[PRP] Closing In (Areo x Destati)

[Epine de Rose]

AstoriaFallen

They had both put it down to pure luck that they had picked up the trail again... Their quarry had moved in to such thick undergrowth that he had become almost impossible to spot from the air; and so sweet were the scents that even Destati had struggled to determine where the scent was headed. Trained as he might have been, he had been forced to make a gamble and for once, fortune had smiled upon him.

Breaking out from the undergrowth, he had managed to catch the more weighty scent of his quarry and from the air, his companion had finally been able to detect greater signs of movement in the region that had confirmed his suspicion. His quarry had moved this way and while they were still a few days off, they were catching up to him. It wouldn't be long before the gap would be closed entirely and Destati would finally set his gaze upon that which had eluded he and his kin for much too long.

Admittedly, though both were now confident they were on the right path, it would have put them both at ease to confirm that the individual they sought had indeed been sighted in the region. Unfortunately that required that they meet others which... well... wasn't the easiest thing the pair could do in such an extensive territory but stranger things had happened.  

[Epine de Rose]

AstoriaFallen

For the most part, Destati was a 'friendly' lion. Actually, it might have been better to simply refer to him as 'non-hostile'. While an individual continued to pose no threat, nor were they present on his list, then he would have no grounds to turn his gaze upon them and crush them. That being said, it would not have stopped the rather large lion from coming across as cold; it was unavoidable given his 'resting b***h face' and rather haughty demeanour. It seemed that pride was one thing that he did not lack, and he would have said the same for his kin as well.

Still, when it came to his duties, the pale lion was not one to shirk them and as Areo came into his line of vision his golden eyes narrowed. It went without saying that Areo was large, larger than most of the lions he had encountered and certainly comparable to him in size. That aside, Areo didn't appear to exhibit any of the initial signs that he would cause any problems from the outset. If anything, the black lion's demeanour exuded a welcome... ah, but some individuals were so easy to read.

Maintaining his steady pace, Destati did eventually bridge the distance between them and peered at him for a moment or two longer.

"How long have you been out here?" he enquired gruffily. After all, there was no point in asking for observations from someone who had only been out in this region for a few hours at best...  

[Epine de Rose]

"A few things," Destati confirmed and pursed his lips. "I don't suppose you have seen anything particular unusual in your time out here?" he asked curiously.

It was a rather open ended question, but truthfully, what might have seemed insignificant to one individual might be critical to the other. He'd learned that the manner in which individuals out here defined 'interesting' or 'unusual' varied regardless of who he spoke to. At first he'd been mildly infuriated, deemed a large portion of them to be useless... Until he had begun to realise that all of their observations could be lumped together and assessed as though he was looking down from above.

...He now sought out trends, rather than direct information.

"Anything from strange individuals, to plant life, to..." He paused and shrugged. "Gossip, I suppose. Although I will concede this is the very definition of gossip in itself," he mused.

AstoriaFallen

 

[Epine de Rose]

"How about we start with the first few and work our way from there?" the spotted lion asked. He would, at the very least, be able to discern whether or not the information the lion held would be of any use from this. There was no guarantee that the feline would have seen what he needed, but if he had, then he surely wouldn't recognise the significance of it anyway. For that reason, it seemed pertinent to ask these first...

"I'll stop you if say something that might be of use to me," he added. "If anything, we should be able to find some direction from that, gossip or no," he mused. It was a half smile that reached his lips, it didn't quite reach his eyes but he was at least trying to be personable. Suffice it to say that the lion in question had been exceedingly busy out of late and with his leads running dry, he was beginning to feel the pressure too!

...At this point, any information could be of use.

"Beyond that, the floor is yours until we reach that point."

AstoriaFallen

 

[Epine de Rose]

Now that caught his interest and while his facial expression might have been neutral, his eyes flickered with something that seemed to indicate this was exactly the type of information that he was after. He didn't know exactly how much information that Areo might be able to provide him with but it would be a start, and it would be a lead he would exhaust until such times as he had a new one.

"You have my attention," Destati replied and motioned for the darker lion to take a seat. Areo may not necessarily be there for long, but he would at least be invited to make himself comfortable until he had provided him with some of this 'gossip'. If he happened to have more after this particular piece, then Destati would listen... he was not adverse to gathering all details even if not all of them would be relevant in the grand scheme of things...

AstoriaFallen

Can just imply that Areo tells Destati the info while resting in your closing post if you like, make the close nice and easy. n_n