Beneath The Waning Moon

Jabari watched the sun dip below the western horizon from neutral territory that evening. He had no desire to return home after a full day of roaming the savannah solo. The dark orphan was now two years old, and right in the midst of that awkward adolescent stage. Jabari’s mane was the color of cinder, nearly black. His voice was growing deeper, but it was still prone to cracking, much to the amusement of those around him. If there was one thing Jabari couldn’t stand, it was being teased and laughed at, so he had taken to not speaking at all in the presence of the Coldlanders, or avoiding them all together. It was a large kingdom, but for a growing lion like Jabari, it just wasn’t big enough. Day after day, he strayed a little further from his home and his pride. And Jabari loved every moment of it.

The outside world was no longer a threatening place, now that he himself was no longer a weak, helpless cub. This world beyond the borders seemed to lure Jabari in, its promise of freedom and adventure too great to deny. More often than not, he didn’t see another lion while he was out wandering. But if he did see a larger male, he knew what to do. Jabari was an expert now at evasion: he could climb a tree faster than anyone, he could blend in with his surroundings remarkably well, and he was swift. His downfall was his clumsiness. His large paws seemed to grow faster than the rest of him, and Jabari was certain he would someday be bigger than all of his siblings. He hadn’t seen Upendo or his sisters in over a year, and he hadn’t discovered the way to the Lowlands yet.

As he aged, Jabari found that he preferred to spend his time alone. He still liked his brother Ziko and Prince Sakitu well enough, but found it easier to travel alone, and he found himself increasingly bothered by the presence of other males. He had seen the young lioness Kujuta in the Coldlands, and though no one told him so, Jabari was convinced that she was his half-sister. She looked far too much like his father and some of his siblings, and Jabari had always been suspicious of his father’s intentions with females. So Jabari avoided Kujuta and her mother Sarafina like an unholy plague. His anti-social tendencies did nothing to ease his loneliness, but Jabari was too stubborn to admit that. As the glowing stars began to dot the indigo sky above him, the young lion stood and stretched. Rosy nostrils tested the still air, but the evening was quiet, without even a light breeze. A sliver of moon was present but barely visible, which made the reappearing stars seem ten times brighter than usual.

Kiseki was sick to death of the boys; it was one of those days, where she couldn't wait for them to disappear off so that she could spend time by herself. It wasn't a surprise why they were so protective of her, she was shaping up into a quite pretty lioness, one whose temper was so easy to rile these days. The minute Maliki had disappeared, she'd been off in a shot; long gangly legs sprinting her far away from the other pride members. It wasn't that late, about an hour before sunset, but Kiseki wasn't planning on being back for the morning, or possibly even the next day. She was more independant, something she knew Maliki hated in her. Kiseki had never really listened to boundries, and now they were completely stripped away, invisible to the young lioness. It was now why she had ended up in the stronghold, as a cub she had never had the braveness to enter the forbidden world of the stronghold, but now she was nearly two years, she was nearly unafraid of entering alone. Huffing angrily as a fly flew around her face, she swatted it away with an overgrown paw.

It was quiet; and as the sun started to descend below the earths line, Kiseki straightened up slightly, eyes more alert than she had been previously -- she knew the laws of the land, knew that although hunting took place during the day, if lionesses could get away with it, they would hunt a lone zebra or wildebeast without a second thought, and a lone young lioness would be seen as dangerous, no doubt she would be taken out without a second thought. The scent crossed her path a few minutes later, one that somehow she had managed to remember; although faint in the back of her mind, she instantly recalled the males name -- Jabari. Without a second thought, she swung her body round to follow the scent quietly. Eyes focused on the form which was quickly become larger -- bigger than her either way, she thought wryly -- "Just so you know, I saw you from a mile away. You don't blend in here as well as I do. You stick out like a sore paw." The words were out before she could stop them, and her eyes flittered up to the stars for a moment, before she focused on Jabari.

He hadn't changed much; larger, with overgrown paws, but it was his mane she saw that caught her attention -- cute, she thought. "Stopped rolling in mud long enough to grow your mane then, Jabari?" She enquired lightly, a coy smile slipping onto her lips with a flourish.

The light footfall of someone unseen caused the lion's ears to perk up, and he turned just in time to see Kiseki. He made no attempts to flee. On the contrary, the approaching lioness had his full attention. She was a few months younger than Jabari himself, but she was certainly no cub. Then she spoke. At first, Jabari only looked at her strangely, his mouth falling open to defend himself. Then he realized who it was. He remembered the color of her pelt, the hue of her eyes, and especially he remembered the missing notch from her ear. An amused expression appeared, and he gave a curt laugh. "And you're still as obvious as ever. I'm stunned you're still around at all! You weren't even trying to be sneaky."

