[PRP] Where home is (Puzzle/Erle)

[Andranis]

Pressure was a reality for anybody, expectations and the like. Shanhali, who went by Puzzle more than his real name, had started to feel like he was caving to it. He found the need to step near the pride's borders, taking deep breaths to calm himself. It was times like this, he almost wished one of his brothers or sisters had been named next in line after Riddlemouth.

One ear flicked, before the other did. He looked around, blinking, as he swore he saw things that weren't there. It was short, but it was soon gone, leaving him apparently alone. "Hello? Is anybody out there?" Why would he get a vision now, of all times? He was probably at his most vulnerable here, away from the protective center of the pride's lands.  

[mouselet]

The lioness had no destination, no time limit, no real intent other than to wander. She only had one home in her life, and her fur barred her from living there. They said she could visit, but why bother? It would only make the separation hurt more. Erle knew that this hurt Geni as well, but what could she do? To go back for any amount of time would increase the temptation to stay, and Erle did not want to face the Motoujamii soldiers on the wrong side.

So she was surprised, out in this nowhere, to be hailed by a friendly voice. It wasn't one she recognized of course, but she supposed it would be polite to answer.

"Yes," the lioness called back.  

[Andranis]

What probably surprised him most was the fact that a voice answered back. Before his physical eyes saw it, his mental eye gave him a flash of gold. The lioness he found himself witness to looked as though she had come from the sun, with shadows dancing across her shoulders, face, and forelegs. He was impressed, too, by her size, and was reminded of a few lions in the pride that said they had blood ties to a pride known as the Motoujamii.

As he looked the lioness over, he tilted his head. Never had he met an outsider actually AT the border, and for a moment the thrill of it made him excited. And then the cautions Wizard had brought some time ago reminded him to check himself. "Hello, I didn't expect to meet anybody out here! What brings you to my pride's border?" The cautious voice in him told him to not mention the pride's name - Only trust those from the Bahari'mtoto with it. He didn't have any malice or distrust in his voice, though, only friendly tones that matched the smile on his maw. Puzzle was, after all, still happy to meet somebody new.  

[mouselet]

It was hard to see as the lioness walked closer, but her shoulders rolled in a shrug as she moved. She wasn't entirely certain how to respond. But the male seemed friendly, so she opted to head towards him, and not to avoid him. She could always change her mind later.

"Nothing, really. So, there's a pride around here then?" Erle asked as she came into casual conversation distance and stopped. She'd seen lions (and other creatures) of a great many colors since she'd left home, but it still gave her a twinge to see such a...watery colored pelt. Even if hers wasn't fiery, at least it was sunny.  

[Andranis]

"There is, yes. We're a bit secretive, though, so that's all I'm afraid you'll get out of me about it." He tilted his head the other direction, admiring her pelt. "Where might you be from, friend? You look like a drop of sunlight left on these mortal plains." Puzzle didn't miss the twinge when she looked at him, or more specifically his blue pelt. Wherever she was from, she apparently didn't like the color.

For a moment, his mind's eye gave him flashes of sand in great hills and red smudges that looked vaguely like lions, but he mentally brushed it aside. His mind's eye could be quiet for a moment.  

[mouselet]

"The desert," Erle answered simply. She was reluctant to name her pride because it invariably provoked reactions. Curiosity as to her non-red pelt, pity for being kicked out of her own pride for that same pelt color, etc. It wasn't a good feeling.

"I suppose you were born here then?" the lioness tried to deflect the questions on her conversational partner, to avoid further hurt. She had no problems talking to people, she just tried to keep away from subjects that hurt.  

[Andranis]

At the turn of questions, Puzzle smiled quite proudly. "Born and raised! I've never left, and couldn't dream of leaving." He didn't see himself leaving, he rarely even visited the border. Perhaps it was fear of the unknown, even the unknown that was the Bahari'mtoto. He knew he'd have to meet them eventually, though. They were important neighbors, and interpridal relations with them were important.

He remembered the flash of a blurry smudged image his mind's eye had given him, and his eyebrows went up. "Oh! I only know of one pride in a desert, the Motoujamii! A fair number of lions in the pride have ties back to it!" Many had come in, already born outside the desert's sands, and professed relation to the pride. One lion had come in, a great hulking male with a red pelt. His cubs had long been grown by the time Puzzle had been born, of course, but his coat was distinct and hard to miss, even with many red lions in the pride. "I'm afraid we don't know much about it, though. Except for maybe one, all of the lions with ties back to it that joined were born in the roguelands or OTHER prides. But many of them mentioned a lion named Bodaway..." Whoever Bodaway was, he had a VERY prolific life.  

