She wasn't sure where she was. Then again, that had been the case since she lost her only guide to the world--her only company. The lone cub refused to let herself succumb to the urge to stop and curl into a helpless ball. That would be asking for danger, Eina reminded herself, as she drew in a tight breath, resisting the impending tears that were threatening to wet her silver eyes. She couldn't do that now. She had to keep moving. Keep going.

Keep going where, though? Where was she going? Eina had no idea. The dark-shaded cub had just roamed, roamed, and roamed some more with no destination in mind. She had no idea where to go or what to do. She and her father didn't really have any plans his passing had left behind. They just were on constant travels, living with a nomadic lifestyle that had been adopted since day one of her under his care. In living, he had never expressed a certain destination or goal. He was one who tended to just live in the present with little planning.

Before she knew it, the young lioness wasn't walking on grass anymore. Dark sands nestled between her toes as her feet sank slightly. Her charcoal head swiveled as she glanced behind her--very noticeable footprints displayed her path for all to see, and as she took another step forward, she observed more prints forming. Odd. Eina had never witnessed dark sands before. She could swear she blended quite well into the loose grains, and to test it, she lowered herself onto her belly and stretched her forepaws forward. Almost a perfect match in shade! Eina couldn't help but smile slightly, amused despite her lingering heavy thoughts. She fiddled with the sand, picking little craters and scooping masses into small hills around her. She couldn't help but begin to enjoy herself as she continued to manipulate the shapes, making holes, ditches, hills, all the like.

The lioness's colossal paws sank into the sand, the dark matter slipping between her toes with each step. Her head was low, scenting as she moved along. She was always moving, ever restless. It had long ago started to rankle, and the woman wanted badly somewhere to rest her head.

Little dips in the sand belied pawprints, too small to be an adult's. She looked upward to see a dark shape in the sand, scooping and digging. A cub. It was an older child, but Kimagure could clearly see the outline of the child's hips and ribs. In general, the young thing looked unkempt.

She stood still for a moment, her pink orbs watching the child. She remembered when Colbert and Tamotsu had been young, though Colbert had been older when they met. She also remembered how thin Colbert had looked, nearly starving when she found him. It softened her heart a little, though she felt the old wariness. She remembered how Colbert had broken her heart to pieces with his betrayal. She swallowed softly, her ears falling back. She would have done anything for things to have been different, but she had had no choice.

Her claws slipped out, churning the sand until they scraped against pebbles hidden underneath the sand, making a soft sound.

@Eina

Her dark tail twitched as she continued to fiddle with the dark grains, feeling a subtle sense of calm hug her body as she endorsed herself in the distraction. Eina shuffled and shifted her body so she could somewhat sink into the sand as her paws had done earlier. Little grains clung to her body, mostly on her undersides and legs, as she lost herself in the scooping and the digging. She had become so blissfully distracted that she almost missed the sound of another from somewhere behind.

She paused, frozen on the spot as her mind rushed to catch up to the realization that the rogue cub wasn't alone. Stiffly, she wiggled, paws moving below her until she had turned her body enough to see the stranger. Large, larger than her father had been, with a ghostly white pelt that frightened, yet intrigued her simultaneously. It was such a contrast to the dark hues of herself and her father, and even the palest feline she had seen hadn't boasted such a white pelt. She gulped softly, fixing a dry throat as she stared. Her claws flexed somewhat nervously without her attention as she surveyed the scar upon the woman's face. Had she been in a fight? With suspicions of the the pale lioness being no stranger to violence with the pairing of her generally intimidating appearance, Eina bunched her muscles, preparing for a flight response if she found herself spooked enough--because any sane creature would know she had no chance against such a huge, likely experienced adult. Alongside that, she managed a polite, but forced "Hello." as she dared not break her stare, unwelcoming to the risk of missing a sign to bail.

The girl flinched, tensing when she heard the sound. Clearly scared by it, she found her gaze meeting silver orbs. The child stared at her, Kimagure guessed more specifically at her scar. It did not bother her. It had been a lesson learned.

The tension seemed to increase in the girl's body as she finally managed a word. Kimagure's ears swiveled around to face the young female then. "Hello, love," she replied softly, voice more gentle than it had been in seasons. Kimagure rarely ever had need for gentleness.

Her own child was grown, he did not need to be coddled. Kimagure knew better than this, but there was always a part of her that wanted it. She had always been alone, even if she had not always known it, and underneath it all she did not want to be. The pity she felt for the girl welled and her stomach twisted.

Kimagure took a chance, slowly easing herself down to her belly, so she was not so large or threatening. It would have taken someone blind not to realize that the girl was afraid of her. She allowed her paws to stretch out before her, her head stretching forward a little as she sniffed the child's scent. She was so little, so young, and so hungry looking. It took her back to Colbert, and even she could admit the hurt was still raw.

It had been years, but she had never forgotten her eldest son.

@Eina

Eina surveyed the stranger as she was surprised with a gentle greeting, so soft and welcoming that contrasted the appearance of said stranger. Her brows furrowed slightly as she waited for something more. It didn't come, though, and she supposed it was her turn to direct the interaction. Glancing at the ivory paws that stood out against the dark sands, Eina made note that if she must flee for whatever reason, her odds were best if she focused more on using her smaller size to her advantage--to find a small space to hide in where such large paws couldn't reach into. Where such a large body could not squeeze into. Simply running would ensure the white lioness caught up with her in seconds.

Enough planning for the moment. She had taken enough into account to raise her odds. Now she had to decide if said planning would have to be put to use soon. She aimed to meet the pink eyes of the stranger, rushing to come up with something to say. "Who are you?" She supposed that was the best thing she could ask right now. She wasn't too sure how to figure out the other's intentions, though, without being direct. And did she trust complete honesty? Not really. Anyone who was asked of their intentions wouldn't just admit ill intentions right then and there.

