A twig snapped under an otherwise quiet paw and Sigrun cursed under her breath. She was twitchy. Irritated. Out a'viking with a band that wasn't her own purely out of a need to go somewhere and do something with the first group that was going.

To say this wasn't her optimal choice would be an understatement.

It was a band full of males. Brutishly male males. The ones that spoke, anyway. The lioness had scoffed and made as much reasonable distance from them as she could in short notice. She wanted to prove herself, of course, but she didn't actually want to be around them.

The snapped twig made her steps pause. Sigrun gave a sideways glance to the lion that had splintered from the group with her. He was quiet. Tolerably so. Didn't give much of an impression and didn't seem to want to chat, which was a-ok in her book.

Fashaq met her gaze and returned it with a shrug. A snapped twig didn't matter. It wasn't like they were stalking anything at the time being. This venture was to be a short one. A hunting trip more than anything. The gnawing hunger in the pride had made his captain antsy enough to call an impromptu reaving. Fashaq had just shrugged it off and followed the orders. All he could really do at his rank.

To be honest, the captain had gotten on his nerves on more than one occasion. Take today, for example. No one had been ready to leave. He was sure that some of his fellow reavers still had some lingering herbs in their heads. It was unprofessional to say the least, and if something happened to the rest of the band he didn't want to be around for it. So when the new lioness not so subtly gave the main band some space, Fashaq was happy to follow.

Sigrun met the navy lion's eyes and when he shrugged, she returned it and pressed onwards. She was just happy to get away from the abysmal mood the hungry lions back home seemed to emit. Sure, it would have been great to find some food, but honestly that would have just been an added bonus.

The reavers had only taken a few more steps before the white and green lioness stopped again. Her ears perked and her muscles tensed. Seeing her motion stop out of the corner of his eye, Fashaq stopped as well. He glanced at her without moving his head, remaining still.

"Do you hear that?" Sigrun whispered under her breath.

A few moments pause before a response came, the first words from the lion that Sigrun had heard all day. "Yeah," Fashaq said, his voice low and rough like there was sand in his throat. "This way."

The sound the reavers had heard was a splash. Not far away, a summery orange lion swept a paw through a lazily rolling river. Radhi let loose a slow and comfortable sigh. It was hot. Not unbearable, but not all together comfortable. The petite lion lay on his side on a long flat rock, his tail along with a single paw making little waves in the water.

The lion's posture was like that of someone who didn't have a care in the world, a fact that wasn't entirely untrue. Radhi was comfortable. Life was easy. Life was good. Hunting to sustain one wasn't too difficult a job. He wasn't unafraid of the quiet, lonely nights without company. There wasn't really much to worry the rogue lion except for what position was best to lay in and what part of the river had the coolest, most comfortable water. Things generally worked out for Radhi.

Generally.

The lion's position was one of a lion that didn't seem concerned with the prospect of ever having to run from anyone. Who had never needed to run from anyone. Until today.

The lioness came from the underbrush first, all speed and pent up frustrations. A roaring shriek came from the orange lion as he found himself suddenly pinned down, claws against his side and fangs unnervingly close to his throat.

"I wouldn't wiggle much," came a voice from the underbrush where the lioness had suddenly come. It was gravelly in a way that made Radhi's nose wrinkle. He glanced over as best as he could without moving to see a not huge but hefty-framed lion making their way over.

"My friend here has had a testy couple of weeks."

"We're not friends," came the voice of the lioness, close enough to his neck that it made Radhi's heart pump even faster.

"Acquaintance, then," Fashaq amended. Sigrun rolled her eyes, but didn't continue.

"I don't…" Radhi started, then cut himself off. He looked to the white lioness, then to the blue. "What do you want? I don't… I don't have anything for you."

"You have enough," Sigrun replied, and Radhi furrowed his brow in confusion.

"We are of the Stormborn," said the navy lion. "Do you know of us?" Radhi frowned. He had heard of them. Brutes, from what he know of the pride. This interaction would only confirm that. The orange lion grunted in affirmation.

"Good," Fashaq said simply. The larger lion closed the distance between himself and the pair, lowering his head so he could meet the orange lion's eyes. "We won't have to go into the shpeal, then."

"Basically," Sigrun said, taking over. "We're going to make you an offer. You can come with us and make no trouble, and we'll do our best not to make you exceedingly uncomfortable. The less you fight, the easier this is going to be for you."

"I'm not…" Radhi started, then winced as he tried to get into a more comfortable position. "I'm not much of a fighter."

"That's good, too." Fashaq grunted, stepping away. Sigrun moved from the lion, letting him stand but not giving him much more room than that. "Follow," she muttered to him, hip bumping him in the direction that Fashaq had walked.

The orange lion stood, shook out his mane, and gulped before following. Things generally worked out for Radhi. Generally.

(WC: 1024)