1006 || WC
SeakiIt had taken Koin a long time to reach this point in his quest. He was bone weary - not as young as he used to be, and far unused to travelling the vast distances he had in his youth.
He needed, honestly, some place to rest. He didn't mind where, really, as long as he was in no danger. The white and red dog walked a few moments longer before settling down to sit on the earth beneath his paws.
He took a deep breath, feeling the breeze between his thick fur. He sighed, closing his eyes and leaning into the wonderful gusts of wind as they ruffled the white fur along his chest.
Painted Moose
Anuli was older than she had been when she had first left her home pack. She'd been nothing but a pup then, barely tall enough to reach a cheetahs knee. There was still a youthful look about her, but it died in her eyes. Ekuweme had disappeared from her life, and no matter how avid of a tracker she was she could not find him. He had vanished to a land that she was not welcomed. Like an a thickened form of smoke she glided over the land with nary a sound. Anuli paced, circling until in her musings she caught the scent of another. Had it been a lion she would have went for a guard, but this was no lion. It drew her in. She was close enough to be spotted, but not so close that she couldn't run if need be.
Seaki
It was a moment before Koin opened his eyes again, the breeze swirling off to another direction. His gaze followed tha path of this wind, and lo and behold anoter was standing before him - though quite a distance.
"Hello there," he greeted, though to exhausted to move from his curent perch. If the other wasn't friendly - well, a lion's paws were worse than a dog's jaw he was sure.
Painted Moose
"Hello." She responded quietly, not too overly inclined to move from her position as well. Anuli's eyes took in the older dog, then glanced around. He didn't seem to have been followed by anyone else. "Why have you come to the dying place of lions?"
Seaki
Koin tilted his head a bit. Dying place of lions? Koin - Koin was used to the stench of death, though mixed with ashes and heat. It had not been so long ago that he was a slave after all. He was alone now, away from that all.
Still, he gave her a kind smile. "I was just going where the wind leads, and I ended up here," Koin told her. He watched her - she look so sad, or maybe something deeper?
He was curious though. "Why are you here, if this is a dying place?" He asked. He didn’t hope to sound rude, but she had, technically, asked him near the same question.
Painted Moose"The Kitwana'antara is a pride of disease. All lions that pass the borders are likely to catch it and they die." She said it as normally as if she were talking about the weather. It was something she had slowly gotten used to, but it wasn't as if she cared. They weren't her family; it was just a place that saved her from the horrors of being alone. "It's a place to rest for me as well. You can come with me, if you want. They won't keep you since you can't get sick."
Seaki
That was odd, if Koin could admit, but there were likely stranger areas that he had never encountered. "I'd like to see, if you don't mind?" He took a moment to brace himself to stand once again. His paws ached, but they probably weren't too far from wherever the other canine was going to take them.
He had to admit, he was curious. The world had changed a lot while he was a slave and he was content to explore every aspect of it, even if this might be the most pleasant.
"Lead on."
Painted Moose
She waited patiently for him to rise, turning her head towards the pride. "Follow me." There was no smile, no hint of warmth in her bearing and when she moved out for him to see her easier her scars were visible. Long, nasty and collected near her hips and spinal cord. Anuli walked slowly, as much for his benefit as her own, since running required more energy than she could afford to give these days. "What is your name? I'll need to explain you to the guards and it would be easier if we're friendly."
Seaki
Koin wasn't too eager to be attacked by a lion so soon after being enslaved in a pride of them, but he continued with the other regardless. 'My name is Koin," he answered, glad she was keeping a manageable pace. He frowned at the scars on her body, but refrained in asking about them. "If I could ask yours as well?"
Painted Moose
"Keep your nose down and smile. They like that." The lions didn't bother other species so much as jump on their own. All of their fear and suspicion would be passed away from the pair of dogs as easily as a breeze through the grass. "My name is Anuli." She didn't talk much after that, preferring to keep to silence until they reached their destination. It wasn't often that she got to speak with others of her own kind, and it was odd, to say the least. So she would walk and keep her own nose down...for a while.