Codail had scouted ahead, curious. The dreams had grown stronger, clearer....for both she and her sister. Which could only mean one thing. They were close. And since her sister mentioned lions in her visions, Codail was playing the good 'mother' and making sure everything was okay before her family came forward. But the lands she saw...
She couldn't help but just sit there and stare, wide-eyed. The edges were parched, but there was forest. Forest like the pride she and Muscail had once helped watch over. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought she was home again.
Kachero was having an interesting day. He had been following a case of his own invention, something convoluted involving a lizard, which had become his favorite play things, that was embroiled in a story of murder and betrayal. Of course, none of it had actually happened, but that didn’t really bother Kachero. He found he enjoyed his occupation just as much as he might a real case. Being inventive was fun, like solving truth.
He just had to remind himself to keep them separate.
Sniffing along the ground like some kind of dog, though he had never seen one and didn’t know the comparison, he followed the lizard he was stalking diligently. It took him to the edges of the lands, escaping into a familiar group of rocks. Kachero had good luck on these rocks. He met some interesting people here.
Codail blinked as a splotchy brown and green cub came into her sight. She smiled, hoping he wasn't alone. Cubs were precious to her. Taking care to not look intimidating, despite her size, she approached. "Hello young one." She nodded to him, then sat just out of range for her front paws.
"I scented pride-markers not far back, though they're a little weak...Is there a pride still here?" She hoped there was. A pride meant safety. A pride meant a new home, and a place for her and Muscail's little ones to grow up. T'would be even better if there were other young ones about.
“Yeah,” Kachero said, a bit bristled, “we still live here. In the jungle and around the mountains. This is sort of the border area, mostly. I meet a lot of folk, like you I presume, either looking for the pride or just wandering through,” he nodded, smiling warmly. Whatever his friends and family thought about strangers, Kachero liked them. He was very inquisitive, and often felt like he had explored everything there is to explore in his home. New people meant new stories, and new fun.
He didn’t look too worried for his own safety, standing languidly and leaning to one side, head tilted, body language completely relaxed. He had a piece of grass in his mouth, between his teeth, and he chewed on it thoughtfully as he looked at her, his eyes examining her critically and absorbing as much information as he could.
“Are you looking to stay here? Or passing through? Looks like you’ve done a lot of walking, and from the smell of you I’d say you weren’t alone. Right?”
Codail nodded. This young one reminded her of her own Caide...full of questions and bright curiosity. "I am scouting ahead. I've been traveling a long time, mostly with my family..." This place...perhaps it was here that they were meant to stay. "My sister and I....we have been having visions, of late. Visions of a place filled with mist, calling us in this direction."
Her smile was almost wistful. "Perhaps this is the place? Does the mist rise here?"
Kachero grinned.
“Visions, huh? Like, you can see the future or something? Everyone in my family can do that. Well. My siblings, anyway. I use mine for my investigations. They don’t usually lead me places, though. Not in the direct sense, anyway,” he shook his head, chewing on the grass and shifting it to the other side of his mouth.
He nodded, looking back over his shoulder, “yeah, there’s a lot of mist here sometimes. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard of anyone talking about a place like it, so this must be where you’re heading. But why would you follow visions? I’d be more interesting in finding the facts. The reason, you know? But hey, it’s your journey.” He flicked his tail.
Codail chuckled. "Sometimes I'm shown the past, sometimes the future, and other times the present. Sometimes I can direct which I want to see...but most times the visions can't be controlled or directed." It was a blessing...but at times it could be a curse. She'd learned to balance the two in her life.
So...this was the place. Good. She would have good news to take back to her family. "We followed the visions because for us...my sister and I...they are fact. Our visions have never showed us a falsehood, never led us astray. As for directions..." Codail sighed. "It's more a...feeling of the direction, rather than an outright 'go this way!'" She said the last bit in a mock-authoritative voice, a smile on her face. She rather liked this youngster. Perhaps it was his curious nature reminding her of Caide. Or the fact the green bits on him reminded her of her single daughter's coloring.
“Yeah, I know how it works,” Kachero said, grinning, the grass now in the center of his teeth. He was a pretty confident cub, and often came off a bit short, but he was friendly and generous when he needed to be. He tilted his head in the other direction, watching her keenly. His eyes never seemed to find distraction, lingering in her at all times.
“Well, anyway, this must be the place you’re looking for. There have been a few new people coming in, so I guess it makes sense for you guys to be drawn here, too. It’s a good place to live. I like it, anyway. It’ll be nice to have more people that… aren’t related to me around.” He laughed, almost ruefully.
“I’m Cash, by the way. Kachero.”
Codail nodded. "It is good to have new faces around." She blinked. "So...it was just your family here?" Had the pride gone through something horrible to dwindle it to just a family? Or was it a new pride? She smiled.
