The desert sands were starting to fade from her fur, shaken by her travel back westward. Ying-tai had come a long way, and grown a lot, and felt ready for the trip home. She was also lonely, wishing she had somebody to travel with. As she climbed some rocks, she noticed that there were claw marks on a few already. Somebody had come this way, and from the looks of some still-moving pebbles... They were having a hard time. Letting a bit of a puff of air out, she looked up and spotted another lion. The pelt was a mix of brown, gold, and white, with a black mane popping out. Now who could this be? She hurriedly climbed up the hill, ears forward. "Hey, wait up!"
Ever since leaving, Matope felt... Empty. He'd parted ways with his half-sister, the known favorite of their father's children, especially of his Huria children. It was because she was a Seer. He didn't blame his father, of course, for shortcomings, but the shunning had still taken its toll. The former Firekin was cast from the pride now, a rogue with at least knowledge to survive on. Just not how to climb rock. Or, as it were, how to react to strange lions. He flicked his gold ears, looking back with surprise in his green eyes. "Huh...?" A lioness was following him? Why?
When she got up to the other lion, Ying-tai felt surprised, to say the least. This was only an adolescent, and he was as big as she was! "Are you heading west over the mountains?" If she had any luck, maybe he'd travel with her. A strong male would deter would-be trouble makers, at least. If he was this big now, how big would he be by adulthood? Probably huge. Would he follow her to the swamp, though...? Part of her hoped he would. It would make the pride more interesting to have somebody so big around. Well, somebody ELSE big around. There WAS that one red lion...
"Uh... Yeah... I guess..." He carefully placed a paw, before sliding a little. He was far too used to the desert, to hot sands and dunes. These rocks weren't easy to climb. He noticed the lioness giggle. "What...?" He started climbing a gain, finding a perch on a rock jutting out from the hill. The rest was welcome after struggling his way uphill. Peeking down, he noticed... He hadn't exactly gotten far. Turning and looking up, his ears dropped with his jaw. There was still a LONG way to go...
Climbing up next to the male, Ying-tai looked up the hill. She let out a low whistle, "That's a long way up..." She then looked at the male, smiling. "I just don't know why you're climbing the rocks like this, instead of taking the worn path over there." With her gray paw, she pointed to it. The path snaked its way up the hills, worn down by use of prey and predator alike. It was certainly much easier to go up than rocks.
Matope stared at the path with what he was sure was a dumbfounded expression. After a moment, he looked at the lioness, before carefully picking his way across the hill to it. "Thanks..." When he reached the path, he started up it, weaving back and forth with it. Near the top, he suddenly stopped, letting out a yowl and lifting a paw. Inspection showed where a rock had cut it. As he shook his paw, he quietly cursed his luck.
Climbing the slope, Ying-tai stopped near the male. "You need to watch out for sharp rocks, too..." She flicked an ear, tilting her head. "You smell like the desert... And I'm guessing you've never been on this kind of terrain before, have you?" It made a bit of sense to her. The splatter-marked male WAS big like the desert lions... He certainly needed some help out here. "Where are you going, anyway?"
"Somewhere green, that's all I know..." He licked the wound, keeping an eye on it until it stopped bleeding. It wasn't a big wound, though it did still smart. "And yeah... I'm from the Motoujamii..." He paused. "Originally." He started to walk again, mindful now of sharp rocks. "Not the right color, though, so I had to leave." What was so great about being red, white, or black, anyway? This girl might fit in fine... If she was bigger. Himself... If only he'd been born red and black instead of brown and gold. Maybe then he'd actually still have a home.
Her ears folded back for a moment. "Well that's a silly reason to kick somebody out..." She hurried after him, soon falling in step beside the male. "Me, I'm heading back toward home." She smiled happily. "I came from the swamps of the Jini'msemi!" As they reached the top of the slope, she bound ahead, standing at the top and grinning down at the male. "I'm out on my name quest, to find my adult name!"
A swamp...? He wondered for a moment what that was. When he reached the top, though, the questions vanished as he saw a valley before them. Green eyes widened, as his jaw fell open, admiring the view. "Wow..." Matope'd never seen anything like it, stepping forward slowly. It wasn't really so much green, as... Huge. Plus, the river snaking by was stunning. "I suddenly feel... Small... Very small... Smaller than a cub..."
The lioness giggled. "You should see the lake from the mountains! It stretches on beyond the horizon!" She'd only known it was a lake, from others traveling on their name quests to return with tales of it. Then she looked at the male, eyes dancing. "If you think this is stunning, though, there's more mountains west of here with many more valleys. Some are even covered in frozen water!" She could see the stunned look on his face, betraying his wonder at the big, wide world. "I have to cross them on my way back to the swamps, anyway... Did you wanna come?"
As he stared in wonder, Matope's ears flicked to the lioness' words. After a moment, he looked over at her. "Nobody would... Hate me for being brown and gold... Would they?" He was worried, of course. He didn't want to face what he had in the Motoujamii.
"Of course not! We have blue, pink, and green lions!" She paused, thinking. "I think we might have a purple lion, but I'm not sure... I DO know there's this HUGE red guy..." As she started to walk and head down the other side, she smiled back at the male. "So, coming with?"
"Okay.." He didn't have anywhere better to go, after all. Why not follow her? He might find a new home. Minding the rocks, the ex-Firekin padded along with the lioness, intent on seeing this big, wide world he was experiencing for the first time. With every step, he remembered his roots, intent on not forgetting them, nor the fire in his soul.
"By the way..." She glanced back, watching him follow her paw prints. "I'm Ying-tai. What's your current name? If you join the pride... You'll have to change it... It's the way things work."
"Matope'damu..." He hoped he could join and change it, though. He didn't like being called 'mud blood.'
