Wild And Wise

 “Well, then, you’re in total disadvantage here. You won’t know what hit you. Like your new friend from the animal world?”, Ayana smirks, raising an eyebrow. Alemayehu had told her about the crow and she couldn’t lose the chance to mention it.

The girl rolls her eyes, “I’m not waiting here all day”.  she warns, but  it’s more of a joke. She didn’t like waiting but she was just as excited about the date” Oh, lucky  me.”. she jokes, not really surprised.

“I don’t know, somewhere far? Crowded places are suffocating and I’m not in the mood to stay here any longer.”, she shrugs. 

Tai recoils, as if struck in the face by her words. “What…what do you know about all that?” Oh, right, he remembers. They have a mutual friend. “Did May say somethin’? ‘Cause if she told you that I’m scared of a little birdie, that’s only partially true.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know I’ve got plenty of people lined up to grab a piece of this,” he adds, gesturing to himself by tugging on his shirt collar. “But I’m sure you know how that goes.” He stops beside her and offers her his arm to link hers through.

“That’s a mood. I know just the spot. Now, how do you feel about motorbikes?” he inquires, waiting for some sort of judgemental look that he’s sure he’ll get. Not because he feels motorcycles might be too much for her—he’s certain that it’d take a lot more to shake someone like her up—rather that she might laugh at him for being such a cliché.

“I know, I know. It’s bad enough I dress like this and don’t cut my hair. It’s just a frugality thing, I promise. I’m not trying to be some kinda VK stereotype, I just happen to like the fact that bikes are usually cheaper on gas and maintenance. And on that note, I hope you know we’re splitting the gas money,” he jests. Mostly.

“Not exactly. At first sight, yeah, until they talk to me. Then they say I’m too intense. But I mean, I don’t need them anyway,” she shrugs, linking arms with him and continuing to walk.

Motorbikes were something new to her but she knew that they were fast, slightly dangerous and not the most common when it came to means of transport; in a few words, nothing short of exciting. Her expectations were beyond reached, cliche or not.

“Yeah, the only thing you’re missing is a tattoo shop...oh, wait,” she joked in response. “But in all honesty, it doesn’t really matter. Motorbikes are cool. Or at least, I heard they are. Where are you keeping it by the way? Does the school have a parking lot that  I didn’t notice or..wait. Did you sneak it somewhere so you don’t pay for the parking?”, she tilted her head, smiling. 

but weep not                     for those                     lost          in your wake

like nature, like you, they too               will come back—

Closed Starter

“I did have a Pride, but like I said they left me because my priorities shifted. I don’t know what they decided to do or if they even have another leader at this point. I haven’t cared to check on them and I don’t care to continue taking about the subject.”

She chuckled a bit, “Nah, he’s an AK. You might have heard the story of Aladdin and his magic carpet? Well, it turns out his son has the same hobbies. So I convinced him to take me here and he could meet his pen pal. As for fitting in...I don’t know. He’s stupidly brave, but not Isle material. Though, I wouldn’t lose anything by asking,” she thought. If she stayed one night, she could at least have more time. Aziz could handle it.

“Lead the way”, she said in the end.

“Oh, hi! Not really new, just isolated. But I’m cool with it, I didn’t expect anyone to approach me. But now that you’re here…I’m Ayana Kani. You have a beautiful name, Kalani. “

“Again, depends on what you mean by weird. Are they hard to figure out? Maybe, but they’re meant to guide you. Now, do I tell them as well? Not really, I prefer to say things as they are, as you might notice soon enough. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to inherit his job one day, but I wanna do my own thing with it.

“Ah, look, someone who respects other people’s privacy. You’re not from here, are you? But,look, I wouldn’t mind showing one of them to you, you look like you really need it. I know right? They probably didn’t make it bigger because they didn’t expect such a large wave of new students as the one of the VK’s, but still, Doesn’t quite meet the expectations for the so-called happiest place on Earth.”:

“The Isle’s tight and full of jerks, but I know how to keep out of people’s business. I wouldn’t say being alone is the happiest place on earth either, but like, come on, give me a break from the goody-goodies. Where do you like to go? Since apparently you think I need it so much.”

She sighed.”Yes, of course you do. Scar may have been a disgrace to his family, but as his daughter you’re still a princess of the Pridelands.”, the girl explained. So do as you will but I think they’d welcome you with open arms. They banished Scar here thinking it was the best choice but they didn’t know about the kids. And besides, my father always said that the Isle is in complete violation of the Circle of Life. Which is true.”

The lack of an actual answer made Ayana more frustrated, though she often avoided questions about her motivations herself. A thing that they might have had in common. 

“I see...so they left you? Picked another leader?”,she was curious. While she didn’t like Scar much, she recognised his royal origins and expected his daughter to be a natural leader.

She looked down, wondering how to answer. Of course she’d like to spend more time with her, telling her stories of the Pridelands. But her ride was waiting for her and she couldn’t afford getting stuck there if he left without her.