in the dark of the night

[Mireya]

There was an unnatural stillness in the rainforests of Solui disturbed only by the scrabbling of claws upon the bark of one of their trees. With deft paws and grace a small spotted lioness conquered the towering flora, sitting upon the branches cradling her precariously like a queen upon her throne. Mireya was liberated by this freedom and detachment from the ground dwelling animals beneath her. She felt a primal sort of power looking upon them like a bird soaring through the sky. The spotted cat pounced upon a nearby outlying branch, leaping from tree to tree, feeling the wind brush through her belly fur as adrenaline pumped through her veins, She dared on think beyond the moment, knowing that one thought of hesitation could spell her end. Her predator gaze pinpointed a nest of unguarded eggs tucked comfortably in a nest of leaves, bird down and branches. She crept along a thin branch, like a acrobat on a tight rope letting one paw fall softly in front of the other before she leaned ever so closer. A flapping of wings startled the girl, stabbing beaks and slashing talons coming straight for her. She dashed down the trunk of the tree she balanced on like a squirrel scurrying down, grappling with her claws to secure her weight. The birds did not follow for long, unwilling to leave their precious nest of unhatched eggs. Mireya panted in exhaustion and plopped her spotted rump down with a sigh. Maybe she could try again later. 

[Deleted]

Ack, what a horrible, humid place! Padding his way through the jungle undergrowth, Silvain was careful to keep his steps high and out of the moist rainforest mud. Every brush of a fern had him squinting, recoiling from the damp leafy things with evident discomfort. He was used to dry plains, cool mountains. Not this... ick.

Okay surely, that thing had to be an animal? It had teeth for god's sake. Baring his own canines in a grimace, Silvain made sure to side-step the gnarly creeper and followed the rustling trees right.

Wait, rustling?

Glancing up, the lion scanned the treetops. Was something up there? Like a snake? God, he hoped it wasn't a snake. His stomach squirmed a little at the thought. Swallowing hard, he padded hesitantly onwards with the occasional glance upwards.

Distracted by the unknown threat he suspected to be above him, Silvain was very much not expecting a golden-pelted thing to suddenly barrel down the huge tree trunk a short few strides ahead of him. He let out a yelp, fully expecting it to be a snake. But then he realised that snakes weren't furry, and weren't lion-shaped.

"Did you just-" he said, jaw agape in suprise, "- Fall out of that tree?" He had never climbed one in his life. Not because he was afraid of heights. Definitely not that.

Mireya

[Mireya]

Her disturbance awoke the tree dwelling creatures of the rainforest, sharp shrill alarm calls rang through the trees. A chorus of whooping monkeys and shrieking birds continued for several moments before a sudden yelp silenced them. What was that?  She cocked her head to her left, noticing the larger lion looming nearby with his mouth agape in surprise. Caution flitted through her small agile frame and dilated her pupils, tightening her muscles into a flight ready crouch. His question might have been insulting if not for his amusing befuddlement. Mireya did not fall from trees like a terrestrial klutz.


Her pink eyes lingered upon his curiously large (at least to the petite morazi lioness) frame and fine details of his spotless coat. "I descended the tree, yes," she confirmed, raising her vitiligo patched face to meet his gaze. She had never met an outsider before. Her limited social experiences never extended beyond her own tribe and now she had left the safe boundaries of home to discover strange spotless lions. "Is that so strange, spotless one?" she inquired, tiliting her head inquisitively.  Her curiosity kept her from fleeing back up into the trees, The stranger's presence for now was benign and nonthreatening. At least he could not follow her into the trees should she require a quick escape. 

@silvain

[Deleted]

A pale forepaw lifted in hesitation, beginning to take a step backwards to give the woman more room. She seemed defensive, intimidated he suspected. Or perhaps that was just his own vanity making him think so. Descended, she claimed and Silvain's expression flickered into curiosity. "Er- descended, yes." he corrected himself... but couldn't help but feel a little insulted by her tone of address. Spotless one? What was that supposed to mean?

Clearing his throat, Silvain composed himself a little, impatiently flicking a fern away from his flank with a swish of his tail. "It's very strange." he confirmed with a nod, "I've never seen a lion up a tree, where I'm from. Surely it's..." he cast his gaze upwards into the steaming canopy, "Dangerous?" Not that he was policing her, of course. She was free to risk her neck all she wished... but he couldn't help but itch to know why.

Mireya

[Mireya]

The strange spotless lion was certainly intriguing almost to the point of beguiling the spotted lioness, but she was not that naive. Her natural wariness of strangers kept her from assuming she was completely safe in his presence. Mireya's posture relaxed enough to show that she was friendly and  non threatening. She let out a chuff of amusement when he brushed a fern off of his coat. Her companion it seemed did not like the undergrowth touching his princely pelt. He suggested that it was dangerous to move through the trees as she did. "No more dangerous that being on the ground with a strange man," she stated, offering him a self assured smirk in a show of confidence that she knew how to handle herself. 

"Or wandering through a rainforest full of slithering, creeping crawling creatures," she added as an offhand comment, rolling her shoulders nonchalantly. There was danger everywhere. If she was to die by falling out of a tree at least it was doing something that she loved.


Feeling bold she straightened herself and leaned a little closer to the spotless stranger. "Where are you from? I haven't seen a lion as large as you before," Mireya asked, having lived amongst the smaller Marozi Lions all of her life being confronted with one of her larger sibling species was shocking. 

@silvain