The storm had been magnificent… and even better had been the morning after! The beach had been littered with many beautiful objects, from different sized shells to smooth rocks that seemed to shine in the light and change it's color. Mng had never seen such objects before and she was very glad she got to see them with Ripuki. They had awoken with the sun, because Ripuki had suggested they do as such, and then they moved along the beach as the sun became more and more visible. The light had bathed the beach in a beautiful glow. The experience had been something she never had felt before, and certainly one she would remember for the rest of her life. Now they were lounging on the beach, soaking up the bright sun.
"You know Ripuki, this area is beautiful, is it close to where you grew up?" Mng wondered what would cause the lioness to leave her lands for so long.
It had been so long since she'd enjoyed the beach with another that she'd forgotten exactly what it was like. It was terrific and made all the usual beach activities that much more enjoyable. Ripuki leaned against Mng in a familiar manner, even though they'd only known each other for a short while. "Hmm." She took her time gazing out at the sea. "Maybe? It's hard to remember but some of the areas we passed while we were coming this way looked very familiar." In fact, they had walked quite a distance while exploring the beach. "I think if we walk another day or two maybe we'd get there, or maybe not." She laughed, not seeming overly concerned. "You're a long way from your home, aren't you?"
She vaguely wondered if Ripuki would ever go back to her home. The girls had talked about Ripuki coming with Mng… and while she was quite fond of the idea she also knew that she would never be able to give up her homelands and live in another place. "Very far, yes. It took us a long time to get here… and only a little while for me to run into you. Very different from the beach, too. In fact… on part of our boarders we have a large forest area with trees very different than the ones you can find around here. They are very tall and their leaves aren't leaves at all but little green sticks. Very thin and a little prickly… good to roll around in when you are itchy."
She tried to picture what Mng'Kari was describing but couldn't really. It sounded interesting though, something she'd like to see one day. "We always used big rocks close to the ocean, many of them had little bumpy spots on them that were rough and felt good."
She nodded, thinking that sounded good too to relieve the uncomfortable feeling of being itchy. "Oh look, others!" She was a little surprised to see two figures in the distance, the beach had been void of other creatures except several odd and cranky looking crabs. She squinted and rolled to sit up, trying to get a better view. It looked like they were lions, judging from the bushy manes. Two dark males, though one was much darker than the other. The lighter one's paws are almost white, as was his mane.
Ripuki blinked, falling a little as her friend got up. She also sat up to look at what Mng was speaking about. She grinned, nudging her. "Oh! The more the merrier, right?" Unless, of course, they weren't very nice lions. Some times you ran into creatures like that, and she supposed that was just how life worked.
The dark male panted slightly as he walked, not liking the sun or the heat. He often tried to remind Lu'lu that his coat was very dark, and it sucked up the sun in such a greedy manner that he was three times as hot as any lion around for miles. What they needed to do was soak in the nice cool waters of the ocean beside them… but of course Lu hadn't found 'the perfect spot'… which was just ridiculous to him. Wasn't any spot perfect if they could reach the water?
He whistled low and shook his white mane out, his dark eyes glinting with something mischievous. "Well well, looks like we've finally found the perfect spot." He nudged his friend and offered up a cheeky grin. "If Lei'la knows what's best for him he'll catch up soon, eh?" He hummed a little as he swayed, picking up his pace just a little. "They look pretty, too. Though who knows… sometimes a girl looks good at a distance but disastrous up close, yeah?" He snorted, chuckling at his own joke.
He shook his head and sighed deeply. "You know… you're quite terrible, Lu." It was that simple. LulLujayn was just… a bit insensitive. Maybe more than a bit, but it wasn't like the starry pelted lion cared when you pointed this out to him.
"Hi there!" He called out when they got close, the lionesses were both standing now, maybe wary of their approach.
When Ripuki had stood up, obviously excited, Mng had followed suit. You could never be too cautious with other travelers, but usually if they called out in a friendly manner it was okay. Every once in a while it was just a trick, so Mng didn't say anything as the males came closer. In the distance beyond them she could see a small dot that seemed to be approaching this way. When they were much closer Mng managed to scan their bodies. The dark one seemed to be carrying some extra weight around, it was obvious he ate well. The white-maned male was thin, but not unattractively so. He still fed himself, it seemed.
