[PRP] Too Far Out (Belkane x Taj)

[Krysin]

She had tried so hard over the course of the day to show unwavering faith that they would find her sister. Belkane wanted to be optimistic that Msako was still within the Pridelands. Surely she had gone off to flirt with some boy and had just lost track of time. When Belkane had started her search, it had been early in the day. Msako had slipped away sometime the night before, though Belkane wasn't exactly sure when. The golden child of the family had woken up to just find her gone.

It was irresponsible and reckless for Msako to disappear at a time like this... but then Belkane wasn't acting much better. She had left behind the border of the Pridelands with her male companion, someone who had been kind enough to agree help search for the missing sister. Taj was still a bit of a mystery, but he hadn't hurt her yet.

There was no reason not to trust him, especially after they had spent the majority of the day together. Looking back over her shoulder, she could see the brown male trailing behind her. Back beyond him was the Pridelands, and she could even see Pride Rock in the distance. It was tiny compared to when she saw it up close, which was perhaps her first hint that they had gone too far away from the Pridelands.

"...What if she's gone?" Belkane asked, her ears pressing flat to the back of her head in the first show of vulnerability in the hours she had been with Taj.  

[Pandorus Sphinx]

Taj had allowed himself to get involved in something he had no stake in. He always seemed to find ways to get scuked in complicated issues like this, with or without the aid of his family. He sighed deeply as he trailed behind Bel, who stayed a few feet in front of him walking at a steady pace. He could feel his nerves sink to the edges of his stomach as they moved deeper and deeper into the Pridelands. This was the first time he had left his home. He was born an Outlander and he assumed he would die an Outlander, but what if something happened here? What if he was found out? Would he be killed on spot? He didn't know the rules of the pride, let alone the customs that involved dealing with Outlander lions. He wasn't even aware they were wandering far from the pride now. Taj was completely out of place.

Did they even care at all? His mind still raced, even after hours of searching. He just wanted to find some peace in his clouded mind, a safe haven from his worry. He frowned to himself before he snapped back to reality.

"Bel." He found himself blurting out, his eyes fixed on her figure as she spoke. He needed to just focus on her and forget his own worries, even if only for a short while.

"I don't think anything bad has happened to her. I promise you we will find her."  

[Krysin]

Belkane looked back to Taj, and the concern she felt was easily read upon the expression of her face. The slight frown, the way her brows furrowed and the ruby red depths of her eyes dulled. She was certain that her quest to find Msako was going to end in disappointment. Either she wouldn't find her sister and Msako was truly gone, or Msako was somehow back at the den waiting to laugh at her sister for her folly. Despite the humiliation that would come with being laughed at, she did hope Msako somehow made it back home.

"I don't know what the point is anymore," Belkane admitted with a heavy sigh. The golden adolescent sat down, her tail curling around her legs in an almost defensive gesture. "Even if we do find her, would she even stay?" She was loathed to talk about family issues in front of a near-stranger, but she had no one else to talk to now. Everyone else who would listen to her were just too close to her family.

"My dad had to raise us, because right after we were born my mother petitioned to be on the Council. Now she's always busy, especially with the troubles happening at our borders. I think Msako... resents her for that. That resentment I think has been blossoming lately. She doesn't really like me any more, and I think she really only likes one or two of my siblings. But it's definitely not me." She held back another sigh.

"Even if I find her, she'll want nothing to do with me."

Pandorus Sphinx

 

[Pandorus Sphinx]

"Maybe you should give it some time? I feel like you've kind of exhausted all your options here... I'm not sure where else we could look?" Taj didn't want to disappoint Belkane, but he also didn't see the point in looking for someone who clearly didn't want to be found. Maybe that was the issue here, maybe Msako didn't want her sister to find her. The idea of her searching for her sister for days on end made him feel a little guilty.

Was his own sister doing that for him? Had he vanished so suddenly after all, was making his own family worried? He frowned for a moment as guilt settled into his chest, his red eyes closing as a sigh escaped him. Try not to worry...

"But if you think we should keep looking, I'll be with you. You shouldn't have to do this alone." He nodded, trying to reassure her that her feelings and efforts did matter, even if they felt fruitless in the moment. Belkane was something else, persistent felt like an understatement to say the least. She could easily make mountains move if she wanted them to, her drive was inspiring.

