Her dreams were plaguing her, lately. In speaking to her uncle, once, Arevik had learned that visions of the future weren’t always cut and dry. They could simply be POSSIBLE futures, with nothing set in stone for sure. She was sure, though, that her dreams lately had been more direct. She’d never been, herself, being a Water Seeker, but she kept dreaming of what she’d heard others describe the Kitwana lands as, and her dreams kept making up different lions, and… Really, it was all confusing. She let out a sigh, hiding from the blazing sun under a rock overhang. Very unlike her mother and a couple cousins, her sister, her nieces and nephews, and many other white lions of the pride, she disliked the way the sun made her back feel. She just wished she had the confidence to step away from it all.

Very much unlike Arevik, Ogon was unperturbed by the sun and its heat. Perhaps it was because his coat looked slightly like the sun itself. Or maybe it was because he had become accustomed to wary looks, whispers as he passed, due to his pedigree, and pridemates’ concern about his Nergui bloodline leading him to betrayal of the pride no longer bothered him. If he could stand the sting of distrust of those he was born amid, surely he could stand the burn of the sun on his back. Still, he knew trust others had in him was tenuous at best, with those in the medical dens vouching the most for his character as somebody hard-working and dedicated to the pride. But that only went so far. What he needed was something more substantial, something like… He spied Arevik, and a slight smile came to his face. “Good day, Arevik. Hiding from the hot desert sun as usual?”

Giving a start, the white lioness looked up, eyes shifting over the lion before her as he came into focus. “Oh… Ogon. Hello.” She shifted, stretching out on the cool sand. “Yes. The sun doesn’t agree with my white pelt.” She looked down at her paws, shifting one over the sand. Really, it didn’t seem that much about the desert and life in it agreed with her. She had no fire on her coat - A fireless Firekin, as it were. She was at least glad for one piece of her grandfather’s legacy being her not being named something derogatory. Her mother had never said if Bodaway and Kiunguza had argued about it, though, so it might have still been her grandmother’s legacy. Regardless, that was one she considered a BETTER legacy. Her lack of mate prospects was the biggest negative legacy both had given her, one more inadvertently than the other.

He let out a hum and looked over over. “No, I don’t imagine it would. Getting out of the sun is a good idea for somebody with a coat as pale as yours is.” Her nieces and nephews did just that, most working in the medical wards. Rashmi, Arevik’s older sister, seemed far braver, hunting despite her white coat and the harsh sun. “I don’t imagine everybody’s meant for the desert, though, even born in it.” Ogon began walking over, then stopped, motioning to the sand next to her with one large paw. “May I join you? It’s rude of me to not ask.”

Arevik regarded Ogon for a moment, taking into consideration the social implications it could make to share space with him. After a moment, she nodded. She really didn’t think it’d matter, anyway. She had no fire, what would anybody care if she was laying next to a son of a Nergui? “And do you think you’re meant for the desert?” He certainly looked like the sun had reached down and spit on part of a skeleton. His brother looked even more-so like a skeleton had caught fire, what with that skull marking. Really, most of his family did. She crossed her paws, contemplating her own siblings. Her brothers were, of course, almost as white as she was, while only her oldest sister was white. Her other sister, on the other paw, was as red as the blood in their veins. Savitri treated none of them any different, though, and that she appreciated.

Settling down in the sand, Ogon considered Arevik’s question. “Maybe. I’m not uncomfortable here, outside the stares.” They were certainly bothersome. There was also the constant need for him to prove his motives were not against the pride that he’d been born to and raised in. His Nergui bloodline was only that, a bloodline. It meant little to him more than he wasn’t related to half the pride or more. His tail flicked, one ear twitching. “Tell me, Arevik. What sort of visions of the future do you see?”

She let out a small gasp, jerking in surprise. Looking at Ogon, her ears folded back. “How do you-” Arevik’s brows went up, eyes widening. “You’re a seer… Aren’t you?” When she got a nod, her gaze returned to her paws, body relaxing slightly. “Sometimes I see myself staying here, forever… But most often, I see myself elsewhere. Other places. Other prides. Once, a potential future was traveling around a mountain. But that eventually stopped. Another time, I dreamt of a land filled with painted lions. They left markings on their bodies, much as my mother does, but more complex than emulating the markings on our cousins.” Her tail curled, recalling the most recent dreams plaguing her. “But the ones that come back most are of what I’ve heard the Kitwana lands described as.”

Ogon was thoughtful, lifting some sand in his paw. As it sifted between his toes, he contemplated. Finally, he put his paw back in the sand. “You’re seeing potential futures of where you could be, possibly forever. And curiously, none are here.” He looked at Arevik, taking in everything about her. Finally, he clicked his tongue, gaze turning back to the horizon. The blue of the sky was a bright contrast to the red-gold of the sand, with sand dust blowing across the distant dunes. “I suspect you wish to leave this place, where you feel you don’t belong. Am I right?”

”You’re… Not wrong.” Sorrow filled Arevik’s green eyes, staring off at the middle distance. “Look at me, I have no fire. Why should I stay? But I worry about leaving, the fact I may not leave some kind of legacy or anything when I’m gone. What impact would I make if I just left? A grain of sand, blown away to the erstwhile.” She found it quite lonely. “Do you ever feel like that, Ogon?”

”Now and then.” He shifted, tail flicking. It landed seemingly randomly across hers, as he looked at her. “But, I have a proposition. You don’t have to say yes, and if you say no I’ll diddle on off back to the medical wards.” When she looked at him, he continued, “Everybody is convinced I’m this evil silent menace because of who my father is, something I can’t help. I wish to improve that viewpoint and prove to the others that I’m not some lurking monster in their midst. So my proposal to you is cubs.”

”Cubs…” Arevik looked at Ogon, one eyebrow up and the other dipped low, as if he had lost his mind. “What do cubs have to do with anything?”

”Because,” he said, one paw lifting to rest his chin on it, eyes trained on Arevik’s, “raising cubs to be model little Firekin would prove to the pride my intentions are good, and I’m not some secret agent of lions I’ve never met.” He didn’t even talk to his father, frankly. He barely knew him. The only languages Ogon knew were the common tongue and the Hongshan tongue. If somebody began spitting at him in Nergui, he wouldn’t know a single word. “And this would allow you, too, to prove you have fire. But if things don’t work out, we simply cut ties after they’ve grown. You don’t have to, of course, like I said, but the offer’s on the sand.”

Arevik was thoughtful, looking out into the sands. After a moment, she crossed her paws. “Well, it’s not like either of our standings could possibly get WORSE from it. Worst case scenario, our standings remain the same with the rest of the pride.” Finally, she nodded. “Alright. Let’s do this. It’s a smart match, anyway. We share no relation, and the cubs would stand a better chance at finding mates in the pride without being too closely related.”

Ogon smiled, bowing his head. “Alright.” Hopefully, this would be how those in the pride who disliked him based on his pedigree finally accepted him as just another Firekin.