Release (Private saraiya & Lyonize)

[Lyonize]

"Well, we were already headed in the right direction when we came here. It'll be at least a couple days travel. The hard part is finding it. The rivers that flow from Eden have a unique, fresh taste. It's subtle but if you've had it before, you'd recognize it. Basically, we'll head North until the rivers taste better, then we'll follow them upstream."

Zoba explained the first steps to finding Eden to Kela. It wasn't something he told just anybody. Uriah and Zoba were the only two lions who knew the location. Before them, their parents were the only lions who knew. It felt like he was passing the torch on. He was so excited to show Kela the lush, peaceful place.

[saraiya]

Kela nods nods and continues to walk with Zoba, trusting his memory on how to get there. A few hours later, with the jungle far behind them and the sun now setting, Kela stops walking for a moment and yawns, growing fatigued. "Zoba, we should hunt and rest for the night, if that's okay with you."

[Lyonize]

Zoba paused and looked back at the lioness. "Sure." He said with a smile as he turned around. "We can take our time. Eden isn't going anywhere."

[saraiya]

"What would my favorite lion like to eat?" Kela approaches him and nuzzles her face against his chest.

[Lyonize]

Zoba licked the top of Kela's head. "Hmm, you taste pretty good." He teased.

[saraiya]

"You can eat me some other time. For now, real food." She winks playfully at him and licks his cheek. "Gazelle or zebra?"

[Lyonize]

"Gazelle if you can find it." He said casually. "I'll find a place for us to sleep." He began to look around for a suitable tree or rock formation to claim.

[saraiya]

"Alright." Kela goes off to hunt. After a while, she finds a herd of gazelle grazing for the evening and manages to take down a weaker one that was at a distance from the herd.

She drags it back to where she left Zoba and drops it as soon as she sees him near their resting spot for the night.

[Lyonize]

The place Zoba had chosen was a grassy spot between two acacia trees. It wasn't an amazing spot to spend the night but it'd do the job. He'd certainly fallen asleep in much worse places. Soon after, he spotted Kela with the gazelle he had requested. He had to admire her. She stepped with such confidence like it wasn't even a difficult task she had just pulled off.

Without a word, Zoba dug in and ate his fill. When he was done, he laid down by Kela and began grooming her as well as himself. Each spot of blood he paid careful attention to clean.

[saraiya]

After eating her fill, Kela lays with her head on Zoba's paws, eyes closed and blissful at the grooming he gives her. She loves his attention and care. "Should I groom you next?"

[Lyonize]

"If you could get the hard-to-reach spots." He said politely. "But you don't have to. I can get most of it."

[saraiya]

"I want to it wouldn't be fair if I didn't. And I like your taste, too." Kela rolls on her back and looks up at him. "Where are your hard to reach spots?"

[Lyonize]

Zoba stood over the lioness one paw on either side of her. "Oh, you know. Forehead, neck, back. Not that there are limitations." He dropped gently on top of Kela and nuzzled her chest.

[saraiya]

Kela grins and starts to groom across his forehead to the top of his head, even managing to reach behind his ears. "As comfortable as this is, if you want me to finish grooming you, you'll have to get off of me."

[Lyonize]

Zoba smiled and raised his eyebrows as if to say 'Oh, alright. Fine' as he rolled off of Kela and laid on his side, facing her. He closed his eyes, awaiting the continuation of this intimate cleaning ritual.

[saraiya]

She rolls over onto her feet and gently pins him to the ground before starting to groom his back. After a few minutes, she switches to his neck and mane, occasionally using her teeth to pick out stray twigs.

[Lyonize]

Ironically, it took some effort to allow himself to relax but once he was there, Zoba sunk into a deep bliss as he closed his eyes. Each brush of Kela's tongue across his fur and tug at his mane to straighten it out made him feel better. It was like mental healing.

There was a gentle rustling a few meters away. In his relaxed state, Zoba thought it must've been the wind, but when he heard it louder the second time, he opened his eyes to see if something was there. Zoba looked just in time to see a young lioness bolt out into the clearing, grab what remained of the gazelle, and take off. Her tattered ears bore all manner of scars and nicks. She was thin but not emaciated. It all happened so fast, Zoba could hardly react but by the time he got up to prepare for an altercation, she was gone.

"I don't think she's coming back." He said, his heart racing and adrenaline pumping through his veins. "She just wanted the food." Zoba lifted his head over Kela's neck in a comforting half-hug but kept his eyes on their surroundings. "We should probably be more careful of where we leave food lying around."

[saraiya]

Kela heard the rustling and stopped mid lick to stare at the area she heard it from. As soon as the smaller lioness bolts out, she's standing protectively over Zoba with a snarl half way out of her throat.
When the other took off with their leftovers, she slowly relaxes again against Zoba. "I agree, but she looked like she needed it more than us, anyhow. It's no real loss to us."

[Lyonize]

"You're right." He breathed a sigh of relief that there wasn't any real danger. "Let's get some sleep."

Zoba laid down on his side and smiled at Kela invitingly.

[saraiya]

Kela lays near his massive form, adjusting herself so that her head rested against his chest. "Definitely. Long trip ahead of us tomorrow."

[Lyonize]

Zoba always felt more at ease when he was with Kela, but he couldn't shake the thought of that lioness out of his head. Who was she and where did she come from? What situation was she in so that she had to steal scraps from strangers?

The next morning, Zoba woke at first light. He had grown accustomed to waking up as soon as the sun came up whenever he was traveling. With one paw, he rocked Kela gently. "Hey pretty lady... you awake?" He cooed.

[saraiya]

"No." Kela says and rolls away from him. Despite still being tired, she can't help but to be a bit playful. "Still sleep."

[Lyonize]

Zoba chuckled. "Alright. Get your last winks of sleep in while I go get something to eat." He licked her ear as he stood up and padded off to go find another gazelle or something.

[saraiya]

A few minutes later, Kela yawns and wakes up, stretching her body out as she stands up. Noticing the Zoba hasn't returned yet, she lays back down, but stays alert, since she doesn't know if she's in a claimed territory or not.

[Lyonize]

With a warthog in his jaws, and a skip in his stride, Zoba returned to see Kela wiping the remaining sleep out of her eyes. It wasn't a huge meal but they'd be leaving nothing behind and it would be enough for the two of them. He was proud to be able to provide for the two of them just as much as she was. In actuality, if Zoba was honest with himself, Kela was the better hunter.

[saraiya]

Kela smiles as soon as she notices him approaches and stands up, trotting over to greet him. "Thanks for catching breakfast." She says and nuzzles his chest.

[Lyonize]

"It was my pleasure." He replied cordially.

Once they had finished, the two continued their walk toward Eden. Each river and stream they came across, they tasted, searching for the one that would lead them to their destination. Finally, found it. The river with the slightly sweet taste Zoba could remember after so long. He could almost tell before he even bent down to lap up the cool water.

Zoba tilted his head back and closed his eyes as the water rolled down the back of his throat. It was almost rejuvenating.

"This is it." He said, opening his eyes and smiling at Kela. "We're almost there."

[saraiya]

Kela takes a few laps of the water, nearly purring at how good it is. "That is the best water I ever had." She smiles at how much more excited and energized he looks. "I'm right with you." She says and walks over by his side.

[Lyonize]

"This water is sweet but..." Zoba said as Kela walked to his side. He casually licked her cheek. "You're sweeter." With a wink, he trotted and bounded along the creek, peeking over his shoulder at the lioness with a look that dared her to chase him.

[saraiya]

Kela smirks mischievously and gives chase, running along the edge of the water to catch up with him.