[PRP] Into the Great Wide Open

[Hanyousblood]

"... Hmph, I'll prove myself to them. I'll prove myself to them all!"

It was an awfully bold declaration for one so awfully small of stature-- but then again, Lesedi Tau had never been the type to heed common sense when her all-important pride was on the line! Ears pressed firmly against her skull and eyes narrowed with concentration, the young juvenile drank in her surroundings for the umpteenth time that day. Thick, over-green, sweaty foliage... it was everywhere! Even the sunlight she had grown so used to, for all of its radiant strength, had been reduced to a chunky dappling of light by the canopy overhead.

It had been nearly a week since she'd left them now... or so she estimated, having failed to keep any semblance of proper time for longer than could be admitted to. To think she had charged off so rashly, declaring how easy it would be to Marty, scolding Akasha was the purple cub whimpered spineless protests... even telling Leboya, her dear mother, that hunting alone would be a cinch-- that she would bring back the biggest elephant this side of the savannah all by herself, because she was such an incredible young huntress!

Well, no matter; that was all behind her now. Come hell or high water, she WAS going catch something spectacular... even if it took her half way across Africa!

... Then again, judging by her surroundings, maybe she had already made it there.

Giving the air another tentative sniff (as if she could actually smell anything clearly amongst the heady muck of flower and plant-scents!), Lesedi pushed onward, ducking and weaving through and endless tangle of... stuff that was infuriatingly unlike the plains she'd grown so used to. Her paws were wet because of... some matter she'd stepped in. Her coat was dusty with pollen and some kind of sticky something she couldn't specify. It was so damnably humid and unpleasent and foreign and--

And then all was suddenly clear. Clear, bright skies, white earth that squished and pulsed at her touch, and a funny smell that she had never known before. The strange scent was rushing in on a cool breeze whenever the waves came tumbling in from a giant... endless lake-thing of some kind!

"... Water, finally!" Considering her dry palette before the shock of these new surroundings, Lesedi darted to the edge of the wet sand and waited until teh waves came in again, dipping her head down to drink... and immediately recoiled, gagging and coughing. "S...SALT?!?!" What kind of sick joke was this?! Where WAS she?!  

[Daffupanda]

She'd sung him a lullaby.

A song, just for him. He loved it when his mother sung for him, and even when she sung for others; there was no way to deny that Nili simply... loved to hear his mother's voice, but there was no doubt he liked it above all, when her attention was focused on him. Needless to say that he was becoming quite a Mamma's boy. This didn't seem to make the purple-marked cub feel any worse for wears, or any shame in the least; granted, he loved his father, and his siblings, but his mother... her voice was always able to put him at ease, even when he struggled to understand why it was he restless in the first place. She understood, and Nili had no idea why. Maybe it was a mother's job, to understand her children more than her own children understood themselves? He didn't know, and truthfully, he didn't care, so long he had those he loved nearby to help.

Even as he stood at the water's edge, watching his mother's retreating form, he could still hear hints of the song she'd sung to him, whispered in the wind, the waves, and the flowers that stood idly to the side of the jungle's edge.

"Some say love it is a river,
That drowns the tender reed.
Some say love it is a razor,
That leaves your soul to bleed.

Some say love it is a hunger,
And endless aching need.
I say love it is a flower,
and you it's only seed."

He'd liked that song; it was bittersweet, and somehow, made him feel much better after it'd finished. So thus, Nili sat by the water's edge, feeling it lap at the tip of his tail, his blue eyes resting on the white figure that slowly vanished into the jungle, in search of her mate, or the rest of her children, where ever they were. Ever since they'd grown large enough to leave the den, Misae and Hadithi had allowed the cub to stray and play around the territory. It was safe, after all, and someone was always on the look out, in case trouble just so happened to approach.

Finally tearing his gaze from where his mother had sat, Nili stood up and padded along the water's edge, the song she'd been singing to him, humming in his throat, his paws stepping into the water fearlessly. He'd walked for a while, humming his song, pacing languidly, till a form up ahead seemed to grab his attention. Much like his mother... and much like he himself, she was white. Predominantly white anyhow, and thus he sat in the distance, his head tilted to one side as he watched her.

"S...SALT?!?!"

