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 Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 1:51 pm
 -Long sleek legs stilled, pausing in their lazy path as the grass gave way to the gritty compound that he knew well to be sand. He'd smelled the salt long ago, felt the breeze from the water tugging at his scraggly locks as well, but there was something about SEEING the ocean.. that huge abyss of water that always drew him to silence. It didn't matter how many times he'd seen it.
Rust colored paw tips tested the shifting ground gently, as his lungs expanded to take in the fresh salty air, his long tail conveying his pleasure with a few sharp flips.
Back and forth, back and forth. How many times had he been across the lands, from one sea to another? As was the life of a traveler, more so the life of a mooch. Softly his eyes turned to the waves in the distance, watching the shoreline with interest. He was nearly out of things to trade anyway, it certainly wouldn't hurt to waste his day here, collect some shells and other trinkets.
Maybe he'd even find some small fish trapped in a water spot and save himself the trouble of actually fishing. Danganyo's pink tongue darted outwards, licking his maw at the thought as his feet once again drew him forward.
What a beautiful day to be back. Back to the ocean, back to his roots.-
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 8:52 pm
Ironically enough just a few yards away and over a few dunes a lioness had JUST finished taking down a kill. She had to do her hunting a bit away from home as there weren't many prey to be found in the sandy dunes, but it had been worth it to venture out as always. She was just bringing it back along the path with the least sand (It was fun to play in but tasted terrible and got EVERYWHERE, especially when you were wet with water or blood.), fully prepared to make a partial meal of it and bring the rest home to share with one of her siblings or parents.
She finally settled down in the grass, crouching low and drawing the kill near, taking a little bit first to catch her breath and enjoy the breeze. She'd miss hunting on these sands when she and her sister left home.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:06 pm
-Danga had gotten good at finding what he wanted and needed. And had he not been facing the ocean with it's ever provailing breeze, his sense would have keyed in on the nearby female almost immediately as she drew near. However because of the winds she went unnoticed, and the cheetah strolled the shore slowly a few strides, watching the sand intently as the water pulled away from his feet.
Ah ha! His jaws snapped forward, cheetah reflexes nabbing the protruding shell with ease, pulling his head back in time to only be sprinkled lightly by the waves that quickly recovered the place the shell had just been.
Spitting it to the ground he inspected it softly, pondering over it's worth. It was fairly large, but it did look a bit scuffed up. Hmmmm... the lovely soft blue of it however made up his mind, he'd just have to clean it up a bit. And tenderly he picked it up again, gazing back towards the grasses to find someplace to stash his treasures until he was ready to go.
It was only then, as he stepped from the sand to the sparce grasses that the scent of death finally caught him, and he paused in his tracks. Intoxicating and wonderful, his tongue was already beginning to moisten. Quickly his path changed in search of a possibly free meal.-
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:26 pm
Nicely settled in now and with her heart rate returning to normal, Kinda was all set to start eating, but a flash of reddish brown caught her eye. One of her brothers? ... No, looking again, that wasn't someone she knew to these lands at all. Kinda blinked, he was carrying something in his mouth, she noticed, so he probably wouldn't be able to talk just yet, but she greeted him anyway.
"Hello, friend. Are you a new member?" She guessed politely, shifting to sit up a bit now but kept one paw atop her kill as if to prevent it from blowing away in the wind.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:37 pm
-When the lioness came into sight, and more importantly her meal, Danga siddled up brazenly, quite happy to hear the pleasant tones that escaped her. His long cheetah tail flicked pleasantly back and forth, his head shaking back some of the scraggly strands of mane from his eyes, to give himself a more friendly appearence.
A new member? Well that would be a simple one wouldn't it? He debated the option of going with that story. Surely she'd share with some new pride member who was new, lonely, and uncertain. He decided against it however, finding himself completely uncertain of where they even were. He'd just have to come up with something better.
Settling the shell to the ground, he grinned softly in return to her greeting. - "Hello to you too friend. I'm afraid I don't know of your pride though, I'm simply passing through on a quest."
"Is this your beach?" -He hazarded.-
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 8:52 pm
"Oh, well that's alright. Passer's through are welcomed too." The lioness replied, stretching out her paws a bit. "Not just mine, but close I guess? It belongs to the Bahari'mtoto."
She regarded the male with continued curiosity, not really sure what to make of him, but knowing not to be rude by staring. Where had he traveled from and did he have a specific destination? Perhaps he'd be more willing to share that information under the invitation to share a meal, he must be hungry after all.
"Are you hungry? Maybe you could tell me more about yourself, or your travels while we share? I'm curious about the world outside of the pride borders."
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Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 7:11 am
-His tail paused in it's sway briefly as the generous offer touched the air, throughly surprised by the lack of effort he was needing to expend and he eyed the female just as curiously. Either this pride.. the Baharimoto.. was incredibly open and giving, or he'd simply run into a blessed goddess of a lion. Kind, naive, it didn't really matter, a smile formed on his maw, nodding.-
"I am quite hungry actually. It seems like quite a fair trade to me. A little storytime for a bit of a meal." -Of course he might leave out some of the more unsavory details... but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. And besides, from the way she talked it seemed he might have free reign to strech the truth just a little.
Pushing that light blue shell away, he settled his long cheetah limbs on the ground, shifting and moving until he was comfortably cradled by the grassy sand. Sitting across from her, almost near enough to touch, he waited to see how she'd split her treasure, voice lifting thoughtfully.- "I've been across the land from ocean to ocean quite a few times. Seen the pale and dry deserts, the strikingly tall mountains, green thick and seemingly untravelable forests, and the oceans of grass that strech on for days at a time."
