It was a hot day. Hotter than usual, and it was making his job all the more difficult. Tracking water out on the sands was hard enough when the water wasn't trying to evade your every move. Hard enough when he still had to will himself to care. Soundlessly sighing, the brute of a lion bent his head down to the earth, the bridge of his nose listlessly pressing against the burning earth. Wherever the water trail was, it was gone now. Had he been a wise lion, he might have been more concerned.
Vlam rose his head, peering out across the widesection of dunes. He knew the desert well enough from his time training. Even when it twisted and changed, the earth still felt familiar. The rocky cliffs in the distance, the angle of the sun. There would probably be more trails near the cliffsides, but he hadn't been assigned to that area of the desert this afternoon.
"I guess we're not going to find anything here," the voice beside him said. Vlam turned his head towards the sandy coated lioness who had been accompanying him. As a huria, and nearly an adolescent herself, it would only be a matter of time before An went off from the pride on her own wild adventure. But An was anything but imprudent, and had been shadowing several of the waterseekers this past month in preparation for her trip.
That, and Ea had asked her to spy on him. Apparently the two lionesses believed that he was mute AND deaf.
An grinned mischievously, her paws deep in the earth. Despite the lack of any sort of water scent, the lioness was still investigating. Vlam found her enthusiasm somewhat taxing. He made no sign to her that he was interested in moving on- simply walking off into the distance, leaving her still paw deep in her own research.
An was quick to catch on, however. She watched the direction of the white lion with a slight roll of her eyes, and dusted herself off. What a sour sport, she thought.
