Idawaiah <<Private: This Land and Kirsui>>

[Kirsui]

"Its always good to have spontaneous moments of fun.....one thing i haven't done for a very long time."

Come to think of it, neither had Scout. She hadn't had a very normal childhood, and though there had been time to play with other cubs her age, her training had always been more important to her. It didn't mean she wasn't playful at all, just that she rarely was on a mood for having fun.

"I would of won without the head start anyway."

Kikome's remark brought her back from her musings and she snorted, glancing at him from her eye corner with an amused smirk. "Sure... Keep telling yourself that."

The opposite shore was close now, and within moments the teal lioness felt her paws touch the bottom of the river again. She climbed up the riverbank and stopped to shake the water out of her fur when she was on even ground again. Shen then glanced around out of habit, checking her surroundings for anything unusual. She couldn't spot anything unusual, and relaxed her stance as she waited for Kikome to be ready so that they could continue on their way.

[This Land]

"Sure... Keep telling yourself that."
Kikome grinned in response. He then shook his body to get all the water out of his fur.
"Hope it dont get cold later, or we are going to suffer tonight, heh" He joked

Kikome noticed scout do the routine quick scan around before he got out so he didnt feel the need to do it too, scout had a good set of senses. His expression changed back to partially serious and turned his head towards her

"I think the plan is to double bluff Baraz, i know it means getting wet again later but if we follow the stream downwards for a while and cross back over, that should keep him off our tails for a bit..." he explained

Kikome's smirk crept back onto his muzzle
"I have already had one lion on my tail today...."
Kikome sat down momentarily and used his paws to re-arrange his mane that became all messy after he shook his body, then quickly gave his paws a lick.

[Kirsui]

"I think the plan is to double bluff Baraz, i know it means getting wet again later but if we follow the stream downwards for a while and cross back over, that should keep him off our tails for a bit... I have already had one lion on my tail today...."

Scout nodded in agreement, a small amused smile tugging at the corners of her mouth at Kikome's choice of words. Double crossing the river would also at least momentarily confuse any possible pursuers that might come after her, though she doubted it would keep them off of her trail for long. It would all come down to the weather, and for once she was actually hoping that the rain would not cease just yet.

She pushed the thought of more rain out of her mind and looked downstream. If she was right, the current would slow down even more as they got there, making the crossing much easier.

With a faint sigh at the thought of having to jump into the water again later, she finally turned to look at Kikome with a small, friendly smile. "Shall we, then?" she asked and began walking downstream, following the riverbank with steady steps.

[This Land]

Kikome returned the smile and nodded. He stood up and gazed downstream, he sighed a little and trailed into thought for a moment. For years he had been running from his own pride and instead helping others , getting involved and feeling accepted then moving onto the next pride when the time was right. Things started to become routine and on his long journeys alone things had became bland. Now in just under 2 days he hasnt had anything happen that was as confrontational as this. In many ways it is bad, its risky, it can hurt and you are playing with death. But the reality was that he had never felt so alive.

Kikome glanced back at Scout with a confident smile and motioned onwards. Letting nature lead their path.

[Kirsui]

Scout fell into a comfortable silence as she walked, occasionally scanning the area out of habit in case of danger. Midday had already passed, and in a few more hours it would be evening. Scout estimated they would be able to cross the river before darkness, and then would still have enough time to find some shelter for the night. She certainly was not looking forward to traveling in the drizzle through out the entire night.

After a little longer time of walking, the teal lioness finally began to scan the river ahead of them, looking for a suitable site for crossing.

"Do you think we've come far enough now?" she asked Kikome. "I was thinking of swimming downstream a bit and coming back to shore there, instead of going straight to the other side."

[This Land]

Kikome slowly came to a stop and stood quiet for a moment. The sky was showing signs of turning orange through the rain clouds and darkness would soon be catching up to them, and this time he did want to find shelter for the night without feeling rushed. He turned his head to scout and nodded in reply
"I think that's a wise idea"he replied in agreement.

Kikome stood at the river bank and cringed a little at the thought of getting soaked yet again, but he knew it was for the best. He hesitantly dipped his paws in and turned to scout.

"Im keeping my eye on you on this one" he joked and winked.

