(An AIM log between Fiction and myself.)

In the dusk of the mid evening fog, a spry adolescent lioness snuck around the border. Zephyr plastered her white coat against the sand, scuttling around like a turtle until she reached the jungle, when she dove into the brush. She cackled egotistically. “You are so good, girl,” she murmured, shaking her head back and forth for a quick peek before taking off at a dead run.
It wasn’t often that she was allowed to sneak away from her parents and their ever careful eyes, but today was special. The ocean was eerily quiet lately, drawing their attention away from the mischievous girl long enough to let her do as she pleased. And what was that? Hunting of course! She was going to be the best huntress there ever was, and how could she do that without having some practice?

Of course, she was far from sneaky as she ran through the brush, stepping on twigs and stones. It was only by a sheer miracle that she hadn’t run into anything yet.

Koukakala was nearing a pride border, being a serious rouge that he was the dark lion prided himself on knowing his surroundings. His blue mane seemed to shine a bit in the shadows as his dark form faded from sight, most times he found this to be annoying, after all how could one hunt out in the green grass with blue popping up where it shouldn't, but he could smell a faint tang of salt on the air.

He was hoping to talk to a pride member, to find out about this pride, the young adult was tired of wandering and wanted a place to call his own. His own mane finished growing in just a few months ago and with it came the feeling that he needed a home. The den in the rouge lands was all good for his mother but Kou wanted neighbors, friends, family, and maybe even a mate... someone to call his and only his. But first a home. The dark lion believed in taking steps in everything he did from hunting to deciding on a direction to go and the first step in deciding on a home was to talk to someone from it. From the vary vigorous noises he was hearing from the underbrush he was about to fulfill his first step.

Oh ho! Zephyr’s golden gaze zeroed in on her target. A rogue male, something she had never seen before in her life!, and so close at that! She shivered with happiness. It took all of her willpower not to jump out and pounce him. After all, for a moment she didn’t even know there was a lion in the jungle until she’d seen that little bobbing blue mane of his.
Steadying herself, Zephyr raised her bum in the air, paws at the ready before he rushed him, giving in to her urge to pounce before she chickened out at the last second and pulled up short. Her claws skidded against the ground in her mad dash to stop and it worked….partially. She ended up doing a somersault in front of him, but she hadn’t crashed into him, so that was good. “Omph!” Zephyr’s entire body sprawled out on the ground, her paws up in the air and her face a mixture of embarrassment and psychotic delight. “Hey?”

Kou was quite surprised when a white, blue, and black blur came flying out at him from the bushes. Had he miscalculated? Was this a pride that disliked strangers? Was this some crazy, blood thirsty creature that wanted his blood. When the blur landed in front of him it quickly became clear that the blur was just a lioness who apparently mistaken him as prey... he hoped. "Are you ok?" He took a few steps backward to study the lioness clearly.

Her black blocking back stood out against her white fur with the blue belly as a surprising and pleasing pop of color. Her eyes were golden like a sunset. She was by far the most striking lioness he had ever met and unless he was mistaken she was nearly his age, just slightly younger. Focus Kou, keep your mind on what you are doing. The young lion pulled his mind away from the tug of desire he felt, his mind controlled all baser needs like desire and lust. "Might you be a member of this pride?" He nodded towards the bushes that the lioness had just come barreling out of.

“Ya, I’m fine.” She gingerly picked herself up, brushing off the larger clumps of dirt without bothering about the rest. Appearances weren’t something that Zephyr had time for, not when she was out on her adventure. Of course, that all changed when she looked up at the lion she’d almost demolished. He was…Gods above was he pretty. That solid black coat, that mane, those dark, mysterious eyes….Zephyr mentally slapped herself. It really was time to get away from her sisters when she started thinking about those kinds of things.

Zephyr found herself sitting up straighter, despite herself, and nodding politely, instead of the quick hash she was used to. “I am. Why do you ask?” Maybe he would stay! How wicked awesome would that be, to have known the rogue first hand before he came to the pride.

"I'm glad." He smiled and like the female he sat a bit straighter. After all it never hurt to look as put together after all this female might become one of his pride mates. "My name is Koukakala although most call me Kou and I was researching the prides in this area." Kou glanced away from the lioness to study the surrounding area. The trees were green and large, plenty of water and sunlight, the brush underneath was thick but only in the areas that Kou could see plenty of light filtering through the trees. He could hear the twittering of the birds and the rustling of other creatures. He focused back on the female, "Your home seems quite beautiful. Would you be willing to tell me more about it?"

"Koukakala?" She repeated, then laughed lightly. "Gods above! What a long name. It's a good thing you have a nickname, Kou. Who knows how I would have pronounced your name any other time." Zephyr grinned. She followed his gaze to the surrounding area. As lush as the jungle was, it didn't begin to compare to the beach where the waves eagerly ate up the sand and tickled your toes on the way in. Where the fish scurried just far enough away from hungry paws to tease, and where her family currently called home. "Why not? We're called the Bahari'mtoto, and the ocean is our home. I've heard alot of other rogues say that the ranks and what not are the same in other prides, but ours is focused on the ocean." She said, wistfully looking through the trees. She couldn't see it clearly here, but she knew it was out there. "I don't really know how to explain it....it's just, home, you know?"

Kou smiled, her laughter was infectious. "Yeah my mom really liked descriptive names. Mine translated to black water." His smile was bright and full of self amusement. His name always made him smile at himself, such a long name for such a descriptive term and it truly said nothing about his personality. "I know not all want to share their names," He had actually met a few who believed that to give someone your name was to give them power of you, "but what may I call you?"

