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With the pale hue of her fur, the color of blood stood out pretty stark. Na'an's claws flexed; extending, retracting, over and over again, raking into the dirt. It wasn't that she was too hungry, or anything—most of the medium-sized prey beast had remained uneaten. It was the hunt, though. The chasing the creature down, the feel of claw and fang raking through flesh. That moment when life slipped away.

The lioness tensed her jaw, still moist and crimson. It was just… boredom, she supposed. A lack of anything better to do. It took her mind off of things, at least for a little while. Na'an hadn't seen the lion for a day. Maybe he was gone? Her tail twitched at the thought. Was she disappointed? She supposed so, though she wouldn't really admit it. Rakesh was entertaining enough company. Entertaining, she reminded herself. And nothing more.

The world looked grey around her. The sky was overcast and the sun, low in the sky behind the blanket of clouds, cast no shadows. She didn't know how she was supposed to feel about it all. Na'an wasn't used to having company for extended periods of time, since she and her brother were old enough to be away from their mother. Happy? Annoyed? It was all so troublesome.

Rakesh felt as if he was psyching himself out, becoming paranoid after the time he had spent with Na'an. It wasn't like they were companions in the usual meaning of the word. Rather, their travels were convenient in the way that they kept each other entertained. The blue lion certainly enjoyed hearing what little of Na'an's life she shared with him, and Na'an seemed amused enough by the confessions she managed to draw out of him. Truthfully, it was weird for him to be around someone for so long now that he had been without his family for a while.

So he had disappeared for little more than a day. He had no actual intention of disappearing, not when Na'an had so much more to tell him. Rakesh figured he'd never hear the full story, and getting most of it would take a long time... but he thought that it would be worth the trouble he was going through now. Rakesh was back on Na'an's trail, and he felt that in a way he was not just pursuing her, but hunting her down. There was a small thrill in finding his way back to her. He didn't expected to really be greeted upon his return, but then again, he never knew what to expect with Na'an.

He found the pale lioness with a fresh kill, but as he approached her he showed little interest in it. The only thing that had earned his interest these past few days was Na'an, and his eyes cut immediately over to the lioness. "If I had known you were planning to hunt, I would have helped." Not that she needed the help with her obvious success.

And it would be a blatant lie to say that Na'an had grown bored with hearing things about Rakesh. But this connection… If he didn't leave on his accord, one day, then she'd have to drive him off. That was a truth she wasn't afraid to admit. She couldn't deal with this forever. Permanent companionship wasn't for her. The thought of if made her stomach roll.

"I prefer to hunt alone," she said curtly. She wouldn't say that she 'enjoyed' it, but it was the closest word that worked. Maybe it was just a good moment for alone time. Na'an didn't glance over to him until he spoke, maintaining her classically passive air. Her eyebrows raised as she looked to him, swishing her tail behind her. The quiet was also pretty characteristic. A more sensible lioness would find it awkward. "Sleep well?" Maybe it was a bit awkward, especially after all this time. The forced conversation made something feel sick in the pit of her.

He suspected that this wouldn't last forever, but it was certainly nice while it did last. Na'an was a pretty companion, and while they had only kept each other company for conversation it was hard to ignore that she had a pleasant face to look at. She was certainly more attractive than their desolate surroundings. However, he was sure that the moment he acted on the instinct to hit on her was the moment she would turn him away... and he didn't quite want to leave yet. They had much more to discuss.

"You're probably used to it, since it seems like you rarely have company." There was a bit of awkwardness hanging between them, but Rakesh seemed determined to bulldoze his way past it. He had grown comfortable with Na'an's presence over the past few days, so much so that he was growing towards discomfort. Their time together wouldn't last, and he'd be sure to make the best of it. "I prefer to sleep alone," he replied with the barest hints of a smirk tugging at the edges of his lips. He was sure she didn't have the tolerance for Rakesh's playful edge, but he was trying to be charming.

Who knew, maybe charms would win her over eventually. It wasn't a huge goal for him - he liked her company, as plain and simple as that was. She was intriguing to him, and he didn't want to discard her yet.

Na'an disregarded the first comment, mostly. Yes, it was true that she'd rarely been in company. That didn't need to be acknowledged. But, "I've been in a pride. …of sorts." The Nergui. She didn't particularly want to talk about the place of her birth. The place of barbarism where she had been in her youth, which she had escaped, and now… and now returned to.