[Kirsui]

"Im keeping my eye on you on this one."

Scout chuckled lightly at Kikome's jest, but said nothing else as she slipped into the water. It wasn't exactly pleasant to becoming soaking wet again after swimming in the river such a short time ago, but then again they hadn't really had a chance to dry off properly either due to the drizzling rain. As she began swimming downstream she just hoped they would find someplace dry to stay over night. Resting outside in the rain was definitely not at the top of her to-do list.

[This Land]

Kikome started to swim through the water once again, a cringe appeared across his face and transferred into a shiver down his spine. Things fell silent for a while as they made their way downstream.

Sometime later Kikome sensed something through his nose, that of another lion and that of one he has smelt before. His eyes shot wide open and controlled his swimming to a standstill. He scanned the area and nothing out of the ordinary was present.

He took another few puffs of air through his nose and he turned around and immediately noticed a red cloud in the water several paces behind scout and along with it something floating in the water. He lept over as quick as he could past behind Scout. As he approached closer he seen it was an adolescent male.....his heart dropped and he stared at the lion....speechless.

It was the lion they had met at the riverbank. The Lion that seen Kikome as a brother, the one Kikome didnt want to admit back so as not to form an emotional bond again. It all now made sense how Baraz found them....Baraz had found that lion and got told everything using force and a promise of staying alive, he then killed him in case he ran for help.

Kikome solemly grabbed the Lion by the nape of the neck and dragged him to the riverside of the bank. He pulled him half out of the water and got onto dry land himself. He stared at him blankly for a moment. The injury was the typical quick neck bite.
"Well i kept my promise of i will see you again my friend...just never expected so soon....or like this"

Kikome slowly lowered his head and nuzzled his brow, closing the Lion's eyes
"You will see me again Kussuko... but not yet... not yet..." he he whispered deepley.

Kikome's head trembled in rage, his urge to roar in emotional agony almost got the better of him but he contained himself as roaring would not be the best idea if they were to avert attention. He closed his eyes and clawed the dirt,channeling away his emotions, he would use them for later.

During all this time he realized his had completely fazed out from Scout, He shook out from it and looked into her direction.

He didnt expect her to reply to him, nor did he want to make a fuss of it, he was dead and there was nothing they could do. Death had smiled upon Kussuko so all you can do is smile back. He gentley pushed Kussuko back into the river and let the water take him away. It would be what he wanted.

Kikome's body started to shiver slightly and he noticed the sun was on the decline. He pushed his thoughts back on the current situation and smiled.
"Want to find a place to sleep before it gets dark ?"

[Kirsui]

Scout swam in silence for quite some time, but frowned when her nose picked up the scent of another lion close by. The scent was not one she recognized, but it was off... Tainted by the metallic scent of blood.

She didn't have much more time to ponder this when Kikome suddenly leaped ahead of her in the water, then proceeded to drag out the body of an adolescent lion. At first Scout didn't recognize the body, but as she followed Kikome out of the water and saw how he began acting, she realized the adolescent must have been the one they had seen before.

The teal lioness flattened her ears and frowned. Baraz must have done this. How very... nice...

She sighed lightly but said nothing, giving Kikome a moment to recover from the shock of finding this adolescent dead. Her face was blank when he finally snapped out of it and turned to look at her, and she remained silent as he pushed the adolescent's body back into the river.

"Want to find a place to sleep before it gets dark ?"

She examined him for a moment, trying to see how he really was feeling behind that smile. She was too polite to ask though, seeing as she would not have wanted him to pry either had she been in his situation, and as such she pushed her thoughts aside and glanced towards the setting sun.

"That would be best", she replied. "Come on, we'd better get at least a small distance away from the river."

She paused and turned away from the sunset to examine at their surroundings. "There seems to be a small forest that way. That'd be our best bet. If we don't find a cave, at least we'll have some shelter from the rain."

Not really waiting for a reply, she began heading in the direction of the forest she had spotted, assuming that if Kikome had any objections he would simply voice them out.

[This Land]

Kikome began to Follow Scout, after a few paces he stopped momentarily and looked back at the river. He couldnt help but gaze at the body being taken downstream. Kussuko had alot to live for but now had been cut short and Kikome couldnt help but feel responsable. The simple thought of taking revenge on Baraz felt no way near enough....

