Sesh-ratri was a familiar weight on her shoulders as Chemankari trailed along after Intiha-ka in companionable silence, off to meet this 'Tiisha' who was apparently from the Jini-msemi. It wouldn't be a surprise at all to come across another swamp lion; even before the pride had collapsed, they'd had a way of ending up anywhere and everywhere on their pilgrimages, with no small number never even bothering to return. It was a great big world, after all, filled with infinite possibilities, and sending young lions and lionesses out into it was bound to result in some of them not coming back. Everyone liked to think of it in a positive light, presuming that they had found happiness somewhere else, but what everyone knew and most tended not to say was that the world was as dangerous as it was large; inevitably, some of the pilgrims who never returned met with misfortune, and maybe even with their end. It was why, once they had been gone for a certain amount of time, the pride would hold a funeral for them, just in case the worse had happened. It wasn't uncommon for one to show up later, as some of them just took their sweet time, but until then, there always lingered the possibility that they had met an unkind fate.

As they walked, Chemankari wondered which category this Tiisha fell into, as Intiha-ka had mentioned that she'd had 'a difficult time.' Had something happened to her, or was she just one of the ones who had struggled to find her way outside the pride's borders? She was drawn from her thoughts when they finally came upon the group just as the sun began to set, and she and Sesh-ratri both looked on with deep interest. They were a motley group, for sure, mostly female but not all, mostly lion but not all, and some looked to be in rougher shape than others. Huh. The lioness stood respectfully quiet with her companion as Intiha-ka answered greeting from various individuals, and informed a blue lioness Chemankari could only assume was her mother about the nearby watering whole where they had met. She - Sataa - took a handful of the group and ventured off that way, while Intiha-ka led her on to the resting form of a pale lioness, small and a bit too thin, with a hide marked here and there by scars.

"Tiisha," Intiha-ka said gently, stopping a respectful distance away and rousing her just with her voice. "I found a new friend while I was out, and I thought you might like to meet her. Ah - friends, sorry." She turned her head to indicate them when the other lioness lifted her head and blinked orange eyes. "These are Chemankari, and Sesh-ratri."

"You look familiar," the younger lioness said after a long, hesitating pause. Though the color of her eyes was bright, there were shadows there not cast by the setting sun.

"So do you," Chem answered awkwardly. "You...you're one of Paropakari and Gopala's, aren't you?" Not that she knew them, not really, but they had had a massive litter, and that was the sort of thing that everyone noticed, Chem included.

Tiisha brightened visibly at Chemankari's guess, and sat up a bit straighter. "I am! Oh, do you know them? Are they well?"

"I- I just know of them, that's all. There was a lot of talk about you, as many of you as there were!" Chem paused, trying to figure out where to start or how. "Did you ever come back from your name quest, or have you been out here all this time?"

"I didn't," Tiisha answered, shaking her head, and Chemankari could see the shadows return to her gaze. "I...I couldn't."

"Well, then." The former Ghost-ranked lioness sighed, while Sesh-ratri interjected, "You missed a lot!"

"Hush, you," Chemankari scolded him fondly. Tiisha had clearly been through a lot, whatever the details were, and they needed to be gentle about updating her. "Almost everyone's alright, but I'm sorry to say that the pride's gone. There was a rockslide, and one of the ones we never found was Samudranta. La'u Khara'i disbanded the pride, and everyone went their own way. A pretty big group, La'u Khara'i and your parents included, went to the Ela'wadiyi. Everyone else..." She shrugged, forcing Ratri to compensate and adjust his position. "Is all over the place, from the looks of it." She had considered staying with the group who'd taken refuge with the Ela'wadiyi, but seh and her bonded had instead chosen to follow old stories of a lion pride tightly bonded to birds. So far, they'd found a fat lot of nothing, but here they were.

"Oh...oh." Tiisha sagged back to the ground as she absorbed the news Chemankari brought, staring forlornly down at her paws. "That's terrible. I...I'm so sorry. But I'm glad my parents are alright. Thank you for that, at least. You don't know anything about any of my siblings, do you?"

"No, I'm afraid I don't," Chemankari answered with a sigh. "It was chaos, and once they called off the search parties for the few missing, I left." She'd been in two search parties in her life, and it was two too many. Not being able to find everyone, after the fire and then after the landslide, haunted her. Why had things happened the way they had? Why hadn't she been able to find everyone, save them? She would never be rid of those thoughts, not for all the rest of her life.

Tiisha sighed. "Thank you, though. I...it's good to know something." And with that, she curled back in on herself, orange eyes closing to shut the world out again.

Intiha-ka, still standing nearby, silently indicated for Chemankari to step away with her, and they did. Once they were out of earshot of the pale lioness, Sesh-ratri was the first to open his mouth and ask, "What happened to her?"

The leader's expression twisted in disgust. "A group of savages from somewhere called Impibutho. We found them taking slaves, and stopped them. Tiisha was among them, and had been for awhile."

"That's awful," Chemankari said softly, glancing back to the pale form. "Thank you for saving her, and the rest."

"You're welcome to come with us, if you like," Intiha-ka offered, "If you're interested in what you've seen."

Chemankari's gaze lingered guiltily on Tiisha, but after a long moment and a look at Sesh-ratri, she shook her head. "I'd be honored, but we have our own home to find."

"As you wish," Intiha-ka accepted the answer with a nod. "I wish you luck."

"You, too." One more glance at Intiha-ka, Tiisha, and the rest of the group, and Chemankari set off into the growing dark, once again alone save for her avian companion.