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It was another hot day in the desert, but that was the norm, really. The winds weren't too bad today which made it a perfect time to go off hunting. At least, that was what Menkar had thought at the start of the day. Despite being in the Firekin for quite some time now, he still wasn't used to the blazing heat and the lack of shade. Having grown up in a much more lush area of the world, the ex Kizi struggled to function in the heat of the day.

"Gods above...I'd kill for a drop of water right now," he mumbled to himself, pale eyes half-closed as he continued to trudge through the sands.

Lucky for him, not far off Brasa was hot on the trail of a new watering hole. She was good at what she did and today she was going to be pleased with her discovery - a nice, clear pool of water awaited her just on the other side of the dunes she was climbing. Upon reaching the top she gave a little whoop as her nose led her to the small oasis, offering both cool water and shade.

"What a great spot!" she declared to no one in particular. "Pretty sure these are popular hunting grounds."

A little commotion caused Menkar to glance up to the dunes to his left and to his delight he saw a few other red pelts. He could hear the word 'water' being tossed around which was even better, so he turned his paws in the direction of the three females.

Brasa laughed softly at Sek's comment and nodded down to the pool of water. "I might join you, it sure is hot today," she said before noticing the male making his way up the sand dune towards them. She gave him a little wave, noticing how exhausted he looked.

"Hey there! You look a bit tired. There's some water down there we're all about to go enjoy."

"Oh, good," Menkar said with a weak laugh. This was the second time he'd been caught out in the heat, but unlike last time, he wasn't going to collapse and pass out. "I could use a drink right about now."

Brasa was thankful for her lighter coat color. While she was mostly a dark red, she still wasn't black or dark grey and she did have a few flecks of white here and there. Sek and the approaching male had dark pelts and manes and she knew that could be dangerous if not kept in mind.

"Me too," she agreed with Tera, smiling at the other Water-Seeker. "I guess that's why we do what we do." As Water-Seekers they had to travel quite a bit with the possibility of no water at all. It was rare to see darker-pelted lions taking on such a task, instead sticking to well-known areas and within a quick trip to water.

Menkar followed Sek down the dunes and into the water. submerging himself to cool off his dark mane. He broke through the surface and took a deep breath before starting to drink, his tail swirling lazily in the water behind him. Once he had his fill he let out a sigh of relief, gazing at the three females that he had joined.

"Lucky find," he said, nodding to Brasa who shrugged in return, a little smile on her face.

"I suppose. Although you shouldn't be off so far from the normal hunting grounds," she chided gently, to which Menkar smiled sheepishly.

"I suppose. But what if there was some great hunt out here that I was missing out on?"

"Me neither," Brasa said with a little sigh as she waded into the water, dipping her toes into the cool liquid. Being a Water-Seeker was incredibly helpful to the pride, as well as one of the more peaceful options in terms of what the Firekin did for jobs. She had been trained to fight just like any other Firekin, of course, but Brasa had no desire to battle or spar. She could hunt if need be, but she really did prefer to keep her nose out of any sort of fighting.

"Ah...I don't think so," Menkar said, lifting his head above the water a bit more. He hadn't met any of the females with him, but that didn't make him any less uncomfortable. He'd always been a very chill lion and this was no exception.

"You can call me Red," he said with a little nod, to which Brasa tilted her head with a grin.

"Red...that's a rather silly nickname," she said, glancing at the other lionesses who were also sporting the same color on their pelts.

Menkar laughed in agreement. "It is! It's part of why I've kept it. My parents weren't red at all, and when I was born I was the only one that was completely red. One of my other siblings had some very faint red markings on him, but he was mostly black and white. The rest of my siblings were blue and yellow on top of all that. So I was the only red one, hence the nickname."

He didn't go into the fact that where he came from, giving his true name gave others a sort of power over him. He preferred to go by the nickname even though he wasn't the only red lion anymore.

Menkar nodded to the two females and grinned at the offer from the other submerged feline. "That sounds great. I always feel bad coming back with nothing, but it is a lot harder to hunt alone." It wasn't something he always did, but sometimes he needed to get away from the intensity of most of the other pride members. It was nice to find some chill lionesses to hang out with!

"And I'm Brasa," the last lioness chimed in as she joined the other three in the pool, moving a bit deeper to her chest. "I wouldn't mind helping out with a hunt as well after we all cool off. Maybe we could find something really nice to bring home." With four lions on the hunt it was almost guaranteed that they came back with something even if it took the rest of the day.