The cub took her time to respond, continuing to stare and furrowing her brow. Kimagure returned her gaze, though her face was measured and tired. The lioness passed her tongue over her lips slowly, feeling worse for wear. When the girl asked who she was, Kimagure did not respond immediately.

Her tail flicked slightly and the lioness allowed her hind legs to kick out to the side as she turned so that she was lying partially on her side instead of on her belly. "My name is Kimagure, and your name?" she replied, letting her gaze fall to her paws for a moment before she turned her head to examine the landscape.

While she was listening, she was also lost in memory, her expression saddening a little. Why was it that these things came back to the forefront from time to time? It had been an eternity since she had last felt this, and she preferred to leave it in the past.

@Eina

Kimagure. Kim...agure. She let the name process as she watched the woman's face shift slightly into that of a saddened, solemn tone as she appeared to survey the surrounding area. She felt herself relax a little at the leaked vulnerability, and she felt a soft wash of empathy shift her own eyes to that of curious, yet concerned. For a moment, Eina pondered her next actions. She allowed her belly to press to the dark sand, ears tugging back softly.

"Eina." She responded, her claws scraping softly against the sand as she sought out her next words. "So, what are you doing here?" Her nose twitched, the cub double-checking any signs of territorial claim. There were none, which reassured her that she hadn't wandered onto someone's land, and alongside that, this wasn't Kimagure's land.

Kimagure was taken out of her reverie by the child speaking again and the lioness turned her gaze back to the girl as she learned her name was Eina. Eina looked a little more relaxed. Kimagure's eyes endeavored to meet her silver ones again, recalling a pair of orange ones that had also been innocent once. Eina was not Colbert, that would have been obvious to anyone. They were not the same species or age, not the same person, so why did she feel this way? Why was she so reminded of him?

"Passing through. And you, little one? You look starved," she commented, voice still quiet. Her ears flicked backward a little and she tried to smooth her expression but was not totally successful. Kimagure extended her claws, toying with the sand with one massive paw. The lioness scooped it upward in her paw. She allowed it to filter through her toes before settling into a neat little pile beneath it before repeating it.

@Eina

Passing through, huh? Eina guessed Kimagure was alone like her. She had seen no proof of it being otherwise, so far. She gradually stopped her fidgeting with the sand as she lowered her head onto her paws for a moment of thought. 'You look starved' the lioness had commented to Eina. Yes, Eina was quite hungry, if she was honest. The formerly lingering taste of scraps from the day prior had long since faded, and she longed for another taste of something to fill her that wasn't bugs that barely gave her satisfaction.

Her head lifted as she puzzled at the wish to admit her hunger versus hiding away such a vulnerability. She turned to look at her own sides, somewhat surprised at the physical give-away at her lack of adequate feeding habits. "I didn't eat today." She decided to admit, failing to resist the urge to lick her lips at the thought of attempting to convince the stranger Kimagure to aide her with a meal, just for today. Then again, she may pry on why Eina lacked a stable food source, which the cub wasn't keen to share with someone she knew so little about. "I'm passing through, too." If Kimagure could share that, then Eina supposed she could, too. It wasn't as if she had to give a reason for her 'passing through', right?

What else could she really say? She couldn't feign perfect conditions, Kimagure would see right through it. Eina wasn't much for lying, so coming up with something false ran the risk of being caught in said lie at some point or another.

Kimagure’s gaze flicked to the cub when she admitted she hadn’t eaten today. Kimagure was sure the girl hadn’t eaten well in many days. It also did not surprise her to hear that the girl was passing through as well. Kimagure had already assumed the girl was orphaned or severely neglected. A wry smile came over the lioness’s face.

“I’m a bit hungry myself. Shall I catch us something?” she asked, though she wasn’t hungry really. Kimagure was more than enough of a huntress to keep herself fed. The lioness did not wait for the girl to respond. Eina did not seem the type to blabber on like some childen. The ivory assumed she had already seen something that taught her caution.

The lioness swept her gaze over the area, noting the small fish in the tide pools around them. They were not much to feed a growing cub. Perhaps one that had only just started to consume meat, but not one as old as Eina.

The elder female swept her gaze further, noting the nests part ways up the rocks. Still too small. Kimagure padded slowly over the sand, her gaze drifting onward. She was at first disappointed, but then something moved. The lioness had at first took the creature to be a rock, but when she looked closer, it was a turtle.

The lioness had no earthly idea what a sea turtle was doing on the beach at this point in time, but she didn’t have long to ponder. It was moving faster than she had thought a turtle could and was heading back towards the water.

Kimagure hesitated no more and sprang forward, leaping over the rocks as she desperately tried to close the distance before it escaped. Her claws skittered over stone and sand as she neared it, it’s forebodu already into the water.

Straining, she lunged forward and sank her teeth into a hind leg, her forelegs extending to grasp its shell as her chest fell to the sand. The turtle was not nearly strong enough to escape her jaws. She hauled it backwards, releasing it from her maw so that she could free her mouth. Struggling to grip the slippery thing, she snapped at its head, only for it to claw her cheek and whip its head away. Annoyed, she snapped again and closed her jaw around its head, crushing its small skull.

When it was still, she rose upward, carrying her catch by the head. Its body bumped against her chest as she gingerly returned back to the girl. When the child was at least in sight, she dropped the turtle and gestured to it with her tail, attempting to make eye contact with Eina.

The lioness did not expect the girl to be able to open it herself, but the elder woman did not want to go to the trouble if the girl would not approach.