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 Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 1:10 pm
 Inia tiptoed across the sand, tail twitching as her eyes focused in on the klipspringer bending down to nibble at bush. It was mid-morning, about the time of day when the heat of the sun burned away the last bit of the coolness from dawn. Her training told her that she should find shade and rest until evening. Her stomach said otherwise. She needed to eat, and who could pass up a lone, and most likely lost to be found this far into the desert, klipspringer right in front of her?
The lioness crept up to a rock and peeked out behind it. The klipspringer froze for a second, but went back to eating. Inia flexed her muscles, then sprang. The klipspringer tried to leap away, but Inia knocked it to the ground mid-air. She pounced, landing on the klipspringer's spine and snapping it.
Inia smiled as she picked up the carcass, trotting back to the small watering hole she had found earlier that morning. It would give her some shade and a drink of water until it was cool enough to travel again. As she settled down to eat, Inia felt a pang of sadness. How often had she done this with her friends, her sisters, back home? Inia wished she could find someone to lead her back. She had no doubt that she had gotten herself good and lost by now. The only thing she could do was to make the best of her situation.
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Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 1:52 pm
 Sahar skidded across the sand as she travelled. Even though she had been running on the sand for a while now, she still wasn't used to the feeling of the sand running through her toes. The sand was hot and would feel like it was burning the underside of her feet! Ontop of that if she stopped moving the heat became worse, and her feet would semi-sink into the sand. She was awfully hungry too. Yes, the whole reason she entered the desert was because she was chasing her potental next meal. A snake of all things. It slithered across the desert with ease, making it quite difficult for Sahar to keep up. By now she had lost all sight of it. The only thing left for to do now was hope she was travelling towards food. Ah, maybe a paradise of snake infested grasslands where she would never fail in her hunt. As the lone Jackal continued running around in the desert in search of food she caught sight of something in the distance. Water? Water was good. Water meant food was near. Sahar picked up the pace. She spotted somebody there as well. What was that? Somebody who was lost?... All of a sudden Sahar's movements slowed and she seemed almost frozen. It was a lion. No, there wasn't a mane so... A lioness? The little Jackal considered turning around and running away, she was terrified of Lions and Cheetahs! A pain that emerged from her stomach stopped her from fleeing. Only that's about all that it did, Sahar just stood there watching the Lioness carefully.
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Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 2:28 pm
Inia's head snapped up as something raced by in her peripheral vision. A piece of the klipspringer's leg hung out of her mouth as she stared at the creature across the small spring. It was a small jackal, staring at her with red eyes wide with fear. Did it think that Inia was going to attack? She already had a meal. Maybe, it was hungry? Inia swallowed a peice of the meat and debated whether or not to stand. Standing would probably frighten the poor thing, so....
Inia tilted her head to the side. She wondered if it would understand her. Back in the Tuait'tekem, she had seen birds that could talk with their lion companions. Maybe it could do the same. Inia cleared her throat. "Hello there," but it was hardly a whisper. It had been so long since she had used her voice. "Hello there!" The lioness called again, this time louder. "It's quite hot out." She gestured to the trees. "There's plenty of shade over here." Inia smiled at the jackal, ear perked forward as she waited for a response.
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Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 3:22 pm
Sahar's ears bended back slightly and she was cautious as she approched the lioness. Even her voice seemed a little nervious and shaking as she spoke. "Hope you don't mind having a little company!" She gave a small very fake laugh afterwards. She then crossed the spring and layed down a few feet away from the stranger. In the heat that choice of action could be considered reasonable. Besides, Sahar was laying directly in the shade now. Entering it felt like jumping into a pool of water. It was completely refreshing.
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Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 3:39 pm
Inia couldn't stop the wide smile that broke out over her face. It could talk! Or rather, her, as the voice had sounded rather feminine. The lioness' violet eyes tracked the jackal as she waded through the shallow water and sat down near her. She couldn't help but wonder how it the jackal must get, with all her black fur. Inia knew that her own black stripe often felt warmer than the rest of her body. She couldn't imagine what it must be like being black all over. Though she guessed it would make for better camouflage at night.
