Idawaiah <<Private: This Land and Kirsui>>

[Kirsui]

Whatever she had been expecting Kikome to say, this certainly wasn't it. She turned to look at him with a bewildered expression when she heard his angry words. Her eyes widened a fraction at his raised paw, and she realized she would not be able to dodge. He was too close, and she was not prepared for an attack from him.

But he didn't hit her. In fact, his claws barely missed her and his paw slammed to the ground in front of her. She realized he had changed the direction of his attack on the last possible moment. She was still staring at him with shock when he growled and dashed out of the cave.

It was then that his words finally registered with her. A price on his head?

Her eyes widened again and she darted after him. "Kikome! Wait! I..."

She never got a chance to finish what she was going to say when something rammed her with high speed. She lost her balance, and found herself tossing and turning at the ground while fending off an attacker somewhat larger than her. She felt claws slash her flank, and she hissed with pain even when she delivered an equally nasty blow on her enemy. She snarled loudly with her ears flattened and fangs and teeth bared, until she was able to throw off the one that had tackled her and get back up on her feet and take a closer look at her opponent.

If she had had a good camouflage, so did her attacker, and se realized why she hadn't noticed him before. His coat was so dark brown that it blended almost flawlessly with the gloomily muddy and wet surroundings. Much further than this she couldn't analyze, for her foe charged right at her, and she was forced to attempt dodging his swift blows while trying to take him down.

[This Land]

"Why Kikome....WHY did you even think you could trust her..."
Kikome Darted through the long grass, he didn't like confrontations as he knew what he was capable of, better just to go. He was better alone, everything was going fine until she showed up.

Kikome suddenly ground to a halt, he noticed a fresh Pawprints in the mud, maybe from that lion stalking outside. He lowered his head and tried to get a scent, even though it was very weak due to the rain, he put his nose right down into is and concentrated hard.

"Its not.....one of them...."
The moment he thought this to himself his ears flicked up high, he heard a confrontation behind him...exactly where he just came from.
"Its.....attacking scout? that's means....What Have I Done!!"

That was it, Kikome went into a full state of attack, he let out a thundering roar and ran full speed back from where he came.
"No more hiding"
He was glad he sounded his presence, for a good reason. He followed the sound of the confrontation and in a split moment he was at the scene. The Unknown lion charging and attempting to give her blows, she was quick...and fast, Never like it he has seen for a long time.

Kikome charged at the lion from the opposite side from where his roar came from, and in one swift movement using the wet mud to his advantage he turned his body, skidded horizontally and rammed the lions side of his body using the whole momentum of the side of his own body so without hurting himself like you would if you charged head on. The Lion flew and landed with a thud, Kikome then pounced onto him and swiped him across the shoulder.
"ONE WARNING !, THAT IS ALL I GIVE" he roared
Kikome stood firmly in an attack position, a lion would normally at least take a few seconds to recover so Kikome looked over at scout from the corner of his eye to see if she was ok....

[Kirsui]

Scout's mind barely registered the thundering roar, so focused was she on her opponent. Despite her focus, she was tiring fast. Constant trudging through the rain had sapped her strength, even though she had done her best to not show how low her energy level was when she had first met Kikome. She had hoped that she could recover some of her energy in the cave, but now, with Kikome gone and her all her energy going into fending off a seemingly well rested attacker, she was seriously beginning to doubt her chances of survival.

Her concentration faltered only momentarily, but it was enough. Her foe struck the side of her head and she let out an involuntary whimper when his claws tore through her skin. The force of his blow made her lose her footing, and when she once again looked up, feeling somewhat dizzy after the heavy blow, she could see the attacker towering above her, his paw raised and fangs bared for a final blow. Her eyes widened, but not in fear of her impending doom.

She knew this lion!

It was right after this realization that Kikome returned and tackled her foe. The attacker had little chances to stand against Kikome, and soon enough the latter had struck the dark brown male down and stood above him.

"ONE WARNING !, THAT IS ALL I GIVE"

The teal lioness blinked, relief washing over her. Kikome had come back. He had saved her! She saw him glance towards her, and almost smiled reassuringly, if it had not been for what she saw. Her smile faltered, and her eyes widened again.

"Kikome! Look out!"

Her warning came at the same time when the dark brown attacker stirred. Kikome's tackle had been impressive, and would certainly have taken out a lesser lion for a good while. But she knew her attacker, and she now watched in horror how the dark brown lion swiftly pounced as if nothing had happened, his claws and fangs aimed towards Kikome's throat.

