[JRP] To the sea (Kanzi/Sokota/Pirato)

[Andranis]

He could smell the sea, and it pleased him. As Kanzi crested a small ridge, he saw the waves crashing on the shore, and heard their melodious sound. The massive lion smiled, closing his eyes as the warm sea breeze moved through his fiery mane. "We're here, Sokota..." A rumble rose in his chest, pleased with himself and with Sokota for following. Now it was just a matter of finding the locals and pleading for them to allow the pair to remain. "You have it, right?" He knew quite well that they needed some form of... Item or information, or something. He just hoped what they'd brought was worth while.

The lioness, demure next to her mate, walked up next to him. The sight of the waves was... Breathtaking, to say the least. Her ears twitched as she listened, pink eyes practically dancing as she scanned the horizon point to point. As the sea breeze blew by, it ruffled her thick coat, making it ripple. It felt good. Sokota closed her eyes, lifting her face into the wind. "It's so wonderful here, Kanzi, so... Stunning..." She smiled, turning to face him. "You were right, it was worth coming here..." Pink eyes turned back to the waves. "And yes, I have it..." She reached up, patting a pouch she was carrying tied to her shoulder. It wasn't heavy, so its contents were, to say the least, light. "I just hope they like it..."  

[Buffy_the_Bloody]

Pirato was keeping himself busy. The kill that the party had brought back was a meal fit for a king. He had to admit.. He liked the fact that the hunters brought him back little meals for himself. He dug into the baby gazelle, tearing it apart without much effort. It was a new baby, and he was surprised the mother had not torn apart the lions going after it.

Oh well. Such was life. He sat in the sand, his eyes watching the ocean the way the couple's were. The ocean was one of the loves of his life. Even Adaeze who had his affections didn't compare to the ebbing waves that called to him.

The red lion smiled, and began digging into the carcass again.  

[Andranis]

As he padded down from their spot to the beach, the smell of blood reached Kanzi's nose. The smell of a lion, too, reached him, and he knew they'd encountered a local. Or a rogue on the border, but he was confident the other was a local. A red mass of lion soon came into view, and Kanzi let out a low call. It wasn't a warning, or even really a challenge. It was more a 'hi there' than anything. Or... Ahoy. He shifted his gaze, eyes twinkling as he looked at Sokota. "I do believe, we've found us a local!"

The lioness, strolling confidently with her head high, smiled, her eyes half closed. "Indeed we have..." Retaining her confidence, she padded along the sand up toward the lion, stopping a healthy and safe distance from him. "Good day, sir, would you happen to know where we can find..." She paused, looking at Kanzi. "What was his name again?" She shrugged. "I'll remember it later, or have one of those moments where someone says it and go 'oh yeah!'..." She turned back to the eating lion. "The Commodore, is what I'm getting at.. Would you happen to know where he is or where we might find him?"  

[Buffy_the_Bloody]

He heard the call, and his head lifted from the crimson mess that lay at his paws. It didn't show as vivid on his pelt, but his own pelt was as dark a crimson as the blood before him. He stood, licking his lips and frowning. His meal cut short, he hoped it was worth it. Though he wasn't sure who would be out this way.

His eyes locked in on the two that approached, and he held his head a bit taller. A way to show his stance in the lands he was in. Pirato was losing the drunken edge he had always had since he had been born. No, now he was trying his best to be a good Pirate King. Something that was only recently a desire of his.

"Aye, mate. Step closer if a fight isn't what ye be wantin'."  

[Andranis]

Kanzi's eyebrow went up, before he confidently stepped forward. As he took everything in about the lion, from the way he'd been laying, and then the way he'd stood up, the dark blue lion's mind ran over everything. After a moment of consideration, he looked at Sokota, eyebrow up again. The two shared a momentary eye-conversation, before they both turned back to the red lion. "I would hope to presume... You would be the Commodore?" The very way he'd risen to his paws declared to them a well-practiced mannerism of somebody who commanded respect and obedience.

