This was it. Folami was finally heading off on her own.
She just... wasn't expecting it to be so lonely. Or confusing. The lioness had no direction to go off of, bar the knowledge that her mom and brothers went this way, but their scents had long since dispersed to the winds and in addition that, the many storms over the course of that time had washed it away. She had never been the best tracker to top it all off.....
She also had her first encounter with a storm outside of the comfort of her former pride. The frantic run to find shelter was not a pleasant experience, and she wished for nothing more than to curl up somewhere and cry.
Which... is sort of what ended up happening.
Folami sniffled unhappily with her nose buried under her paws and her tail tucked beneath her stomach. She was miserable and wet, and a small part of her was tempted to turn right around and go home. But... she had a goal in mind, and she didn't want to give up on it quite yet. Plus, home had always felt off after her mother had gone.
Whining and closing her eyes, she tried to find rest beneath the canopy of leaves she'd huddled herself beneath. The tree wasn't very big, but it was enough to shield her from the rain. That was good enough for her right now.
When the lioness had first appeared above the nook she'd created for herself, Ojinjintka was panicked. Lions were predators, and predators were dangerous. But this one hadn't noticed her, which was fine in her books.
That said, her miserable sniffling was beginning to wear on the hare's nerves. Lifting her head just a tad to get a closer look at the dark form, she observed the pretty albeit wet fur and sad red eyes. Red eyes that bright would normally be terrifying to behold, but Ojinjintka was a hare, and many hares were born with bright red eyes like that. If anything, it told her that this was someone with the soul of a creature like herself.
She was certainly a very dejected looking feline though. Had she been out in the rain? Most people, predator or prey, had the sense to find shelter before the rain picked up, but this one clearly hadn't.
Nose twitching, Ojinjintka weighed her options before deciding that she would rather make the first move.
Shifting silently up onto her hind paws, she hopped a few paces closer and sniffed at the wet fur. Yuck, wet fur. It had a terrible smell, but underneath that, she could smell the fading scent of a pride. This one must have come from one of the nearby ones, but why had she left? And she must have left, for that scent wouldn't be fading otherwise.
Glancing back at her face, Ojinjintka tentatively poked a paw against the lioness' side. As red eyes turned towards her, she cleared her throat and said with a very quiet voice, "Are you alright?"
The paw poking her was unexpected, but she didn't jump. No, Folami just turned her head sadly to look at whatever-was-doing-that, and then perked up as she realized that it was a rabbit. Her kind typically ate rabbits, but.... only when they were hungry, and she most certainly wasn't hungry.
Plus she rather liked birds more anyway.
As the quiet voice spoke to her, her ears flicked up, sending droplets of water through the air. "I-I-" she hiccupped, "I'm fine. Just cold. And wet. And lonely." She huffed, "I didn't think traveling would be like this." Her head dropped back down to land on her paws again.
The hare glanced down awkwardly, and then shuffled closer to sit next to her shoulder. A hesitant paw reached over to pat it. "There, there. The storm will pass eventually. Though you should probably start cleaning your fur. It will dry on it's own, but not as quickly as a good cleaning would."
She blinked, "If you weren't prepared for it, why are you out here? Wouldn't it make more sense to go home?"
Oh. Right. She should work on getting her fur dry.
Folami didn't lift her head up though, not motivated yet to go about doing so. Instead, she swiped her tongue along her paws - the closest thing to cleaning that didn't require moving.
Glancing back at soft blue eyes, the lioness couldn't help leaning herself closer to the hare before explaining, "I'm trying to find my brothers and mother. They left our pride when they were old enough, and I know that I should have made the decision to join them sooner, but... better late than never?"
She sighed mournfully, "I don't know which direction they went now though."
Ojinjintka eyed her for a moment and then scanned the lioness' fur pattern. Come to think of it... she did actually remember a small group that looked remarkably like this one go through here. And she had been wandering these plains for a while. She remembered their scent.
Plus she had the best nose ever for a hare, if she did say so herself. She bet that she could track them.
But.... was she really willing to do that?
Not that she really had any attachment to this place. She, herself, had only been passing through, and the prospect of having a lioness there to protect her if anything was a nice thought. Not many creatures would be willing to pick a fight with one of the highest creatures on the food chain.
An eye for an eye. The hare could take advantage of this....
Of course, whether they would get along remained to be seen, but Ojinjintka could always high-tail it if needed.
.... And she really was a very miserable looking animal.
With a sigh, the hare rubbed a paw against her ear, "I think I saw the people you're talking about. You're going in the right direction." She considered her words carefully, "I can... help you track them, if you're willing to have a hare around."
Little did the hare know, Folami was ecstatic at the thought of having a traveling companion, and one that had some semblance of an idea of where they'd gone. "Oh, I'd love that!" She reached over and gave the pink hare a long, friendly lick, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
She spun around back to her feet, "I'll even swear off rabbits in my diet, I promise! And-and if there's anything you need, I'm happy to help!" She hopped back and forth on her paws, "My name's Folami, by the way."
Well that was an enthusiastic response, but at least she'd assured her that she wouldn't eat her. Snorting, the hare rolled her eyes, "You can sit down for now though. We won't be going anywhere yet until the rain lets up."
But... she had to admit that the other's cheerfulness was contagious, and she found herself smiling back. "I'm Ojinjintka. It's nice to meet you."
At her words, the lioness slowly settled back down but the look on her face was as bright as the sun. "That's a mouthful." She tilted her head to the side, "Can I call you Oji?"
Ojinjintka - now named Oji - raised an eyebrow, but shrugged in response. She had never... been given a nickname before, but... she did like it. It had a nice ring to it.
Folami purred, "Then Oji it is. It's great to meet you too!"