[mouselet]

The lioness' eyebrows rose as the stranger listed her birth pride by name. She was even more surprised to hear that there were people here with ties to it. Then he said the name Bodaway. Even a Huria like Erle had heard that name. It seemed like half the pride was related to him! Hell, Bodaway was Erle's own great-grandfather! Not that she'd ever met the male of course...

"Bodaway was my great-grandfather," the yellow lioness replied at last, having nothing else she really wanted to say to this lion. She wondered how rude it would be to try to leave this awkward conversation...  

[Andranis]

Puzzle's eyebrows went up, seeming to nearly vanish into his mane. "Is he, now? Ah, that would mean you have blood ties to the pride!" He had to keep himself from dancing in place, elated at this revelation. "It's fascinating to see how far the family tree spreads!" He did try to think on how the Motoujamii functioned. What had he heard, exactly, about them? He took a seat, thinking for a moment, brow furrowed, before his eyebrows returned to a normal position on his face. He glanced at the lioness, frowning just a bit. "I'm guessing you're out here and not back there because of your pelt. Desert of the red giants, not the gold." His mind's eye was pestering him again, a slightly more detailed smudge of a lion on a desert landscape. This one was gold, mingling easily with the red and the black and white and other colors and pelt patterns. But what was distinct about this lioness, as by the lack of giant mane smudge that was all she could be, was the curled heart marking on her throat.

He sat back, rubbing his face. "Quiet, visions, why are you-" He stopped. Again he glanced at Erle. "Have you considered visiting home? I think it might be prudent that you do. Call it a hunch, call it seer visions trying to make me stop ignoring them..."  

[mouselet]

Erle was, frankly, unsurprised to hear that she had cousins here. But not even remotely interested in meeting any of them. What could they possibly talking about? Being descended from a lion who'd had more children with more lionesses than was good for him? Ugh.

She wasn't given the male more than half her attention as he started rambling about her pelt color. Did everyone know the Firekin? Then everyone knew why she'd been kicked out. That she was a Huria.

"Why would I go home?" the lioness asked in surprise. "You yourself have pointed out why I'm here, not there."  

[Andranis]

"Let me take a small step back on this. I'm a seer, I get visions. They're somewhat random, don't usually happen, but now and then they do." He motioned to the gold lioness, "Before I actually saw you with my physical eyes, my mind's eye, as I like to call it, gave me a brief vision of the gold of your pelt. We're on the same path now, yes?" Puzzle didn't wait for an answer as he continued, "For the duration of our brief conversation, it's been bugging me with visions of mountains of sand dotted with red smudges meant to represent lions, and amid them is one with the only clear marking I've seen." Getting up, he drew as best a replication of the marking into the dirt as he could. "I saw this mark, on a lioness with a coat gold like yours. So, my conclusion is, you should probably visit home. You might find good news there." He was no fortune teller, but he didn't want to have to go GET one. Misty Starlight would probably be the easiest to grab and lead back, except there was no guarantee that this lioness would stay put while he went and got her.  

[mouselet]

She was skeptical, to say the least. Seer? Visions? She had no proof that the male was telling the truth. But, neither did she have any proof that he was lying. Erle didn't recognize the marking that had been drawn, but that didn't necessarily mean anything.

It was true that Huria could visit, but they couldn't stay long or go deep into the Motoujamii lands. Erle had avoided this option because she hadn't wanted to tempt herself by coming so close to a place she was no longer welcome. Not to mention she had a good guess of how Geni would take it.

Geni had a life in the pride, and Erle wasn't about to let her sister throw it away.

But now this...this Seer was saying she should go home.

"Hmmm," was the only response the yellow female made as she studied the drawing.  

[Andranis]

Letting out a flat sigh, Puzzle waved his paw, "Fine, fine, don't go home, don't go to find out if whoever this gold lioness is, near some sort of cliffs with caves, is there because they might have changed the rules even a little." He stood up, starting back into the trees. "Keep wandering the roguelands, alone and missing your family that I'm SURE is missing you, too!" With a flick of his tail, he was gone, back into the jungle that guarded the Kizingo'zaa lands.  

[mouselet]

Erle blinked as the lion disappeared. Okay, so she hadn't been interpreting his visions very well, but hey! Visions! From what she'd picked up here and there, visions weren't supposed to be easy to understand!

Still, now that the male had spelled it out for her, Erle had a very, very good reason to finally go home. She couldn't be absolutely certain of everything he'd said, but a chance was better than nothing, right?

And she really did miss her family. Especially Geni.