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Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 8:36 pm
Once he settled down she took to one side of the kill, tearing as neatly as possible into one of the back legs, leaving him plenty of room and meat to select from. Once she had taken and swallowed the first mouthful she briefly groomed her muzzle with her tongue and answered. "Really? Then there's ocean on the other side of the land as well?"
So then, why, how did they end up on THIS coast? The East? Why not the west? Just simple, innocent curiosities of a young female who'd yet to see the world.
"It all sounds amazing! How many days does it take you to reach the other coast?" She questioned excitedly.
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 6:23 am
"Oh yes, there is ocean everywhere if you walk far enough. Towards the sun, away from it, to your left, to your right. Walk for long enough in any direction and you'll meet the ocean once more." -So maybe he hadn't walked in EVERY direction, but he had run into the ocean on more then a pawful of occassions. It seemed a pretty good guess on his part.
Again he felt his tongue slickening as he watched her dig into the tender meat, already imagining just how delicious the meat would be, and how wonderful it would feel to have his belly full once again. He waited politely nonetheless, pausing until it'd become clear what she'd take, and then his teeth found themselves dug deep in some leg meat of his own.
His eyes lulled shut in a soft ecstacy, lapping at the moisture as the sweet meat slid down his throat. Truly, he must have looked silly savoring it so. But when one didn't hunt for themselves, a meal was something to be greatly treasured, more so then a hundred of the trinkets he often traded for the pleasure.
After a moment, not nearly so worried about looking clean as his meal mate appeared, he answered thoughtfully.- "I've never been in a rush. So the trip may be shorter... and yet.. even slowly I'm faster than most lions..."
"It takes weeks to travel from one side to the other. Certain prides along the way take a few days simply to pass through. And other prides... well, let's just say you're best taking the extra time to take the long route and go around those.-
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 9:35 am
Oh, goodness, prides to avoid just to travel? She'd have to remember that.
"I see... What prides would those be? Are there many of them? Are they really that dangerous?"
The lioness was torn between a wide eyed look and calm curiosity. They needed to know for their travels but she didn't want to overwhelm him with questions, either.
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 11:12 am
-Another bite, savored for a brief moment before he oblidged her once more. This was quite easily one of the easiest and most pleasant trades he'd made.-
"Most prides are harmless, and some are even helpful. But there are a few that you risk your life even passing through."
-Turning his eyes upwards he pondered for a moment her other question.- "There is one hidden away in the jungles nearby that is run by pretty blood thirsty lionesses. I know I was run out pretty quickly... and I was told I was lucky"
"And then in the deserts... Dreadful dreadful places. Overtaken by the nastiest and most vile creatures. Never would you find a kind creature like yourself there. I can say quite certainly had I ran into one of them instead of you, they'd would have MADE me a meal as opposed to sharing one."
-He shuffled his paw, momentarily torn from the food as the first signs of distress touched his face. But they were soon enough gone, and his features softened taking another small bite. It wasn't hard to see that the lioness before him had a wanderlust of her own that she'd fulfil eventually.-
"Just be wary of the sandy and dry places. And if you happen upon strangers that seem aggressive don't chance it, just pass and go on your way."
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 11:59 am
Kinda pondered over his words and listened well, her chewing slow going as if most of her thinking was focused more on what he said rather than what she was doing. When she finally swallowed her most recent bite it seemed to go down rather hard, rather stubborn about cooperating. With a gulping sound finally she managed to get it down her throat, and she licked the roof of her mouth which suddenly felt rather dry.
"I see.... Those must be the Firekin..." She realized. "Blood thirsty lionesses, cheetah-eating-lions? Well Miri will certainly be glad for the adventure."
Despite the joking tone, however, there was an underlying nervousness in her voice as she commented such. She went back to eating, taking smaller bites now too, for a different reason, likely. She chewed her food carefully and this time it went down much easier. She spoke again.
"Well... I do thank you for the information. Ah, I didn't catch your name! Mine is Kinda'hima."
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 4:09 pm
"Yes, that's the name the desert lions go by. I'm not surprised word of them have spread this far. They certainly live up to it." -His expression echo'd a soft solemness of feigned seriousness, though truthfully he'd had but one run in with the group.
With another bite and a flick of the ears, it faded once more to his scruffy and harmless familiar aura. His tongue lapped clean his maw finally, and he pushed himself to stand once more.- "Danganyo. Very pleased to meet your aquintance."
-Feeling the pangs of wanderlust tugging at his legs once again, and the sensibilities of his need to collect a bit more before the sun dissapeared, he collected himself and prepared to leave, only pausing for some tug at the simple kindness of the lioness. And for that he shot a look of reassuarnce, of silly and naive confidence- "You shouldn't worry too much if you're traveling with another. The world's treasures far outweigh the trials and tribulations that stand in the way."
-Nodding his head in silent thanks, as he turned back to the ocean, he mused simply something he knew not to be a truth or lie.- "If I should happen upon you again someday, criss crossing the land or what not I'd be more then happy to help. Or atleast lend a few more words of experience."
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 4:42 pm
Kinda rose to her paws as well, to be polite, taking silent heart in his words and relaxing. She didn't seem to mind his naive confidence at all, and believed his words wholly.
"Thank you, Danga, it's been wonderful talking to you, I'm pleased to make your acquaintance as well.... and I'm sure that our paths will probably cross again, so long as we're on the move."
She grinned a bit impishly and with a soft flick of her tail. She made around to one side of her remaining kill in preparation to bring the rest home, but not before calling out a cheerful farewell to the cheetah that she had just befriended.
"Take care of yourself, until then, friend!"
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