[SRP] Your Poison in My Veins (Faraja/Al-Ha)

[Meepfur]

This felt weird. This felt very, very weird. Only a few feet over the border of the Aka'mleli lands, and Faraja was distinctly nervous. At the same time, however, there was an inexplicable relief. It was like his paws had been itching, and all of a sudden the itching had just stopped. And it felt so, so much better! Confused by the conflicting feelings, he glanced back at his home. Looking at it behind him was...sad. He didn't like being sad.

Overwhelmed by the moment, he sat. And he stared. And sighed.

Perched on a rock to his left, Amini clacked her beak at him. "Are you alright?"

"I...I don't know," he answered quietly. "I think I need a minute."  

[Meepfur]

Al-Hattal hadn't been in this area in what seemed like a long time, not since he'd been mortal. So perhaps it was accurate to say that it really had been a long time, and didn't just seem like one. It was, essentially, a lifetime ago. Not that it particularly mattered to him. It was just another place, as far as he was concerned. Some were notable in some way or another, whether for very large or unique or even dangerous prides (or other groups, for that matter), but he didn't recall anything especially compelling around here.

There was a pride around here, he knew, but he didn't know all that much about it. They had a close relationship with birds, or some such thing. There'd been another pride a ways north of here, too, but he'd heard that one had disbanded. He'd 'visited' a female from each the last time he was in the neighborhood.

That was one benefit to prides: the concentrated population in one area meant a concentration of females in one area. It was rather convenient, at least when they were the open sort of pride. Some were not very friendly about rogue males roving around, let alone mating with their females. Other didn't care at all, like the Pridelands. Oh, he did so love the Pridelands! It had been far too long since he'd visited, an oversight that needed to be corrected.

He always...did well there. Very well.  

[Meepfur]

With the persistent restlessness that had plagued his feet and mind for days finally subsiding, Faraja felt exhaustion begin to seep in in its place. All of his fretting had made it difficult to sleep, and as such he'd only rested in short fits and starts interspersed with uneasy pacing. It was only now that the tension had been relieved that he realized just how tense he really had been. He took several long, deep breaths, and let each of them out slowly.

He felt...better. More like himself. Like a very tired version of himself, but it was still an improvement. He heaved a great sigh and lay down, closing his eyes for a moment.

But only for a moment, before Amini spoke again. "Hey, Faraja? Not to interrupt, but there's someone headed this way."

What? Really? But he'd just gotten comfortable! Reluctantly, he opened his eyes to see what Amini was on about.

Oh. Well. That was a big lion. He supposed, as much as he would have liked to sleep, he should see who it was and why they were here. They were awfully close to the border, after all. "Hello...?"  

[Meepfur]

Bother. There was someone here, and it was another male. Other males were boring, almost without exception. They weren't pretty, they weren't interesting, and in short, were usually a waste of his time. If they were ever anything, it was competition, and that was just annoying. Be that as it may, he wasn't going to just ignore the other lion and leave. There was some small possibility that he might have news or information that could be useful, and besides that, ignoring people was just plain rude. Al-Hattal usually tried to be polite, regardless of who he was dealing with.

"Hello," he echoed, then noticed that the lion wasn't alone. There was an eagle, too, and so he amended, "Hello to you both."  

[Meepfur]

Faraja was a social lion, rather chatty in fact, but this was...a little bit awkward, he had to admit. He'd never been across the border before, never had a run-in with a rogue of any sort, and he wasn't entirely certain what he was supposed to say. In lieu of a better idea, he settled for polite introductions. "I'm Faraja," he offered, raising himself up into a sit with no small amount of effort. "And this is Amini."

His companion nodded, and added, "And you are?"  

[Meepfur]

"Al-Hattal," he supplied. Boring as usual, so far. "You two aren't some sort of guard, are you? I'm not trespassing?" This didn't feel like pridal land, but it was probably close. And knowing that that bird-pride was nearby, it seemed reasonable to assume that this pair was part of it.  

[Meepfur]

"Not really, no, we're not guards. We were just...I was just going for a walk. I couldn't sleep," Faraja explained, perhaps more than was strictly necessary. "And no, you're not trespassing, not yet. Keep going much further and you will be."

Something about the name 'Al-hattal' tickled the back of his mind, but he couldn't place it. There was something else about him, though...

Faraja narrowed his eyes and looked at the other male more closely. At first, he'd written him off as 'all black' and thought nothing of it, but the shade was familiar. And the eyes. Together, they were familiar. "You know...you kind of remind me of someone. Have you come this way before?"  

[Meepfur]

"Duly noted. I'll be careful not to become a trespasser, then." And that would probably have been the end of the utterly unthrilling conversation, had Faraja not studied him further and commented on his looking familiar. Al-Hattal had been down this road before on several occasions, and it was almost never not awkward.

...and now that he looked, those purple eyes were familiar. They were his mother's eyes. Damn. "I have. Once."  

[Meepfur]

"I knew it!" Faraja exclaimed, springing up to get an even closer look. "I knew there was something about you! My sister Ambata looks like you, except with stripes. I look more like my mom. Halili."

Amini cleared her throat, interrupting him. "Easy, Faraja. Don't go climbing all over him."

"Oh, um, sorry." He backed up a few steps and sat down again. "I just- um. I didn't think I'd ever actually meet you. Hi?"  

[Meepfur]

Al-Hattal sighed. He hated this part. It was one downside to returning to the same place, running into assorted offspring. Sometimes they were angry, sometimes they wanted a relationship with him, sometimes they just wanted something, but he was never as interested in them as they were in him.

"Listen, kid, I'm just passing by. I'm not sticking around or anything, alright? As a matter of fact, I should probably get going. I've got...somewhere to be."

As in anywhere but here.  

[Meepfur]

"Wait! Maybe you can help me! I don't...want you to stay or anything, I don't know you and that's okay. I don't need to. I just...when I said I couldn't sleep, well, it's worse than that. It's like I can't be still, and I don't know why. I want to walk. I want to leave, even though I don't really." He rushed to get it all out, desperate to get the other male - to get his father - to listen to him before he disappeared. "Do you know why? Have you ever felt like that?"  

[Meepfur]

Help him? Oh no, he did not like where this was going! Al-Hattal turned to leave, but the younger male kept on talking, and his request wasn't such a terrible one. An answer was easy enough to give.

He didn't turn around, but he did speak. "I always feel like that. I'm the God of Rogues, after all."

Nevermind that he hadn't been when he'd met Halili, but it was a small detail. Let the kid think he was the son of a god, maybe it would help. Maybe not. It didn't really matter, not to Al-Hattal.

He took another step, and disappeared.