The rogue lands were everything Suluhu had imagined they would be: beautiful and lush, desolate and hopeless, vast and never ending. It seemed each day was a new adventure. Every horizon brought a different landscape, new features, new faces, and new challenges for the lioness. She was used to the thick trees and vegetation of the jungle so to be able to see so far had been a bit unnerving at first. Now it was an exciting thing to wake up to each day. There had been times where she'd been worried about where she'd find food or water, but somehow she'd made it through thus far.

Suluhu had been traveling quite a bit by the time the sun was at its harshest, so she found a bit of shade under a large rock to rest in. Her paws were aching from all the walking she'd been doing but it was a satisfying sort of sensation, one that made her feel like she was accomplishing something. She had a goal - to find former Kizi members to see how they were getting on in their new lives - but she didn't really have a clue as to where any of them were. Her visions showed the lions quite vividly but their surroundings were quite muddled and difficult to make out. She figured she'd bump into some of them eventually, though, and perhaps they might know where others were.

As she rested under the rock, movement caught her eye. She lifted her head and felt her heart leap in her chest as a blue striped male walked into her line of vision. For a moment she thought it might be Vodnitvar - the lion who raised her as his own child - but quickly she realized the animal she was looking at was not the right shape nor size to be the lion. He was smaller, stouter, and had a strange blue mane and thick tail. Pushing herself up onto her paws, she tilted her head to the side before calling out.

"Hello there!"

The voice made Mezlijin freeze in his tracks, caught completely by surprise. He looked this way and that, ears twisting as he tried to figure out where the sound had come from. Finally movement caught his eye and he spotted a dark lioness in the shade of a boulder not far from where he stood. His tail twitched for a moment as he gauged her body language, but from what he could see she didn't seem aggressive. Calling out to alert him to the fact that she was there so she wouldn't startle him, probably.

"Hello!" he returned, hopeful that she was indeed a friend and not a foe. "You blend in quite well in the shadows there!"

Suluhu waited and watched as the stranger sought her out, and when his eyes finally spotted her she gave a little grin and a wave of her paw. His comment made her laugh and she stepped out into the sun to let him see her better.

"I apologize, I wasn't trying to hide. Just finding some shade," she said as she slowly approached, keeping a respectable distance but showing interest in meeting the strange creature. She'd never seen anything quite like him before and she was curious to know what he was.

"Forgive me, this is my first time outside of my pride. I've never seen anyone like you before," she admitted as she drew closer. "My name is Suluhu. What's yours?"

"Ah, never fear," Mezlijin said with a nod of his head, completely understanding her confusion. There were many that had never seen a hybrid before so it was a question he was quite happy to answer. "You're certainly not the first, nor will you be the last. My name is Mezlijin, and I'm a hybrid. My father was a lion, my mother a leopard, so I have the traits of both." Indeed, now that he was closer to her, his small size was all the more obvious. Though it seemed to him Suluhu was quite large for a lioness, though he had come across some large lions in his time.

"A leopard and a lion," Suluhu said in clear awe. "That's amazing! I didn't know that was possible. But here you stand, certainly real..." She shook her head in disbelief, a wide smile on her face. Imagine that, two different species having cubs! "I knew coming here to the rogue lands would open my eyes to a world I'd never known but I had no idea I'd see things quite like you, Mezlijin!"

"Well, I'm certainly happy to expand your mind," the leopon said with a little chuckle. "Tell me, what made you leave your pride?"

"Oh, nothing awful," Suluhu said quickly. "Wanderlust, perhaps. Curiosity, more like. I began to have visions of former pride members, including my parents, who had left the pride for various reasons. I used to help run the pride, you see, and recently I stepped aside to let others take the role, and things had calmed down over the past few years...and I decided I wanted to see what they were up to once I started seeing them in my visions."

Mezlijin listened as Suluhu explained her quest, nodding at the appropriate times to show he understood. As she mentioned visions he gave a little 'mm' of understanding, though his expression changed just a bit. As she reached the end of her story, he gave her a toothy, kind smile.

"That sounds like quite the adventure you've set yourself to. Though I must warn you, Suluhu, you seem to be a very trusting lioness. There are those who may look upon you with contempt or hate for having visions, so it may suit you not to mention it so freely in your travels. Try to glean a bit about those you come across before divulging that information."

"Oh! Really?" That surprised Suluhu quite a bit, though she nodded to show her understanding. If it was just one stranger she upset she was sure she could handle her own, but if she ever came across a group she'd be sure to watch what she said. "Well, thank you for the advice, Mezlijin. I'll take it to heart."

"Not a problem, my dear," Mezlijin said before nodding to the shady outcropping Suluhu had been resting in. "Why don't we retreat to the little spot you found earlier and I'll see what I can do about helping you. I roam the rogue lands and run into all sorts of lions, perhaps I've seen some of your former pride members and can point you in the right direction."

"Oh, that would be wonderful," Suluhu said, turning to lead Mezlijin back to the rock. "I really have no idea where to start, so even the smallest hint would be helpful." The two made it back to the shade of the rock and talked, wiling away the hottest part of the day happily.

WC: 1165