Alot of friends and innocent strangers had died under the command of his old leader and Kussuko was proof that no matter how far he had ran, bad things kept on happening because of him. Taking revenge on Baraz would just be the start of something a whole lot bigger.

Kikome gritted his teeth and closed his eyes momentarily as he turned back to the direction of Scout, following her towards the forest.

[Kirsui]

The rest of their walk to the forest was spent in silence. Scout didn't mind it at all, having grown accustomed to being silent most of the time. Every now and then she kept glancing around the area, and even when she wasn't scanning their surroundings her ears twitched slightly as she kept a close ear on what happened around them. She doubted anyone would be after them quite this soon, but in her experience one could never be too careful.

As they came closer to the forest, Scout was quite relieved of the rather thick vegetation. Certainly it would make it more difficult for them to see if anyone was approaching, but it would also be nearly impossible for anyone to approach them without making at least a small amount of noise. The vegetation would also hide them from sight. Now she only hoped there would be some sort of a cave hidden behind all those plants that would give them some protection from the rain.

She paused momentarily, looking at the plants in front of her, examining them to see where it would be best to enter the shelter they provided.

"We had better move carefully", she remarked to Kikome. "Wouldn't want anyone to see where we entered the forest."

Coming to a decision, she moved over to a spot where the plants didn't grow quite as closely together as everywhere else. "Come on", she said, carefully moving the vegetation out of her way. "Be careful not to damage the plants too much."

Having said that, the teal lioness moved forward, slowly wading deeper into the forest.

[This Land]

Kikome nodded in reply and worked himself deeper into the forest. The whole tranquility of the place started to calm him down a little. The sounds and the sights to his senses was very much welcome. He hadn't really ventured into forests that much, he now wondered why.

Pushing his wondering mind aside they both carried further. After a short while he noticed a slight change of formation in the treeline to his left. He stopped and focused for a second to see if some sort of cave or shelter was nearby. He quietly whispered Scout's name to grab her attention and he changed course, trying not to Disturb the plant life.

What he had came across was an old large tree that had half toppled over but was kept held up a tiny bit by another. Even better that it must of been like this for ages as loads of thick vegetation had grown over all the top branches, creating the perfect shelter. He looked back to see if Scout still had him in view then looked forward and crept in, pushing through the branches and vegetation carefully not to ruin it so it should go back to its original position.

Inside was surprisingly hollow and oddly seemed quite cosy. The only disadvantage and advantage was it was almost impossible to see out of in case of trouble but then that would also mean hard to see into.

Kikome immediately flopped down and waited for Scout to come in and see if she agreed.

[Kirsui]

Scout glanced at Kikome when she heard him whisper her name, and proceeded to follow him to the shelter he had found. She examined it from outside for a moment after Kikome had went inside, and was rather pleased to see that she could not see him at all through the vegetation. She glanced behind her at the direction where the two had come from, trying to see if anyone was following them. One day it would be nice to not have to worry about keeping on the move.

Coming to the conclusion that they were alone, she let out a small sigh and pushed the thought of settling down out of her mind. She then followed Kikome to their shelter, moving the vegetation out of her way carefully and then making sure it fell back in place when she was inside.

"Hm, this is nice", she said as she laid down near Kikome. "Definitely beats resting in caves or under some branches."

[This Land]

While Kikome awaited for Scout to enter, he slightly curled up, very tired from today's events.

"Hm, this is nice", "Definitely beats resting in caves or under some branches."

Kikome let out a slight chuckle, "Yeah, tell me about it"

Kikome lay completely still for a moment except for his eyes scanning around his field of view, the sounds of nature and the slight bristling of the vegetation surrounding them made himself oddly relaxed in a way he hasn't felt for a long time. He knew he had to be kept at least a little alert but somehow he was finding it hard to resist the temptation of letting his body relax.

His eyes fluttered as his ears took in the sweet ambient sounds. He diverted his gaze to Scout in the corner of his vision, Laying down near. It was safe for Kikome to think that Scout's company was not a risky one. As much self pride he has sacrificed in saying this to himself, he had to admit that she has indeed saved him from being in alot of a worse situation. In just a couple of days they had gone from threatening each other to walking alongside each other, both looking for the same thing...a conclusion.

