The moon overhead was ripe and full, heavily hung just above the horizon, leaving the land nearly as well-lit as if the sun instead were in its place. Across the rippling waves of tall savanna grass, the towering peak that was the sole focus of Zim'torga's travels loomed, a darker shadow against the inky black of night. It almost seemed that the huge moon stood in opposition to the shadowy shape, making the looming mountain seeing to absorb the silvered celestial light, making it all the darker. It was hypnotizing.
But her paws were aching, and her tail dragged along the ground, the bones tied and braided in the tuft snagging and catching along the ground, rattling angrily at the lioness to slow, to stop, to rest, or never make it to her destination at all. She did not want to though. She felt somehow that time was short, and that missing the right time would set her back further than she wanted. Still, she was tired. With a snarl of frustration, she slowed and threw herself to the ground, rolling onto her side with a sigh.
On the other side of a low hillock, a pink and gold sun-hung lioness perked up, suddenly on high alert. She was a guard of her pride, a wall between them and the outside, or against any trouble inside. Of course, of late there'd been nothing BUT trouble, but that didn't mean that suddenly realizing there was a foreigner just over the hill was any less startling. Sure, she was just outside the pride's borders, but still. There'd been no reports of anyone nearby, and knowing the various lions it could be? Well. She'd done her best to keep herself and those she cared about out of any of the drama. It looked like that was about to end though.
She crept silently to the top of the little hill, staring through the grass at the sprawled figure. The moon helped light the area, but their fur was dark and from this angle they bore no distinguishing markings. It could be anyone, or no one, and whoever it was smelled strangely. Not quite like death, but certainly a related scent. Whoever it was was small though...not quite an adolescent, but...hmm. Her first instinct had been to pounce the figure, pin them, demand information. If it was a 'teen' though...well, she was a mother herself. It wouldn't feel quite right. Maybe just walking over, or even just watching them would be the better idea, for now at least.
And then the figure in the grass looked up at her.
Later when she recalled the moment, Weyard would think only that she'd seen, or thought she'd seen, a living skull with golden flaming eyes rise from the grass to leer at her. In actuality, it had been nothing more than the facial markings on the rogue lioness' head. Still, it startled her already stressed mind, and the end result was as could be expected.
She screeched in alarm, and threw herself bodily at the supposedly supernatural apparition, which shrieked back and reared to meet her.
The fight itself lasted barely more than a few seconds, because Zim'torga was in fact a lioness of flesh and blood and bone like any other, and tired as well. And it had been alarm that set them both off, not any real rage or desire to fight. Blows had barely been traded before they both broke apart again, staring at each other with wide eyes. Neither had been hurt, beyond being startled, and both of them were too young with too-strong hearts for that to be any real risk.
It was no one that Weyard recognized, so definitely a stranger. Not some spirit or apparition. Not anyone she knew was involved with what was going on inside the pride. So what was she doing here? It would be a lot more ominous if it had happened on a moonless night. As it was, the pink lioness had lived among the moon-worshipers long enough to have absorbed their beliefs. The moon was full tonight, his eye watchful over those who looked to him. It was a good luck night, or so she thought. Apparently so, too, because despite having been effectively ambushed, the skull-faced lioness seemed to be relaxing slowly, instead looking Weyard over with cautious interest.
For Zim'torga, the attack had been sudden, unexpected, but not frightening. It had ended too fast to be scary at all, and her mind was still full of the distant sight of the mountains. The sun-touched lioness had come almost from the same direction she was heading, which also made her interested in talking over fighting. She'd come quite a way from the shore-side pride where she'd first seen the distant mountains, but she still had a ways to go. If this pride turned out to have a rather large territory, they might perhaps be her neighbors one day. It wouldn't work in her favor to have an assault be her first impression to the neighbors.
"I did not mean to alarm you," she finally admitted. "I made certain to keep outside the borders here. Is this not acceptable? This amount of distance, I mean." She motioned with a shrug of a shoulder in the direction of the pride's scent markers. "It is only, you see, that I am meant to go that way." A gesture of a claw. "Towards the great distant peak. The borders, though. They block my way. I did not seek to be rude, but I do not want to go out of my way, or take longer than I must. You understand, I am sure."
Weyard was slightly taken aback by the way the stranger spoke. It was...more polite, perhaps, than she was used to. She seemed honest enough though, and Weyard knew the mountain she was talking about. "Well I hate to break it to you, but the pride bulges between here and there. You're going to be a few weeks out of your way by the time you get around it." A thought occurred to the pink lioness that made her grimace. She couldn't do that. The wine-colored lion seemed to slump slightly at the announcement though, and she felt herself sigh. Maybe, just maybe, she could share a shortcut or two. Some cut through corners of the pride's lands though and...well. She'd just have to go along, make sure no one got into any kind of trouble.
