His place as a guard was a big part of his life. Besides fishing and spending time with his family, guarding was really the only other thing he did and he was good at it. Being a massive creature like his mother and father he was a formidable creature to look at, though only from afar. When approached he was simply a gentle giant, though he knew he could protect the pride if he needed to.
Turning his gaze up to the afternoon sun he gave a yawn and looked to the sky where a bluer than blue dot hovered on the horizon. Pelleas was his partner in everything. He always saw anyone approaching for miles so he could intercept them. It had been a quiet few days though and he was feeling sort of bored. Lowering himself to his belly, he closes his deep red eyes. His eyes in the sky would warn him if anyone was coming, he could just relax.
Kivumbi had started heading west, curious about the tales of the huge lake-thing called the ocean. She doubted it was as large as creatures said...so she wanted to see for herself. She'd been traveling for several days now, and now...well, there was a strange scent in the air. It made her sneeze sometimes, but it was a pleasant smell otherwise. She couldn't really describe it...A noise caught her attention, and the scent of a hare caught her nose.
Her belly rumbled, reminding her it had been a while since her last meal...Kivumbi grinned and started stalking the tasty-smelling morsel. Once she was close enough...she struck, and the hare let out a death-cry as she snapped its neck. The lioness sat and started to soothe her rumbling tummy.
The very large blue bird, plummeted from the sky, zipping over the large red and black lions head he squarks and flies towards the female lioness "save some for me!" He chuckles, spreading his wide blue wings and landing almost lightly,
The big black and red maned lion got to his paws and padded along after the very big blue vulture "Pelleas, leave tha poor lassy alone lad." He smiled at the female sitting down a short way away, he didn't want to encroach on the female, he knew he could be quite a frightening looking beast if he encroached on others personal space. "Yer be near the Bahari'mtoto lands lassy, I needs ta ask ye if ye will be a stayin fer long." It was the question he had to ask everyone, even if they were just ramblers. He was a guard after all and that was his place.
The bird gave a chuckle and turned, walking to the large black lion he took a leap and settled in to the big lions mane, using the red fur almost like a next. "I was only messin with the girl Vuai. She looks hungry enough to eat you!" he laughs.
Kivumbi nearly had a heart attack when the bird called out to her. She looked at the pair with wide slate blue eyes. "I...I didn't know these were pridal lands." She left off her meal, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I heard there was something called the ocean this way, and I wanted to see it. I...rather like seeing things with my own eyes." She chuckled nervously. "I am a bit hungry...but that's only because I hadn't hunted yet. Decided to get myself a snack so I could hunt later without my stomach scaring away the prey." She smiled, a little more comfortable now.
They didn't seem to mean her harm, and despite the male's size...he didn't seem the type to use it without reason. She'd known enough who would in her pride to recognize the lack of that flaw. "My name is Kivumbi."
Vuai gave a loud, friendly chuckle "you have never seen the ocean?" He smiled and flickered his tail turning his gaze to the sky for a moment "My name is Vuai and the bird is Pelleas and the scent you are breathing is the sea." He shakes his large thick mane and smiles at the soft tan female lightly. "Please, eat, I can show you the ocean. If you wish to stay I can show you the dens where you can stay for a couple of days."
Rolling his shoulders he settles himself down on to his belly, a serene smile on his maw. He'd shown a land lubber the sea before, it was great seeing the smile on their faces when they saw the beauty of the sea for the first time.
Pelleas clicked his beak and stretched out his slate blue wings giving the impression that Vuai had a pair of wings on his head "I think you like showing off the sea too much." He chuckles shaking his slender head "He's a show off miss you'll have to bear with him." he laughs clacking his long beak in an amused manner.
Kivumbi just chuckled again. "No worries. I don't mind him being a show-off. It must be something nice to have someone who loves it so much." She quickly finished her snack, then looked back to the pair. "I may stay a day or two...before moving on." Her smile was bright. "So...how far off is this ocean?"
Vuai got to his paws, managing to not dislodge the very large bird from his mane, he stretched his claws and chuckled. "You are closer than you think, follow me." Vuai turns and pads up a slight rise where he had been laying on guard before the bird had brought the female to his attention. He stops at the top, a sea of brittle, cutting grass rolled out below him, but past that, through the sands so white they caught every ounce of the shimmering sun lay the sea, as blue as the wings of the very bird that was perched in his blood red mane. "welcome to the lands of the Bahari'mtoto." He grinned looking back at the soft tan female.
Pelleas looked don from his red maned perch and clacked his beak in a chuckle "See, he's always like this." His eyes grinned, he was clearly happy with his best friend, showing off the bright blue sea they both adored.
