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It had been so long since Demani had been home that she was having difficulty recalling anything specific about her childhood. The lioness was beginning to feel like a failure, and why shouldn't she? How long had she been travelling the rogue lands, waiting for her name to come to her? Too long. But, her time alone had hardened her. Demani was used to moving, could take care of herself when at first she had been scared and convinced that she'd be unable to. Meals were hard to come by, but they came. Friends were even rarer, and so far Demani had been travelling completely alone.

There were a few lions here and there she could talk to, but some looked unsavory, and the ones she did chat with eventually went on their way. The thoughts that most preoccupied her mind were basic, such as keep going and don't forget home. She'd never forget home, but it seemed woefully far away, and Demani was doubting that she'd ever have the right to return to it.

A pilgrim couldn't come home carrying the same name they had left with. But, Demani always thought her name suited her. Basic, simple, sweet. Maybe her attachment to it was what was keeping her from finding her new one. The lioness sighed, and paused in her aimless wanderings. The pads of her paws were sore, worn. Even her legs ached a little bit. Demani needed to rest, but she wouldn't let herself.

Most lions Demani simply passed by. A lot of them weren't worth the trouble of stopping to talk to. None had really been of service to her, and the few she had confessed to about her naming quest thought the entire idea was ridiculous. Demani would leave them, feeling offended and even more alone. It was likely she would have walked right by Pas if she hadn't stopped to find her bearings. The young lioness was scanning the area around her, trying to figure out if she should pick up in some new direction or continue to carry on down the path she had already chosen.

Seeing a stranger helped make up her mind. Demani turned to her right and approached Pas, her steps slow and cautious. He didn't seem to be dangerous, but one could never tell with strange lions. A lot of rogues were... peculiar, to say the least. "Hello?" the greeting was soft, her voice filled with curiosity. Eyes colored pink observed the male lion from what she considered to be a safe distance. "Do you happen to know if there are any prides nearby, or if there's water not too far from here?" Prides she would avoid, water she would take a detour just to get to.

"...No?" Demani asked, though suddenly she sounded rather unsure of herself. Deciding that Pas wasn't really a threat, she sat back on her haunches and tried to figure out why he did seem a little familiar. It was strange, she hadn't had the feeling of familiarity with any of the rogues she had passed by. She grew silent as she contemplated, gaze still curiously fixed on Pas, though now she was looking him over more thoroughly, as if that would help determine where she knew him from.

Still having difficulty figuring out why he was so familiar, Demani decided that the best way to spark a memory was to at least get his name. "I'm Demani, from the Jini-msemi," she introduced, hoping that it would encourage Pas to give her his name, and maybe where he was from. It wouldn't surprise her if he was born in the roguelands, and he just reminded her of someone back home.

"Oh, well, I guess we're both a little lost then. I have a small grasp of my bearings, but I've been travelling so far lately that it would be silly to try and go back to places I've already been to." Demani wasn't upset that he had no idea where a water source was, but she was a little disappointed. It meant that she would have to undergo some more aimless wandering, with no guarantee that she would even find what she was looking for.

Demani stared blankly at the male for a few seconds, temporarily unable to comprehend that she had found somebody from her homelands. But, his excitement was rather infectious, and the quiet lioness chuckled, her eyes brightening with amusement and hope. She'd found somebody from home! It was difficult to believe, but she was thrilled that at least, for a little while, she wasn't alone. Travelling by herself had been rather taxing, and the loneliness had been starting to get to her. Pas was potentially the cure! "It's nice to meet you, Pas," she replied formally.

"It's the name my parents gave me. If I'm honest, I've been out for... quite a while. No one really told me how difficult this kind of quest was, and I swear when I was little adolescent lions were only gone for a couple of weeks at best. And here I am, gone for the better part of a year." In this regard, she definitely felt like a failure. Why had it seemed like everyone else had such an easy time discovering their true name, when she was grasping at straws for her own now?

