[PRP] Show Me Around? (Jozo, Elera)

[Talencia]

Elera slowed to a walk as she left the area of dens behind. It still felt odd to know that she had her own den, back in there with all the rest. Oh, she'd taken temporary shelter in makeshift dens before, but to have an actual home? No, that was something entirely new. However, it was unlikely she'd spend much time in it.

She could breathe a little easier as she got further from the gathering of dwellings. There was an oppressiveness there that had a little to do with grief, but more to do with claustrophobia. Part of her brain still couldn't process that she'd agreed to tie herself down like this. It just wasn't... her!

The other part of her, however, was strangely and uniquely content. This felt right as nothing else ever had. It was satisfying to think she coudl fulfill a needed role here, while still doing what she preferred to do, which was to raom abroad, to never stay still. Now she could do that and help these lions out as well.

She caught sight of someone ahead, the large form of a male lion. She nodded her head, pleased to have found someone. Even if he wasn't a warrior or a guard, surely he could tell her where to look to find one! She sped up her padding gait so as to cross paths with the brown male.  

[bipolar bee]

Jozo had spent a rare night at Eppie's den. Their youngest, Liraz, had fallen desperately ill and he'd calmly explained to Gerda that he needed to be with his cub. She'd agreed and he was off to be with his daughter. His youngest and sickest daughter -- it frightened him when that spark of laughter left her vibrant green eyes. Though still weak this morning she was feeling better, and after assuring himself that she was going to stay home and rest, Jozo left Eppie's den. Liraz would be watched over by Eppie's eagle-eyes.

Making his way to the outer edges of the pride lands, he caught sight of a leopardess. She was blessed to live free of the sickness that claimed so many in his pride. Jozo couldn't help but smile as she caught sight of him and approached. "Greetings," he called softly when she drew closer. They were still well within the boundaries of the pride and so Jozo just assumed she was living in his pride by choice.  

[Talencia]

Elera glanced skyward in hopes of seeing Piera headed her way to help with the whole social aspect of her errand, but the raven was nowhere to be seen. She sighed a bit and moved closer to the big male. "Might you be a guard or warrior, by chance?" she asked by way of greeting, feeling both awkward and eager. It was a strange mix, but hopefully this would be someone who understood her need to move!

"I've only just joined, you see, and as a scout I'll need to learn the borders," she hurriedly explained, nearly tripping over the words. This nervousness was unfamiliar to her, and if she took the time to think on it later, she would be surprised to learn part of it was a desire to please and to fit in. This was not natural to her character however, and wasn't something that she recognized at the moment. Instead she scowled faintly at herself, took a slow breath, and spoke slower with great deliberation. "I can't do my job if I don't know where those boundaries lie." With a nod of satisfaction at the steadiness of her tone, she returned her focus to the male. "My name is Elera," she added belatedly.  

[bipolar bee]

Jozo blinked rapidly as the leopardess spoke, his tired brain feebly scrambling to catch up with the words that she spoke in rapid fire. He chuckled once he caught her name, t'was pretty. "Elera. I am Jozo and I am a Warrior of this pride. First off," he said with another chuckle, "let me welcome you to the pride. It's always nice to see another face." Another healthy face, he thought to himself, though outwardly he didn't falter. "You'll have to forgive me if I seem a little slow. The role of father to a very ill daughter has taken its toll on me. It was a long night." He offered a smile as he gestured with a paw that they should walk and talk at the same time.

"It is good that you take your duties seriously," he idly commented as he led her towards the boundary of the pride's land, "with so many around us ill, it is important to be diligent in protecting our borders, both from those who would wish to intrude and those who wander in their illness."  

[Talencia]

She gazed at him with more respect as he explained his scattered wits. Hard enough to be sick yourself, but what of having sick offspring? Not that she had often imagined herself with children, but the idea of being parent to a sick, possibly dying child? She shuddered her hide That would have to be terrible.

She moved next to him as indicated, finding it interesting to walk beside such a big male without feeling threatened. This was a fellow pride member, a brother. It added yet another layer of 'odd' to the already strange day. She nodded agreement about protecting the borders being important, but cast him a look of surprise at the last part. Wandering sick lions? Oh dear, she hadn't considered that. She took a breath and lifted her chin. She'd worry about it if and when it came to that. For now, she needed to focus.

"Is the territory very large?" she asked intently, eyes scanning the horizon.  

[bipolar bee]

Jozo shook his head. "We don't really need much room," he said softly, looking sad by the thought. Perhaps if they were a healthy pride and their children needed room to roam and frolick they would need more room... Jozo smiled wistfully as he gestured towards a tree stump that loomed ahead.

