(Ele- Painted Moose) Starga'e had been wandering around the rogue lands for a while now with her mate Lan'tis. They had met the first day she had come to the rogue lands and had been together ever since. She absentmindly batted at a bug that wouldn't leave her personal space. She was somewhat bored as Lan'tis had offered to gather up some food for lunch or dinner depending on how late he returned. Thus she was alone for the duration and she loathed being alone as she preferred company to keep her occupied.
Ele walked with a languid stride and kept his eyes on his paws. Ever since he had started this pilgrimage he’d never actually tried to figure out what his name was, or who he should be, but now it seemed important. The lanky lion crossed a great span of land before coming to a pause. Where was he, anyway? He thought about it for a second before letting it go. He’d make it back some day, but right now it was his name he had to find.
She eyed her surroundings to see if anything that would catch her interest there was still plenty of daylight left. Maybe she would take a walk? Hmmm, she could be back by the time Lan'tis arrived at their current home. It had been a good find and they had been living in this area for a few weeks now. Ah, he wouldn't mind... much. She giggled and stretched into a standing position. Sometimes you had to make your own fun and did what was right by you. Maybe she would explore the area off into the left, it did look a bit creepy with all the vines and dirty water. "Hmm, maybe I should leave Lan a note..." She eyed the area before her eyes landed on a pile of rocks. "Perfect! Make the words with rocks and off I go!"
Now this was more like it! Ele hadn't seen such swamp-perfect territory in AGES. Even if he wasn't anywhere near his home pride, being able to slosh through the stagnant water put his mind at ease. The chilled lion took a big bite out of a low hanging vine, and chewed on it as he looked around. Someone was close, that was for sure, but he couldn't say where. Shrugging his shoulders, he took another bite, and walked closer to the sounds.
"Oh my gosh," Starga'e winced as she stepped into yet another puddle of mud. This was so different than Dawnwalker land and to a certain point Rogue land. She shook her, now brown, paw with distaste and somewhat horror. "Adventure, fun, and all that good stuff I wante-AH." She squawked in shock as something had fallen from the sky--no wait a tree. A creature chirped and cheeped at her from above. "Ooh!" She glared and used her front paw to comb through her mane hoping that whatever had been thrown down wasn't liquid...Phew, no. Just a stone or pebble. "Thanks for that." She shook her head and bit her lip debating on heading back as she had been on this journey for about an hour now.
"It's a gift." Ele stated bluntly, emerging from his shroud of vines. His once vibrantly bright mane was as dingy as the water, and only his opaque eyes glowed. "A gift for not attacking her when you could have." At least, that's how he saw it. Obviously the poor creature had been traumatized, but the lioness had shown great restraint. Maybe she was a plant eater, too? She certainly didn't look like it. If he was to judge he would call her a Sky Goddess because of her coloring.
Her pale white eyes swivelled towards the voice and narrowed at the unknown male that came out of the greenery. “I suppose… even if she?” Star peered at the male thinking he knew the creature above. “-If that is the gender of such a creature is. I could use a snack right about now.” A squeak and leaves moving in a hurried movement caused her to smirk. “I guess they decided not to stick around for lunch. ” Her markings shimmered in the sun as she moved. “Is there going to be any trouble between us?” She hoped not as she didn’t honestly feel like fighting as she was dirty, hot, and getting ready to call it quits for the day.
Ele visibly frowned. Just as soon as he thought he'd met another of his kind, she'd quickly killed that notion. Still, he shook his head and smiled softly. "Unless you plan on eating me now that you're prey has gone." He looked at her closely, and raised a brow. "What are you doing here, anyway? This really isn't your element." Ele motioned to the moist terrain.
An amused smile crossed her face at the notion of eating another lion, “I don’t think you need to worry about that. I don’t think I could eat another lion and as for what I’m doing here… well to be perfectly honest I am exploring the territory. You see I live in the rogue lands with my lifemate Lan’tis who is gathering some food for the both of us. I decided to have a little look around hopefully before he gets home. Not that anything bad would happen to me if I were wandering around. He just worries.” She rambled and tried her best to wipe away the dirt. “Are you a rogue as well? I don’t think I could live in an area such as this… the air is somewhat strong and it’s so… humid.”
"A lifemate?" He grinned. "I would think that having someone worry over you like that would be a nice change of pace." Unlike the female before him, who tried to clean away the sludge, Ele merely sat in the midst of it. "Me?" He shook his head with a laugh. "No, no. I'm on a pilgrimage, and when it's over I can return." Then his grin intensified. "Well, stay away from my pride, then. All we have is swamps."
“Yes, a lifemate.” Starga’e paused. “It’s like a mate you wish to spend the rest of your days with til the end of your days. Yes, we are both very lucky to have found one another like we did. It was almost fate you could say.” She blinked at the word ‘pilgrimage’ and tilted her head. “I see sounds like an interesting thing to participate in and yes-” She let out a little laugh. “-I plan too. I am quite comfortable with being in the rogue lands for now. Speaking of which I think I’ve had enough time here and I think my fur agrees with me.” Boy was Lan’tis going to have a little laugh about her appearance.
"I don't we call them lifemates where I'm from, but we have them all the same." Ele thought of his parents, and pondered over whether they would look the same when he returned. "Do you need help finding your way back? I don't know what Lan'tis looks like, but I'm heading that way anyway, so I could help you look for him."
"Oh I see," Starga'e nodded at the possibility of another term for lovers or soulmates. "He pretty much looks like I do but with bright blue and white hair." She smiled at the other male. "And that's quite alright. I left markings on the trees with my claws incase I got lost. Thank you anyways for your kind gesture. I'm sorry to meet and run but like I said I've honestly have had enough of this place. I wish you well on your pilgrimage!"
"If he looks that much like you, then it truly must be fate!" It was almost as if the spirits themselves were lining up for her. How interesting. "Goodbye, then. Get yourself to drier land, and find that lifemate of yours." He made a mock shooing gesture. "And save that luck for your own adventures!" He smiled.
"Indeed, we look after one another." She nodded her goodbye and gave a final wave before heading back the way she came.
FIN.