His second comment made her eyes roll. The playfulness, Na'an wasn't quite sure about. It was… funny? Was funny the right word for it? Amusing, perhaps. The lioness huffed, an ear flicking. She didn't seem angry, or anything. She just wasn't particularly used to it. "For some reason, I have my doubts," she said, her voice dropping low and distant. Was that her own little hint of snark, there? As she addressed him, she nudged the carcass in his direction.

She still felt a bit… wary of him. It was entertaining, this little game. Poking into this lion's life, seeing how much she could mess with. But Na'an had to play the line. Had to be careful to tread lightly, to not fall too far.

"I remember," he noted. Rakesh did recall her talking about a pride she had been involved in, but he couldn't even recall the name of the pride. It wasn't the details of the pride that had been all that important, but rather her view on it, her involvement in it. That was what Rakesh had been interested in, but even that information she seemed to be unwilling to give. At times he felt like he told her everything she wanted to know about him, and in return he got little to nothing. The most information he drew out of her was when they first met, and she decided to bait him with the promise of an interesting story. He got snippets of facts, nothing nearly satisfying.

Rakesh considered it a small victory that she even wanted to share her meal with him after the comment he made. While he could be polite and turn the meal away, it hardly looked like she was going to chow down on the rest of it... and as a rogue it was difficult to turn away food when it crossed his path. He took a few moments to take a first satisfying bite of the kill, and then allowed an amused smile to flash across his features. "Okay, so I do like company from time to time," he admitted. Nothing was ever permanent with him, though. He flitted from one companion to the next, though no one was quite the same as Na'an. No, with her he simply wanted to talk, at least at first.

Rakesh needed to cover up a little bit for his forward answer, so decided to give her another tidbit from his own life. "But, I'm used to company. My pride had been fairly large before things fell apart. Large enough that we could make lion sacrifices and not feel any sting from the loss." He wasn't sure he really believed in the Mizimu's old ways now that the pride was gone. If the sacrifices had really worked, if seers could really tell the future in the entrails of animals... well the pride should still be standing.

"Had been," Na'an repeated after him. She set, her eyes tensing. He'd told her bits and pieces of where he'd come from. There was a pride involved, she knew. And something had happened to it. It the pride had been large, how could it have just been gone? And sacrifices… It made her brow raise. Interesting. How much of this, she wondered, was mixed in with this part of Rakesh that he seemed to be running from?

But the lioness didn't press any further. The lioness' paws crossed before her and she laid, her head tilted slightly to the side. Her bangs fell into her eyes, parting just enough for the bright color to pierce through and meet the blue lion's. "The Nergui," she started, bringing the conversation back to herself. It was only fair. "I'd tell you more about them, but I honestly don't know that much. Only that…" her mouth twitched to the side, "that I have more connections with them than I'd like. But it's something. And sometimes something can be better than nothing."

The lioness curled her tail around herself. Laying like that, she one could say that she looked dainty. Not like someone that would be with such warriors. Her motives for staying with the Nergui seemed to be falling through day by day. She had gone to them searching for purpose. Searching for some sort of direction. It seemed to just be another dead end.

It was a dangerous game he was playing, giving Na'an enough information to keep her interested without giving her so much that she would be satisfied. Rakesh expected her to be the type to just up and leave while he was asleep, and while he wouldn't exactly miss her with any emotional attachment, he would be remorse to lose the chance Na'an was giving him. Here was a lioness that he could talk to and explain himself to, and one that actually found it interesting instead of offputting!

He followed suit and laid down behind the carcass, taking a few bites inbetween their slow conversation. There was really no pressure to share everything at once - it wouldn't nearly be as fun. "I can understand that, a little. I was only just growing up when the pride fell apart, so I don't have any connections now to something that does not exist. However, I once did, and I think now that it was rather ridiculous that I believed in what they believed just because everyone in the pride did."

Rakesh observed her with interest, and it wasn't the first time he had taken a few moments to simply look at her. Na'an was a very pretty lioness, but he imagined that her personality would ward away any potential suitor. She hardly seemed like the type, as well, to take interest in a mate. That suited Rakesh fine, since he wasn't the type as well. However, he was the type to seek physical company here and there, and he was young and a male. It was hard not to take a look at her here and there - he didn't bother to hide it, she'd figure it out anyways. Na'an was far from stupid.