"What do you wanna do?" The choice was hers.  

[Krysin]

It wasn't like her to give up, but now she could see the futility of her actions. If Msako had no desire to come back, she wouldn't. The weight of that knowledge made her shoulders slump, and she breathed a heavy sigh. "There's no point," Belkane finally admitted aloud, more for her own sake than for Taj's. He likely already knew that Belkane would not find her sister here. "I'm done looking for her - I'm sorry I've dragged you along for this."

She turned her gaze back towards the Pridelands, where she could see Pride Rock standing tall in the distance. It was time to head home, even if she had no desire to do so without her sister. "You probably had more important things to do with your time, and so... I'm sorry." It was odd to find such support in this new male, but she appreciated it deeply. She wanted to trust him, and the more time she spent with him the more likable he became.

"I'm going to head back towards the pride. You're... more than welcome to walk with me, if you'd like." The offer was hesitant, as if she were still unsure that he would travel so far with her.

Pandorus Sphinx

 

[Pandorus Sphinx]

The Outlander felt a little sadness sweep over himself as she turned to face him, speaking in a familiar tone.... a tone that matched his mother's when he was growing up, it struck a cord in him that he hadn't felt in a very long time. She seemed so upset and deep down the darker lion knew he couldn't do a thing to fix this for her. The feelings Belkane felt toward her sister, the mixture of emotions she must have been dealing with seemed so unfair to him, Taj was helpless. Like when he was younger and couldn't stop his own mother's tears. Something inside felt broken, at least in this moment...

"Hey..." He gulped, his eyes narrowing as she spoke about returning home and abandoning her search for her missing piece.

"I- I wanna tell you something about myself." He felt his heart flutter a little bit.

"I'll gladly head back with you and keep you company, but I think I need to be a little more honest with you." Taj wasn't ill-willed by nature, the darker lion had always been very sweet and way less intense when it came to comparing himself to his siblings, so being dishonest was killing him and Taj felt like Belkane was actually starting to honestly trust him. He didn't want to keep this to himself and lie to her even more, he already felt extremely guilty for not telling her the second he met her.

"I am not from here, I don't know where to look... or how far out is too far." He sighed again, this time his voice quivered in his throat.

"My home is in the Outlands. I am the Queen's nephew." Well. It was out now. s**t. Taj felt himself withdraw from her a little bit, looking down at his paws. Did he feel... embarrassed?  

[Krysin]

She could tell he was nervous, and Belkane was not even the most intuitive of lionesses. The golden female was young and bold, impulsive and even at times reckless. Tuning herself into the feelings and emotions of others was... hard. "Oh, okay." She understood that what he wanted to say was important, even if it was important just to him that he say it.

The lioness paused and gave him her undivided attention. Red eyes focused on Taj, apprehensive over what he would say next. It sounded heavy, and after a day like the one she had Belkane wasn't certain how graciously she could handle things.

What he had to say gave her pause, and anxiously she glanced away as her mind mulled over the new information. The Outlands were nothing but stories to a young lioness, and her mother had at one point told her the pride had disappeared. Their lands had been ravaged by natural disaster. She had spoken of them dismissively, as if they were nothing at all to the Pridelands.

This definitely seemed important to him, but she hardly knew enough about what he was telling her to even feel concerned over it. "Well, okay." It was the best she could do, just accept the information about his relation to another royal bloodline. "Do you... want to go home? Am I keeping you from being some place that you need to be?"

She winced at her own foolishness and the inadequacy of her statement. "Uh, look. I don't know much about the Outlands. I only know about you, and you seem pretty okay in my books."  

[Pandorus Sphinx]

What was going on here? Did Belkane really not care? Wide red eyes settled on her face as the lioness spoke bluntly. How strange this feeling was, Taj wanted to cry out in disbelief. The older male wasn't sad, but... in this moment the he felt a sweet release. It was like a weight had been lifted from him, a weight that he was unaware of until now. The male's nerves settled deep inside his chest as his eyes finally snapped back, pulling a red gaze with him to the ground.

