PRPG with Agapi

( That works! )

|| Hamu ||

For four days, now, the pride had been traveling. To where, the King and Queen would not disclose, causing many concerns among the pride. All that they said was that a diplomat had met a potential candidate to be wed to Hamu and they were going to meet her and the King and Queen of her pride to seal the deal. Naturally, Hamu was against this idea. He was perfectly happy with life as it was. Plus, he was already courting Roho. Where was she?

Hamu had remained directly behind his parents whenever they traveled. Glancing back over his shoulder, he briefly scanned the pride for the familiar light pelt of Roho, spotting it just a short distance from him. He let out a soft smile though could not wait to make sure she saw, else risk someone suspecting someone. It was scandalous-- their relationship. He was already unofficially promised away, but he could not fight the feelings of his heart.

"We're almost there!" Called out Tawi, Hamu's father.

|| Kilio ||

The dark lion sat by himself, watching the horizon. Just a few weeks earlier a scout from a foreign pride had arrived, saying some pride was searching for a princess for their son to marry. Kilio had not been in on the conversation, but he knew that the pride of the prince was traveling here to meet Malkia. Was Kilio not good enough to be King? Had he not proven his worth? A scowl appeared on his face and he stood, prowling around the edge of the camp, eyes set on the horizon. Far off in the distance, he thought he saw movement. Somewhere in the sky, the messengers were watching to alert the King and Queen of the oncoming pride.

|| Aina ||

"Malkia?" Aina called out softly, raising her head and searching around for the other lioness. She was hoping to speak to her friend before the arrival of the other pride, if only to see if she was handling it okay. After all, it wasn't every day that you were engaged to a stranger. Well, perhaps things wouldn't turn out well and the prince would be rejected.

|| Malkia ||

The pale tawny lioness was sitting with Kifo and Maisha, the King and Queen, her parents. She raised her head when her name was called, causing her mother the growl. "Malkia, dear, you're coat is still ruffle and in need of grooming, get back here!" Queen Maisha called, but Malkia ignored her, already trotting away to find the lioness who was calling for her. She knew exactly who it was, her friend Aina. "Aina? Is something wrong?"

|| Roho ||

The only white lioness in the entire pride, she knew well that Hamu would easily find her, so she needn't stick to close to him. She caught his smile, and offered one back, before he had to turn away so they weren't caught. The entire pride knew why they were traveling, the last thing that Roho needed was to be seen flirting with the future King on his way to be betrothed.

|| Wazi ||

The scarred lion walked with the rest of King Tawi's pride, in the middle so lionesses could guide his blind self. He muttered constantly about how this was stupid, and how Prince Hamu should be allowed to chose his own mate. "Honestly, it isn't as if his blood isn't pure enough already not to kill off whatever unpure blood Roho's cubs would behold." He growled.

Last edited on 2016-07-07 at 09:44:11 by Agapi|Fish [AF Stables]

|| Aina ||

"Wrong? Of course not! This is *so* exciting! Aren't you excited? I bet he's handsome. What did the messenger say his name was? Hamu? Oh, I bet he is *so* handsome! C'mon, Malkia, this is going to be great! I am so jealous of you right now! You get to meet your soul mate!" Aina bounced on her paws, tail waving excitedly.

|| Hamu ||

"King Tawi and Queen Anani!" A called sounded overhear. Hamu looked up to see a gray and red hornbill circling the pride, descending toward the king and queen. Once low enough, the messenger bird flew alongside the royal couple, allowing Hamu to listen in. "King Kifo and Queen Maisha eagerly await your arrival. Once we have arrived they would like to speak to you in private. The rest of your pride may join us in a feast while you take care of inter-pride relations."

