Ijuba never wanted to go for a walk again, he had decided. A week and a half of travel and completely and utterly ruined him for the rest of forever. Hopefully things wouldn't take a dramatic turn and make him want to return home to the Pridelands, because he didn't want to ever walk that far again. He was reasonably certain he wouldn't be able to make it all the way back, and would have to stop somewhere along the way and just settle for whatever he happened to find there. Fortunately for him, however, that was seeming very unlikely. Some of the females, particularly the ones from or descended from the original pride, or from a couple of the other prides common in the backgrounds of 'old-blooded' individuals, could be a bit intimidating when they wanted to be, but he was more or less used to them by now. Could they eat him for breakfast? Yes. Would they? Probably not. As long as he made no waves - not something he'd ever been inclined to do at any point in his life thus far - it was clear that he had nothing to worry about. Just as he had been promised, that was all that was actually expected of him: just continue to peacefully exist and more or less mind his own business.
As for the territory at which they had arrived, well...he had no good words for it. He had heard stories of countless exotic locales, from mountains to deserts to coasts and beyond, but he'd had no frame of reference for any of them, and to finally look upon the sea...that was a moment he would never forget, for as long as he lived. The awe-inspiring sight of it had been worth the journey to get here, even worth the pawpads worn raw, and the painful sting of the saltwater as it found its way into the dry cracks of his tender paws. They had arrived at high tide, and had had to wait around until low tide revealed a thin bridge of land that they could traverse to their end goal, a tidal island once occuppied by another pride that had since deserted it. Intiha-ka's mother, Sataa, and father - his friend Ataullah's grandfather - Ikkuma had dwelled here for awhile before the female-dominated pride had dissolved, and those whose place it was to make such decisions had determined that of their options, it was the best place to settle. They could have returned to the ancestral lands of the Kunanda'Nakhun, but the island evidently had held the most appeal. Upon seeing it, he could certainly understand why. The island was lush and beautiful, a true paradise, and in spite of his bone-deep exhaustion and throbbing paws, he was eager to explore it.
Not today, or the next day, probably not even the day after that, but he wanted to see more of it. All of it. For now, he had a lot of sleep to catch up on, and that was precisely what he intended to do. They'd all shared a meal - his very first taste of fish, which was odd but sure to grow on him - and now he was more than ready to curl up and give himself to dreams for the next several days. And because of the unique structure of the Te'a-Nakhun, he could do that with no consequence or concern. While the females occuppied themselves with thoroughly exploring and familiarizing themselves with the territory, with hunting and fishing, and most importantly with implementing the society they had envisioned and spoken with for long hours - for days, weeks, months - he was free to do absolutely nothing, and it was a glorious feeling.
He sprawled himself out on the warm sand to bask in the sun, more than ready to let the sound of the waves carry him off to sleep, but movement at the edge of his vision caused him to raise his head. A lioness walked down the beach in his general direction, who by her color was what the Nakhun referred to as 'Shikar-i,' with a predominantly pale, dull, or natural coat - in her case, there was nothing bright about her. According to the beliefs of the pride, she was one caste above him, someone who had carried some small amount of dishonor over from her previous lives. Perhaps she had once been 'Parastar' like him, but had gained enough honor to at least be born female this time. You know, if you believed in that. Ijuba was still making up his mind.
Though he was desperate for sleep, rather than ignore her - which was probably somehow dishonorable - he dipped his head in friendly greeting and hoped she continued on her way to wherever she was headed, but he didn't have that luck. She stopped and dipped her own head, offering, "Hello. You're the one Taullah brought, right? I'm sorry, I don't remember your name."
"I am, and it's alright. I'm Ijuba."
"Tiisha," she returned, "Pleased to meet you."
"Doing some, uh, scouting?"
"Yeah," she answered, then paused before continuing. "It's wonderful, isn't it? I hope it would be, but it's...it's even better than I'd hoped."
"I know what you mean." Ijuba looked out over the ocean appreciatively. As conversations went, this was a bit awkward so far, and he fished for a topic. "So, uh, what made you come out here?"
"Intiha-ka saved me," Tiisha told him. "I was in the group they saved, with Taullah, but I hadn't just been captured like her. I'd been a wretched - a slave - for months already. I was out with the warparty to carry their plunder. It was...it was horrible." She stopped there, staring down at her sandy paws with haunted eyes. "I'd follow Intiha-ka anywhere for what she did for me."
"I'm sorry," he offered with awkward sincerity, quietly grateful that his friend hadn't spent much time with those barbarians. "After that, it doesn't bother you to be in a low caste?"
"Not at all," the subdued lioness answered. "I was raised believing in reincarnation, so this isn't a stretch. And it makes sense, doesn't it? I mean, if I'm making up for past dishonor, maybe that's why I had to go through what I did. At least, it's not as bad when I think of it like that."
"When you put it that way, I guess it does make some sense. Still, it's terrible."
"But it's over, and now it's just memories and bad dreams," she said with a small smile. "I'm sure I'll sleep better now, with the waves to lull me to sleep. Speaking of which, I believe I've interrupted yours. I'll let you get back to it. It was nice talking to you, I'm glad Taullah brought a friend. She's a good person."
"She is," he agreed. "I'll see you around, Tiisha. Happy scouting."