"This is one of the boundary markers. If you pass by and notice that it's looking ragged, make sure you freshen the marks. It's how we know where our lands end and the others begin," He chuckled softly, "and it also warns others that this land is occupied."

Naturally he was curious about the leopardess. Jozo was convinced it took a special type of outsider to wish to live in a pride where the lions were constantly ill and help them live their lives out as comfortably as possible. He himself was one of the rare lions that could have left at any time if he'd wanted to do so without fear of contaminating others. Jozo didn't consider himself lucky by any means. "Tell me of yourself, Elera?" He asked with polite tones, not wanting to seem abrasive or frighten her away.  

[Talencia]

She listened attentively, and inspected the tree stump he'd indicated. Ruminatively she set a paw against it and flexed her claws, digging them in and drawing them down only a little, as if testing and reminding herself of what to do. His question however caught her off guard, and she glanced at him quickly.

Her first instinct, of course, was to snarl and tell him to mind his own business, that she was none of his! But that was gut reaction, knee-jerk habit. She opened her mouth to snarl but stopped her self, closing her mouth again. She walked on beside him silently for a time before she finally gathered her wits and calm about her again.

"There is little to tell," she said quietly. She turned her head to scan the horizon, studying its profile, marking their path by distant visible landmarks. All the while, her mind was turning over what to say. She took a breath and let it out as a sigh. "I have been on my own for as long as I can remember. I have a mother-bird who has looked after me nearly as long as I can recall, but for most of my life, it's just been me and her." She lifted her chin resolutely and met his eyes, as if to challenge her right to pride in the independance she had achieved so early. "We liked it just fine that way," she said stubbornly, but trailed off, her concience pricking her. "Or rather, I liked it that way. Piera has always insisted I needed others."

She was quite for a time again, before she poke again. "I have never needed anyone, but when I met your Queen," she halted mid-step, gave her head a shake, and corrected herself. "When I met our Queen, I realized that for once, somone needed me. I decided to stay and be of use." She shrugged her decision off as of little value, though clearly it had changed her life. "That was only earlier today, actually," she mused. "It seems so much longer than just today." My, how life could move swiftly when it chose!  

[bipolar bee]

Jozo listened carefully, watching the leopardess out of the corner of his eye. When she lapsed into silence before answering him, Jozo fell quiet as well. Life was an interesting thing and it affected everyone differently. Jozo likened life to a river - always changing, always flowing. Those who dared brave the river were the risk-takers, but Jozo was not one of those. He had no issue in letting life simply pass him by from his safe spot on the shore. A few of his sons had no such qualms, and that thought brought a small smile to the corners of his lips.

When she stopped speaking Jozo replied, "She sounds like a smart mother," he said with a smile in her direction. His own daughter had recently picked up a protector-bird of her own, and for that Jozo was quite thankful. Her daughter's bird, a male named Makini, was Liraz's own personal watchdog. It made Jozo feel better about letting his daughter wander when there was always someone nearby that could alert to someone of any danger his beloved Liraz might fall into.

"We do need you," he added, his voice honest and heartfelt, "more than you could ever know, Elera. Our Queen is a wise one and a kind one. She knows that certain things need to be done in order to see our pride flourish as best it can." He paused, not wanting to get into the details about the pride's desperate need for new life and new blood.  

[Talencia]

She had to smile at him for accepting a bird as her mother-figure. She'd been given flack from some in the past for letting a raven chide and chivvy her about like that. She'd needed to teach those fools a lesson, of course, but this was certainly a nice change. She sobered though at mention of what the pride needed to flourish. She stared at the ground passing beneath their paws in silence for a time. She was not a chatty individual by any stretch of the imagination, but she did at least feel comfortable with this large male, even when neither of them was speaking.

"Right now, there seems to be little I can do, save to roam the lands, warn others, and notify you warriors if there is a threat," she said eventually. It certainly didn't seem like much. That more had to do with keeping the current members safe from the normal things that could decimate them, but meanwhile the plague did so from within. "Does the pride get many wanderers who choose to stay, as I did?" she asked then. She supposed recruiting could be part of her job, but she doubted the likelihood of being successful. She was by no means socially adept, nor silver-tongued. Convincing others of things had often involved claws and teeth, not smooth words and convincing arguments.  

[bipolar bee]

"As I grew older, I thought that all I could do to assist my pride was to protect it as best I could," He gestured idly at a rock that had a muddy paw print on it, indicating that this was another marker of their boundaries, "but there are things that are required of us in order to see our pride... ah," he faltered a moment, trying to find a way to say what he wanted to say in the most delicate way he could, "healthier," he finished with a grunt.

