Kumo like always had been alone for some time now she couldn't even remember when she had last meet someone interesting enough not to eat and talk to. It was rare for her to come across anything bigger then a good meal. Sighing heavily she threw back her head trying to brush her mane from her eyes.
"So bored!" She growled out as she picked up her pase a little trying to find anything remotely interested.
Dakarai was along the coast, as usual, and further north from where the majority of the pride members had taken to gathering. It was rough and rugged and smelled of sea salt, the air frizzing up his mane so he looked twice the size he actually was. The red male loved it here; the plains stretched on and on in once direction and the sea in the other, it was like he had infinity and then some to play in.
Standing on an outcropping as storm surges from a distant maelstrom crashed upon the shore, he lifted his head into the wide and roared - delighting in the way the sound seemed to reach out over everything.
Kumo paws met the odd texture of sand. Never in her days of being a rouge had she every come across the place but it smelt so familiar. She took in a deep wiff before closing her eyes as she let out a pleased little more.
"Father..." She whispered a moment before her eyes shot open smelling another lion a male. She was curious as she began to walk along the shore finding all sort of things her father a great firekin lion would once treasure. She then finally caught the slight of the red male. She had to take a double glance and not mistaken him from one of her siblings. A small chuckle came to her as she began to proceed to meet him eger to see if he would spark any interest into lighten her mood from boredom.
As the wind favored Kumo, Rai did not notice her approach so when he turned at last to descend back to the sand he started and yelped, falling back on haunches as he nearly ran into her. "Oh!" The friendly lion blinked and righted himself, tossing head as he smiled at her, "Hello?" What? She didn't seem familiar.... Who was she?
She stopped in her tracks her eyes wide before her lips pulled back into a smile. Boy was he interesting. She thought to herself as her tail flicking a little in her curiosity to want to know him more.
"Hello." She said before giving him a nod. "Do...you come here often?" She asked looking around already taken away by its beauty and reminded of her cub years with her parents. The times when life was so much simpler.
"I... live here?" He frowned, glancing around, "This is where the Simbafutaji dwell. New to the area then?" Dakarai turned to indicate the rugged coast, "Isn't it beautiful? It's great to have a home."
Kumo blinked a moment taking a step back before nodding. "Yes...I've never been here but the smells and the shells around here remind me of the father." She said softly. "I'm not...stepping on anyone's toes I really am not looking for that kind of attention." She said as she started to get slightly frantic not wanting to put an scars on her body she had been fortune it enough not to have run into anything like that.
"Uwah? No! Noooo. It's alright." He blinked, stepping forward with concern in his eyes, "As long as you're not causing trouble, I don't think you'll get in any." Rai frowned for a moment, mulling over what she'd said, "Reminds you of your father? Did you live near the sea too? Where?" Curiosity piqued, he seemed rather eager for conversation.
"No I'm not one to be to interested in fighting to fight." She chuckled a little shaking her head. "My father he traveled for a time in his life that when he meet my mother he had just spent his time in a place like this where water meets the lands...The smell there no doght about it. He must have meet her not long after being here." She said as she gave another smirk.
"/Here/?" He blinked and frowned, there had been others here before? That was certainly something the pride might want to know, collectors of information as they were. "Hnn... that's really interesting. You've traveled a lot then? Like it?"
"i do...I have ever since I was just a cub. Its lonely though." She said softly as she stretched out before she looked to watch the waves roll in against the sandy beach. "It seems like another word all together." She said softly mostly to herself.
"It is!" He replied at that, moving to splash through the waves to a little nook he'd found that sheltered sea life. Inside the little harbor were sea urchins and anenomes and even a starfish. "See? It's all so different." The lion poked at an anenome and chuckled as it sucked back in at the touch.
kumo followed him as her eyes where wide with amazement before moving to look at her closer before getting splashed with water as a wave moved over the rocks and into the small tide pool aquarium. She shivered from the cold felling before laughing as she as she said down trying to pushed her hair away from her eyes so she could see.
He grinned at her, pleased that she found the little tidepool just as intriguing as he. When the wave broke and doused them both, he simply tossed his head and shook out his coat, long used to such soakings. "The spiky ones hurt if you step on them, but they eat the clams and things... Found one that had poked a hole right through a clamshell one day. I couldn't figure out how though...."
