out a rough idea of the hierarchy of the other group of lionesses, the one called Felicitas held a higher rank than the others and there was an air about her that Lydia could quite place. She seemed like the only one other than the two kings who wasn't caught unawares by this meeting.

The observant obsidian gazes of the more distant lionesses put Lydia on high alert, she assumed they were seers as their far off look resembled that of the Mugumu ‘seer’. However Lapis was far from a master in her skill, the caustic lioness often ignored her visions and had very little interest in deciphering them. But she frequently got that foggy, almost haunting look on her face as if she was watching something that was on another plane of existence.

When it became obvious that Tanga was clueless as to how to move this along and Ryder gave no indications that she would extend a paw to the other group Lydia took it upon herself to do so.

“I feel as if us ladies are at a slight detriment. Our kings are quite chummy while we are essentially strangers. If you all are up to it I’d be honored if you’d join our hunting party?” Lydia’s eyes flashed in amusement as she saw CB’s face light up at the mention of combining hunting parties out of the corner of her eye. The lioness was always keen on socializing with new lions, Lydia felt a little sorry for the poor soul that CB would latch onto and bombard with questions.

“Hm, nine lionesses in a single hunting party? Too many,” Yaounde spoke up, the white and gold huntress’ face wrinkled in thought. “How about we split into groups of three? That way we can cover more ground and can increase our chances of success.”

With just a glance Tanga could tell that his daughter was already conjuring up hunting formations and assessing possible strengths of the other lionesses. He tried not to get his hopes up but this was coming along nicely. He had expected Ryder to swing first and ask questions later so the fact that the cavalier lioness hadn’t pounced on any of the others was in itself a slight miracle. Tanga could think of several occasions where Ryder’s reluctance to accept those that were different landed her, and oftentimes the pride, in hot water. Maybe his troublesome daughter was finally growing up. Tanga held his breath as he waited for the lionesses of the Pride of the Deep Glens to voice their opinions on the suggestion.

You have liked this post!

It seemed that the one who called herself Lydia was the most outspoken of the bunch, and Aristophanes didn't seem to mind that at all. At the very least it took the weight off his own shoulders to try and prod his wives into introduction. How diplomatic of them, but he wouldn't pry any further. Instead he took on a more relaxed stance and sat back to allow them to mingle among themselves. Hopefully, King Tanga wouldn't find it too laid back of him.

"Yes, quite." It was Felicitas who took up the mantle of diplomat in her king's place, already well aware of what the goals were. She tried to feign some sort of ignorance, but she imagined the lionesses in King Tanga's troupe weren't dumb and they'd begin to catch wind of a little fishy business eventually. No matter, it was for the betterment of both their prides and she sincerely hoped they'd understand. "We'd love to join your hunting party. If we can make it a game, all the better. I do imagine nine is a few too many."

She had to agree with Yaounde, even though the fluffballs were plentiful here during this season. They'd have no trouble bringing home a decent sum for tonight's meal, and maybe a few for the youngest cubs to play with. "I suppose we should mix up our groups... Just for the fun of it."

The suggestion caused Eurydice to perk at the very least, a small smile playing up on her striped muzzle as she took a step forward to take a place alongside Felicitas.

"I, for one, would love to see your hunting skills." Eurydice purred, her tail swishing back and forth excitedly. "What say you... er... Ryder? I'd love to have you on my team!" She was trying to be friendly, surely.

You have liked this post!

The suggestion of ‘mixing it up’ has Ryder’s suspicions tingling. Her eyes narrowed and she shot Tanga a look. When Eurydice suggested that Ryder should be on her hunting team the lioness’s walls went up. She didn’t trust any of the other lionesses as far as she could hurl them.

“Very well, but CB’s on the team as well.” The red marked lioness stepped forward, offering Eurydice a crooked smile. CB bounded over to the pair, her opal eyes flicking back and forth between them.

