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Panju had gone for a while in the rogue lands, wandering here and there, learning what it meant to live on his own, unloved and unlooked after. He had always known that he had had it well off back home among the warrior lionesses of the Kunanda'Nakhun, but this sojourn into isolation only solidified these facts for him. Part of him longed to return, though he knew that he could not.

Instead, the white and yellow lion had stumbled upon new lands. They were not so far from his own, and they were strikingly beautiful. He had stayed on the outskirts for many days, wandering through the Kizingo'Zaa's territory, but now he headed deeper, coaxed forward, though he remembered learning as a cub that these lands were inhabited by honorless lions, creatures to be frowned upon. Yet he was a Parastar, honorless himself, the lowest of the low. He ventured forth without fear, scanning the horizon for signs of inhabitants.

He longed for some sort of contact, even if it was with a member of this foreign pride... had they not once been his own people? Somewhere back among his mothers and aunts, their bloodlines must mingle. So he felt little fear, though he went with great trepidation, unaware of the culture and curses of the land, as ignorant as a cub.

It was hard to miss the bright green lioness as she meandered through the trees nearby, and Panju looked startled, though on the inside he was relieved to see a brightly-colored lioness again. It felt just like home, in a way, and he rolled his ears forward, his blue eyes curious on the stranger, and he paused as they came closer, swinging his tail, glancing at her.

"Hey there," he inclined his head towards hers. He'd met with many plain-colored lionesses that did not expect abject obedience, so he had gained a little more confidence in greeting lionesses, but he was still a little stiff and formal, trying to look as nonthreatening as possible. Though that worked to his advantage here, of course, as well.

"Do you live here? I'm a traveler, my name is Panju," the yellow-maned lion offered graciously, as he had been taught. Though he had not been taught to defer overly much to lowly outsiders.

Panju kept up his guard as Jura returned his greeting, regarding her not too closely, though he smiled when she confirmed she lived there, answering the one on her face. "Well met, Jura," he nodded, knowing he would not soon forget the name attached to this bright face.

At her question, he stood and looked about himself, then glanced at her, quirking an eyebrow. "I was born in the Kunanda'Nakhun, and there we hear stories about a place where lions live without honor and talk to stones. I think that is that land," he answered, a little cautiously. "I have never ventured this far before," Panju admitted, not sure that he should have told her that he hailed from that pride. Not that there was hostility, but there was still some amount of bad blood between them, and there was no way of knowing if this lioness would be offended.

Panju quirked an eyebrow, sensing amusement from the bright lioness, and was a little disconcerted, embarrassed that she seemed to find him ridiculous. But he wanted to know if there was any truth in the old Matrons' tales, so he perked his ears and listened, watching her.

He looked at her dubiously when she said that they didn't all talk to stones, though she seemed normal enough, not afflicted with any sort of condition that led her to commune with stationary rocks.

Then he blinked when she said that her affinity was instead for trees, and he looked at some nearby, then back at her, again dubious.

"What do you mean by this?" he asked, curious. "Is it your totem spirit, or something of the like?"

Panju tilted his head at her, wondering why she seemed so amused by him, as if his confusion seemed strange or silly to her. Then again, he supposed it would, since they hadn't come from the same culture. There were some bridges that were not easily gapped, and this was one of those. The white lion paused as he called the trees her 'muse'.

He knew what 'muse' meant. But he assumed that the lioness meant muse in the figurative sense, not as a literal voice from within. Even so, he knew something was afoot, considering the oddness of her words before.

When she asked him if he had found his muse, he looked startled, blue eyes wide.

"Me? Oh-- oh, no. I don't think so. I haven't really thought of anything in that context. Except perhaps this one lioness..." he paused, clearing his throat, and looked at her expectantly. "I would enjoy to learn more about these muses, though. How is it that you know that you know your soul was once part of the trees?"

Panju listened to the lioness curiously, cocking his head to one side, intrigued by the information. He had certainly never felt that way in his youth, connection to his soul, or whatever, anymore than the duty that bound him to the pride and to do as the lionesses wished. It had taken some doing to break him free of that realm of thought, and he balked at the idea of accepting a new philosophy, though he listened intently.

He looked startled when she said he'd figure his own out, blue eyes wide, and he shook his head.

"Me? Oh, no, not me.. Why would I have one? I did not grow up in your lands," he furrowed his brow. "Or is it some spirit that lives here in the lands that joins any who come to live here?" he mused, cocking his head.

As full of doubt as he was, Panju was still curious. He didn't honestly believe that he had a muse as she seemed so strongly to think. Then again, he still wasn't sure what, precisely, she meant. It tickled at the back of his mind even as he pushed it aside, determined to find out, and as she was kind and the lands were lovely and welcoming, he full intended to go deeper into the pridal territory and learn more.

He blinked as she suddenly darted away, her peculiar words making him lay back his ears, furrowing his brows and quirking his mouth. He watched her for a moment longer, swishing his yellow-tipped tail, looking perplexed. Shrugging, he left her to her trees and continued off into the Kizingo'zaa lands.