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She knew that by the colour of her coat she was classed as incorrect for the pride but she was blessed by the goddess and moor importantly se was trusted by her brother. It was an odd feeling knowing her sibling would one day be the king of this wonderful pride and she would be there by his side all the way supporting him and advising him. She wasn't afraid to voice her opinions and she could ignore any glares, confused looks and even some of the scorn simply by opening her mouth and telling them what she thought.

It hadn't been very long since she and her brother had arrived and while she liked to spend the bulk of her time at hi side she had to get away eventually and today was the day to get away.

With her tail and head held high she was on a mission to see all of the primal lands to know every inch to speak to anyone who would say hi to her and to know every crevice and hiding place that existed in these lands. She was out exploring and she was starting to feel a little lost. Why hadn't she asked for a guide before leaving her brothers side? Ho hum, it was all hard work that was for sure.

Txur climbed over a protruding tree root, taking care that it didn't trip him as he made his way through the pride's lands toward the borders.  He had no memories at this point of ever having lived beyond them, but he knew that he had not been born among the Iknimaya.  Even though he could no longer remember living elsewhere, he could remember the period of adjustment when he was still learning his way around and still learning the pride's ways.  The latter hadn't been too difficult, as he'd simply been schooled with the other cubs, blending in with them more or less.  That his coloring happened to be well-suited to the pride was a felicitous coincidence as far as he was concerned.  Learning his way around had taken longer.  Everyone was always telling him that there were potential dangers and advising him to be on his guard, or better yet, not go anywhere without an adult.  Txuratan didn't mind having adult company, but there were times when a cub really wanted to explore on his own, or with a friend.  Now..

...there wasn't so much exploring to do within the main body of the pridelands, and so he had to range farther afield in search of adventure and interesting things and people.  He hadn't expected that he would see someone as interesting as the new heir's sister, however, and when he did see her, even though she was older, he felt no compunction about approaching her and introducing himself.  After all, they had things in common: neither of them had been born into the pride.  "I see you," he greeted her.

"I see you." She smiles at the young male her dark eyes looking the young male over, he was certainly a more suitable colour for the pride which consisted of a lot of blue, purple and whites. "I am Petra." She nods, a slight bow as a further greeting and as an introduction.

"Are you out on your own? You're a little young to be away from your mother aren't you?" she muses out loud, she and her brother had not left their mother until adolescence and even then they had been together. Of course this was not the rogue lands, this was a pride and the youngsters were safe here.

"I'm just exploring the lands, I need to know where everything is." she states , her ears flickering, she wasn't about to say she was a bit lost really.

Txur returned Petra's bow, making his just a little deeper.  He understood that she was basically more important than he was in the pride in practically every way.  She was older than he, and female, and she was also the heir's sister.  That meant she was destined to be someone very important indeed.  He still wasn't even sure what he wanted to do with himself when he was old enough to become an apprentice.  He refrained from pointing out that her introduction had been unnecessary and merely introduced himself instead, as it didn't seem likely to him that she would know him.  "I'm Txuratan.  Txur to most people.  And I'm not too young to be out on my own.  I know my way around the pride as well as anyone who was born here."  He raised his chin with a hint of pride and added, "I wasn't, you know.  Born here.  My mother and father separated not long after my siblings and I were born and my father brought us here."  His ears perked up and a smile spread across his face as he realised, "Hey, that's something we

Have in common!  Neither of us were born here.  Do you like it here?  I love it.  I mean, I can't remember living anywhere else, but I really do love it here.  The people are all so friendly and...I'm talking too much, aren't I?  Usually it's my brother, Tsun'tswayon who does that."

Petra smiles a friendly smile and chuckles a little, it was nice to be respected, even if it was from someone younger than her. She supposed she was important here, in a way, her brother would one day be king.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Txur." She whispers, using a phrase she used out side in a world before she came here. "Oh yes, I very much like it here, my brother and I were born in the rogue lands, we never knew our father." She laughs quietly touching the cub with her nose "Perhaps you can show me around then if you know the lands so well? truthfully, I am getting a little lost on my own, and no, you aren't talking too much. It's very nice to speak to someone who isn't my brother or the royals."

