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The landscape was so dull around Rakesh that it was hard to miss the distinctive form of a lioness. That wasn't just because he was a young male, and inclined towards taking interest in females. Rather, it was because everything around him was so lifeless and bland. Even the little patches of grass he came across were cold to the touch. Trees stood tall, but leaves had long ago withered away. The tips of branches were broken off, either from wind or some careless elephant. Anything that moved in this landscape was like a fresh breath of air. Sometimes the wind would startled him, would shake an achey branch of a tree and make him believe that something was in it.

But, while there had been nothing before, the pale lioness certainly was something. She was living, moving, and while she seemed dead set on the trail ahead of her Rakesh was confident he could convince her to take a detour from whatever path she was on. Perhaps he was starved for company after living so long on his own. He had grown up in a pride, and while that pride had never been sunshine and butterflies, it still had the feel of family. The blue lion liked to think that he was simply bored, and that a lioness was by far the most interesting thing that would come his way. He would have avoided a male lion altogether, because they entailed some danger. Rakesh was by no means small, but he was still young, and well, he liked to keep his head above water.

His approach was slow to give her warning, though when he got close enough to notice the look on her face he doubted that she had even taken note of him by far. It ruffled his budding ego, but he cast aside his annoyance. The lioness was pretty, and if he inherited anything from his father it was his love for things that were pretty. "Where are you headed?" he greeted Na'an without actually greeting her. His tone was hardly demanding, his rough voice instead slightly inquisitive. He was curious as to where she could possibly be headed, but well, his true interest was simply her. Well, he must have been far more bored than he thought himself to be.

Na'an hadn't noticed the lion until he was close enough for her to hear his steps. Even then, she hardly made any motion to give him any attention; her gaze moved to the corner of her eye as she still moved, glancing at him without giving him any sort of reaction. And even as he spoke, it didn't seem like he made any sort of impression. But her steps slowed, then stopped (when, on another day, she might have given him a cold shoulder and just continued on her way); perhaps she was bored? Lonely? If so, she certainly wouldn't say so.

Her eyes were sharp but pale, a pastel color that stood out against her fur as she stared down the lion who had approached her. She didn't look particularly intimidating; Na'an had a lither figure than her warrior of a sister, but there was still something in that empty look that could be a bit… haunting.

He was interesting looking, she'd give him that (but again, no motion to show that she thought so). What, the lioness wondered, could he possibly want? There was always some sort of motive, and they all seemed pretty damn boring. That or just someone aching for "small talk," and gods knew she wasn't going to waste her time on such a bore.

The moment of silence that followed the lion's word could be considered… well. Awkward. But Na'an stretched it out as long as she could before answering with a terse "If you need something, then you should know that I'm not the one to give it."

Her words didn't seem to come off as that harsh, though her response wasn't the kindest out there. Na'an's voice was one that seemed distant, regardless of how close they may have stood. It was almost mystical, in a sort of eerie way that reflected the general air of her character.

Na'an looked him over, eyes giving the slightest tense as she examined. She looked almost scrutinizing.

There was something intriguing about the way the pale lioness carried herself. It wasn't aggressive, or exactly demure. Rather it was assertive but aloof, and altogether interesting. He supposed that if he was going to run into somebody else, it was nice that it was someone that could start the wheels in his mind turning. Rakesh did not believe he'd be disappointed with this encounter, though the lioness could still very well try to turn him away - not that he'd listen, he didn't feel inclined to listen to anyone today.

The silence that lingered between them was heavy and unsettling. He hated feeling as if he were waiting for her very breath, for the words to form against the tip of her tongue. Rakesh had patience, but he did not want to be led around by some rogue lioness. His sisters had done that to him enough times when he was a cub, and as an adult he felt like it was time to come into his own. And that meant not being led on by a stranger.

So, why did he wait for her to speak, then? Rakesh wasn't sure he knew the answer to that himself, so didn't let his mind dwell on the question for long. "I suppose you are not," he answered, a little surprised by her response though he realized he shouldn't have been. For some reason, it felt like the reply she gave him suited the personality his mind was attaching to her. "But, I hardly think that means you can't give me something." He had no idea what he was aiming for, but it was most likely simply conversation. Right now, he wasn't sure he wanted anything else from her. It wasn't like he needed anything that she could possibly have, but want was an emotion he was far more willing to associate with running into her.

Some lions were just too interesting to let slip through his claws.

