Welcome to Gaia! ::

Taiga woke quickly from his sleep, skin twitching and ears swiveling back and forth. Something had woken him up, though he was unsure if it had been real or not. There was the breathing of the form beside him, as well as some bug sounds, a bit of wind, but otherwise nothing else followed. As nothing seemed to be amiss he let out a yawn and gave a light stretch. The days of rest had been hard to get though, being forced to do nothing, but he felt much better. The mud on him had nearly all chipped off, what was left were small bits managing to cling to fur, but the wounds they had covered had healed well from it. He rose to his feet and stretched again, careful not to wake Mana. He needed to get moving, he felt he had been here far too long and didn’t like it. His mind left this for a moment as he looked down at Mana’s sleeping form, torn between waking her and saying goodbye or just leaving. The former he would have liked more, but he was unsure if she would want to come with him, and that didn’t seem a good idea. a bad feeling hung over him, as if something bad were coming, and he desired not to get the lioness involved in whatever it may be. With a small sigh he settled on his decision to leave quietly, hoping that Mana would not be too upset upon waking to find him gone. “Goodbye, Mana.” He whispered to her prone form, a pained smile upon his maw as he turned and made to leave.

Taiga came to a quick halt as Mana spoke, looking over his shoulder to the lioness to find her awake. He had hoped that it had been a trick of his mind formed from guilt for leaving without a proper goodbye. He had wanted to be well away from the place by the time she finally woke up to find he was not there, but it seemed that fate had decided that was not i the cards for him today. With a soft sigh he turned to face her. “I’m sorry, I thought it might be easier if I left while you were asleep. I can’t stay here any longer so I have decided to take my leave of this place.”

It would have been easier for himself, he thought, but said nothing. Taiga was not one for goodbyes. They tended to be sad or hard to say, and otherwise like you and those you were leaving behind would never see one another again. He watched silently though as she got the bag back around her neck, any further thought on what he might say halted by surprise of her own next words. She intended to come, and by her words and tone she had already decided this herself and had no intention of actually asking or getting his opinion on the matter. Whether she desired it or not though Taiga was not about to let his opinion on this matter go silent. “It could be dangerous though! I fear something ominous follows me and I do not want you getting put in harms way because of me. No offence, but I do not think you all that capable in a fight if it should be against many and I am also unsure if I would be able to defend myself as well as you.” His words were quick, trying his best to give some reason why she should not follow. If she were to come to harm by simply being near him then he did not believe he would be able to forgive himself.

Taiga let out another sigh. He was unsure he could say anything at this point to persuade her to change her mind, as she seemed to set on coming with him. He did feel he owed her a lot for helping him out. She came upon him, wounded and weak and had been kind enough to help him, instead of turning away and leaving him to waste away as she could have. So perhaps he owed her is life, and if he could not repay it in any other way than letting her join him in his travels, then so be it. Another sigh escaped him though before he finally spoke. “Fine, you can tag along, but should danger arise and it prove to be far too dangerous for even I to handle then I want you to get away. I would prefer not to see you harmed.”

The lick caught him by surprised, though he shook it off as she moved ahead and spoke. “Yes, friends.” A smile spread across his maw. Though he still did not like it it was nice to have someone willing to stick by him. It would have surely been safer had she returned to wherever it was she had been before, or was going, but having someone else to talk to sounded good. He was tired of his own company being all he had. At the last question he moved to follow her, gaze shifting along the horizon as he spoke. “Not really. I’ve just been moving whichever way my paws decide to take me. Perhaps soon I’ll find out where I am going, until then I shall enjoy the company I travel with.”