[Backlogged]
The peach-coloured lion had started his morning earlier than usual for him. Normally he couldn’t even be rousing before the sun was at least halfway to its zenith, and yet on this day he had awoke as the sun was just starting to peek over the horizons. Normally he might simply roll over and fall back asleep, however today he was far too excited to continue his journey to do so.
It had been a few days since he finally decided to leave his family group and head back to the lands his ancestors were from. The Pridelands. As far as he had heard his family had been from this place as far back as any could recall, that is until his mother was born. His grandparents had left the pride when she was still quite young, and since then have lived in a small group of their children and grandchildren. Persikka was one such grandchild. He grew up hearing stories of the lands his family had left. Stories from both his grandparents and his mother. He had never quite figured out why they decided to leave, but as a young lion he could not help but wonder about this pride.
Finally he had come to the decision to leave and search them out. There were tearful goodbyes, and though he hated to leave behind the only family he knew Persikka knew that they would be fine. Siblings, Aunts and Uncles, as well as his own parents, were all there to help each other, and so it made him feel a bit better about leaving knowing that his family would be safe together. His grandparents had given him directions as best they could recall. it had been some time, and there had been much travelling between, however he was grateful for whatever help he could get.
The large male watched for a time as the sun rose higher, thinking back to his family and wishing them well. There was still some distance to travel though, and he would have plenty of time with his thoughts on the move. So the peachy male stood and started once more in the direction he had been given., tweaked a bit with information gained from other passing beasts. He estimated it would be at least a few more days, from what information he had, and the anticipation made the travelling seem to drag on forever. Blue eyes scanned the skies, in search of any birds that might be passing by. He had found that his avian friends had been especially helpful, with the freedom the skies gave them. Luck seemed to be on his side as a small bird flitted by. “Excuse me, friend bird!” He called up, hoping his voice could be heard. it was a calm day, so he was sure his voice would carry over any slight breeze.
Persikka smiled as the bird circled before soaring down lower. “Hello friend. I was wondering if you might be able to give me some directions. You see I am searching for a land of lions called the Pridelands, have you heard of it?” He asked. “I have been told it has an impressively large stone structure in it.” He continued, hoping a possible visual reference might better help the bird’s memory. The avian was not likely to pay too much attention to a bunch of lions, and even less likely to inquire as to the name of such a group.
The bird continued to circle above him, going around in silent circles until finally it spoke. “I do recall. Big stone in a place of many lions.” The bird chirped at him. It stopped it soaring, flapping to keep itself in place as it turned to face a direction slightly more south than the direction that he had been going on. “Continue that way. You find it.” With that the bird was off, continuing its circular soaring before taking off in the direction it had been initially flying. “Thank you!” Persikka called after it, though he was unsure if the bird had heard him. Whether it had or not he was glad to get some directions. Had he continued on his route it likely would have added at least another day to his journey.
With the slight adjustment to his course Persikka continued forward, a bit more confident that he was going the right way. The sun was inching higher as he went, and with hunger starting to creep in on him he made a note to keep an eye out for any signs of a herd nearby, as well as water. If he could find the latter he could be more likely to find a meal nearby, however he also had to keep his bearings, and that was something he doubted he could to if he deterred too far from the path. Hoof prints dotted his path here and there, and though they were a couple days old it at least told him that there was prey around here recently, and perhaps they were still nearby, however he also saw some worn paw prints, tracked over by the hooves. If he was lucky whatever made them was either no longer around, or had not scared the herds away from this area.
There was still much of the day left, however he knew it would take him some time to manage to catch a meal. With this thought in mind Persikka looked around for a spot to rest, and to possibly camp for the night should a meal take too long to catch. Such a spot came more readily than food did, and he chose a tree with enough foliage to provide some adequate shade. It would be much easier finding his way back to a tree than an invisible trail. However he drug a claw across the lower part of the bark, tearing a small groove in to it. He didn’t trust himself to remember which direction to go from this tree, and so a marker seemed the best idea.
With a spot to rest available, and marked so as not to forget his main path, he set off from the tree in search of the prey he hoped was still nearby.
[Word Count: 1040]
