[PRP] Strange things (Maeve x Nissim)

[MiddyGlow]

Maeve walked along a new path, she didn't know where she was going nor did she really care she like adventure and was a very curious lioness. She saw some crumbled strange stone and wood things and went towards them. She frowned wondering what this stuff was. She really didn't have any experience with humans. She walked into one of the broken structures and looked around everything was covered in dust and it looked like no one had been here in a very long time. She wondered what the creatures were like did they have families? What did they look like? Her mind wandered as she looked around the old place.  

[MiddyGlow]

Another town, another destroyed home, another mystery to solve.. Though the star coated lion was not unfamiliar to the ways of these strange creatures, no cat had ever truly figured out how they functioned. It seemed that they lived in these large caves they crafted from fallen trees and harvested rocks, living in small packs amongst their pups. From the remains, it seems that they took to similar activities that the creatures of his land, showing advanced enough thought to craft pictures and clothing. Quite curious, really..

On this early morning, Nissim was trotting around a new ape gathering place, inspecting their structures and items. Most areas were similar, but today, found something new in this little gathering, as it was rather far away from water..

There was this curious little ring in the middle of the town, that dropped a good few feet into the ground, and was constructed out of various rocks, seemingly fused together with mud. Primitive, but intelligent enough, for apes atleast. It had a little overhang over it, held up by thick sticks, and some kind of brown vine, holding an odd hollowed out stump. He couldn't imagine what it was for..

As he peered into the pit, he blinked curiously, and realized he saw his own reflection in it. Odd. Nissim decided to put his paws up onto the side of the rocks, feeling them crumble slightly under his weight, but he paid it no mind. With one curious paw, he bat at the reflection, and watched it ripple and move. Pulling his paw up to his face, he licked it, then looked back down. The apes somehow held water in this odd structure.. Interesting..

His ear flicked, alerting him to a noise behind him. The great lion turned around, thumping onto all fours again, and scanning the terrain. His eyebrows raised slightly in surprise. There was another lion here, a lioness. All alone. That was certainly an odd sight to see.
She was walking on the path towards him, seeming oblivious to the danger such as himself, as she was so intrigued in the environment around her. While he could relate, he never let his guard down that badly.. She didnt look lost, though, just.. Adventuring, you could say. While it was stupid without a pack, he couldn't say much himself, considering how completely alone he was.  

[MiddyGlow]

Maeve had no idea that there was another lion around, nor was she afraid if there was she was pretty confident she could handle herself if one did appear. She wanted to explore these ruins they were very interesting. All the strange things she might find and explore. She continued on looking at various things. She really wasn't sure what she was looking for. She had left her family a long time ago. She had mostly grown up on her own since her family had been left long behind her after she had wandered off. She had once met a cheetah who saved her life from a rather strange weather event. After that she had learned to be more careful with the way she took care of herself.

She had never decided to return to her family, she remembered the pride they all lived in but her heart had told her she belonged on her own, exploring seeking the next adventure. So she could not betray that by being content to sit around a pride for the rest of her life. Maeve found it necessary to strike out on her own even when she was too young to safely do so. She had learned quickly that she needed to stay on her paws to stay alive or she would be food for the vultures quickly. She thought heard something so she turned and looked around in the direction she thought she heard a sound. It could have been anything, from some animal to something much larger. Her ears moved around trying to figure out where the sound had been coming from.  

[MiddyGlow]

Nissim watched her for a moment, watching as she floundered, looking around rapidly to look for danger, but still not spotting the galactic lion. At the very least, she did hear him, so she likely wasnt an injured lion.. Blind, maybe..? He was sure she stared straight at him and then looked away again.. He wasnt that dark, was he..?

The great lion shook his mane, yawned, and walked forward, as to not spook the lioness. He did not want to start an unnecessary fight, so if he could make movements and noise to get her attention before he reached her, perhaps they could have a civil conversation. To do so, he started walking forward slowly, letting his paws pap gently against the hard rocks, to keep making slight noise. Finally, he stood a few feet away from her, and cleared his throat, lowering his eyes down to her level.

"..lioness? What are you doing all the way out here, without a pack?" He asked bluntly, a cool, calm expression on his face. He had all of the attributes of a calm and collected lion, his claws safely sheathed away, and his tail gently waving in the wind, not flicking in anger or distress. "This is quite the dangerous area. I had to fight a coalition of cheetahs to reach these ruins.." He noted, raising his head to look up around him, lazily observing the slowly crumbling buildings. "What intrigues you so to take such a risk? All alone, without any protection, no pride to back you up?" He questioned, looking back down at the lioness.

"..really not something I see often, and I do frequent these areas.." Nissim mentioned offhandedly, giving the lioness a curious look. "..What is your name, lioness? You have to have one... Unless you were abandoned at birth and left to fend for yourself..?"  