"No, it's not like that, I don't want to go home yet." Maybe that was the issue, maybe being here was making the lion reconsider his life choices. His identity was in question, inside everything felt confusing.

"I just-- I grew up being told I would never be welcomed here, so I felt pretty awful being dishonest with you. I don't want you to think I'm some huge a*****e." A frown crossed his golden face, the spots beside his eye wrinkling in frustration. How silly, Taj had been afraid to talk to her so openly, yet, here she stood in all her honesty... being completely understanding. He felt pretty lucky honestly, it was nice being able to show his true self. The male shuffled his paws beneath him before he spoke again, this time his tone seemed a lot more confidant.

"I would like to stay and help you, if you're still okay with that? I know we haven't had much luck... I'll gladly keep you company until something changes." Would she be okay with that? If he could sweat Taj would be dripping, truthfully the lion was just glad his confession had been accepted so easily.

Krysin

 

[Krysin]

"That's ridiculous," Belkane answered with a small scoff. "The Pridelands welcome practically anyone." It was a policy, though, that Belkane believed would change over time. Now that a lioness had been slain at their borders, tension had been tight within the lands. The culprit had not been caught, and while the attack happened at the border there was nothing to say that it hadn't been committed by someone within the pride. It would be wise for her to caution him against exposing his heritage to anyone else, but honesty was something that the Pridelands seemed to value.

If he did not want to hide himself, she would not hide him either. She would just have to keep an eye out for him, which was not that much of a deal for her. Belkane had to keep an eye out for the rest of her siblings for most of her life now. "Even if you were some massive a*****e, I doubt the pride would turn you away even then," she spoke with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Good." The confident smirk returned, as if that was the only answer she had ever wanted to hear from him. To be fair, she had been enjoying his presence a little. He aided her in trying to find her sister when no one else would, and though they had not found her yet... she hoped that at some point they would. "Look, it's getting late so we should head back into the Pridelands. I don't think we'll be able to find her now, but maybe she'll come around sometime during the night?" She could see well enough in the dark, but it made it difficult to discern one's markings. It would be a struggle to find Msako without the aid of light.

Pandorous Sphinx

 

[Pandorus Sphinx]

It was hard not to be totally lost in his own personal feelings, yet Taj found himself stirring over his shortcomings, emotional scars he wore that no one else could see. Here stood a female who was completely confidant herself, why was he finding it so hard to relate? Perhaps apart of the Outlander was broken, maybe his self-doubt was too strong. Maybe he was just as pathetic as his father claimed him to be.

As she spoke about the Pride Lands so openly the male felt himself close off. Why had been so afraid to tell her the truth? Was he ashamed?

"I-" the lion stuttered as his red eyes looked away. Taj allowed her to continue speaking, standing in silence as he took in every word.

"I guess I was just worried for nothing." It was a forced agreement, but one he could live with. The lion wouldn't let his emotions muddy this evening, now when Bel still needed him.

When the lioness spoke of returning for the evening Taj nodded in agreement. "I still think that she will show up on her own terms." He was speaking from a place of understanding, having run away from home himself.

"Still, if you want to, we can search more tomorrow too? I don't mind. I am not going home until I at least know you've found her." The lion nodded slowly as his eyes settled on her softer face. Even if he was lacking the confidence to express himself properly Taj would continue to try. That's all he really could do.  

[Krysin]

"You were," Belkane agreed with an amused smirk. His nervous attitude and shy demeanor was something she could have easily been annoyed by, but at the moment she instead found it to be endearing. All she wanted to do was to assure him that this pride was the one pride that would never turn him away. If he had shortcomings, the Pridelands would overlook them. Even his ties to some old pride would not be enough, she believed, to make them cast him out. Not when he had her by his side.

"Probably, but I can't just... sit idly by and wait. I feel a lot better at least believing that I'm doing something to find her." The smile on her face waned for a moment, but she refused to let another bad mood swing in and overtake her. They would find Msako, they just needed some time in order to do so. There were many places a young lioness could wander off to when she did not wish to be found.

"That sounds like a plan, then," she agreed easily. "Let's go home, then." Belkane turned away from the Taj, and then led the way back into the Pridelands - her home.