This is a log between AnimeChikie's Shumushi and my Daire.
Word count: 1981
The dark lion sniffed at the air, enjoying the dry heat of the environment as he stepped into the Savannah. His journey into the jungle was a long one, but he was glad to finally be 'home'. The sky opened up for him, and for the first time in months, Daire could properly examine the home of the stars. Though they were all hiding right now, the sun concealed them in her bright arms of blue. They'd come out in the night, gracing his eyes with their twinkling, glittering forms. He couldn't wait to see the stars again.
Yet there was a sickness in his chest he couldn't ignore. It was a familiar sickness, like the one he experienced when he first left his family. Why was he feeling it all over again... with a new flare of intensity? With a concerned sigh, Daire padded across the dry grass on his red paws, hoping for a distraction from his thoughts.
Shumusi had spent a few days recovering from his insomnia and regaining his strength knowing that he was going to have to make a journey to the Firekin lands. Though, he had no idea where it was so he knew there were going to be long days of traveling in front of him. Walking through the tall grasses of the Savannah, he needed to find someone who knew where the Firekin were located and he cursed the fact that he didn't ask Karatasi when he had encountered her. He had only made his decision about possibly settling down a few days ago but he already felt immensely better like a huge weight was lifted off of his shoulders.
He didn't know where he was going and now he was in a part of the rogue lands that he was relatively unfamiliar with. The dark red lion continued to keep track of his surroundings because the last thing he wanted was to get lost. Where were all of the other damned lions? Cursing under his breath, Shumusi continued on his way.
Suddenly his thoughts wandered back to the female he'd met in the forest. Was she the reason he was feeling this sickness in his chest? Her and her adorable quadro of cubs. Maybe... but then...
Daire was torn from his thoughts as he heard a rustle of foliage not far from his location. The lion lifted his head, red bangs sweeping over his dark brown muzzle as he peered into the distance. There was a rather large crimson form creeping through the tall grass. Not wishing to frighten the feline, Daire shuffled through the dirt and pebbles as he went, making as much ruckus as he could.
"Hello!" The lion waited for a reaction as his blue eyes squinted into the concealing grass. Even if the other didn't happen to be quite as pleasant as he hoped, Daire was thankful for the distraction.
Shumusi was feeling infinitely times better after he had finally come to terms with his decision and he didn't mind traveling so this was the wasy part. Though, the sooner he could find the pride, the sooner he could potentially learn about his ancestors and maybe his own parents. He didn't know why he had taken this sudden interest in learning about his heritage but it just seemed natural even though he wasn't very close with his family.
Lifting his head, the lion heard something making an... unusual amount of noise in the distance. Not thinking twice about it, Shumusi continued to contemplate where the pride could be located until he heard a voice greeting him in the distance. Pausing and looking over the other lion carefully, Shumusi came to the conclusion that he was not a threat. Smiling widely, he was pretty happy to see another lion and he returned the greeting. "Hello there!" Maybe this lion knew something that could help him?
The other lion came into full view and responded to Daire's greeting with his own blithe 'hello'. Daire swelled with the contagious joy. It was so refreshing to see another face that didn't seem to be constantly plagued with depression or rage.
Remembering his polite habits, Daire let his elbows buckle and his mane sweep the dirt of the surface as he bowed to the stranger. "Good evening, sir. My name is Daire." He spoke gently, lifting his head to meet Shumusi's eyes with his own. "I'm just traveling through, and I was wondering if you've seen any herd of zebra around?" Oh how he missed the taste of zebra. After months of feasting on strange jungle swine and rodents, it'd be just heavenly to eat zebra again.
The lion let his tail sway contentedly as he waited for a response from the other male. Only then did he take his pelt and markings into consideration. He looked very similar to some of Clermeilli-Pie's cubs... Oh, then sickness returned with hateful vigor. But the lion was determined not to let it show in his face.
Lately, Shumusi had been sick of the loneliness that rogue life entailed and before making the decision to go to the Firekin, he absolutely loved his lifestyle choice. Now, it was nothing but a thorn in his side and he was just eager to finally settle down. There was something about this lion that just seemed to make him cheerful? He couldn't quite put his paw on it though... Smiling once more, "Pleasure to meet you, Daire. My name is Shumusi." Since that random meeting with Namir ages ago, Shumusi hadn't interacted with a single feline so being able to talk and have someone respond was refreshing.
"Unfortunately not. I only saw a herd of gazelle a half a day ago but they looked like they were traveling pretty fast." Trying to think of the last time he hunted large game, Shumusi realized that he was well overdue for a good feeding. "I've been traveling too and I was wondering if you knew of the Firekin lion pride, I've been searching for their lands for the past few days now."