[This Land]

"Kikome! Look out!"
Kikome immediately switched his eyes back to the direction of The hostile lion, by the time he did it was too late to react in time plus Kikome's surprise of a lion recovering so quickly after what he had done. The lion's claws and fangs sunk into his Neck, Kikome roared in the moment of agony. Using the last bit of quick thinking he had left he knew that any direction except him moving backwards would cause the Lion's attack to sink deeper and the priority was the get the fangs un-attatched. Kikome Dug his claws into each side of the Lion's shoulders, pulled himself over, toppling over backwards. Using the momentum this caused he then used his hind legs ram the Lion's chest to wind him, this effectively would make him open his mouth to gasp for air, which worked. Kikome Headbutted the Lion's nose then pushed and dug his claws in a second time to grip the Lions body and flipped him off. He felt the claws leaving the skin on his neck with much pain, luckily the claws were not near any important blood vessels, if it were so he would be a gonner the moment them claws touched him in the first place.

Kikome lept up and kept his eyes locked onto the Lion this time, he took a step forward but stumbled due to the shock. He corrected himself and took another step next to the lion. Kikome's Breathing deepened to get as much oxygen as possible into his system to reduce the shock.

"How was I so -stupid- to assume an attacker's recovery time from being hit" He mentally slapped himself

This wasn't over yet if the Lion was consistent in attacking him or Scout, and this time he was prepared with what strength he had left.

[Kirsui]

Scout hurriedly stood up when the dark brown lion's attack hit Kikome, but saw no real way of helping without hurting him further. Thankfully he didn't seem to need her aid when he flipped himself and the attacker backwards, and managed to get the claws and fangs at his throat loose. She quickly assessed the damage, and though it seemed he was mostly fine she wasn't completely sure how badly Kikome had been hurt.

Her grey eyes flicked to the dark brown male who was still gasping for air after Kikome's retaliation. Despite this he was already standing up, scowling at Kikome with displeasure when he noticed how close the light golden male had come. When he swiftly backed further away from Kikome, Scout saw her chance and used the dark brown lion's distraction to move closer. He was larger than her, but she had better training, and with this in mind she knew what she had to do.

"I have no quarrel with you, stranger", the dark brown lion told Kikome with a low voice, speaking for the first time. "My business is with this murdere-"

However, before he could finish, Scout had already pounced. He turned, expecting her to make a similar move that he had done and sink her fangs into his throat, and realized far too late that she had feinted. Her teeth sank into his heel, and when he hastily swept at her with his claws he suddenly realized he could no longer put enough weight on his left hind leg to gain enough support for swift movements.

It was over in a few seconds. The dark brown lion's footing slipped because of his own foolish attack, and then Scout had him pinned down. Without hesitation her teeth sank into his throat, tearing the blood vessels that he had missed when he had tried to take on Kikome. She held on even though she could have moved away, making sure he would not get up and make one last attempt on attacking.

When she released her hold on the dark brown lion he was no longer moving. She looked down at him with a mixed expression of sadness and pity.

"Chocoro, you fool..." she muttered, then suddenly remembered she wasn't alone. With startled, wide eyes she turned to look at Kikome, and briefly wondered what he would think of her now. She must have looked horrible, covered in mud and blood that was only partly hers.

She blinked once and flattened her ears, backing away from Kikome, and the lifeless body of the dark brown lion that she had once known.

"I..." She hesitated, not sure what to say. "I'd better go.

[This Land]

Kikome watched at the Lion back away from him, Kikome kept his eyes locked on him just incase.
"I have no quarrel with you, stranger"
Kikome Growled
"Then you shouldnt of fought back after i made my warning clear" he said firmly

My business is with this murdere-" he replied but was interrupted by a feirce pounce from scout.

Kikome took a couple of fast paces to intervene as he wanted more information from what he was about to say but he stopped, this was now Scout's decision to make, he trusted her more at this time rather then a lion that almost killed him.

He watched as scout soon got the lion to the floor and the lion was killed.

Kikome looked at the now battle torn Scout, backing away from him
"I.......I'd better go.

Kikome took a few steps forward from where she backed away from.
"For both of our sakes and our situation, we know that isn't a good idea. I know full well that lion would have to report back, what happens when he doesn't ?"
Kikome gritted his teeth from the pain coming from his neck, then shook his head and body.
"Scout....the moment that lion attacked me after my warning, he was classed as my enemy, and you were an enemy of his. Regardless of your past....
Kikome gazed his eyes on scout with a slight smile
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend"

Kikome looked down at the dead lion, it brought him back sour memories of his own, he closed his eyes, shook his head slightly, looked back up at her then fixed his sight on her
"However, I'll let you decide"

[Kirsui]

Scout let out a frustrated growl. Kikome didn't understand. She couldn't risk involving him in the mess she had gotten herself into, no matter how hard he tried to convince her. It just wasn't right. He didn't know what she had done, didn't know how the choices she had made in the past now affected her life.

