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Pahale was restless. Rogues had attacked his pride as they went about their ritual migration ceremony. For the majority of the year they lived in one place, but for one month every five years they'd go wandering, seeing what'd changed in the world, leaving only a few pride mates behind to guard the lands and those too young or old to go. They hadn't anticipated running into the roving band of marauders, but had driven them back thanks to their own greater numbers. There had been casualties, unfortunately, and one was Pahale's own twin sister. She was not dead, that much he knew, but it was possible she'd been taken hostage, or given chase to the retreating barbarians. He'd set out days ago to try to track her, but alas, nothing had come up yet.
Arsenay'ic was lost for what to do. He'd been wandering for a long time, and still he was lost and confused. Occasionally he saw his "aunt" or his "dad" out of the corner of his eye, and he knew they were watching him. That's what kept him from returning. They wouldn't just let him figure things out; they had to keep watch over him. Any other time he would have been thankful. Any other time his mind would be free and he'd have seen the golden-maned lion before he ran straight into his side.
"OOF! Excuse yourself, rogue!" Pahale was bumped, hard, from the side. Hadn't the rogue seen him walking here? He looked at the lion - another red lion? How strange. Red fur must be common in this area. It didn't look like one of the marauders from before, and clearly he'd been distracted. Still, that was no call for running into someone! Pahale sized the male up. "Have you nothing to say for yourself then?" Of course he hadn't been hurt or any thing like that, but manners were important. He seemed to be waiting for an apology, or something, from the male.
Rogue? Arsenay'ic took a step back and took a second to make himself stable again, then looked up - way up - at the apparent pride lion. Suddenly wary of the lion standing before him, he turned his face slightly, attempting to hide his blind eye, and blinked. "I'm sorry..." He said in his soft tones. Normally he'd offer something more formal, but he wasn't entirely sure this male deserved it. In fact, if he were a more aggressive lion, he might have just bumped into the male again. But Arsenay'ic was generally polite, and kept his eyes slightly downcast. "I should have been paying more attention to where I was going."
Hmph. Well, at least he'd apologized. The stern look on Pahale's face smoothed. "It is forgiven. You also must forgive my own rudeness. Usually I am not so tense, but...my pride was recently attacked by rogues. I do not recognize you from that attack, but you will understand my wariness. As well, my sister had gone missing. I have sought her for three passes of the sun overhead, and with no sign of her. My nerves are frayed, and I should not have yelled at you, just as you should have minded your path." The lion took a long breath, and tilted his head just so. "Perhaps you can tell me, and then I shall leave you be, have you seen anyone in these parts who shares my appearance? She would be nearly my size, and mostly identical, sparing my mane, of course."
With the rhythmical way the male spoke, Arsenay'ic couldn't bring himself to stay too angry at the male. And he had indeed been at fault for not watching his path, so he relaxed his shoulders some and gave the male a sympathetic look. "You were attacked?" The idea was disturbing to him, though he knew such violent bands of rogues existed. "I can promise you I wasn't a part of the attack. And I apologize, but I haven't seen your sister..." Despite the frayed mentality that the lion spoke of, Arsenay'ic couldn't help but believe he was handling the situation well. Had his aunt gone missing, his father would be hardly recognizable. In spite, he found himself favoring this lions cool approach.
He nodded. "Yes, they stole upon us in the night. We outnumbered them, and killed many. The rest scattered to the four winds. Hopefully no one else will be bothered by them again. A pity. I had hoped she'd been seen in the area. You cannot be blamed for that though." He paused, looking around. There was no one else around to ask. "I am Pahale. I hail from the south. Where do you come from, and who are you, stranger? I am unused to seeing lions with your color of fur. In my pride we are all browns and golds. Your red fur is strange to me." He eyed the other's odd markings as well. "I wonder if perhaps it is a localized phenomenon..."
He was sad he couldn't help, but something told me this Pahale would succeed in finding his sister. He seemed very capable. "My name's Arsenay'ic. I don't really know where I come from, and I've never really lived in just one place." He raised his brows at the speculation on his fur, surprised to hear it was more common that he'd thought. "I've never met someone with my color before, actually."
"Really? Strange. Just the other day I came upon a red lioness near this area. I assumed that it was either a cultural phenomenon or something in the local environment that was the cause. Were neither of your parents red?" Usually colors were inherited. It was entirely possible though that these new red lions were just a mutation, a random gene being expressed. He had little time to sit and wonder over it though. "Regardless, I must continue to try to locate my sister. I appreciate your cooperation, and answering my questions. Please keep you attention on your path from here out, hmm? He managed a smile, to show he was joking, and not at all mad about being run into.
DHS: He laughed, a weak, sad sort of sounds. "Turns out, I don't know who my parents are. I was adopted." He shrugged and turned his face in a new direction, squinting as the sun stung his blind eye. "I hope you find your sister. If I come across her I'll make sure she finds her way to you."
DHS: He nodded and turned. "It was nice to meet you, Pahale, despite the circumstance. Maybe we'll meet again and you can tell me abour your pride"
