Kiva paced the area he was on patrol in, a good kilometer of land that bordered the rogue lands. His pride was in the midst of civil war and he was doing his very best to protect it both from the Druids that wanted to see the king and his Toka-blood followers fall, as well as rogues that might try to take advantage of the pride's fragile situation. Also, he wouldn't never admit it out loud, but he was also there to try to ward off anyone that might be curious about the pride. He did love his home but it was in such a state right now that it wasn't any place he'd want to welcome a new lion into.
Saran was making her way home but had taken the scenic route, mostly by accident. She had gotten a bit turned around after leaving the fluffy lion behind. That was fine though, there was no rush to get home. Nothing of note was happening. If there had been a god hunt or some sort of altercation with the Firekin she wouldn't have ventured out at all, she was sure. But, since things were calm, the little adventure could take as long as she wanted. She knew no one would be worried about her.
Kiva saw the natural lioness first. He paused in his pacing, head up and eyes trained on the figure. She was moving towards the pride but at a slow pace and at an angle. She probably didn't know the territory started soon. He turned to walk parallel to her as she traveled along, finally coming within talking distance.
"Excuse me," he called out, trying to keep his voice from wavering. He'd never actually needed to talk to someone in the rogue lands before and, as with all new things, he found it a bit nerve-wracking. He did a good job, though, keeping his voice steady and his head high. He had his king and his pride to represent and showing fear to an outsider wasn't good.
Saran glanced over towards the male as he spoke up. She had noticed him a while back but honestly didn't give two hoots about him. Now that he had called out to her, however, she had to at the very least acknowledge his presence. She didn't give him the honor of hearing her voice, though. Instead, Saran fixed the strangely colored male with a withering stare, one that hopefully got through his skull that she wasn't about to mess around with him.
The stare withered, all right. Kiva felt his ears droop and his tail duck between his legs for just a moment. This lioness meant business, that much was sure. But if she came into these lands there was a good chance she could get hurt, especially with that attitude. The Druids would see to that.
"Ah, terribly sorry, but the edge of my pride is here," he said, pressing on with his rehearsed speech. "We're in a rather tumultuous time right now and it isn't very safe for rogues or non-pride members to enter."
That got Saran's attention. Tumultuous time? This lion seemed to be a bit of a ninny, and that was also very interesting. Perhaps she could give word of this place to her pride when she returned and, if there was still nothing going on, they could come a pay this place a visit.
"Is that so?" she asked, pausing in her walking to humor the lion. It relaxed Kiva quite a bit when she stopped a decent distance away. Phew...so far his was doing his job.
"Yes, it is, I'm afraid," he said, hoping to chase her off gently. "It's a great danger to be in this pride, let alone be an outsider. I have to kindly ask you to turn aside and seek another route if you're planning on continuing west."
Saran seemed to think things over, but really she was sizing this guy up. He was decently built, sure, but his voice was too soft and his eyes even softer. He wouldn't stand a chance in a battle against her kin. "How sweet of you to warn me," she purred all the same, not wanting to rub the lion the wrong way. There was one more bit of information she wanted out of him. "Might I know the name of this place, so that I may warn others that I might come across?"
"Oh...that's a great idea, actually," Kiva said, perking up a bit as the lioness changed her tune from grumpy to graceful. "Yes, this is the Tokakinji . It's a fairly large pride so you'd do best to go north, then west once you no longer run into border patrol. Just tell them Kiva has spoken to you and they'll direct you," he added helpfully, to which Saran smirked. Kiva...she'd remember that name.
"Thank you, Kiva," she said with an overly gracious bow of her head that Kiva took to be genuine. He nodded, glad to have helped, and gave her a smile.
"Of course. I do hope your travels find you well."
"Oh, they do. Very well," Saran said as she turned to walk away, taking Kiva's advice and heading north. By now she probably needed to head a bit east, but she'd go straight for a while just to see how large these lands were. They were certainly more fertile than her own lands...perhaps a takeover would be in order if this disturbance within the pride continued long enough for the Nergui to make a plan of attack.
Kiva watched the strange lioness leave, a smile on his face and his tail swishing happily now. Good, this was good! His first interaction with a rogue and she had left without a fuss. Feeling much more confident in himself now, he began to pace his kilometer with a bit of pep in his step, seemingly ready to take on any rogue that might cross his path again. In a verbal confrontation of course. Physical...that was still something he was working on.
FIN
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