The trio had been traveling for a while now, heading in an eastward direction. Wamblee had mentioned that his father had once mentioned a pride by the sea in a desert to the east, where his grandfather had been a patron god. As they'd left the Ukuucha lands, the trees had opened up more and the grasslands lay before them, mostly undisturbed. As they stopped near a watering hole, Katiti decided to take a dip and wash her coat out. The yellow lioness found a good-sized tree that had long-since been knocked down by an elephant and began to try and shove it to the water. She didn't after all, want to get her paws muddy after the effort of getting into the water. She gave a grunt, ears folding back as she pushed and shoved.
Wamblee lapped at the water, eyes closed as he was lost in thought for a moment. They had been traveling for four days, and in another couple would be by the sea... And then they'd have to find a pride along it. He didn't think the desert pride by the sea would still be there, as they had passed a lion on the road who'd said the pride had dispersed some time ago. The news hadn't sat too well with Wamblee and it made him rather sad. But that meant hey could try another pride, another place where they could live together as a group.
His ear flicked and he lifted his head, listening to a scraping sound. Blinking, he turned and looked to his right and stared at Katiti pushing a fallen tree. The white lion frowned, before standing and walking over. "What are you doing?"
Katiti eyed Wamblee, before stopping and sitting down, panting. "I don't want to get my paws muddy! So I'm pushing this tree to the water." She looked at it, then Wamblee. "Why don't you help me?" She gave the tree a pat with her paw, then dragged her claws down it. "Oh, who am I kidding? We're lions, we can't move this! We'd need an elephant to move it!" She let out a dramatic sigh, before flopping over. "What should I do, Wamblee? I don't want muddy paws, that would defeat the purpose of jumping in the water! but it looks so cool and inviting..." She stretched her paw out to him. "What should I do?"
Wamblee couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, Katiti, we'd need an elephant to move that! Or an exceptionally large god! I don't see a god anywhere around here, and I certainly doubt an elephant would be willing to help us! This isn't the Pridelands, where you can walk right up to an elephant and her calf and have a cozy chat by the river... The elephant would try to kill you." He'd noticed a dramatic difference between the non-carnivores of the Pridelands and the non-carnivores of other lands. It was startling, to say the least. He looked at the watering hole, then started to walk the perimiter. He returned rather quickly, a smile on his face. "Your paws will be fine, Katiti, there's a spot over there where there's a large flat rock jutting into the water."
Katiti sat up, looking toward where Wamblee had indicated. With a joyous sound, she ran over and ran onto the rock, before jumping on in. The splash was spectacular, and she swam around, scaring the fish that were in the pool. When she finally pulled herself out, dripping wet, she found a good spot on another rock to lay down and groom herself. The dip had accomplished, in fact, three things - She was going to be shining clean now, she was cooled off, and she was getting hydration in her system. When she had finished, she stretched out in the sun, a smile on her face and her eyes closed.
The white lion chuckled, watching the yellow lioness relax, before going over to where Emera was laying under a tree. They soon joined Katiti, all of them relaxing and taking a mid-morning nap. Eventually, though, they were up and on the move again, simply walking. Now and then, they passed a rogue, and heard about a place to go. But it was Emera's visions that pointed them to a pride by the sea with a jungle... And they'd found two. Two days out from the edge of the territories, Wamblee found a place to lay under a tree, letting out a sigh. "I don't know which one to go to, Katiti... Emera doesn't care which one, as long as we're all happy..." She made it seem so EASY...
Katiti settled by Wamblee, smiling as Emera settled on her other side and soon fell asleep. This time she checked that the other lioness was truly asleep before she talked with Wamblee. She leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. "Well, we have two choices... Bahari'mtoto, and Kizingo'zaa..." Her tail flicked as she remembered the wing-marked, blue-faced tan lion they'd asked about it. He'd given quite the family tree information, and the information for a number of lions in the pride. "You have family there... Including a niece!"
Wamblee crossed one paw over the other, smiling a bit to himself. "I do, indeed... And I like that fact, actually." He looked at Katiti, smiling somewhat sadly. "I'm just sorry that you have no family there, or Emera." He nuzzled first one lioness, and then the other. "But the pride does seem up our path... Kizingo'zaa, then?" He gently nudged Katiti's shoulder with his paw. "Go be gypsies?"
Katiti grinned, headbutting his shoulder. "We'll be the most fabulous gypsies." She looked over at Emera. "And we'll clean HER up so her hair's tamed!" She ruffled Emera's mop of had hair, a rather unruly fluffy mess.
He chuckled, smiling at Katiti. "Don't worry, we'll tame her wild hair. We have two days to do that, and have ourselves ALL looking fabulous." Far be it from Wamblee to be humble about himself... Or his ladies. No, Wamblee was too vain to show up dirty and disheveled. He'd show up groomed, sparkling, and ready to be admired!
Katiti laughed, then licked Wamblee's cheek. "Go to sleep, my vain, vain, mate! Emera has the right idea!" She stretched and yawned, then settled down, all but pulling the other lioness close as she fell asleep.
Wamblee watched his lionesses sleep, smiling. He knew Katiti was as vain as he was, like a perfect match. The only reason Emera wasn't vain was because she couldn't see TO be vain. She only knew what her colors and markings were because they'd been described to her. She at least knew what colors were because of her visions, but... Oh, he was thinking too much! The white lion stretched and yawned, before laying down his head and curling his tail around the two lionesses, falling asleep with them.