“Felicitas, Saturn, would you two mind being on my team?” Lydia spoke up. Hoping that the two older lionesses wouldn’t mind the slower pace Lydia would have to take. She was far from spry and knew that if Yaounde was stuck on her team the fiery lioness would throw a hissy fit.

Tanga observed the lionesses sorting out teams with a goofy grin on his face. He ambled over to where Aristophanes had settled and sat down beside him, still a bit too nervous to recline. This couldn’t have gone any better if Tanga had dreamt it, it should be smooth sailing from here on out. He started to say something but thought better of it, not wanting to potentially ruin the cautiously friendly atmosphere.

((Sorry for the length! I've got a bit of a block at the moment. DX))

You have liked this post!

( No worries! Take your time as you need it. c: )

Aristophanes breathed a tiny sigh of relief when Eurydice seemed receptive. She was generally the friendliest of the bunch anyway, always enthusiastic, but just a touch somber since her brother disappeared. She didn't even seem to acknowledge Ryder's wariness, though her tail swished from side to side in wide arcs when CB skipped over, looking a lot more enthusiastic than the sandy-coated lioness.

"CB, huh? What's that stand for?" She was quick to spark a conversation, saddling up to her own little group as Lydia called for Felicitas and Saturn. That left Saturn's two daughters with Yaounde, and it seemed to be some sort of silently acknowledged agreement as the teams split off to begin doing their own things. There would be piles of fluffballs tonight, but that wasn't really what was on Aristophanes' mind.

When Tanga ambled over to him, though not reclined just yet, Aristophanes' ears perked. "Thank you for bringing everybody today. I'm sure it will go well."

You have liked this post!

CB spared a quick glance at Ryder before answering Eurydice, unsure how to breach the slightly uncomfortable topic.
"Chicken Bones is my full name." CB’s smile faltered slightly as she feigned pride in reciting her full name. She caught herself though, not wanting to damper the mood. "My aunt named me, she’s got a funny sense of humor."

Her nose twitched and her tail quivered a bit as she told the fib. Levita didn’t have a ‘sense of humor’ in the slightest, the aging lioness was borderline hostile to those she deemed beneath her. CB’s mother was a hybrid, a cross between a leopard and a lion, in Levita’s eyes that made the leopon an abomination. Levita went out of her way to make Mallika’s life in the pride difficult. And with the mean spirited lioness’ rank in the pride most of the other lionesses steered clear of Mallika.

When CB and her siblings we born Levita took advantage of the pride name tradition and bestowed CB and her siblings with ridiculous names. While Mahuika was spared the embarrassment by Tanga, Chicken Bones and RiverRat weren’t so lucky. Although Levita has since warmed up to CB, the polite lionesses can’t really gather the good sense to fully forgive her. And while she and Ryder get along nicely the pair ignores the fact that Ryder still doesn’t accept Mallika as an equal.

"Alright, the rules are simple-"

"Rules?" Lydia interrupted Yaounde, her eyes darting from the gold and white huntress to Tanga in confusion.

"Yes, rules. All contests have rules." Yaou replied flippantly.

"Contest? I was under the impression that this was a casual affair." The dark lionesses wasn’t really a proficient hunter, and she wasn’t looking forward to the added stress of competition.

"Nothing should be done halfway, especially when it comes to hunting." The finality in Yaou’s tone made it obvious that there was no disputing this. She went on to lay out some simple ground rules for the hunting contest.

Concern bubbled up in Tanga’s eyes as he watched Yaounde slowly get more and more amped up for this hunt. He knew his daughter had a competitive streak and had seen it ruin good, clean fun numerous times. He hoped Yaounde would remember her manners on this occasion, he imagined the Pride of the Deep Glens lionesses wouldn’t be as permissive to Yaou’s antics as her pride mates.

"I wish I had your faith." Tanga forced himself to relax and lowered himself onto his belly, his tail flicking back and forth and his legs settled under him in case he needed to spring into action. He wasn’t sure if this cordial vibe would last but he didn’t want his nerves to tarnish it.

You have liked this post!