Tomorbaatar had spent the afternoon resting in the shade of a stretch of tangled undergrowth. His rest, unusually, had been deep sleep that had lasted longer than it normally would when he was out on his own like he was. It couldn't even be blamed on physical exhaustion. Rather, that recent events had left him drained.

When he woke he thought, at first, that it was the bird singing somewhere just above his head, in the tops of the scrub. But, a few moments later and he heard the distinct, steady thud of paws on dry ground.

A lion.

After a few moments of shifting so that he could cast his eyes out across the ground and remain hidden, he saw that the intruder was of the female variety - her pale paws and long legs all that he could see from his current position. Part of him wanted to just lie there and wait for her to pass, except that his movement had obviously not gone unmissed. She was standing still now and likely glancing around her cautiously.

She was alone, then.

If she was out hunting with her sisters and companions then she would have no need to be so twitchy...unless she was stalking prey alone and was growing desperate for food.

Well, if it was the latter, he'd have to disappoint her. He was no prey.

With a low groan at having to move, he pulled himself slowly out from where he had been concealed and stretched his body under the light of the sun. Then, when he had finished and he looked across at her he was surprised to see how pretty she was. He'd never been a romantic sort. Love tied you down. Love made fools of those who embraced the emotion. And yet, this female drew his eye.

"Lost, are we?" he called, looping slowly around to her.

She shifted uneasily and regarded him as one might a crocodile. "One is only lost when they have somewhere they need to be."

"Which means you are a hopeless wanderer with no place to call home? A rogue."

"Aren't you? There are no prides near here and I would know."

"Funny. I'd say you look quite out of yoru element."

"And I'd say, shut your mouth." The female took a step to the side - clearly intending to take her leave. It was then that Tomorbaatar did something else out of character. He stopped her - moving in front to block her path. He could tell she was afraid of him and her immediate snarl did nothing to hide that fact.

"I'm no rogue."

"I'll say again--"

"--my pride is some distance from here. I'm what you might call: a scout."

She looked at him disbelieving and he gave her a shrug, taking a seat and peering across at her curiously.

"What is the use of a pride scout?"

"We have our uses," he smiled, "and I enjoy the freedom it gives."

"Of course you do," she replied, taking another step and hurrying past him before he could stop her. He watched as she picked up the pace, trying not to look as if she was hurrying to widen the gap between them and utterly failing. Was he all that scary? Had he lost his touch? Or had she just been badly treated before now?

With a smile, he gave chase and, in a few moments, her pace had gone from hasty walk to full out run. He widened his gait and smiled into the wind as he went after her, wondering who would tire first. Him? Or her? As he gained, he could hear her breathing hard and, when he was almost upon her she turned and went for him, claws aimed for his face, her teeth flashing in her mouth.

He reared backwards to avoid the worst of her defensive move, though her paw caught him - the claws were lost in his mane and did very little to dissuade him.

"Well now, I don't know whether to be offended or amused."

She lowered her posture and snarled, backing away from him, "leave me alone."

"Fine, fine," he backed away from her, too, and sat himself down in the dust once more. "I'll be offended, seeing as you're acting as if I'm some sort of monster."

"I don't know you," she spat back at him.

"That's true. And maybe...maybe I'm not so nice." He smiled at her widening eyes and, with a small bob of his head, got back to his paws and turned away, heading back to his secluded little shelter. He didn't have any particular desire to hunt just yet and going home was out of the question - for the time being, anyway.

When he paused to glance back, the pale beauty was still standing there, watching him. Curious thing, she was. Skittish and completely alone and, though pretty, was not in the best condition. Maybe she was a pride cat who'd been kicked from the nest recently? It was hard to say. And likely, he'd never find out.

With a yawn, he stretched out in the shade once more and lay his head across a forearm, looking out across the great expanse and thinking on everything that he had learned. He thought he knew the world and, strangely, after the Bahari meeting, he felt as if he knew nothing. He thought of Solomon, too. The son of a goddess. A seer. He wondered what it all meant until his head hurt and, with a grunt of annoyance, tried to find the solace of sleep once more.

When sleep finally found him he saw a great winged lion flying across the sun. The world turned to shadow, the ground rumbled beneath his feet and through the cracks that began to appear in the dirt, long thorny tendrils snaked up like living things. They caught him around the legs and pulled him to the earth, snaking through his mane and around his neck. He gagged and gasped, struggling to draw breath until he awoke to darkness, his lungs burning from the memory of it.

/end