Afina had given birth to a rather staggering amount of cubs, eight to be precise, and while they were a welcome addition to his family, there were more important issues that needed to be addressed. For now both his mate and children were in the nursery and would be for quite some time. He still regarded it as a prison, but at least improvements had been made to make it more bearable. However, one day his family would come home and as a result, there were things that needed to be done and preparations to be made. The pride needed to recover, things needed to be nurtured and rebuilt, and while there were specific roles to tackle certain issues, the pride was lacking in one crucial area of responsibility...
Plantlife.
Without plants, the preybeasts would leave and the pride would starve. At present, there were still some plants around, but they had been poisoned and the leaves were steadily growing more sickly. If the pride was to survive, then this needed to be addressed and this was exactly what the lion intended to do. He had a metting this morning with a special individual, a leopard, who was specialised in the subject and thus, was well equipped to advise him...or at least Xenon hoped he was.
Alas, the lion had been running late and he was mildly concerned that his visitor had chosen to move on after the delay. Regardless of whether he had or not, it didn't look good in terms of manners for Xenon! Fortunately, the leopard had elected to remain and was easily located at the designated spot. Seemingly unphased by the delay, the leopard inclined his head in greeting as Xenon approached.
"Raja?" Xenon asked, slowing to a stop as he regarded the cream leopard. The feline matched scout descriptions, but one could never be so sure, assumptions could lead to problems later on.
"That would be correct," the leopard replied with a smile, "And you must be Xenon. The scouts requested that I remain for a little while. You wished to see me?" He wasn't the sort to beat about the bush. If there was business to attend to then Raja would avoid the idle gossip - then again, he always tried to avoid such things. Idle chatter had never been his strong point!
The lion gave a nod.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but there are those who claim you are well versed in plantlife," Xenon began, tilting his head to the side as he fixed his gaze upon the cream male.
"To an extent, it would depend entirely on what you need," Raja responded.
"Something to take the poison from the soil -"
"Salt," Raja corrected him softly and shook his head. He was impressed that the male had noticed, and how quickly he had done so. It was a subtle shift and few would have the foresight to recognise the lasting damage and overall consequences that would result from the decline in the habitat. A place could try to rebuild, but it would still die without a food source. "It may not be poison to all walks of life, but there are some things that can't handle it..."
"But there are some things that can?" Xenon remarked, pressing the leopard for details.
"In my limited experience, yes, there are certain things designed to handle it. However, nothing is within our immediate reach - what we would need is not born of these lands," Raja explained and released a deep sigh. He had looked into the issue on his initial visit, but, had come up with no solutions - without the assistance of a bird (or forty) at the very least, he could go no further.
"Where are they then...?" Xenon's brow furrowed, the cogs of his mind turning. If it was accessible in some form then surely he could look into it!
"Far south, across the ocean," Raja shook his head once more. "Too far for you and I to swim," he pointed out softly. "However, if you could negotiate with one capable of such things then it might be feasible."
"If a supplier could be located, how much would you reccommend we attempt to recover?" Xenon was still unfamiliar with the ins and outs, but he could grasp on to the hope at the very least. He hadn't quite figured out who he was going to ask yet, but he could work on that. If all else failed, perhaps he could bribe the leopard to stay for longer, or alternatively, source the plants for him. After all, Raja was well travelled and was bound to have some connections.
"It would be better to focus on a small area first. If you use this as a test area, you can monitor the effects first," Raja murmured. "That way, if the reaction to these plants is adverse, then the damage can be limited and other options can be explored," he finished.
"You sound like you've done this before," Xenon observed, arching a brow at the leopard in question.
"I've done something similar," the cream male conceded. "There are times when such experiments are necessary. We co-exist with others and if those we rely on happen to perish or leave -"
"Then we die as well."
"Precisely."
"So, we need an experimental location to test these plants before they are used on a much wider scale?" Xenon hazarded a guess.
"To avoid further, unnecessary contimation, yes."
"I am taking many liberties," the lion confessed and heaved a sigh. "But if I were to get the location, then would I be able to request that you source the plants? I know nothing of them and wouldn't be able to give the appropriate instructions. However, I will ensure you are repaid for your troubles."
"I can't guarantee swift arrival, Xenon," the leopard warned with a grave expression. He knew better than to make empty promises, but this didn't mean that he wouldn't give the request an attempt. "However, I will ask around and see if such an option exists," he confirmed. Truth be told, such research would benefit him as well. If it were to prove successful then he could emulate the results in other locations - it was an opportuntiy that he would have been foolish to ignore.
"No we have an accord?" the lion pressed.
"I believe that we do," Raja agreed. "I will do what I can for you and if it proves successful, I will seek out a way of giving you a greater supply," he added.
"This would be much easier if the Bahari had gardeners," Xenon observed wrily.
"They do not?" Raja seemed genuinely surprised by this news.
"Not in this respect and even then, it is a very young rank. A specialisation in medicines as opposed to agriculture and preservation. They wish to rebuild, but have forgotten about the more subtle issues." Xenon explained.
"Panic and concern often cloud the mind," the leopard conceded. The tsunami had been horrific and the losses were severe, and unsurprisingly the pride wished to rebuild in an immediate sense. At least there were a few lions who recognised that much more was required - Xenon was one of them and hopefully there would be more. "I will do what I can for your pride."
"Thank you..." Xenon murmured.
"You are most welcome," Raja replied smoothly and chuckled. "Now, is this all that was required of me or did you have anything else in mind?"
"Actually..." Xenon had the decency to look sheepish as he cast a sidelong glance at the other male. "I don't suppose you know how to clean rivers?"
"Pardon?"
"The river needs to be cleaned properly," Xenon pointed out, prompting the leopard to recall his own past observations.
"Aha, well when it comes to that, you are in luck. Listen closely..."
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