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Elcca wasn't much of a climber, but she thankfully managed to not put herself completely to shame on the way up. No doubt, she had already been working on an excuse should she have failed.

With stumbling paws she kicked out her feet and cleared the last bound up onto the upper ledge. Her nose crinkled as she made her way over to the ones who had reached the ledge before her. "I've heard musings about this place," she said to no one in particular. "Many who would call themselves safi royalty once occupied these crevasses."

Despite her ominous tone- Elcca did have a flare for the dramatics- the sloping rock chain looked like any other in the pride. Hot, with one or two opportunities for shade which were no doubt monopolized by those who enjoyed climbing.

Elcca's tail twitched, for a moment inhaling a puff of hot air into her nose. "Perhaps they are playing with some old bones somewhere."

arrow The path is narrow, but there's enough room to maneuver about. As you look about, roll a dice 1-5. So long as no one rolls a 1, we shall continue onward.

Zukla waited as the others climbed up to the ledge, and he glanced briefly towards Elcca when she spoke about the history of the old dens. He'd heard of the Safi, of course, even if he'd been born long after the split in the pride had occurred. The whole story had been part of their history lessons as cubs, although the stories of them had always seemed like they must have happened decades ago. It was odd to think he'd be stepping in the paths walked by the Safi before his birth.

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts just in time to watch Tem go down the path first, snooping around for any sign of the cubs. He smiled when he slowed at his mother's bidding, before setting on his own way down the path alongside his sister. It felt like it had been too long since they'd last been able to catch up like this, so he was determined to multitask. There was no reason he couldn't look for the cubs while he talked with her, right?

"Well he certainly didn't get it from Mother. And Father never seemed to be the reckless sort either... So we might have to look further back to figure out exactly where he gets it from."

[ ...will I break the duck? Edit: Oh yea. I broke it. Somehow. I just had a feeling. ]

Atsila milled about on the ground, searching without much success for a way around the rising stone formations or any clues that the cubs had come back down again and wandered elsewhere. Maybe they actually had found the cubs up there! Tilting her head back to squint against the fading sun her golden eyes could barely make out the edges of the group above. Elcca's voice was a distant sound on the wind, too faint to make out was the lioness was saying which made the determined medic all the more anxious.

She pranced in place, irritable toward the idea of having to climb the rocks which hadn't been kind to most of the others who had traversed them but equally chafed at the thought of anyone else finding the cubs before she did. Bullheadedness won out when Atsila continued to pace along the perimeter of the jutting rocks. Just a few more minutes. If they didn't come down then, it was clear she was going to have to go up.

-----

Watching Elcca climb the rocks with some small amount of difficulty along with another stranger and his avian companion--their group was steadily growing--Machozi hung back, adjusted himself along the pathway to make room for the mother to pass and waited. Almost as if in a trance, the lioness spoke of old, what he assumed to be, pridal myths or maybe it was history. Her tone made deciphering any truth to her words vexing at best. What did Safi royalty have to do with her lost cubs anyway?

Clucking his tongue against the roof of his mouth Machozi glanced around her at the path ahead of them. It looked cramped and the idea of having to squeeze his shoulders through wasn't an inviting one. Ugh, please anywhere but there.

He would go if he had to, but he wouldn't enjoy it. Not by any means.

"Or his father's side of the family," Sol said wearily. It seemed to all come from Kasoro's side and, as much as she loved him, it certainly was tough to deal with. First the blue, now this rather disobedient personality...it was enough to drive her mad! Well. Not really. Just make her stressed and anxious for his well-being. She nodded to the cub, biting her lip just a bit.

"No one in our family has that...that blue," she said very quietly. "And Kasoro knows very little of his family and past. I can only imagine it's from his side."

Tem continued on ahead of the group, but kept within earshot. He turned to look at Elcca as she told ghost tales, his green eyes widening with awe. "To the earth?" he echoed softly before laughing. "How could I turn into a stone?" He kicked a little rock as if to show his dominance over it, and it went down the steep side of the rocky embankment they were on. The rolling died away, but was replaced with a rather ominous sound. Looking back up, he spotted a massive snake not too far ahead. It was bigger than him!

"Whoa," he said softly, making to press on, but Soleil had caught up to him while he'd been kicking rocks.

"No, Tem," she said as sternly as she could manage. While snakes weren't a constant threat, there were those that were poisonous and, as a medic, she had seen their ill effects. Blinding, weak with an illness for the rest of their days, paws and legs needing to be removed, even death. This snake was massive and, while the size didn't necessarily determine the severity of the poison, she and no doubts the beast beyond could eat her son for lunch if it so desired.

