Welcome to Gaia! ::

From those lands, this very day, came a rather a odd little troupe of souls. Lions of varying browns, black and pink of all colors, two adults and a small group that were undoubtedly their offspring. With them, however, came the most unlikely companions - hyenas. Not just any hyenas, but rather rowdy ones of vibrant purple hues. They too were primarily adolescents following a solitary adult, the mother having been long lost somewhere. Despite the unlikely little gang, the adult lioness at the forefront seemed just as pleasant as any with a smile on her face and bright tangerine eyes that sparkled in the light overhead.

Her eyes, in fact, were glancing up in the direction of the male as the gaggle of lions came forward. Surprise lit her face, just as she turned to chastise one of the hyenas (the younger male, it appeared) for something. Once she was done, she cleared her throat and offered a bright smile in his direction. "Hello," she called out to the blue-toned male, stopping a bit short of him but within talking distance, "I do hope we aren't intruding on pride lands here?" It was formed as a question, but she seemed to know her answer even before she spoke. She could smell the scent of more lions in the air, which was a pity - they had really only wanted to see the ocean.



The young male lion from the little troupe let his eyes shift up towards whatever it was that had caught his mother's attention (for it was obvious, from just a glance, that the dark female was in fact his mother). A light smile danced across his maw, reminiscent of the older female, and he sat himself down happily at her side, ocean-blue eyes watching the other quite calmly. He seemed to be quite the calm character, though his gaze was also a little far away, as if he was thinking deeply about something at the same time. A dreamer, perhaps.

"Ialu, do what Mama says, would ya?" he said, rather out of the blue, as if he were just waking up from a rather deep thought. His eyes brightened a little and he threw a glance over his shoulder to the male of the younger hyenas. He watched him calmly for a few moments, a silent message communicated between them, before turning back to stare at the blue lion with a pleasant expression on his face again. Sometimes the hyena just needed a little guidance - he did get so caught up in his own thoughts. As calm as the pink lion could be, Ialu was often his polar opposite.



A light pout formed on the maw of the younger hyena male who glanced first at the older lioness, then to her son, and then finally at his father - whom he knew would not likely offer anything by way of help. With a dramatic sigh, he flopped down at the side of his pink companion and leaned into his side happily. As his pink gaze slid up to the stranger before him, he felt the swarming feeling in his head again and nearly opened his maw to start babbling once more before he remembered Raylan and Eros telling him to behave. He sighed again tossed the pale purple lock of his mane tuft from his eyes.

"I really don't see what the issue is, it's not like it's going to scare him away, he can't run away from here, and he's just who we've been looking for and why can't we tell him that? It'd make everything so much easier if you just let me tell him about the-" He promptly shut up as a paw from Eros was clamped down on his maw, even while the pink lion maintained a pleasant smile for the older male before him.

Oh, but what an unlikely little group.

'Strange' was not the first word that entered Tamba's mind when he saw this mass of bodies approach. 'Army' might have been more fitting. So his reaction to tense up a little might be justified. Strong, but polite. His ethos. Despite his diminutive size, he could sometimes pull off a very commanding posture.

Which crumbled into slight overwhelmed nervousness the moment it all sunk in. Close to ten lions and hyenas. One Tamba.

But friendly words left the mouth of the 'ring-leader,' the dark-pelted female. His eyes continued to survey them all, in all their colours and patterns and little peculiarities. A colourful bunch.

"Greetings!" he called back, and was just carefully considering his next words when a very pink and very excitable girl came forward. He looked a little shocked for a moment.

"Well..," he began, somewhat amused by this girl's enthusiastic nature. So much energy! She made him feel old. "..of course you can, She is there to be enjoyed by all. Sometimes one can forget how much appeal she has to others when you've grown up with her."

Raylan's eyes momentarily swept away from the blue male, towards the dull 'thunk' she heard behind her. It was no surprise that she saw Ripuki there, and a slight smile spread across her maw despite it all. She was pleased that she had finally caught up. It wasn't that they tried to leave her behind, but the silly girl would never learn if they always held her paw. Of course, that meant that a rogue life could be rather dangerous for her - Raylan was always afraid that one day the little brown girl would just wander off and never find her way back to her parents.

"Sorry about the rabble," she said with a slight touch of laughter to her voice, her gaze flipping back to look at the blue lion before her, "one can imagine it's not exactly orderly traveling with a group so large as this one." Her head dipped slightly to him, though she was already sitting. Ialu had mentioned something about the blue lion being an important member of the pride that bordered the big water, the ocean, and Raylan had always been one to ask for things she wanted. She supposed it had a lot to do with the fact that she had grown up around someone who never asked, only took.

"I'm very pleased that it's alright for us to be here," her smile never faltered, and she seemed to be quite happy. "My name is Raylan," she brought a paw up, motioning to her own chest, then swept it out to the older brown male at her side, "this is my mate, Enok, and that there is Oth." She motioned last to the oldest hyena of the group, her gaze flickering towards him for a moment. She knew some lions were not exactly friendly towards hyena, but at least since their most outspoken hyena had gotten lost along the way, maybe it wouldn't be so difficult now. "The others here are our cubs, and well, pups, respectively," she threw a quick glance around, then looked back up to the blue lion. Most of them were blood related, only one was adopted really, but they were all loved the same.

