M-Departure, [ALL Majabali]

[Kita]

It was time for a visit to the Pridelands.

For weeks, the Queen of Majabali had been considering it. She hadn't seen her sister in what felt like ages--and besides that, things in the mountains seemed entirely too quiet for her. Even though Jasiri was long-gone, there was still a bit of tension in the air. Whenever he came up in conversation, she couldn't help but bristle a bit inside. In her opinion, it was his own fault. If he had tried harder, if he had just proved to her and Enzi that he could've been a king, then they might have reconsidered throwing the title of heir onto Koa.

She gave a little sigh and shake of the fur. Yes, a break from the mountains and all of the issues that came with it would be good. After her blow-up with Airya on hunting, she figured it would be good to return to her roots.

Besides, she hadn't heard from the neighboring kingdom in awhile. Maybe it was time for her to go get the latest news, to keep things friendly between the two prides. Diplomatic visits were never treated as a threat anyways, so she didn't have to worry about any hostility when she arrived. At least she knew most of the adult members, having grown up with them. Some might even be happy to see her.

Yes, she was headed for the Pridelands. Enzi could function fine on her own; she was certain he could handle things. With a nimble leap, the lioness hopped onto a rocky outcropping and called out to her pride with a low series of roars. She figured it would be for the better if she at least gave them a heads-up before she disappeared for a few weeks. Someone might even want to accompany her.

[Embyr_Somm]

The large form of a feline adult, one who was semi-later on in years, walked, rather suavely, from the thick forest brush, as if appearing out of thin air. Her limbs were more stable today, so their usual quiver wasn't present or visible.

"Minding your toes, Safia?" the coarse, but still creamy voice of Missteri spoke.
The question was equal to 'are you watching your back', only with the focus being on what's in front rather than what was behind. Asking this wasn't a traditional greeting in Majabali or anywhere else, but, when considering the speaker, she often did unusual things. Moreso ever since...well, many avoided that subject even when she wasn't around, maybe because nobody was ever sure if she was actually there or not. The details of the event were horribly mangled and skewed. Nothing made sense, but that was all they had to go off of. Her own words; the rest were rumors.
"I hope so," she added at the end.

Next, she boldly inquired the reason for a queen summoning all of her followers.
"What's all this noise about then, deary?" Missteri continued, lying down in a casual fashion on a nearby platform, one that was faintly lower than the lioness'. It didn't matter to her if everyone wasn't there yet; all she knew was that she wasn't sure how long she'd being staying. If the topic didn't hold her interest, the leopardess might very well leave right in the middle of it.

[Kita]

Safia stood on the edges of her toes as she watched where the grasses met thicker forest. So far, a few moments had passed and no one had appeared. She had to admit that she wasn't expecting them to appear instantly, but it would have been nice if at least someone had shown up right away. The queen's gaze raked the horizon again, and almost skipped over a dark gray blob making its way towards her.

She flicked her gaze back to the figure, recognizing the feline almost instantly. Missteri. The queen's fur pricked slightly, and she mentally went through the general locations of her children. Thankfully, by now the majority of them were old enough to know to stay away from the panther, but when they were younger--they hadn't known better. The queen had caught the older cat speaking with her daughers and sons on more than one occasion. Now, every time she saw her, she couldn't help but have that knee-jerk reaction.

"Minding your toes?" Missteri said, leaping up and onto the rock beneath her. Safia glanced down at her toes, noting that they were in fact raised. "I'm always on my toes, Missteri," she said, giving a slight glance down her muzzle at the panther. "You never know when something might catch you off-guard."

At the question, the queen couldn't help but shoot the panther a curious look. Why didn't she just wait and find out with the rest of the pride? It would have certainly been easier for Safia that way; she wouldn't have to explain to every individual what was going on.

"Well, Missteri, I'm calling in my pride to say that I'm visiting the Pridelands," she said. There was no point in trying to delay things with Missteri. She'd just leave when things started to get interesting, like she usually did.

[Skips]

Asima was running through Majabali territory as quickly as she could. She had heard the roars of Safia. Her queen was calling out to her pride. Asima didn't know the meaning of the summons, but it was from her queen, so she didn't question it. In fact, as she sprinted towards the source of the low roars, Asima was cursing herself for having been so far away from the queen in the first place. What if it was urgent? What if she was in danger? Precious time was being wasted because Asima was too far away.

As the lioness made it to her queen, she saw that she wasn't in any immediate danger, and Asima mentally sighed in relief. She came to a halt by Safia and immediately bowed in respect. "Your grace, you called," she said, stating why she was there. She looked back up to see who else had answered the queen's call. As she was looking around, Asima was puzzled as to why no one else had arrived before her. Then, Asima's eyes fell on a black leopard.

Asima did her best to hide any reaction from seeing Missteri in the queen's presnece; however, the lioness couldn't help but narrow her eyes in suspicion. There have been...unsavory rumors regarding the leopard floating about. Rumors that, if true, would prove her to be a very serious threat to the Majabali. Unfortunately for Asima, she couldn't bring herself to act on rumors.

Until the truth is revealed, all that Missteri was guilty of was blatant disrespect to the queen. For another moment, Asima stared daggers at Missteri for having the audacity to lounge about like a lazy fool in front of Queen Safia. Asima determined it wasn't worth her effort to continue caring about something she could do nothing about, so her gaze and full attention returned to the queen. However, Asima never completely lowered her guard, just in case.

[Embyr_Somm]

She chuckled, amused by Safia's reply and that the lioness had actually looked at down her feet. The whole point of the question was to test reflexes, mental and physical. Nobody should ever put the focus on their paws, in any situation. Especially uncertain ones with awkward company. It was a sign of insecurity to her.
"Quite true," the pantheress agreed, "But it is possible to overreact to things as well." With her brushlike tongue, Missteri began grooming her spotted forelegs and coat, showing signs of being very relaxed in the tense environment.

"The Pridelands, you say," the feline repeated, locking in the information, "And is this trip one of business...or one of pleasure?"

One of the other Majabali had arrived by now, reporting to their leader as any loyal soldier would.
"Something in your eye, love?" Missteri smirked, catching one of Asima's looks toward her.