Gwalchmei was lost. He was SO LOST. It wasn't even funny, but at elast if it had been funny that'd have meant there was someone around to laugh about it with (or even just laugh AT him). As things stood though, there was no one and NOTHING around in any direction. He'd found the desert, yeah, but then he was pretty sure he'd been going in circles. The mountain stayed a fixed point on the skyline, and no matter how he walked it never seemed to creep closer. And there was neither sight nor sound of the pride he'd heard tell of from a wandering, hooded lion.

Of course, it'd sounded interesting, but that didn't mean he'd be able to get to it. How things were now, he'd probably starve first. Or..what was the opposite of drown? Funny that. There was a word for dying from being hungry, but none for being thirsty. He considered that fact as he jogged along, up one dune and down the next. Just because he would probably die because of...thirst-vation? That was a word, sure. Just because he'd probably die trying didn't mean that he was going to give up!

The desert didn't particularly bother Daima, if he were to be completely honest. He'd traveled many different types of terrain, and frequented deserts more often than most to visit family that had made their home there. It was always a tricky journey to make, one of secrecy and masking his true form. The great lions of the Firekin didn't take well to gods, which made visiting his oldest daughter rather... Tricky.

But that was hardly what he had planned for today. No, he'd heard some rather interesting rumors about a rather young pride that had sprung up in the desert and constantly wandered its sands. A curiosity, and one he had every intention to investigate.

Of course, it was in the course of this investigation that he'd spotted a single lion wandering the sands below him, and much like the proverbial cat, curiosity got the better of him. A quick adjustment of his wings sent him spiraling downwards, the flames trailing sparks behind him as he descended before crashing into the sand paw first, kicking up dust and debris. It wasn't his most elegant landing, but it certainly had an effect. There were few things more intimidating than a rather enormous god rising from the dissipating cloud of dust he'd just rather forcefully kicked up.

To say Gwal was startled would be an understatement. The male had made a rather strange, almost keening sort of...whine sound before pitching sideways, stumbling a few steps before crashing over on his side in the sand. "What the heck was that?!" He asked aloud, shaking the dust out of his mane. "Is the sky bloody falling?" He managed to twist back onto his feet, hacking at the sand-filled air and blinking against the stinging grains.

Of course, the dark, looking figure of a literal GOD caught his attention fairly quickly, and he felt all his fur rise to stand on end down his spine. "What in the gods' name are YOU then?" He'd never seen a god before, and to be honest, even though he'd just spoken of something being 'in the gods name'...he'd never really thought much about their literal existence. Dimly he registered that running away might be ideal... but he was so curious. Or maybe just stupid.

There was something innately satisfying about freaking out mortals, Daima thought. Sometimes it was so easy to do. A little drama in an entrance, a little exaggerating his size, and he'd have the mortals frozen in absolute terror. Or intimidated. Or whatever you wanted to call it. The fact of that matter was it was extremely entertaining.

So he was pleased to get such a reaction out of this particular lion, and it was difficult for him not to look smug as the dust cleared. He lifted a paw, flexing his claws to inspect them nonchalantly while keeping an eye on the other lion out of the corner of his eye. Not that it was obvious. With no irises or pupils, his gaze could be rather unnerving since there were no means to tell where exactly he had it focused.

"What in the gods name indeed?" he teased, lips pulling up into an amused smile. "I think you rather answered your own question."

Of course no one had ever called Gwal the brightest lion around either. He stepped closer, leaning in, squinting and tilting his head as if some feature of this strange fellow would give him more information about just what on earth he was looking at. "Balls to that, I didn't answer anything!" He squawked, almost looking affronted. "I asked you what YOU are, I didn't call you some feather-backed jumbo-lion...Is that what you are?"

