[PRP] A Brief Respite (Cruithne x Areo)

[Epine de Rose]

AstoriaFallen

The lion wasn't entirely sure of how long he had been out here now... The moment that his pride had effectively collapsed around him hadn't been a pleasant one. He had watched as the king and queen, heck, the entire royal family had been murdered and a new 'king' had risen to power. More worryingly he had brought the 'low' born with him and risen them beyond that which the gods had granted them at birth. All this change had come about abruptly and violently, so much so that he hadn't felt safe in his home any longer and had fled as a result.

Had it been cowardly? In some ways, yes... He had left his friends and family to their fate, but at the same time, it had been impossible for him to tell if anyone other than he had been unhappy with the transition. He was but one lion and to attempt to prevent such a coup would have been suicide, but he still didn't feel any better about the entire situation.

He had been forced out of his home and now he was in a world he barely understood. Even after all this time the rogue lands were still foreign to him, and right now he could only count his blessings that he had managed to find a watering hole that looked reasonably safe and peaceful!  

[Epine de Rose]

AstoriaFallen

Yeah from what I can remember it was a coup, Shang assassinated the royal family and took their place. Rose his loyal low born followers to a much higher 'guardian' rank and anyone who disagreed... Yeah, Cruithne noped out of there real fast. <_<

Although I'm not sure what's happened since then, I'd need to ask Mouse as she's really good at explaining it.

"Oh I don't know," Cruithne responded in a conversational tone, heaving a sigh as he turned his gaze towards the approaching black male. Cowardly he might have been for fleeing his home, but it seemed that the approach of a stranger didn't really startle him. "Circumstance, I suppose?" he finished after a moments consideration and gave a hapless shrug. In all honesty he didn't know why he was here, it had just sort of happened...

"It seemed like a nice place," he remarked and offered a sheepish smile. "And I figured I'd stay near a place where I knew I wouldn't starve to death rather than heading in uh..." he paused and glanced about him as if trying to get his bearings. At one point he had come very close to the desert, but now that he had time to think about it, he wasn't entirely sure of where that desert was now.

"Uh..." he repeated and scrunched up his nose in confusion. "Well I was going to point in whatever direction the mountains of sand were but I appear to have forgotten where that is," he confessed. "I'd have probably died out there."  

[Epine de Rose]

"Well I'm a bit green out here so it was for the best," Cruithne's smile was a weak one but it was there, even he could find humour in things despite the circumstances he might have found himself in!

"Circumstance doesn't make me completely stupid, fortunately," he pointed out and then shook his head. He took a quick moment to glance around his immediate area before returning his attention to the surprisingly helpful lion. If he encountered enough strangers like this then he might actually be okay; this was more of a reassurance to him than Areo would probably ever realise.

"My name is Cruithne," he said at last and cleared his throat. "I don't suppose you can give me directions, maybe tips on where to head next? I'm sure this won't last me forever but I'm not entirely sure what I should be looking for as my next move to be honest..."

AstoriaFallen

He's back, but still very wary. He's elected to make his final choice in a while, it all depends on the new Queen making substantial changes that he likes haha.

 

[Epine de Rose]

Did he really know what he was looking for? Quite honestly, he didn't...

Areo had opened a can of worms and Cruithne wasn't sure how he should answer it. He had no overall goals, no end game, all in all he was simply wandering about in search of inspiration until such times when things made sense again. Nevertheless, he did afford a few moments to think about it and it was in this time that he fell silent, though he still kept his gaze on the black lion.

"Right now," he said at last and took a deep breath. "Maybe just point me in a direction that won't get me killed," he confessed. "I can hunt, and source things fairly well," he remarked and then shook his head. "But what I don't have is an awareness of where is safe, and where isn't," he grimaced. "I would prefer that I don't end up a slave, or dead," he pointed out.

"Honestly I'd go for dead, rather than a slave if I had a preference... but preferably neither if you happen to know a path."

AstoriaFallen

 

[Epine de Rose]

Areo had provided him with more than enough information - truth be told, Cruithne had no great desire to wander in a particular direction that even risked being barren for a brief period of time. He was still learning to be self sufficient and the greater distance would place more pressure on him than he needed at the moment. Thusly, it seemed appropriate that he move towards the regions that he was most likely to find food, shelter and pleasant faces first.

...Once he was slightly better at being on his own, he'd strike out elsewhere.

It was for this reason that he nodded slowly and took the details into account, filing them away for use. He didn't need to know exactly who lay in that direction, assurances that they were welcoming would be enough to go on. If they asked, he'd simply advise them that another friendly face had come to his aid and ensured he went in a direction where he wouldn't be harmed!

"That's more than enough help," Cruithne sounded truly grateful, though still a touch tired and cleared his throat. "I'll head in the direction of the more friendly faces and work from there, you have my thanks," he added.

"For now though, perhaps you would like to rest your own legs... We can both move on when we've gathered our heads," he suggested with a wry smile; it seemed he didn't have anything further to say for now...but it was clear he had other things on his mind.

AstoriaFallen

One more post from you possibly to finish it off?