Her outcry made him smile; it was the first real smile he'd offered the world that day, and the male coughed lightly to hide it behind a paw, unable to mask the few almost girlish giggles that bubbled up. Arching a brow, mirth shinning in his eyes he closed the distance that separated them; he'd always gotten along better with females than males, but then again... his brother and the strange abandoned cub they'd found were the only males his age in the surroundings, "You can't drink from the Ocean... it won't let you," he smirked at her as he reached her side, his head tilted, his elegant, black mane cascading over his eyes, "The Ocean's there for swimming and playing in it's waves. Not for drinking," amusingly enough, there was no sarcasm in his voice, just light mirth.

A pause followed, during which the male sat down, his tail curling around his smaller frame, his body decked with a few well-placed flowers that adorned his mane, and tail, here and there... almost as if they belonged there. He felt no same for wearing them either, and swiftly pointed a paw towards the jungle, "There's a stream of fresh water inside though, where you could drink, and a small pond you can swim in, if that's your need," turning back towards her, he allowed his eyes to hood, watching her languidly, the ghost of a smile haunting the corners of his maw, "Are you lost too?" It was impossible to tell just what he meant with such a singular question; it might've meant exactly what it sounded like, or perhaps, some a bit more profound... either way, it was hard to tell.

After yet a second a second pause, the male stood without another word and began to head towards the jungle. Turning his head, he looked at her over his shoulder, "My name is Nili'jicho; you can call me Nili though," and with those last few words, he slipped into the jungle without a second's thought... vanishing from view. There was no doubt, he expected her to follow; there was also little doubt that this was a game of sorts.  

[Hanyousblood]

Caught up in her dramatic show of chokes and gags, it was no surprise that Lesedi didn't notice the approaching cub's presence-- and it was only when Nili finally spoke up that she wheeled around, goggle eyed, to pin him with a long stare.

To be honest... she really didn't know WHAT to make of him at first, only belatedly recognizing that the fellow lion was in fact (she thought) male. A faded violet running down his back... surprisingly clear blue eyes with dark marks underneath and funny dark leg stripes... but that wasn't the strange part. Just what had possessed the queer little stranger to go dressing up in flower blossoms?! It looked so... so GIRLY!

... Well, at least he seemed friendly enough, and Lesedi cautiously forced her muscles to relax. It took several attempts to clear out her salty throat, but she managed to find her voice again... sort of.

"L-Lost?... Wait, what are you--- HEY! Come back!!!" But too late; he had already disappeared into the jungle. "H-hey you-- uh-- Nili! Wait!"

And then Lesedi Tau did something which went against every prideful cell in her being. Without a second thought, the juvenile bolted off desperately at his heels. Dignity or no dignity, her only hope of food, water and a clue of where the hell she'd wound up rested in the brain of this... Nili-something-or-other, and she wasn't about to let it get away from her!

"H-hold up!" she cried again, managing to oh-so-gracefully smack herself in the face with a low-hanging jungle branch and letting out a squawk of surprise, "W-wait, wait! What do you mean, lost?! I'm perfectly aware of where I am! I'm... I'm..."

Poof went her ego with the smack of another branch, clumsily tripping over her own paws... and ending up sprawled in a muddy, mossy puddle.

"... Where are we?..."  

[Daffupanda]

"Lost," he finished for her, his head turning to glance over his shoulder at her; the twinkling in his blue eyes was simply daring her to say otherwise too, as if expecting her to fight every step of the way, "If you don't know where you are... it means you're lost," leaping over a small, fallen log, the cub sat down, pointing to his side. A long stream of clear water rushed to his right, ending in a medium pool; large enough to allow two adults to swim and play within it's waters, "Kizingo'zaa," he answered her question finally, the mirth never leaving his tone, or his features for that matter.

He was amused, and though he was in fact, tugging a bit of fun at the situation at hand, he was doing so while helping her; it was a delicate balance which the cub seemed to pull off rather well indeed , specially for such a young age, "You're in the Ocean's realm. We live here," just who this 'we' was... was still a mystery she'd have to decipher though. A pause followed, and with a sigh and a roll of his eyes, the male moved with grace that far surpassed that which any cub should carry himself with, padding over to Lesedi's side, nosing her up, "Come, come, none of that... you're safe. That's what counts. No one will hurt you here," sitting down, he tucked his head under her chin and groomed at her chest, taking away small pieces of vegetation that clung to her form, cleaning away the mud and moss as if it were some offending substance which should not ever marr her pelt.