Txur smiled easily at Petra and remarked, "That's an unusual thing to say.  Is it really a pleasure to meet me?"  The thought that meeting him could be considered pleasurable for anyone tickled Txur, even though the phrase struck his as being odd.  It wasn't something he was used to hearing, anyway, though his father sometimes used phrases which were alien to the rest of the pride's members, too.  Txur had a whole subconscious list of things his father said which weren't said in the pride and tried never to use them, though he made an effort to understand them, just as he made an effort to understand the sometimes unusual things life-long pride members said.  It was easier for him and his siblings, he knew, than it was for his father.  "The rogue lands?  That's where I was born!  But I'm told they're very large, so maybe that's not so special.  But you got to know your mother.  That must have been nice."  Living in a pride obsessed with mothers and not remembering his own, Txur was a little weird about them,

but only in that he was perishingly curious about what it was like to have one.  He returned her touch with a light touch of his own.  "I'd be glad to show you around.  At least to the places I'm allowed to go."  He set off, looking over his shoulder to make sure she was following him before he added, "I spoke with Zelt'zin once.  We talked about Eywa.  Do the royals always talk about important things like that?"

The young lioness followed the very young male with a smile, she was glad at least he wasn't concerned about her pelt colour, though perhaps he was too young to be concerned? "the rogue lands is a very large place." She whispers, looking thoughtful about how to answer the next question. "Yes, it was nice to know my mother, I miss her sometimes, she was a beautiful lady but always confused." She sighs lightly, she often thought of her poor mother, but then she knew she was in good hands.

"No, they don't always speak of important things, just sometimes." she chuckles. "My brother and I often speak about other things, but he and I are true family, related by blood to one another, we have secrets, I suppose you could call them that, we know each other better than anyone else." She smiles a wistful smile, she loved her brother very much. "Do you not know your mother?" She frowns slightly, she felt sorry for the young male, not knowing his mother. "You have siblings though? people you can rely on who you are blood related to?"

Txur listened with interest as Petra spoke about the rogue lands, but his attention was caught completely when she began to speak about her mother.  All mothers were of interest to the young cub, his or otherwise.  Sometimes his father could be convinced to speak of his mother, though they had not known each other very well apparently.  "My mother was confused, too," he says.  "Or so I'm told.  I don't remember her anymore, though I stayed with her for a while just after I was born."

"I have siblings," he said, hoping that would reassure her.  He didn't like when people felt sorry for him, because he couldn't see any reason for people to feel sorry for him.  His life was good.  As he'd said, he had his siblings and he had his father and the entire pride.  "I have five siblings.  They're great, and they're all so different, but I know I can rely on them.    But there's the pride, too.  Even though I wasn't born here, I know they're here for me."

"Was there anywhere you wanted me to take you?" he asked.

Petra smiles softly, it was good he had blood family here but she knew that the pride was his family to. It wasn't quite her family yet. She usually stuck close to her brother and the royals, they didn't judge her for her coat, not that she allowed anyone to look at her in a funny manner. She expected respect, she expected to be spoken to civilly even if her pelt colour was in contention.

"Yes, the pride is a good family to have." She whispers, looking thoughtful, she knew one day the pride would accept her fully, she just had to prove herself to be a good advisor to her brother.

"No, please, just lead me any where, I should really get the lay of the land." She chuckles "Just being un-lost would be ideal."

Txur smiled to himself.  He liked that she talked to him without dumbing down what she was saying, using the bigger words.  It was nice to be treated like he was Petra's age, even though she was older than he was.  It also pleased him that she agreed about the pride being a good family.  He didn't know everyone in the pride.  Not by half.  But he was certain that they would do whatever they could for him if he asked, and he would do the same in return.  Just like a very large family.

"You don't have to whisper, you know," he remarked.  "No one minds if we talk, as long as we don't do it near where people are sleeping.  People get upset if we wake them up sometimes, even if they like us most of the time."  This was the voice of experience talking.

"Besides, if you don't mind, I could take you to my favorite place.  No one sleeps there, except me sometimes when I fall asleep by accident, and so you can be as loud as you want, like my brother Tsun.  He's really loud.  It's really nice there."

The place he was thinking about was a grotto behind a very short waterfall.  It was possible to get in and stay dry, but only for smaller lions.  No one any larger than Petra would be able to manage it.  Txur didn't mind being wet, and so he would probably continue to go there even when he grew up, but he wasn't sure anyone else would like it.  But that was okay.  It was his secret special place.