"Bahari'mtoto hun?" He thought for a moment. No it was not a pride that he had heard of yet. The lioness's comment about ranks made Kou say, "Many prides have different ranks. I would expect this one to be similar although I have yet to learn about one that focuses on the ocean. It must be a major part of your pride's life." He followed her gaze back through the trees. He had a feeling that she was looking back towards the heart of the pride and the ocean, if his guess was correct. "Home. I guess that really does explain it." For this beautiful creature this place was home and it was the feeling that Kou wanted to feel.

“I can see that.” Zephyr nodded. “You looked like a wave rolling through the jungle when all I could see was your mane. It was really cool.” She grinned, her pale cheeks flushed. Was his being a rogue having this effect on her, or was it just that he was an unrelated, attractive male? “My name? It’s nothing descriptive, but I like it well enough.” The young lioness perked herself up, standing as tall as she could. “I’m Zephyr. My mother gave it to me. She said it’s because I entered life like a storm, and that I’m as stubborn as the waves.” She laughed. “Guess she’s right.”

She scratched the back of her head, imitating one of her male friends more than she’d like. “Oh, it is. Life and happiness comes from the Ocean. It not only protects us, but we get fish to eat, and strange plants for our medicine.” In all honesty, she didn’t know a lot about it herself, but suddenly it was very important to seem knowledgeable. “What’s your home like, Kou? Is it by the water as well?”

Kou laughed, "That has to be the best visual I was ever told. Normally I get a bouncing blue spot or something else ridiculousness." When she told him her name Kou bowed his head and said quite seriously, "It is a honer to meet you Zephyr." His smile was bright and full of laughter, "I would say that your name is pretty accurate, after all you did come out of those bushes like a little storm."

There was little Kou could say about Zephyr's brief description of her ocean but he could tell that for her, it was as near to a deity as one could think, if not one. He was distracted thinking about the idea of a thing being looked upon as a god like figure, "Hum? Oh my home? Well I live out in the rouge lands. I grew up moving around a lot for safety and food. Mostly we would find a place with fresh water like a stream or a watering hole and a defensible den like rocks or a tree." He trailed off, his mind far away on his mother. How was she fairing on her own? Was she really ok with her little cub wandering off to make his own way in the world?

Zephyr laughed heartily, and tossed her head to the side sheepishly. “I wouldn’t call meeting me an honor, a Queen or a King maybe, but not me. It’s been really nice meeting you, though.” His smile warmed her. There was something about it that tamed the tempest, and helped her to find peace in just talking with someone new.

“That sounds…really unpleasant.” She scrunched her nose up. “And nice at the same time. I’ve never been outside of the pride, this is my first time, so I wouldn’t know, but if you were to ask me, having a place to call home just sounds nicer.” Zephyr shook her head with an irritated huff. Why couldn’t she that sound right? “I’m not bragging, I swear, but I just….”

"Ahh but that is where your wrong. It is always a honor to meet a lovely lioness such as yourself." Kou smiled brightly, for the most part he was joking around but there was a part of him that meant the 'lovely' comment. "It really isn't that bad but sometimes I missed not staying in one place for my entire life. To wake up on day and realize that you are in a different area yet again can be quite frustrating as a cub but as I got older I saw the point in it." I also made a promise to myself that my own cubs wouldn't have to travel like I did, he silently added. This was the main reason he was on the search to find a pride to live in. He didn't want to find a home that he like just to up and leave it for what ever reason, it was just not in his heart to do so. "I understand Zephyr, having a place to call home is exactly what I'm looking for."

“Lovely?!” She squeaked, then slapped her paw over her mouth. Zephyr hadn’t meant it to come out that way, but the comment had shocked her to the core. It was the first time she’d ever been complimented on her appearance. “Sorry about that,” she coughed into her paw. “I have something in my…uh, throat. Ya, in my throat.

Hearing his words made something click inside of her. Zephyr couldn’t believe that she hadn’t seen the solution before, and could almost have slapped herself for it. “In that case, why don’t you just stay here?”

Kou nearly laughed at Zephyr's squeak but he didn't want to seem to be making fun of her so he kept his pleased smile mild and without a hint of the amusement he felt. "Understandable. The dust must be causing that." They both knew it wasn't dust but Kou was to much of a gentle-lion to disagree with a female.

With the lionesses suggestion Kou was struck speechless. This was what he wanted in the long run, a pride to call his own but he knew he hadn't finished looking around. And yet he was so very tempted. Not just by the pretty face he was currently talking to but by the environment, by the feel of the land, and by the idea of living by the ocean. Could he bypass everything he had done so far to say yes? In his heart Kou knew that he couldn't. Methodical steps is how he decides things and he still had more prides to look at. "Zephyr.... I'm sorry but I can't say yes, yet." Kou stressed the yet since he had a pretty good idea he would return to this pride, he just needed to be sure. "I have to be sure I'm choosing the right place to settle since I don't ever want to be forever moving." He fell silent, hoping that she would understand. Something deep inside of him yelling at him to just accept and remain here with her.

Oh yes, the dust and a gambit of raging teenage hormones! She couldn't meet his eyes for a while, far too embarrassed to even begin to walk out of that fib.

She didn't want to feel the way she did; that disappointment that shouldn't have been hers to claim. Still, the young lioness gave a sigh and nodded. "It's alright, this is a big decision." One that she had never had to make, thank goodness! "Just...well, you should come back to tell me where you've settled, so I can visit, you know?"

The adolescent was about to say something else when she heard a great roar in the background, one that had her ducking like a child caught with it's hand in the cookie jar. Zephyr groaned, and slumped against the sand. "That would be my father. He's going to kill me." Very much like the teenager she was, the lioness turned on her paw and started to walk off, only to pause and look over her shoulder with a smile. "Good luck, Kou! It was really nice meeting you!"

And with that, she disappeared back to the sea.