Or perhaps he did, she reminded herself, recalling what had slipped from him earlier. He had a price on his head, he had said. In a way, so did she.

"You don't understand", she said aloud. "I won't drag someone down with me just because I feel unsafe. This burden isn't yours to bear, and I would never ask anyone to share my fate."

She gaze flicked to the dead lion, and she nervously licked her lips. She hesitated, pondering what she could tell Kikome without giving out too much information. Sure she trusted him a bit more now after they had fought her assailant together. But she didn't know him.

"I know who is after me", she said, her gaze flicking back to Kikome. "I knew that lion. His name was Chocoro, and once upon a time he was a friend. You are right, he would have had to report back. And his death changes nothing, other than that they now have a rough idea of where I might be. It will take them a while, but eventually they will..."

Her words trailed off and she shook her head, momentarily flattening her ears before taking a slightly more relaxed stance. "And here I am, rambling off, and you don't even know half of what I'm talking about..."

[This Land]

Kikome stood still and didn't say a word and let Scout say all what she had to say.

She was right, all of this was her burden to bear and nothing to do with him. He was doing fine until he met her and all hell broke loose. He was getting too involved into something that runs too deep. He knew that he had to go regardless of the favor and small trust they had built after in the small battle.

Kikome looked into scout's eyes with a blank expression.
"Apologies Scout, you are right, its for the best"
With that Kikome turned away.....

Kikome took a few paces with his head down with words from scout repeating in his mind.
"I knew that lion. His name was Chocoro, and once upon a time he was a friend."
A harsh memory thundered through his mind, he closed his eyes tight and felt water run down his nose and onto the front of his muzzle, he licked it away only to find the said water had a slight hint of salt....
He stood still in his tracks and sighed.
"Remember ? No more hiding...."
Kikome looked behind his shoulder to see scout. He turned his whole body around facing her.
"Scout....your situation echoes mine.."
He walked back up to her.
"I have nothing to loose so i may aswell just say so. As you may of guessed my training exceeds that of ordinary. I was once part of a pride, bound in oath to the pride leader to serve them for their constant quest for power and fear. I was second in commend - leading warriors, leading them and keeping them under control, going from pride to pride to take down the leader of each one and intimidate all members of said prides to join ours. As time went by i realized just what i was turning into, a monster, a killing machine for a pride that was all too greedy. I left the pride along with a fellow warrior that i classed as my brother, we grew up and fought alongside each other so we left together."
Kikome gritted his teeth and looked down to the ground
"Little did i know at the time he only left with me to attempt to kill me, he had been bribed by our main leader of promise to be next second in command. After a few nights of us running away he suddenly turned on me. The most painful experience i had in my entire life, not because i was battered to a pulp and an inch from death, but because that was the night where i had to force myself to kill someone i held so dear."
Kikome looked back up at scout with anger all over his face.
"That pride is full of traitors, deceit and evil. I can never take back what i did. I took me the killing of my own best friend and warrior to see what such a pride i had gotten myself into"
Kikome sighed to try and vent some anger
"Since then, i promised myself into a low profile. I can never take back all that i had done with this pride. But if i owe this world anything, is its my positive services back. If i comes across a struggling pride or lion i will help them. And when they are ok i move on. Its sounds kind of silly but it makes me feel better in myself, it repairs this torn soul of mine. I have been doing this now for many years and things have started to improve, and since i didn't see or hear much from my old pride and i had hoped something like they had broken apart due to my absence and civil war between the pride or something, another reason why i left, to try and break them apart."
Kikome paused
"But alas it hasn't. I am getting now getting constantly chased, there are Assassins dotted all over the place wanting my dead body. My past is now catching up with me Scout, and now is the time to come out of my shell and get prepared for facing it...."
Kikome finally let out out a smile
"So with all due respect, and extra Burden on my shoulders will be good practice, what do i have to loose now ?"

[Kirsui]

Scout listened in stunned silence as Kikome shed light to his past. She had half expected him to walk away, and instead here he was, telling her why he was being hunted. His past rang familiar to her, and though there were differences, she could relate to how he must have been feeling. She could also now understand his skills, and once again she was unsure what to do.

She mentally scoffed at that. Unsure... She surely had been feeling that a lot today.

"Assassins..." Scout finally said after the few moments of silence that followed when Kikome had stopped speaking. "Funny you should mention that..."

She chuckled, though she was far from amused. "I used to be a scout, that much I told you already. But I was also more than that. I was the best my pride had, the best we had had for a few generations. My teachers said it was because of my fur. I could blend in better than most, especially during night even if it was the dry season and when the grass was dry and yellow."

