Silence was a rarity at night, anyone that told someone that it was common was an outright liar. Creatures moved just as often at night as they did during the day, in fact many of them were far more dangerous in the night than their daytime counterparts, because they weren't seen and the only reason they made noise was when they were comfortable and happy. Howls and yips would fill the night air, the noise of dozens of types of nocturnal bird and insects everywhere, it was nothing but noise all night long and that wasn't even taking into consideration the monkeys and apes.
In all Kneph found it to be rather amusing how often he remembered being told that the night was for sleep when it was so alive and vibrant! Silver moonlight lit up his monochromatic coat in the oddest way as the lion began to walk the perimeter of his new jungle waypoint. This was not his stopping point entirely, he completely desired to go deeper into the jungle, but he wouldn't go anywhere without Spiros and he really wanted to hear his brother's opinion on the matter, still not fully sure if the day-dwelling lion enjoyed the jungle. Only time and daylight would get him his answer, so his unease with the entire situation had him wandering in search of food and anything that might spark his interest.
Never one to have a settled home, never knowing a pride or a permanent residence as long as he'd been alive other than his brother's constant presence, Kneph wasn't entirely off put by being out in the open or not knowing anything about the area. He never knew a single thing about the areas he traveled through, but he always managed to keep his wits about him and did just fine. Surely the jungle was no different than any other; there were predators, of which he was fairly certain he was currently the largest even if he wasn't sure he was the most dangerous, and there were prey. Currently he was interested in finding prey of some sort, the last thing he'd eaten seemed so long ago now, but that springer had been quite good.
Stopping in his tracks as a thought rolled through his head, he tilted it and evened out his breathing. He was going to need to find Spiros something to eat as soon as he woke up, otherwise he'd feel just like his brother was at the moment and that wouldn't be acceptable. He'd never let his brother go hungry and certainly wasn't going to start now just because they'd come someplace new!
Still... where to start?
A noise, something that sounded like an object being drug over leaves, caught the sensitive ears of the lion that tilted his head ever so carefully to one side, pupils dilating even more than they already were on the moonlit night. Had something already caught a creature, was it something larger yet than himself, though Kneph admitted that he couldn't hear footsteps accompanying the dragging noise, but that meant the hunter was very skilled? Or the prey was very foolish or very injured. Caution would be the best thing certainly, but all he could do was think that he was hungry and Spiros must certainly be as well.
Sticking a bit lower to the ground than he otherwise would have, Kneph slowly crept towards the sound of the noise, blue irises nearly disappearing as his pupils widened even further to take in as much light as they could, to see as much as possible in the dim light of the evening. Slowly he crept closer and closer, edging around large trunks of trees and constantly following the lazy dragging sound, the gentle hiss of something and the crunch of leaves from time to time. His own paws moved to avoid the noisiest spots as best he could, not at all wanting to alert the source to his presence. Little by little he went further into the jungle, every step taking him a bit deeper into darkness where his eyes naturally thrived as it was, until all there was to see of them was a glow as the lion got closer.
Suddenly a green head popped up from between two large fallen leaves, green eyes peering out of a tiny head that was touched with blue stripes. Focusing in on him, the small snake peered her green eyes into his own blue and Kneph knew instantly what it was that he'd been following, but he had no way of knowing if the snake were the venomous sort or not and so he paced backwards just a bit, knowing how fast they were. Even with his own pride in his skills, in his speed and strength, Kneph knew full well that there was no way he could beat a snake if they struck at him with any degree of their lightning reflexes.
He would surely lose if they were poisonous.
Gently a tongue slipped from the end of the little green snake's mouth, the soft colors almost deceiving him into thinking that it wasn't as dangerous when he knew that it could be. The tongue tasted the wind, eyes flicking back and forth between almost wild with the dialated pupils to nothing but a slit of black as it waffled on what it should do, not moving any further than Kneph had. Poisonous? Not poisonous? It was impossible to tell in that moment as it kept stock still and simply watched him with the occasional flick of a tongue to taste if there were danger on his side as well.
That was a good sign, wasn't it? That the snake seemed to be just as cautious as he himself was being? Maybe it wasn't poisonous and it certainly seemed to be very small... come to think on it.. hadn't he seen some lions wandering the savannah with snakes by their sides or wrapped around them, even resting on backs? The familiars that some lions kept with them for various odd reasons. Could this snake be one of... those?
"Hi there! My name's Ayamezu, or Aya to friends. Are you a friend!?" the voice made Kneph's eyes widen.
"Sure....."
WC: 1039 total