[PRP] Entering the Moors (Iwa & Meera)

[MangoMeow]

Her head was tilted almost exasperatingly far at the wide expanse of hills in front of her. It almost looked like plains, but for the varying plants and shrubbery covering it. And oh, the way the sun showed through the clouds above her made it look like there was a patchwork of shadows and light. What a gorgeous sight!

It made her wonder if there was a pride living here. She had scented the markers as she crossed, but her curiosity compelled her to go over them. (In truth, she hadn't quite learned yet that she shouldn't just cross over borders willy-nilly. The other prides she'd run into thus far had welcomed her, after all - why wouldn't this one?)

With a rumbling purr, something that showed her cheetah genes, Meera hopped forward with eager paws, pausing to sniff at unfamiliar plants as she went.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

It was the first day of three that Iwa was on duty. She enjoyed her time in North Farthing as it reminded her quite a bit of growing up in the rogue lands with her mother and siblings. Wide open spaces, no one around, and all the time in the world to just think.

She wasn't on her rounds for long before she spotted a small creature sniffing around and she set her path in its direction. The Suzat on principal were very welcoming but she and the other Herders were also the border guard. Not everyone that stuck their nose into their property was friendly.

As she got closer Iwa identified the creature as a cheeton. She had met all types in the rogue lands and knew what a hybrid looked like. She also could tell from the curious but not terribly wary body language that the cheeton wasn't looking for trouble.

"Hello," she said as she approached, still pausing a safe distance away to not appear a threat. "Looking for something?"

MangoMeow

 

[MangoMeow]

She'd gotten distracted with a particularly bright colored flower by the time Iwa had shown up. Head perking up, Meera looked over at the patchy lioness in front of her. Her coat kind of reminded her of her mother, actually! Well, if her mother had been a lioness.

With a cheerful smile, the cheeton shook her head, "Oh! No, but I've never been here before." She looked around curiously, "I've seen plains before, but... not like this. Everything is so bright! What is this place?"

And then she paused, before twirling about it place, skidding to a stop on her behind so she faced the newcomer. "My name's Meera! What's yours?"

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

My, she was bouncy. Iwa, stoic as always, watched the cheeton spin and smile. Yes, she was definitely not a threat. Glancing behind her, Iwa took a glance at what the young female was talking about and had to admit that it wasn't quite as desolate as the savanna could sometimes be. There were patches of re-planted crops to attract herds and the further they looked to the horizon the greener it got. The flat plains also began to become gently rolling hills, leading off to something more.

"Iwa," she said, offering her own name in return as she turned back to face Meera. "This is North Farthing of the Suzat lands. It's our hunting grounds, so to speak. The pride proper is much nicer to look at than this," she added, not wanting her to think the pride was just a stretch of mostly flat land.

MangoMeow

 

[MangoMeow]

Meera grinned wider, "It's nice to meet you, Iwa." Suzat, huh? She'd certainly never heard of them before, but then, she didn't really know the names of any of the ones she had heard of. That didn't mean that this place wasn't interesting though, and she was curious to see what else it held.

So, wiggling in excitement, the female cheeton gave her best puppy-eyed look. "Really? Could I see it?" She cocked her head to the side, humming, "This place already has such a nice charm to it. I can only imagine what the rest looks like."

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Meera seemed eager to see the pride and Iwa didn't hesitate to nod. She could read others quite easily and it was clear that this was no ploy to get in and start causing trouble. No, this cheeton was curious and playful, not sinister and evil. She could spend quite a bit of time with the hobbits back in the pride before she wore out her welcome. There were many within the lands that were just like her and, although Iwa was glad to call the Suzat her home, she definitely wasn't one of them.

"Of course. It's a bit of a walk but I suppose I could tell you a bit about it as we travel," she offered, turning south to head towards the heard of the pride. "We're in North Farthing, as I mentioned before. There are four Farthings all together, one for each direction. East Farthing is the farming district, lots of plants and vegetation there. They re-plant it here to attract the herds," she added, nodding to a fresh batch of small bushes that had been transplanted last week. "They also grow ingredients for Brew, which is a drink I'm sure you'll be offered while you're here. That's made in West Farthing, which is also where the majority of the dens are. It's where most of the pride spends their time when not working. South Farthing is marshland where they grow iboga, which is a plant that you'll also be offered while you're here. Chewing only," she added, not wanting Meera to think they ate plants. Ew.

MangoMeow

 

[MangoMeow]

To be honest, she would have been down for trying to eat the plant as well. She was the type to jump paws first into a new experience. That said, chewing the iboga would be a new experience in and of itself, and the hybrid was excited to try it.

As the two of them walked, Meera nodded curiously while she cast her gaze back and forth across the North Farthing. Four different areas, huh? It sounded like this was a rather large pride.

As Iwa continued to explain, the cheeton perked up. "Marshland?" She wasn't sure what that was.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Iwa nodded slightly as she turned to head back the way she had come earlier. She didn't mind walking back and forth since she had grown up in the rogue lands. Walking was second nature to her and it was part of the reason she had chosen to be a Herder upon her arrival here.

"Marshland...it's like a big lake that's shallow and has lots of vegetation growing in and around it. Weeds, grasses, trees, flowers, all sorts of things. It's quite large, though, and I'm sure it gets to a point where you can't touch the bottom anymore, but the Marsh Waders don't go out that far. They stay in the shallows to harvest and tend to the iboga."

She had tried Marsh Wading, curious about what it entailed, but the work was far too meticulous and dirty for her. She didn't relish the idea of coming home every night smelling like the swamp.

"It's rather stinky," she added, wrinkling her nose at the memory of trying to get the stench from her fur.

MangoMeow

 

[MangoMeow]

Meera tried to imagine what Iwa was describing. Oooh, it sounded pretty! She'd like to see it, even if it did smell, she thought with a chuckle. Besides, it must not have been too bad if those Marsh Waders went into it.

"I'd love to see it," she paused, and then hopped quickly after Iwa, "I'd love to see all of it! Where do I start?" This was what she set out to do anyway. Try everything, smell everything, see everything for herself. Stories could only do so much, after all, and she would love to be able to pass on her own stories some day.

She smiled at the lioness as she caught up to her, "Thank you so much for helping me, by the way."

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Iwa glanced beside her at the small feline, her grin a bit contagious even to the normally stoic-faced lioness. A tiny smile cracked her lips before she glanced away, once more facing forward. She wouldn't be able to show her the whole place as she had just started her shift, but she was sure she'd be able to find someone who was more than willing to help her out.

"You'll find that's sort of the whole Suzat way of living," she said, leading the way further into the Farthing, towards the heart of the pride. "Being hospitable is something we pride ourselves on." It was more those that were born into the pride that really made it a life goal to be as welcoming as possible, but those that joined made an effort as well.

"As I said before, this is North Farthing," she said as they walked, explaining more in detail about what it was that she and the other Herders did. They had a ways to walk, after all, and doing so in silence would be a bit awkward. Hopefully she'd think of enough things to tell Meera to take up the time it would take to reach someone else. Leaving nothing but light footprints behind, the two headed off for the ever-growing hills in the distance.

MangoMeow

Fin! We can start up the next one with Minza whenever you'd like