"Well...I bring an entire new family to add to the numbers, if your leaders would have us. Several cubs, and myself and my sister." The pale lioness made a slight bow. "I am Codail. It is good to meet you, Cash."
“Well, if felt that way, anyway. It’s just a quiet place. Except not so much now, I guess, with everyone coming.”
He nodded back at her bow, not bowing really. He didn’t like too much formality. He was a pretty leisurely guy, and standing on formalities was just too annoying. It wasn’t naturally a part of his character, after all, and he liked being who he was. His inner monologue was playing, explaining himself to… himself, and he hardly seemed to notice. His head was always so active, he had gotten used to the voice.
“Nice to meet you, too, Codail. And it’ll be fun meeting your kids! Anyone near my age?”
"Well...when you're surrounded by nothing but familiar faces, they do tend to get lumped into the 'family' part of your mind. I used to think of my old pride that way." Then again...the fact she was the Mother priestess didn't help that any. It was in her very nature to think of her pride as family. And lately...she had been surrounded by family. The only ones in the group she'd been with that weren't blood-related to her were the cheetah cubs and Esu'me.
"I'm afraid all the little ones are younger than you...though my niece and nephews would be closer to your age and size than my sons and daughters." The cheetah cubs...she doubted they would ever reach his size. The species tended to be small and long.
Kachero nodded, thinking the statement a bit obvious. This wasn’t an unfamiliar experienced for the cub, however. He found a lot of what people said to him obvious, or useless, or pointless, or, in the worst cases, stupid. He figured things out a lot faster than most cubs his age, and he didn’t like being bored waiting for others to catch up. Even when he had it wrong, he’d rather just figure that out fast and be done with it. Deal with whatever consequences followed.
“Younger, huh? Well, there are some younger cubs in the pride, too, so I guess they won’t be bored, even if they’re not hanging out with me.” He grinned a bit, cocky. “I’ll help them out if they need, don’t you worry. You too, if you want a tour or something. I know this place like the back of my paw. Sounds like a big family, though. Gotta be tiring.”
He tried not to flinch when he noticed the bug crawling on his paw.
A sharp youngling, to notice she was tired. Lately, even her sister had trouble telling, under Codail's enthusiasm to find their new home. "I don't mind it being big and tiring." She smirked back at him. "Means that even when I'm a Crone and my body weak, I won't have to worry about being uncared for." It was a joke...but was partly true. She knew that one day she WOULD grow weak. And then, she would likely have to depend on her descendants for food.
"A tour would be wonderful. And perhaps...you might be able to point me towards your leader at the end?" She'd make sure to grab Muscail at that point. Esu'me could handle the young ones easily enough...and most of them adored the younger adult.
“That’s a good point,” Kachero grinned at her comment, catching on to her meaning, “maybe when I get older I should have me a bunch of kids, so they can hunt for me when I decide I’m too old to do it for myself any more. I’d probably be that way, too. I could probably still hunt, but I just wouldn’t want to because they’d be around. That’s not to say you’re that way. I’m just… imagining what I’d be like.”
He laughed, shaking his head, his mop of hair falling in front of his eyes. He tucked the piece of grass to one side of his mouth, no longer chewing on it but holding it leisurely.
“I’ll give you a short version of the tour, then, and take you straight in. If you want to get your family and stuff, it’d probably be faster to show everyone at once. I’d probably feel like we’re on parade, but a little attention never hurt anyone, right?”
Codail laughed brightly, taking no offense at all. "Every one is different. And besides...there are certain privileges that come with being 'old and wise'." She remembered the Crone and Wise Man priestess and priest of her old pride...They were very old, and full of wisdom. And even had they been able to hunt, Codail was certain the weight of their experience would have made them too tired to.
"I think....that is a good idea. Or...perhaps only a few. There are those among my sister's brood and my own that tend to look out for their siblings and cousins more. They'd be the best to show around. And then they can show their siblings around as they're ready." It was often easier that way, with younglings. They tended to like learning from family...especially when all they'd KNOWN was family.
Kachero nodded.
“Alright, I can wait here for you, if you want to do it now, and you can go get them? Or we can wait for some other time. I can meet you here again some other time? I’ll just wait around here. No rush,” he smiled, looking as friendly and sincere as he had all conversation. He really was a friendly guy, legitimately out to help people. He just liked putting on a cocky show for it, and basking in his awesomeness.
He would wait for her to be ready, and then give her and her chosen accompaniers a small tour before taking them where they wanted to go.
Codail grinned. "I'll get them now. They aren't too far off, and I'm rather quick for my size." Muscail, Chincha, Ia'eh...Yes. Those three needed the tour most. Possibly Utkarsh, to keep him from causing too much trouble for Esu'me. "I'll be back soon." With that, she turned and started off for her family at a quick trot. Home...they would finally be home.