"We'll be going this way," she said, heading to the left to stay on the path even as it narrowed. The way to the snake looked easier, but she wasn't putting her son in harms way.

Mwale'Kono had thundered along with the rest of them, trying not to let his creaky old leg get the better of him. When it came to climbing, the gruff lion let out an internal groan. He was not built for climbing. He may have been able to take on a bull elephant, but this was another game entirely.

He shuffled up precariously and managed to steady himself, his good eye opened wide in search of any clues.

All of a sudden he heard the low hiss and watched as Jaeger made to swoop at it. He was impressed with the falcons reactions and made sure he stayed clear of any attempt the snake may make at biting. One hit on these rocks and the otherwise strong male may have come tumbling down.

In the wilds lions were prone to coming across all manner of lesser beings, stumbling across a honey badger or a hare wasn't particularly uncommon. Nor was it surprising to see a snake basking on a cluster of heated rocks. If not for the cub in their presence Machozi would have passed the angry looking serpent without much concern, though he would have certainly been alert. If he stopped to challenge every beast he came across in a day it would have taken him forever to get anywhere!

However, the Huria child was a concern considering the snake did look large enough to easily make a meal of their brave little companion. His mother was smart enough to coax him out of the way, skirting the poised reptile, but that wasn't reassuring that it wouldn't follow.

It was just as Machozi was seriously considering giving the snake a good swat that one of the other searcher's avian companion swooped magnificently from the air to make short work of the poor beast. He hadn't even seen it coming.

In the Bonelands only Enda and Cinga possessed the right to bird companions, it was a position of great respect amongst his own. for that he looked on at Feuer with silent recognition, nearly missing the Elcca's daughter as she darted past. One cub down.. only one more to go, though it concerned him that she ran off without so much as a word to her mother or anyone else for that matter. A frown tucking the corners of his maw downward as he followed the others onward, surprised when he could fit on the path without barely scrunching himself into the narrow space. Hopefully she'd be okay.

-----

The commotion above had finally spurred Atsila into action with a low hiss. Damnit! Something was happening and she was missing it all! Her claws scrambled for purchase on the rocks, feeling smaller pebbles come loose and roll away beneath her paws as she disturbed the terrain in her rush to reach the others. She arrived just in time to see the snake's life taken by the ruthless talons of Feurer's falcon and felt her heart sink in her chest.

Oh no. The words were nothing more than a whisper of regret as the fire snake made her way over to where the body had fallen. It really was a lovely specimen--or had been until only a few moments ago. What a sad waste of a life.

Perhaps she could have prevented the loss if only she'd arrived sooner. Charming the forked-tongued creatures had always been a particular talent of hers and given her current research such a fine snake would have been invaluable for studying. Carefully collecting the remains, for which she would have readily fought the falcon to obtain, Inadu barely noticed the female cub that scrambled away or that their search was already half over.

Sol sighed softly as the snake was killed, the threat eliminated. She nodded to her brother as he spoke, gently tugging on Tem's tail to let him know it was okay now.

"That was so cool!" Tem cheered as the bird settled down. "Wow, you just dove out of the sky like a streak of bird and-" But he was cut off by a cub jumping from a hole in the rocks and running away. He was startled into silence, green eyes wide, before looking in the direction she had gone.

"Hey! Come back! We were looking for you!" he called out, trotting a few paces after her, but stopped when he heard his mother clear her throat. He sighed and turned back to headbutt her leg. "Moooooooom, we almost got her!"

"I know, dear. She ran back in the direction of the pride, though, and there's still one more to find," Sol reminded him gently before looking up at her brother with a tiny smile. "Well...one down, one to go. Hopefully this last one won't be hiding in such a dangerous place."

Feuer made a face at Jaeger, watching him eat the snake. It felt odd, the concept of eating something others kept as companions. He'd hate to see a lion eat any bird, for instance, of any kind, because of his attachment to Jaeger. He let out a puff of air, then smiled at Elcca. "I'm sure Jaeger'd be happy to teach her... Or try to, at least." He looked as the cub scurried off. Jumpy little thing... His other thoughts were pushed aside at the search for the other cub. He had no clue, though, if he was looking for a brother or a sister for the cub they HAD found.

Jaeger bowed to the compliment, smiling as best a bird could. "Thank you, m'lady!" He settled, pecking at the snake and merrily eating it. Waste not, want not, right? Besides, it was a unique opportunity, being able to hunt a snake down with minimal effort even as far as a bird judged effort. There was no searching involved in getting THIS prize! Any disgusted looks from Feuer were ignored, and for the time being he was distracted quite thoroughly from the cub hunting. Mmmmm, snake meat!