Welcome to Gaia! ::

It had been a couple days since the pair had met, and Lehtia was not entirely sure at this point how far off they still had to go. She had been travelling for only a few days before she met Lika and her herd, but it seemed as if they may never find this other heard she had heard of. However it was not all that bad not knowing how long they’d be searching. Lehtia was not alone, at least. While most of the herd she had recently met did not wish to follow her one younger member had, and she was an interesting character indeed.



Lika was enjoying her new adventure. She had left her herd to follow Lehtia and was loving every moment of it. They were seeing places her herd would have never gone and seeing many new faces. Her seemingly endless energy pushed her further ahead, though she made sure not to move too far ahead of Lehtia. “How much farther do you think it is?” She asked the black doe behind her. “Will we know it when we see it? Maybe it’s hidden or something and we have to find our way there by solving a bunch of tests!” Excitement continued to bubble in the little one as she bounded ahead, jumping over rocks and various other ‘obstacles’ as she went.

Lehtia moved warily as their path led them from one terrain to the next. They had started to encounter sand, and this was the first time that she had come across such a sight. She found herself a bit unsure of this new flooring, and though it seemed solid enough to walk on, at least for the most part, she was still a bit hesitant about it. “Perhaps we could go around this place.” She spoke the idea aloud, glancing over at Lika to see what her opinion on the matter was. It would take a lot longer to get by, but Lehtia couldn’t help but wonder what could happen to them out there. The ground, she just didn’t trust this ground.



“Go around? Why, this stuff is neat!” Lika darted around, kicking up the pale ground and laughing loudly as some caught on the wind and blew further away. it might be a bit warmer here, but she liked this crazy stuff all over the ground! “I wonder where all this stuff came from! Do you think there is grass and stuff still under it all? Maybe the wind blew it all here and it got stuck!” Whatever the case she was having a lot more fun than the dark doe was.

Suddenly a voice called out. Lehtia slowed her pace as she looked around for it’s owner and came to a halt when she saw the lion. It was surely he who had spoken to him, as there was no one else around. The black doe watched him carefully. He wasn’t running at them, and by the simple fact he had spoken to them first she thought it might be safe to assume he meant them no harm. At least for now, perhaps. She had no intention of letting her guard down, especially with Lika in her care. However he had greeted the pair and she did not wish to be rude. “Greetings!” She called back to him.


Lika on the other hand was not so wary. She had come across friendly predators before, and surely this lion was nice if he was saying hello to them. The younger waterbuck bounded towards the lion, ears twitching happily. “Hi there!” She shouted, slowing her pace as she came nearer. “What is all this pale stuff everywhere?” Lika questioned. There was a lot more in the direction he came, so surely he had to know what all this funny ground was.

Lehtia shook her head in reply as she came to a stop. “We just came to this land and I have never before seen this place. A strange sight compared to what we came from.” She replied softly. The mention of poisonous things in the sand caused the black doe to take a step back, one hoof raised as she stared down at the sand. She didn’t like this strange ground before, and was liking it even less now, even if she didn’t know quite hat a scorpion was. “Thank you for the warning, we shall try and be careful. I hope we are not lost.” She spoke, gaze shifting to stare past the lion. “We are searching for a herd that lies somewhere beyond this place, or perhaps in another direction entirely.” She sighed softly. “At this point I am not completely sure if we are heading in the correct direction, but I would hate to alter our course in case we are on the right path.”

“I don’t suppose you have heard tale of a herd in lands beyond these? I have heard that it calls claim to lands of their own and denfends it as such from predators.” Lehtia was not sure whether he would have heard of such a thing, but it was certainly worth a try asking. If not then it was at no loss to them, but if he had heard of it then she could make sure they were headed in the correct direction.



Lika wiggled he ears. “Sand.” She repeated, pawing at the loose ground. “I think I like sand. it’s weird, and doesn’t look tasty at all, but it sure is fun.” At the mention of poisonous scorpions Lika looked closely a the sand below her, ears perking forward as she watched it as if expecting something to pop out.

Lehatia sighed lightly, but a smile spread across her face. “Unfortunately I do not. In fact I am not even sure if it really exists other than the word of some travelling birds. However I will still keep looking for it. I thank you anyways.” Lehtia looked over at the younger buck for a moment then back out towards the sandy terrain ahead. “I don’t suppose you could at least point us towards a place we could rest the night at least?” If they were going to be travelling through this place then she certainly didn’t want to start already weary from travels. A fresh start in a new day seemed the better plan, especially if there were deadly black thinks within the sand. She would rather her eyes fresh after rest to spot anything crawling around her hooves. Just the thought of it make her skin twitch anxiously.


Lika looked from the lion back to the sand. “Well..okay then.” She had been quite tempted to taste the stuff, but she certainly didn’t want to get a belly ache from doing so. Achey bellies were never fun. Ears wiggled happily as the paw rubbed her head. The young waterbuck wondered silently if this sand place had a lot of lions this nice, ones that wouldn’t just up and chase you down. If it did then she’d be sad to see it go after they passed through it, though her excitement for what may lay beyond still lingered.

Lehtia followed after the lion, making sure to keep an eye on the rambunctious Lika as they went. “Thank you, that is quite generous of you. I do hope we are not pulling you away from any other business you had.” She spoke after him, ears perked forward as she stared ahead past the lion. She was eager to get to this cave. The day’s travels had certainly made her weary, and she was looking forward to a hopefully quiet graze, assuming this place they were heading to had not obtained any new residents since the last time the dark male had seen it.

It was only a short time however until they came to it and Lehtia gave it a quick look, as well as give the air a tentative sniff. The scents here were old, a good sign. If no other predators had taking to sheltering within then perhaps they would be lucky enough to have a relatively safe place to rest. “You have been more than helpful, and thank you again.” She looked back at the cave thoguhtfully. It certainly wasn’t somewhere she would have thought to sleep, so used to sleeping out in the open as she was, but she was more than willing to stay here for the night.


Lika followed bouncily after the older pair ahead of her, gaze shifting around them as they headed towards this cave. They finally reached the place and all came to a halt, Lika included. She had never slept inside a cave before, or really even been in one! She glanced over at Lehtia and the lion before leaving the pair to explore the cave.