The rocky outcropping was hot. Too hot, really, but moving was far too much effort for the lone resident who sat atop it. And the next nearest stone with such a good view of the migrating herds was a good half hour's walk, even at a swift trot. That was too much effort by far. Instead she sprawled out on her stomach, using one front paw to drag over a haunch of zebra she'd been wise enough to bring along as a picnic. She tore a strip from it, delicately chewing. Not a speck of blood dotted her white fur.
Lookout duty wasn't all that fun, but since it was a way she could help, she reminded herself to be glad to do it. She couldn't hunt, but she could watch. Though that still seemed...very unfulfilling. A sigh escaped her, and she rolled a bit, turning herself so that she lay across her right side.
Can'aisha had wandered into lands comparatively rich with prey, and rather pleasant to traverse. He was having quite the time in his travels. Granted, he still felt rather set adrift after his pride had dissolved. Though he doubted that he was born into the Mizimu'Tungika, it was the only home he had ever known, and he was aware of his upcoming death as a sacrifice ever since he had been a cub. When he was freed of that obligation, and the possibility of a long and happy life became very real, and he wasn't sure how to take it. The lion almost wished he'd been sacrificed. Maybe it would have pleased the gods and the pride wouldn't have disbanded. It certainly would have been easier than having to learn how to work independent from a pride.
But he was having to make do, and for a couple of seasons, he had managed. He still longed for a place to belong, and maybe also someone to belong to. As he wandered further and further into these lands, the scent of lions grew stronger and stronger. With any luck, maybe there would be a pride nearby. And maybe they'd allow him to become a part of it.
Long gone were the days of preybeasts being all tan and dull and similarly colored. They came in as many hues as the beasts that hunted them. And being upwind, she didn't see or smell the lone lion coming at first. When she did, she rose halfway, still laying, but on her chest from the middle up. She watched him draw nearer...he didn't quite seem to know where he was going. Or at least, he wasn't in a big hurry. It seemed like he'd found a gap in the chain of scouts on the edge of the pride, or slipped in between two. Not that the Pridelands were terribly suspicious. For a brief moment she worried that he would be trouble. She surely couldn't outrun him, or fight him off...
She crossed her front paws, took a steadying breath, and called out. "Hello there? Can I help you with something? You've wandered into the Pridelands..."