The lioness shifted on her paws, working sand between her toes. It felt curious to her, having grown up in the grasslands, but not all-together unpleasant. As she shifted, her thick coat rippled, before she slightly bowed her head. "If you are, as we hope to presume, the Commodore, we wish to join your pride... To live among the pirates..." She paused, then lightly inclined her head. "And as we understand it, you desire... Trinkets, physical and verbal..." She'd wait to offer up the bag of feathers. They were, after all, not easy to all gather. While birds did freely shed the odd feather, these were flight feathers, plucked from the wings of nabbed birds. Each had been a tasty treat.  

[Buffy_the_Bloody]

He watched as the two stepped forward confidently, and he felt himself relax. So they didn't have intentions of fighting, that changed things a tad. He nodded, and smiled.
"Aye. I am the Commodore. Pleased to be makin' your aquaintance." He said with a nod of his head. Though his shoulders were still tall, keeping him looking confident.

His attention shifted to the lovely lady, and he chuckled. So she knew her facts. That was to be admired. He nodded again and began speaking.
"Ye be smart to be offerin'. Tis indeed how you get in to the crew."  

[Andranis]

The blue male let out a pleased sound, turning to his companion. "Ah, then we DID find the right pride this time!" They'd already been past two prides settled by the sea. One was being ruled by a leopard... That was DEFINITELY not the right pride and they'd skirted around the borders of it and continued on their way. The second had been full of almost nothing but lions.. And a black and purple lioness had been sure to keep an eye on them as they skirted that border, too, after entering long enough to be certain that it was or wasn't the right pride. "You've still got the stuff, right...?"

"Of course I do..." She turned to her side, the twin earrings in her left ear swaying and even clicking together as she grabbed the bag. Turning back around, she carried it over to the Commodore and presented it to him, setting it down in the sand in front of him like precious cargo. "Feathers, plucked from various birds caught during our journeys... Some of them come from the jungles far to the west, filched off some leopards while Kanzi distracted them." They'd been particularly nasty, too, none too fond of lions in their territory. That had been a trip merely for the sake of curiosity about stories of a sea to the west. They'd not made it past the jungle, between how far too wet it was and the leopards, and a huge river in their way.  

[Buffy_the_Bloody]

Andranis

Pirato smiled a little, nodding his mane which was knotted and tangled.. He had a lions version of dreadlocks, and when he nodded, they flung this way and that.
"Indeed, ye have found the right pride."

He watched the lovely female step forward, and was rather curious to see what she would drop at his paws. When she set down the feathers, he found himself transfixed. They were lovely, and the fact that they had been hard to get.. Well that just showed the determination of these two. He bowed his head, motioning for them to follow him.

He grabbed the feathers in his paw, gingerly plucking them into his mane for safe keeping as he started walking.

"I be thinkin' ye two will like it here." He said with a chuckle.  

[Andranis]

The blue male grinned wryly, looking to his companion. He certainly felt pride in having nabbed her for himself, and carried his head just high enough to show this pride as he followed the Commodore. As they walked, he took in the beach and everything else around them, including the way the waves sang on the shore. Ah, it was beautiful, and he loved it. The sea was his home, and the sea was where he wanted to remain. It was just convincing his brother and sister of the same that was the challenge. He'd find them later and try to convince them, but for now... Kanzi looked at Sokota, unable to hide his grin before he turned back. "We thank you kindly for allowing us to join, Commodore."

"Indeed we do..." Sokota smiled, moving in step with her mate. Pink eyes glimmered with joy and pride, pleased that the red lion had liked their offering. After all, feathers weren't always easy to come by. Granted, yes, they could fall from any bird, but to get them from such far-reaching places... And usually if they were simply found, they weren't in great condition. Catching the birds allowed them to pick the perfect feathers to keep and collect. The less-than-perfect were left to rot, though they HAD kept a couple choice feathers after the perfect ones were plucked. Some dangled from Sokota's hair now.  

[Buffy_the_Bloody]

Andranis

Truth be told, Pirato was accepting of most. He just didn't like others who couldn't pull their own weight. It was a hard job doing what he did, and he wanted to see some of that returned. That, and he liked loyalty. He could trust few, but those who had it would have it forever. Or at least, he hoped so.

"Welcome aboard. If you be needin' anything. Cast your eye to the horizon, me den be that way. Otherwise, the corsairs will be able to show you a bit more. I have some work to be tendin'." He smiled. He could see the love between the two.