Yokheved:
Yokheved was off gathering herbs in the earlier hours of the morning. She had gotten up before Tamar, but that wasn't an unusual occurrence. Tamar was sometimes a pretty sleepy monkey, but it was more an amusement to 'Heve than anything else. Leaving Li was the more difficult part. She cared very much for the little god, even though she barely knew him. Seeing him come back exhausted and beat up... She had felt angry and possessive. Knowing Squall was taking care of him made her feel better, but she still figured she would get this and then hurry back, so that she could check on his wounds.
She wandered near the pride borders, looking for certain plants that her totem had helped her identify. Some brave soul had tested these plants, to make sure they were not poisonous. Either that, or someone had found the help of a god or goddess.
A soft tune echoed in her head as she moved some of the plants about in a small patch. Most of them were chewed or dying though, nothing that would be useful to her.
Jelani:
It had been a very long time since he'd returned to the ancestrial lands of his former pride. It had been generations before his time that the En Gedi and the Ti-Hin had gone their seperate ways- both to preserve the limited resources within their homelands and to allow the Ti-Hin's followers to practice their own beliefs apart from the traditional minds of the En Gedi. A small part of him ached to see the lands once more, to walk among the dried grasses and smell the distant waterfall that fed the small paradise.
Zaid and Cae had fled, escaping his claws into the endless grasslands of Africa. He'd had no luck in hunting any of them down, surely there were still a handful of survivors clinging to life, avoiding his eye in whatever ways they could. Perhaps even under the protective watch of their 'spirits'.
He snorted and took a slow look around. While the male was large for even the Barbary standards, it was his bulk that made him the imposing figure he was. Hard muscles defined under a thick, scarred hide and crowned by a massively thick mane. HIs entire left side was one big scar, claw marks, bite marks, drag marks, and various other wounds where fur refused to grow back anymore. There wasn't much to be done about it, only his face, scarred and mutilated beyond reconition along his left side, lay hidden under a bone mask. His father's skull had been so nice a fit.
A tattered ear rolled at the faint brush of something against dried grass. A single golden eye roamed over the golden waves, eventually settling on a small brown patch of fur in the distance. His eyebrows raised. Someone so far out here?
Yokheved:
'Heve moved on, to a different patch of green amid the tan, sorting through the plants there until she found something promising. A cluster of leaves she could use to help Li heal and build his strength back up. If she gave them to him, though, she'd have to be careful of how much. He was small and young. Plus she wasn't so sure what effects things had on gods, if there was anything different. She would have to rely on Tamar to ask him questions for her.
She pulled the plant from the ground and straightened with it carefully in her teeth, green eyes blinking as they suddenly fell on the shape of another lion not far off. He looked scarred and... She shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but a shiver went up her spine for some reason. As if she had reason to fear him, though she had never met him and he was not threatening her.
Jelani:
He smirked as the female lifted her head and caught sight of him. She was a small thing, frightened by the looks of it..and...eating grass? That was new.
With cool, powerful steps he pushed through the grass, his head lifted high and his tail curled casually behind him. The way he moved, one would think he owned the territory and all within it. There wasn't a shred of discomfort to be seen in his posture or his easy expression.
As he drew near he tipped his head in greeting and offered a thin but pleasant smile. "Morning. I didn't mean to intrude...but it seems I've gotten turned around."
Yokheved:
Ears perked forward at the sound of his pleasant voice, but still 'Heve was wary. She dipped her head and took the plant between her toes, sitting down so that she could work it carefully into the gold band on her tail. Without her totem around, she had been forced to find more creative ways of carrying around the herbs she found.
That done, she returned her attention to him and nodded in greeting. She wished to question as to if he was looking for something or someone or whatnot, but the lack of sound within her made that quite impossible. So she simply tilted her head with a questioning expression, then her eyebrows rose slightly and she gave a short nod in an attempt to ask him to continue.
Jelani:
He watched her, confused, as she tucked the plant away. Whatever was that... nevermind. It didn't matter. He took a step closer and opened his mouth to continue, only then did a familar scent wash over him. It wasn't like any of the herbs in the area, none that he'd ever encountered anyway... in fact he'd only smelt it once...
His eyes narrowed slightly as he watched her. "...I'm... looking for a friend of mine." He started, his voice cool and soft as silk, his expression curious. "We got seperated not long ago... I've also misplaced my younger brother. He looks very similar to myeslf. Just...smaller and younger."
Yokheved:
'Heve's eyes narrowed slightly in thought following the narrowing of his own, wondering what had caused it, but for the moment she wrote it off. She blinked at him when he talked of his friend and younger brother from whom he was separated from. She considered him, looking him up and down, taking him his appearance. She would have sighed if she could, but instead just went through the movements of it, her shoulders rising and falling, a breath silently escaping her, and her heading tilting to one side. He was lightly and naturally colored, like the majority of her pride. Though, none were that grayish sand color, except for maybe Li, but he was slightly darker-toned and had bright blue eyes rather than this male's gold.