She turned her gaze to the dead lion, flattening her ears. "Our pride has legends of lions like me, who were born with unusual colour. They all had been exceptionally skillful, and as such my fate was set even before I could properly walk. My training began earlier than what was usual even for my pride, and by the time the other cubs my age began their lessons, I could already track and hunt down small creatures. When they brought down their first prey, I was learning how to defeat a lion."

She paused momentarily. Though her gaze was still locked on the dead lion, she was no longer seeing the corpse. No, she was recalling her childhood, and she actually managed a small, happy smile before she remembered where she was, who she was talking with and what she needed to tell him. The smile faded, but she didn't turn her gaze back to Kikome.

"My title... It stuck. My pride was large, and soon very few remembered me by my name, while all knew my title. I wasn't the only scout they had, but I was the only Scout. But scouting wasn't all I did, was never meant to be. I was sent on special missions none but my superiors knew about. I rose in rank, faster than a lion of my age should have, and soon I had my own group of overly eager cubs to train. Chocoro..."

She took a deep breath, and realized she could no longer bear to look at the dead lion. "Chocoro was one of those cubs. He was eager, he learned quickly. The age difference between us wasn't that large, and when he grew we became friends. He was fun, caring, and over all a very happy lion, but he was also impatient, and his impatience is what made me hold back when my superiors wanted me to select who of my small group of trainees would have the privilege of the extra training I too had been chosen for before them."

The teal lioness wanted to look at Kikome, to try and judge what he was thinking, and to see his reaction to what she was going to say next. But she didn't dare. She didn't want him to see her eyes, to see the confusing mixture of joy and sorrow in them that recalling her past always brought to the surface.

"I'm an assassin, Kikome", she said quietly. "My pride... As I said, my pride was large, and our neighbouring prides saw us as a threat. One thing led to another, and we soon had a full war in our paws. Most of our pride members never felt the effects of the war. The sanctuary of our home was never breached. But we couldn't hunt like we had, couldn't travel without someone ending up missing, only to turn up dead later on. My queen... My queen was a wise one. Young, but wise. Her parents had seen the war coming long before it broke out, and she continued the work they had started. They had began the preparations, made sure she would have everything she needed to keep our lands safe. And she used us well. We infiltrated their ranks, gathered intel on their numbers, and executed the key members that were supposed to keep their ranks in order."

She snorted. "It didn't do us any good. In the long run, we were forced into an open conflict, one that we could not win. My queen sent me out on a mission, one that surprised me. Usually she relayed her orders through my direct superiors, but this was different, and I knew why she wanted it to be kept secret. Because of this, I wasn't on the battlefield. I don't know what happened, but when I returned, the war had ended. We had been victorious, but the losses our pride suffered were great. The pride demanded blood, wanted to eradicate the neighbouring prides completely, but my queen refused to lead them. The pride would not listen, and in the end she chose exile."

Scout's gaze trailed back to the dead lion once again. She was still refusing to look at Kikome. "The new leader... His ideas did not sit well with me. He had gone through a similar training that I did, only a lot earlier, and he had gotten tired of doing what others told him. He wanted power, and he saw his chance when the pride demanded someone lead them to war with whatever forces were left of the neighbouring prides. I didn't realize all this until much later, when I was sent out on a mission I could not complete."

She frowned. "No, that would be wrong. I could have completed it. But what they wanted me to do went against everything I had been taught to believe. I ran. I could not return to the pride without completing the task. 'Failure is not an option' had become the new ground rule, and an uncompleted task upon return would mean death. But the pride won't let us leave. He won't let us leave. He's afraid someone might some day come back, use all the skills they have and slit his throat while he sleeps. No. He sends assassins after everyone who runs away, including me."

Scout finally ventured a quick glance at Kikkome. "Chocoro was... He was never going to report back. Had you not intervened, he would have fatally injured me. But I would have taken him down with me. I would have done so with no regrets, other than perhaps the regret of not training him better, of not being strong enough to convince everyone who ever respected me to turn against our fool of a leader. For a fool he is, to send young ones after a seasoned assassin that no longer wishes to have anything to do with him and his pride, who sees them for what they truly are. Worthless. Utterly and completely worthless and undeserving the quick end that an assassin's claws could bring them."

The teal lioness took a deep breath and released it as a soft sigh. "So there. My life story, so to speak. One that won't let me be even though I want nothing to do with it."

[This Land]

Kikome listened very carefully to all what Scout was saying, during this time he sat down as he felt drained.

After Scout had finished Kikome took another step forward with a concentrated gaze at her.