She smiled a little before finally getting her hair away form her eyes as she looked back at the starfish and few little fish swimming about. "Maybe it burst? They seem to close up pretty quickly so maybe when they relaxe they can move just as fast to get big like they used to." She said seeming rather intrested as she began to watch the urchin.
"I've never seen the sticky tubes move like that though. They normally just sit on their rock and wave those arms around." He nudged the anenome again and smiled as it tucked in deeper. "Wonder what the arms are for."
kumo shrugged a little before seeing something really intresting another wave had splashed the rocks causing a rainbow like jelly fish to lan in the tidepoll. Kumo moved closer to it completely studdned by its beauty. "Its...so pretty." She murmured a little as she moved a paw out to touch it.
He nodded and crowded in beside her when she poked at something, nodding once more. "It is! I haven't seen something like that before. What's it feel like?" Apparently the male was much a creature of contact, preferring to explore with all senses and not just sight or smell.
She giggled a litlte poking the top which was safe from the stinging tentaculs. "Its...well i don't know how to explain it." She said chuckling happily. "You touch it!" She said as she nudged him to do so.
"You don't?" He blinked and tilted his head, "Is it that weird?" Reaching out, he prodded the same part she had and blinked, poking again. It /did/ feel weird! What was it? "It's clear. I wonder what it does... is it like a snake skin you think?"
She tilted her head before moving closer as she moved to touch the long flowing this under it before roar out in pain as she swatted the thin back into the sea as she pulled away from the tide poll as she favored her paw not walking on it as she winced from the burning pain surging around her fur.
"It hurts." she whined her eyes shut tightly holding back the tears.
"What!?" He spun and moved after her, ears back and concern plain upon his face, "What hurts? Your paw?" Fretting, he pointed at the water, "Put in the waves. Try that? Uhm... I don't know your name...."
She nodded a litle before moving over sticking her hand in but only quickly pulled it back out. "No...No that hurts worse." She whined out more before taking a deep breath as she the let it out shaking a little. "its Kuroi'kumo." She said softly before opening one eye. "But I go by Kumo."
"No?" He shifted from paw to paw, not know what to do. He wasn't a healer.... and nobody had been hurt like that yet... what...? Oh! Running over where he'd spotted some of that smily green stuff that grew in the surf, and brought it back and gestured for her to hold her paw out, "Maybe this? It's cool and slimy... I'm sorry Kumo... If I'd known...."
She held out her paw shaking her head softly. "No...no its fine." She wasi smiling weakly she then winsed getting ready for more pain as she held her eyes shut. "Is it on yet?" She said not feeing anymore pain she slowly opened her eyes to see it was already on and soothing her hurt paw. She blushed a little looking at it before looking to the male.
"Th...thank you." She said softly. "Are you going to tell me your name now?" She said giving him a pout that was more tease then anything.
He nodded and slathered the goo on the paw, making a face at the aftertaste and how it gummed up the fur on his paw, "You're welcome... does that help?" Dakarai smiled as he rubbed the paw against a nearby rock, hoping to get the sand and goo off, "Oh! My name is Dakarai. Or Rai. Either works." A firm nod followed the comment.
She gave a small giggle seeming to fee a litlte better as she sat there her paw still in the air as she watched him. "Rai...tell me about this pride your from. I don't usually see lions wander away from the others."
"Our pride? Oh..." He blinked and frowned, trying to figure out where to start, "Ah... we wandered for a long time... and found this place. We live here now. And knowledge is awesome... there's so much of it out there, I know many want to collect every bit of it as possible. When we go through the Rite of Passage, we have to learn something and add it to the collection of information we've gathered." He paused, "Why do you want to know? If you're looking for a home, I can take you to one of the leaders."
She blinked a little before smiling a little. "I...think I might like that actually." she said softly. "I don't know much but a few things." She said with a nod.
"Every little bit helps!" He replied cheerfully, turning as if to leave, "Is your paw okay? Can you walk? Or I can go get someone and tell them you're here..."
She stood up slowly before moving to put some weight on her paw. "I...think I can make it if its not far." She said as she put some more weight as she slowly walked to join him.
"Alright then~" He took a few steps then paused and waited for her to catch up, "It really isn't all that far. If you can't make it, I'll bring someone to you. Alright?" And with that, he started off towards the main pride area, happy to have found a new friend.