Ripuki wasn't sure why Mng was being silent but she followed her example. She did bounce from paw to paw though, this was more similar to a pride area where you could see many lions a day. She hadn't realized she'd missed it so much.
"Hmm, no one is answering." He whispered, slightly concerned at this.
"Probably because they don't want to shout like idiots." He stated dryly, then grinned when his friend looked at him. "Are you sure Lei'la will come this way?"
"Probably." He shrugged. If his brother could not find them than that was his problem! He slowed when they were about ten feet away, noticing his friend had done the same. "Hi, are you ladies looking for some company?" He put on his most charming voice, puffing out his chest slightly.
Mng snorted, taking note that this starry pelted male thought he was a ladies lion, or something.
"Hello!" Ripuki chirped up, obviously not noticing the same things Mng had. "I'm Ripuki, this is Mng'Kari."
"You can call me Nyeusi'Kialio."
"And I wouldn't say we were looking for company, but it's always nice to run into interesting strangers."
"Well now, that's music to my ears." Speaking of ears… was that Lei'la he heard? He glanced over his shoulder. He could see his brother pretty far off still… why was he even bothering shouting? He turned back to the two pretty females. "I'm Lu'Lujayn but you can call me Lu."
"Well it's great to meet you guys, are you locals?" She was excited, all this time at the beach was privately making her miss her homelands a little more every minute.
"Well, not really. Both born in the rogue lands, but Lu'Lujayn and his brother are headed for the Bahari lands. I thought I'd come along for a visit."
"Lu's brother?" Mng leaned around the other two and looked pointedly. She then remembered the speck she'd seen way off in the distance. Closer now, unmistakably the brother they must have been speaking of. "Well, I think here he comes now." She snorted.
"The Bahari? Those are my homelands!" She chirped, ecstatic. "…Maybe we should all walk together?" That must have meant they were actually quite close.
Lei'la wasn't really sure why or how he'd gotten ditched by those two, but he definitely didn't appreciate it. One minute they were all having fun together and the next minute he'd had a little nap and when he woke up… wouldn't you know it! Those assholes had just went on their merry way without telling him a damn thing! He was hoping some really terrible things had happened to them by the time he could finally see them in the distance. Oddly enough there were other figures milling about too, which was curious.
He was panting pretty heavily when he arrived to the group, two lionesses and his brother and his friend. He shot the two males an annoyed look. "Why'd you do that?" He directed his question at his brother though, knowing he was probably the mastermind behind this. He cleared his throat as he looked to the girls again. "Excuse my bad manners, I'm Lei'la."
"Oh c'mon Lei! Just having a bit of fun." He winked and chuckled. "Besides, you caught up, didn't you? Obviously."
He dipped his head a little sheepishly, he hadn't wanted to leave Lei'la behind really. "We were just discussing the Bahari lands, and perhaps traveling together.
"Yeah, ahuh." He rolled his eyes and scowled at his brother, not really angry at his friend. He knew Lu was the mastermind behind this 'joke' anyhow. His head tilted as he looked to the females. So, fellow travelers also on their way to the Bahari. "Small world." He stated, not sure what else to say as the girls introduced themselves again. Females, except for his mother and sisters, made him a little nervous. Probably because of his mother and sisters, thinking about it. Of course, Lu'Lujayn didn't have even a lick of the same problem, which wasn't fair at all.
"Are you really brothers?" Ripuki had moved much closer to both males, examining them. "Not one bit looks alike… except maybe that it looks like if you shook your mane too long little stars would float from it. This made her giggle, thinking about it.
Lu eyed the lioness called Ripuki and snorted. How was it that she was interested in his brother over him? He was much more handsome! "Well Lei here takes after our dad and I take more after my mom." It was simple as that, really.
Mng hid a smile when she noticed an equally amused look on the black pelted male. This must have happened to Lu'Lujayn a lot, probably because he was too … too outgoing where his brother was much quieter. At least, this was the first impression she'd gotten.
He backed up a few steps when the pretty lioness moved close to examine he and his brothers, blinking and dipping his head to hide his eyes. "Uhm. Yes, right. Like he said."
"Well, I think it's been decided to continue our journey as a group then, hmm?" He smiled and started to walking, glad to see Mng also follow suit. The others must have been behind them, the brothers no doubt 'competing' over miss Ripuki. Lei'la wasn't, obviously, but Lu always had it in his head that the green pelted male was just as interested in the ladies as he was.
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