Welcome to Gaia! ::

One of the many crater-like geysers was bubbling. The white part of a black and white face was lit up green as a young lion stared into it. His green eyes danced with the light from the eerie liquid. It fascinated him, to say the least, that the geysers glowed green in particular. Reaching his pale paw towards the water, Toshiro pondered if his paw would turn green. Maybe it WOULD... He stopped when he felt the heat, retracting his paw again. Well, at any rate, they could at least provide warmth... Standing, he looked around. As he'd grown, the young lion had become less absent-minded and was starting to see the world through the eyes of one wisening up with age. What he still didn't see was that hyenas and other large animals - Mostly hyenas, though - posed a threat to him still. He lived in a world where few dared to set paw or hoof lest they were about to die. Padding along, he looked around amid all the bones that made up his pride's domain, one silver ear - The only silver on his body besides his mane and tail - moving about for any sounds. Not like there were any, the only sounds that were usually around were dieing animals or bones shifting. He didn't quite realise that he was practically dancing on the invisible border between lion and hyena land, not realising the danger he was in by doing so. The one encounter with Mafa was a long-buried memory in his mind now.

Jumping in surprise, the older of the two princes turned and threw a glare at his brother. Indeed, looking at them, Runai would appear the older, being the bigger, but it was true, Toshiro was the older despite being slightly smaller. It wasn't much, but he WAS still smaller. Stumbling back a bit, he caught himself from falling into the geiser. "Well, at least I can blend in with the shadows should one of the smelly animals come after me." He sat down, giving his brother a dark look. He was starting to wisen up, that was certain. His hyperness of cubhood was ebbing away, giving way to a more mentally capable lion.

The older brothe scowled at his browner brother. "You, face a HYENA? I'd like to see the day!" He climbed up a slight bone ridge, knocking some small bones aside, sending a rabbit's skull into a geiser.

He glanced back at Rune, a frown on his face. "I've seen few hyenas around here, maybe that one we met was the ONLY hyena around. For all we know, it could just be some ploy, a trick to keep us out of the inner Graveyard." He leapt down, walking over to a geiser. "I bet there's LOTS in there that they don't want us to see, so they told us there were HYENAS about to keep us out here."

A new frown came to Toshiro's face. "But he who runs away today lives to see tomorrow, while he who faces danger may not be lucky to see the setting of the sun today." His tail flicked a bit, the silver glinting in the green light.

The older male looked into the inner graveyard far beyond. "Perhaps when the sun rises. Besides... Mother was saying something about us helping dig a stream from the waterhole to the Graveyard." He made a slight face at the prospect.

Toshiro stared at his brother, frowning a bit. "Okay, then... Live stupidly. I won't stick around." Turning, he started for home, ears twitching back. "I was gonna ask if you wanted to come with Nkechi and I in traveling around for a bit, but I changed my mind." He threw a scowl at Rune, following the path back up amid the bones.