The jackal was obviously nervous. Perhaps all small creatures were nervous. Inia remembered the birds, eyes always darting around and near-flinching any time someone moved too close too fast. "Of course not, little one." She said softly. "There's room here enough for two. Inia looked down at her kill. There was no doubt that she could finish the whole thing off. She could probably down a second one if she had it. But her mother had taught her manners. The jackal may not be a fellow pride member, but they would be sharing the space for a few hours if jackal intended to stay. Besides, the jackal was small. Inia wouldn't be giving away too much. "Are you hungry?" Inia asked, pawing at the klipspringer. She could probably tear off one of the legs. Thighs were always a good part of the kill, and leg bones always had delicious marrow.
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Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 5:12 pm
Sahar nodded her head. "Yes..." Her voice was very hushed, but loud enough to be heard. She then looked up at Inia and examined her. Her fur a nice color. And she did seem to have any noticable battle wounds. All and all the lioness didn't seem like she had any intention of hurting Sahar in any way. This caused the jackal's ears to perk up a bit. She needn't be worried so much. She wasn't quite ready to completely relax, but she felt that Inia wasn't a threat.
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 11:37 am
The lioness' smile grew wider. The jackal reminded her of a lost little cub. It made her feel homesick, but strangely comforted at the same time. This was something she was used to: Relaxing in the shade and sharing a meal with another pride member. Sure, she was out in the middle of nowhere, and this creature certainly wasn't one of her fellow huntresses, but it was better than nothing. And Inia was always one to see her cup as half-full.
Inia ripped off one of the klipspringer's back legs, cracking the bone off at the hip. The jackal still seemed nervous, so Inia decided it best not to stand up and walk over towards her. Instead, the lioness tossed the leg across the distance between them. The leg landed in the middle. Inia hoped it would coax the jackal to come a little bit closer. "Do you have a name, little one?' Did other creatures even names themselves? Inia had been fairly certain that the birds in the Tuait'tekem were named by their lion protectors. Though maybe since it had been able to talk, it would have a name as well.
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 2:20 pm
The jackal nodded. "I'm Sahar." She said proudly. Any other species she had bothered talking too often asked if she had a name. It wasn't the typical line "What is your name?" but rather "Do you have one?" Sahar wasn't bothered by it though. She simply suspected that others weren't too sure about how the familars' lives worked. She for one didn't know how the larger species lives worked; the only thing she knew was certain of was that they lived in "prides". Or at least, most of them. This lioness didn't, or at least, Sahar didn't think she did. In any case Sahar had been staring at the klipspringer's leg this whole time. She almost stared drooling too. Howver she quickly snapped back into reality and scooted over towards the lioness. "Your...?" Sahar asked as she bit into the leg.
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Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2012 4:03 pm
Inia brightened up considerably as Sahar scooted over towards her. The lioness had to restrain herself from scooting closer as well; she didn't want to scare the poor thing off again. It was good that she had a name though. Inia wasn't sure she would have been able to give the jackal a name. Names were important things, and should only be bestowed by parents or priests.
Another pang of homesickness struck her suddenly. The possibility of never seeing anyone in her pride again was starting to become a reality. The lioness gave a small sigh and turned back to Sahar.
"My name? I am Inia." She smiled sadly, picking at the klipspringer's now exposed ribs. "I was named for the water that flowed in my pride's territory." Inia added. She was silent for a moment, staring at her meal. Inia was silent a lot these days. Being alone for so long was starting to affect her conversationalist skills. She was forgetting how to talk to people. Inia shook her head a little, slightly embarrassed for having spaced out. "What brings you so far into the desert, Sahar?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 9:07 am
What was Sahar doing so far off in the desert anyways? She began nibbling on the leg Inia gave her and thought about why she was here. After she swallowed she spoke what she thought was the best cause to her running all over the place. "Well I was hungry but, I wanted to... Explore? She padded at the ground. "I've never really seen this type of dirt before either..." She had once before. She was playing tag with a pup and they happened to wander towards this "sand" as it was called. But other than that her encounter with the substance was very limited. Indeed, as she was starving running across the savanna Sahar saw that the ground turned soft, hot, and above all unstable. It had sparked her curiousity and the little jackal who knew so little about it couldn't resist running across it to see where it lead. But now she regretted her decision. This sand had little food, Sahar wouldn't last out here, she needed to go back to the plains where the ground didn't shift as she attempted to stand. At least there she could hunt properly.