"Your morals are indeed wise, which i now admire you for. Your history resembles very closely to my own. In a way that gets me concerned..."
Kikome paused and sighed
"2 prides after their finest warrior or assassin that has fled due to not believing in the said pride's actions and desires. I do hope that they fought each other and not talked to each other, if you get my understanding"
Kikome looked down to the ground, seeing his now blood stained mane and then looked up at scout who had taken a beating.
"Its a good thing we talked first isn't it" he said with a slight chuckle
"I think its wise to say that its best we stick together. We have our own history to face. As we have experienced today its best we do it together, but again i wont force you. Right now though i think we should continue resting for a short while before leaving this place, and deciding" he said sincerely.
Kikome took another step towards Scout and smiled....quite warmly, something he hasn't done for a while.
"But i must thank you....you mentioned i stopped you from receiving a fatal attack. Hearing that keeps me going, keeps me strong and knowing that my efforts and self promises to help are not in vain"
Kikome nodded then walked past Scout, subtly brushing his head past her shoulder as he headed for the Cave.

[Kirsui]

Scout smiled faintly, returning the warm smile Kikome gave her. It had been a while since she had truly smiled without hiding at least a part of her true feelings. It was relieving, to have finally found someone who she could trust. Sure, she didn't know everything about Kikome, nor had she told everything about herself. But then, as she turned to follow Kikome back to the cave, she wasn't really sure if it was even necessary. If the two of them would start traveling together now, they would have plenty of time to share details of their pasts if there was any need for that.

After walking for a moment, Scout realized just how tired the whole ordeal with Chocoro had made her. He had clawed at her flank earlier, but the slashes there didn't sting as much as the ones on her face. Now that she was finally thinking of her injuries, she could feel something warm trickle down her face even despite the heavy rain that efficiently washed away most of the blood. She could just hope her face wouldn't get scarred, but with her luck she wouldn't be surprised if it did.

When they finally reached the cave once more, Scout didn't hesitate to enter. She shook water out of her fur, then headed for the same, dry spot she had occupied earlier. She knew how her pride's assassins worked, and knew that it would take a few days before they would realize Chocoro had failed.

"We should be safe tonight, our assassins always work alone", Scout told Kikome as she laid down to inspect her injured flank. As she had suspected, it was more a surface wound and would not give her any trouble. She still had no idea what her face looked like, but at least she couldn't feel more blood trickling down for now.

With a soft sigh she turned to look at her newly acquired ally, frowning with slight worry at his blood-stained mane. "Are you OK?"

[This Land]

Kikome followed Scout back into the cave and watched as she took up her old spot. He studied her wounds carefully as she checked herself, he was re-assuring himself that she would be OK, Hopefully nothing would show after it healed. He was lucky in that respect as his mane would cover such thing.

"We should be safe tonight, our assassins always work alone"

Kikome nodded in agreement, then squinting his eyes a a shot of pain ran down his neck.
As much as he knew about enemy tactics, nothing was more re-assuring then the words coming from Scout as she -would- know how their assassins work. Going from being so skeptical about Scout to be being so re-assured by her in such short timescale was so ironic, he let out a small chuckle under his breath.

"Are you OK?"
Kikome nodded slowly, not to cause pain again.
"Bit painful, but nothing i haven't experienced before. Going for the neck is the most common attack, thus the most common one i have got used to recovering from."
Kikome again looked at his reddened mane
"Though that Chocoro did have a nasty deep bite.....i was lucky" he sighed
"Plenty of water to have a wash in tomorrow though, aye" he joked trying to lighten things up

Kikome walked further into the cave, nearer to Scout this time around but still giving her personnel space. After today's event he knew Scout could be trusted and he now had an ally and hadn't had one since all them years back with...him. But that was in the past....and something new had started, he smiled at Scout, hoping that that and him being closer was enough to say it, without saying it.

[Kirsui]

"Bit painful, but nothing i haven't experienced before. Going for the neck is the most common attack, thus the most common one i have got used to recovering from."

Scout smiled at Kikome and nodded. The assurance he had given of his well-being had relieved her worry a little bit.

"Plenty of water to have a wash in tomorrow though, aye"

The teal lioness chuckled, mildly amused at his choice of words. She appreciated his attempt to lighten the mood though. It had been a good while when she had last time genuinely laughed at anything. She slowly laid her head down on her paws. "I'll have to take a look at the wounds on my face too in the morning. They don't feel that bad but... I'd rather not risk it."

Yawning widely, she half watched as Kikome claimed a spot not too far from her. It was funny, really. Just moments ago, when they had first come into this cave, she would have felt uncomfortable with him that close. But not anymore, not after he had saved her from Chocoro.

"I think I'll catch a bit of sleep", she said quietly, already feeling rather relaxed. "It's been a long day."

She glanced towards the cave entrance and chuckled as she closed her eyes. "Let us hope it will not rain in the morning."

