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 Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2017 8:10 am
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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2017 8:42 am
"We must be getting close," Durama remarked. There were certain landmarks that were starting to become familiar to him, he had passed them before and while they were entering his vision at different angles and locations, he had a rough idea of where he was going. Fortunately, he had the pleasure of the company of a lion who clearly did know how to navigate and while Durama had occasionally gotten a little turned around, Gus had proven his worth and kindly re-positioned him so that he was walking in the correct direction again. At first it had been slow going, Durama hadn't been the greatest fan of being manhandled, but eventually he began to see the merits of Gus's actions, and he gave the lion a pass.
"We are," Gus confirmed as he continued to walk. He may not have been much of a conversationalist in the last few hours, but this was largely due to his concentration. They had now reached the area he hadn't been entirely sure of when viewing it from the mountain tops. It was a lot more rugged and the features he thought might be there hadn't been there, by now he was picking his direction based on instinct. Had they waited until nightfall then he might have been able to navigate via the stars, but for now he was very much on his own. "But as soon as you spot something that you absolutely recognise, can you point it out for me?" he asked and shook his head. "This isn't exactly a region I'm familiar with and I underestimated the terrain," he confessed.
"I will," Durama reassured him, hopping on to a boulder to inspect the immediate area.
They were now well on their way towards the Bahari'mtoto and the rabbit had confirmed that now was probably a good time to find some water and take a breather. Contrary to Gus's teasing, he wasn't that much of a slave driver and both of them were entitled to a rest. Spectre had lasted this long on his own, he could certainly last a little bit longer... After all, it would still take Chessa and Peregrine a considerable amount of time to work through all the information he would have to provide them with. Hell, it was still a lot for him to digest and there were certain aspects of it that he was still working through himself.
All he knew was that the troubled lion hadn't been lying.
...Monsters existed.
"But for now," he spoke up again and hazarded a smile. "I think I know where some water is so we might as well take a moment to breathe," he suggested and bounded towards where he suspected the source should be. Sure enough, his instincts were right and that familiarity served him well as he led them both to a river. Gus's recognition of that river wasn't something that the rabbit happened to take in to account on the approach, but it was clear that the pale lion had filed it away for later use.
It was with a smile that Gus afforded himself a moment to drink, though this was something that came to an abrupt halt as he spotted something tiny sulking a short distance away. Well, he wouldn't necessarily have called it 'sulking', but she certainly had a glum demeanour and it didn't seem that her parents were anywhere in sight. They either knew where she was and simply weren't humouring her tantrum, or they had lost her, regardless it was a matter that he felt was necessary to address as he swallowed the remaining water in his mouth and strode towards her - he left Durama inspecting his own reflection for bumps and scratches.
"Someone your age shouldn't be this far afield on your own you know," Gus remarked and raised a brow. "You might get pilfered by an eagle," he teased.
The pink cub did little more than stare at him for a moment or two, evidently his skills at entertaining small children were severely lacking.
"All right, not pilfered by eagles but you might get hungry or cold, that's not good for anyone." He amended.
"I don't know where they are," she replied simply, causing him to swallow abruptly. Ah yes, because if there was one thing he needed, it was to find a wayward cub in the middle of nowhere. Suffice it to say that he was the least qualified person to even attempt to track her guardians down.
"Oh," he said simply and shook his head. "Uh... Do you know where they went?" he asked hopefully.
"Not really," she furrowed her brow. "Some of them were going one way and then the others went the other way and while I was picking I lost track of them both."
Picking?
...So some sort of broken family then?
"That's a little unfortunate," he murmured and shook his head. "Well you can't really stay out here on your own, I'd never forgive myself if you got yourself hurt," he confessed and swept a paw through his mane thoughtfully. Perhaps Durama would know somewhere they could drop her off, maybe he'd even know who she was talking about if he heard the description? By the sounds of it there was plenty of footfall in these areas.
"What's this then?" Sure enough, the rabbit had bounced up to inspect them when he realised he'd temporarily misplaced his companion. Now, he was staring owlishly at the cub who had resorted to responding to him in kind...
"She's lost," Gus replied.
"Oh," Durama paused and then shrugged his shoulders. "Well she might as well hitch a ride with us, maybe her parents headed to the Bahari," he seemed fairly relaxed about the whole thing and Gus could only assume the pride itself was welcoming of a lost soul or two. "If they didn't then I'm sure that the guards will probably know where to look," he smiled reassuringly and winked towards the cub.
"That sounds reasonable," Gus agreed and then peered at her. "What's your name anyway?"
"Murmur," she offered slowly as she got up. She knew she'd been told not to trust strangers so easily, but she didn't really have anywhere else to go and she quite liked the idea of not being cold or hungry. She definitely didn't like the idea of being swept up by an eagle either!
"Suits you," Gus said with a small chuckle and motioned to the rabbit. "This is Durama and I'm Gus Gus, I'm not exactly from around here but the bunny is, so we'll figure out which way your folks went when we get back to where he lives. Sound good?" he asked with a smile.
"That sounds good," she agreed with a tentative nod. Maybe the bunny's friends would know where her family had gone, she at least knew how to describe them, so she had that going for her!Words: 1158
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