It was decently early in the morning, the sun barely peeking across the sky, but Rokusasu was wide awake. He was laying sprawled across a flat rock, giving himself a thorough bath before really starting the day. His fur was generally pretty slim though, so he knew that he probably wouldn't need to do much to keep it clean. He gave a long lick against the red markings on his back, and then glanced over at the dozing black form a few paw-steps away. He'd spent the last few days with the lioness, after running into her during that storm. He had meant to leave after the rain had let up, but ended up finding himself staying with her. He could tell that he was beginning to wear out his welcome though. They would part ways today, he decided.
Said lioness was beginning to wake up, as it stood. Blinking open green eyes, she opened her mouth wide in a yawn, baring a long row of teeth in the process, and stretched herself out to rid of a few kinks in her muscles. Aislin wasn't terribly thrilled to be awake right now, but hunger was beginning to make itself known. So, with a slight grumble, she shook her fur out and sat up. She was still slouched over, not quite ready to be up and about.Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that the cheetah was still here, in what looked to be the tail end of a bath. She didn't acknowledge him quite yet though. In truth, she was ready to be back by herself again. Having someone around who was so clueless about everything around him was exhausting, and she was ready to be left alone again.
She'd been humoring Roxas for the past few days, explaining at least some of the ins and outs of living a rogue life, including how he should be wary of some of the other people he might come across. She knew that there were some lions out there who weren't terribly... receptive to other feline species. It was best to tell him to steer clear.
That said though, she was done playing babysitter to a full grown male.
Seeing that she was awake, Roku gave a last few swipes of his tongue against his back, and then stood up with a stretch. "So... I think I'm ready to head out on my own now." He nodded to her, and then turned his head north. "I'd like to start traveling, see if I can't find any clues about my past."
Shuffling a bit, he hopped down from the rock and walked up to her. "Thank you for helping me these past couple days. I really appreciate it."
He was leaving on his own? Oh, thank god! She was relieved beyond WORDS that she didn't have to chase him off herself. A contented rumble coming from her throat, "Alright. When are you heading out?" Hopefully soon. She'd love to get the day to herself. Maybe she would go catch a rabbit or something, lounge out by a pond with her meal.
"Probably after breakfast." He side-glanced her, having a feeling that he knew what she was thinking right then, "I don't want to overstay my welcome." Roku shook his head and faced her fully again, "But if we ever cross paths again, I hope it's alright if I stop and say hi." He flexed his claws in the ground for a minute, considering his words, before speaking again. "Do you want to do one more hunt before I go? I can help catch something fast for you."
Well, it would be easier to catch something with someone else.... Huffing, Aislin decided that she would do a hunt and then he could leave. It'd mean eating with him again, but she supposed she could live with that for now.
"I guess so." She stood up, stretching, and looked around for any immediate prey. It didn't look like there was anything close by, which meant having to go out and find their food. Ugh, she was still tired. But the sooner they got this over with, the sooner he'd leave and she would have a full belly. So it was with only a slight grunt that she started walking in a random direction, keeping an eye out for any signs of prey to hunt.
As they walked, she peered back at him and said, "I suppose it's alright if you say hi, but not for too long." Her lip curled, "I don't know how long I could stand the chatter. But for what it's worth," she paused in her step to glance at him and then kept walking, "I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for."
With a slight chuckle, Roku nodded his acceptance to that. To be honest, he wasn't sure how long he could stand really being around her anyway. She wasn't a bad person, he'd come to see that for himself, but she definitely wasn't the best of long-term company either. A little too... grouchy for his tastes.
Giving a wistful sigh, the cheetah nodded back at the last part of her sentence. "I hope so too. Thanks."
It was going to be difficult, seeing as he had no idea what to look for, but it's all he had going for him. And he was determined to find it. The first step to that though was going to be heading out on his own. Maybe he'd find a companion or two down the line, but for now, he would have to make due with what he had. And he was sure that he would eventually find his way in the world. Whether he found his family, his past, or he ended up just finding a new home, he'd figure it out! He just had to keep believing that he could.
So with that thought, he started up a steady pace and began searching for some prey to help kick start this search.