[This Land]

"I think I'll catch a bit of sleep",..........."It's been a long day."
Kikome nodded in agreement and let out a yawn too, he watched as she closed her eyes.
"Let us hope it will not rain in the morning."
He let out a chuckle under his breath and stared outside
"Yeah...." he said sighing contently.

Kikome now lay silently where he was for a while, he didn't know if Scout was still awake or drifted off to sleep but he started cleaning his paws and grooming parts of his fur that had been ruffled up during the fight. Kikome was taught many things when being trained up from such a young age, and in like any army or group of warriors, taking pride in your appearance was always enforced, and as he grew up it became a habit. He cleaned and checked his claws were sharp and OK and groomed parts of his mane. "Always look sharp and ready for battle, show no weakness", the red in his mane will have to wait until tomorrow when his wounds have settled. After he was happy with his appearance he quietly stood up and walked to the entrance of the cave and sat. Unfortunately of course there was no sunset but the colours of the clouds changing was quite a nice thing to see. Alot had happened today and he was so relieved that it had ended...for now. Even though scents were a hard thing to pick up he scanned the air with his nose..just in-case. Even though he could scent the aftermath nearby, the scent of the rain and the healthy vegetation was very calming, it made him flick his tail in content and he tilted his head towards the sky. Smiling once again.
"Goodnight Idawaiah" he whispered to himself

He retreated back to his spot near Scout and lay down. Not knowing if she was still awake or asleep, he remained silent. He closed his eyes and rested his muzzle between his paws.

[Kirsui]

Scout awoke to faint stinging feeling on her face. She groggily opened her eyes and blinked, trying to chase the sleep away. She yawned, then flinched, realizing that the stinging that had awoken her was from the blood that had dried on her face. It was tugging at her fur, and though it wasn't exactly painful, it was fairly unpleasant.

She lifted her head from her paws with a faint sigh. She glanced at Kikome, who still seemed to be asleep, and stood up, stretching slowly to determine if any of her muscles were aching from last night's battle. Thankfully she felt rather well-rested, at least for one who had been on constant move for several weeks.

Deciding not to bother Kikome in case he was still sleeping, the teal lioness quietly padded to the cave entrance, where she sat down. The heavy downpour from last night had turned into a faint drizzle.

"Great", she thought to herself sarcastically. It would be yet another day of traveling in the rain. At least it didn't look like the rain would turn heavier.

[This Land]

Kikome stirred in his sleep. He opened his eyes to a welcoming light coming from the entrance to the cave, and scout sitting down.

He yawned and stretched his body out on the floor, a few aches rushed through his body but nothing abnormal after what had happened, they soon resided. His mane felt a bit irritating as the now dried blood had stiffened it. He spent a moment grooming the bulk of it off, the hair pulling caused a little discomfort in which he growled a little under his breath.

He slowly got up and padded over to the entrance then sat next to Scout. He leant forward and stuck his head out a little to let the drizzle coat his mane a little, while he was there he lapped a bit of water from a small puddle then retracted his head back in. He then continued to groom his now softened mane. It would need a better wash later but for now at least it didn't feel uncomfortable.

"How are you feeling" he questioned, almost softly

[Kirsui]

Scout flicked an ear when she heard Kikome stir from his sleep, but otherwise remained unmoving. It didn't take long before Kikome came to sit next to her, and she chuckled softly when he poked his head outside to slightly soak his mane. She could only imagine what it must have felt like to have dry blood tugging at it. And so she simply sat in silence and waited for him to try groom the mane. She knew it wouldn't do much, and they both were in need of a proper bath, as hilarious as that thought sounded like after yesterday's downpour.

"How are you feeling"

She smiled at his soft question. "My face stings, but that was to be expected. Other than that, I'm alright."

She let her gaze wander across the landscape that opened before them before standing up and turning to look at Kikome. "You wouldn't happen to know if there's any water nearby, other than the constantly falling rain and what puddles it may have created? I think we both need a bit of a bath before looking for some breakfast, no?"

[This Land]

Kikome faced Scout and looked at her face, he could see better now it was brighter.
"Dont worry about your face, you will be fi...."
Kikome paused then let off a small chuckle under his breath
"Sorry....here is me trying to re-assure a highly trained assassin they will be OK. Re-assurance is A habit of mine."
Kikome looked down and cleared his throat
"Before i met you i had just swam across a river, we could go back to....."
He paused for a split moment
"Yeah, we can go there for a quick soak,  it isn't too far away" He nodded

Kikome took a step outside and scanned the area to get his bearings, he also took in the surrounding scents to see if anything may be around, hopefully scents are better now its only drizzle.

[Kirsui]

Scout nodded at Kikome's reply. "To the river it is, then."

