Against her better judgement, the pale huntress had ventured to the oceans edge once again. Her first experience with the sands of this continent had been beneath the full power of the afternoon sun, and the intensity of its attention had administered faint and haphazard burning across her shoulders and back despite the protection she had traveled with. Not to mention the blistering to the pads of her mitts, whose weak hue offered limited defense and were proving unhelpful now as well as the woman picked her way across the still-hot sands of the shore.

The sun was now settling into the horizon, its slow descent dragging away some of the heat that had strangled the continent throughout the day. And while Marika never cared to travel in the dark, there was enough light left in the world to allow her comfort as she tip-toed towards the shoreline and permitted – with great tension and narrowed-eyed concern – the ocean waves to lap at her scalded forepaws. Despite her misgivings, the comfort the sea offered her was as immediate and thorough as she could have wished, and Marika could not bring herself to leave the ocean edge even as the shadows grew longer, and the world grew darker.

So, the pale huntress stood motionless on the edge of the sea, her forepaws invested in the cool water, with her lids narrowed languidly over the rose-petal hue of her irises, her thoughts turned inward in these brief moments of relief. To any onlooker, she may have been a ghost or target, but in these moments, it did not matter to Marika—only the bliss of the ocean’s healing touch.

@Cáelfind

art by irish

It wasn't common that the tigress wandered to a place that didn't have some form of trees. Especially after the encounter she'd had with a lion outside of Amaryllis - she was a bit hesitant to wander too far from Mircea's side and the safety of the Hollows. If he hadn't been there to save her, she didn't know if she would've made her way back to the land alive at this point in time.

So as to why she'd decided to wander towards the shoreline today, she had no idea. The feel of the sand under her paws was a bit odd, and she wasn't sure she liked the black sand sticking within her pawpads. Lifting a paw, she shook it slightly, making a face at the feel of the sand between her toes. Since she wasn't really a great swimmer (unlike most tigers...) the lilac tigress was choosing to keep herself a proper distance from the waves crashing against the shoreline.

Spotting another lion along the shoreline standing within the waves - she froze for a moment. Her instincts were telling her to run away, worried that this lion would also do the same thing that the other one had done to her.

@Marika

text. "speech."

Art by Drifty | Table code by Zodiac

This was a fine contradiction to the awful trek that she had taken to arrive on this continent. Somehow, her mitts had sunk deep into the cooled sands, the salted ocean current sweeping around her wrists and ankles in a soothing monotone that lulled her into a peaceful trace, and she was nearly oblivious to the darkening world around her. But there was an omnipresent sense in the back of her mind that kept her from fully succumbing, and she felt a faint prickling stir along the back of her sunburned neck that tugged her from her reverie.

Marika stole a glance around her, surprised by how dark it had gotten, and then further startled to find another presence on the beach with her. With a sharp intake of breath, she pulled her front paws from the sands and pivoted to face the stranger, her eyes wide and ears flat against her crown. “Oh my,” She had never seen a tiger up close before; she knew of their existence, and they were even included in her childhood fairy tales as creatures to be wary of. But even as her heart raced and her fur stood on end, she did not yet move. The other cat was… smaller than expected, certainly not a monstrous beast who ate misbehaving little cubs. Certainly, someone she could outrun if need be. Maybe?

It took a long moment, but her expression eventually righted itself into something more amiable, and as her silvered brows drew together in hesitant curiosity, she offered the smaller creature the suggestion of a smile. “Well, aren’t you a rare find. Forgive me—ah,” She cleared her throat, the curled whisps of her tail tuft brushing against her ankles in a nervous betrayal. “I’ve never seen a tiger up close before. That is what you are, right? A tiger?” Rose-petal hues searched the expression of lilac creature, alert and curious with plenty of nerves to maintain the tension held in her body.

@Cáelfind | sorry this got long!

art by irish

Petite and small, the tigress was anything but a threat to anyone. Plus, if anyone even so much as flashed claws at her she would rather run and hide over retaliate. She was unaware that some lions told tales of tigers who were evil and dark, considering she'd almost only known of lions to be the cruel ones. Interesting what two species could tell their cubs about the other.

As the pale lion caught her in her gaze, the lilac tigress froze in place. Ever hair in her body told her to run and hide to go far away from this place and avoid her. But Mircea's teachings that not all lions were bad held fast in her mind. Tail curled around her hindlegs, nervous about being so near to an unfamiliar lion - especially one so much larger than herself.