The chocolate pelted lioness smiles gauntly, her deep brown eyes smiling. "I don't usually raise my voice Txur" She laughs quietly, it wasn't in her nature to be loud, she listened and when the throng of voices died down she spoke and was listened to. "Sometimes it is better to listen and speak quietly, shouting doesn't always solve the problem." She chuckles, she knew she was older than she actually was, her brother always said that, she was an old soul in a young body.

"I would love to see your secret place." She nods following after him, "but I won't speak louder if you don't mind, it hurts my throat." She laughs again, her laugh a soft tinkle which rose above her like a thousand happy tiny bells.

"Oh, you don't have to speak louder.  I just wasn't sure if you were whispering because you thought you had to."  He looked down at his paws.  "I guess I don't know you very well.  I'm sorry."

"I don't usually raise my voice, either.  But like I said, my brother Tsun does.  He doesn't mean to, but he gets very excited about things and the more excited he gets, the louder he gets."  He shook his head, thinking fondly of his exuberant sibling.

"Oh, I should warn you, there's a very little waterfall that we have to go under and around to get there.  I think you should be able to reach it without getting wet, but sometimes the rocks are slippery and even I fall in.  Can you swim?"  He didn't want to be responsible for drowning her.  That would be horrible.

The young lioness smiles lightly "It's okay, I understand." She nods a little nod following after the male juvenile, her tail flickering happily. He was very nice, this youngster, very un-judgemental, she liked that.

"Oh yes, I can swim, it's quite fun getting wet. My mother was raised at the sea so she taught us to swim very early in our lives. I'd say I'm fairly adept at swimming actually." She chuckles following him on quiet toes, listening to everything around her. " I very much enjoy water, nothing like a good swim to get rid of the cob webs."

Txur smiled quickly at Petra, a smile that he reserved only for secrets shared between friends.  He was willing to consider Petra his friend after this short acquaintance.  She was a little older than he was, but that didn't really matter, did it?  They were getting along pretty well, he thought.

"You know how to swim?  Really?  I love swimming."It was true.  As a cub he had not learned for a while because he'd been too busy learning other things, but once he'd found someone to teach him he had loved the activity.  The pride's river was so much fun, and it was such a big part of the pride, how could he not love paddling through it?

Something else Petra said caught his attention, though, and made him stop so that he could turn around and look at her.  "You have cobwebs?  Like with spiders?  Why would you let spiders build their webs on you?  Doesn't that take them an awfully long time?  I'd be really bored waiting for them to finish.  My sister, Atan, probably wouldn't notice though.  She sleeps all the time."

Petra chuckles at the young males misunderstanding. "No, I didn't mean literal cobwebs." She smiles lightly, he was very young. "It just means to get rid of the dust from your fur, to get clean of the old fluff from your skin, cleaning out the cobwebs." She nods lightly "Swimming has always been a big part of my life, I love it very much."

"I remember sleeping much more when I was younger, but now, well, I always seem to be awake." She chuckles. "Too much on my mind to over sleep."

"We should go swimming, then.  There's a nice pool where the water's mostly still."

He began to head in that direction.  The pool he meant was a little farther into the cave-thing.  He didn't go there often because he liked to swim in water with current, but it was hard to talk over the sound of the waterfall, but he was used to that particular distraction.  The pool, however, would make it easier to talk.

"What kind of things are on your mind?" Txur asked.  He always had a lot on his mind, but only rarely did it keep him from sleeping.

The soft stone coloured female smiled following him deeper in to the little cave. It had been a while since she had swum, properly, any way, there was always a worry when you were a rogue of being eaten and being eaten by a water lizard was always a fear.

"I'm thinking that it's been a while since I went swimming and that this is probably a safe plc to go swimming, No teeth in here." She chuckles, it was a joke she used to have with her brother. "I'm also thinking it's very nice of you to show me in here Txur, I'v never been in such an unusual cave before."

"Teeth?" Txur asked.  He'd been raised with warnings that there were things in the trees that a cub shouldn't tangle with, but no one had ever mentioned the possibility that there were toothy dangers in the water.  The idea was a little laughable.  "I've only ever seen fish in the water, and they don't bite much.  They get trapped in the pool sometimes when the water comes up high."