She stood up and followed Kikome outside. Much like Kikome, she too scanned the area, though it was mostly out of habit that had sunk into her during her training and later over the years she was an assassin and a scout. She wrinkled her nose slightly when she caught Chocoro's scent. His body was already starting to smell. Had she had time, she would have considered digging a hole and giving him a proper burial. After all, he had been a friend once, and friends deserved to be treated with honour.

But alas, she did not have the luxyru of time. A few days headstart was all she would get, unless someone had followed on Chocoro's tail. She highly suspected that, however. It was unforgiveable to follow someone when they were working, for the target might be alerted to being followed. So yes, a few more days headstart. She would have to make it count.

Sighing, she pushed these grim thoughts out of her mind for now, and instead just continued to follow Kikome's lead.

[This Land]

Kikome nodded in reply and headed for the river, he took a few fast steps forward to begin with so he was a bit more ahead. He re-traced his tracks and went the way he came from last night. The drizzle was a welcome change from the pelting rain and a smile escaped from his muzzle. After a short while they had got to the rocks where both him and scout first spoke, he chuckled slightly and carried on. He went into the muddy trail that both himself and scout where on through the longer grass. Another short while after they had finally reached the river.

Without seeing if scout had caught up, Kikome scanned the area and looked at the land beyond the river. His head drooped down slightly and his expression changed solemn. "Some pasts just catch up quicker than others" he muttered to himself.
He Leant down and started lapping up some water.

[Kirsui]

Scout trailed behind Kikome in silence. She was somewhat deep in thought, going over different tactics and options on where to go next despite her best attempt to push these thoughts aside. Despite this her senses were on full alert in case there was any sign of trouble. As such, she was slightly surprised how quickly they reached the river. She halted, blinking her eyes a few times before mimicking Kikome's action and scanning the area. When she saw nothing she headed of the water, intending on assessing the damage done to her face.

"Some pasts just catch up quicker than others."

The teal lioness' ear twitched faintly but she didn't comment Kikome's quiet words. She wasn't certain what he meant anyway, but with her own experiences, and what he had told her the previous night, she had a pretty good guess. With a soft sigh she finally turned her gaze on the water's surface and grimaced. Kikome was right, the wounds on her face weren't severe, it would be a small miracle if they left no scars visible scars.

She chuckled at that thought, and the initial disgust at the thought of having more scars. It wasn't like she didn't have her fair share already, so what was a few more here and there? With a small smirk she plunged her head underwater, shaking it slightly before lifting it up again. She then sat down and began to clean the bloodstains away from her fur. It took her a few minutes of shifting between licking her paw and gently rubbing her face, but in the end she managed to get the dried blood out of her fur.

Just in case she leaned over the water again to check. Now that the dried blood was gone, she could see the wounds much better. There might be small scars indeed, but that didn't bother her too much. She chuckled again and bent her head down, lapping up some water before sitting up again and turning her attention to their surroundings. She gave Kikome a sidelong glance to see how he was doing, but once again said nothing. She could wait patiently until he was done, and keep watch while waiting.

[This Land]

Kikome watched as scout started to wash herself carfully. His mane was in a pretty bad way when it came to blood stains and in general he felt unclean and aching, so he felt like having a proper refresh.
He threw his whole body into the water and fully submerged himself, the sudden cold water wrapping around his body was oddly very welcome given the current climate and constant hate towards the rain. But the full submersion of water really relaxed him and done wonders for his muscle aches. However after a short while His neck suddenly started to sting and his face crimped a little, that wound was proberly getting soft again so he thought it best to retreat back to land. He got out and shook off the excess water and started to clean the blood off his mane.
"Ah, much better." - He said high spirited.

He continued to groom himself and get the rest of the now loose blood out of his mane.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He was just lost in thought while on the way to the river for a morning drink, it was situated quite far away from his pride but a drink from the river beats stale water in a waterhole any day. He was still upset about their loss last night, but hopefully things will look better for the future now.
Suddenly he heard a splash from the river ahead so he raced towards it to see what was happening, he slowed his pace down as he approached and without trying to be seen, he poked his head slowly from out of the long grass to see what was going on.....he couldn't believe what he saw on the other side....

[Kirsui]

"Ah, much better."

Scout smiled, her gaze still turned at some seemingly random point in the horizon. It was what she did, observing her surroundings without seemingly observing at all.

"It's strange how refreshing all this water feels like after all the heavy rain we've had recently", she commented. "Now all we need is a good breakfast."

It was then that she thought she spotted movement on the opposite side of the river. She only saw it from her eye corner, and had she not been trained to spot such things she might have easily missed it. A feeling of dread began to take hold of her, but she refused to let it overwhelm her. Instead she lazily turned her gaze from the spot she had been staring at so that she was now watching Kikome.

