Mzatamo's Links
Mzatamo doesn't hate Akilia, but he certainly doesn't like her; he never has. While he hasn't been able to determine whether she believes she's lying, his skepticism of the existence of the pride's ancestors makes him suspicious of her supposed "messages" and "signs" from them. The fact that she was not born into the pride, but instead came as an outsider, only serves to make her credibility even more shaky. However, Mzatamo has no intentions of shattering the rest of the pride's belief, as she seems fairly harmless. None of her advice has hurt anyone, and Akilia doesn't seem to bare any ill will, though Mzatamo continues to keep an eye on her just in case. (The Kifo / Msaliti situation has given him some pause, though he is still trying to discern whether or not Kifo was the real murderer, and if so, if Akilia knew the truth.) Though he'd never admit it, a part of him hopes the lioness proves his beliefs wrong, and is able to convince him that the ancestors do indeed exist. However, till she manages that, he will continue to ignore what she says and let the rest of the pride believe her, since it seems to at least help them feel hopeful about the future.
Akilai doesn't like Mzatamo. He's far too skeptical to simply buy into her "messages" without proof, and even the signs her mother has orchestrated for her don't seem to be enough to sway him. It doesn't help that he already didn't believe in their ancestors; that fact alone meant she was already starting at a disadvantage, and she apparently hasn't made any headway in changing his perspective on her. It's frustrating for Akilia to encounter someone as intelligent as him, as he won't follow her blindly like a sheep, which would make her job that much easier. Thankfully, Mzatamo tends to keep quiet on his opinions, so he has done nothing to sway the rest of the pride. Since he has yet to try and expose her as a suspicious figure, Akilia assumes he doesn't realize how much of a fraud she really is - though is she one, when she is technically conversing with an ancestor? - and hopes it will stay that way. She got lucky that the pride's biggest nonbeliever was so quiet.
Laani is intrigued by Mzatamo and his disbelief. It's peculiar to her, knowing someone who doesn't believe in the ancestors. It's almost refreshing, after knowing so many people that blindly believe Akilia. While she's not sure whether Akilia knows about Mzatamo's disbelief, she has enjoyed bantering with Mzatamo when they've spent time together. Laani has made it a goal to try and show him the truth, that the ancestors are indeed real, but has yet to figure out a good way to. Instead, the two just playfully bicker back and forth, though both are genuinely debating when they do. Laani knows Mzatamo will never convince her, since she has personally spoken with the ancestors, though she's not sure if Mzatamo is aware of that fact. However, she doesn't know if she'll ever convince Mzatamo either, as he decided he didn't believe in the ancestors before Laani even had a chance to show him otherwise. It's quite possible that the two will be locked in a stand still, especially since Laani doesn't get to see him all too often.
Mzatamo does not like Msaliti. He always felt like she was a little off, even before her father died and her brother, Kifo, was forced to become the pride's Witness. However, after that point, Mzatamo viewed her through a very skeptical lens. This is a large reason for his refusal to take her on as his Learner, instead allowing Cuore to do so, since he bought her story. He was reluctant to even allow that, but he had no grounds to accuse her on besides his hunch and disbelief in Akilia and her talk of ancestors, so that was the best he could do. After that point, Mzatamo generally did his best to avoid Msaliti. He does worry whether she will get smart to his suspicions of her, but if she has, she has yet to confront him on the matter. At this point, they are at an impasse; Mzatamo cannot expose her without more proof, and Msaliti cannot do anything to him without exposing herself. Thankfully, Mzatamo knows how to interact with those he doesn't like while pretending he has no ill will for them, and he does his best not to be too blatant in his distrust for Msaliti. For the most part, he even keeps up that pretense when it's just the two of them talking.
Seeing as the two work alongside one another as the pride's two Healers, Cuore counts himself lucky to have garnered Mzatamo's respect. He knows that Mzatamo has issues with many of their pridemates due to their beliefs in their ancestors, however, due to Cuore's logical outlook, Mzatamo generally seems to forgive his faith in what Mzatamo deems unreasonable. Cuore is one of the few pride members that even knows about Mzatamo's disbelief, as Mzatamo trusts him not to reveal it to the entire pride and enjoys debating his skeptical outlook against Cuore's. The two both take their job seriously, which is, in the end, what really matters to Cuore. Besides, though he might disagree with Mzatamo's point of view, he certainly respects him for believing what he does in spite of what their entire pride thinks. Both lions are fairly in sync with each other, generally knowing what the other needs in terms of healing supplies before it's even asked for. They work well as a team to heal and take care of their pridemates, and when there's time, may slip in a debate or two in between. It is ironic, really, that Cuore will never believe Mzatamo's claims, despite wishing he could. Cuore knows the prophecy about him; it's why he left home, after all. So as much as he'd like to accept Mzatamo's point of view, Cuore can't shake the truth from his mind. There is nothing that will ever convince him that the ancestors aren't real, even though he'd love desperately for the prophecy to be a lie. Though would that be any better? Knowing it was fake and that he left for no reason? Maybe not. Though that sort of evidence could be enough to sway Mzatamo's belief, Cuore highly doubts it'd change his friend's stance, and even if it did, Cuore has no interest in sharing his prophecy. It is his burden to bare...and he doesn't want anyone to know the destruction he was meant to bring down on his home.