The air as she traveled a little further south than usual was hard to miss. The subtle changes in the temperature as she wandered closer and closer to the Mire. Unknowingly stumbling upon a territory that didn't even house her friend and his kin anymore but rather an empty place void of much smells at all. As though the Hodari family had never lived here at all and suddenly she couldn't help but begin to bellow. Kiton! Kiton? she cried, desperate to hear his voice over the mushy sound that came from her feet on murkier waters than usual. Roan? Any Hodari's? The crying did not cease, eventually mustering up the courage to take a step over what she thought was the borders at one point. I'm sorry I'm trespassing -- I just ... you're not answering and I am just checking up on you?! Even though she was shouting her apologies to no one, she didn't wish to cross very far into the territory. They might have been allies but she still wished to be cautious, especially after all that she had had to endure lately.

@Kito

manip & table code by k'sariya

There was something about this murky location that kept the ghost anchored. It wasn't a tether like the tree had been to her ancestral spirits, but more so a desire to remain within the Mire more than anywhere else. Kito could not explain this need to stay within the lands, but somehow, she felt that it was where she might find some answers. As she continued to wander, continuing to try and find something familiar within Amaryllis to explain all of this, a voice was heard frantically calling for someone. The maned woman could nearly swear that it was her own name that was being called, which quickly prompted her curiosity.

The Hodari spotted a chocolate woman between the shrubbery of the Mire just before @Talisa mentioned any Hodaris next. That was what the healer had been waiting for. Kito's brows quickly shot up in shock before she made her way silently towards the stranger. Despite the speed in her paws, there was no sounds of footfall to be heard. "Did you say Hodaris?!" the scarred lioness questioned without even thinking if she could be seen or heard by the living. She stood right in front of the native who would likely see just a glimmer of an ashen lioness before her.

Table by Shan

Talisa had certainly seen her fair share of spectres and ghosts, but she had become so accustomed to the one's that she did know about that finding others was out of the ordinary. Unexpected. So as she tiptoed through the swamp and kept searching through the trees in the hopes of catching sight of a certain mauve lion, she continued to become overwhelmed with worry. Concern etched upon her brow as she began to think of the worst scenarios possible. Please Maua... let them be okay. A quick, meaningful prayer being launched into the atmosphere as she tried not to think of the deepest and darkest things that could have transpired.

Only when a voice sliced through the deadened air did Talisa's head whirl as she came face to face with, well, a ghost. First moment was designated to be a look of surprise, followed by confusion before great worry. Had they been... a member and ... died? Yeah. Uh... Kiton Hodari ruled here. Our prides are .. were? allies? Did... did you live here? Talisa had only ever been familiar with those that were stationed in the Grotto and never had they been given any sort of leeway to go elsewhere except for those like Valhalla who had been gifted the sight of Amaryllis.

@Kito

manip & table code by k'sariya

Only at the sight of shock upon the stranger's face did Kito realize what was happening. She was actually talking... with the living. So they could she her! And hear her, apparently. And even better, this one knew about the Hodari, if they were the same Hodari that Kito was related to, at least. She couldn't imagine she wasn't related in some capacity, knowing that the family was spread much further than even just Ademt's lineage. There was likely a whole other slew of Hodaris never known or heard of in these lands or even the lands of old, but what mattered right now was who exactly had lived here before.

@Talisa said the name again - Kiton - which Kito had thought had been her own. It couldn't be a coincidence, though, could it? To be so similar? She had named her daughter Furia, after all, named after her brother Furio. Maybe this 'Kiton' was her own descendant. "Ki-ton Hodari, you say?" The maned woman emphasized the latter half of the name. "No, I've never lived here, but I am Ki-to Hodari. Where is here exactly?" She had to be connected to this somehow, but she didn't know how long it had been since she died. This Kiton lion could be generations removed from her, if related at all!

Table by Shan

If it were anyone else, they might not have been so nonchalant about talking with those that were no longer living and breathing. Alas, she wasn't all that surprised by the haunting dead anymore and instead was grateful that they still had a life even if it had a few limits to it. Though, the appearance of the silver woman did not answer a whole lot of questions and brought more on. Kito, she said out loud with furrowed brows. Confusion still apparent but if this woman was a Hodari, then the chances of her being related to Kiton must be rather high. Especially when their names were so close. This is Ecrosia Mire. Kiton and his brother, Roan, were living here. Roan held the pride to the north, the rainforest, for some time before it was taken from him. Talisa paused, her tracking for her friend had led her to have a lot more questions and concerns than she was anticipating. I'm Talisa Valour, by the way. I consider Kiton to be a great friend.. and it was why she was here now. To figure out where he had gone and what had happened, as it didn't feel like anyone had lived here at all. It's not usually so quiet and empty here ... and he wasn't answering me. Had they moved on? Gone elsewhere within Amaryllis or had they decided to leave entirely after the war had broken out between them and the Bluffs?

