Welcome to Gaia! ::

Once they had been certain they could find the den again Ubora and Apiyo went on a walk around the temple. They chatted to a few pride members as they did so, and they seemed just as friendly and helpful as Avila had been, certainly reconfirming that they had made the right choice to come and live here. Apiyo concentrated deeply as they walked, memorizing faces, names and locations, all things that came naturally to him and his guard like tendencies.

When at least they left the temple to sit down and enjoy the sunset on their first night here everything seemed perfect. Ubora's content sigh made his smile widely as he turned his eyes from the colorful sunset to the lioness beside him. "Is it as beautiful as you hoped it would be?"

When she looked at him his eyes locked with her deep brown ones and for a moment her had totally forgotten about the sunset. In their time traveling he had always thought Ubora to be a beautiful lioness, but here and now, with the colors of the sunset dancing in the background she looked stunning. "The most beautiful thing I have ever looked upon." He said while his gaze was still upon her. Apiyo then turned back to what remained of the sunset. "I suppose it is what I expected, though one can never be certain of what can be expected until they arrive. Rumors were one thing, they could be truthful or complete lies."

"I will get used to having the grittiness of the sand beneath my paws, but I think it will be worth it in the end." Turning his attention away from the sunset and back to Ubora he continued. "I have been to a desert once before, though only passing through. Spent most of my life in a jungle surrounded by trees, lush plants, wide flowing rivers and very little open space." He fell silent for a moment, in all their travels he had stayed silent most of the time, only offering a few words here and there, but not he felt like opening up to Ubora and sharing his past and present with her, which would lead to a future together if it worked out. "What about you?"

He smiled a bit wider when he noticed her ducking her head at his comment, though they had been together traveling for some time it was only since coming here did he say any comments about her beauty or hint at staying together. He supposed it was knowing that they were in a secure place with less to worry about that he felt confident enough to say such things. "It is not the only thing we will need to get used to." He added idly, hinting at their new living arrangements as well as the specifics of the pride itself.

"Jungles are generally a dangerous place, plenty of places for things to hide, it is no wonder your pride did not wish you to venture in there at a young age." He remembered a time or two in his youth that he and his brother had gotten into a sticky situation because they hadn't been paying attention to where they were going or what they were walking towards. "So why did you leave?" He asked and then added. "If you aren't comfortable talking about it I understand." He didn't want to force her to talk about something that may be upsetting, just trying to learn more about this lioness he was living with.

Apiyo lowered himself down to lay in the sand as the sun continued it's descent, soon it would be dark out and they would need to retire to their den for the night. "It is indeed to get lost in the depths of the jungle." He confirmed, having been there one or twice himself as well as having helped to find lost members before as well.

"Sounds like an unpleasant place to have grown up. Looks like it was for the best that you left, I can't imagine you in such a place." Glancing up at her he decide to fill her in on why he left his home. "I left my home not too long before I met you. My brother and I set out together, it was somewhat of a custom for those who have reached adulthood to venture out into the world. See what they wanted to see and either return or stay away." He remembered the day he left with Adongo as well as they day he bid his brother farewell. "We traveled for some time together, visiting as many places as we could. One day we split up, traveling in different directions and planned to meet up together a month from that day. Turns out in that month he found himself a mate to settle down with, so he went to live his new life and I went back to wandering. I felt lost at first without him, Adongo and I were always together, part of being twins I suppose. Shortly after I met you and well the rest you know."

"There are places for every type of lion out there, sometimes it just takes time to find it." She may not have fit in with her old pride but something told him this new place would be the perfect fit...for both of them. And while he missed his old pride there was nothing truly special about it, nothing compared to here or other places he had seen.

Her touch was comforting and he turned his head to gently bump his nose against her to show his appreciation. "I do miss him, though I like to think that because we have always been so close he's never really that far away." Apiyo nodded. "Yes I know where they live. I think you would get along with his mate, she's quite nice." While he had only met Fara once, when he bid farewell to his brother to set out on his own she was friendly and offered to let him visit anytime he wanted.

"I cannot imagine not being close with siblings, it must have been hard, even if they were completely different from you." He had been close with his other siblings, but the bond between him and his brother was so much more than that. "Just know that here there are plenty of lions who care about you." In their short time in the pride he had seen how the pride cared for one another, formed bonds quickly and those bonds would likely last a life time. "I care for you, I want to make sure you are always happy and protected." There he was talking about protecting others again, but it was so natural his father had always made sure he and his family knew the importance of protecting those around them.

"Yes, I think a vacation to visit them is a good idea once we are a bit more settled here. And perhaps they can come visit us as well." That would be nice, to not only see the his brother and mate in his new home but for them to see where Apiyo was making a life for himself - no not just for himself but with someone.

Apiyo nodded, yes so many things depended upon how and where one was raised. While not all influences effected others, as demonstrated by Ubora's description of her family and how different it was compared to the lioness it did in effect shape her into who she was today.

"Yes I suppose we should head back." Apiyo got his head paws and gave his muscles a bit of a stretch. They had been traveling for days on end, trying to get here and it would be nice to sleep in a real den for once, no more sleeping in whatever den or small shelter they could find. "You think we can find our den in the dark?" He asked. Our den, it felt a bit weird to say yet was also so fitting, they had both hinted at their life together especially now that they had a place to call home. The future was looking up.