[PRP] No Direction to Go, No Cause to Serve [Weyard/Tariq]

[ShinosBee]

Weyard was lost. Lost physically, which was something of a problem; no pride to socialize with, no dens to shelter in, and no sense of where she might go to fill either of those needs. Worse though, she was lost in mind and spirit. Her pride...she'd finally returned to her ancient home, eager to bring news of the lush lands so far away that would be perfect for sustaining their numbers and help them recover after the terrible earthquakes months before. Only empty dens and barely picked-clean bones had met her in greeting in her homelands, and no trail nor scent remained to guide her.

Had they moved on without her? Had they thought her lost for good? The thought that they would give up on her so easily angered her, and that anger kept her fed. In a fury she slashed at trees, leaving ragged cuts and marks...from the branches toppled a nest, the eggs within shattered to make a fine if messy meal. Of course, the mother had returned too soon, and her piteous crying reminded the lion of her own sorrows.

Perhaps they had simply starved waiting for her...That thought was a grim one, and she wanted to deny it. The bones she'd found could have been those of the lions lost in the quake, right? Or maybe once the first had fallen to empty bellies the rest had left...

Regardless of the cause, she was now alone. She'd made friends on her way, but none that she felt would be of real aid in this dark hour. Only one stood out, and he had been in no terms certain with where he could be found. Her habit of meandering in whatever direction seemed the easiest with eyes half lidded or glazed with tears had left her lost beyond finding him. Feeling the burning anguish fade to a dull ache, as it did now and then, she stopped to look around. The land was strange, though it stank of lions.

"I wonder...where I am..."  

[[Eskimo]]

It was hot and dry, like most days in the pride's lands, but the occasional breeze helped to make up for the heat. But for Tariq, who was black from nose to tail, the sun was not kind. Not only was it not kind, it put him in a terrible mood.

He glowered at the dirt where he sat, watching a group of another pad's banu bathe in the river. It wasn't clear if he was enjoying watching them or not, from the scowl on his face. Whatever he was feeling, he seemed content to sit there beneath a tree in the shade, pink eyes hard and staring at the completely oblivious females. Maybe it was the water he was watching? Surely it couldn't be cool...But that was reality. In his mind, it was cool water. He'd pretend it was cool. He'd pretend he could feel it, and pretend he was in there with his own banu...

Dang, where were his banu? He wanted them. Now.

But his thoughts were interrupted. Ears swiveling at an unfamiliar sound, the hairs stood on the male's back. He scrunched up his face, taking in the scents to his left. The sun glinted in his eyes, and he flashed a white grin, jumping to his feet. For a moment, he forgot about the burning heat of the sun. For a moment, something else had caught his attention.

The scent of an unfamiliar female.

Claws clutching the dirt, the male stalked off towards the scent, eyes peeled for any signs of movement. He walked and walked until he got quite close to the borders. He moved through a patch of brambles, and on the other side of the brambles was what he was after. The female. Pink and purple, colored like the dawn, and staring around in the most forlorn way possible.

Tariq stared, drinking the sight in. And then he made a move; not too quickly, just a few cautious steps to get in the female's range.

"Hey there, Sunshine." the male called invitingly, his smile placid, but holding an almost untraceable twinge of twistedness.  

[ShinosBee]

Weyard had begun nearing the point of not caring about what happened to her. Her family, her friends, they were all gone. she had no mate, no children: there was little left to live for, aside from herself. She'd spent so much time helping the group she was at a loss now. What did one do for one's self? Though she didn't know it, such worries wouldn't be hers for long.

As the black lion broke cover behind the bushes she turned almost lazily to regard him. "Sunshine...?" She almost laughed. Did she look all bright and cheery? Not at all, if you asked her. Then again, maybe she did. His just-off-enough-to-be-suspicious composure didn't bother Weyard unduly. She wasn't thinking straight lately, and she realized she didn't care. At least she wasn't alone now if only for the moment.

The elders would be ashamed to see me being so rude, despite my own feelings... She chided herself, then dipped her head in a sort of nodding bow to the male. She met his eyes briefly before looking back at the dirt. Figures. Now that she got a good look, he reminded her of one of the others her age from her pride. Well, he had been her age. The eyes were different, but it was enough to bother her. It was rude to ignore him now though and she spoke to her toes loud enough for him to hear.

