Welcome to Gaia! ::

He paced slowly, looking back at his prints as the wind blew them away as quickly as he made them. It was a pretty windy day, he couldn't argue that, especially for the area he was in. He'd been here multiple times in the past, but never had he encountered such strong winds. Momentarily he pondered the possibility of a storm, but one look at the sky changed his judgement. The sky was clear, almost as blue as his pelt, in an odd way.

Looking up into it, he usually felt at home, as though he weren't as alone in the world as he'd once thought. But lately that hadn't been much help, he was getting older, and with adulthood came responsibilities. A mate, cubs, a pride, none of these were things he had. Though he couldn't admit he'd never dreamed of having them, it just seemed as though they weren't in the cards for him. Females tended to shy away, he never really understood why, he knew was a handsome fellow. Maybe he was giving off the wrong kind of vibe? Or perhaps females in the rogue lands were just naturally on the alert of suspicious males?

Whatever the reason, he wasn't a fan of it, and wanted more than anything to have a companion for however long, or short a time the gods deemed him worthy.

The abrupt bump, followed by the quick shower of apologies struck Ni confused for a moment. Dumbfounded he tried to identify exactly what was happening, but admittedly it took him a moment to lock eyes with the female wrapped clumsily around his feet.

"Its quite alright, calm down!" His tone was soft, as was the slight chuckle he rudely let escape between his statement. "I think we're both a bit at fault here, so forgive me for not watching where I was going either." Ni bowed his head in respect and apology before raising his head to inspect their surroundings. It seemed aside from the two of them, they were completely alone in this plain. "Is it just me, or is it quite a strange coincidence for the two of us to meet in such a barren place?" Admittedly, Ni had to no tact. When he thought of something, he simply let the words slip with hardly any thought to what they might lead to.

"Eww, I guess that sounded a bit creepy didn't it? What I meant was; what a pleasant surprise!"

Ni chuckled gently at her words, and let out an involuntary nod in response. "Yeah, it definitely doesn't seem like the place to run into another. Its just so deserted out here y'know?" He grinned awkwardly, showing a fair amount of teeth, that some might consider frightening. But truly, he was just trying to be polite, he just wasn't all that used to this type of interaction.

At the introduction of a name Ni was caught a bit off guard and stared blankly in Iluka's direction for a moment before finally gathering his words.

"Oh sorry! Ni'awtu Ni'ul, and really the pleasure is all mine! Thank you for not running away at the mere sight of me!" With his typical nervous laugh came something a little unexpected, a loud snort.

"Ew, sorry got a little over excited there. Anyway! It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance Iluka. If you don't find it terribly rude of me, may I ask what brings you out here on this fine day?"

Realizing just how close he was to Iluka, Ni took another step back and assessed the situation. Yeah, he was definitely far enough back now, nothing creepy about him!

Ni's ears perked in odd delight at Iluka's mention of a pride. It was so strange ... lately he'd been thinking the same things she had. But he had never put enough thought into it to make it become a reality. He merely did whatever was easiest for him, which in most cases meant not thinking too far into some of his ideas.

"Oh no, no I don't live here. I don't really have a home to be honest. I tend to just roam. Wherever the wind takes me ... that's where i'll make my bed." He offered a shy smile, lifting his head to allow the wind to blow through his mane. "Sometimes it can be lonely y'know? But the idea of a pride seems very solid. I don't know if I would make a good pride lion." Tilting his head to the side, he mentally wondered whether his random rambling would make any sense to her. But her friendly demeanor told him, that even if it didn't, she wouldn't tell him that.

"But if you're looking for a pride - I happen to know there are many wonderful ones in the area ... at least this is what the other's around here have told me."

Ni stood frozen in his tracks a few moments, not really sure what he would tell the lioness. Why was he out here? He didn't know, probably never would.

"Well ... I guess you could say its fate? Though the threads may not be visible yet .. perhaps there is a reason the two of us have met here today."

He found it to be a slight comfort to know that someone else felt the same as he did about pride's. It was a relief to know that he wasn't the only strange one out in the world. Though he wouldn't call Iluka strange, not by any means.

He abrupt suggestion took Ni off guard for a moment, and he simply laughed at the suggestion. Surely she was joking? To really just invite him along, well it wasn't something he'd come to expect from the ladies in the rogue lands. But then Iluka wasn't what he'd come to expect either. "You're serious?" The words may have come off a bit rude sounding, but they were far from his intention. He was simply confused, and a bit weary, he really hoped she wasn't pulling his strings. But the more she talked, the more it seemed she was indeed serious about the idea! Ni's tail began to flit back and forth lightly as the idea slowly began to sink into his mind. It really wasn't all that bad of an idea! He could have a travelling partner, and maybe just maybe he could find somewhere to call home in the process. Though he wasn't to keen on the idea of splitting up ... he would keep that idea to himself for now.

"I think that's a fine idea. The two of us seem to have more than enough in common, we would make a formidable duo to say the least." He smiled in Iluka's direction, listening intently as she described the pride she'd heard of.

"I think I know just the place you're speaking of. I ran into a female from that pride not too very long ago. She's was an odd little thing, but she spoke of a nice little safe haven. It couldn't hurt to give it a look over." Nodding his head matter of factly he took a step closer to Iluka and looked her dead in the eyes.

"No i'm not looking for a traveling companion. I've already found one." A light smile broke across his sincere expression as he waited for her response.