So far, so good. Kich was half-way through his shift, and he'd not gained a mouthful of sand yet! He was getting better at moving on the sands. It was almost like dancing rather than walking...No wonder the Firekin of old had been feared. Who in their right mind wouldn't be scared of a huge lion that could obviously kill you dancing across the sands? He was among those numbers, currently...but HE knew how to conquer his fear, rather than it ruling him. He shook his head, white mane flying about. Off that train of thought, on to a new one...
Like what that strange scent was. His blue eyes narrowed and he started towards the scent, ready to fight or run for one of the Soldiers. Or...perhaps it was one of the other Guards he'd not yet met. He...wasn't sure which option he wanted, at the moment.


Iirte hadn't been in the deserts much longer than Kich, but she already looked like a natural born Firekin. The only think that gave away her heritage was the mane tuft on her forhead and her smaller size. After all... These sands were similar to the barren ashes that had once been her home. She's learned to move through a land that constantly shifted under her paws long ago...

The lioness absently shook her head, stretching and perking slightly when she smelled a foreign scent on the wind. Without a second thought, she began to trot towards the scent.


When he saw the black and red coat, he relaxed a little...but not too much. He didn't know if this was one of the rogues like he'd once been, the rogues that were seeking to prove themselves. He drew himself up to his full height...larger by far than a normal rogue, but not as large as a Firekin-born. When the lioness was close enough to hear him easily, but not too close, he spoke.
"Are you from outside, or does fire run through your veins?"


"Fire runs through my veins. I ask you the same question. Does the fire run through yours?" Iirte asked lightly, golden eyes falling on the red and white figure. He was big, nearly two paws larger than her at the shoulder. But he wasn't quite the size of the natural born Firekin she'd seen in the lands.


So...she was one of the other pride members...likely one that had come in somewhat before or after him. He nodded his head in something of a bow. "Fire runs through my veins as surely as any born to this place." He'd discovered he'd had to use more words in his new home...at least until others grew used to him. "I am Kichomo'damu, one of the newest additions to the Guard."


"Iirte Aasa. I am also a new addition to the Guards," Iirte replied, her lips curving upwards slightly as she stepped forward to glance over Kich. "You're large. Almost the size of one born in these lands... What blood runs through your veins?"


What blood....His parents? He wasn't sure. His mother had been a large lioness, but certainly not Firekin. And his father...he only remembered blue eyes and white and black fur. "Rogue blood. If there is Firekin blood in me, it is very diluted. But...Mother was large. I suspect I get my size from her." Or was it his father? Mother had never talked much about him...it pained her too much.


"I see. I myself come from Rogue blood. I was born far to the east," Iirte said softly, smiling and shifting to stretch out. "I hadn't imagine there were rogues so large though..."


Kich nodded. "I was born at the edge of this desert...but have traveled many places." He shook himself a bit. "I am glad to have a single, steady home now though. Wandering...was more my mother's thing, than mine." He started to continue his circuit. "Accompany me? Two sets of eyes are sharper than one."


"Wandering was never quite my style either. I'm sure I could have made it as a rogue, but the lifestyle just never appealed to me," Iirte said lightly, shrugging absently before nodding. "I'd like that. And I doubt any rogues would dare try anything with the two of us here."


He started on the circuit again. "Yes...it is likely most of us in this pride could have made it as rogues but..." He shrugged. "As you said, it doesn't appeal. Doesn't fit." He chuckled. He liked this female. She was like him. "Yes...you and I aren't exactly 'cuddly', after all."


"Nor are we adorable and soft," Iirte added, her lips pulling back in the faintest of smirks. "You have to be strong to live in lands as cruel and unforgiving as these."


He nodded, smirk a little wider than her own. "The cubs running about, perhaps...but no outsider will see them on our watch. And even if they did, somehow...well, the little ones would certainly gnaw them off at the ankles, yes?" He'd noticed Firekin youth tended to be cute and VICIOUS. Not bad-vicious just...trying to learn how to be strong as fast as possible.


"They'd never look at cubs the same after an encounter with the lot running around here," Iirte said sarcastically, shaking her head and laughing softly. Oh yes, there were times when she briefly wondered if perhaps the cubs born in the pride play fought a bit too seriously... But it suited their lifestyle just fine. A pride like theirs couldn't afford to raise any soft warriors, after all.


Kich nodded. "Oh yes. Cubs are scary, you know." Now HE was being sarcastic. It was somewhat the truth though...There was nothing more creepy than a cub staring at you after you'd said 'a bad word' or for no other reason than one intrigued them. It...was slightly creepy.


"They're vicious little creatures when they're in the mood to be," Iirte said lightly, grinning in Kich's direction. "Cub claws and cub teeth are the worst."


Kich nodded. "They don't cause much damage at first, but they can dig in. And they're so small....Yeesh." He'd been on the receiving end before, when his mother had stopped to visit with a family. And of course...the strange, HUGE, and bright adolescent had been the perfect playtoy!


"They slice straight through fur and pinch and p***k in all sorts of horribly uncomfortable places," Iirte said absently, shuddering at the thought. It had been years since she'd been on the receiving end of cub claws, but she did not look forward to doing it again any time soon.


Kich shook the thought off. "Perhaps we should change the subject. This one seems too...distracting." He didn't want to be off guard because of the remembrance of small, sharp claws. And of course...he ran out of things to talk about. He...wasn't really the conversation sort after one thread died.


"Perhaps it would be best for us to spend the rest of the patrol in silence. We might miss something if we're too busy talking," Iirte suggested lightly, her eyes sweeping the horizon to double check that she'd seen everything thus far.


Kich nodded. "That sounds best." And though he was silent...it wasn't an awkward silence. It seemed to fit him better than most words, and he seemed far more comfortable with it. He'd always been the listener while his mother chattered on.