Kikome rolled onto his back to tackle an itch that had just hit him, most likely from an insect.

"Weird how the most tiniest of things can cause the biggest irritation, heh" He lightly joked
His expression fell flat, looking at scout upside down
"Applies to all sort of situations i have gathered" He pondered

He closed his eyes, cracked a slight smile and let out a faint chuckle.

[Kirsui]

Scout had closed her eyes shortly after laying down, listening to the calming sounds that the light rain created. Though she would have been more than happy to be done with all the water, she had to admit that after all that had happened these past few days, simply being still and listening was rather nice. She could get used to this, just listening with no need to hurry anywhere. But alas, a wish it would remain for an undetermined amount of time.

"Weird how the most tiniest of things can cause the biggest irritation, heh. Applies to all sort of situations i have gathered."

The teal lioness chuckled ruefully as a small smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth. "True that", she muttered simply, tilting her head lightly as she kept listening to the rain. She yawned then, her smirk completely gone as she laid her head down on her paws, opening her eyes just the slightest of amounts to stare at what little she could glimpse of the world outside their shelter. She only now realized how tired she actually was. The battle with Chocoro the day before, and the skirmish with Baraz today... If this kept up, she wasn't certain how long she would be able to continue.

"What do you think will happen tomorrow?" she asked quietly from Kikome.

[This Land]

Kikome stared at the thick vegitation above him, when you stare at it long enough its actually quite an art nature creates, and now its keeping them sheltered and safe.
"What do you think will happen tomorrow?"
Kikome exhaled through his nose
"Who knows scout....who knows"
Kikome slightly opened his eyes half asleep to look at her one more time before he fell into it.
"Every day is unpredictable, except for ones own actions. They are the only things you can control. What will happen to me I cannot say, but what I will make happen....will happen"
Kikome rolled onto his side and curled up, soon falling asleep.

[Kirsui]

Scout listened to Kikome's response in silence, though a tiny, rueful smile tugged at the corners of her mouth at his words. He had a point, for sure. Sometimes she just wished she would not have to guess what tomorrow would bring, and that for once she could just stop constantly staying on her toes.

She yawned then, closing her eyes and pushing these thoughts aside. No sense worrying about what might and might not happen. Soon she drifted off to a peaceful slumber, the falling rain her lullaby for the night.

--

Scout woke up, shivering lightly. She groaned, her tired mind wanting her to get back to sleep. At the same time, however, she wondered what had woken her up, and with trained discipline she forced her eyes open. She realized then why she had awoken. The air felt considerably colder than the day before, and if her internal clock was any indication, the sun had not risen yet.

Another thing she realized was that the rain had stopped, for now at least. The air was extremely moist, however, as a result of the downpour that had lasted for several weeks. What alarmed her was that what little she could see of the outside world through the vegetation that hid the entrance to their current shelter was completely hidden by a thick layer of mist.

"Oh come on..." she muttered quietly under her breath, feeling mild irritation towards the changing weather conditions. Well, at least it was not raining...

[This Land]

where's the post ?



Here it is !

******************************************************************************************************

Kikome stirred in his sleep, his eyes flickered and he rolled over. He took a deep slow breath, as routine wake up does and sensed a heavy moisture in the air, plus his nose slightly damp. He rubbed it on his mane to stop the slight irritation. His eyes focused on their nice little enclosure they had found for the night, definitely one of the more comfortable sleeps he has had since a while.

Scout was already awake and looking out of the thick vegetation.

"Good morning..." he yawned and stretched out his front paws, clawing the earth to give them a wakeup too.

He stood up, and brushed up next to scout to peek through the same opening in the bushes, outside lay a thick blanket of mist.

"Well kind of anyway..." he joked lightly

The cold air sent a small shiver through his body which he immediately disguised as a body shake to "wake" himself up.

"Talk about unpredictable days huh?"

He paused to take grasp of the situation

"Well....at least our scents will be dampened and we will be better hidden for as long as this lasts. Of course that can go both ways but hopefully we will have the advantage of our better focused senses" He nudged Scout to try and lighten the mood, as she looked slightly irritated.