"Hello good sir..." A typical if lackluster greeting breezed out of her. "I fear I have little sunshine to offer to you this day. Forgive my melancholy, but of late I've lost more than just my way." A thought crossed her mind and she looked up with some seriousness (managing to ignore how similar he looked for now.) "Pray tell have you seen a band of lions come through this place recently? There would not be many, but they would seem...thick, compared to you." She displayed one of her own stocky, robust front legs as an example.  

[[Eskimo]]

Ahhhhhhh...A cynical one.

But cynical from loss. That much was obvious, even if only to one such as Tariq'ra'd.

She would be very easy, indeed.

As the gloom of the female was replaced with dull politeness, Tariq grinned, and offered her a polite bow of greeting. Polite words needed polite returns, after all. That was exactly what he assumed the female wanted; some sense of familiarity. Because she was polite, and someone polite didn't get that way on their own.

'Good sir' was a pleasant sign, and her stream of well-formed, albeit almost sorrowful sentences filled Tariq with glee. The dawn-colored lioness was a perfect candidate for the Ukuucha'Wafalme. And if he played his cards right, this female would be well on her way to the pride in no time; maybe even following him willingly.

Ohh, the sweet, cruel game he was about to start.

"No need to be sorry, Lady." Tariq offered, smiling placidly. "It sounds like you've got good reason for dark clouds." Tail brushing against the ground, the male turned his head, mulling over the female's words. "Thick lions?" the black male echoed, ears turning. He flashed a grin; a sign of hope for the female. At least, that's what his plan aimed for. He eyed the lioness's leg for perhaps what was a bit too long, but tore his eyes away and met her gaze once more.

"I certainly did; a whole group of them. They were like a herd." he laughed.  

[ShinosBee]

Wey wasn't openly pleased at seeing some form of manners in the male. It wasn't something she was conscious of, that she would regard him slightly better for his politeness. If he'd been rude she would have noticed, but being courteous was her second nature. He seemed cheerful, which upset her at first. Couldn't he tell she was in a bad way? But then perhaps he was just trying to cheer her up.

She supposed she should be grateful that he was even chatting with her. The place stank of lions, but some prides she'd met would just have run her off. He at least seemed to not mind her, even want to have her there (how little she knew of that, of course.)

Though her eyes wandered as he seemed to consider, the sight of his grin fully snagged her attention. He seemed to study her...and then she had to set herself firmly back on all four paws to keep from falling over herself in her haste to near the lion.

"You did? W-where? Was it...recently?" She fought not to babble at the male. He'd been kind enough, helpful enough already. Her pride had lived, had left without her...that cast a brief cloud over her mood again. Had they thought her dead and given up on her? It hurt to think they would disregard her so quickly.

Her eyes betrayed her hope, and worry as she asked, "Are they near? Please my good sir...can you take me to them?"  

[[Eskimo]]

Huh.

That was easier than he thought. Excellent...

Suddenly, the day didn't seem so hot anymore. It felt cool. And what was that? A breeze? No? Maybe it was just the force of his sheer awesomeness, then.

"Of course I can, Sunshine." the male said, still grinning. He couldn't help his expression. Many would whisper that he was born with that look on his face; white, fanged grin and flashing, pink eyes. Sometimes, trying or not, he looked a little crazy. Could he help it? Maybe. Did he care? Probably not. Whatever the case, it didn't matter. What mattered was getting this female to the pride. She was literally jumping at him (well, okay, not so literally), so it would definitely be easy enough. If he had to make a WILD guess...He'd say she'd follow him back with no trouble in a matter of moments.

Life was so good...

"It was pretty recently," he added as a follow-up, not turning around just yet; didn't want to seem antsy. "here." he said simply. He nodded a head over his should, black bangs falling to drape over his eyes. "We invited them back for some food in my pride. They seemed hungry and tired; kind of like you." he added. His eyes lost their spark and he stared, grin vanishing.

There was some unseen connection; something he saw in the lioness, and the look he gave seemed to show that he knew what she felt. He knew who she was. He knew how she was. Real understanding, or merely a look as part of his plan, he gave her that reaching stare and held it steadfastly, all amusement gone from his face. "...Just like you."  

