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Posted: Wed May 02, 2018 11:21 pm
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The same tug that had pulled him this way and that was pulling less and less. In his most recent visits with the lioness he would one day call his own he had become more grounded. The pride itself wasn't what he was ready to call home, no the crash of the waves in the Bahari shouted at him in memory to come back. No, the lioness he left behind was home, no matter how many lionesses he found comfort with. Yai would always have the green brutes heart.
Journeys were a funny thing though, his intention was pure, go home. Intentions didn't always have paws to comply, no, instead he found himself stuck in the desert. His eye was stinging like mad beneath the eye patch his daughter had manufactured and fastened so dotingly. The bottoms of his paws screamed for softer, more plush surfaces to walk upon and his throat was parched. "How does a lion survive out here?" Ali'dido wondered out loud. His voice was scratchy, making evident just how parched he had become. Still he trudged along with the determination of a starving creature to a meal.
What did he figure he would find here? Not what he had anticipated. Were those the scents of lions? The curiosity remained a thought as he grew very aware of how naked and out in the open he was. The packs on his back labelled him a merchant fortunately and most times he was left alone or bartered with, but this time he hadn't had any pre-trip planned. Was there a pride all the way out here? He dug through memory for previous visits, but couldn't find a single one - how strange.
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Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 12:33 am
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The desert was a big place. It was also a hostile place, between the lack of water, the hot air, the scorching sands that, to the uninitiated, all looked the same, and in many cases still, the very lions who lived there. Kiran, of course, was not necessarily one of those lions, but he was still trained to fight as a precaution. They could never be too careful, after all.
While Aurinko was at the outpost out near the desert's edge, Kiran had gone with to make sure lions got medical attention when they needed it. As he walked across the sands, simply enjoying some time to himself, he spied a lion who most definitely needed it. White paws moved quickly as he headed toward the lion, ears forward and concern all over his face. "Hey, you shouldn't be out here with all that!"
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Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 9:20 am
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Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Were the sounds his many items made as he turned to better see the approaching individual. He had to blink his remaining eye twice at the lion before he truly registered that he had been spoken to. Ali found himself taking a step back from the lion cautiously, but did't dare run. Not after seeing this individual sprin familiarly across the sand that seemed to threaten to suck him in.
"All of what?" He peered at the lion curiously before realizing what he spoke. "All of this?" He raised a paw and made a gesture towards the packs he carried - one of which was likely to contain water, now that he thought of it. "What do you think I'd do with it? Leave it here with you?" He smirked slightly, but had all the appearances of someone who surely should listen to the lion trying to simply give him a helping paw.
"Actually, if you have all intentions of being friendly. I really could use a paw?" He queried. That same smile fading briefly. He began to remove this and that, a drum, some smaller sacks and eventually his larger baskets. Where they had been pressed to his body his fur was pointed in all directions. "I know I have some water here. Blast." He cursed himself quietly while he dug through belongings. Skulls, small pieces of workable leather, finished items, and even some small jewels. All simply tossed this way and that in favor of finding his water jug.
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Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 11:06 am
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Kiran watched the strange lion, tilting his head as he sat down. "The desert's very unforgiving of those unprepared. You look like you're far more accustomed to grasslands than sand dunes." Inclining his head, he watched for a moment, before he asked, "What brings you all the way out here, anyway, stranger? Lots of dunes to get lost among here if you don't know the way."
It was easy, really, he'd found a lion or two who had, somehow unknowing or perhaps entirely knowing, tried to cross the desert on their way somewhere else and, heedless of the lands they were stepping into, perished. Of course, some of them had clearly been buried in the sand for so long, they probably predated the oldest living lion in the pride.
Rather alarmingly to his more modern upbringing, some of those lions, trying to get out of the desert from the way their long-preserved corpses were going, had perished at the paws of lions, likely former slaves that had tried to escape.
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Posted: Fri May 04, 2018 12:05 am
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Kiran watched the other, somewhat amused. When the leaf was offered, he shifted so he could hold it and looked at it strangely. "What exactly is this...?" It looked like it had blood on it, which was alarming, but none of the smell of blood reached his nose, which was CONFUSING.
Before he could wonder more, the stranger found his water, and he listened respectfully, grinning when he was offered water. "Oh no, I'm quite alright, I'm native to this desert." Grinning, Kiran motioned with his head, "I know every dune, and if a dune shifts and changes, I can still find my way by the stars, the sun, and the moon. It's how we're raised in the Motoujamii, it's practically in our blood." He paused at that, then laughed, "Sand is in our blood!" Surely somebody would appreciate that joke somewhere in the pride.
Ctrl F Greenie ROFL already at 450 words
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Posted: Fri May 04, 2018 10:04 am
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"Huh..." Kiran regarded the painting, then returned it. "Can't say I know much about painting, not my thing. Got a cousin who paints the walls with history, but other than that..." His own forte was medicine, healing, patching lions up.
Inclining his head, Kiran now grinned, "The nearest water in the desert is a much longer trick that way-" He indicated the direction with his head "- than you'd probably survive. The nearest water otherwise is OUTSIDE the desert." Rising, he turned and pointed in a seemingly random direction, "Just head straight that way, no turning. You'll hit the grasslands again and should find water soon after. It'll take a couple hours, but it's the most direct route." He paused. "The only payment I'd ask is that you not die in our desert, we may not find you for several generations."
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Posted: Fri May 04, 2018 10:16 am
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