Daire wasn't expecting Shumusi to reveal the location of a herd of fat zebra, allowing him not to be too disappointed when he didn't. Figuring it would be a while until he got his paws on anything large enough to feast on for days at a time, the lion nodded, refusing to let it dampen this pleasant social interaction.
"Firekin...?" Daire shuffled through his thoughts and memories, completely certain he's heard this name before. "Motoujamii? It's been ages, but I remember a lioness mentioning that pride." Daire nodded firmly, thrilled that he can help this male find his future home.
"The desert." Suddenly a slight frown appeared as he realized he's never been to the desert... nor did he know which direction it was. "I'm not sure where the desert is, but if you keep going that way, you'll reach the jungle. The hotter it gets, the less greens you see, the closer you are to reaching your goal."
Tilting his head, Shumusi wondered if this lion actually knew something about the Firekin. It seemed like most of the rogues he met didn't unless they had family there or used to be a part of the pride but those lions were far and few. In his past few days of traveling, he hadn't managed to learn much about where the Firekin was located so if Daire could help him, he would be eternally grateful.
"Really?" Shocked that Daire actually knew something, Shumusi wasn't really surprised when he said that they were located in the desert. It was one of the places that Shumusi had suspected even though very few lion prides inhabitied such harsh environments. "Wow, thanks. I was starting to get a little worried that I would never be able to find them considering how my luck has been lately."
His mind already began to scramble to try and figure out if his past travels had taken him anywhere close to the desert. This would require some planning and Shumusi knew that he needed to be even more well rested before he entered the desert. "So where are you traveling from?" He found that rogue lions had the best stories and it was nice listening to others speak considering all of the time he spent alone.
Daire grinned further with Shumusi's shocked expression. "I'm glad to have helped, good sir!" With the male's inquisition, Daire was forced to remember his journey. "I'm coming from the jungle, actually! Where I'm going, I'm not totally certain..." He looked behind him, peering into the far-off distance where the cluster of trees indicated the jungle was a long ways away. Daire hadn't realized he'd traveled that far.
"I met a pregnant lioness. I insisted to stay with her until her cubs were independent... but she sent me away..." Daire's head hung rather sadly as he recalled the incident. "It'd been for my own safety. The father of the cubs was after the infants. She seemed impressed with his power, and fearful for my safety, so..." Daire sighed, but quickly realized he may just have rambled and bored the stranger to death. "Sorry."
Smiling crookedly, the lion debated on his next moving trying to recall where the desert was. He knew that he had traveled rather close to it at one point in the past year or so but he just needed to recall what he was doing there. Then his memories would all come together. "Oh cool. I only spent a month or so in the jungle before I realized that I much prefer the Savannah." Chuckling, Shumusi remembered the lack of prey in the jungle and that must be why this lion was looking for zebras.
Pausing, Shumusi listened to Daire tell his brief story about the lioness and he frowned slightly. "Sorry to hear about that. Sounds... complicated." This is why he never bothered to stay with a female for very long. To Shumusi, they caused a lot of problems so he tried to avoid that bit of drama in his life. And not to mention that this female was haunting his dreams and he had been trying to distract himself from thinking about her. "That really sucks though. I hope that she's doing alright. Will you return to find her someday?"
"Thank you for your concern, Shumusi. I think I will return. Though I'm not quite comfortable in the jungle... I miss her and her cubs." The sickness in his chest seemed to dull the more he spoke about it. Daire was even more grateful for the stranger's appearance, now.
In fact.. why wait? Daire could turn around and find her right now. Despite the dangers. Who cares if he got a little hurt, he's needed with them. With a new found sense of confidence, Daire turned and faced the little cluster of trees without turning his back on the stranger. "I might as well not waste any time." His eyes twinkled. He hadn't had a snack of zebra yet, but maybe luck would grace him and he'd find one on the way there. Either way, it didn't matter.
"I wish you good fortune on your journey to the firekin, good sir! May we both find what we're looking for." He offered him one last grin. "We'll meet again, no need for goodbyes."
Smiling widely, Shumusi nodded and hoped that all went well for the lion. Indirectly, he realized that he had given Daire advice about the situation and he hoped that it wouldn't get the other lion into any trouble. He was thankful that he didn't have to deal with anything like that. "Good luck, Daire!" Bowing slightly in return, he was glad that he had run into Daire because the other lion had a lot to say. Now, it was time for him to find this desert.
