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Jani was patrolling the borders of the pride, as usual, keeping his head low as he moved along the long, drying grass within the rogue lands. He didn't hate being away from home, but he did have an urge to get back home as soon as possible. Perhaps he was just feeling a little lonely after being out for so long. He always started to miss home once he spent long enough away.

The trouble of being born inside a pride, perhaps. But it was a trouble he was happy to have.

As he drew closer to his home, however, he spotted something rather off. It seemed to be a lioness... prancing around near some zebra. Was she confused? Injured? ... A bit off in the head? Whatever she was, it was certainly confusing for him. Slowly, he moved forward, heading towards the somewhat strange lady.

"Um, excuse me? Is... everything alright?"

Jani frowned, tilting his head slightly to the side as the lioness eagerly asked him about the zebra. He turned his head, looking over at the placid, grazing creatures. "I... suppose I must have missed it. What was it that the creature did?" He didn't see anything interesting over there. All he saw were potential meals to be eaten.

"Stand on.... huh?" So she was imitating the zebras, that much was clear, and she didn't seem to be completely insane. A little excited, perhaps, but not insane. "I guess so? I don't watch them walk much, I guess. They're... just food. Why are you looking to walk like one, anyway?" He frowned, looking from the zebra, to her, and back to the zebra again.

This was confusing.

He watched her balance on one paw, smiling faintly. At least she seemed to be having fun, he supposed. "My name is Jani."

"I didn't know any trot was worth trying," admitted Jani somewhat absently, once again looking over at the zebra. As far as he could see, they weren't doing much trotting. They weren't doing much of anything, if he was honest. Just standing there and chewing on grass. But he believed her when she said she had seen something interesting.

There was really no reason not to.

"I see," he hummed, watching her for a moment before smiling. Everything fell into place when she said she was looking to honor it with art. An artist, was it? From what he had seen of them, they could be a little... weird. It definitely explained her behavior, including her willingness to speak to a stranger like him. Was she a member of the pride? He was pretty sure he had seen her before, but he couldn't say for certain.

"I see, so you're very into your art, then," he replied warmly, finding nothing wrong with that, "it's good to see someone so dedicated to their craft! I can imagine your show will end up being very interesting once you get everything perfected- it looks like you're putting in a great deal of effort. I wonder how well a lioness can trot like a Zebra. Probably better than a lion could."

Jani watched her balance, arching an eyebrow. "I appreciate your efforts," he commented thoughtfully, "but don't you think balancing on your paws isn't the way to go about it? I mean, the zebra probably didn't have to do that when they learned to trot, right?" He wasn't much of an artist, but he was a good hunter- he knew how to observe and how to make strategies. Learn new things. It was why he had become a soldier. He could use his talents in battle, to adjust and learn with new fighting styles.

"I think it's more about getting the speed and contact points down than being able to balance. If you're distributing your weight correctly, you shouldn't have to worry about how well you balance on any one paw- the fluidity of the motion will carry you through."

He frowned at that, aware he was probably being too pushy about his own thoughts on the matter. There was no saying she wouldn't be able to learn to trot doing as she was, he just had a different opinion. He could be a little forceful about speaking his mind, however.

"Ah, well, that's just how I think about it, anyway. Nothing to really take to heart if you don't want to."

Jani watched the lioness, though he didn't move to see if she was alright. He was a bit reserved, which made it difficult for him to show emotion sometimes. He was more interested in watching than participating most of the time. Thankfully, she seemed alright. He would have gone for a healer if she needed the help.

"You don't have to get up right away. Rest can be good for training, too. Not doing too much at once and all that." He looked over at the zebra again.

"Well, you're right about observing them. You can see how they bend their legs and when and where they apply the pressure in their stride. Once you have an understanding of that, you could start with just a normal stride and work up to what they do. Adjust as see more. If you want, I could spook them while you watch. Surprising them without chasing them should make them trot away from me."

"Oh, I was just patrolling, you don't have to worry about that." He moved away from the lioness to head over to the zebra. He was pretty sure he was going to be able to startle them at least a couple of times, so she could get a few good views of the zebra trotting. If he took too long with it, or did it too many times, they would catch wise and he imagined they would just move on away from the both of them.

For the moment, though, the plan was a good one.

He waited in the grass for the right moment, leaping out and running away to get them running, then slowing down into a trot when they were surprised to find they weren't being chased anymore.