He grinned as he slipped into the water.  Sometimes the fish did nibble, but it didn't hurt.  It was just surprising.  He thought that the surprise was what made it seem like it hurt more than anything else.

"Well, I think it's nice of you to come with me.  I like having people to spend time with.  And secrets aren't much fun, so places like this are better shared."  That was his philosphy, anyway.  He could keep others' secrets, but he didn't see the need to have any of his own.

She smiles at the younger male tiptoeing in to the water and settling in to a laying position, just like her mother, she loved the water, loved the feel of it on her toes over her fur any where really. She loved the water. "Oh yes, there are great swimming lizards in the water that can eat a lion whole, they are very dangerous and full of teeth. It's easier to spot them if theres a whole family watching for them, but when it's just two of you you have to give up swimming for fear of them." She sighs a little "things are different here, you're lucky to not have to worry about those sorts of things." She smiles a calm sweet smile resting her head not he bank and closing her eyes. She could have slept here but she knew it wouldn't be good for her so she stood and moved to the bank shaking before laying in a drier spot and grooming her fur.

"It's a beautiful place, thank you for sharing it with me, I'm glad someone isn't against my colour in the pride." She shakes her head, she'd never said that out loud before, she was perfectly good at holding her head high and pretending nothing hurt her but it did. She was a brown lioness in a blue world and she always had to prove she was better than others to get her point past.

"Lizards in the water," Txur repeated, shaking his head in disbelief.  "The outside world is a strange place, I think.  Perhaps someday I will have to take a look at it."

It was an idle remark.  He loved his pride, and it wasn't likely that he would ever leave it for an extended period of time.  It was his home and his family was there.  Even the idea of seeing toothy water lizards wasn't that compelling to the youth.

He frowned, his mood suddenly disturbed.  "Who would be against your color?  You're the color Mother Eywa made you.  There should be nothing wrong with that."

The young lioness smiles at Txur. "Look around at the pride Txur, it's full of blue and green, some purple and white, my brown makes me odd here. I don't mind but it's nice to see someone who isn't bothered. thank you."

She laughs quietly "It's really nothing to worry about, I cope just fine." She flickers her tail and lays her head on her paws. "Do you think we can nap here before we go back to the main pride?"

"Well, I guess that's true," Txur had to admit.  He'd never given it any thought.  It wasn't part of the explicitly stated lessons he'd received, and he'd not picked up on it for himself.

"I like that you're different.  I bet it makes you easier to find in a crowd.  Maybe I'll use it to pick you out next time the pride gathers.  If you won't be with the important people."

Privately, Txur didn't think Petra should have to cope with it.  He thought there was something wrong with the whole situation, and resolved to bring it up to someone in authority the next time he had an opportunity.  Not that he'd have too many.  He hoped he'd remember!

"We can nap here.  Sure."  He climbed out of the water and removed himself to a safe distance from Petra so he could shake the water from his fur without spraying her too much.  "I do that sometimes."

He crouched and mimicked her pose.  He wasn't tired, but even napping away from home could be exciting if one was supposed to be somewhere else.

She smiles a sweet smile at the younger male, her gentle eyes looking him over. He was a little younger than her and perhaps he didn't see what she did. He was niece and it made him sweet and lovely in her eyes. He didn't care that she was, brown, all he saw was what she was, a lioness who enjoyed a little fun and the water.

"I'll be standing beside my bother as usual." She smiles flickering her tail over her nose. "I am his advisor after all." She felt a little twinge of happiness that he would be looking for her. At least she now had one friend who wasn't her brother and wasn't busy trying to learn to be the king.

A small yawn stretches her maw and she closes her eyes, letting sleep fall over her easily, it was nice here, private, secret, away from the eyes and looks and prejudice, it was a nice place to be, in this little secret place with Txur for company.

"Huh.  Well that wouldn't make finding you much of a challenge anyway," Txur observed quietly to himself.  If she was going to sleep, he would be quiet and watch the trapped fish.

Txur didn't think he'd be able to get any sleep at this time of day.  He was surprised, therefore, to feel his eyelids growing heavy in this peaceful setting.  Perhaps it was because there was another body in the small cavern with him, someone whose heat and breathing he could sense unconsciously.  Txur liked to have people around him when he slept, after all.