The family had scattered their own directions, setting off to a number of tasks that would leave the cliffside rather sparsely populated for a while. It suited Rahmara just as well, as much as he enjoyed company quiet was better sometimes. He settled himself on the edge of the shortest cliff, keeping watch as he had been asked to do.
A very muddy leopardess made for a very itchy and very nearly grouchy leopardess. Not that she'd take it out on anyone else, of course, but it did not put her in the best of moods. The recent rainstorm and her resulting mud drenching from an earlier encounter put her in the situation, but she'd been following what she supposed would be the flow of water from the rain, hoping to find something larger than a puddle. No such luck. It seemed the earth was soaking it all in, leaving her with her deep blue pelt now a greyish-brown from the dried mud. At least now her nose told her there was water... clean water!... nearby. She was padding along a low path, with a towering cliff on one side. Her head was down, and she was concentrating on supressing the mad desire to continuously shudder her hide, or to stop in her tracks and scratch until kingdom come. Water... just a little further and she could rid herself of all this craziness!
Rahmara barely picked up her scent before she came into view. Camouflage, intriguing. He didn't recognize her stride, so she wasn't from one of the local groups come to pester him. "Left anything on the ground?" he called down, his face lit up with a mocking grin. The height always gave him an ill deserved sense of superiority to those walking the path, though he knew they could ascend the cliffs just as easily as his family often did. "Some creatures need that dirt you know."
She paused and looked around, then up. Ah, there he was. She sat her haunches down, but discovered instantly that this was a mistake. Unable to stop herself any longer, she stood again and gave herself an all-over shake, sending a fine cloud of dust into the air immediately around her. With a sigh, she took two sideways steps and sat back down, looking back up at the stranger. "They can have it," she replied emphatically, but without rancor. "If they wish, they can come groom it right off of me, if they like." That inescapable itch between her shoulder-blades flared, but she only twitched a shoulder and was again still. "This is hardly my idea of an optimal condition to travel in." She made a comical face of disgust and disgruntlement, spreading her whiskers and wrinkling her muzzle, tongue sticking out just faintly.
"Be careful who you tell such offers," he retorted with an echoing laugh, "I know a few baboons that would take you on it, and take your fur right off you." Another traveler, he'd had his fill of those in recent days, but what was one to do when your home was a convenient path to other lands. Adapt, he supposed. He shifted forward, letting his front paws fall over the end of the ledge in a drooping slouch. "You know, there's a river up this way, it joins the bottom of the cliff in a little cold pool," he called, "You'll have missed the path just a few yards back. It's hidden in the grasses."
She shrugged with a half smile at his warning. He had a point, but it was moot, for she hadn't meant the offer in the first place... not really. But at the mention of the pool and the missed path, her eyes lit up. She glanced back the way she'd come, but could see nothing indicating the branching path. She padded back a bit, frowning. Rather than waste time searching for it vainly, she turned to look back over her shoulder at the lazing lion. "Would it be too much to ask for you to show me the correct way?" she asked with an arched brow. There was no suggestiveness in her manner, merely a faint hint of skepticism. The fact that he hadn't come down from his perch seemed a bit odd to the leopardess, and she wasn't entirely sure if he would come down. "I promise not to share my burden of dirt with you." Her comment was self-mocking meant to draw a smile, but not requiring one either.
"Not at all," he said with an exaggerated sigh, lifting himself off the ledge, "No one ever finds it by themselves, that's why we keep near here." He disappeared for a moment, then reapearred further down the cliff face, waving her on. After a few yards he vanished again, this time appearing as a face sticking out of the tall grasses. "Right back through here, mindful of the messes the others have left," he warned, skirting what appeared to be the droppings of a young elephant.
Dirty she might be, but she was not at all lacking in cleanly behavior. She shut her mouth with a snap and pinched her nostrils nearly closed as she passed into the grasses and avoided the pile of dung. Flies buzzed greedily, and she fought the urge to grimace, for it would open her mouth to do so. She bounded past it, scattering random bits of dried mud as she did so. Ugh, she could hardly wait to be clean! She trotted up to follow directly behind the accomodating lion. "I appreciate the help and permission to bathe in your pool," she said courteously. Clearly this was considered part of the territory of he and those he lived with, and they preferred it that way. "I apologize for intruding," she continued sincerely. "This mud has just driven me nearly to madness with all its itching and getting deep down into my fur...," and with that she gave her entire pelt another shudder, though this time she didn't outright shake. "Is it far?"
"Not at all," he told her, holding back sections of brush with a wide paw, "Just a little further and the grasses break to more red mud." Of course he could have mentioned before that the river ran read with the stuff, but a little clean and wet, even still muddy, was better than dry and caked on. "We get all kinds through here, though leopards such as yourself are rarer," he explained, "Have you a destination?"
"Mud on the paws is one thing," she added, "but mud all over is unbearable." She could easily shed any mud left on her paws from leaving the pool, not to mention groom them clean later. It was this all-over stuff that was unacceptable. She ducked through the brush with a bob of her head in thanks. "No, I have none. I rarely do. Wandering has its rewards, usually in meeting interesting felines such as yourself, or seeing beautiful scenes that a pridal leopard would never see." She smiled warmly. She really genuinely liked her lifestyle. She was plenty strong enough to defend herself, despite traveling alone. The only times she regretted it was when she came upon a large section of drought or scarce hunting. Even then, however, she was free to move on as soon as she could, find better places to be. Should such tragedy strike a pride's lands, what could they do?
"A wise way to sum up the best of life," he agreed, "My family has its own reasons for wandering, but I can see why one would take yours." With a little grin of triumph he pushed aside the final wall of grasses, revealing the river's red tinted flow. "There we are," he said proudly, "Our little stream, it gets its color from the dirt." She probably didn't want to hear about dirt anymore.
She gave it a dubious look. More muddy water? Well... she could either rinse off the worst of what she had already, or endure further torture. Given the option, she figured the silt from the river was less likely to itch. It was hardly a moment she hesitated before plunging across the muddy bank and into the flowing water. She had no trouble with swimming, so deeper water never bothered her. In fact, it was exactly what she wanted right this moment. She tried to be careful to not stir up the bed of the river much, but writhed about enough to get thoroughly soaked before settling into a position with the water flowing against her one side, steadily and gently working liquid currents between the individual hairs of her fur. She smiled back at the bank at him. "I cannot tell you what a boon this is," she exclaimed. Bliss for a tortured soul!
"Fortunate I stayed home today then," he laughed, settling himself on the bank, "My family are off looking for new claws to join us. We've had a few minor incidents that have left us less protected." His voice had a bit of a solemn tone behind it, it was clear he hadn't taken sides on the matter but it bothered him nonetheless. "So, now that you've gotten yourself rinsed off are you simply going to plop back onto the dirt path?"
She climbed out reluctantly, dripping wet but surprising without much of the red silt altering the color of her fur. She let the comments about his personal life go without comment... what his family did was their business and not hers. "Yes, I suppose so," she said ruefully, stepping away from him to give herself a good shake, spraying droplets and for the most part shedding leftover water. "I might find a suitable place for a good sunning further along, but for now I think I'd best keep moving." It hadn't been unpleasant visiting with him, but she got the distinct impression there was unrest here with those who chose to stay. "Thank you so much again. I am grateful beyond words." She padded lightly through the red mud and back to the path through the grasses, heading for the main trail.
He nodded his head, not following her as she went. He could have mentioned the mudslides that had been happening further up the trail, but he felt he'd leave that to her own discoveries. After all, she hadn't been very useful to him in finding any information about the outside. Usually when he opened up the wanderers were just as chatty.
