[PRP] Beach Bum [Akimichi x Nzuri]

[Lithiasaur]

Akimichi was never in a hurry to be anywhere, but that was mostly because he had no where to be. He spent his time wandering around, but mostly following the water. He liked the sound and feel of water, and even the smell of the plant life that flourished around good water sources. Rivers and lakes called to him, mostly, but he had heard of an endless water at the edge of... well. He assumed as far as he could walk, and then he would get there.

So he padded along without much care or worry, hunting when he needed to, and leisurely talking to anyone he passed in his travels. He sometimes asked about the water, but usually forgot. He was just a calm guy who liked talking to others and just hanging out. Chilling, really.

Except not in the actual cold. If it was chilly and he was trying to chill, he was in for a bad time.

He smelled the air and noticed a change to it. Something was definitely different here, and he was hoping it was because he was finally getting to where he wanted to go. He quickened his steps, at least, following the light breeze.  

[Syrius Lionwing]

Lithiasaur

She often wandered along the borders. It was nice at the edge where the gentle rolling sands became grass or tall trees of the jungle. She’d been born here, raised on the soft white sands amongst the smiling faces and rules of the waves. Of course when their king had died during the strange shadow invasion things had changed.

She had really been too young to understand the new rules and regulations forced upon the pride but her mother was one of the ones facing the scrutiny of the pride and that had hurt her deeply. Her mother was a lovely gentle lady and the mistake she had made, well, bringing her and her siblings in to the world was a gift.

This was one of the reasons why she liked to walk the border. The hustle and bustle of pride life went on and she would occasionally hear a whisper behind her. Despite the fact that she had passed her rites and she was a member of society now she heard a whisper. She didn’t like it but those that supported her mother were much more vocal and protective than those that were not so she stayed in the Bahari, partly because this was all she knew and partly because there were still good people here.

Her paws took her over a rise and a light breeze ruffled her tiger striped fur. And for the briefest moment she looked back down the beach from whence she had come before glancing out in to the rogue lands only to find her gaze falling upon someone she didn’t know, someone new. She tilted her head and smiled softly. He smelled of far off places of unknown worlds. That was fascinating to her. “Hello.” She purred taking a careful step off the sand dune towards the stranger.  

[Lithiasaur]

Syrius Lionwing

Michi looked at her, tilting his head and offering her a lazy smile after a moment. He did not look particularly intimidating, not the largest lion around and certainly lacking many of the mean bones others seemed to be born with. He had not seen a pelt quite like hers before, but he supposed it had to do with where she lived.

There was definitely water nearby. That was the smell, he knew it.

"Hello, there," he said, sitting down not too far from her, in case she was more on edge than he was. She had been the one to say allow, of course, but that did not mean she wanted a stranger running up to her to get a good look at her. That was probably rude, anyway, though he could not be bothered to worry about etiquette and rules like that. "Are you from around this place?"

He was pretty sure he was a nice guy, and that should be more than enough. There were lions out there who wasted a lot of time worrying about very small things, in the scheme of it all, but Michi liked to think he knew where he stood in the world.

A very small, but comfortable and hopefully sandy corner.  

[Syrius Lionwing]

Lithiasaur

The young female smiled, when he stopped she continued to move forward. The life she lived meant that she was a trusting sort and he seemed so relaxed and her curiosity got the better of her. Despite times being a bit tumultuous of late she had been raised with a peaceful attitude, she was perhaps overly trusting even of strangers but that had always been the attitude of the bahari and that was who she was.

“Yes, this is where I live. You’ve come to the Bahari’mtoto.” She rumbled continuing her forward motion until she was barely a hairs breadth from the pink maned lion. “You smell funny, where do you come from?” She tilted her head curiously, she was used to everyone smelling of the sea. It was a good smell, a smell of water and salt and fresh fish, of sand and waves and the warm breeze. It was the smell of home, this lion, he smelled of not here and that was fascinating to her.

“Oh, that isn’t really a greeting is it?” She laughed heartily her blue eyes dancing with the joy of her own round about way of greeting a complete stranger, telling him he smelled funny. She grinned a wide grin “I’m Nzuri, and you do smell funny but I suppose maybe I smell funny too? The sea makes you smell like this, though maybe you know that?” Again a pause, she knew she was rambling but she felt like she was maybe getting some where with this whole greeting thing.

