[PRP] Hula Hula Hula...dance! (Solomon x Piscor)

[Epine de Rose]

Urgh, he'd been away for so long!

All those weeks (or was it months?) of wandering back and forth through uncharted territory had left his paws numb and his fur in a very dire state. It had gotten extremely soft as of late and had even lost its curls. In truth it was back to the way it had been before he had joined the Bahari, but now it just felt weird - even the sand was getting stuck awkwardly in between his toes and he was by far the least graceful he had been in a long time.

He didn't glide any more, instead he stomped and swam through the sands, hoping that eventually he'd find his sea legs again...sadly they were coming to him very slowly.

It was for this reason that he had eventually retreated slightly inland to the borders of the Bahari'mtoto, a chance for his paws and limbs to recover before he gave it another attempt. At least out here he had some dignity and wouldn't fall on his face, plus it did put him at a decent enough vantage point to Tanana approach in the event she returned...  

[mouselet]

The leopard paused in his tracks, sniffing the salt-laced air. It had taken a great deal of time to get here, this close to the ocean. Not to mention that there'd been more cubs to raise and educate. To tell the truth, he almost missed the little furballs. Or rather, the little furballs they had been, instead of the great leopons they'd become.

Everything was different here, even from the rivers he'd swum. The terrain was sandy, slippery, and unlike anything he'd ever walked on before. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, merely different.

And out there, a white lion. The leopard kept a weather eye on the other male. He hadn't always had good encounters with the larger species...and it was always better to be cautious.

The question was...should he speak to this stranger? Or keep his silence and his distance?  

[Epine de Rose]

Seer or no, Sol had never been the most observant of individuals and he remained utterly oblivious to Piscor's existence. Suffice it to say that this did not bode well for Tanana (wherever she had wandered off to momentarily), as he was highly unlikely to spot her before crashing into her. Fortunately, Sol was not within crashing distance of Piscor and instead, he was practising his walk on slightly more solid ground.

Positioned between the rock pool and the clay turf beneath him, he padded back and forth, splaying his toes as widely as possible. It was only when he had gotten more confident, and perhaps a little bored, that he lifted up onto his hind paws and proceeded to 'walk' again.

One step, two step, a hip wiggle here and a hip wiggle there. He was doing well to maintain his balance until he tried to turn. It was at this point that his 'wiggles' became rather abrupt jerks, his lips went askew and he promptly went head first and backwards, into the rock pool behind him. A pile of twisted limbs and splashing water was all that could be seen at this point...while a very undignified series of splutters cut through the air.  

[mouselet]

Piscor was watching the whole thing. And he couldn't help it. He really couldn't. After so much time stifling his mirth at the antics of small children (who really didn't take it well when you laughed at them, instead of with them), it simply would not stay contained any longer. The green leopard laughed aloud, long and hard, at the poor white male's misstep.

But if he was going to be amused by this display of clumsiness, he supposed he owed it to the stranger to give him a paw. Hopefully he wouldn't get scratched in return. The leopard headed over to the the source of the splashing and spluttering.

"Need some help?" he called out.  

[Epine de Rose]

Do you need some help?

Well tits, apparently somebody had seen him, just when he thought his dignity couldn't get any lower! Alas, he promptly scrambled to attention, untwisting his limbs in the process. It was at this point that he promptly sat up, forelegs raised as he sat on his hind quarters with two starfish clamped firmly to his chest.

"No, no, I'm perfectly fine...no broken bone, just a minor misstep."

Admittedly he hadn't noticed the starfish immediately, but as he caught them out of the corner of his eye he gave a strained groan. He didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or yell at the injustice of it all. Instead, he elected to take the more humorous approach because if he was completely honest, it would be hilarious in hindsight.

Staring Piscor dead in the eye, he struck a pose with one paw on his hip and the other raised before lifting a brow questioningly.

"You know, for a misstep I don't think it turned out half bad, do you?" he asked and flicked his gaze down to the star fish. "They really bring out the colour of my eyes!"

Well...when in Rome?  