This was the most difficult thing he'd had to do in a while. "Our children are our future, Elera." He fell silent for a moment, thinking of his many daughters and two sons. Would any of them outlive him? Each day he prayed that they would. "It is a delicate subject, in all honesty, and one that isn't easy to speak of. Cubs are a gift for this pride. I have six daughters and two sons. One of my daughters is very ill while my sons seem robust and healthy. It gives the pride hope that a brighter day is coming. I realized all of this as I grew older."  

[Talencia]

What a difficult thought. To bring children into the world, into this pride of disease to bring hope... and yet watch them suffer from the very illness that brings such grief and depleted the pride so drastically. To bring life that also brings death. She frowned in thought. She hadn't considered procreation as a means to help the pride, and she wasn't entirely sure she was ready to consider such a thing. It was too early, and the pride too new. Better to get to know her place better first.

She padded alongside him for a long distance, noting other objects with pawprints on them, as well as a fallen log and a lone tree clawed in obvious marking. She began to point them out before he did, to show she was a good stuident with sharp eyes. She kept the discussion on business only for a while, but eventually asked, "What is it like to be a father?" It was a rather open-ended but personal question, and she hoped he didn't mind. The idea was still stewing about parenting as a means to assist the pride, but she had absolutely zero experience with such things.  

[bipolar bee]

Jozo paused and his eyes grew distant, cloudy. "It is... it is as if my heart has been gently taken from my chest and divided into eight beautiful little parts that are now bumping around, making mistakes and living their lives to the fullest." That was the most succinct way he could think to put it, though he decided to continue. It was obvious that the lion dearly loved his children.

"It is both a blessing and a curse, a beautifully ugly thing. They are a part of me, perfect in every way... except for their sickness. If I could change things, go back and erase the existence of my cubs, I would not -- no matter how my heart shatters each time my daughter Liraz is too weak to stand, let alone too tired to breathe. I ache when I hear her cry out in pain when her joints stiffen and her breath seizes. My heart freezes when my son coughs when he never has before. But never, not once, did I ever question bringing them into this world. Each moment that I spend with them is something I cherish with all of my soul." Jozo paused a moment, looking thoughtful, "That makes me selfish, I suppose."  

[Talencia]

The leopardess' eyes slowly dialated the more he spoke. That sounded... terrifying. Her heart squeezed a little in sympathy for him, a rare thing in her world. And yet he did not regret them? Her tail did a few swipes in thoughtfulness. To love, lose, and never regret either the loving or being responsible for bringing them into life and thus also death? She wasn't sure she could handle it.

She shoved these thoughts away determinedly, ears flattening to either side in the attempt. Time to get back to business. "What should I do when I come across a stranger?" she asked abruptly, clearly changing the subject on purpose. "How do we greet them?" She could easily herself tell if a newcomer was wandering, looking for trouble, or seeking shelter, but she wasn't sure how she was meant to first approach them. "Do we assume they are friendly first?"  

[bipolar bee]

Jozo could've gone on talking about his children for hours and hours but he sensed that something about the conversation made the leopardess uncomfortable in some way and so he merely went with the flow and wordlessly acquiesced to her change of topic. It was a more proper conversation, at any rate, and more crucial to her duties. The pride would cherish any cubs she provided to them. He only hoped that she could see the potential gift that she had to offer. He wouldn't bring it up again -- he didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"I approach with friendly caution. Watch for the way the stranger carries himself." He looked thoughtfully towards Elera before smiling at her, a sudden thought striking him. "It is good that you have a mother bird -- if you do come across trouble, it would be easy to send her for help." He nodded curtly, pleased with that idea. "Usually we get friendly strangers nearby, but once I happened upon an unpleasant lion and we did have a fight." He looked towards her again, "Most importantly, you must look after yourself. Do not hesitate to call for help."  

[Talencia]

She nodded in amiable agreement. Having Piera with her had several advantages. Scouting to catch sight of a larger group before she herself got into sight, for example. But it seemed to her that she needed instruction on one more detail. "And if I do come across a wandering, delerious lion?" She cast him a ducious look. "I'm not sure I could handle convincing a hallucinating male that leaving the pride is a bad idea, much less that he flat could not leave." She supposed calling for help would be the key, but what could she do in the meantime? "Do you have any tips on how to dissuade them?"

Sure, she was a compact bundle of muscle as it was, but pitted against a possibly aggressive lion that clearly could not be allowed to roam? She wasn't entirely sure if the sick could be strong as well as delerious, but it was something she worried about a bit.