Na'an exhaled, long and slow, as he spoke. There was nothing glaringly interesting about this lion. His pelt was interesting, but nothing he had said had really called her attention. Usually, this was the point in the conversation where either whoever she was talking to would get the hint and leave, or she herself with brush the lion off and be on her merry way. Today wasn't really the day for that, though, and somewhere under it all Na'an felt as though she could make something interesting of it.

A brow raised, inquisitive. She wasn't really one for small talk. What was the point of it, after all? Still, there must have been some sort of way to make the conversation interesting.

The shift of Na'an's body was noticeable. Her firm shoulders relaxed, her muscles relaxed, her head tilted ever so slightly in a giving sort of position. Her head leaned forward, her band shifted. Even a hint of an expression, one that could almost be considered coy, crept onto her face.

Where Na'an could be described as feeling intolerably empty, rather void of feeling and motive, she had filled herself with one simple thing: the ability to fake it all. "So what is it, exactly, that you want?" Even her voice seemed lighter.

Rakesh remained standing, if only because he wasn't sure where this conversation would lead them. He half expected the lioness to tell him to go away. Earlier she had seemed so focused on moving ahead, though in a way Rakesh had done the same thing. He was moving forward without purpose, and couldn't even decide if he liked that or not. All he knew was that moving forward was better than standing still and becoming stagnant. Something was bound to happen sooner or later that would help him make up his mind, but from the way life was pacing itself with him, he expected it to be later.

When Na'an relaxed, the dark blue lion seemed to follow suit. His rigid pose relaxed, and an easy smile found its way onto his face. The young male did not exactly exude an abudance of confidence, but there was enough of it there to make him sure of himself. As far as he could tell, the lioness was beginning to warm up to him. She was giving him a chance to talk to her, and it was not one that he would pass up. He told himself that it would be a shame to turn from a pretty face, but while Rakesh was attracted to various lionesses, he was certainly not compelled always to act on it.

"For you to indulge me for a little bit," he answered easily, quickly growing comfortable with the unusual female's presence. "Conversation would be nice. You don't really meet an abudance of friendly faces in a place like this." Not that he'd describe her face as friendly... her expression before had almost been offputting, but interesting enough that Rakesh discarded the aforementioned feeling. Truthfully, he knew how to cope with unfriendly faces far more - his pride had been filled with them, and even his own family was disenchanting from time to time. "Now that I've shared what I want... what do you want?" He almost expected her not to answer his question.

"No, friendly faces seem to be exceedingly rare, don't they." Na'an's head tilted far to one side. Just conversation, hm? That seemed awful boring, now didn't it? Her expression slipped back into blankness. A bit of her wondered what she looked like, passing through all of these faces. "Not many wander through this place. Only those seeking home, love, food. Death, even. Or just some tail." She snorted, still looking him over. The fact that he already seemed so relaxed… the lioness wondered how much could be done before he started to be a bore.

"So tell me," she said, her breath leaving her body like a sigh, "which are you?" Na'an paused, her jaw setting, "Because all of those characters, they're worthlessly dull." Her head pulled from side to side, stretching out her neck as she moved. Most lions, they had their little purposes. Their reasons to be wandering. They were all searching for something, it seemed. That, or resigned and dying. Na'an couldn't bring herself to understand any of it, let alone empathize with it all. How useless it all seemed, all the petty things lions did. As if they didn't know that one day they'd just be dust, and it all would be forgotten.

The thought made her snort and her tail twitch before settling, tense, around her hind leg. Her gaze flicked back towards his, where it held firm, as if beckoning forward a reply.

He felt almost pressured by her gaze, though he certainly had no reason to feel that way. He had no obligation to this rogue lioness. Rakesh did not know her name, let alone what she was even like. Sure, he was answering her willing enough, but she seemed set on not returning the favor. It was horribly unfair for her to try and pry into his mind while leaving her own locked away. Even the emotions that passed through her expressions didn't really relay any sort of depth in her personality. One could easily be bored, simply because for a few moments she appeared to be so as well.

An honest answer was what she expected, though Rakesh figured that saying he wanted to get some tail would ensure that he got none. Besides, that was not the reason he was here. Her appearance only just conjured the notion in his mind. No, he had been wandering for a while without her influence. Rakesh did not truly want to answer her, but he realized that if he greeted her with no answer at all her interest in him would wane.

"I wouldn't say any of those, really. I think I'm just trying to avoid the trap most of my family seem to fall into. We tend to get... lost, in a way." Rakesh insofar had avoided that particular plague, though he had no idea why. Perhaps because his mind was kept mind boggingly dull with all of his aimless wandering. But, if that was the case, why was he getting tired of wandering when he knew it was the only thing that kept his head screwed on straight?