What a large, strange family indeed.

Eros removed his paw from Ialu's mug once he was convinced the hyena was going to keep his mouth shut. That little hyena would talk up a storm and scare away the most stable lion if the rest of the family wasn't care to keep him in check. Lucky for everyone, Eros had a lot of practice at 'keeping him in check'. His attention was quickly drawn away as the female flopped down at his side, however, and he let a large grin spread over his maw. Things were always better when Mwizi was there.

Ialu had continued to sulk, as he was prone to do when his babbling was interrupted for any reason. However, as the blue lion began to talk, he was once more reminded of his visions and he felt his mood beginning to lift. His eyes didn't shift away from the male even as one of his 'sisters' sat down between him and his companion/overseer.

Ayla, whom had remain by Tamba's side seemed horribly happy to hear him proclaim that the Big Waters were there to be enjoyed by everyone. She lifted her head and gave a small almost pur-like sound before smiling, "That is SUCH great news!" she turned around to call to her parents, as if entirely unaware of the fact they they must've heard the male's proclaim, "Hey! HEY! Mommy! The kind sir says we can see the ocean! CAN WE GO NOW?"

Othieno had been chuckling to himself at the lioness antics, and thus had not realised Ripuki coming towards them till it was too late. He felt the adolescent stumble and fall to the ground at his feet, where he arched a brow at her, "Why, hello there darling. Took you long enough. I thought you'd found someone more interesting than me and had left my side! But that's impossible, isn't it? I'm just too charming for that," That said, the hyena lowered himself to groom the dust out of Ripuki's pelt with the other adults talked.

As Raylan introduced herself, her mate kept silent. When she motioned to him, he dipped his head to the blue male in front of him, but otherwise remain quiet till the introductions were complete, "We're just mostly passing by, hoping to let them see the waters, which... Ayla over there has already made sure of voicing. A pleasure indeed," despite his bulk, it was obvious he was but a gentle giant, "And resting would be great, actually," he then took the lion leaving as a signal to follow and reached out with his maw to shove Oth's shoulder and Ripuki's own forward, "Come on, you lot. Let's not get left behind."

Mwizi apparently didn't need a nudge, for the moment the blue male had stood, she too had done likewise and had begun to pad after him, "I think this will be quite swell," she told the others before smiling whimsicaly.

"I'm sure you and your kin will find these lands peaceful enough, the waters are always so soothing and attract many kindred souls. All just looking for that little piece of...haven," he said, pausing for effect as they all peaked the brow of the hill.

In a gentle meandering slope, filled with the remnants of grasses from the savannah behind them, and the odd boulder, the lands dipped down onto the beach. The sea glittered and sparkled. Tamba continued to lead the way, but he expected the youngsters to overtake him any minute now.

And he didn't mind one bit. They had a whole sea to go splash in!

"If you think you'll need to rest overnight, or for a few days, we have plenty of room. There's always shelter in the jungle, or a few caves by Leporogo but they do tend to get a bit drafty, especially in the mornings," he continued in a friendly, chatty manner, feeling the sand under his paws once more.

"We would greatly appreciate a small rest, at least," she said with a smile, turning to flash her bright eyes up at her mate as he joined her side and walked along after the blue lion. They needed a few days rest at the very least, but after the recent trouble with Ripuki being so slow and the others being so rambunctious, she was beginning to wonder if this wasn't just what they were looking for. They had always been a roving troupe, but the timing just seemed altogether perfect.

Especially with the way her son kept eying their adopted daughter. She didn't think they could continue traveling if a few young cubs cropped up, not that she blamed him, but it would be a definite hitch in their ability to travel as easily.

He grinned as his face was licked, taking no time to catch up to the female as she trotted past the big blue lion that had been leading them. Although he was being more gentle than his enthusiastic sister, he was propelled by more than just his eagerness to see the ocean. A small chuckle past his mug as he tromped down towards the waves, only half his attention on the sight he'd never seen before.

Ialu hung back only a moment to listen to the adult's conversation, before his gaze swept up and over his foster siblings. He saw the look on Eros' face, and with glint of mischief in his eyes, he stalked off after his brother and towards the ocean - no doubt intending to give him a little earful of what he'd 'seen'.

The larger hyena stayed behind, with the lions, for just a moment longer than the youngsters. Then, glancing over at Enok, smirked mildly, "You two can go rest. I'll go play guard dog for the kids," that said, he slowly moved past the lions and towards the beach, though he did take the time to nod a silent thanks at Tambuzi, whom had not even so much as arched a brow at his presence. Oth was used to being glared at by big cats, and yet... this male had been true to his word; he'd been extremely laid back.

That done, he padded down the slope, picking up his pace when the water and the children playing bellow enticed him to do so.

Enok took the chance to stretch his hind legs, and then move his neck till it made a small noise, "Maybe this is what we needed, Raylan... sure looks like the both of us could use a long rest," then he turned towards the other male, looking over towards the jungle with curiosity, "Mmmm... I think it would do just fine to check out just how comfortable it is, don't you think, Ray?" a pause followed as he looked over at the beach, "That is, so long you don't mind the kids and Oth playing out there in the shallower parts of the water without our supervision. Oth is a great sentry and guard."