Porerol Sol yawned and stretched as the sun rose to brighten the lands of the Aikanaro'hini. It was getting late in the morning. She glanced around the den she shared with her Master, pausing to tidy up a few things, then bolted out of the den, looking around. She should've been at her lesson already; they weren't going to be pleased that she was late. Nor was Drathir. It was her duty to learn all she could, and she couldn't do that if she was late. Huffing a little, Porerol Sol left the Prince's den and started the trek to the nannies, wondering briefly if she would run into that slave she met before. His master was a nanny, but that didn't mean he'd be there. She hoped he was, though; she hadn't made many friends while at her lessons. A slave's place was to serve, not to socialize. It wasn't exactly a fulfilling thing, though. She wanted to play with the cubs.
Her white coat prevented that. She glowered a little as she walked, glaring down at her white paws. The white pelt that branded her a Na'artue was something Sil'in Drathir called 'pretty', but Sol was quickly learning that 'pretty' in this pride didn't amount to a whole lot when it was so... so pure. She wished, briefly, to cover herself in mud and hope the dirt would sink in and leave her brown and muddy and not so white, but that was against her master's command. She was to be clean and pretty, even if it meant showing her coat for all to see.
Distracted as Sol was, she didn't notice that she was veering off course from the nanny's area in the pride. She just kept walking, eyes down and thinking to herself. She hadn't asked so many questions since she was found, but that didn't stop her from thinking them.
Phlegyas felt he was getting too old for the nannies' lessons, on the other hand, and his father, Iartuupe never bothered much with making him go, anyway. He spent most of his days like this, avoiding their tutelage and anyone else for that matter. It had been ages since his first and last vision, but he shied away from all contact. The only things bothering him now were the constant barrage of beetles and bugs that plagued him on his higher perch. He shook them away for the umpteenth time, his lavender forelock flopping into his red eyes and he sighed. His main playmate, Tuc, was probably at the lessons like he should have been, along with his siblings, but he couldn't have cared less. He liked them, but not that much.
He was a stubborn juvenile, convinced that he didn't need to sit through boring classes to learn what he could figure out on his own, after all. One learned by doing. Tired now too, of his perch, he slunk down the stones and earth until he was distracted by a flash of white. It peaked his curiosity, and his eyes widened. She must have been a slave to be on the pride's lands and living still, but he'd never seen a cub. His eyebrows furrowed and his jaw fell slack before he began working it while his mind wandered. Just who did she belong to? And where was she going in such a rush? He wasn't entirely convinced she knew, though, with her eyes on her feet. He took up after her, following her footsteps with all the stealth he could muster in his distracted state, stalking her like a prey item.
Sol was, indeed, unsure of where she was going. Or rather, she knew where she was supposed to be going, but she wasn't walking in that direction. With those red eyes on her paws, she could've wandered clear off the map and not even know it. At least, if that beetle hadn't gotten in her path. She stopped suddenly, blinking as if the beetle hadn't wandered in front of her, but appeared like some sort of magical creature, and tilted her head at it. "Where're you off to." She murmured, leaning down and watching the beetle wander away from her. She huffed in its direction and grinned when the beetle was sent flying. Straightening up, she looked around. "... Aw, dang."
She wasn't sure where she was, but she knew where she wasn't: At the nannies' lessons. Damn and blast! She fumed a little, looking around for something familiar, but she didn't see anything. Just rocks. Rocks and dirt. "Wonderful." She muttered under her breath, sighing. "Now where've you gotten me to, feet?" She glowered at her paws, looking around again. There had to be someone around to ask, she wasn't convinced that she'd wandered clear out of the pridelands. "Hello!" She called, looking around. "Is anyone here?"
Probably not the best idea Sol ever had, considering she was in a pride of less-then-helpful demons...