Grooming away, it was amusing to note how despite everything that had happened and the way Nili acted, he was having no regard for personal space; as far as he was aware, she was in need of comfort and a good cleaning. And nothing in the world relaxed him more than when his mother or father groomed his pelt into perfection. Despite his willingness to groom her though, it was to be noted how he seemed to dislike to be touched, unless with the out-most care, "There we go," he murmured as he leaned away from her, offering her an evaluating glance, his head tilting to one side and then to the other, "Yes, much better; drink now?" and this said, he once more moved with grace towards the water, his own head lowering to lap at the crystalline water.

Despite having moved away from her, his blue gaze was still fixed on her; he was regarding her out the corner of an eye, a brow arching languidly as if to motion her forward. Once he'd satisfied his thirst, he sat down, his gaze hooding, "Since it's probably no use to ask where your parents are, I'll ask something a bit more useful; how long have you been walking on your own?" he smiled lightly at her, mirth still shinning in his eyes, that smile tugging at the corner of his lips, "That'll help us evaluate just how far away you've wandered away.... regardless, I'm pretty sure my mother and father won't mind you staying."  

[Hanyousblood]

"... Lost?" For once, it seemed as though the cocky confidence had drained completely from Lesedi's voice, repeating that single word like some dumbfounded parrot without a clue. It felt... strange, on her tongue. Strange like a foreign taste that was neither good nor bad, just... peculiar, somehow. "Ocean... that's... the lake of bad tasting water, isn't i--"

Her voice died again due to a new culture shock, eyes glazing even wider with stupefaction as Nili ducked right under her chin... and started grooming the mud out of her coat! Did this cub have any idea about personal space? Formality?! ANYTHING?! She'd just met him and yet the so-called 'personal bubble' was already popped for good! Worse still, she was too shocked to stop him!

"... D...drinking sounds fine," was the first (oddly hasty) thing she muttered when her voice came back, glancing down for a moment at her now-clean chest, then tentatively to Nili. Following his gaze to locate the water that was (thankfully) free of salt, she edged over towards the stream looking... unusually subdued. This was just too strange, following the suggestions of someone else-- and without a protest! What had gotten into her?!

Even worse, she was so caught up in the relief of a cool drink that she'd forgotten to keep her expression tempered! Smiling was for little babies: cubs who were weak-- certainly NOT her! It was gone in a moment when she raised her head again, but the damage had been done. So much for composure.

"... I... uh..." Damn, how long HAD she been gone? "I came from... around the pridelands, I think," she finally offered after a long pause. "... I remember... six or seven moons..." Then a pause, trying hopelessly to save her ego, "I've been hunting elephant."  

[Daffupanda]

He'd not missed the way she stiffened, and though he'd not asked or questioned it (at least for now), Nili did file the notion away for further pondering later; there was no need to ruffle her feathers any further than they already were, for something told him that asking her WHY she was so uncomfortable with him grooming her, would snap another wire. He smiled then, having seated himself to the side, his eyes twinkling almost mischievously, "Then drink you should," he nodded his head, almost as if those words were wise above the rest they'd uttered during their strange little meeting.

And, ah... she'd smiled.

The smile that had been tugging at the corner of his maw blossomed, the cub releasing a small breath through his nose; a sound somewhere between a chuckle and a snort. Despite this, it sounded almost musical, delicate even; a hard task to pull off, no doubt, "You're rather interesting," he told her, having not taken his gaze off her form even once - in fact, she seemed to have gathered his full attention, which had been hard for anyone in the pride to do, at best. Nili's mind was always wandering away into his own realm; pondering over what he thought was most important, and yet here he was, offering his full attention to this white pelted youth. A compliment, in a way, "Pridelands?" his maw seemed to wrinkle then, concern creasing his features, his brows knitting together as a soft hiss of breath was sucked in.

Pridelands.

