Welcome to Gaia! ::

He had, as of late, taken to wandering a bit farther from his mother than he often did, each venture taking him somewhere that he hadn't seen before. It was strange sometimes but he had a feeling that it was something he should get used to; that he should learn more about the land and finding his way back. From time to time he found himself looking for the friend he'd made before but this wasn't one of those times... No, today found him practicing his pouncing, watching a hole that he'd seen something fuzzy pop out of not long ago. If there was any chance that he might be able to catch it, he was certainly going to.

With his family's farewell still fresh in his mind, Pembe had been happy to see them once again but glad to leave. It wasn't that he did not like his family, rather, he felt confined in the pridal setting. He felt restless, and that restlessness is what drove him to start his wandering ways. As he thought about his family, his pale eyes were scanning the area, looking to see if there were any familiar landmarks around or to make note of. He had not been this way before and it would be nice to note the way of which he had come. It was during this scanning that he had spotted a smaller figure not too far off in the distance. Curious by nature, he set his path that way to see what the figure was.

His tail flickered once and fell still before twitching once more, the pink tip swishing slightly even as the rest of his body held perfectly still. Bright blue eyes watched and waited and then... "Rats!" He huffed, missing whatever it was that had disappeared by inches. He just wasn't fast enough with his pouncing yet. Yet. He would be one day.

Silently, as to not disturb the juvenile, Pembe watched with increasing curiosity. Without a sound and not too close to the juvenile, he watched the other try to pounce on something low to the ground. What the other was pouncing on, he wasn't particularly sure, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that here he was, watching a juvenile trying to perfect a skill to use later in life. It wasn't very often that he got to interact with lions younger than adolescence.

As he began to approach the juvenile, he spoke out softly, "You were real close to getting it."

He nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of a voice behind him, feeling the fur all the way down his back trying to bristle despite how short it was. He scrambled around quickly, trying to make sure that his back wasn't to whoever it was for long... And then reality set in a second before the elder male's words did. Duh, if the other was really going to -attack- him wouldn't he have done it when he wasn't paying attention?

"It's fast." His nose wrinkled as he settled back down, on the border of pouting. "My paws are too clumsy."

The pink lion's face lit up as he listened to the juvenile speak. Oh, he knew of what the other spoke about. Growing into a body that was too large at times. A soft chuckle escaped the male as his tail flicked, "As it should be. If it were easy, we'd all be fat and lazy!"

His eyes looked over the juvenile before he replied, "You just have to grow into your body. I remember when I was growing, my legs were very clumsy and I'd trip all the time!" Hoping to relieve any of the cub's stress, it was something everyone went through. Or at least, everyone he knew of.

"I trip over my paws a lot..." He said almost sheepishly, an impish little smile curving his muzzle. "My tail too if I'm not paying attention to things or if I'm trying to move too fast. Not as much as I used to though." His voice took on a trace of pride at that. It was a big accomplishment and all.

With a laugh, he replied, "Oh don't even remind me about my tail. There wasn't a day that I wasn't getting smacked by it! And trust me, that never felt good." He then smiled widely, "At least you have plenty to look forward to then. Just wait till you get a bit bigger, your legs will be taller and you'll feel on top of the world!"

He sat back on his haunches, gazing up at the elder male before glancing back down at his own paws. "I've got a lot of getting bigger to go if I'm going to be that tall." Just thinking about it made him grin though. "My tail isn't that bad. It just likes to get tangled up with my paws."

"Just consider yourself lucky then." His head nodded slightly as he looked down at the younger lion. "Don't worry, it'll happen before you know it. One minute you'll be standing on the rocks to be taller and the next you'll be eye level with the top of the rocks." He could remember that quite well.

And then, he had almost forgotten because of the cub, he introduced himself, "I'm Pembe, by the way."

"Pembe." He nodded, committing that name to memory as he did the other name's he'd known. "I'm Zim... Izimbali." Another nod, still grinning as he looked up to the other male once more. "You really think it'll go that fast?"

He nodded in confirmation. The pink lion could remember when his mane first sprouted and his legs got taller, but it had all happened so quicky, since had barely paid attention to his body changing as much cubs did. "Nice to meet you, Zim!"

"Oh yes, it will! I remember when my mane started growing out and then, Boom! I was covered in mane!" He chuckled softly, "But you might notice it happening a bit more than me. I barely paid attention as I was getting smacked by my tail, tripping over my legs and finding games to play with my siblings." He spoke lightly of himself.

"I don't have any siblings..." His brow furrowed slightly at that. He didn't have many friends either but he'd assumed that was mostly because his wandering had lead him to quiet places... Or places with pounceable things that weren't much like him. "What's it like?"

At the cub's question, he paused to think of a good reply. "Having siblings? Well, I guess there is both good and bad with having siblings," He paused briefly, "I know there were times when my siblings could get on my nerves or be very annoying, but at the same time, they were my siblings and deep down, we all loved each other. It's nice to have that friendship that siblings share, it gives you someone to turn to, to play or talk with."

He loved all his siblings, even if they didn't agree with stuff at all times. They were his family, afterall. "It's really liking having a very close friend, but that friend is related to you."

"Hmm." He thought about that for a bit, filing away the bits of information to mull over later when he was alone again. He pondered for a moment what his mother would do if he asked for a sibling and quickly decided against it. "I think... I might be better off making friends than asking my mom about siblings."

At Zim's words, he nodded, "I'm sure she'd appreciate that...unless she wanted more cubs." He wouldn't make any assumptions about Zim's mom, since he didn't know anything about her. Although, he knew if he asked his mom to make more siblings when he was younger, she'd just give him her 'look'.

"Well, I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends. I know travelling around, you get to meet everyone!" He replied.

"I don't think she does." There were times when he caught his mother giving him one of those looks that made him question whether or not she'd actually wanted -him-, although those thoughts always disappeared quickly enough when he was able to make her smile. "I'm going to travel all sorts of places once I'm bigger. I have to find my friend again someday, after all."

Well then, Zim had a mission! He felt himself grinning inwardly, quite liking his newfound friend in Zim. "You'll love it. There is so much to see and others to meet. I'm sure you'll meet up with your friend soon enough!"

And then he smiled warmly, "I think I should be heading off. It was a pleasure to run into you, Zim. Just make sure to keep on practising your pouncing. You'll get it in no time." He looked at the juvenile before he was preparing to head out.

"Gotta get pouncing down before I start t'travel." He nodded, glancing back at the whole he'd been watching once more. "If I can't get pouncing right I won't have food and if I don't have food..." Well, there would go all energy for traveling. "Thanks, Pembe! Good luck with your travels!"

"I will be looking forward to crossing paths with you again then, Zim. And then, you can show me your pouncing skills." He bade the juvenile farewell and once last glance before he set off in the direction he was heading towards. With a smile on his face, it had turned out to be a great day.