Ears pushed backwards as the other addressed her, saying she'd never seen a tiger up close before before questioning if that was indeed what she was. "Y-Yes... yes I am." She said softly, her nervousness evident in the way she was speaking. She took a step backwards, her anxiety over the situation obviously showing.

@Marika

text. "speech."

Art by Drifty | Table code by Zodiac

The petite lilac cat was at such odds with the vision Marika had in her mind of tigers that it nearly abolished the angst that had spun through her at being caught off-guard in the dusk. It was plain to see the others’ anxiety too; the way her ears folded back, soon followed by a step to expand the distance between them. Marika kept herself still and motionless in the interim, caught between a growing curiosity and a dwindling unease. Tigers were meant to be larger than life creatures, molded of fire and brimstone, and even if she knew logically those stories to be exaggerations, it still would not have prepared her for this juxtaposition to the stereotype in her mind’s eye.

“Well, you are lovely.” She conceded decisively with a bright smile to soften her pale features before her gaze shifted away to take a brief survey of their darkening environment, her heartrate increasing somewhat, before the pale huntress turned her attention back to small feline. “And while I can't speak for the rest of these shores, you needn’t fear me, tigress. I will not hurt you, and besides, my feet hurt far too much for me to give any dignity to a chase even if I wished…” She lifted one of her scalded mitts and tilted it so the other may see her blistered paw pads, before she returned them to the relief of the cooled sands, her smile turning pained. “Naturally, I hope you are not here to give chase either, tigress?” Based on the strangers body language alone, she did not expect an adversary in this company, and thus her tone lacked urgency, and was instead queried with an amiable warmth.

@Cáelfind

art by irish

She had no idea that lionesses had woven tales to their own cubs of how tigers were the ones to kill and attack lions and cubs, and so she had no idea that @Marika had been afraid of her when they'd first stumbled upon each other here on the beach. One ear perked forwards at the lioness's words of her being lovely. The relaxation that had seemed to form between them briefly was enough to soften the tense and anxious body language that had been tightly held to the petite tiger's frame.

As Marika showed her blistered paw pads, Cáelfind would take a small step forward to more easily see. She could recall Mircea teaching her about small things, little tidbits about healing to help her if she needed a quick patching up. Jewel toned eyes flickered to Marika's as she questioned that she wasn't there to give chase either. "N-No.." She said softly, tail curling around her hind legs again.

"M-My husband... he knows how to heal." Cáelfind would say, her voice a little bit stronger as she spoke. "H-He's got family members who know how to heal too." She added on, an ear flicking backwards as she spoke.

text. "speech."

Art by Drifty | Table code by Zodiac

There was a softening of the petite cat’s lilac silhouette that further soothed Marika’s own tension, and she fixed a calm smile onto her mouth even as the tigress stepped forward for a closer look. It was not quite enough for them to be within an easy, familiar distance, but this small motion forward felt similar to trust, compared to when seconds ago nothing but negative space and flurried anxieties had existed between them. “So, you see, I’m in no condition to be running around.” Her smile widened slightly, and a touch tightly; her mitts still hurt quite a bit, but Marika was pleased – maybe foolishly so – that she could demonstrate she was not a threat to the small tigress.

The huntress returned her scalded paws to the cool sands just as another wave swept up to wet them – reaching no further than the tops of her toes – but her focus remained gently fixed to her twilight companion; Marika hardly noticed the long shadows that were creeping forward as the sun continued to set. Folded ears perked forward yet again as the tigress mentioned her husband and family having healing knowledge, and naturally she could not know in that moment that she had, surreptitiously, already met him (and he was, in-fact, a lion and not a tiger). Instead, her mind strayed to the potential of other tigers prowling this continent, and she worried momentarily of their nature.

“Oh? That sounds like a dream. I personally have little knowledge in that area, nor do I have the benefit of husband or family, but I have found the ocean to be as good a healer as any, in a pinch.” She supplied—not wishing to cause offense to her companion, but also somewhat too uneasy to request the ministrations of other tigers, healing knowledge or not. “Are there many tigers in these parts then?" She asked after a moment, despite herself; and while her tone remained amiable and relaxed, there was a glimmer of concern across the pale pink hue of her irises as she considered the small tigress.

@Cáelfind

art by irish