Huh. This was bad. Because as far as he knew, Pridelands were... very, VERY far away indeed, and sending her back was extremely hard, if not a near impossible feat. Specially for a cub her age. He had to give her that; she was lucky, "Uhm..." whatever confidence had been marring his features had slipped away, replaced by concern which no male cub in their right mind would have offered anyone; in fact, he more resembled a worried mother than a boy (whom ever said that Boys will be Boys?), "I uh..." reaching up, he rubbed the back of his neck with a paw, grimacing at the fact he had to break the news to her at some point, "Pridelands is very much across the other side of the Savannah; you're reached the far shore, actually," a pause as he tilted his head in confusion; he was trying his best to understand just why anyone would want to hunt an elephant. Not only were they too large to take down, but their skins were tough. It was sort of like pondering eating a rhino, however, once more, he hushed his thoughts, not wishing to traumatise her further. Instead, he blinked, once, twice, then nodded his head forward ever so slowly, "Okaaaaay..." he couldn't keep himself entirely quiet this time however, and before he could bite his tongue, he found himself talking, "You do know zebra and gazelle make a better meal than elephants, right?" swiftly trying to rectify, he waved a paw dissmissively, "It's the thought that counts though, I'm sure; at least you're not hurt."

She didn't look hurt at least.

Doubt invaded him however, and soon enough, the smaller cub had moved forward again. He sniffled at her pelt here and there, going as far as pressing his forehead to hers, looking deep into her eyes while he checked for a fever he could not fine. So yes, healthy at least, if not extremely hungry and probably tired out of her mind. Keeping his forehead against her to make sure the heat wasn't partially hidden, he spoke, "Mother caught me lunch just a while back, and I wasn't able to finish it; I was going to save it for later, but you can have it," finally satisfied she seemed to have no temperature, he pulled back, placing his paw to her forehead to better check, "Do you like fish, squid and lobster?" of course, taking into account she didn't even know what the sea was... she probably didn't.  

[Hanyousblood]

"W-well... those things are too easy for me to catch!" Still trying to salvage her mortally wounded pride (and failest most spectacularly), Lesedi choked out the first excuse that came to mind, "I like a challenge in my meals, so I--"

... And then in a moment all thoughts of pride had vanished, falling dead silent as his earlier comment belatedly sank in. Surely, she couldn't have really... No... No! She was only an easy walk from home! Finding her way back would be a breeze! Once she caught her elephant, she'd just drag it home again to her flabbergasted sisters and mother and everything would go back to normal...

So stunned by this was the juvenile that she didn't even try to recoil when Nili once again did away with her personal bubble, eyes glazed with shock and seeming to look right through him as their foreheads made contact. What did all of this mean? Had she just unknowingly left her family behind... forever? Never again to see her kindly mother Leboya? Or gnaw her daddy Banji's ears? Or cheerfully bully Akasha? Or push Marty around 'til she bawled and ran to tattle?

A tiny hiccup was the only sound she didn't choke back, forcing any weak feelings back into her stomach. Only when she felt a paw replace the forehead against her own did she startle back from the introverted trance, giving a rather uncharacteristic flinch and a nod that seemed just slightly too quick.

"... Uh..." So she had a choice? Lesedi had heard of fish before, but... what was squid and lobster? Not like she'd admit to being ignorant, of course (and besides, any edible thing was a good thing)! "I... uh... t-thanks. Anything will do... I don't... really have a preference..."  

[Daffupanda]

It was in Nili's nature to poke a bit of fun at those that made mistakes noteworthy of a laugh or two, but then again, at the same time it was also in his nature to care for those that were not at their best. And this female, whomever she was, was obviously not at her best; not even remotely. The way she stuttered and tried to make snappy excuses signaled that much; not like he could blame her though. Had he walked for days and managed to somehow end on the other side of the savannah with little... to no chance of ever seeing his family again, he figured he'd be doing just as bad as she was. If not worse. Probably worse, actually.

Not like he'd admit to that openly; his pride wouldn't allow for it, however, he was more than willing to admit it to himself, "If it's a challenge you want, I suggest you try to snatch a squid or a fish on a high-tide day. Lobsters are rather tricky too," retreating his paw him her forehead, he sniffed at it lightly; she didn't seem to have a temperature, and she didn't smell sick either. As far as he was aware, she was just stunned, shocked and... tired. That he could handle and help with, he figured; it'd have been a lot harder had she been sick. Alas, the Goddess was smiling on them today, "Come now," despite the fact he was rather certain she wasn't sick, he wasn't all that happy with how she moved; she looked weak, languid, and it worried the cub.

