And I had too many flash fires That I just let them burn

Fine. It was all...just...fine. He'd been alone before, he could do it again. Right?

Right.

Sure.

There was a plan forming in his head, he only needed to let himself think long enough to enact it. Collect, dry, save the seeds, plant again...maintain his own private patch. Was the jungle good for that? Enough sun? Not too much water? Ah, maybe trial and error would be required, but that had never really hindered him before.

Oh. But what if his dear friend returned? He could already imagine the look on the man's face upon spotting the blood-red flowers. That...He sighed, it twisted something in his gut to consider the reaction. Quite different from the stab of spite often felt in the face of his big brother's disappointment.

He moved slow, not paying much attention at all to what path his paws took. His brain was blissfully sluggish compared to the usual frenetic whirr of thoughts and observations. God, why had he ever stopped?

'Strayed from the path again, I see, brother mine.'

The voice invaded his mind, uninvited, and his nose wrinkled. "Shut up. I don't need you." It was fine. Amounts well within his tolerance, just enough to dull the painfully sharp edge of existence. To temper the stab of emotion that plagued him. Sentiment. Rejection. Loneliness. How long had he placed himself above such things? How often had it been proven just how vulnerable he truly was to them?

An unexpected stone in the path, and dulled reflexes, had him stumbling, and then coming to a halt. Blinking, he took in his surroundings (though little would be retained later). Where was he now? How had he gotten here?

'Til my chest is on fire And my head just won't die

code by corvus

Hanneth hadn't felt as drawn to this place as she did the tree that she had lived under or the tree that she had given birth under but still she had curiosity about it. With Dero healing and things settling Hanneth found her way back and entered the grotto slowly. There was a feeling when she was here that she knew and respected deeply. She wanted to study it more, to know what it was about the place that drew souls to it. She was looking around when she heard someone shouting. Odd. Her ears flicked back as she started moving toward the voice. It was only a moment before she spotted the dark lion who seemed to be struggling with something. You ok? She spoke softly hoping to not startle him. She stopped walking toward him with a good distance between them to be safe and to give him the space he may need to adjust to her being there.

@Sherlock

CODE BY Ice - IMAGE BY Autumn

And I had too many flash fires That I just let them burn

Even after exploring so much and learning how vast and varied the population was, it was still occasionally surprising to find himself with any sort of company. So, if her quiet words took an extra second to register with him, it was only because he'd expected to be left alone for much of the day.

Blinking, he paused, glassy gaze seeking the source of the unknown voice. Because, he'd decided, it certainly wasn't in his head. Only familiar ones lived there. The speaker turned out to be a rather common example of a lioness - bronze and lighter in all the usual places, average in build, unique features including differently colored eyes and a facial scar - and his cursory observation took less time than it did for him to blink.

Sherlock cleared his throat softly, gaze drifting from the woman to flick somewhat aimlessly around their surroundings, "Um," no, not really, if he was terribly honest with himself, "fine, yeah, just a stumble." He'd choose to answer as if she'd inquired about his physical wellbeing.

Tongue peeked out briefly to wet his lips as he turned in place, now that he had company maybe he could get a few answers, too. "Do you know anything about this place?" If not answers, maybe he could at least keep the conversation from drifting back to his own wellbeing.

@Hanneth

'Til my chest is on fire And my head just won't die

code by corvus

He allowed her to near and didn't seem like he would object to her being near him so she moved closer and took a quick look over his body to look for wounds but didn't see anything so her eyes focused back on his face. He offered her an answer but Hanneth wasn't convinced but she didn't know him. She wasn't about to push with someone that she didn't know so she focused on his question, something she was able to help with. I know a little. The natives here know far more but this is where the souls of the dead gather. They are pulled here. She looked around as she spoke still in awe of the beauty of the place. The deity who created this land is Maua. I have come across many deities in my lifetime but none have been as powerful as Maua. She let her gaze come back to the male, I am Hanneth. Have you been in these lands long? He wasn't a native if he didn't know about this place, right? Granted she didn't know all the natives but the ones she did know seemed to know about Maua and what this place was so it seemed reasonable to think that he wasn't among them.

@Sherlock

CODE BY Ice - IMAGE BY Autumn