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 9:26 am
Inia's lips twitched with amusement as she watched the jackal rise unsteadily to her feet. Sahar obviously had little experience walking on sand. The poor thing was probably lost, much like Inia was. But at least Inia knew how to survive in the desert. She had grown up in the sands all her life. This little creature...Inia bit her lip as confusing thought muddled her brain.
Her mother and father had always taught her to help those in need. Sahar was most certainly in need of help. And didn't the priests used to say that one's heart must do good in order to pass Osiris' judgement at death?
But Inia wanted to continue searching for home. She wanted nothing more than to be back amongst the temples and the beautiful oases. She wanted to be back amongst her friends and family.
The lioness pushed the klipspringer's skeleton away from her, a decision made. She had been gone from home for so long already. It had been months since her journey first started. Would a few days really make that much of a difference? Inia had already come across so much bad in the past few weeks. It was time to balance it out with some good.
"Sahar, I believe I know a way out the desert. If you would like, I can lead you there." The lioness offered, looking up at the black jackal. {{OOC: Okay, so, do you have an AIM we could plot on? I'm thinking her leading Sahar out the desert will eventually lead to her meeting Neirin and heading to the PL.}}
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 10:23 am
Sahar's eyes lit up at the idea of standing on firm ground again. Sand was alright, but it was certainly a challange to walk on. "You really know a way out?" Her left foot sunk into the sand as she fought to obtain balance. Sahar was trying to be optimisic in her head. Inia was a lion, but she had offered Sahar some of her lunch and had now offered to show her a way off the sand. Lion's weren't all that bad after all, only some were violent and ignored Sahar. Inia wasn't one of those, she was kind. "Alright." She nodded her head, making up her mind. "I'll follow you then." She shuffled across the sand closer to Inia. {{OOC: No, I don't think I do... But there's an IM thingamabob on gaia here. We could use that?}}
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 11:19 am
Inia smiled. She was going to have a companion again. Traveling wouldn't be so bad now. "It will take us a few days to get there. We should sit and wait out the heat of the day." She motioned to the space next to her. "In desert we travel by night, not by day when the sun is at it's highest." The lioness explained. It felt odd, talking so much when only a few days ago she hadn't been speaking at all. Her voice was still rather hoarse. Inia wondered if it would ever return to normal.
The lioness moved to a more comfortable position, getting herself ready for a nap. She had purpose now. And this time, she knew where she was going. "Come and rest. It is good to let a full belly sit for a while." Her mother's own words, now being passed on to someone else. The lioness rested her head on her paws, violet eyes slipping closed.{{OOC: I'm gonna call this one a wrap, unless you want to make one more closing post. And the Gaia IM thing doesn't save conversations like AIM does. I guess we could use it unless you'd prefer PMs}}
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 11:56 am
Sahar layed back down on the sand and mimiced Inia by resting her head on her paws. She looked at the lioness as she thought about how just a little while eariler she was terrifed of Inia. Now she was going to travel with her. It was a good thing though, for Sahar had always travelled alone, cautious of those around her. That was one of the many benefits to having friends or even simple travelling compainions, the feeling of security. Before Sahar closed her red eyes and absorbed the heat of the sun, she smiled slightly at the thoughts that filled her mind. Maybe she didn't have all that much to fear after all. {{If we use PMs we'll have are conversation saved, so it might be best just to use that.}}
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Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 10:21 am
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