@Kito

manip & table code by k'sariya

Considering her experience with those of the afterlife, Kito knew her interactions with the living could go many different ways. She was, therefore, quite relieved to find someone so readily accepting of the fact that they were speaking with ghost. It wouldn't take too much to assume that @Talisa had dabbled as well with those of the otherworldly variety. A child after her own heart, perhaps. In any case, there were still many questions swirling around in the deceased woman's mind, and unfortunately, the native's words did little to clear up Kito's own confusion. Ecrosia Mire. Roan. The Rainforest. These things meant little to the silver woman. Though a rainforest and a jungle were quite similar, she knew these were not the same jungles she had once ruled. This mire meant little to nothing to her other than this new knowledge that perhaps her family had ruled her previously. Even if Kiton was named after her, the maned woman knew not where his brother, Roan's, name came from. She wouldn't, of course, not knowing Rooney. But alas, it was all she had to go on for the time being.

Her disappointment was clear across the maned woman's face, though she still put on a polite grin for the stranger. "I don't know this Kiton nor Roan that you speak of, but I can only assume they must be my relatives in some capacity. I find it hard to believe that Kiton and I should have such similar names without us being related," the scarred woman would muse as she tapped her chin lightly in thought. "It is a somewhat common practice to name one's children after ancestors, I suppose. I did name my daughter, Furia, after my brother, Furio, after all." But who's child was Kiton?

In her own analysis, Kito had nearly missed the fact that Talisa had introduced herself. "Oh, well then what a great pleasure it is, dear, to meet a friend of my assumed relative," the maned woman chuckled amid her own near-blunder. As for the unusual stillness of this place, the Hodari would cast a quick glance around them before returning her gaze to Talisa. "I haven't seen anyone around in the.... few hours I've been here?" The comment ended up sounding more like a question while Kito struggled to gauge time at the moment. Everything just seemed to blur together for now, but so far, she'd only see a few souls here and there since appearing. Nothing large enough to consider a pride, thus far.

Table by Shan

The silver woman didn't know who Kiton was or Roan, but the likelihood that they shared the same last name were minimal. Exceptionally minimal. Just as she would be surprised that anyone should have the Valour name and not be related to the Valour's that presided here. There could be some out there but it would be rare for them not to be. Furia... Furia? Talisa blinked, I.. I know that name, too. As twisted as it was, Furia had been the first lion that had given Talisa her very first taste of anxiety. A reality check of what was coming with the influx of those that weren't native to Amaryllis.

Maybe they got out.. she murmured mostly to herself as she began to give herself calming breaths. She would never find them if she sent herself into a panic and she needed to know that Kiton was safe. That his children were safe and all accounted for -- and his wife, the one she was sure she had met but now couldn't picture their face.

@Kito

manip & table code by k'sariya

When the chocolate woman showed recognition towards her daughter's name, Kito grew hopeful that she really might hold some concrete connection to these lands. "Furia. Furia Hodari-Livius.... Golden fur, brown mask, red mane?" The silver woman was unaware that both her children had eventually dropped the Livius side of their names. Even still, she made haste in describing her daughter, unwilling to get her hopes up too much if @Talisa could not confirm the identity.

Quietly spoken, but the Hodari heard the murmur still. Maned head nodded solemnly, hopeful for the same outcome. "I hope so. Even if they are not my family, the flood here was not gentle." She wouldn't mean to worry the native, but it could not be sugarcoated that the floods had done considerable damage here. Anyone caught in the rising tide... Kito didn't want to think about the outcome.

Table by Shan

The knowledge that she had to share about Furia was not the same as @Kito, for sure. Talisa only felt negative things towards the woman that had made her spiral herself into a pit of anxiety. A moment that she remembered as though it was yesterday and it certainly haunted her as much. The description seemed spot-on to what she could vaguely remember -- the vision haunting her going forward. I've seen her .. a few times. Because Talisa wasn't about to say that whoever this important lion was to Kito that they had been a terror to her and her sister at a public event. It wasn't fair. Just as she wouldn't want someone to tell her something horrible about her own friends or family when she would biased as hell.

As for Kiton, that was a maybe family member of Kito's that she felt really unresolved feelings for. Talisa could only manage to look out across the destruction of the Mire and remember how they had brought the children together. Remembering fondly how excited her friend had been at the idea of betrothing their children and it only spurring her decision that she needed to continue to look. I need to find him and his kids. Do you want to help? If by chance they weren't family, then she would feel no pressure to do so but the Valour was interested in perhaps giving the ghost a chance to see more if they hadn't already. Ghosts didn't often come out this far so it was new to her, to see them -- almost hoping she might find her own father but knew that if he could, he would have found them already.

manip & table code by k'sariya

With her daughter's identity confirmed, Kito had renewed faith in these lands, despite the crumbling state in which they found the Mire. Kito would remain blissfully unaware of the anxiety Furia caused @Talisa,instead eager to take comfort in the idea that her daughter was somewhere withing these lands. That meant she couldn't have been dead for too long, right. Maybe Kiton was even her grandson or great-grandson. However many generations removed he might be from her did not matter to the silver woman. Little by little, she was piecing together the bridge that brought her to these lands, and it all would seem to start here in this abandoned swamp.

"Of course, dear," came the immediate response to the native's question. Whether Kiton was truly family or not -- though it was highly likely that he was -- the Hodari woman would wish to aid the chocolate lioness either way in finding the missing. "Where should we start?" Kito had only just arrived in these lands and suspected that Talisa might have a better gauge on the layout of the Mire. Maybe she had better knowledge to where the Dems were or the usual meeting places. In any case, Kito was at the ready to do whatever she could.

Table by Shan