Nili didn't want to leave her alone in order to fetch his mother; the Goddess only knew what the slightly larger female would do in his absence. With her luck, she'd manage to somehow drown, or fall off one of the cliffs that lined the beach-side. No, Nili decided, he was staying with her, and after he'd got her something to eat, he'd somehow figure out a way to get her to his parents (the somehow, whatever it was, could always be figured out along the way). This in mind, he brushed her side with his maw, nudging her in the right direction, towards the beach again, "This way; we'll get you some food," slowly, he took the lead, waiting every so often for her, as he was, amusingly enough and despite his lack of frame, much more elegant and graceful when it came to padding the jungle.

The ocean greeted them soon enough, the waves lapping at the shore, the sun shinning as if trying to somehow cheer up the little girl that'd lost everything she knew about in just a span of a couple of hours. In fact, as the stepped out of the jungle, Nili reached to close his maw around a random flower, plucking it with care off the stem where it'd been watching them, "It's sorry for your loss," he said as she offered her the flower, holding it a mere inch from her maw for just a moment before placing it lightly on her head, "The flower wishes there was something more it could do to help."

And after such a cryptic message, he padded over to a few rocks, where they lined the shore; a pool had formed between them. Laying to the side, half buried in the sand, out of reach of both water and sun, was the food that Nili had earlier spoken about; the lobster was cracked, ready to be eaten, and despite half of the squid and fish were gone, it was still enough for her to sate her hunger with, "Here; you can have all of it," he said as he picked up the food and washed off the sand with a bit of water, "It's fresh; my mother caught it for me just a while before I found you. After you eat, we can go find her."  

[Hanyousblood]

Lesedi Tau had never been the kind of lion to take an order lying down, and yet here the little juvenile was, just numbly bobbing her head and following in the shadow of some stranger she had just barely been aquainted with. It was amazing, really, how pride could be so suddenly be overthrown in the face of shock, surprise... and maybe even terror, somewhere deep in a part of herself that she'd never fess up to. To think that she might never see her family again was just... just...

"Come now." Nili's command (and a stranger sensation-- had something brushed her side?) startled her back to reality, giving a shaky nod and forcing her legs to move once more. As could only be expected, her gate was less than graceful, plodding through the warm, sticky jungle much like a drunken giraffe on it's last two legs. Just keeping her balance was difficult, trying valiantly to avoid the tangle of wet leaves and snaky vines that still tripped her anyway (and only managing to catch herself by dumb luck and quick reflex). This... was just pathetic, wasn't it. How the mighty and prideful had fallen.

But soon the forest had vanished again, replaced by open salt-flavored air and warm white sands squishing beneath her paws. It was definitely a less bothersome atmosphere, and had she not been so consumed by dread and hunger and a thousand other confusing feelings, she might have almost called it pleasent--

Once again, the young lion's dazed trance was broken by Nili's interjection-- this time the strange little cub was offering her... a blossom? And what in the world was he babbling on about? She'd never been told that flowers had wishes! Or that they wanted to help others! It didn't make a lick of sense! Well, no matter... That was trivial now that she had food within her grasp.

And besides, it did... smell pretty enough, so no harm in leaving it...

"U-uh... thanks..." She vaguely recognized the thing that was supposed to be fish, looking close enough to the brownish squirmy things she'd encountered in watering holes before, if not more colorful and... fresh. If only the same could be said for the slippery white tentacled thing and... what WAS the last thing, the "lobster"? A giant, over-fat brown scorpion with whiskers? Was that even EDIBLE?!

Treading cautiously over to the edge of the pool and sparing her patron a brief look, she decided to try the biggest bug-thing first. Maybe it was some last failed attempt at bravado, but down she crouched, teeth out and-- UGH IT ACTUALLY CRUNCHED! Were prey animals supposed to have crunchy shells like this!? ... Then again, with another bite (and a secret grimace, being totally ignorant to the fact that it WASN'T required to eat the outside), the squishy inner parts were surprisingly tasty...

From there it wasn't more than five minutes before the meal had been licked clean of everything-- shells, tentacles, whiskers, legs. Hunger could make a furry garbage disposal out of anyone, especially when the food was actually tasty! Now, if only those crunchy bits weren't so prone to getting stuck in her teeth...