She turned and gestured behind her towards the pridelands, then turned back to him and pawed at her chest, then at the light dirt and the gold grasses, trying to convey that most of the area were so colored. She pointed at him next and shook her head.
Jelani:
Jelani followed her gestures in silence, his thick brow lifted as she waved her paw about, first behind her, then to her chest, then to the ground...finally back at him.
Whatever that meant.
After a moment he raised his brows in reconition. "Ah you're a mute. Well then a nod or a shake of your head will do just fine. There's one...he's just a cub about...." He brought a paw a foot or two above the ground. "This big. Strange little fellow. High pitched voice, white eye masks...his mane is very long. Strange for a lion. Sweet little dear though, I'm so worried about him. The other has stripes on his face. Seen either of them?"
Yokheved:
'Heve shook her head twice. She didn't normally lie, but it wasn't really a lie. She told herself she was only answering to the part about the male with stripes on his face. She knew other lions with stripes on their faces, but no males came to mind.
And something told her not to "talk" about Li, though. She was protective of him, and she wasn't sure how he might know this male. She would try and ask him later about if he had met him when he had gone looking for the new home. For now, she would play dumb... though she supposed it wouldn't be so difficult with her disability.
Jelani:
Jelani tipped his head and slowly stepped forward. He leaned his head down and took a long, deep breath. "...that's funny. Because you smell just like one of them. Perhaps I hit my head a little hard the other day. I do tend to do that. I'm such a slip-foot sometimes."
He smirked, flashing a short glympse of his dangerous, pointed teeth her way. "But if you say you don't know anything...then I suppose you don't know anything. I should just be on my way then..."
Yokheved:
'Heve leaned back slightly, narrowing her eyes at him as he got closer. He gave off even more of a dangerous vibe but she stood her ground. She frowned and rose a paw up, dipping her head to sniff herself.
She smelled like Li.
So he had met her little god-cub. But under what conditions? Was he dangerous enough to have been the one to hurt Li? Or was he one of the ones who rescued him? Don't look at his scars and assume the worse, she told herself. But it was his actions. Or maybe he was just messing around with her. Some creatures thought it was funny to tease cautious individuals.
She let her paw drop again and shrugged, gesturing to the herb she had picked. She WAS around plants a lot, though she hadn't run into anything that smelled like her little friend, either. But this male didn't know that.
Jelani:
"Hm." He smirked as she took a moment to smell herself. Casually, he turned his head back the way she had indicated earlier. "...is that where your pride is? Perhaps I could get some rest there... if it's alright with you. I've traveled quite a ways and my poor paws are just run raggid."
He lifted a paw slowly and licked the bottom of his pads. He'd collected a good deal of burrs and stickers along his ancles and the long tuffs of fur along his elbows, but he didn't look any worse for wear.
"Or even a drink... it's such a long desert."
Yokheved:
'Heve nodded and stood, turning towards the pridelands. Of a sort.
Instead of heading towards the main water sources of the pride, she headed toward an area of one of the rivers where most of the pride didn't go. It was safe, just out of the way. She wanted to help him, but was too unsure about his character to feel comfortable taking him to where they might run into other pride members, most of all Li.
She walked carefully, so she didn't lose the herb in her tail-band and also on her guard so that should he try to do something from behind her, she would be ready to get out of the way. Hopefully he would walk at her side, though. That would be much more comfortable.
Jelani:
The male turned his head and rolled his ears forward. He licked his dry lips and trudged along behind the female. His eye wondered away, turning back the original way she'd directed. Either way, a rest and a belly full of water could only help him. It had been a long walk and truthfully, he was a little turned around. The landscape never remained the same- and he was a little farther out than he'd gone in his younger days.
"Thank you for your help, miss." He added softly. "Sorry to...take you away from your...leaf...picking."
Yokheved:
The thanks and apology made her relax a bit. But just a bit, for he still had that aura of danger about him. She smiled and shook her head, waving off the apology. All she really needed was what she had found, so he hadn't interrupted much at all. She would have attempted to explain her healing, but it was more demanding an explanation than gestures could do alone. She might gesture to his scars to help explain, but he could easily take that the wrong way. So, instead, she just continued on towards the river.
Jelani:
He watched her back, eyes narrowed as she led him forward. She was small... and her coloration was different from the lions within his pride. She certainly had similar traits. Her form wasn't too far off from the females that had lived within his village.
He logged it away for later.
"Well I think I can find my way from here.
Yokheved:
'Heve paused and tilted her head as she looked back at him, blinked once, and shrugged. She tilted her head in the right direction to continue in before dipping her head in farewell as she turned back the way they had come. Just to be careful, she would head back to where she had found the strength-herb before heading back to where she had left Li, Squall, and Tamar. She wondered if it was rude to be so mistrustful of this larger lion, but there was no harm in being careful. Especially with the danger that was forcing them to leave their homeland.
Jelani:
The lion smirked as he turned his head to watch her go. He was a patient enough individual. It was a virtue, afterall. The little lioness smelled strongly of the little cub- which either meant he was here not too long ago- or he was still relitively close by.
Shrugging his large shoulders, he trudged forward. "Ah well... we'll find him later."
