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 Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 3:47 pm
 It was amazing how much she missed the cubs. Ieiunium would never have guessed that they'd have such a chokehold on her heart even after such a short time together. It didn't help much that all the reasons she'd had for leaving them in their father's pride (with him as guardian, it had to be said) were still completely valid and true. But the lioness was nonetheless contemplating how soon she could go back and visit them. There was a niggling of fear that, if she was there too often, someone would insist that she actually join the pride. A different part retorted that this was a stupid fear, that the Mwezi'Johari didn't force anyone to join and that they were tolerant of blood relations as long as those relations didn't cause trouble. Such were Iei's thoughts as she trotted across the dry landscape of the Rogue Lands.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 4:09 pm
The sun was not kind to Ukarimu's coat, but he did his best to ignore the discomfort as he moved along. A slower pace than he'd have preferred, the lion's green eyes darted around as he judged those few stragglers he saw wandering the lands, like him. He had left his sister and mother a bit ago, feeling restless and wanting to find out more about himself. His mysterious father that he grew up without, anything to make him understand the world more than just what his mother and sister offered him. He wasn't sure if he'd ever see them again, but he was content in knowing that they were safe where they lived. Otherwise he might not have made it to adulthood, with how restless he was even as a cub. The worst of it was wearing off, however. Never having a constant source of food and water made this life harder than he had realized, and he didn't want to live this life forever. He'd have to settle his paws down once again, but he wouldn't unless he found the right place. He didn't move away just to settle for anything, or anywhere. Hmmm. He couldn't help but notice the silver lioness, a pretty thing to his green eyes. A little conversation couldn't hurt, right? He approached her cautiously, having already gotten a couple swats across the face in the past for being too friendly.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 4:15 pm
At first, she hadn't been certain the black lion was anything more than a heat haze. But as he came closer, what details there were sharpened into focus and Iei had to conclude that this was indeed another traveler. She politely altered her course to intersect with his own.
Poor guy. Fur that dark had to be murder in this place. He'd do better to find a shady place to curl up during the day and then move on after dark.
He wasn't bad to look at though. But her cubs were still too close in her mind for Iei to pursue that line of thought further. As he came near, she supposed that, for politeness' sake, she should say something.
"Nice day," she offered neutrally. The lioness knew nothing about him, and didn't want to get in trouble. At least, not yet.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 4:42 pm
Ukarimu was pleased to note that she was at least receptive to the idea of polite words exchanged, and not seeing her backing away from him in either disgust or disinterest. That was a step up from those past experiences. Sometimes he wondered if he really was cut out to even find himself a lady. Was it the black coat? Well, no questions were going to be asked right now. At least not about himself.
"Yes," he replied, stopping once she had said something. It was comfortable distance, but not too hard to exchange words. "A bit warm for my taste, but bearable." Hm, what else was he to say?
"Do you know if there's a decent sized water hold nearby?" Satisfying a thirst for water would be a good start.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 4:54 pm
Ugh. Small talk. Not her favorite thing in the world, but she seemed to end up doing a lot of it. Probably had something to do with the fact that if everyone was willing to be polite, nobody had to be seriously injured.
"I can see that," she replied, nodding to his black coat. He was, after all, only making the same observation she'd seen as he approached.
The question was actually a good one and Iei paused to think for a moment and review her mental map of the area.
"There's a stream and a few creeks within three days travel of here, but they're hardly more than trickles at this time of year before they go completely dry. The nearest watering hole is held by a pride. The Mwezi'Johari," she added quickly. It was somewhat amusing. She could be so far away from that pride by now, but somehow the thought of her cubs had kept her quite close. It was...an interesting thing. Iei would have to consider the ramifications of that in the future.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 5:47 pm
Ukarimu waited patiently, trusting this stranger's word as she clearly meant to remember where a good water source was. That was good, and not good. There must not be anything that was terribly close by, and this silver female may be between two areas that she normally haunted. Not a good place to take a rest, or even spend more than an evening in. Water was something that he needed in this heat, as foolish as he was to continue wandering regardless of the (lack of) smarts in it.
"A pride, huh?" He had never been in one, and wasn't sure if he was ready to start. Perhaps he could barter a bit for some water before moving on. It was worth the chance, and he didn't think that there'd be a risk. She wasn't giving any warning about them, and he figured she might if they weren't kind to strangers. She'd know from experience, wouldn't she?
"Is it far?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 5:50 pm
"The pride? Not that far," Iei replied after a moment. Then again, her standards tended to be a bit...different than most. Most probably thought a journey of four or five days was long.
She sized up the lion and decided he wasn't likely to be a threat to her. He didn't seem like the type who would offer violence to a lioness, even if that lioness wasn't useful to him.
"I'm Ieiunium," she offered. "Want me to lead you there?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 5:54 pm
He guessed that if she said not that far, it must be closer than the other, less trustworthy water source she had mentioned first. He wouldn't quite know how to start in negotiating with a pride to use some of their water, but at least he was aware that he wasn't a pig-headed pain in the a**. That had to be a good start.
"Ukarimu. Pleasure." He bobbed his head with a bit of a greeting, thankful for this. "I'm sure it'd get me there sooner rather than later, I don't walk in a straight line all that well." He cracked a smile, if only because it was true! Too easy was it to wander off the trail, distracted by something pretty or interesting.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 6:16 pm
The lioness snorted her amusement. It was amazing how many wanderers were just that - wandering creatures who really didn't have any idea of where they were and where they wanted to go. "It'd be my pleasure, Ukarimu," she told the lion.
She glanced at the sky and glanced at his pelt again. "If I'm to guide you, I have a bit of advice. We should rest beneath that tree over there until the sun sets and it cools off. Otherwise, with your coloring, you're going to need a whole lake to slake your thirst."
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 6:25 pm
Ukarimu was a bit confused that Ieiunium had snorted, but he wasn't about to ask. Growing up with only two females around made him realize that there were times where you didn't press for information, no matter how curious you were. So he'd have to just...ignore it, or make up a story in his own mind.
Of course, what she said later could give him a hint, but he still wasn't going to ask. At least now he had a safe direction to go to get a drink of water.
"Ah..." Well, resting away from the worst of the heat was wise...he wanted to keep going, but that wasn't going to happen if his guide didn't want to go. "Yes, that's a good idea." He nodded, and began the walk to that tree, hoping that the lioness was up to a little bit of small talk if they didn't take a short nap.
Hopefully it wouldn't be too far of a walk to this pride called the Mwezi'Johari.
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