His mother spoke of the lake close to their den, a lake that glittered brightly when the two orbs in the sky bathed it with their light. He wished to see that sight at least once, just to say he had, and keep the memory locked in his mind. It sounded so much like some fairytale story, too much like one.
Scanning the area around him he counted slowly in his head; One, His sister, two, brother, three, brother, four, brother, he was good to go. He had been watching his mother as she left the areas, where to, he wasn’t sure but that was no matter. He wanted to see that sparkling lake already! Creeping slowly away from the rest of the family he froze with every movement. He couldn’t be caught in the middle of his sneaking!
Soon his legs had taken him far away from the rest of the group. All he had found were trees and small shrubs, yet there was a strong scent of water. It was there, somewhere, he just wasn’t sure where. Sniffing at the air around him he suddenly felt very alone, and very thirsty for that matter. It had to be around here somewhere, right?
He continued his roaming around until finally taking a seat onto the cool earth. His ears were tilted back in annoyance as he seemed to have failed himself in his quest. What would he tell his siblings when he got back. He most certainly would be teased and scolded for sneaking away. Brown eyes tilted up at the sky as he pondered what to do.
"What're yooou doing here?"
Ria looked down her nose to see a bright blue cub obviously where it shouldn't be. Really, she didn't understand why her mother was always so nice to everyone. Ria...well, she didn't mind being nice, but they had to be on her terms. She had to get something out of it, right? And she just might get something good if she tattled on the boy that was wandering alone. He probably knew that she shouldn't be alone, and she could only wait for the guilty look he was sure to give.
"You're not supposed to be out here alone," she said, trying to seem quite brave herself, though that wasn't always the case. "It can get dangerous if you don't know which way you're going."
Eshed visibly jumped at the voice from behind him, his heart beating at full speed. He had been caught, but he had been found. Turning towards the voice of what he assumed to be a female lioness he smiled, his heart slowing as he did so. If there was another lion in the area, and a young one at that, that meant he was still safe in the West lands, still safe to go home. His body calmed down considerably as he looked the lavender female over.
“I am not lost then, huh? It is a good thing because I rather get scolded by mother than killed by whatever is out there. Ya know what I mean? Annnnd, doesn't that mean you are breaking the rules to?”
His tail flicked a couple times out of pure joy, he wouldn’t be stuck and maybe, just maybe, this little femme knew where the sparkling waters lay. He was definitely going to see that lake, especially if he was getting in trouble for it. Maybe luck was on Eshed’s side after all.
“Do you know where the sparkling lake lies?”
Ria huffed, turning her head to the side as her little headfluff shadowed her sudden movements. "I'm never in trouble," she lied. "I'm the next Lady of the House!" Yeah, if her Father didn't pound her into the ground for always getting into trouble. She briefly wondered if her sibilings always got in trouble, but the thought dashed from her mind as quickly as it came. Something else seemed more interesting in the next moment.
"Whaaaat? Sparkling Lake?" She furrowed her brows, not really knowing what he was talking about. She knew that there was a lake around, but it wasn't anything like sparkling. It probably wasn't what he was looking for, since it was kind of dingy, and she knew that they only used it when they had to. At least, that's what she overheard Mother and Father talking about with some of the other adults. Really, all the business was in over her head, even if she had to sit in on some of their booooring meetings.
"I haven't heard about it, no," she said with a 'hmph', though she had to admit, she was curious. She watched the blue cub curiously, wondering if he would give any hints of some story or something. 'Royalty' or not, Ria was just a young girl, and loved to hear stories.
