behind, Kusaidia included. He found it to be enlightening, and that not having Kusaidia by his side was the only positive thing that came out of his displacement. Still, as much as he hated the mate he had been given, he had a duty to his pride, and was going to fulfill it, even if it meant suffering with her.

"I see," she responded slowly, as if thinking over his answer. She bent her head to take another bite, and as she raised it, she turned her head to look at him. He eyed her cautiously, then asked, "Why do you ask?" His muscles tightened slightly. Her question unnerved him, forced him to think about his past, something he didn't like telling others about. He figured he wouldn't get a straightforward answer-she had a peculiar way of asking questions, then giving almost no reason for asking them. In his pride, not giving a good answer would've been disrespectful, but he figured he couldn't point that out when he was taking refuge in her pride. They seemed not to value respect as much as his pride, which he found rather strange and downright wrong, but he figured he shouldn't tell them how to run their pride.

Her voice snapped him out of his reverie. "Oh, no reason. I just wanted to know," she said airily, looking at her paws. He got the answer he figured, and so was ready to get up and leave, now that his appetite was gone. He braced his legs to stand when she let loose a sigh, catching his attention. He looked over to her, and his green eyes met her blue ones in the gathering dusk. "Well...let's just say that ever since Hiari and Maembe had Auri and Wakuu...well I've started noticing that Nyimak is getting older and pretty soon she won't need me." He thought over her words carefully, and gave a grunt in agreement as his head moved to look off into the distance in thought. He supposed Nyimak was rather large, but he couldn't be sure. Cubs were overall a mystery to him, so he couldn't exactly judge. He began to speak slowly. "I see. How old is she now?" he asked, turning his head back to her, showing she had his attention.

"A little older than my nephews. She'll be old enough to learn to hunt soon, then she'll be ready for her first solo hunt," she replied, giving a somewhat defeated sigh at the thought, her head and ears drooping slightly as she looked at her paws, dreading the day she'd see her little girl grow up. He grunted in response to her words and actions, and turned his head away. His worn green eyes looked off into the distance, watching the trees become dark shapes in the distance. By the way she was acting, he could tell she was distressed at the thought, though he couldn't see why. Growing was natural and bound to happen. He supposed he couldn't fully sympathize with her, seeing as he had grown up in a different environment where making close bonds was rare. Even though he wasn't used to comforting others, he decided to at least try.

"It's natural. Cubs grow and there's no changing it," he finally said, voice not particularly warm, more as if he were stating a fact. And to him, it was true. In his pride, growing was as natural as fighting and death. He couldn't share her sentiment. From what he could gather, in her pride, relatives interacted with one another very often, and to him it seemed that they coddled their young compared to his pride. He knew he couldn't empathize with her, but he figured he could at least somewhat make her feel better. It felt strange, to want to make sure she felt good. He'd never really wanted to brighten someone's day, to go out of his way for someone else's feelings. The only time he'd ever done that was with Dahl...he quickly cut off that thought, feeling a pang in his heart as he remembered his love. He needed to focus on the present, not the past, no matter how much he wished he could go back and relive those times with her.

Alba finally responded, snapping him out of his thoughts. "I guess that's true. My mother was a little older than myself when she had my brothers," she said, pricking her ears as she lifted her head, blue eyes moving over to him. When she mentioned her brothers, he could recall a time when she had referenced Moyo as her brother. He was still getting somewhat familiar with all the names and relations of the pride, however tried not to focus on it too much. In his pride, they rarely focused on relations unless they were of importance, such as the General's children. Others had always known Askari to be General Lengo and Lead Huntress Kamili's son, and as such had high hopes for him with their blood coursing through his veins. If his parents had been regular hunters or officers, no one would really keep tabs on it. So many things here were more...personal he realized than in his own.

He finally directed his attention back to the conversation, and grunted to show his agreement with her. He found there were no other words to give to her, however seeing that she seemed to be in a dejected state, decided to stay by her side to show silent support, as it was the polite thing to do. Besides, he felt, if anything, a small acquaintanceship towards her, and felt it necessary to accompany her at least somewhat. She quickly perked up to attention as if she had remembered something. "Oh! I just thought of something. There's a little grotto not too far from here that my mom found by accident that her and father used to go to. Would you like to come with me?" she asked excitedly, looking to him with bright, shining blue eyes despite the dimness of night.

He looked over to her, surprised at her sudden question and eager friendliness as he cocked a brow at her. "You want me to go with you?" he responded. He had found Alba to be the most peculiar lion of all in this place, with her strange shifts of mood. He remembered the first time he had met her, when she had been very aggressive towards him, and how quickly it had shifted afterwards, and he cited when she had asked him to accompany her on a walk by the border. He had refused then, as he had been confined to the den without his escort, and she seemed to want nothing of her brother around. But now, he was free to roam as he pleased, and the idea of exploring more of the territory was intriguing. But he also wanted to get to know Alba more, perhaps to put at ease any worries he had when talking to her, to try and soothe all the confusion he often had around her.

"Yeah, why not?" she asked, cocking her head to the side in confusion. He gulped for a moment before he spoke, his green eyes moving away from her blatant confusion. "Well, I didn't mean to come off as rude, Miss Alba. It's just we don't really know each other that well, I figured you would rather ask someone else," he responded, shuffling his paws slightly. He couldn't understand why she was so confused by his question. Did she really not see that they hardly knew one another? He had been with the pride for only two months, and in that time he hadn't really spent much time with Alba, given that the first month had been spent with his escort and the second month he had slowly been getting to know the pride members and their territory. He guessed that perhaps she viewed him as a friend already, given her friendly personality, and that could be cause for her confusion.

She cocked an eyebrow at him in confusion and curiosity. "And? So what, it doesn't make that much of a difference anyway," she responded, shaking her head at him dismissively. He paused to think for a moment before he gave a small sigh, turning his green eyes back to Alba. "Well...I suppose I can come with you if you're fine with it," he finally said, pricking his ears towards her. A small part of him still felt uncomfortable going with her. It just felt like something a friend would do with a friend, and frankly he didn't quite see her as a friend just yet. He wasn't quick to make friends, and so tended to keep to himself. The only two friends he'd ever had were Mapinduzi and Issa, and that had taken over a year of them working together for him to consider them friends. His heart clenched as he remembered his dear friends, and for a brief moment, he wondered what happened to them. He had thought of it before, of course, but it didn't make it any less painful.

He shook his head briefly, trying to get back his train of thought. He supposed that even though he was uncomfortable with it, he'd still go, to see how much he could learn about both her and the terrain. But, judging from his past experiences with Alba, he would probably end up more confused than before when it came to her. She gave a smile as she stood up. "Good. I will meet you back here tonight then," she said, tail giving a swish of finality as she turned to go. He frowned in confusion, then turned his body slightly as she began to walk away. "But it is almost night now. Wouldn't it be easier to wait here until full night has fallen rather than wasting time treading back and forth?" he asked, tail giving a flick behind him. The sun had finished setting and dusk had settled in it's place, the small beacons of stars beginning to appear above them. He couldn't understand why they didn't just go now when it was nearly night. Another thing to add to her list of peculiarities. Did she just lose track of time often? He pushed back thoughts as he waited for her response, bracing his legs to stand and leave with her.

She turned her head to look over her shoulder at him. "That's what I meant," she responded, her voice and eyes betraying nothing but calm as she licked her lips free of the meat from her food. He frowned at her reaction, eyes narrowed in confusion. He tilted his