Jalidi had never thought he would leave his snowy home, not thinking himself brave or interested enough in traveling to really, actually do it. He looked like a walking snow drift, after all! He was not built for large, open savannahs and dry, dry deserts. In fact, he had not really known they actually existed, sort of happy to believe them myths and the stuff of stories alone. Sure, there were emissaries and visitors from other lands that spoke all about these wondrous, strange places, but he never thought he would actually see any of them. And really, he had not seen any of them… not yet. All he really saw was a big mountain that got less snowy as he got down to the bottom, and then nothing but dry, yellow grass. If this was supposed to be beautiful and exciting, he was clearly missing something.
Mostly, his paws just hurt, and he wanted to turn around and go home. Except going home without a single story to share, or any sort of helpful information or experience would just be… pointless. He would be laughed at, and as a prince of his homeland, the last thing he wanted was to be considered a laughing stock! He needed to do something impressive, something that would help his home and make his mother and father proud!
But first, a rest.
He saw the female lion at the watering hole from a distance, noting her light, beautiful pelt and the incredible marking that traced its way across her flank. She was breath taking from the moment he saw her. Which would explain why, when he did manage to approach her, he was holding his breath.
Bedwyr lifted her head when a shadow fell across her, looking up at the stranger expectantly. He looked more exotic than anything she had seen in her own home. Light pelted, possibly a Toka at heart if he were to ever to join her pride, but with such magical looking markings that he had to be a Druid. She was glad, then, that she did not have to classify him on one side of the war or the other, since he was simply a stranger passing another stranger in the rogue lands. Out here, class warfare and bias were long behind her. She would have to return at some point, of course, and she was certainly not running away from her duties in her home, as a knight, but…
It was nice to get a breath of fresh air, so to speak.
An icy breath, at that.
“Oh… hello. I did not realize there were lions around here,” Bedwyr said quietly, finding herself feeling surprisingly shy. Usually, as a knight, she had no trouble speaking with others. In fact, she was a very bold female, who knew what she wanted to do, and held herself up with pride and strength. She stood regally, regarding him with a smile. She noted that he seemed to hold himself up with a kind of nobility that was familiar to her. “Are you from a nearby pride?”
“No, not nearby. I mean, unless you consider the top of that mountain,” he turned and pointed his paw back toward a mighty peak in the distance, the snow topped mountain barely visible on the horizon. “nearby.”
Bedwyr followed his gesture, then shook her head.
“No, I don’t. At least you can see your home from here, even if just barely. Mine is some distance back that way,” she pointed in the other direction, “but you cannot see the castle mountain from here. Where the nobles live.” She wrinkled her nose, giving up too much information about herself without being asked or prompted.
“Noble? You’re from a noble family too? That’s good to hear, I’m a prince in my home. Not a very good or interesting one, but a prince nonetheless. I thought I might come out here and make a name for myself. So far the only name I can think up is Aching Paws. Not that… uh… good.”
Bedwyr smiled at him, surprised by his ease at sharing so much. He looked like he had not really meant to talk that much, though, either, which comforted her even more. They were both just lonely in the middle of their travels, which meant they could be a little more honest than guarded. She got no sense of hostility from him, anyway. He seemed like a very gentle lion, really.
“My name is Bedwyr, from the Tokakinji.”
“And I’m Jalidi, Prince of the Frozen Isle. It’s very nice to meet you, Bedwyr! Honestly, I thought I was going to be out here alone for my whole travel. Though it looks like we were heading in opposite directions. Oh, are you going to be resting here a while? I mean, if you wanted, we could get some food and… just relax for a bit? My feet uh… really hurt.”
Bedwyr looked at him curiously, noting that he was not the toughest lion she had ever met. Definitely not a knight, that much was clear. She was not all that tired, despite her long walk so far, but the idea of food made her stomach growl in protest. Sighing, she nodded her head.
“I think that might be a good idea. This watering hole is a nice spot, I’m sure we’ll find something to hunt nearby. It doesn’t look like there are that many resting areas around here.”
Of course, that also meant they might not find any food at all, as the prey beasts tended to herd together, and would know what areas had water and food for them, and what ones were not worth traveling through. The knight opted to stay positive about their chances, though. If only because she really wanted to go on a hunt with this snow pelted male, and maybe get to know him a bit more. Friendship was hard to come by for her, living in the middle of a war as she was, so maybe this was what she had really come out here looking for.
Word Count: 1018
