Seaki
Chozi, admittedly, left the pride pretty often. It wasn’t abnormal for him. He wandered back towards the land, feeling the mud in his toes. It overall wasn’t unusual. However, it felt like it was taking forever for the water to come after the mud. It seemed so much further away, but perhaps it was only because he was tired from his journey?
But it was an odd thing - just a gut feeling really.
Maybe he should ask someone who monitored the borders more often than he did - a guard, perhaps, or a hunter. They would know. The concern grew in his belly and he trotted into the lands, determined to find someone more knowledgeable than he.
Painted Moose
Cari didn’t normally leave the pride unless business took her outside its borders. She did, however, monitor it heavily as a sort of vendetta against the pure races. The leotah was obsessed with keeping slaves in, bringing new ones in, and keeping the rif raff out. There was nothing more important to her than keeping a safe place for her family and others like then. Which is why when she noticed the lack of “wet” in their wetland home she went on alert.
She had been watching it for a while, or as long as she could without taking from her duties. Gritting her teeth she went in search of her sister, stockings muddied up to her shoulders. It was with some relief that she came across a Cheeton, Chozi was it?, first. Though she didn’t know what to say, since she was not one for chats, Cari pulled herself together. “We need to talk.”
Seaki
Chozi came across a familiar looking Leotah, one that he recognized as Cari from just observing in the distance. He had never really spoke to her and often kept to himself, so it wasn’t a huge surprise.
He was, however, surprised when she spoke to him first. Had he done something wrong? He needed to ask her about the lack of water, though, and that seemed far more important than anything he’d done wrong. “Ah, yes?” He asked - maybe she had the same concern after all.
Painted Moose
“Have you noticed any peculiar changes?” Cari edged. Of course her legs were coated in mud, but that was because she had drug many a prey beast to it’s knees in what little there was to be found. “Our borders have started to become almost stable in footing. We’re drying out.”
Vienna would have been pleased were she still here, Cari noted with bitter resentment. She looked about her, being careful to keep her voice low. “Have you noticed this as well?”
Seaki
Ah, he wasn’t in trouble! That was good, but that also meant his gut feeling was more than that. It was terrifying. He gave a nod, frowning. “I had noticed. It hasn’t been this bad before,” he noted. He mud was still squelched between his toes and it made it hard to stand without slipping. He was sure this area would dry out and become sandy soon enough.
Which was far more worrying in itself.
Painted Moose
She shook her head in agreeance. “Not once that I can recall. I’ll have to ask my father about it, since he’s been here longer than I have. See if this is normal behavior, but I’m not so sure it is.” It was certainly concerning behavior. She wouldn’t know what to do if their home suddenly dried up like a dead fish.
“What worries me is if this isn’t normal, or at least hasn’t happened before, what do you think will happen to the herds? Or even the birds, for that matter? They won’t stay long.”
Seaki
Chozi knew Safi, if only really by mention - he’d never really seen the white Leopon personally, but Nanth swooned over him a bit and it was common knowledge of who the father of the leader was. “Should we go find him now?” Chozi asked, including himself even though he wasn’t terribly important.
He wasn’t totally sure what would happen - would it even go so far to dry completely out? Normally the dry season was a blessed change from the flooding of the land, but if all the water was gone, what was the purpose of staying in the lands. “Hopefully it won’t come to that…” Chozi answered.
He couldn’t raise his children without the water of the wetlands. He had a new litter that arrived with him not long ago - quite a few hungry mouths to feed now. He was lucky Nanth and Celes helped out when they weren’t busy.
Painted Moose
She wasn’t entirely for sure that her father would be in the pride, thanks to his wandering ways, but she wasn’t about to seem unsure. Cari only nodded. “If not him, then Kuu. He would have told her what he knew, I’m sure, but I would rather have heard it straight from the source.”
Really, she didn’t want to worry her sister over something like this if it was common place. The Cheeton had enough on her mind as it was without needlessly fussing over weather. This would have to be felt out.
“Right now we need information, not gossip. Tell no one outside of us and my father. If this comes to the worst then we can take it to the higher ups. Right now I don’t want to cause panic.”
Seaki
That was probably a good point. Not many of the other hybrids wandered towards the edges of the pride, but since Chozi left often, it had come somewhat of a habit for him to take trips outside the pride, so he had seen the shrinking levels at bit when he had gone, but he didn’t remember it being this severe last year.
But maybe Cari was right. Maybe it was normal?
“Alright, hopefully we can find your father then,” he agreed. Maybe they wouldn’t have to go to Kuu at all. That would make him feel better - but if Cari noticed the same thing… Maybe it wasn’t farfetched after all.
Painted Moose
Good, good. She wouldn’t have to fight to get her view across. Cari started walking to where she had last seen her sister, keeping the conversation a float. “You go into the rogue lands often, do you not? Have they seen similar problems?” It was the only thing she could think of to ask him. Chozi was a known fertile hybrid who sired many children, but most were brought in. Not that she complained, but it wouldn’t hurt for him to take a mistress inside the pride as well. Keep something stable.
Seaki
He… actually hadn’t paid attention too much actually - but there was one thing he noticed. “There’s a lake, just west of here and it’s nearly gone,” he told her. “And the flock of birds that reside there - they’ve gone as well.” He sighed - that was one of his hugely reliable sources for information and feathers for his crafts.
It saddened him that they had moved on, but maybe it made more sense? Usually the lake would diminish greatly in the dry season, the basin filling with the first few rains of the wet season, but not this early in the year, if he could recall.
“But that happened yearly, but not this soon. Perhaps it isn’t a concern - it just feels… off.”
Painted Moose
“Yes, yes, the lake.” Though she hadn’t visited in a while it would be something she needed to look into. Or send someone else to do so she could keep up with her own concerns. They would need to tell others soon or risk being unprepared.
“You have a right to be concerned. We need to get moving on this fast so we can come up with strategies.” This was the only home she had ever had and wasn’t about to lose it now!
Seaki
Chozi nodded, sighing. That lake was one of his favorite places, but the heat and dry had gone on for much longer than they were used to. “Alright - maybe if we split up, we can find someone faster. Meet back here?” He asked, near ready to bolt into search mode.
They needed to find someone, and quickly! Chozi thought he knew where to look, too, so hopefully this wouldn’t take to long. “How about in an hour?”
Painted Moose
Cari nodded. “An hour it is!” She bolted on her own, her thin legs giving her the burst of speed she needed to begin her search. Her heart was going out to her family first, but if a Council Member other than her sister were to be found then they would do as well. Really this was a race against time and even the true magnitude of it all hadn’t sunk in yet.
And she doubted it would until the hammer fell.