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 Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 8:55 am
 The swamplands where he'd grown up seemed like such a distant place. The young swampie pilgrim stood at a cross road now. Was he to go back to the pride he'd grown up now that he'd found his name or carry on. Wana was enchanted by the vastness of the outside of the pride and just wasn't sure anymore about going back. It was like he'd closed that chapter in his life and was now about to start a new one.
Would his parents be upset if he left? Would his family? Would his pride assume him dead? Wana sighed. He'd think about going back a few more days and then decide. Maybe the glamour of adventure would fade away by then. It was possible he was just drunk on the newness of everything. She stretched out as she exited the pride with her hunting party. It had been a few months since Gowe had been assigned with this group, and she had come to love everyon on the party. This whole pride was like her family. Despite being in different clans, she'd met quite a few other lions and made friends with them. Sometimes, if she was lucky enough, she got to cub sit for a little bit. Gowe adored cubs! They always wanted to learn and play, and it gave her an excuse to slep during the day. However, she had work today and she really didn't feel like hunting things.
So, after a moment, she wandered off in a different direction. The party often split up to look for the best game, so they wouldn't be worried about her. Shaking her pelt, dust flew off, causing the happy girl to laugh. "Hmm..." She was wondering if there was anyone she didn't know out here. So far, her wanderings had proved fruitless; no one wanted to come talk to her! Maybe they were intimidated by her tattoos, but she didn't think they were scary. Then again, she knew what they all symbolized.
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Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 9:20 am
It just so happened that the direction the girl had headed was the direction a certain swampie pilgrim was hanging about lost in his thoughts about where he should go now. It was entirely possible what had gripped his attention was the shaking the dust off her pelt followed by the tattoos. First there was a dust cloud and then tattoos. Wana began at a casual pace towards this female.
"You look like your having fun." His tone was none question but more matter of fact. Wana took a seat and let his tail gently curl around his big paws. He was interested in this female and her tatoos. He'd seen some strage marked lions before but not one with tatoos. He examined them a little too obviously from where he sat. Sure he could ask about them, but he didn't want to be rude. Cause obviously checking them out wasn't rude, right? Possibly. He wasn't doing it on purpose.
She had seen cubs look at her the same way when she had gotten all of them completed, but she'd never gotten quite used to such attentions. Clearing her throat, Gowe stayed where she was, stock still and just watched the brown male come towards her. He didn't sound like he was going to hurt her, and he certainly didn't act like it. The main thing she was worried about was the direct staring. His eyes were following her tattoos, and she sighed deeply. She'd done the same thing when she was little.
"Well, yes and no!" Her reply was chipper and mixed with curiosity. "I've never seen one like you.." His fur looked.. slightly fluffy and curled. Why was that? Her own wasn't like that. His legs were thick with muscles and his whole frame seem built for strength. Her light blue eyes found she really enjoyed the marking on his front leg. It was kind of like her own under her tattoos, that could hardly be seen anymore. "I'm Gowe. Who're you and where do you come from?" Once more, her tone was happy and curious, but also cautious. She wouldn't tell him right away where she was from! That would be giving too much information.
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Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 9:30 am
The male tilted his head when she said she'd never seen one like him. Was he really the odd one here? Did most lions in the savanna tend to be tattooed ? He'd seen lions from afar on his journey but never cared to talk to an out side.
"The swamps," He answered simply. He gave her a tilt of the head, "I suppose that may be unsual? I don't know. Your the first out sider I've talked to." He was now referring to her as the out sider when little did he know, he was one too.
The first outsider? She laughed and nodded, her head dipping a little as her light blue eyes lookd at the ground. "Honestly... You're the first one I've talked to, too. ...Or as well, whatever." Her grin spread wider as she slowly started to relax, sitting down on her haunches. Unusual, yes, he was a little, but he honestly wasn't the first one she'd seen without tattoos. "Well.. The swamps? I've never been there.. Is it muddy? Does it smell bad?" Her nose wrinkled as she asked these questions.
Some of the pride members that came from the outside had spoken of how bad it smelled in the swamps was the worst thing they've ever smelled. Like death, they said. Everything was rotting and decaying and they said it made their whiskers curl. Gowe knew she could hardly take the smell of rancid meat, much less rancid everything else.
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Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 10:19 am
"Im an out sider?" He looked surprised as he asked. But really, he was the outsider? Sure, he knew other prides were out there but he never thought that they thought of him as the outsider. It baffled the lion. Then she went on to ask about the mud and the smell. Wana was quick to shake his head no.
"It doesn't smell bad. I don't think it does at least." Of course the lion had grown up almost all his life with in the comforts of its stench. "It is pretty muddy though. Some times you gotta be careful in the muddy sections or you could get stuck. Specially if your a cub," He gritted his teeth a little uncomfortably thinking of what it was like to get stuck in the mud as a little one. He'd yet to think to ask this female her name or where she was from. It hit him then that he was probably being rude.
"My names Wana. Whats yours? Where you from?" He tilted his head at the tattooed female.
She laughed at the visual and shook her head. Stuck in the mud! "That's happened to me out here! After a hard rain, I went out to play with my brothers and sisters, and the rough housing knocked me into a mud puddle and I got stuck! I was so scared.." Gowe was lucky she could look back at that and laugh. Thinking back she smirked a little more. "Well.. Mom had to come get me out and she couldn't stop laughing! I was so mad at her. I thought I was going to die and she was laughing! Apparently it happens to cubs a lot though. I've pulled a few out myself!"