Family, huh? Na'an was doing her best to piece together what this lion was like. Honestly, she wasn't getting very far. But she was working on it. "Lost," she repeated, her brow creasing as she thought it over. She assumed that he didn't mean physically; it would be hard to argue that one wasn't lost when wandering this barren land. The lioness would only wonder, then, what he could have meant. She didn't press it, though. She could, she realized, but the more she pressed the more Na'an herself would have to give. And personally, she didn't really feel like giving that much.

"Running, then?" She blinked, raising her brow, "Tell me, what are you running from?" Okay, so she was going to keep pressing. Na'an supposed she wasn't against sharing her own little story. Who knew, maybe it would lead to something interesting from this little meeting. Something told her this wasn't a complete waste of time.

Maybe she was just getting that bored. Maybe her standards had lowered. Or maybe this lion had some potential. Maybe she could have a little fun. Gods knew that the Nergui weren't really… 'fun,' per say.

"Myself, to an extent," though that explanation wasn't truly complete. Rakesh was hoping that her prodding would stop, but realized belatedly that by sparking her curiosity he was going to have to answer to more than he expected. He was worried about thinking of it, because to explain himself he did have to dwell on the past, on his family's various ailments. He would not consider his kin crazy, rather ambitious, dark, and manipulative. There were a few good eggs scattered about in the family tree, but most seemed inclined towards one path of destruction.

"From what I know of my more distant relatives, we're not exactly the most sound family. There's this habit of becoming overwhelmed by a particular desire. I have family that are too ambitious for their own good, too mean and cruel. I have family that leave behind more children than I can count. We all seem to succumb to one ailment or another." He shrugged his shoulders, because while he didn't think these things were terrible alone, or in some sort of odd combination it wasn't the path he wanted for himself. Rakesh far favored a life where he wasn't influenced by his father's behavior, his aunts, uncles, or grandparents.

Still, he was aware that in some ways he was like his father. But, thankfully, not in all the ways that he could be. Rakesh wanted to separate himself from that part of his genetic history. He wanted to be able to forge his own way... and he had no idea why he was even explaining things to this lioness. Rakesh doubted she would understand, and would hardly be disappointed if she didn't.

Na'an's eyebrows raised at his first statement. Running from himself, hm? Well, this lion was becoming more interesting by the minute. She certainly was not disappointed. As he spoke, she listened patiently, pulling it all in. Overwhelmed by desire. Thinking about it made her heart speed. Her tail twitched behind her. How interesting. How interesting indeed. Na'an smiled a little, toothy smile. Oh yes, this lion was interesting indeed.

Things were becoming clearer. She was starting to figure out a game plan, so to speak. Though she had to keep him interested, she supposed.

In a slow, fluid movement, Na'an moved forward, leaning in so she could speak in a whisper. Even that close, she sounded distant. "My mother is the Goddess of Blood Magic. My existence is a result of a deal she had made, and nothing more. My sister leads a band of the most gruesome lions these lands have seen. My brother, my brother is too sickeningly soft for his own good." Her eyes were bright, sharp against him. "I have seen blood spilled, elderly and newborn, innocent and cruel, sometimes by my own tooth and fang." Yes, she understood. Oh, this was going to be interesting. "My name is Na'an."

He had no idea how he had suddenly garnered her interest, but he couldn't say that he disapproved of it. Rather, he was simply caught off guard when she leaned forward to whisper pieces of her life into his ear. There was so much to her story that he almost did not believe it. But, then his mind got to wandering and wondering that if this truly was her life, then what about all the holes she wasn't filling in? Na'an had summarized her past for him, but he could only imagine what details she was leaving out.

The daughter of a goddess would certainly be an interesting lioness to hang around with. He couldn't deny that there was a certain allure in that statement alone. But. she seemed a little similar to himself in a way. Their families both seemed to have boundless issues, and while he wasn't looking for a way to whine and complain about his own life... it was nice to come across someone who was just as complicated as himself. So, as she spoke he listened, and until proven otherwise he would believe her. There was no reason not to, and if it wasn't true, well, it'd be a fairly neat and fanciful story.

He caved then, because it was simply too difficult not to. Na'an had a story to tell, and he wanted to be around to listen to him. A once flat expression gave way to a smile, a sudden brightness in his eyes as her own gaze bore down into him. "Well, Na'an, I'm Rakesh."