Ayumi yawned, stretching out all the tight muscles from a long night. She and her friend, Edea, were snooping around the lands, as per 'orders' of their new friend, Salma. The little lioness wanted to set up a great place to honor the gods, and so the two couldn't resist helping. Wandering all over the mountains, however, was exhausting. Not something a cheetah was used to doing. Edea seemed to be faring better than her, but a leopard had more strength than a cheetah.

"Good morning," Edea said quietly. She was always more subdued than the bright Ayumi. It made them get along well, something of different personalities. Ayumi jumped up on her toes, though she wobbled for a moment before catching herself. Edea nodded towards the bit of a breakfast she had found. It wasn't much, but it would get them going to find something more substantial.

"Oooh!" Ayumi let herself pick at what was left, content that Edea had eaten some herself before offering it. At times the girl was a little too nice, and sometimes Ayumi had to get her to do something first before she would. Sigh. She ate happily, watching Edea as the blue leopard glanced around.

"Not sure where to start," Edea said. "We could cross back some of what we did yesterday, and go further up the mountain." It seemed a little silly, but it was obvious that they weren't going in the right direction. The ground wasn't as great, and as such the prey wasn't as healthy as it should be. Edea didn't want to destroy the ecosystem moving many predators into the area.

Ayumi nodded briskly. "We should go! I'm ready, whenever you are," she said, but she was busily cleaning her face and paws. Didn't do for a girl to wear her food on her face when wandering in unknown parts. Edea didn't roll her eyes, but she wanted to. Ayumi was much more...feminine than she was.

The leopard lead, Ayumi just a pace behind. As both of them were in unknown territory, they took their time, picking through the less loud parts of the ground, and kept their ears at full attention. There had been no markers of the land taken, but that didn't mean that someone wouldn't be upset at their trespassing.

Ayumi blinked as she thought she had seen something. But after keeping her eyes around the area, she didn't see the movement again. Perhaps a bird, or some other small creature. Not something to worry about, even if they were smaller (ok, she was) than a lion. Edea wasn't really that small, but it was a little nerve wreaking to worry about how small and petite you were in strange lands. She glanced around anxiously, following Edea without paying much attention. Which wasn't the smartest idea in these parts.

Edea was ignoring Ayumi, though not because she was annoying or anything. She was more worried about the unseen dangers in a land that neither one of them knew about. A jungle-like area wasn't foreign to her, but she doesn't know this one. And that's what worries her.

After hearing a yelp, Edea curseed under her breathe. "Damn it." She knew who that was. Ayumi.

The cheetah had slipped, and somehow the somewhat-even mountain didn't seem so even anymore. The cheetah had stepped in a place that looked secure, but it was just a pile of leaves, and she slipped. The slip sent her sliding away, and Edea had to use a burst of energy that leopards weren't built for (or, the same as cheetahs), to grab Ayumi by whatever she could. And for the poor cheetah, that ended up being a leg.

Ayumi let out a soft yelp as she felt Edea's teeth around her leg. One even punctured her slighty, but she would much rather take the time to heal from that than keep sliding to wherever she was going. Maybe even off a cliff. Her stomach lurched as she used Edea's bracing to gather her back legs under her, and push herself upwards. Between Edea's pulling and Ayumi's pushing, they were able to get her on more stable ground. Shaky legs kept AYumi standing, but she glanced at her foreleg. A touch of blood, and a little pain. Great.

"Guess you'll be doing the hunting for a couple days," Ayumi said sheepishly, as she did it to herself, however indirectly. Guess she should tread a little more carefully. She sighed, laying down to lick her limb clean, and hopefully it would heal fast.

Edea sighed. "Well, perhaps we should just return to where Salma said she would be waiting for us. It is obvious that this isn't the direction to go, and we at least eliminated more unnecessary roaming around."

Ayumi was silenced by how much her friend spoke. Guess she was in a but of trouble. "Yes," she finally replied, agreeing. It would take longer to reach the little brown lioness than it took to get up here. This injury would only let Ayumi go so far at a time.

"We leave now," Edea said quietly. Best to get as far as they could now and return quickly. Ayumi nodded, getting herself up and ready to go. Testing her paw, this wasn't going to be fun going down a mountain. At least they wouldn't have to go down the whole thing, but...

"Thanks, Edea," Ayumi said quietly. Edea only nodded, but there was a ghost of a smile on her features. Ayumi slightly perked up, and let the blue leopard guide the way down the mountain, doing her best to avoid the sneaky traps that the mountain seemed to like. At least they would know what to look out for now.

"Don't thank me just yet," Edea answered. "We're going to have to find a less steep route, which means we still might cross the paths of other predators. Just keep your wound as clean as possible, and hopefully it'll heal enough to cover your injury before we see any others. I don't want to expose a weakness before we figure if this land is safe or not."

Ayumi just nodded. Edea was taking control of the situation, and would until they returned to Salma and Tete. Then, maybe she'd go back to being a little more subdued and sweet. Ayumi didn't blame her, though. She brightened a smile, "Sure. Let's get going before we get too hungry."

Thankfully, after 2 days of picking their way down the hill, they made it to the 'camp' that Salma had made. Ayumi was feeling better, if hungry, and the pair collapsed after reporting to Salma of their findings. Ayumi fell asleep, content that they were in a more safe location than they were three days ago. Edea watched her carefully, happy that at least the rest of their excursion was safe. They'd have to go out again, but at least they were narrowing the search. Soon they would have a place to call home, forever.

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