She moved away from the cove, needing space to think about the conversation she had had with Durius.. Jewel clawed her way through the paths until she managed to make the peak. Snow dusted her paws, and the crisp, cold air snapped at her fur.. But it was exactly what she needed. The stark contrast to the heat of the sands in her home. Sure - winter was still clinging to the lands.. but her pride got warm when the sun hit the sands just right. Jewel shifted, turning her attention towards the fog blanketed lands and frowned, trying to peer through the ethereal cover - for ethereal it must be. What was it that this realm was trying to hide? Was it working to deem them worthy? Would this disembodied voice that she had heart test them against some invisible scale? Would it find them wanting? "Speak"

table by cush/sanuye

Tip of the world. It was magnificent.

The path up here rose out of the ground like the body of a great snake, twisting and winding until he came to the very top to survey the land. He was searching for somewhere to be, somewhere that wasn’t where he came from, and this land had opened up a host of opportunities for him. Smooth ground underfoot, he carried his colossal body up the ridge to get a better bearing on his surroundings, cursing the incessant fog that seemed to precede him, like a great wise creature was shielding the rest of the territory from view.

Breath clouded in the cool air as he reached the top, and he froze in place, a dark painted lady having already beaten him here. He chuffed loudly, letting his presence be known, and ducked his head “Ma’am.” he drawled, deep velvet voice matching his size, echoing around in the chambers of his chest. “I don’t mean to bother you none. Seems you’ve beaten me up here.”

The chuff from behind her had an ear twisting so that the ebony female would look over her shoulder. Cerulean optics searched the lions rather pink form in only mild shock - both to the massive size and the unique colorations. "You aren't bothering me." The female shifted to the side so that he would have some space to share the precipice with her. "What brings you up here, stranger?" The lioness looked to him with a gentle smile upon her face, her tone kind - as always. Jewel had no problems with treating strangers with the respect and care she would treat any of her own friends. At least until they gave her reason not to. @Fíonn "Speak"

table by cush/sanuye

A warm greeting was always welcome. It seems she and him had already met on a mental level where they knew they were no threat to one another, yet.

Fionn moved to occupy the space left for him, a great ship cutting through the air. The shadow woman's blue eyes peered at him from the darkness of her face, expression soft and warm, unusually so even for a well-intended stranger. He sat beside her, blinking slowly in the sun before looking out over the valley. Rolling fog still gathered in the recesses of the land, forebody and mysterious, keeping the island's deepest corners hidden still.

"Prolly the same reason you're here," he admitted honestly, voice like honey, warm in the snapping cold of winter. "Trying to find out what the hell this place is about. Never seen anythin' like it myself. This fog.... it ain't natural."

"It's some sort of... magic or heavenly being. There was a fog that blanketed the mouth into this place weeks ago..And again recently some of the fog lifted. Something is keeping us contained.. but what and why, I've not yet figured out." She frowned as she spoke, turning her attention from the lion at her side to the lands she could see. Optics attempted to peer into the smog, the white fluff that covered much of the world and she saw nothing but the occasional spire that rose above the cloud line. "If I could figure out what it was the gods were looking for, I would do my best to help lift it so we can explore the entire valley.. I have concerns about settling here with my children if there's nothing beyond what we have seen." The hunting thus far had been small creatures that would quickly be hunted to extinction if the populations of adult lions intended to hunt for food. She knew that a lot of what she had caught went to her children - but what did that mean for the adults that required more? @Fíonn "Speak"

table by cush/sanuye

Magical deities and distant entities. Fionn had no interest in appeasing invisible beings - all the spirits had ever caused him were problems and tragedy.

The dark woman mentioned fear for her family, and Fionn's distaste of the absent gods of this world grew larger still, the emotions creeping across his face, no effort made to contain them.

"Settled here with family?" he asked her, the edge of a wistful tone creepig into his bass vocals, so small the average listener may have missed it. "I can only hope you and your babes fare well. Have you made your home far from here?"

@Jewel

"I have taken a pride to the south.. East of the pass that guards these lands.. My children and I live there. So far it has served us well...but.." She frowned, ears flickering against her skull as her tails lashed once with irritation. "The prey we have found thus far has been small. I have concerns that this land will be able to feed the adults for long.." A slow death by starvation was not something she wished to endure.. The lioness shuddered to think of it and her lip curled in disgust. "I hope the lands that are yet unknown have larger prey beasts to hunt." Rabbits and birds... and the fish they had managed to catch would hold them - but it wouldn't do for long term. @Fíonn "Speak"

table by cush/sanuye

Taken a pride? "So yo're a leader." he stated simply. "No wonder you worry about famine."

The lash of her whip-like black tail caught his eye, and the great beast jerked in surprise when what he thought was a snake had been agitated behind them - until he realised the painted woman had a second tail, mirroring the first. His brows raised in suprised. A gemini woman, a female leader, a mother. A strange creature.

Awkwardly, he cleared his throat, laughing a little at his own expense. "I don't think prey is a worry here." he assured, "I've hunted gazelle not far from these peaks already." His mind drifted back to his hunt with Zagan, the young one he'd met on the peaks. An arrogant cub by the name of Casimir - the kind of arrogance only ever seen in the ruling class. Perhaps this woman was his mother. Abruptly, he realised he didn't know yet the name of the woman sat beside him. "I'm Fionn, by the way." he offered, "I don't know your name yet, ma'am, but I don't suppose you'd be a Casimir would you?"

@Jewel

She sighed in relief when he spoke of having hunted a gazelle not far from where they were sitting - though on a much lower altitude, she would imagine. "That pleases me to hear it... Perhaps I can go find some myself.." A gazelle would be a welcome change from fish and small game. When the beast jerked, she moved and scooped her tails around her feet, planting a large paw across them to ensure that she didn't startle him again should her irritation show. When he offered his name, she smiled, inclining her head towards the pale pink male. "Jewel Khulani... It's a pleasure to meet you, lord Fionn." He questioned whether she was related to the Casimir, and the female shook her head, looking almost amused. "I am not - though our prides have a tentative alliance...I suspect that it is my gender and my rank that bothers them so." Given what the little prince Zagon had had to say to her in the claiming sands not long ago. When she spoke, her tone was amused, a smile touching her lips. She took no offense to their thoughts - it was simply the way of the world. @Fíonn

Table coding by Jolee

Fionn was glad she wasn't - he couldn't imagine this welcoming woman to have sired an arrogant boy such as the one he'd met on his hunt. A frown crept across the giant's maw at the mention of her alliance, and the reasons as to why it was tentative.

"A leader should be judged on character," he determined, "I believed you might've been a Casimir because of a young lad I met a few days ago. It doesn't surprise me that their family think of ladies like that."

He shook his great head head in disapproval, "Many a great leader or warrior have been lost to us because of their sex." He said solemnly, his thoughts elsewhere and churning behind his eyes. He turned to her, and asked, "Are there other prides in this isle? Anything I should look out for?"

@Jewel