[mouselet]

Piscor was nodding at the expected response to his question. It must be something implicit in all males, that kept them from accepting aid until the need was rubbed into their face by force. The green leopard was about to turn and go when the white lion did something totally unexpected.

Yellow eyes widened and he stared unbelieving at the bizarre creature before him. He didn't even understand what the lion was thinking, let alone what he intended to convey with this seemingly insane action.

It was Piscor's turn to splutter as he gamed and stared. He literally couldn't forumlate the words to respond verbally.  

[Epine de Rose]

"Yeah," Solomon gave a sigh as he picked the two starfish off his chest carefully and deposited them back into the pool with a loud splotch. "Probably a bit too much," he agreed, smiling at Piscor's agape expression as he pulled himself out of the rock pool and gave a shake. He promptly sprayed water in every direction before fluffing up like a poodle, that being said, he couldn't have looked any more ridiculous than he had a few moments ago.

"The ladies wouldn't be able to handle it, they'd all swoon and I don't have enough paws to pick them all up at once," he continued, chuckling as he continued his charade. Suffice it to say that Sol was not a womaniser but he could jest with considerable ease. Now that he had settled though, he did take a seat again and tilted his head to the side as he regarded the leopard who was most certainly not from around the coastal regions.

"You're new," he stated and popped his lips. "A tourist? We get a lot of those, they've got a thing for the fish and the shiny objects."  

[mouselet]

After that...display...the leopard had completely lost his train of thought and had absolutely no idea how to treat the lion before him. He had never, in his life, encountered someone like this. Which was saying something. Not even his kids had pulled a stunt like that while he was raising them.

Luckily, the white male changed the subject to something a bit more simplistic and straightforward. That, at least, he could deal with.

"I've never seen the ocean before," Piscor answered shortly. Not to mention there were, of course, so many fish he'd never tasted living in it...and he did consider himself to be a connoiseur of aquatic prey.  

[Epine de Rose]

Poor Piscor, he'd been overwhelmed by the more playful and amusing side of Sol...if only he'd found the lion in the middle of construction work, then he would have been in a more serious frame of mind. Alas, such was the way of things and on this occasion Piscor was to be exposed to a more light hearted form of conversation which was usually what 'tourists' preferred - they didn't really need to know the inner workings of the pride and/or any unrest.

...Although there hadn't been any unrest lately.

"Ah well, we have plenty of it," he motioned behind him and returned his gaze to Piscor. "Though there are a few rules that should be considered before you go in as others like yourself have been hurt due to their naivety," he confessed. He coiled his tail around his hindlegs and glanced over his shoulder again to the ocean that was just visible over some of the jungle's tree line.

"For a start you should avoid swimming at around noon, just as the moon comes out and just as it wanes," he explained. "Otherwise you'll get sucked in and never come out..."  

[mouselet]

At least the strange white lion seemed willing to settle down and have a more serious conversation with Piscor, that was one point in his favor. And he seemed to be helpful as well, bringing up dangers that a newcomer to the coast might not otherwise know about! The leopard found himself relaxing a bit as the dialogue removed itself back to more well-charted conversatonal territory.

He found himself nodding with interest as the other male explained. "That is very good to know..."

Perhaps this random meeting could be of great benefit.  

[Epine de Rose]

"Yes I'd say that's one of the more important things to learn about," Solomon agreed and offered another of his signature smiles to the leopard. Truthfully the lion didn't have much more to say in regards to his home given that it was a relatively relaxed environment. It was for this reason that he pursed his lips and then shrugged, what else could he possibly say?

"The only other thing I can think of is to not seduce the females, it's taken very badly," he added and then chuckled. "Beyond that I can only say enjoy your stay? The food is fantastic, especially if you have a knack for catching the bigger game!" It was with this that he lapsed into silence, lifted a paw and pointed to one trail in particular.

"That one leads to the beach by the way, it's the most direct route."  

[mouselet]

The leopard nodded. "My thanks," he replied courteously, before turning for the indicated path. He meant not just the direction, the tidal information, but also the advice about the females. Piscor didn't necessarily see lionesses as being particularly different from leopardesses, and he'd known enough of both to be sure.