Muroki, as was his custom, had risen at dawn to pray. His new home provided a beautiful and peaceful backdrop while he did this, watching the sun rise. When finished there was exploring to do...now he'd learnt the jungle outside like the back of his paw, it was the inner-land's turn. So far he'd stuck near to the hidden enterance but it was time for a proper wander. Besides, who else would be up at this hour?

Johari had been putting off leaving the family den for some time now, knowing that the rest of the pride took refuge further into the lands, some filling the caves along the protective rock wall. However, she'd recently grown into full maturity, as had the rest of her litter mates... It was time to show some backbone.

It was with this attitude that she rose before sunrise, hoping to make it out alone, knowing that if she waited till her mother, father, brothers, or sister woke up she'd never leave. Often times Johari wondered what her older sister, Moyo was up to. She adored that girl and missed her every day, but trusted that they'd meet again soon. Maybe if she got brave enough she could make the journey to the Pridelands with Mteuli one of these days, even. Wouldn't that be an adventure?

Her bright forepaws led the way as she tred through the morning dew, each step coming a little bit easier the further away that she went. ~This isn't so bad, is it...?~ She smiled a bit to herself, green eyes surveying the surrounding area with quiet curiosity. The world seemed so much friendlier when you were big enough to look down at things instead of up.

As he walked the large lion started to daydream. It really was glorious this early in the morning, wading through long grass soaking with cooling dew. It didn't take a huge stretch of the imagination to picture the temple lake in the desert, wading through water with lilies and reeds all around, perhaps with his golden beauty by his side...He could now look back on those few short weeks with Hisani without so much pain and heart break. He knew he'd never know what happened for it didn't seem as if the gods willed it. Muroki missed her but the nostalgia made him smile. The sunlit memories were forever. Though they were over, so long as he could remember, it'd never really end...

After a few minutes he'd cleared the thicker vegetation and had passed by all the caves, including his own. It snapped him out of his reverie to realise he'd brought nothing back for it. But at least there was no rush. More observant to his real surroundings now, he noticed that his current, random path was taking him towards someone.

Johari spotted Muroki long before he spotted her, and she recognized him just vaguely by scent. She'd come by his scent many times in this area when out wandering with her father. Only now could she put a face with the smell that was so distinctly his though. She paused, slowing in her steps until she stood still, watching the male draw closer and wondering for a moment if she should stay or go. She needed to meet other members of the pride, actually socialize with someone besides blood relatives, why did it seem like such a terrifying idea at first?

"Good morning... you're one of the new pride members, right?" She asked quietly.

"Yes, I've not been here long." He replied pleasantly, with a quick polite bow of his head. Though inwardly he did hope that the chance meeting wasn't going to turn into one of those dull pointless ambles to nowhere...where names were swapped, the weather discussed and no more. Being a rogue who was always on the move had turned him sour to first meetings - too often he'd never met the creature again and the smalltalk had been all he'd got.

Lucky that in this pride they were all knocking about in a big rock bowl, eh?

He thought he recognised the female, since her family's markings were distinctive to Muroki. They reminded him of his own and his prides, a bit. Another way this place had captured his heart was that the Unity Walkers was entirely new but also oddly familular. However, beyond a few odd scents and a rare sighting, he couldn't recall anything else about this stranger.

"I'm Muroki. What's your calling?"

"Johari." She replied, still soft, but smiled a bit, relaxing some. Just like with leaving the den, the further into this short conversation she progressed, the easier it would seem to come. She just needed to stop being so afraid of everything, it looked like. "It's strange. I've lived here my entire life, but you're really the first lion I've met who wasn't related to me somehow."

Now, be that because her families' bloodline made up so much of the survivors of the pride, or be it because she didn't get out, or even because they were still recruiting new blood, she didn't know.

"It must be nice to have always had somewhere to live." Muroki offered the idea, trying to imagine not having met someone you weren't related to before. For him it'd always been the opposite. No relatives, save his adopted foster family. He'd always daydreamed about finding his family somewhere when he'd been small. And even that seemed an odd idea now.

"Besides Mteule, you're the first Unity Walker I've met. Strangely, I've only found fellow newcomers up until now."

Johari's sense of guilt was triggered at that. She had no way of knowing he was hard on luck before coming here (or so it sounded), but she felt guilty all the same. Her ears pinned down to her head and her eyes seemed to glint for a moment with a figurative flinch. "I... I'm sorry if I said something I shouldn't have, and yes... there used to be more members but from what I've been told, a plague wiped most of the original pride out. There's mostly just my family now,the twin priests, and the Queen. The rest of the pride more or less is made entirely of newcomers. Trying to rebuild, I guess. It's difficult when so much of the blood here is already related."

She felt her skin heat under her fur, glancing away in thought. Continuing new bloodlines, something that rested in the paws of the other pride members, for any offspring she might produce laterin life would be related to at least some of the pride already. She hoped more members would join soon, she longed to see the valley flourish again, for there to be more members at the next festival than the list of lions she previously mentioned, and their mates.

"I can imagine how it is, for where I came from we had a simular problem. Very few of us left - but since we've all grown up happily as rogues or settled elsewhere, we're not rebuilding. It's amazing how this pride is, and how welcoming everyone is." He spoke with admiration but his expression held a hint of worry. He hadn't meant to upset her, and wasn't entirely sure what phrase had caused her apology. Going back over what he'd said, Muroki thought perhaps he'd insulted her by implying the pride's blood lines were thinned? Or had he sounded accusing that he'd not had such a home?

He tilted his head, ignored the mane that flopped over into his gold eyes and smiled. Tried to regain eye contact as she looked away. Ears slightly back, it was his turn to say sorry.

"I didn't mean to make you ill at ease, Johari. Sorry. If you'd like I'll leave you be?"

"Me too." And it showed, even if the expressions were shy by most other's standards, the pride showed in a smile she wore whenever she thought about the changes being made to prevent another divide. She let him catch her eye again now, turning back to him enough to see, and she felt relieved he didn't seem to be upset like she first thought. "No, no, that's not necessary at all. I think I just misunderstood... have you seen much of the inner pride lands yet?"

"We'll forget our misunderstandings then."

An interesting creature, this Johari. Most lions Muroki had met who were passionate about something openly showed it, shouted it from the mountain tops in fact. Even the shy ones made it obvious. Yet she seemed very proud of her pride while staying quiet. Sort of soft in her ways.

Glad they'd sorted out that little problem, he turned to glance back at the grassland and at the nearby dens. Not far at all. It was a shame he'd taken so long to explore but he'd felt...shy and uncertain of his place here for a while. Foolish considering his immediate welcome.

"No, I've barely explored yet. This is almost as far as I've come."

"Well, if you'd like I can give you the tour?"

She hadn't been far by herself, but she did know virtually all of the pride lands by heart, by mere family travels.

"That would be nice. Thankyou." He nodded again and got ready to move once more, having sat down when they'd drawn close enough to talk. And so they wandered off...

END