Occasionally, Na'an would roll her shoulders and crane her neck from side to side. It was a stretching motion accompanied by the movement of her eyes to the sky. One could say it was a habit; when she was younger, Na'an found herself gazing at the sky often. Being alone, at first, was a whelming experience. Directionless, she would look to her mother often. She had done a lot, for her mother. Little deeds, things to assist in her mother's 'deals.'

"Looking upon the past can be like looking at a different life," she murmured, meeting his gaze. The lioness had noted the way he'd look at her occasionally; it wasn't like he was hiding it or anything. And she was fine with that. Back in the day, she'd done a good amount of flinging. Little things, here and there, to try to find some sort of meaning. It seemed juvenile, looking back on it now. But as she said; looking on the past.

"Some are proud of their pasts. Longing. Looking through a skewed gaze. It's pitiful. Worthless." It was probably the most she'd said at once, so far. Na'an did her best not to drawl on and on. She couldn't help but have things to say, though. And it wasn't often that she had someone to say it all to.

Rakesh was beginning to pick up on Na'an's small habits, though the realization that he did was mildly disturbing to him. It meant that he had been spending a lot of time with the lioness if he was beginning to understand her. But, their conversations were passed rarely. Sometimes they simply walked together in silent company, or she would drift ahead or he behind. Where they were actually going was a mystery to Rakesh, and he believed that it was a mystery to Na'an too. They were simply wandering, perhaps waiting for the next big think to strike their lives. Eventually it would lead them separate ways.

"I feel like it was a different life. I kind of shed it when I separated myself from my family. Maybe I never held the same beliefs to begin with." He wasn't sure if he regretted his own decision to move forward on his own. In a way, he felt like it was his only opportunity to discover his own beliefs. The Mizimu had been a very religious and superstitious pride, and Rakesh found that he was surprisingly unlike them. He had to wonder what attracted his father to the pride long enough to sleep with his mother.

"I'm glad that I'm leaving it behind, or trying my best to. I'm not sure what meaning it has now. Does your past still have... meaning to you?" He had shared enough, and now he wanted to hear what she could offer him. Na'an wasn't afraid to share her opinions, but actual stories seemed to be hard to come by.

Na'an knew well enough that one day, Rakesh would disappear from her life entirely. She didn't know when that would happen; it could be tomorrow for all she knew. And she wasn't too worked up about it. Days were content, now, with his company. And one day, they'd move in their own directions, away from each other, and she'd be content with that, too. Time flows. Things changed. This was nothing new, to her, and she had no complaints.

"I wouldn't say my past was particularly remarkable enough to have much of a meaning," she said passively, kneading her paws into the ground, "spent a lot of time with my mother. My brother. Traveled. Met gods. It doesn't seem like much, looking back."

The small talk was strange. She wasn't used to just having this chatter. Just talking about life. It was… unusual. What was she supposed to talk about? All the things she had done? The people she'd met? The lives she'd taken? Not much of her life seemed that extraordinary, to Na'an. Easy to glaze over. Not much really worth talking about.

"It seems to be far more remarkable than my own," Rakesh commented with a small smile. He hadn't met any gods, at least that he was aware of. He hadn't spent the entirety of his life on the move. Somehow, to him, her world seemed to be far more intriguing than his own. Yet, once again she seemed to avoid elaborating, just as he did with his own life. He wondered how much longer they would dance around each other, lead one another on like this. Neither seemed entirely willing to bare their soul, but he knew that he had given more in return for little. It didn't bother him so much, since he realized that he was angling more for attention than she was for his.

"I haven't met any gods, or done much besides what you see me doing now. I didn't grow up completely in my family's pride, so I never well... truly adapted their beliefs. I have always supposed that it allowed me to be a little free." But now he couldn't make up his mind on what he wanted to do with his life. He was stuck at a crossroads, and did not feel particularly swayed one way or another on how he should live his life. In some ways, he needed guidance, or perhaps he just needed time to figure things out for himself.

He bent his head, taking his time in eating the remains Na'an had left for him. Rakesh almost felt like a vulture, picking at someone else's kill... but food was always hard to pass by in the rougelands. A lioness like Na'an was harder to overlook. Silently, he mused over that thought process, and perhaps began to look forward more to the days ahead of them.