[SRP] End of a Journey (Aestivus & Savvik)

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SAVVIK S'ARIL MIAN-KOYI

The dark lion stood near the edge of Kutathun lands, concealed from those beyond their borders by a slight fold of the land. A stranger might be suprirsed to learn that even the desert was not completely flat, but Savvik S'Aril Mian-Koyi was accustomed to it, having grown up in this place and been Kel from the time he was an adolescent.

Then again, males must become Kel or Sen when they reached that age, and he had known that he didn't have the worldview necessary for the latter caste. Besides, he took pleasure in the strength of his body, in his ability to fight off any enemy and to fulfill the will of the she'pan. There was no higher calling for Kel, save for the su'she'pani kel'en a'anu, which he was not. Still, kel'anth was an honorable and respectable position and Savvik was content.

Yellow eyes narrowed as he spotted the distinctive small cloud of dust that indicated someone moving out upon the sand. The stranger, whatever they were, appeared to be headed right for the pride. Savvik was on edge, as he realized this might be the first time he put the she'pan's instructions into effect.

The pride's numbers had been greatly reduced by drought and the she'pan had decreed that any mri who approached the pride were to be welcomed so long as they were willing to abide by the traditions of the Kutathun. It remained to be seen if this creature was mri or not, but the kel'anth would do as Tarin willed.  

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Walking. That was his life. There may have been a time before that, when Aestivus had been young, but he could barely remember being that small. The scenery had changed, the plants had changed, the weather had changed, the seasons had changed...everything but Aestivus himself.

At one point he'd had cubs trailing after him, but someone had pointed out that walking all day every day wasn't good for kids and he'd obligingly left them with that good samaritan.

He'd never had any real destination in mind, nor any timeframe. Indeed, Aestivus was unable to even elucidate why he was walking. He simply was.

The land he found himself in was dry, a true desert, with few plants and many sand dunes. Not the best place for walking, but he had no good reason to change directions, assuming that would lead him out of the dunes, and more importantly, he had no interest in retracing his steps.  

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Without the dust cloud, it would have been much more difficult for Savvik to find the stranger. However, his eyes were keen and he soon picked out a pelt - a dusty yellow color that the kel approved of for its ability to blend in with their environs. By the time the cloud faded, as the other moved onto a rockier part of the land, closer to the pride, the dark lion had noted that the other was, indeed, a lion. So...mri. Or potentially so.

The kel'anth waited paitently for the other to come near. He was of The Face Turned Outwards, and he did not greet strangers with open arms therefore. Instead, he would protect his edun and only permit those who were mri to enter. So when the stranger came close enough, Savvik stepped around the cleft of land to block his path.

"These are the lands of Edun Kutathun," he informed the other sternly. "Tsi'mri, turn back now."  

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Aestivus was surprised when a black lion appeared out of nowhere to block his path, but he neither stopped nor sped up his pace. Not until it became clear that the other lion was not going to move out of his way, even if it meant they collided. Well, it wasn't as if he walked all the time. He did have to sleep. And drink. And hunt.

So Aestivus stopped in front of the other lion. He'd heard the words clearly, but some of the words had no meaning for him.

"What is "edun kuthathun"?" he asked. "And "tsi'mri"?" They were strange, but there was an elegance to the syllables when the dark lion spoke that Aestivus' own pronunciation fell short of.  

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Hmmm. The kel'anth wasn't disposed favorably to the stranger thus far, but neither was he opposed. It wasn't a bad situation to be in, as things could still go either way. In that case, there was no reason not to answer the other male's questions.

"The edun is the home, the pride," the dark lion explained. "And Kutathun is the name of this edun." Sure there were nuances of meaning, but that was close enough for a stranger. Indeed, it was almost enough for the Kel, anything more would begin to encroach on territory best left to the Sen and the she'pan herself.

"Tsi'mri are those not of the People." He considered the lion before him as he spoke those words. Mri were, by definition, lions. But not all lions were mri. Some were not by their actions, others by their thoughts, still others by the words they spoke. None were welcome in Kutathun lands.  