Kivumbi followed curiously, and then just...stared. Her eyes were wide again, but not in alarm. This time, in awe. The descriptions she'd heard...they didn't do the ocean justice. "It's....gorgeous." Her voice was barely loud enough to hear, and was filled with the awe that showed in her eyes. "And...you LIVE near it?" How...lucky. Her pride had only had a watering hole.
Vuai chuckles "I was born here, My parents came here from the dryer lands, my father was told of the waters when he was a cub and he came here as soon as he could." he chuckles "I don't think I could live any where else." He steps over the edge then, following a line he obviously walked every day, the grasses were gone where he padded. "Come, you've not been to the ocean until you've put your paws in it."
Pelleas squarks and spreads his wings taking to the sky in a heavy leap his large blue body soaring up towards the cloudless sky "Landlubber ahoy!" he croaks folding his wings and dive bombing in to the waves and coming up with a fish.
"Ha! He calls me a show off." Vuai chuckles, looking back at the gob smacked lioness.
The tan lioness couldn't help but laugh, following the larger lion. "Perhaps you are both show-offs? Though it isn't often show-offs get along." She was more aware of her surroundings, now that she was aware she was in pridal lands. "So...what's that tang in the ocean-smell? I've never smelled it before. I mean...I recognize the water, and there's plant in there somewhere...but I can't recognize the tang..."
Vuai chuckles "Ya canna drink tha water o' tha sea lassy, tis full o salt, thats what ya can smell in tha air." He smiles and pads in to the water , the waves splashing around his thick set legs. "Come on in lassy, just don't be tastin tha water." he chuckles. "me n pelleas, we've been together for a while, he's my best friend, we enjoy besting each other."
Pelleas soars over the two lions heads and lands with a puff of the pale sand tossing the fish in the air and swallowing it in one gulp. "ye'll get thirsty pretty quick you'll have to follow the river to get fresh water, land lubbers always find they get thirsty on the shores."
Kivumbi took careful steps into the water. "Salt...isn't that the stuff prey usually goes looking for now and again?" Something about a lick..."Why is it in the ocean?" She liked the feel of the cool liquid around her legs...It was a little harder to walk around in it though, with the sand shifting under her paws and he water making a different environment for moving than air. "I think I can wait a bit. I rather like this. And I'm not in danger of going thirsty."
"Yar lassy, tha birds o tha jungles like ta nibble it, parently, it has minrals in it, but that aint tha seas salt." Vuai pursed his lips and looked out at the sea. "Thars a few stories lassy, it's said that tha great water god was angry with tha beasts of tha land so ta spite um he tainted tha largest body o water so that noone could ever drink it." Vuai shrugged "Theres lotsa stories lassy, depends which one ya want ta beleive."
He chuckles and scoops his very large paw in to the water and splashes the tan lioness with the cool water. "just cause ya can't drink it, don't mean ya can't play with it." He grins playfully.
Pelleas shakes his head and clacks his beak "yer best show er tha dens Vuai, tis ya turn off shift tomorrow you can play then, ya need to get back to ya post."
"I think...that sounds right. From the tales I've heard, gods can be rather...easy to tick off." She yelped and shook her head, water flying about. "Hey! That wasn't fair!" She laughed and splashed back, grinning. "This is much better to pay with than watering hole water. No mud!" Mud...it was useful for some things. But really...Kivumbi never really liked being muddy.
The lioness looked to the bird. "Ah...He has a point." Her grin softened into a smile. "You...can show me more tomorrow." She rather liked this...she definitely wanted to stay a couple days. At least.
Vuai gave a nod shaking the few sprinkles of water from his thick red mane creating a small rainbow halo around his head. "This way lassy" He smiles padding up the beach towards the outsiders dens, the dens where folks could stay for a couple of days watched carefully by a guard or two to make sure they wern't going to cause any trouble.
Pelleas opens his wings and takes to the sky, off back towards the out post which he and Vuai guarded for the pride.
Pulling to a stop before a rocky den Vuai nods and smiles at the tan female "In thar lassy, Ah'll come an find ya tomorrow, ye will prolly be hungry an thirsty by then." he gives a little nod "Ah'll fetch yer some fish." he chuckles and turns back towards the outpost "ave a nice night lassy, enjoy tha sounds o tha sea." He pads away his large black form moving in a lumbering sort of way back to his place as a guard.
Kivumbi followed, a little slower due to not being used to moving through the water. But once she was on land, she caught up. "Thank you. I look forward to seeing you again!" She stretched and trotted into the den, settling herself. She needed to sleep now...but that meant she'd be able to wake early and refreshed. And so...Kivumbi fell asleep to the sea, feeling a little more at peace than she had the night before.