[MiddyGlow]

Maeve finally looked over to the lion who had made his presence very clear, she was a fool for not smelling him sooner. She cocked her eyebrow at the male and frowned "Well I don't have a pack or a pride for that matter." She looked around them, she found it hard to believe that there were cheetahs around here. "And what coalition would that be this place seems to be pretty deserted to me and I think I can handle myself or just talk to the cheetahs since they can be rather nice if you talk to one." She remembered the one that saved her life when she was a cub. She rolled her eyes as she listened to him changed to pride all of the sudden. This lion was such a nut.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I can handle myself I have been traveling on my own this I was little, I get males think they are the sun and stars but females have power and can handle themselves as well." She huffed and turned to look at a strange pile of stuff. She moved a broken piece out of the way and then she huffed again and said "Why would you care to know my name? Unless you claimed these ruins for yourself it hardly matters." She growled at him and then said "Not that it's any of your business but I left my family when I was a cub not the other way around. I like adventure and I don't want to settle down back home. Thanks bye." She turned and went back to looking through the strange stuff.  

[MiddyGlow]

Nissim sat down, watching the lioness talk. For someone who seemed quite defensive, she definitely was the talkative type, and seemed to hold nothing back.. These kinds of cats were quite fun to talk to, as you could get copious amounts of information out of them, with little to no prodding.

"I feel like I should be offended by that remark.." He said, his ear flicking slightly as he watched Maeve. "I did attempt to converse with them, but they did not seem to take kindly to a lion with bands of blue on their wrists. They assumed I was a bad omen, a demon, perhaps.." He went on, still maintaining firm eye contact, his gaze piercing. "..I may not have helped break their stigma, but I did get past them.." He murmured, his tail curling up by his flank, flicking once, then laying flat.

The cryptic lion blinked at the snappiness. This did happen quite often to him, but he could never understand why.. So many couldn't be bothered for a simple conversation? Quite a shame, if you asked him. "Now, I do not beli-" He started, raising a paw, but was quickly cut off by the lion's huffiness, and went to speak again, but she seemed steadfast in her plan to ignore Nissim. He went quiet for a moment, observing her.
"..you do realize I am still here, correct?" He mentioned, leaning to the right so he could look at her better, wondering if she had actually thought he would go away. He got up, and walked back around to face the lioness, sitting down in front of her again. "As I was saying, I do not quite hold myself to that godly regard, nor look upon the alternate gender in such a deprecating way. We are equal, I simply do not understand why you would choose to be alone.." He clarified, shifting to get more comfortable, and laying down slightly. "It really is only logical to be in a larger group. Easier to hunt, live, and defend." He noted, then pulled back, tilting his head slightly.

"..Claim it? What would be the use in that?" Nissim asked, shaking his head to the side. "I don't hold on to what belongs to the world. I simply wish to figure out the purpose and use, log that information, then move on. No need to have extra baggage." He explained, folding his paws over each other.

At the last comment, the lion raised an eyebrow.
"You are aware that you can adventure in a group, are you not?"  

[MiddyGlow]

Maeve rolled her eyes this male was trouble and she should just leave the area, but how often would she get the chance to explore such a strange place? "Perhaps you are a demon and are just pretending to be a lion." She mused the idea had merit. Many believed gods wandered the mortal world. She turned her head and cocked her eyebrow "You seem to be alone as well, so why should it confuse you that I am doing the same? I can't be the first rogue lioness you have ever met, I know there are others in the rogue lands."

Maeve was so annoyed by this male "Yes of course I know I could travel in a group, do I want to, not right now. I am fine wandering on my own I kill what I need and it is a life I enjoy, I'm sure you live very much the same way unless you have a band of lions hiding out somewhere around here." She teased. She turned away from him again looking to see what more she could find. Then she moved to the next building its walls caved in and windows broken. She looked in and saw a red and brown woven blanket curious.  

[MiddyGlow]

Nissim watched her walk away once more, slightly amused. She seemed rather defensive, despite him showing good intentions.. Was there more to trust these days? Maybe a display of bravery, or self sacrifice..? Well, he couldn’t be bothered to go that far, but he never saw lions investigating human villages, so this occurrence was much more intriguing than the glittering objects that lay in the homes.

He then stretched, flexing his claws and yawning, and got up, shaking off the dust that had collected on his underbelly. He walked around her, not going directly in front, but hovering nearby, always keeping an eye on her as he nudged bottles aside, poking and prodding at various odd structures, some which were quite soft. He trotted over to the building Maeve stopped in, and saw a padded rectangular.. thing, pushed up against the side of the wall, with deep claw marks through them. Intrigued, he walked over to the carpet, and, not wishing to disturb Maeve, leapt clear over the rug, and landed on the plush rectangle, the poor thing’s wooden legs collapsing over the sudden weight of a male lion. He didn’t seem bothered, though, looking down curiously at the decorated rectangle.

The great purple lion then kneaded it like a kitten, putting small holes in it, then flopping down and rolling about, coming to a splayed position on his back, looking quite peaceful on the soft furniture. He took a deep inhale, taking in the scents of the small thing, noting it down. He idly pulled the white fluff from its inside, pulling it down to his eyes and looking it over. This could be used for many interesting tools, it was soft and sturdy enough to comfort a hardened lion.. He did put it back, though, simply marking down this thought, so he could come back here later if he needed it.  

[MiddyGlow]

Maeve looked over at the male lion, he was so serious sometimes and then suddenly was acting like a cub. She couldn't help but laugh and roll her eyes. She didn't believe they would ever be friends, the male had too many ideas of what a female should or shouldn't do for her tastes. She watched him curiously though she meant to ignore him. It was hard when he was doing such silly things. She wondered what the thing was he was pulling apart. "What do you think all of this is?"