Kikome turned around and looked out of another small gap to again just see nothing but grey.  About 50 shades or so in this dense forest.

[Kirsui]

Scout glanced at Kikome when he awoke, then quickly returned to scanning the outside world.

"Yeah", she said. "Not a fan of fog, but it beats the constant rain."

She tilted her head slightly. "We need to be careful in the fog though. Too easy to get lost or separated."

She then stretched slightly, and got up from where she had been resting. "Shall we head off then?"

[This Land]

Kikome nodded in agreement and made his way out of the enclosure.
He Scanned his eyes around into the grey abyss. He couldn't get a bearing at all of which direction they should head, a small sigh escaped from his muzzle, but Scout was right, it still beats the constant rain.
"We will just have to stick close to each other, we cannot afford to make any noises to get each others attention if we loose each other, we may get unwanted attention"

[Kirsui]

Scout nodded in agreement, pondering the dilemma of how to make sure they wouldn't lose each other in the mist. Both their senses would be severely dampened by the fog, so they'd need to stay extra alert just in case. However, what she was about to suggest might disturb one of their senses even more, so the other one would have to be extra alert.

"Right", she started reluctantly, not fond of travelling into the fog but not comfortable enough to stay still either. "Can't think of anything else that'd help us not get separated and lost..."

She turned to look at Kikome. "So, one of us goes first, and the other holds on to their tail. Not ideal, but is there anything else we can do right now?"

[This Land]

"So, one of us goes first, and the other holds on to their tail. Not ideal, but is there anything else we can do right now?"
Kikome raised a brow, but soon after cracked a smile. It was a weird yet logical idea, what better way to move and be quiet at the same time.

"Heh, Sounds like a plan" he chuckled

Kikome turned around and stood behind scout
"I think Scout should do the scouting to begin with huh" He joked

Kikome lowered his head and lightly took hold of her tail with his muzzle
"Leath fer way" He muffled

[Kirsui]

Scout chuckled at Kikome, shaking her head at his somewhat ridiculous pun with her name. Fair enough, if he wanted her to take the lead, she would happily comply. Feeling a small tug on her tail, she glanced over her shoulder, seeing Kikome ready to follow. With a small nod at him, she slowly led him out of their makeshift shelter, peering into the mist with intense focus. She could not see very far, and when she tried detecting scents, she could only pick up the moist smell of the small forest they had rested in.

Oh well, there was no point in standing around, and as such she slowly began to press her way through the vegetation, pulling Kikome along. Her ears were twitching as she tried to keep a close ear on what was going on around them. So far she couldn't hear anything else than the soft rustling they were making.

[This Land]

Kikome felt a slight tug as Scout started forward. In just a few paces he glanced back and seen their resting place disappear into the fog. In a way he felt somewhat sad to leave that little enclosure, it was nice, safe and comfortable. He hoped he could find another place like that again.

From looking side to side in the fog it almost felt claustrophobic. |He Could Hardley see anything and had no bearing of where they are. He kept his ears perked up for the slightest possible sound out of the ordinary.

[Kirsui]

The fog was her least favourite weather. That was the conclusion Scout came to as she did her best to navigate out of the small forest. It was a painstakingly slow task, as the mist was very thick and she had to move slowly in order to avoid bumping into trees or tripping on something. On top of that, without the ability to see the sky, she had no idea of the passing of time, and what was only a few minutes began to feel like an eternity.

when the two finally broke free from the trees and entered the plains, Scout let out a sigh of relief. The mist seemed to become thinner the further away from the forest they got, and she suspected it may have been because the trees prevented the sun from clearing it away.

Not that it was clearing quickly at the plains either. Not with the heavy clouds that still hung upon the sky.

"Looks like it's going to rain again later", Scout scoffed, looking at the cloud covered sky with disgust. "You can let go of my tail by the way. The mist is thinner here, so I don't think we're going to lose each other."

She scanned the area calmly. The mist was indeed thinner here, and she could actually see several paces in front of herself. That was a plus, at least. They wouldn't accidentally bump into anything at least. She was somewhat glad that she wasn't yet hungry though. Hunting in a mist would not be pleasant.