It hadn't been a terribly long time since Raja had come to an arrangement with Xenon in relation to the beach garden. Xenon had already picked out a suitable plot of land to test, this being his own currently vacant den, and as a consequence it was now left to Raja to find someone or something that could locate the plants they needed for their experiment. More importantly, they needed to find individuals who were capable of flying at a sufficient speed to ensure that the plants didn't die in transit...or at the very least, the seeds within the fruits were preserved for long enough to reach African shores. Suffice to say that there were a great many logistical issues to consider and for the last few weeks, Raja had been musing over them for a number of hours each day.
Fortunately it wasn't long before he had found a solution he considered to be both reasonable and feasible. It could be completed in a specified amount of time, and at the very least the seeds could be preserved during that time if the plants happened to die in transit. All in all it was perfect and the only thing he was left to do was to hunt down a number of birds, seals and other individual animals that could make the journey on his behalf. This in itself wasn't difficult as he knew where those animals were, it was approaching them that was the challenge. While the preybeasts of his homeland recognised that he wouldn't attack without provocation, the preybeasts and most vulnerable individuals often kept their distance.
Lady Luck was going to have to favour him and he was going to have to exercise a great deal of patience to ensure success. However, he was well known for such things and as a consequence he would have no qualms with waiting for as long as necessary.
With this in mind, the leopard was quick to make haste towards the deeper regions of the roguelands where the migratory birds were situated. Often congregating around watering holes, they wouldn't be difficult to spot and in the mean time he could rest up and tend to his thirst. All in all, the dry season hadn't been quite as severe as he had anticipated for this region... Or perhaps he had simply been lucky in relation to where his paws had fallen? Regardless, it wasn't long before he had reached his destination and what he saw wasn't quite what he expected...
"Arimathras," he stated with a touch of amusement in his voice, approaching the watering hole much more cautiously than he had before. While the area hadn't been completely overgrown, there were certain plants and trees that were not native to this region. Lucious and filled with colour, it would have taken something extraordinary for such an occurence to come to light. With his previous experiences in mind, he could hazard a guess that the divine feline he had met a number of moons ago was likely to be responsible. Nevertheless, no matter whose fault it might have been, it was certainly a pleasant sight.
Tentatively, he picked his way through the foreign undergrowth and approached the watering hole, acutely aware that the rather young female might still be present. Alas, she couldn't be seen within his immediate line of sight and after a number of minutes had passed he concluded she had either left the area, or was in another spot. There was a tiny amount of disappointment to be had in this respect, in the sense that he was somewhat curious of the deity, but he wasn't entitled to expect her presence and so, he refrained from demanding it. It was only when he came to a halt by the water that he was in for a surprise...
"Hellooooooo!" the voice chimed jovially from above him before dissipating across the watering hole. There was a giggle and then the snowy female promptly dropped from the sky, arching over the water with a flurry of wings and fur. Raja wasn't entirely sure whether or not this was designed to be a graceful or comical display, it seemed to have little hints of both within it. It made him smile and after a few moments to recover from his initial surprise he gave his head a quick shake and chuckled.
"Divinity," he replied politely, providing the lioness with a nod. "A pleasure to see you again, though I see you have elected to uh...ignore my advice?" he murmured as he observed the clumps of peculiar plantlife.
"Oh - well no I totally listened to it!" the deity bridged the gap between herself and Raja and shook her head. "But I tend to forget whenever I'm on my own, if I'm thinking really hard about certain things then I don't really focus on stopping it and well..."
"We get orchards?" Raja offered helpfully, his smile deepening somewhat.
"Exactly," she nodded agreeably and seated herself beside him, tilting her head to one side. There was a pause as she examined him from tail tip to nose and then, seemingly satisfied, she continued with her conversation. He had no idea what she'd been looking for but apparently he seemed to have reached her specifications. "You're still here though! I thought you would have gone home to that hilly place of yours!" she pointed out.
"I had every intention of going home and then I got caught up in a few experiments," he explained.
"Experiments?" she was intrigued.
"Yes, you remember when we last met you were asking me about the coasts and plants that ate salt?" he enquired softly.
"Oh, oh, oh - yes I do!" she nodded emphatically, her tone of voice surprisingly enthusiastic considering the topic. Raja could only assume that she was happy that she remembered, otherwise he was at a loss.
"Well, a member of one of the prides affected by the recent tsunami has asked for assistance. I have agreed to seek out some of these plants so that we can experiment on a small piece of land and see how well they survive - if they can take the salt from the soil then we might be able to cultivate normal plants again and preserve the land," he continued with his explanation, his head tilting to the side as her eyes grew round with interest. She'd been very much the same the last time they had spoken, but now... Something had changed within her. There was an element of excitement at the possibility of a solution to one of the problems that concerned her.
"So you're going to get some of those plants from across the sea?" she asked curiously.
"I'll be requesting the aid of neighbouring seals and birds for that - I can't swim that distance on my own but I should have the plants within the next few months, or at least I'll have the seeds," he replied with a small nod, his tone developing a similar level of enthusiasm.
"But it only takes ten minutes - "
"For you, divinity," he pointed out politely. "Us mortals take a little longer to get from point A to point B," he explained with a soft chuckle. "But if you happen to be passing by that region and spot the plants then we would be very grateful if you picked a few of them up." He added after a few moments of consideration. What came next was not something he had anticipated, from the tales he had heard deities could be benevolent but rarely went out of their way to assist further than was strictly necessary.
"How many?"
"Pardon?"
"How many do you need? If you need loads then I'll probably need to take a couple of trips but if you only need to take a small amount then it would only take one," she pointed out and raised a paw to point towards a small cluster of plants. "So...that many or..." she swept her paw around to point towards a random tree. "Something that big?"
"I uh..." Raja was at a loss for words for a few moments and then he shook his head, dispelling the dazed expression from his features. "The smaller amount, if they have seeds within them then we can cultivate them ourselves?" he murmured hesitantly and cleared his throat. "Really, we would appreciate the assistance but you need only do it if you were going that way -"
"Pffffft..." it was the least eloquent thing the deity had said all day, but it seemed to highlight her opinion on the manner. "Ten minutes," she pointed out. "Just ten minutes, to help all the pretty plants. The coast could have colour again!" she added merrily, a deep smile developing on her maw. "But uh...it wouldn't be straight away 'cause I have some little things to do. Once they're done I'll drop them off."
"There's really no rush," Raja sounded a touch breathless.
"But I do have one question," she continued.
"Yes?"
"Where are they being dropped off?" she asked, her lips pursing in thought.
"The Bahari'mtoto lands, just on the cliff face to the -"
"Ooooh where the lioness tried to eat me!" Arimathras recognised the location instantly and released a giggle. "Okay then, I can drop them off there for you, but you make sure to collect them before any crabs steal them."
"Crabs...?" She'd lost him.
"Yes, crabs." she reaffirmed with a curt nod.
"I'll be sure to be there to avoid theft by crab," he reassured her faintly, his features morphing into a rather incredulous expression.
Reply