Feast? Yeah, Hamu could go for a feast. The bird hadn't said he needed to be included in the discussion- it wasn't like his opinion really mattered at this point- so why wouldn't he attend? If only he could slip away with Roho for a few moments, but it would surely be noticeable in unknown land.

|| Kilio ||

Now Kilio was more than certain that what he saw in the distance was a traveling pride. Standing, he turned and walked leisurely over to Kifo and Maisha, raising his head to address them. "They're less than a mile away." He reported, voice deep and low in volume.

|| Malkia ||

She shook her head to her younger friend. "You don't understand Aina. I don't know him at all, let alone love him. Beside's, Kilio should be married, he is the one becoming King, I'm becoming Queen to a pride I know nothing about other than the royal family's names." She sighed, nodding goodbye to Aina as her father was signalling her over.
Malkia walked slowly over to join her mother and father, ignoring Kilio as he said something to them. Kifo spoke first. "Malkia, King Tawi's pride is here. I want you and your brother to make Prince Hamu at home. You specifically, he is soon to be King, and we want you to be his Queen, we need the prey in the Pridelands they have, and with you being Queen, we could have that." He said as Maisha continued to groom Malkia, to the young Princess's annoyance.
"You know this already, dear. Now go on, while we speak to King Tawi and Queen Anani." Maisha pushed her alo ng with a gentle nuzzle.

|| Roho ||

She watched as her king and queen began walking in the direction of who seemed to be the king and queen of this pride. Everyone else seemed to be standing off to the side of this pride, not wanting to intrude. Roho slipped between some of her pridemates to Hamu, nudging him with her muzzle. "Hey, there was some pretty tall grass and some big rocks not to far from here I saw, no one will see us." She whispered as she turned, pretending not to be talking to him.

|| Wazi ||

He settled down between two lionesses of his pride, the tension between their pride and the other was heavy in the air, very evident to him. "Well, someone strike up some conversation, if all this goes well we won't have to talk ever again, so get to know eachother if you feel like Princess not-right-for-Hamu will end up his Queen." He grumbled as he rolled over, letting the sun warm his dull coat.

|| Aina ||

"Oh, you're still so lucky, Malkia! I wish *I* were royal!" Aina sighed wistfully. What a great life it would be! "I'll see ya later, Malkia!" Aina grinned, watching her friend return to her parents. Spinning around, she scanned the unfamiliar pelts in the opposing pride, trying to get a glimpse of the prince.

|| Kilio ||

The last thing he wanted to do was entertain some prince he didn't know, but parents' orders...

Grumbling under his breath, Kilio spared Malkia a glance before walking toward the opposing pride. It wasn't hard to pick out the prince, standing firmly beside the King and Queen. That is, until they went off to talk with his own parents, leaving the Prince by himself.

"Excuse us," Kilio cleared his throat, glancing to Malkia then taking a step back to let her do the talking. She was the one he was marrying, after all.

|| Hamu ||

"Roho, they'll notice if I disappear." Hamu sighed, giving a small shake of his head. Before he could speak forward, the rulers of the other pride came forward to speak with his parents before retreating into a den a short distance away. Hamu sat down, dragging a paw in the dust. low voice reached his ears and he looked up to see two lions approaching him; a male and female. Servants, perhaps?

"Yes?"

|| Malkia ||

She straitened her posture, standing like the royal she was, head high, legs stiff but not so much that she couldn't move swiftly. "You must be the prized Prince of the Pridelands? I am Princess Malkia, and this is my brother, Prince Kilio." She nodded out of respect, though not as if she was any lower then him in ranking, they were equals, even if they saw each other differently.
"I thought you had no sister?" She said questioningly, turning her eyes suspiciously on Roho. "White lions were unwelcome in the Grasslands, due to being poor hunters." She muttered, holding back a chuckle at the thought of her future King being related to a white lion.

|| Roho ||

Her eyes widened when the female of the two that joined them asked if she was Hamu's sister. Shaking her head quickly she held in a nervous laugh. "Oh no no no. I am nothing of royal blood, family of rog-" She was cut off of the Princess speaking of how white lions were such terrible hunters. I have been praised for good hunting though...Hamu tell her off for insulting me please! She though silently, glancing sideways that her much larger Prince.

|| Hamu ||

There were the prince and princess? Geez, he expected them to look more... well, royal. Narrowing his eyes, Hamu glanced to Roho then looked back to Malkia. "My pride prefers to judge by skill, not by stereotype." He replied, barely holding a slight growl out of his voice. "Roho is a close friend of mine, and an excellent hunter. Her skill with her light colored pelt only shows how she can use it to her advantage. If you could refrain from insulting anyone else from my pride, that would be appreciated."