“Oh maybe thats why you’re here though? You know my mother says that there are lions that live all over the place and have never seen the ocean, can you imagine?” She licked her lips her tail flickering happily. “You kind of smell watery but not sea watery.” She closed her mouth mid thought her head tilting, her gaze full of curiosity “Have you never seen the sea?”  

[Lithiasaur]

Syrius Lionwing

"Bahari'mtoto, huh? That sounds like. A place, I guess. Cool name."

He chuckled, shaking his head. Maybe he would get used to the name if he hung around a bit. He wanted to, anyway, because his senses were now just screaming at him about the water nearby. He really, really wanted to check this place out, and he was super happy just to be near it. How much more exciting would it be to get to the water itself?

"I don't come from anywhere, though I'm sure I smell funny. I just wander around and hope to find some cool and interesting places to take naps in. My name is Akimichi, and it's swell to meet you, Nzuri. I can smell the water on you, or nearby. I usually just chill need lakes and rivers. I bet the Sea is a lot cooler."

He had not yet seen it but he was aching for it, though his very relaxed demeanor did not exactly betray that.

"I've never seen it, so I guess your mom is right. As moms usually are, I guess."  

[Syrius Lionwing]

Lithiasaur

Nzuri chuckled quietly. She’d obviously rambled way too much at the pink maned lion. “Oh, you haven’t? Come on then!” She turned her back on the pink maned male and started to trudge back in the direction she had come.

Topping the sand dune she had bounced down she looked back expectantly waiting for the male.He’d never seen the sea before and from the rise the sea could be seen glistening blue, and perfect in the daylight, the waves crashing quietly against the palest of sands.

It was beautiful, it was home. “This is the bahari’mtoto.” She smiled widely, looking to the soft brown male, she wanted to see his expression, she wondered what it was like to see the sea for the first time, she couldn’t remember herself, it had always been a part of her life, she couldn’t imagine it not being a part of her life.  

[Lithiasaur]

Syrius Lionwing

Michi looked a little surprised as she walked away from him, following with a bounce in his step. He kept up with her easily enough, though he usually tried not to exert quite so much effort while traveling. He definitely was not a fan of up hill, or up sand dune, but he padded along so he could see the water he had been chasing.

He sat down heavily into the sand, sinking down a bit, once he saw it. It took him a very long moment to take it all in, looking out over the endless blue in wonder. He had never imagined anything could look so very big, as if it stretched on forever.

Was there anything else out there? Did it matter?

"This is beautiful," he managed to say, still staring out at the water, unable to draw his eyes away. "I guess I tried to picture it but this is not what I thought. It's incredible. And you guys just live here? This Bahari thing. You guys live with all that?"  

[Syrius Lionwing]

Lithiasaur

Nzuri watched his expression with wonder. She had never met anyone that hadn’t seen the sea before. It made her smile widely. He looked so cute looking at the water.

“Yes, the Bahari’mtoto have lived by the sea forever. We are an ocean pride.” She chuckles softly “My mum always calls us sea lions.” She grins broadly and turns her gaze to the water.

“I was born here but my mother came as a rogue so she told me about the outside world.”She paused for a moment and sighed “I can’t imagine living any where else though. This is home by the waters edge, though sometimes it is really scary most of the time it is just, home.”  

[Lithiasaur]

Syrius Lionwing

"That sounds like an amazing place to live," he mumbled quietly, watching the water and trying to sound like he was talking to her, but really just caught up in a world of his own for a moment. He had never really seen anything as beautiful as that endless ocean before, until he turned his head and caught sight of his companion again.

The skin under his fur heated up for a moment.

Akimichi tried to clear his throat, but found it to be un-ironically dry, despite the water in the air. He nodded his head at her story, though something she said managed to wake him from his awestruck daze.

"Scary? How could it ever be scary?" Of course, never being near a large body of water, he had no idea of the weather conditions that came with the location. It was certainly not common for floods to happen in the long, dry stretches of Savannah that he was used to traveling through. He had never really seen waves get very high, either, even in the largest lakes and on the windiest days.

For all his love of water, he knew very little about it.