"I'd go home if I could, because, man, I miss it!" the lioness continued on, her voice a little sad, and definitely wistful. If only she could go back home, but Demani knew that was impossible while she was still known as Demani.

"That's a long time to be out on a naming quest," Demani replied, her voice tinged a little bit with horror. If they had been gone for that long, were they actually ever going to return to their home pride? Demani would, at that point, assume they weren't coming back. But, what if her own family assumed just the same? Demani had been gone a long time, and while she intended to, with every fiber of being, return, she couldn't yet. Without her name, Demani didn't have a home to return to. It hurt, to think of things that way, but maybe that was the motivation she needed to find her name and head on back home.

"I know! I've looked everywhere for my name, but it just hasn't come to me. I don't know what kind of inspiration is supposed to hit me, or what I'm meant to find. This whole quest is vague, and gosh, starting to get frustrating." But, Demani seemed to be in a good mood regardless. Finding Pas had been the best stroke of luck she had in a while, and Demani wasn't going to squander this opportunity.

He was the only connection to home she had found in a while, and to waste her time with him would be inconceivable. "I'm glad I finally found someone from home, though. It makes me feel a little less alone. It's a relief, in a way, that you're having as much difficulty as I am with discovering a name." She was sorry that he hadn't, yet at the same time she was glad, because now she had someone to talk to.

"I don't mind wandering by myself, but sometimes it does get lonely, and definitely boring. I don't think I can even recall what I've done today, because I usually zone out a lot when I'm wandering." Since she had no direction, no place as a goal, it was easy for her to just keep on walking and let her mind drift off. It was better than focusing on the discomfort caused by travelling so much. Her usual pristine coat was dusty, and her eyes seemed tired, almost too old for her young age. Demani's journey so far had been a true test of will.

At his suggestion, Demani perked up. She wasn't sure if it was technically allowed, but no one had covered that particular topic before she was sent off on her quest. For once, she didn't even think it over before enthusiastically nodding her head. She was so desperate for company that she definitely wouldn't turn down Pas' offer. "Yeah! I would like that. I mean, clearly I'm not going to find my name at the pace I'm going. I think travelling with a friend would really help me along, and you too. Yeah, let's do it." Even if it wasn't permanent, Demani was excited.

This was her best chance at finally finding her name! "So, anywhere you want to go, then, if we're going to do this travelling together thing?"

"Well, I was thinking that maybe I should try to find a place that has meaning. Maybe that'll bring meaning to me, and maybe my name? But, I also really don't know where such a place could be. No one really gave me directions when they sent me on my way." No, Demani had been told 'good luck', and then encouraged to leave her homelands with only her own skills to keep her alive. So far, she had done well for herself. Demani was worn, but healthy. Her mind was quiet, but not dull.

"If we can just locate something significant, maybe..." Her goal had changed a little bit - now they both needed to find their names, and maybe if they found their names together, they could make the journey home together as well. It was something to look forward to and aspire towards, because she'd hate to leave Pas behind just because she found her name first, and vice versa.

But, they were obviously a long way from that. First they needed to pick a direction. "Well, I came from that way," she gestured to her left now, "so I guess that's one direction not to take. How about you?"

Demani sat back, and arched a brow at Pas as the lion turned about, trying to locate where he had came to this spot from. She had to wonder how long he had been rooted to this spot, if he had forgotten which direction he had come from. Well, hopefully with a new and enlightened purpose, accidentally going in the same direction Pas had come from wouldn't hinder them. Besides, there wasn't an overwhelming chance they go exactly the way Pas had came. They'd just have to take their chances!

"Oh, it's okay. I mean, at least we know not to go the way I came from." The lioness stood up, and then pranced past Pas, a little more pep in her step now that she had someone to come along with her. "Well, let's go this way, then. It seems just about as good as any direction, and there's no point in worrying what could have happened if we picked some other way to go." She was ready, and rather excited to be on her way. Pas had definitely rejuvenated her, mentally at least. She was ready to tackle any problem that came their way!