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The yellow lion cocked his head as he considered what he'd just learned. It might be that he didn't often stop and speak to others, or it might be that this lion, and the pride he represented, were very different from any Aestivus had ever heard of by having strange terms for things.

Not a bad thing. Just interesting. So the pride was called Kutathun. And they referred to their home as an "edun". The most problematic part was the definition of "tsi'mri", easily the most vague of the three the dark lion had offered.

It was rare that Aestivus settled down enough to think about something other than walking, but the terms and concepts evoked by these different words from any he'd ever heard before had awakened a curiosity he hadn't even known he possessed.

"Am I...tsi'mri?" he asked aloud, stumbling over the unfamiliar word.  

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The dark lion waited with a hunter's patience as the stranger considered his words. He had thought, at first, that this one would simply turn in another direction and leave again after being blocked. Or maybe try to start a meaningless conversation about trivialities.

Instead, the yellow lion was thinking, perhaps as deeply as one of the Sen, about what Savvik had said. Most interesting indeed.

He hadn't expected the question, though maybe that was a failing of the Kel. Still, he gave the lion his due and considered it carefully.

"You do not seem to be tsi'mri," Savvik replied after several long moments of silence. "That does not," he added, "mean you are mri."  

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Dark eyes blinked as his question was answered after a long, heavy silence. It was good, he supposed, that he wasn't tsi'mri. But he wasn't too sure about not being mri. Which, based on the definition he'd been provided earlier, would then mean the People. Or rather, the members of the edun Kutathun.

He was starting to get the hang of how these people thought. Well, maybe not that much understanding, since he'd had understandably little exposure. But a flame was kindled deep inside, a hunger to know more, to understand.

"How can I become mri, if I am not currently?" he asked instead, gazing at those yellow eyes and strange blue markings.  

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Savvik opened his mouth to say that one could only be born mri, but the words choked in his throat as he remembered the she'pan's injunction again. And as kel'anth, he was more aware than most of just how badly the edun needed more members.

There was far too much curiosity, far too much thought in this yellow lion for Kel. However, such knowledge and pursuit thereof was the domain of the Sen. But Sen did not leave the pride, save in dire circumstances. If this lion was to be found fit for the Mind of the People, he would have to be brought much deeper into Kutathun lands.

The stranger was strong, but seemed disinclined to violence. It was equally true that neither lion had been trying to provoke the other. Still, Savvik had not come to his position through any kind of nepotism, and he was confident of his skill. He judged it worth the risk.

"It is not for me to say," he informed the stranger, "for I am merely Kel. You must speak with the Sen, perhaps even the she'pan, to determine that." The kel'anth tilted his head slightly in question.  

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For all his overall weariness, Aestivus did notice that the dark lion had opened his mouth and then thought better of it. He wondered what the other male had been about to say before he'd chosen not to. Still, it wasn't the yellow lion's inclination to force his conversation partner to speak. He could wait.

And that waiting paid off as the dark lion inundated him with several unfamiliar words whose meanings he could only remotely guess at. But the meaning of the overall sentence combined with the slightly gesture behind the dark lion became concrete for Aestivus. This was the invitation to more learning that he'd been subtly angling for ever since the other lion first peaked his interest with those words of unknown origin.

"Certainly," Aestivus agreed. "I'd be most interested in learning more about the edun Kutathun." It was, after all, the truth. And who knew? Maybe he'd decide he did want to be mri in the end.  

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Given the way things had gone, Savvik was not at all surprised that his offer was seized upon, and fairly eagerly at that. It was still difficult to resign himself to the fact that he was bringing a stranger - a potential threat - deep into the pride's lands, but the will of the she'pan was absolute. Tarin had decreed that there was no fault in being born outside the edun, so long as the heart and soul were mri.

It remained to be seen if this yellow lion was one such creature. But, as he'd told the other, that decision rightfully belonged to the Sen.