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Shi was bored. It wasn't as if this was an uncommon occurrence, of course. The lioness found herself with nothing to do quite often, probably because she wouldn't feel like hunting every time she was supposed to. Was it her fault if she couldn't catch anything nine times out of ten? Well...probably, now that she thought about it. It was just difficult to stay focused on something that was so boring. Hunting was important, she knew, and it wasn't as if she failed all the time. Just most of the time.

Today she decided a change of pace was in order. The guards and soldiers would go to the outposts to train, and it was also where the rouges would hang out that wanted to join. That seemed a lot more interesting than sniffing down some desert hare for a snack. She had never been to an outpost before, either, so it would be a completely new experience. It took Shi a few tries before she found a guard who knew where the closest one was, and thankfully it was only a short walk. Since she liked to stick to the borders she assumed she was never too far from one.

Moving at a quick trot, she wasn't long in getting to the outpost. Her eyes widened in amazement at just how many lions were milling about, either training or resting in the shade offered by the trees. She moved to the little oasis to grab a drink of water before shifting to watch the lions that came and went. Some of them were rouges, she could tell just by their smaller build. She sat at attention, eager eyes following the unfamiliar faces.

Shi watched a few of the Firekin guards make their rounds of the outpost, her tail flicking back and forth in delight. There wasn't any fighting going on...maybe she could be a guard after all! She'd be out here, greeting new rouges and keeping an eye out for her pride. That might be fun.

A splash to her left startled her, and she jerked away in time to miss a few droplets of water that would have landed on her paws. Instead they hit the sand where she had been moments ago, now on her feet. In the water was a young lion, much smaller than any she'd seen, but that might have been in part to the fact that he was still growing his mane.

"Whoa! I didn't even hear you," she said, pouncing forward almost immediately after her recoil. She lowered her head towards the exhausted male, a curious look on her face. 'Hey, are you okay? It's probably hard to breathe with your nose under the water like that. Where are you from? Have you walked far?"

He was certainly not a Firekin, even if his coloration was right for the pride. Oh, she had so many questions to ask him! Once he pulled his head up from the water, at least.

Shi felt a bit of relief as the male lifted his head out of the water, and she tried not to snicker at his soggy look. She didn't want to be too rude to her first ever non-firekin. Her ears turned forward at the strange word, and she tilted her head to the side.

"What's a mountain?" she asked, sniffing him a bit to see if he still smelled like them. Nope, nothing but sand, which was a smell she was used to. Boring. Flopping down beside him - just not in the water, she didn't want to contaminate it for others. Having been raised in the desert she knew how precious clean water could be - she waited for an answer.

But not for too long.

"Oh! Wait, I think I know what they are," she murmured, pulling some sand towards her from either side, pushing it into a little heap. "Like this, right? A big hill of sand?" She had heard some of the older Firekin refer to the larger dunes as mountains, and to her there were some that were quite large and awful to climb.

The lioness could tell the adolescent was exhausted and mentally drained, so she tried to keep her excitement hidden. Her lashing tail gave it away, as did her paws as she squashed her sand hill.

"Oh no, I'm a huntress," she said with a shake of her head. "But I might want to be a guard. I'm not that good at hunting large prey, you see, so I figured I might be better suited elsewhere." The problem was she didn't know what she'd be good at. "I'm just here to see what being a guard is all about and maybe meet some rouges that are looking to join up soon. I've never been outside the pride so hearing stories from the rouge members is always very exciting!"

She paused for a moment to calm herself down, trying to keep her words from leaving her muzzle too quickly. "So, you're from the mountains...what's your name? Why are you here?"

"Hello, Mchanga," Shi said once she knew his name, a pleasant smile on her face. His father, hm? Well, his father must have been very smart, or perhaps a Firekin himself! Or ex-Firekin...there were those that left the lands and never returned, after all. While she wanted to explore, she certainly didn't want to abandon her home. The desert wasn't suitable for everyone, but to her, the dunes and the hot sun were all she could ever want in a place to live.

"Shemshi-Eusi, but you can call me Shi. Everyone else does," she supplied helpfully. "So, you're here at the outpost waiting to be old enough to duel? I mean, you could try now for sure, but you're pretty tiny and the soldiers and guards are pretty tough," she said with a little nod. "Not saying you aren't," she added quickly, not wanting to assume the adol beside her wasn't some amazing warrior.

"Still, it'll be good for you! Give you some time to acclimate to the heat and dryness. It's hard on rouges and other lions that weren't born here." That much was true, and she hoped that Mchanga would grow to get used to it. He was interesting to talk to and look at since he was so different from what she was used to. "Maybe by the time you're ready to join I'll have changed ranks and I can fight you," Shi added with a wink. "That would be fun, right?"

The lack of enthusiasm from the other lion was starting to make itself known to Shi, and it was slowly becoming apparent that it wasn't just from exhaustion. Perhaps Mchanga had been trying to get in already and had failed? It was very possibly...adolescents weren't allowed to accept challenges, so he would have been going up against well-trained Firekin adults. While passion and drive counted for a lot when wanting to join, there was also strength and skill that played a part, and Firekin were so large...well. She wouldn't be surprised if he had tried and failed. He seemed smart, though, so hopefully he was hanging around the outpost to get to know the pride and how it worked before joining up. And waiting for his mane to grow in.

"Anyone that's not born in has to win a battle, yes," Shi said with a little nod. "Because even our nannies and medics are taught how to fight when they're growing up. But don't worry! It's not a battle to the death," she said with a comforting smile. "It's a battle to test your strength and mind more than anything else. And lots of the lions, although they come off as tough, are easy to impress if you've got the right stuff!"

Shi continued to talk with her new friend for a while yet, until the sun started to set. With the promise of fighting him when he was ready to join made, she trotted off to continue to do her duties.