She snickered again before blinking. "Gowe. I'm.. from a pride not far from here." She tilted her head to match his and then grinned. "The Ela'wadiyi."
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Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 10:32 am
The lion grew a smirk listening to her story about how she personally had gotten stuck in the mud and had to be pulled out. He'd had similiar mud stories growing up in the swampies.
"I was hunting fireflyes and had snuck out the den..." He started, "And there was a big group of them but I hadn't payed attention to the fact I was stepping deeper in to the mud... adventually I just couldn't move anymore. I was stuck! But I was lucky a pride member had been watching and saved me. I got in trouble for leaving the den so late though," He frowned a bit remembering.
She offered her name and her pride. It was a name he'd never heard before but he would make a point to remember it for sure.
"The ela'wadiyi..?" He repeated after her. "I don't think I've heard of it before."
She had a similar reaction to his story. "Parents. They always get onto us! But.. I guess they have a point, don't they?" Smirking a little more, she moved closer to him and then tilted her head. It was weird that someone hadn't heard of her pride! It was only the best pride ever! She was biased. Gowe didn't look into other prides, she didn't go out to inquire about them. She just knew they were there. It was what she grew up knowing.
"It's a very peaceful pride." That's really all she had to say about it! Smirking, she watched the male again and tilted her head. "So.. You're a long way off from the swamps. Why are you over here? Get lost?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 10:40 am
"Only the best pride ever huh?" He lifted a brow and returned her smirk with one of his own. She was excitable and it was cute. "Well can't say I can argue with you. Mine isn't bad but I don't think I'm gonna go back to it..." He blinked at her question.
"Oh no. I'm not lost. I'm actually on a quest which I just finished. Its up to me to return to the pride now with my new name but I m not sure if I want to." He frowned still feeling conflicted about the whole thing.
Was he reading her mind? Her thoughts? Or just her face. She couldn't tell, but he was saying just what she was thinking! An excited laugh came out and she nodded a little more. "Well, you shouldn't argue, because it's true. We might have different clans, but we're all one happy pride." Her eyes lit up as she talked about her pride before a frown fell on her face.
"Why wouldn't you return? Is it bad there? Is food bad?" Some places, she knew, it was hard to find food. The outside members of the pride told her that much. There was a drought recently, maybe the pride had lost it's main water spot. That would be horrible! What if they were all sick and dying off from lack of food and water!? Her mind raced with bad thoughts as she waited his answer.
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Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 10:55 am
Wana stayed silent as Gowe went on about her pride. And then she in turned ask about his pride. The male gave her a shake of the head.
"No its nothing like that. The prides peaceful and the foods fine. Just I've never left it before. I feel like if I go back now I'll miss out on exploring more in to my own life. I don't know if the swamps are where I want to live the rest of my life. I feel like I need to think it over more though," His head lowered some. "Its just hard to really leave everything behind but.. I don't know if I'm ready to go back.
Well, she could relate to that! Her mind calmed down and she sighed inwardly before giving him a bright smile. "Well, take time to explore while still heading home. Go the long way. Once you get back, stay for a while and see if it feels like home again or if you should go off and wander again. I know there's some that leave here because it doesn't feel quite like home." Though, Gowe could never imagine doing that. This pride was where she belonged. She could feel that in her very bones.
"Maybe the gods want you somewhere else to make someone happy. To help someone, or even to start your own pride. I guess you won't know until you try!" She nodded a little and tilted her head. Where this was coming from, was that her father wasn't originally from the pride. He'd wandered here because of a calling, a feeling he had.
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Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 11:08 am
"Maybe your right," He nodded, "But I don't know about starting my own pride. That seems ... a little to big of a movement for me. But maybe I'm needed else where." Maybe that was what the true meaning of his quest was calling for. He gave her a smile.
"I should probably clear my head a bit and see where my paws take me. What about you? Why aren't you with your pride?" He leaned in a bit.
"Oh, I was out hunting." She said that like that would explain everything. Laughing a little more, sh shifted from paw to paw. "I was going to go off on my own to find some game and then meet back up with the hunting party if I found anything. Well.. I don't need to call them in for you! You're not game." She smirked at that and watched her.
"Well... Clearning your head would probably help you a lot. If I get confused on something, I take time to clear my head! If you come back, I'm hunting nearly every day so you can always come find me and we can talk." She loved making friends and helping them with their problems.
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Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 11:20 am
"Im glad to hear your pride doesn't have a taste for lion, " He chuckled jokingly. Then thought about if such prides actually did eat lions. Maybe he shouldn't be chuckling about such a horrible subject matter.
"Yeah I think thats the best thing. Maybe our paths will cross again if we're lucky and the spirits want it to be such," He gave her a nod, "I should get going any how. " He gave her a smile before getting up and turning to set off. "Be careful of mud Gowe!" He called back to her.
She smiled at his joke and nodded, grinning a little more. She meant it to be funny. Gowe didn't even think about the possibilities of anything trying to eat a lion. It was to dark and grim for her. When he got up and turned away, she grinned again and nodded, raising a paw.
"You stay out of it, too, Wana! I'll see you again one day!" She rose to her own paws and let out a happy sigh. That meeting went really well! Laughing, she headed off in the direction the rest of her hunting party did and let her tail flick. She had a good feeling that he'd find what he was looking for.
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