Hajari sighed as he padded along, close to a bluff. Although he had gotten to meet some of his family, they hadn’t been able to convince him to stay with their pack and so he had eventually wandered off in search of a place he could really call home, or at least a place he felt fit better with him. Perhaps he would go back to his siblings if he truly couldn’t find a place that fit him in all aspects. At least he would be with family there. So, he was all-alone here out in the rogue lands, unable to call even anyone else his friend.

Themba was in the middle of a lion-nap under a tree. He was rolling around a bit in his sleep as he pawed up in the air a bit during his dreams. Of course he couldn’t really say what he was dreaming about, it was all so disjointed and weird that it would be hard to describe if he had to put it into words. His ears twitched a bit more before he suddenly woke up with a jolt. He wasn’t sure what had caused him to wake up, but he tried his best to get up quickly and check if there was any danger in the vicinity. Looking around though, all he could see was a gray object heading in his general direction.

Hajari wasn’t really sure where he was going at this point, but hopefully he could find some gazelle soon. He was starting to get hungry and his stomach helpfully pointed this out to him. He growled a bit, slightly angry at his stomach even though he knew he would have to eat soon. However, he heard something move and his attention was immediately upon where the sound had come from. Looking around he managed to spot a lion somewhat close by. He froze. Would this lion be hungry enough to attack him? Hopefully he would be able to outrun the beast before the lion could catch up to him.

Themba could tell the wild dog was scared. He shouldn’t be surprised though, one wild dog was no match against a full-grown adult male lion. He smiled gently at the wild dog though, his stomach full and not in the mood to take down something that usually wasn’t considered a good meal. “You probably won’t believe me, but you can pass through. I’m not hungry right now and you don’t look like you would be a very good meal anyway.” He said to the dog while chuckling a bit.

Hajari frowned as the lion spoke to him. Perhaps the lion was just trying to trick him into lowering his guard. Though the lion didn’t seem to be in any mood to hunt. It looked like the lion had just woken up from a nap. Hopefully after having eaten. Maybe that meant that there was some food nearby? Perhaps the lion would be willing to share in what knowledge there was of the local forms of prey. “I thank you. Though I am kind of hungry. Do you know if there are any gazelle nearby?” He might be able to take one down himself when he was this hungry; after all, he had survived this long by himself out in the roguelands already right?

Themba thought about the question. He was still pretty new to the area himself and so hadn’t really been able to tell where the prey tended to gather. “Unfortunately I just entered this area myself and couldn’t really say. Though I have seen some gazelle over yonder, hopefully it shouldn’t be too far for you.” He said while lazily using one of his paws to show the right direction. He had only barely seen the gazelle. Instead he had gone after some zebra so that he would stay fuller for longer. Though it would be good to be able to tell where all of the prey was in case he couldn’t catch a certain kind.

Hajari nodded in thanks. He only hoped he would be able to catch one today, otherwise he might be in some real trouble. “Thank you. While I’m asking questions here though, if you’re willing to answer them, can you tell me of any possible places I might want to avoid? I know you said you were new yourself to the area but you’ve probably been here longer than me and I would like to get out of here alive at least.” If he had to he would run away and find somewhere else to catch some prey. He wouldn’t risk being killed by something else while trying to catch a meal if the area was too dangerous.

Themba shrugged his shoulders as much as he could. “I would just avoid the river that runs through here. From what I’ve seen, there are some hippos that are claiming it as theirs and tend to snap at anything that gets near the water.” He had unfortunately gotten snapped at himself as he tried to take a drink from there. Luckily he didn’t need to drink too badly, but he was still trying to find a better watering hole to be able to quench his thirst. “Otherwise it’s pretty peaceful from what I’ve seen here, though that’s not to say I know everything that’s living here. I may have just been lucky so far.”

Lucky? What does a lion have to worry about other some hippos and crocs? Themba couldn’t imagine what a lion would be afraid of, and he didn’t want to find out. They were the top of the food chain, or so he thought, so he really wanted to avoid whatever they were scared of. He nodded his head once again. “All right, river is out then. But I think I’ll go and check out the area that you said the gazelle were in. Thanks once again.” He said, nodding once again quickly before scampering off, wary that the lion may change his mind.

Themba nodded his head in return, though he doubted that the wild dog had been able to see it as he had left quite quickly. Ah well, at least something interesting happened today. He thought to himself as he settled himself down for another nap.