Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was getting more difficult to find the proper blooms for her perfumes the further north she traveled. Naheed wasn't ready to give up her small luxuries just yet. She stuffed a crushed mash of red petals into the threadbare pouch around her neck, taking a moment to appreciate the aroma as they mixed with everything else it contained. It was good enough, for now.

In the years since Akram had vanished she had relied on the naivety of others, playing the poor delicate creature who couldn't fend for herself. Her act had worn thing. She had worn out her welcome with the others of his pride, and had made a swift exit when the whole thing began to collapse. She had no appetite for politics. Though the chaos had allowed sufficient distraction for her to make off with all the supplies she could carry. They hadn't lasted her long.

She had had offers, since, to stay in the company of some male or another, join his pride. But for once, she wanted to take control of her own freedom. She would not be sold or traded again.

Naheed's nose twitched as she caught the scent of the carcass over top. Decay. A miserable reminder of everything she sought so hard to ignore. She looked up, catching sight of a flash of green against the drab background. Another female, she noted, relaxing a tension she didn't know she'd had. While no stranger was ever to be trusted, she felt less concerned when they were female. There was an odd sort of kinship there that seemed to cross all barriers.

"I wouldn't eat that, if I were you," she shouted, though her advice was both unsolicited and frequently inaccurate. The meat was likely still good, but the idea of sharing after buzzards disgusted her. Fortunately the females of her bloodline ran very small, it didn't take much to disdain her so she had survived being picky thus far.

"I only mean to say, there's better things to catch if you know where to look," she corrected herself, nodding toward the brush, "Small things, but fresh."

Naheed moved closer to the creature, taking in her appearance with a critical eye. Nothing to be proud of at the moment, surely, but she could see the potential. She had been beautiful, once. She felt a pang in her heart as she noted the signs of recent violence. This one was asking her for help, could she justify turning away? She had nowhere urgent to be, no family waiting anxiously for her return.

She heaved a sigh, chastising herself for being so easily swayed. "Come on then, let's find you a good meal. Lizards maybe, they come out this time of day and they like the bits of brush fruit if you crack them open and leave them out as bait," she told the other as she turned and began to walk toward the scrub brush. There were a number of rock outcroppings that way that held small rodents and birds, sheltering from the daylight. Surely between the two of them they could find something decent.

"I owe the universe a bit of charity once in a while," Naheed told her with a laugh, knocking over a few stones with an outstretched paw as she passed. Small insects scurried from their hiding places, trying rapidly to regain shelter from the sun. They had the right idea of it, she thought, it was much too hot for decent folks. But then, she hadn't been decent for quite a while. She hadn't even bathed since morning.

"My father always told me I'd never be good at anything besides dancing and looking pretty, so I'd best keep my voice down and my paws close together," she added with a laugh, "But see I'm the one that's still here. Funny, isn't it?" She wasn't sure that it was, but it was the first bit of conversation she'd had in a long time and the talks she'd had with herself had become increasing introspective, bordering on the bizarre.

"He died," she said bluntly, pausing to push a large centipede over on it's back. There was no rhyme or reason for why, only that she could. She watched it struggle to right itself and cocked her head as it sped away. "He died," she repeated, "And then I belonged to another. And now I belong to myself." Times hadn't been so bad, all things considered. He had never been directly cruel to her, his ire had been reserved for others, but she wasn't quite sure if he'd ever been kind. Fascinated, more like.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted movement in the brush alongside the rocks. Hyrax. She flashed a smile, ducking out of her bag before she dove forward. The large rodents were hardly a feast, but they were fatty and much easier prey for the lone lioness.

Naheed sunk her claws into her quarry, the hyrax hardly having time to make a sound before she swiftly broke it's neck. She had little love for hunting, in her mind it was best ended quickly and quietly. If she stopped to think too much, she often found herself despondent. What right did she have to end a life? She needed to eat, and this time at least she had a better reason. This ragged lioness had true hunger, something she hadn't experienced in quite a while, and something else just beneath the surface. It wasn't her place to pry, much as she'd like to.

"You should be able to catch more, mostly around dawn and dusk. They like to sunbathe by the rocks," she told her, setting the creature on top of a flat slab of stone before she ran to retrieve her bag. With her flowers back in her possession she felt more grounded.

She sounded like one of Akram's cubs, asking her permission. Her heart stung a bit as she pushed the hyrax toward her. "I don't really like them. They're okay, you take it," she stammered, trying her best to avoid eye contact. She had never really been the maternal sort, but it was hard for her to ignore someone that seemed so desperately to need help.

"I could probably catch a few more," she added, "I mean, if I wanted to. There should be more on the other side where it's brighter." She wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do, anyway. She needed to keep moving if she was going to find a place to stay for the night, preferably one where she could bathe, but she wasn't sure she was comfortable leaving this lioness along either.

"Do you have somewhere safe, somewhere you stay?"

Naheed frowned, starting to reach for the other before pulling her paw back. It wasn't really her business. She had no need to get wrapped up in someone else's life when she hardly had a grasp on her own. "I suppose it is," she agreed, her tone dropping a little, "Though it does help to know where you're going." She was working on that part herself.

She felt that she needing to do something, so she did what was to get the most meaningful thing she could. With a little sigh he pulled a few bright yellow blooms from her bag. Mixed as they were it was a little difficult to distinguish at first, but once she had spread them out the aroma of honey permeated the air. "Here," she offered, "It helps me, when I need to feel safe." She couldn't really explain why, but that was it. She'd close her eyes and bask in the scent, her mind constructing elaborate scenes around it.