Phlegyas sat back on his haunches, really quite pleased with how his day had turned around. Despite himself, he let out a laugh at her predicament, or maybe just her expression. And with a smile still on his face, he crouched behind a rock, just to keep up the illusion that he was the hunter, and she the hunted. But when she called out, he had second thoughts. His tail flopped over and he considered the options of what helping her would mean. He wasn't an overtly kind lion by nature, and to assist a slave could have its repercussions. His ears flicked back, but then faced ahead as he stood from his hiding spot. He bit the inside of his lip as he thought how to answer. Perhaps a simple hello would be best. Or he could treat her like their positions would mandate. A would-be prince helping a lost slave.
He took a step forward and bobbed his head, "Just you and me, it looks like."
Sol jumped when Phlegyas came out from his hiding place, and spun around to face him, blinking owlishly. "I've wandered too far, then." She frowned deeply, lowering her gaze. She wasn't sure if he was slave or pridemember, and it'd be smarter to keep her eyes down, just in case. Caution was quickly becoming second nature. "Am I still in the Aikanaro'hini?" She had the good grace to look sheepish. She was almost certain she was, but time escaped her as she wandered. She only knew for certain it was the same time, but she could've walked for hours and not realized it.
Well... Perhaps that was an exaggeration. She inclined her head. "Who are you, if I might ask?" She asked quietly, keeping her eyes on his legs instead of looking up. It was rude to look a lion of unknown rank in the face, or so she'd been told. She didn't want to press her luck, besides. Drathir wasn't going to be pleased if she came home, missed her lesson for the day, and bore a scratch or two for being too bold.
Phlegyas nodded. "You are still in my father's lands. I am Phlegyas, son of the Aran'shale Iartuupe." And the goddess Posca. He left that part off. He tossed his forelock out of his eyes before continuing. "And who are you? And to who do you belong? Your parents? A master?" He eyed her, slightly baffled by her behavior, but he dismissed it as protocol. A part of Phlegyas wondered that if she belonged to a lower-ranking member if he could ask his father for her, she seemed plenty well-trained, and pretty enough. So far all he knew about this cub was that she was a lost slave. And it would be his duty to help her home. Ah! And maybe that would be how he could keep her as a reward. Wandering through his own thoughts, he smiled down at her, waiting for her answers.
"Your father..." She trailed off when he spoke of Iartuupe, and a tiny shudder went through her. She remembered well Drathir's warning. Iartuupe was a dangerous lion, and one to be avoided. She kept her eyes lowered, smiling a little at the thought of her Master. "My name is Porerol Sol. My master is Sil'in Drathir." She glanced up at him. "He found me." She spoke fondly of Drathir, out of gratitude to the lion for finding her. He was a nice master, better then the few lions she'd seen treat slaves. "I'm supposed to be at my lessons." She added after a minute, shrinking a little. "But I've never wandered this far before." She wasn't even sure, really, how she'd gotten off the path. "He's not going to be happy." Her ears flattened. The thought of punishment was a fleeting one; it was the thought of not following orders that made her cringe.
He nodded as she acknowledged his father, waiting for her to continue, though his face fell when he learned of her master, but such was life. And at least he may prosper for doing a favor of another prince, and he shrugged. "Well it looks like I found you this time. I'd say you're pretty lucky for that. I'll take you back to Drathir. Not to your lessons. I'm avoiding them myself, instead, think of this as an impromptu class on finding your way back home. Or better yet, not getting lost in the first place." He smirked and threw out his chest a little, obviously thinking highly of himself as a role model and a teacher. He set off in the direction from which they had come, not looking back to see if she'd follow. It was pretty obvious that she would.
"Now pay close attention to what I do." He cautioned her, but it wasn't much of a help, as he was far more familiar with these lands and seldom couldn't find his way back. All one had to do was lift their head to the wind and catch a whiff of blood.
Sol nodded a little, face falling when he told her he was taking her to Drathir. She was supposed to go to her lesson. But she perked up a little when he explained his reason, and nodded, smiling. "Thank you very much, Phylegyas." She said, catching up to walk beside him. She paid close attention to where they walked, picking out particular spots that she could recognize later. "Drathir'll be happy I'm safe." She said absently, looking over at Phlegyas. She looked away after a minute, content to look around more. She couldn't afford to keep getting lost, eventually she would run into a lion that wasn't nearly as nice as Nil or Phlegyas.
