Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was just for one night. As she stopped to catch her breath, she looked back. Parokakari was not far behind her. She gave him a smile.

"Catch up!"

They were making their way to the lush and grassy vegetation at the bottom of the Great Mountain that the Jini-Msemi had come to call their home. It was already very dark for it to be dusk, the place they traveled in the Great Mountain's shadow. The lions followed along the river that flowed down the mountains, occasionally crossing through the cold water, feeling the chill p***k their toes. It had been Parokakari's idea to watch the glow worms as they began to illuminate. She was still very wary about seeing a healer, so to settle her nerves, he thought this would be a nice distraction. The lioness had only grown more and more gaunt in the two days since she had agreed to seeking aide. The lack of nourishment and rest had made her mind grow fuzzy. She was not even sure if she had tried to eat anything. Thankfully Parokakari was devoting himself to that task of caretaker.

Gopala hesitated, waiting for Parokakari to fall in alongside her. Already the stars were starting to glow, the moon gone from the sky in its new phase, and clouds absent. Her heart skipped a beat in the anticipation to see these stars reflected in the glow worms on the ground. Someone had told Parokakari that they were abundant in caves, which the new Jini-msemi territory had in spades. Her pink eyes were now deep maroon in the darkness, searching for his orange ones.


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He shortly appeared at her side, and nodded in the direction of a black pit that opened up into the base of the mountain. Parokakari felt Gopala lean into his side with uncertainty, but he licked the top of her head reassuringly.

"Do you trust me?" He asked her.

Beside him, the little female nodded.

"Then follow me."

He crossed the stream a final time, pushed broad-leafed plants aside for Gopala's little frame, watching her closely as she wove between the foliage he had pushed aside. She made it. She rubbed her head under his thick mane as she entered into the mouth of the cave. The sound of dripping water was heard from the inner sanctum of the pride. As their eyes adjusted, the show began to start before their eyes. Parokakari struck out ahead by a foot or two to make sure that they were alone and not barging in on someone's home. Well, besides the little insects that skittered past their massive paws and the high-frequency sound of a few bats who had taken up shelter. But besides them, a snake and some other small critters, it was pretty much just them and them alone.

"Here, let's settle in here." Parokakari dug a depression in the moist earth to accommodate both of their bodies and he laid down in it first, patting the soil as a gesture to draw her in and have her lay next to him.