|| Kilio ||

An audible chuckle sounded from Kilio as Hamu quickly defended his friend. Any lion who told off Malkia couldn't be that bad! "Malkia! Where are your manners?" Kilio chided, a sly smile appearing on his face. "Of course, she didn't mean what she said. I'm sure you're a very skilled huntress, Roho, was it? You, as well as the rest of your pride, are welcome in our pride. A feast has been prepared in celebration of your appearance." He dipped his head low to Roho- lower than a future king should- purely to irk Malkia off further.

|| Malkia ||

She let out a low growl to Kilio. "Back off, waste of space. You know as well as I that all I have to do is tell Kifo you were making a fool of me infront of the pride and he'll put an end to you in a heartbeat." She huffed so only he could hear, before turning to speak to Hamu. "Listen, we don't have to get along, my pride only wants to use yours to survive, and your pride gets a pure blooded fertile female to ensure it survives. I dont want you to be here just as much as you, believe me." She scowled before turning around, head high, wishing for once she wasn't royal.
"Now follow me and I'll show you around the Grasslands, Kilio you are no longer needed."

|| Roho ||

"Hamu, I shouldn't be seen sticking to your side I guess...just call for me if you need me." Her nudged him, nodding goodbye to all three before walking away to meet the other pride. "This will be fun." She was usually an upbeat, fun lioness, but something about Malkia made that really hard to do.

|| Kilio ||

"Oh, you don't really need me to make a fool of yourself, Malkia." Kilio purred, swiping his tail under her chin and pulling it away quickly. "You do that perfectly fine yourself. Insulting a member of our guest pride? Even you couldn't get away with that, princess." He gave a haughty laugh, sitting back on his haunches. "Have fun on your play date. Don't get strangled by any hyenas. We all know how terrible *that* would be." He cast another smug look toward his sister before trotting off to interact with the lionesses of the other pride.

|| Hamu ||

Well, wasn't she an attractive lioness? Loud, demanding, and rude! The whole package deal! "Actually, I don't really feel like walking. That's what I've been doing for the past five days that it took for my pride to travel here. So, forgive me when I say that I really don't feel like being around some cranky lioness who wants to drag me around the whole territory." He stayed sitting where he was, bring a paw up and slowly licking it while keeping his eyes on Malkia.

|| Malkia ||

"Fine, I don't want to show some grumpy, lazy, spoiled lion my home anyway." She lived her muzzle, storming off to go find Aina. "Aina!" She called, storming away as dignified as she could. She could still hear her parents speaking with Hamu's. "I hope they decide that we aren't fit to rule together." But it was unlikely, there were hardly any princesses out there of the right age, let alone that weren't already betrothed or the heir. "Aina!" She yelled again as she sat down, ignoring everything around her as she looked around for the younger lioness.

|| Roho ||

Seeing Malkia leave angrily, and Kilio went off to join some of the prides' lionesses, she got up and trotted back over to Hamu. "Can we go now? I doubt that they'd notice, everyone has started talking now, and Princess Malkia is pretty confident no one will care if she is or isn't stuck up your butt." She said, but her eyes were fixed on Kilio who had joined the lionesses. "At least he is easy...er to get along with." Sh offered questioningly to Hamu.

|| Aina ||

Instantly she heard her name being called. 'Malkia! Oh, I bet she has all of the good details!' She thought excitedly, bidding farewell to the group of lionesses she was chatting with and bounding off, ears pricked. "How'd it go?" She asked quickly, approaching Malkia and sitting in front of her, eyes full of excitement. "He is *so* dreamy! What's he like? Is he as princely as he looks? Are you two in love?"

|| Hamu ||

"Yeah, but we won't be able to be long. Who knows when my parents will come back out." He grumbled, a growl laced on his voice. With any luck they would see something wrong with Malkia and her stupid pride and decide she wasn't worthy of his god-like self. She was the fourth princess they were seeking, however, and his parents were tired of searching.