[ShinosBee]

Weyard nearly missed him speaking to her again. Her family was near, her friends, her pride...! She would never be grateful enough to the male if he led her to them successfully. And she didn't even know his name! It's be terrible to go on with her group and never know who it was that'd led her back to them.

She looked back at him to speak, and was caught by his look of...was it empathy? Oh, he really was being too kind to her. She just had to know. "Please, my sir...I would know your name, before I meet my pride again. If they are ready to move out I would feel terrible not knowing whom it was that reunited us." She blinked, as if thinking of something. "Though I suppose you won't remember me ten days from now, I am Weyard." She gave a second small bow before she returned to peering off past the male.

"They seemed hungry..." She sighed. "I suppose that's my fault." She mumbled to herself. With luck they'd be well fed now and in a better mood to receive her. She nodded to the male, motioning him to lead her on with all haste.  

[[Eskimo]]

Well-mannered with excellent speech skills, this "Weyard" was quite the prize of a female. With any luck, once he got her back to the pride and...TOOK CARE of getting her to stay there, the Sultan would agree to let Tariq keep her. Ahh, life~. Life was good...

"Oh, trust me," Tariq said, beginning to walk. "I'll remember you." Black paws moved over dry savanna ground, moving with ease over any pebbles or cracks in his path. The lands of the Ukuucha'Wafalme were familiar to him in every way; it was his home, and he knew it inside and out. He had lived there his whole life, save for being born outside the pride. But that didn't count, he pondered, because he had been a newborn then and had been immediately brought to the pride.

Shooing away his side-tracking thoughts, Tariq smiled over his shoulder at the female. "I'm Tariq'ra'd." he introduced. "And aww, I don't think it's your fault." He turned his head to face the path ahead of him once again, pink eyes resting steadfastly on the shape of familiar rocky dens in the distance. Expression hidden by his face's direction, his eyes grew hard and his grin disappeared. "They're fat with food by now." he lied confidently, his happy voice mismatched with his expression.  

[ShinosBee]

Weyard followed the male eagerly, keeping pace to his side and just a few steps behind. As eager as she was, getting ahead of him would serve no purpose. She didn't know where they were going, after all. She smiled at the male. It was kind to think that he'd remember her. She'd certainly remember him.

Dust puffed up under their feet at each step, but despite how dry the place was it seemed quite alive. Weyard began to wonder if maybe her people had decided to join this pride the mystery male, oh, now he was Tariq'ra'd...maybe they'd joined his pride. That might be nice, she reflected. Maybe I'll find a way to repay him for finding me if they've settled at last. Certainly her pride might settle near, if not here. Allies were rare in this strange new world for them, and knowing a pride that had helped them in their time of need they'd surely want to repay the debt.

Of course she had no idea just what form that debt would be repaid in.

Thinking of her family, she sped up at the sight of the dens. She could see plenty of lions around, but none familiar yet. Still, there were many of them, and her pride had been small. And of yet the others were little more than dots just in sight, maybe they were hers...She took a breath to call out to them across the distance, ignoring the black lion for the moment.  

[[Eskimo]]

The closer they got to the heart of the pride, the more things felt like home to the black-striped male. A smirk found its way to his maw, narrowing his eyes at his slight weakness for some kind of sentimentality. Soon, he thought, whether Weyard liked it or not, she'd feel like this was her home, too. First, it would be force. She would deny everything and everyone. But then...Slowly, or quickly, depending on how her already-weakened mental state reacted to her new way of life, she'd come to call the Ukuucha'Wafalme her home.

And she'd come to call him her pad. Her Vizier. Her master. And she would like it.

Reaching some invisible X-mark on the ground, Tariq stopped, ears turning back at the sound of a sharp breath. Before that breath finished, the lion whipped around, slamming a clenched paw into the female's head. It was a really good blow, doing much to disorient the colorful female. But Tariq knew it wasn't enough, thick as she was. He reared back, one paw clutching the lioness's pelt to hold her up, then slammed his head into hers in the way he was taught. The lioness instantly fell unconscious.

Catching her before she fell, Tariq raised his brows, eyes half-lidded and lips drawn shut. He examined her closely for a moment.

"I told you I'd take you to your pride."  

[ShinosBee]

~Fin!