What was her name.. Kiki? Jabari felt he was missing something from the name but many months had passed and he had hardly given the young female a second thought since their last meeting on the savannah. Now she had grown, despite Jabari's belief at the time that the peach cub was doomed due to her circumstances. Clearly he had been mistaken. The pudgey cubbishness was nearly lost in Kiseki, giving way to maturity and a quiet, sleek beauty. Before, Jabari hadn't thought much of the opposite sex. But now, he felt a stir within himself that he couldn't understand. His parents hadn't survived long enough to explain the birds and the bees to young Jabari, but he was beginning to figure it out for himself.

An indignant huff followed the comment made about his mane, and his head shook, sending stray dark locks of his growing mane to fall before his yellow and violet eyes. And yet he wasn't angry with the lioness. Strangely, he found that he enjoyed her teasing, and felt compelled to return it with some of his own. His expression remained serious, save for a light smirk that played his features as he spoke. "Well, if it isn't... What was it now? Kiki? Still alive, I see. A little mud might actually be an improvement, in your case."

Kiseki grinned coyly; who said anything about trying to be sneaky? That wasn't very much fun at all, and apart from hiding from Maliki -- she'd left the pridelands after slipping out in the middle of another sleepless night, because everyone went to bed early, and got up early -- there wasn't very much reason for her to sneak around. But his first remark had stung a little bit -- well, obviously she was still around, thank you. "Obviously I am still around; there's more important things than looking, and smelling like dirt." Kiseki honestly hadn't managed to curb the sharp edge of her tongue, instead it had gotten sharper.

Kiseki hadn't given much thought over Jabari, but the male had been part of a pride, and so, he'd always been in the back of her mind as she wondered what pride life was like; but now, the thought had been turned into a reality -- the Shadowlanders had taken her and her family in. Jabari had changed; that was obvious, the lean, thick muscle was obvious even from where she was, and the once dark tufts -- that had once made him seem silly -- were longer, more apparent, and Kiseki would be lying if she said that it'd didn't suit him, not that she'd tell him, his head would probably swell to a size even he couldn't manage.

His eyes were still as bright as they had been when they'd met as cubs, and with his mane it just seemed that he was eventually going to be handsome -- not that he wasn't now, of course -- "Seems like your brain needs a little bit of work." She teased lightly, she hadn't been expecting him to remember her; but the sting of him not remembering her name was painful, and expected -- was she not important enough to remember? Still, plastering a grin to her face, she laughed lightly. "Kiki? And yes, obviously still alive otherwise I wouldn't be here. But it seems as though your at a disadvantage, as I can remember your name, but you can't remember mine."

Scowling at he remarked that mud would be an improvment, she shook her head; "And you might need to lay off the sun for a bit, I'm getting darker, idiot." Not by much, but she didn't have the need of rolling in mud to cover herself, as she managed to conceal herself perfectly when hunting now. Not that meant much, as she didn't get to hunt as much now; she preferred to do border patrols, rather than spend time with the silly females who called themselves part of a pride. Glancing at the sky, she huffed gently, wondering whether Maliki had realised she wasn't there, or whether he was still asleep.

The dark male had already learned that being cautious was the best way to keep one’s body intact while out on the savanna. He had encountered less friendly individuals, but Jabari could usually run away before an older male found him and challenged him. He wasn’t ready for that just yet. ”Wouldn’t it be smarter for a loner, especially a lioness, to try to be more sneaky and perhaps a little more quiet?” It was an assumption that she had somehow remained a rogue and lived to tell the tale, but Jabari was silently impressed by the idea. It didn’t seem possible but she had survived. He wondered what she meant by “more important things” but did not bother to inquire.

A smirk appeared on his muzzle as the lioness got a better look at him, and his chest puffed out automatically. Yes, he was important enough to be remembered. At least in his mind, there was no one more important. Without a parent to calm his raging ego, Jabari was filled with adolescent bravado and foolishness. He knew for a fact that his name meant brave and he had always taken pride in the fact, but he knew he would still be so, even if his mother had called him by something else. Kiseki joked about his brain and Jabari’s eyes narrowed for a split second. She couldn’t have known that he had sustained a head injury and that he still didn’t feel quite right, weeks after the fact. The young lioness grinned despite her moniker being recalled incorrectly. ”Is a name really so important, Kiki?” he teased right back, with a sly smile and a playful wink. Whether or not it was right, she looked like a Kiki to him, and she hadn’t corrected him.

Her scowl was met with an amused look. Finally, he had gotten under her skin. ”You look the same as you did, in my opinion,” he commented. Perhaps her name had not been recalled correctly, but he still had a clear mental image of their first meeting beside the big lake with the crocodiles. She was taller, rapidly maturing, but her eyes were the same, shining jade with a simmering fierceness that suited her well. Her ear was still missing a notch. Certainly, her indepedent spirit had not left her.

His wandering violet eyes inspected her feminine form again with an unconscious grin. He scratched his cheek lazily with an ebony claw. ”So, uh. How did you do it? I mean, how did you manage to make it this far?” His voice concealed his curiosity but his eyes spoke another language. He found that he admired her, without hearing her tale, but he would never admit that aloud. He also found that the more he looked at her peachy form, the harder it was to look away. Here was a lioness that wasn't too old, nor too young. Jabari could not help but inch closer.