"Let's hurry." He murmured, slipping away around a large boulder.

[I'm off to work! Be back in... five... hours... D':]

|| Malkia ||

Shaking her head in dismay she sighed. "He is horrid! Aina, he has no manners, and was trying to defend a simple white lioness against me, for no reason. All I did was inform him of our lack of white lions due to their bad hunting skills. And he is just so ill mannered!" She covered her face with one of her small paws. "I hope Kifo and Maisha decide he is a good enough suitor for me, or vice versa." She huffed, glancing behind Aina at Hamu, well where he had been, all she saw was his and Roho's tails disappearing behind a rock.

|| Roho ||

She slid behind the rock, sitting down just out of sight of everyone. "I told you we have to stop this, Hamu, we are gonna get caught...especially now that you are going to be betrothed to some lioness." She shook her head, before pressing her muzzle into his chest. "I love you Hamu, but..but you know my consequences for doing so." Which was being exiled, and being the lioness she was, she would never make it on her own. Nor would most prides accept her, being exiled from the Pridelands.

|| Aina ||

"Oh, yeah, I saw her. I can't believe they'd ever allow a white lion with them. My mother always said they're bad luck to be around, anyway." Aina nodded, "Okay, so maybe it hasn't gone well so far, but this is probably really scary, you know? Having to travel to somewhere far away to meet a strange lioness who he doesn't even know. Like, that can't be easy. Maybe you just need to give it another shot and he'll be more confident. Don't give up yet!" She encouraged, still living in the fantasy that Malkia and Hamu were meant to be together.


|| Hamu ||

Hamu squeezed his eyes shut. He knew they had to end, for her sake. He loved Roho more than he could ever imagine, but he would never want his own selfish feelings to force her away from the pride. Hamu opened his eyes again, throat tight, and looked down at Roho with gentle eyes. "Then it's done. I love you Roho, more than I could ever love anyone else. And because of that I don't want to see you hurt. You're the only queen I'd ever want by my side. I'll figure something out eventually. I-I'll run away with you. We can start our own pride once we're older. Our love won't have to be secret. But you're right. For now, we can't do this."

|| Malkia ||

"Oh he is plenty confident. And rude, and just all around a nuisance!" She stomped a paw into the dusty ground indignantly. Standing up she turned, looking around to see if King Tawi and his Queen were done speaking with Kifo and Maisha. By the looks of it they were, they were exciting the private den. "Excuse me, Aina, sorry to leave again. I just need to make sure I am not ending up with this snob as my King." She said before hurrying over to her parents and the visiting King and Queen. "So...?"

|| Roho ||

She opened her eyes wide as she took a step back, looking at him in complete shock. She hadn't expected him to go along with it, the last time he had refused so harshly. "I..Hamu...I love you and can't stand the thought that you are to be married off to some Princess. But...you can't run away, the pride will die out, no one will be able to take over, the only two lions in our pride are Wazi, and that little cub." Tears welled in her eyes as she pressed her head into his chest again.

|| Hamu ||

He didn't know what to say. This was, perhaps, the hardest thing he had ever done in his life, and not just because he never really had to do anything hard. "My parents want to combine our pride with theirs through our marriage in order to keep us alive." Hamu added quietly, a dull look in his eyes. "We need more members and the only way that's going to happen is if I marry her, even if I want to rip her throat out." He added with a growl, digging his claws into the ground, then calming down. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this Roho. We should have cut it off earlier before anything else happened. I-I just thought.... it would work out....I was wrong. I'm so sorry." Hamu pressed his forehead briefly against hers before standing and walking back into the camp of the other pride. For the sake of his pride and their wellbeing, he had to do this. Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement come from the king's den and turned, watching as both pairs of royals came our. Hamu raised his head and padded over, ears pricked.

"It's been arranged." Queen Anina announced, giving a broad grin toward Malkia and Hamu, oblivious to their arguing.

|| Aina ||

"Good luck!" Aina called after her before walking away. As much as she wanted to eavesdrop, she didn't dare risk being punished for such a thing. Some prides considered that treason! She didn't know how Tawi's pride would handle such a thing.