"I hate to say this", she said quietly, smiling widely as if she was whispering him something that made her very happy. The smile, however, didn't reach her eyes. The smile was to confuse any possible onlookers anyway, and she hoped Kikome would see that it was fake. "We're being watched. Again."

[This Land]

"It's strange how refreshing all this water feels like after all the heavy rain we've had recently"....."Now all we need is a good breakfast."
Kikome Nooded
"Very much so, and yes im feeling quite hungry"

Kikome look up into the sky in a lost trail of thought, he knew he shouldn't stay around here this long, this river was far too close for comfort for him, but was the only dependable source of water and cleansing, he knew they must get a move on before something he didnt want happen...would happen.

"I hate to say this"......."We're being watched. Again."

A wave of nerves shot Kikome, he let out his breath but tried to remain calm, he casually scanned the area to cover up his actual concentrated search for this 'watcher'. He returned the wide smile to play along with scout's 'trick' and chuckled
"Those are absolutely fantastic eyes Scout, well done, do feel like running because im in no fit state of mind for this again"

Kikome hoped it wasn't a hostile, but he hoped -even more- it wasn't a 'friendly' being it from the other side.

[Kirsui]

"Those are absolutely fantastic eyes Scout, well done, do feel like running because im in no fit state of mind for this again"

"Why, thank you", Scout replied with a light chuckle, the fake smile still on her face. "And I agree. Definitely too soon."

She then let out a carefree sounding laugh, pouncing backwards with false playfulness before sprinting into a light run, glancing over her shoulder both to see if Kikome was following and to attempt getting a glance of whoever had been watching them.

[This Land]

Kikome played along with what scout was doing. He lept up and followed her away from the Bank.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Lion kept completely still...not to keep hidden but because it was so surprised to see what he saw. The 2 of them started to run away, but this lion didn't want to loose him....again.

He Leapt out of the grass and slid down the embankment
"Kikome!!!! You are Alive !!!" he shouted at the top of his voice.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Kikome!!!! You are Alive !!!"
Kikome suddenly froze in his tracks and looked behind his shoulder, he could see the young adolescent lion standing there with a a big smile on his face. A flood of guilt hit Kikome. Right now, he was stuck what he should do now.....

[Kirsui]

"Kikome!!!! You are Alive !!!"

Scout skidded to a halt when she heard an unknown voice call out after them. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Kikome look back over the river. She turned around completely and walked to Kikome, her gaze calculatingly examining the young adolescent lion on the other side of the river. He wouldn't pose a threat while on the other side, at least, and by his choice of words he sounded relieved to see Kikome alive.

"A friend of yours?" Scout asked with a low voice.

[This Land]

Kikome turned his head back around and looked blankly at Scout.
"You could say that.....its complicated"
Kikome sighed and looked down to the ground
"He knows im alive...i hope he makes the wise choice and keeps it to himself...."
He turned his head back around and looked across the river
"I'm dead, you hear me !, You seen me fall in and never came back up again, keep it that way, or else you will know what will happen to me!" He shouted.

The Lion stared helplessly at Kikome, edging towards the water
"Kikome.....you were like a br....." he got interrupted
"NO, i am NOT,"Kikome yelled in reply
He took a few heavy breaths, his eyes starting to glisten
"I was just......doing what i felt necessary"
"I'm sorry.....just...be safe, you didn't see me, i will see you again sometime....i promise."
Kikome turned forward facing scout, taking another couple of heavy breaths
"Lets go, he will listen" Kikome said plainly

He overtook Scout and taken lead away from the river. He Heard a final shout of his name but he closed his eyes for a brief moment and mentally ignored it.

[Kirsui]

Scout glanced briefly at the adolescent lion before she trailed after Kikome. This was... unfortunate. She trusted Kikome's judgement on the matter that the adolescent would keep his mouth shut. However, she couldn't help but wonder what if he didn't.

With a heavy sigh she pushed that thought aside. They would deal with it if that happened. A faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. They. It was a strange, yet not uncomfortable thought. Kikome had helped her with Chocoro. There was no reason why she couldn't help him in turn.

She sped up her pace a little to catch up with the other lion, examining him with faint concern. "Are you alright?"

[This Land]

"I'll be ok" he sighed
"I feared this may happen, the river is the boundary of a pride i was part of for a while"
Kikome slowed down his pace to a more comfortable level now that they were somewhat away from the river
"As far as they know, i died in the river"

Kikome looked over to scout while still walking, a hint of curiosity swept over his face
"How far would you go to protect yourself and select members of a pride?" he said in a -pondering in thought- kind of way.