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Fleance turned his ruddy eyes to the sky, and as he did it seemed his frown just slid off of his face. He was taking a break from his cubs, leaving them with his brother and their cousins, taking a weight off of his shoulders. Yoshiteru, his familiar, was also with them and probably sick of the cubs too. But Fleance loved his waterbuck, despite any complaining about baby sitting.

The god was wearing his mortal guise, as usual, but the ashen footprints were hard to disguise, but his tail swept them away behind them. The lion yawned, smiling still, and he sat in the open, looking around the plain like a happy observer. It seemed mostly empty, but Fleance knew better, thinking of all the little animals scurrying around or under his feet.

Fleance's head shot up like a prey animal hearing a predator and ready to take flight. He stood in that manner until he saw the black lion, and even then he was still debating an escape. The lion looked older and more experienced, specifically in battle if the scars crossing his back were any indicator. This lion had quite the presence.

However, he sat and spoke, which meant he was at least civil enough to not attack first and ask questions later. Manners were always welcome for Fleance. But he was on this lion's territory, and that was quite rude. The adolescent made a face. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea!" His ears lay flat on his head, and though no one was upset, he was still nervous even being around the lion.

Oh no, and what if there were more of them? A whole pride of grizzly lions. Fleance's pelt shuddered at the thought. "I just wandered here by mistake, I can go." He raised a paw nervously, as though to turn and run at the word.

Unknown to either lion, they were more similar than they would ever know. Fleance had recurring nightmares about his brother- either premonitions of the future or memories of the past lives that had been extinguished. But he wasn't having trouble with them today. No, his mind was in the present, and preoccupied with the one in front of him.

He was trying to put Fleance at ease, but very few could help the slightest bit, if any at all. But he had family too? ...Surprising. A little. But perhaps he'd been too quick to judge. Sheepishly, he nodded, thinking of his three cubs. "Uhm, don't worry, I'm pretty easy to startle..." He trailed off and coughed, then pulled a face, hoping no ashes were on his breath, and quickly he looked again at the male.

"Uh, I'm Fleance!" He tried to distract him. Hopefully, it'd work.

"Nice to meet you too, Jeraha." Fleance bowed his head in return. Even for a god he had respect for every mortal he met. After all, many of them were tougher than he was. The adolescents' grin was still as meekly awkward as ever. Oh! It was like they were cut from the same cloth! But not exactly. What with the black lion coping with his past by becoming tougher and hardened, and Fleance... Well, Fleance seemed to think self-loathing was more of the answer he was looking for.

"I'm quite like you, at least in that respect." A gleam of sunshine passed over his nose and he looked up at the sky. The smile from before returned to his face, and the heat of the sun warmed and relaxed him. "It's quite the lovely day, isn't it?"

Fleance relaxed a little bit around Jeraha. You know, this guy wasn't so bad. He was gruff and maybe a little socially awkward, whereas Fleance was... really just socially awkward. Absentmindedly his tail swept around his feet as though to clear the ground of any ashes, and the god took in a deep breath. This was a nice place for sure. He'd been to much harsher climates, some forests or swamps or caves were dark and dank, and he'd been to volcanoes to visit his sister of the same domain. The air there was thick and heavy, noxious and Fleance couldn't distinguish the ashes in the air as those from the volcano or himself.

But here... Ahhh. A breath of fresh air- literally. He'd have to find a place like it to settle down with his cubs. Not here, of course, he didn't want to even slightly encroach on Jeraha's territory. Heavens no.

Dwelling on the lion's conclusion, he nodded. "It seems like good hunting grounds. Your cubs must be lucky to grow up with such opportunity."

Did he like to explore? Of course! Fleance nodded and smiled. "Mmhmm." He tired not to seem overeager, but with a near infinite life-span, there wasn't much to do besides explore. Well, there was that and meeting people, but they died which was rather sad. So exploring it was. It was interesting to return to a place decades later and to see how it and those inhabiting it had changed.

As for his own children, he couldn't wait for them to grow up. Except maybe Kimo. She was his little baby. But they'd all have to grow up some time, right? He still had to break it to the little girl that she wasn't a goddess like her poppa or aunt or uncles. But that would happen in time as well.

"I'm not really from this area, no. I'm not really from anywhere. I've been wandering as long as I remember, though I have family that's settled down, so sometimes I visit them." He nodded. "I'm just passing through."

Fleance nodded. Mortals did tend to get hungry with some frequency. He knew hunger, but it was far different. He followed with a smile. "No worries, sometimes it seems I've got all the time in the world. It's nice to have the monotony broken up with pleasant conversation." The interaction left him feeling in good spirits. He didn't interact much with mortals, too many negative encounters left him wary which he knew meant he'd miss out on positive ones, as well.

"Thank you! I wish you all the best with your hunt." Still grinning, he bobbed his head. "Perhaps we will, Jeraha, but if not, it was a pleasure to meet you." He watched the lion depart and turned to be on his own way. He'd remember that this was Jeraha's home. A safe place with a good lion and his family. Fleance would do his best to return sometime during Jeraha's lifetime, if only to investigate out of curiosity. He rather enjoyed observing mortals.