Jirachi let out a great yawn, he had traveled a lot of distance looking for a pride he had heard about from others. He wasn’t really all that sure that it was somewhere he would want to stay but from what he heard it was sorta beautiful in a unique way and he figured he needed to at least go and see it once. For most of his life Jirachi had spent his life in hot climates and open fields, it was after all the best place to stretch his legs. But this place was supposedly much different than anything he had seen. Sure it was still fairly open space but it was covered in ice and snow. The ground beneath his feet had begun to grow cold, so now with every step he took he hoped that he would see the tell tale signs of pride living, he wasn’t really sure how much further he had to go but at the moment his cold paws felt like they were just about ready to fall of.
As a healer in the pride Laci always liked to patrol the borders a couple of times a day. It wasn’t uncommon for the occasional traveller to underestimate the tolls it would take on the body travelling this far north, and in this cold of a temperature. Taking a deep breath the cold air nipped at her lungs. She shifted the pouch she had tied around her neck. She didn’t have too much in it just what she would need the most, some strong smelling herbs, and some bandages, plus she kept a pelt of fur thrown over her back. She would have been fine without it but in the event she found someone in need she had it there.
When Jirachi saw movement up ahead of him he let out a sigh of relief he had honestly thought that he was never going to arrive at this pride. He had begun to think those who had told him about it were just mean spirited souls who liked to play pranks. He began to trot in his excitement at the sight of another living soul, it had been what felt like weeks, though he knew it had likely only been a day or two. He found the cold weather to be so draining, you had to expend so much energy just to stay warm. “Hi, Hello” he called out he wanted the lioness he had spotted to know that he was friendly, he didn’t want her to run off out of fear of him. On a good day he would be able to catch her in any sort of foot rack but today he was really just too exhausted.
Laci’s ears perked as soon as she heard the voice. Her eyes scanned the horizon looking for the owner of the voice. It took a couple of scans before she spotted the male cheetah. She counted her blessing again that she was a healer and not a guard her eyesight was terrible. “Hi” she called back a smile on her lips, Laci always did her best to treat people with as much kindness and friendliness she could she figured the sick needed every good thing coming their way they already had enough.
“Are you doing okay. My name is Laci.” she told him doing her best to give him a quick look over without being too obvious about it. She was relieved to see no obvious signs of a real physical injury. Perhap he had just been travelling for a while and was relieved to see another living soul.
“I am just so happy to see you.” Jirachi a smile spreading on his lips before his knees grew weak and actually gave out slightly. Wobbling he moved to stand up again. “My name is Jirachi.” he told her his voice struggling with his attempts to stand. He was a little embarrassed by his apparent weak state he hadn’t even realized how bad he was feeling until the relief of seeing her washed over him. Flooded with relief his legs just didn’t seem to be able to hold himself up anymore.
“It’s okay Jirachi.” Laci told him she moved to crouch beside him. She shifted her weight allowing the fur pelt to slip from her back. She carefully moved it around so that it covered the majority of the male cheetah. She knew that the warmth would help him feel better. “Why don’t we just sit here for a little while let you catch your breath.” she told him her voice filled with warmth. She cooed softly while she kept her eye on all of Jirachi’s vitals. She didn’t think he was in any danger but it just seemed like a good idea that way if anything changed for better or worse Laci would see it coming.
“Thank you.” Jirachi said his lips chattering slightly. He hadn’t realized it until Laci mentioned catching his breath but he was a little breathless. He curled underneath the pelts she had laid on him. Purring slightly at the warmth they gave. It wasn’t long before he felt his eyelids drooping his body was way more tired than he had ever thought. Perhaps he had pushed himself way too hard on this last leg of his journey but thankfully it was over, this lioness had to be from the pride he was looking for.
Laci watched as the male fell asleep she wished that she had been able to get him back into the borders of the pride before he had fallen asleep, but she couldn’t help when his body needed to rest. Since she wasn’t able to carry him back to the pride herself she moved and made herself comfortable and set up to wait out his rest. She would give him an hour or two, and then if he hadn’t woken on his own she would use his smelling herbs. She hadn’t had anything else planned for the day so she was okay waiting it out for now. She knew worse case that a guard patrol would come this way before dark set in and she would be able to get this cheetah home. She smiled down at the male again, glad she had happened to be in the right place at the right time.
