Mángguo was a jackal on a mission. Renshu was somewhere this way, she was sure of it.... she was relatively sure of it anyway. Well, she hoped.
It took some badgering of the local birds, but they confirmed that they had seen him - or someone who looked and acted like him - in this general direction. The only thing that made her question it was that he was apparently traveling with a pride. Since when was he willing to travel with anyone that wasn't her?
Not that she wasn't ecstatic that he was branching out, but it was just... out of character for him, and made her question whether it really was him or if she was on a wild goose chase.
With a whine, the jackal hopped from one rock to another as she tried to traverse a wide river. It was certainly starting to get more... wet? damp?... as she searched, and she wondered just where she was heading. Where was this supposed pride heading? Rumor had it that they were looking for a place to call home, which sent a surge of pity through her. Maybe that's why Ren had chosen to go with them. Maybe he was helping them settle somewhere.
So into her thoughts, she misjudged her jump and slipped with a yelp towards the water. She fully expected to plunge into cold water, but was pleasantly surprised by that not happening. No, instead she found herself hovering above it, and a second observation showed that someone had grabbed her neck scruff.
Looking up with a blink, Mango found herself staring at bright red eyes.
Folami had just been passing through, looking for something to hunt or maybe a friendly face. With a sigh, the lioness recalled her rabbit companion who had chosen to stay behind. Something about not wanting to watch her hunt. Which she supposed she couldn't blame her for, but Folami wouldn't hunt rabbits! She couldn't, not now that she was friends with Oji.
But the rabbit was apparently squeamish about it and didn't want to see any blood. So the lioness had trekked out on her own for the moment, trying to find something easy to catch. Maybe a bird or something.
Her ears perked up as she realized that she could hear water. A quick glance to the left confirmed that yep, there was a river nearby, and she smiled as she veered and began walking towards it. She could do with a quick drink.
The lioness paused as she noticed a small orange form making it's way across the water. Was that... a jackal? She had never seen one before, but she knew that they were basically tiny dogs. If it was, it was adorable! She could see why people took them as familiars. She should probably be looking at it as food, but it was so cute! She didn't think she'd have the heart to kill it.
.... Maybe Oji had the right of it.
The little creature seemed to have it's head in the clouds though, and Folami could tell what was about to happen moments before it did. With an intake of breathe, the lioness charged forward, paws splashing along the edge of the water, and then made a mighty leap to land on one of hte nearby rocks.
Just in time too. She managed to grab the little creature right as it slipped, and for a moment, the two of them dangled there. As deep blue eyes looked up at her, Folami tried to purr in between the fur in her mouth, "It's okay. I've got you."
She was maybe a little too comfortable around lions by this point, but hey, this one didn't seem very mean. In fact, she had a rather soft, tinkling voice.
Mángguo watched as she was carried across the water to the other side, her tail flicking back and forth. When she was put down on dry land, the jackal yipped and hopped about. "Thank you! I would have been a very wet puppy if you hadn't shown up."
Folami gave a chuckle at that, nodding her head, "It's fine. I'm just glad you're alright."
The lioness glanced back up at the river. It was nothing to her, but it would have swept this little jackal into its depths like it was nothing. "You should be more careful in the future. I'm Folami, by the way."
The female jackal gave a bark, tail going a mile a minute behind her. "I will! I'm Mángguo." She sniffed at the lioness, "You're really pretty. Like the night sky!"
And then she paused. Lions probably knew about the going-ons of other prides, right? Maybe she knew where Ren was! Crouching down onto her stomach, Mango smiled, "You wouldn't happen to have seen a brown stripy lion come through here, would you? He's got a big, curly mane, kind of shy. Oh! And he might be with a pride that passed through here."
Folami cocked her head to the side, thinking, and then shook her head. "I'm sorry. I don't know who that is and I don't think I've come across anyone like that, but...." She tried to think back on what she heard down the rumor mill. "I think that pride you mentioned maybe have settled along the coast. Some of the locals were talking about it. Apparently they were a big group." She wondered who they were too.
She was glad she hadn't tried to eat this one though. Mangguo had a companion, and who was she to take that away from him.
Humming in thought, Folami clucked her tongue and then pointed a paw back the way she came. "My friend, Oji, might know more though. She's resting over in that direction. Maybe you can ask her?"
She watched the paw point East, and then nodded with a cheerful yip. "I will, thank you!" And with that, the hyperactive jackal took off. She was never one to sit still for long.
The lioness blinked in surprise as one minute the jackal was there and then the next, she was gone. And she thought rabbits were fast.
... Come to think of it, did jackals and rabbits get along? She actually wasn't sure. Hopefully Oji wouldn't be too freaked out by the appearance of the little dog.
