Taime'sooja prodded along the rocks with a sense of loss. The world outside of the mountainous region was so much more...well, everything. Green, for one! He pouted as he bent down to pick at a shrub. He grasped the exposed root in his jaws, gave it a tug to set it free and went about chewing it. The skinny lion looked around much like any prey beast grazing, and huffed. Maybe he should have stayed out there. It would have held more appeal than an empty den and a broken heart.
Kule was tired. He was honestly exhausted. So much kept happening - the death of the last queen, the fire. It was exhausted and he was tired. He felt older - older than he was, and he wanted to just sleep for an age. He was supposed to be stronger than this, honestly.
The brown and white lion moved along the mountain rocks. He missed the swamp, honestly, but he could probably get used to this new home...
Looking up the dark lion caught shape of another. Taime wouldn't be kept secret for a long, because of his lime green mane, but then again, he wasn't exactly trying to hide. He chewed on the room, grinding when he could before swallowing. The other looked just about as depressed as he felt.
Walking at a leisurely stroll, the sickly looking lion approached the other and after having finished his root asked, "Are you having trouble adjusting too?"
The bright shock of a mane was perfectly visible to Kule. He, in turn, blended against the sand, though the white of his paws was as visible as the green of the other's mane. It took him a moment to respond. "A bit," he agreed. The mountain was hard to cope with. He was used to the muggy water.
He wasn't thin from the change though - still perfectly healthy in the regard, though the other looked very frail. Perhaps he could help the other hunt... Feed him up a bit. "Are you alright?"
Taime smiled a little awkwardly, not having been used to talking with people who didn't automatically turn from him. He was weird, skinny and too bright. He was about to respond with a witty retort when he was pulled up short. The small lion stood up a little straighter, albeit in a nervous fashion. Make it or break it time.
"Are we ever really alright? Mentally, not so much, physically, well, I always look like this." He motioned to his coat, which was relatively shiny, despite the tired look about it. "I just have an alternative lifestyle that not many choose to embrace, so I look different. Are YOU alright?"
Kule quirked a smile at the witty response. "Alternative lifestyle?" he asked, curiously. He tilted his head slightly for a moment. He was curious about that particular phrase. "I could honestly be better, but there is always a worse," he said neutrally. He was of an inbetween opinion lately. For better or worse, he was alive and relatively healthy, so that's what counted, right?
Taime shimmied his shoulders, prepared for whatever backlash might come his way. He was young, he could bounce back, but it would hurt. "I prefer to eat plants over meat. I take what I need to get by, but I don't like forcing other creatures to die just so that we can get fat. It isn't right! We're all the same on the inside, so it's all cannibalism." He stubbed up his nose, firm in his beliefs.
"There's always a worse, yes," He murmured. Eventually he would drop into that point, but not unless he was drug into that pit. "Is there..anything that I can help with?" Taime edged. If the lion was going to poke fun at him he wouldn't help, but if not...well, what could it hurt?
Kule, despite finding it the notion a bit odd, nodded a bit. If that's how he wanted to view eating, he would respect that. He couldn't do it himself, he thought. "That's an... interesting way to view things," he told the other.
He gave a small smile, however. "I don't know if there's anything you can help me with, honestly. I don't know what would help, myself..."
"Oh! No, I don't have any waiting..." he had siblings that had long left - ones that he had not talked to in forever. He also had a girl who captured his heart, but left a long time ago... Perhaps - perhaps this wouldn't be too strange or sad. He near stuttered "I've not had a friend since I was a child," he told the other, unsure. He would probably not be the best friend to anyone. He simply didn't know how.
"But! But I could try?"
Taime shifted from paw to paw, flicking his eyes from the lion to the surrounding area. Honestly he was looking for the land to be pulled out from under his paws, since this kind of thing didn't happen often. "I think you'll do fine." He smiled. There was more confidence in it than before, and in truth, he felt a little more at ease. He turned to walk away, looking over his shoulder with a a nod. "Follow me then?"
Kule gave a hesitant smile. He hoped he could be the best friend he could possibly be. He knew he could become violent, but he hoped never against the bright-maned lion. He needed a friend, and he would protect the other from anything, in time. He took a deep breath, bracing himself and following Taime to wherever the other would lead.
(WC: 1026)