He darted to the side, circling and staring. He moved more like an overeager cub than someone dangerous though, all gangly limbs and thrumming energy. "You know your back's got someth—GET DOWN! ROLL YOU IDIOT, YOUR BACK'S ON FIRE!" The ever-so-helpful fellow instantly started kicking up sand, trying to smother what he thought were flames. They WERE flames, of course, but not quite the danger he thought they were. This was just his luck. He finally finds someone (an outpost of that pride maybe?) and...and...and! Maybe lightning had struck him? Was that what lightning did? Amazing! And scary...!

Daima had always been told there was a first for everything, but as long as he'd been around he'd been absolutely certain he'd used them all up. As it just so happened, he'd been very, very wrong about that. He could honestly say that he'd never had a mortal try to smother the flames on his wings before, and he coughed rather inelegantly as sand was kicked in his face.

It was by pure reflex that he pulled one wing around to shield his face, guarding his eyes with the more solid structure of his wings as opposed to the flames that were flickering sporadically as sand was kicked on them.

"I'm aware I'm on fire!" Thankfully, with his wing now shielding his face, it gave him plenty of time to clear his mouth of what little sand had gotten into it. Eugh. "The fire is part of my body, and I'd really appreciate if you'd stop kicking sand in my face."

It took several minutes for the god's words to register in the boggled lion's mind. In the meantime he was determinedly digging away, kicking sand all over and occasionally shoving at the god's side, urging him to roll over. When he DID realize what had been dais to him he stumbled to a stop and blinked. He was just as coated in sand as Daima by then, and he spluttered out a mouthful. "But...but doesn't it hurt?" He asked as he rounded on the god, eyes wide and rather child-like in their wonder. "How'd you even get on fire on your...your..." His eyes were fixed on the limb Daima was using as a shield.

"YOU'VE GOT WINGS!" He squealed after a beat, darting backwards. Apparently having wings was far scarier and more intimidating than being on fire. "What the heck ARE you? You're like some weird bird-lion-fire thing! Are you from the pride out here? Are all the lion-things bird-lion-fire things?? I don't think I'd mind the wings but it's not worth it if you've got to be on fire forever!"

Daima really hated to judge mortals. He really did because he found it to be rather distasteful to set expectations on them before he got to know them. But sweet Mkodi, this particular lion was... Well, if he wanted to be kind, he'd call him simple. If he wanted to be honest, he'd call him an idiot.

He heaved a great sigh, shaking sand out of his mane and slowly lowering his wing to fold it back against his side, waiting for a moment to allow the flames to come roaring back to their steady burn. And once he was satisfied he turned his gaze back to the lion before him, shaking his head with a low chuckle. He was an idiot, but he seemed to be a well meaning idiot.

"I'm a god. I'm not from any pride, least of all the one that wanders this desert. I'd actually come to find out about them myself after I'd heard rumors spreading about them."

"So you mean you're not gonna make me grow wings or use lighting to set me on fire?" A beat. "Well I guess that's alright then. "What kind of god are you, huh? I guess I didn't really believe in you guys until now. Well. You're not what I expected, but still. Cool." He was circling again, stopping here or there to gauge his own height against the god's and so on. "Did you become one? Think I could be one? Oh!"

That reminded him! He was out here to find a pride! Not muck around with some weird god of being on fire. "You're looking too? I bet you can see them easy from the air. You fly, right? Why don't you go on up and look, and I'll...uhh..." What could he do? He was really good at...what was he good at again? Well, something, he was sure. "I'll just wait here and then you can come and tell me!" He tried to say it like it was a good idea, and totally not him being basically lazy.

"I can safely say I can't make you grow wings or set you on fire with lightning. Neither of those things are remotely related to my domain," Daima explained patiently, remaining surprisingly still as he was sized up by the lion. Now that the initial shock was over, the reaction he was receiving was rather familiar to him. Being bombarded with questions was hardly unusual, especially from a mortal that had never met a god before. Or at least, a god that made themselves known as a god.

But after a while he rather pointedly cleared his throat, waiting for a break in the other lion's chatter before replying to him. "That wouldn't be wise. You blend into the sands rather well, and it'd be quite easy to lose track of you if I just kept flying. How about we simply travel together instead?"