When she had left home, she had thought she knew plenty enough about fending for herself in order to survive in the roguelands. She knew how to hunt, what made a good den, and how much more could there be to know? She did reasonably well for herself at first, while she was still near to home. But the further out she got, the more challenging life became. Something she'd taken for granted became very scarce indeed, and began to dictate the direction she traveled and when she traveled. Water was not to easy to come by in the roguelands as it was in the Pridelands.
About two weeks out from leaving the borders, she had spent a long day padding along dully, tongue dry and swollen, and without a scent of water in the air. The sun beat down, not terribly hot, but seeming to sap every bit of moisture from her tired body. When she managed to find a shallow waterhole the next day, near about mid-day, she was trembling and weak. The water revived her, but was slow to refill the faint dip of a basin she drank from. There would be no cooling her face and neck with this watersource!
She remained there the rest of the day, crawling under some sprawling bushes to nap. As night fell, the land became alive with sounds and movement. Creatures came to drink, amazingly taking turns at the meager spring. Very little conflict occurred, but she remained hidden, watching sleepily. Everything from zebras to antelope to giraffes to primates came to drink. It was difficult to sleep through the dark hours, and she was bleary-eyed when she hitched herself out from under the bush in the early morning hours. All the animals were gone again, leaving a sole tortoise idling in the damp soil near the water's edge.
She came to lap up the water slowly, wilting at the thought of traveling away from this precious water source. The tortoise watched her silently for a time, glittering black eyes on his round, round head raised at what seemed like an awkward angle. Unnerved by the odd creature's examination, she finally greeted him softly. "Hello, sir tortoise." She shuffled backwards from the water's edge. "Forgive me for monopolizing the water. Please, drink."
The strange neck bowed thanks, but his stumpy legs did not move towards the water. Instead, he continued regarding her steadily. Just as she was ready to move on with her wanderings, he spoke. "What is the sharp-claw doing, we wonders?" he rasped. She stopped and looked at him intently, a little puzzled by both the phrasing and the question. Sharp-claw? That had to mean her, especially since noone else was here! So she answered him.
"I'm traveling, to find my mate." She refused to let doubt arise, despite the apparent lack of progress thus far. She had strong faith, and had been rewarded by her endurance and patience before. She simply had to continue that way now. But it appeared that this was not the answer the old tortoise was looking for.
"Not the purpose, no no," he wheezed, his face serene, at least for as much expression as one could perceive on such a face. "Farshan wants to know, what is she doing right now?" Apparently the old thing had a name, which did help Taanisi feel a smidge more comfortable. She wasn't used to talking to lesser species, no matter how noble. With a name given, she could very nearly pretend he was just a very strange, very shriveled lion. Almost.
"I'm starting my journey for the day," she offered uncertainly. Wasn't it obvious what she was doing? She lifted a paw and wiggled the toes as she mimed an exaggerated step. "If I don't start walking, I can't get where I'm going." She peered down at the ancient creature with some puzzlement.
"Travel beneath the sun, you must not," the tortoise creaked, blinking his eyes slowly. "Sun breaks, sun dries, sun cracks, sun sears." As if to prove this, the shelled creature hacked a breathy cough, then wheezed loudly, and took a slow, deliberate step towards the water. "By day, sharp-claw should not go. By night, with the moon's glow." Another step, and the tortoise's neck was stretching an unbelievable distance towards the now refilled pool of water.
The dark lioness stared at the tortoise as if he just grew an extra head. For a moment she stood frozen like that, pupils dilated. Why oh why had she not realized this before? Though his words were muddled, the message was clear. She should never have been traveling by day, most certainly not with her dark coat! The rest of the rogueland creatures were smart about it, and had moved about by night! That was why the watering hole was so very busy when she had been trying to sleep! It was as if lightning had struck her brain. She felt dazzled and foolish all at once.
"Thank you, wise one," she purred softly, bowing her head with respect. "I'm not at all used to traveling like this." She hesitated a moment, but decided that this slow, old creature wasn't likely to cause any trouble for her if she revealed her inexperience to him. "I've never had to travel more than a day or two, and here I am so very far from home." She sprawled with a sigh next to the water, watching as the tortoise gulped water as slowly as he moved. Up his long neck went a lump, then another.... it was odd being able to watch the process of swallowing from the outside. Usually it wasn't nearly so obvious.
Finally he raised his head, water dripping messily from his hard beak. "Young you are," he rasped with a soothing manner, "time still to learn with. Farshan knows." He nodded his head in slow motion, closing his eyes almost as if smiling, though with that beak it was hard to tell. She supposed he would indeed know well that there was time yet to learn. "Sleep, you," he suddenly insisted, turning to point his head at her previous shelter. "Sleep, to moon's path wake. Watch will Farshan. Safe you will be." With that astonishing command and promise, he began the slow journey from his side of the waterhole puddle towards the bushes that had sheltered her. All that was left really was to obey him.
Not at all one to nay-say her elders, Taanisi meekly slipped back under the bush's concealing branches, surprised to find that she could indeed easily sleep more. As her eyes drifted shut, she caught a glimpse of the large, rugged shell of the tortoise, lowering slowly in front of her shelter, delivering the oddest protection she could have imagined. Odder still was how comforted it made her feel, so that she fell asleep with a smile on her muzzle.
