At first, he had not realized where he had traveled to. The land seemed quite different and there was nothing about it that seemed familiar nor pointed him in the direction of similarity. The idea that he had been her years ago was so far beyond his present knowledge that all he saw before him was a giant stretch of land. That land had led him here, to the Shore. A place that felt like home in his heart and in his soul.

The tide came and washed over the tops of all four of his paws but did not reach any higher. Swooping out and then back in, the gentle lap of the ocean water soothing to him as he let the crisp salty air brush through his mane and fur. Tail quietly moving behind him in a sweeping motion, the dark sands beneath him hugging his pads and seeping in between. The gentle caw of a bird overhead as a second answered back. Peace and quiet. That was what he felt in this moment and there was little else he cared for other than the draw of the earth to these deep waters.

Until he heard something closer.

Eyes snapped open and he turned his head to his left where a giant rock was jutting out from the sea and the tide moved around it. There was a strange object at its base where a couple birds were trying desperately to get into it. Slowly he began to move over to it and despite not wishing to disturb the birds or make them move, then flew away anyways for good measure. Likely a smart move on their part even if he wasn't hungry; though, he did wish to know what it was they had found.

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With how busy her new duties as Queen once again were keeping her, it wasn't often that the brown lioness had a chance to make her way to the shorelines. She missed them, though. And even if she didn't feel the draw to them that Myrkvi and his family did - she had still called Caladan home once upon a time. It seemed like such a long time ago now that she was merely a yearling, helping Morrigan run the shores as her Heiress. Now she was a queen in her own right, with her own legacy that she was forming.

Padding along the shore, she allowed the chilly water to splash along her ankles as she padded through. She would stop and stare out to the ocean a few times before continuing down the shore. All of a sudden, she saw a bunch of birds go flying away from something. Duotoned eyes peered in the direction, picking out something vibrant and orange from where they'd left. Making her way towards it, Cassandra would notice the other lion there as well. A soft snort escaped her as she vaguely recognized the unique pelt. He had come to Caladan when she'd held that festival for the three prides. 4 years ago... it seemed like so much longer than that.

Approaching the stranger and the orange things, Cassandra would let out a soft chuff in greeting. "I believe those things are pumpkins." She said simply, offering him a polite smile.

@Chaeton

text. "speech."

Art by Drifty | Table code by Zodiac

Unlike the lioness that approached him, he did not immediately find recognition. Too many years had passed and far too many faces for him to be able to even know he had been here before, let alone who he had met. It had been so brief a time that he truly thought that he had traveled far, far from this place since then. Alas, he had bounced right back to this place with no answers as to why or how. With a dark and deep clear of his throat he regarded @Cassandra for a moment before resigning himself to the information she gifted him. Pump... kin? He asks, repeating the word back and looking down to the gourd just a couple feet from his own paws.

It was a strange object. Is it edible? he asks, assuming that this lioness knew something about them since she already seemed to know what to call them. The birds were pecking at it. Not that he had, he would be happy to point out, but if the birds were getting at it perhaps it was either something to benefit or even something to fear.

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A soft chuckle escaped the lioness at his reiterating of what she called the round orange things. "Yes, pumpkins. I'm not sure why, but Nafasi always leaves them scattered around in random places at times. This is the second or third time I've seen them in my life." She said. A simple explanation, though she figured the name Nafasi would garner some confusion from the lion in front of her. Most did not know of Maua's sprites, but Nafasi was one of the most playful. They often left random things around, and played tricks on the mortals of the land.

"I think I've tried it once before. They are edible, but it's much more fun to smash them and see what's hidden inside. The last time I came across one of these, it had random assorted things inside. Though I have also heard of others finding not-so-nice things within them as well." She said, her tone musing as she spoke. Moving closer to the pumpkins, Cassandra set a paw on top of one of the smaller ones. Inspecting it for a moment, she moved her other paw on top as well. Pressing down, Cassandra would break apart the pumpkin with a crack.

"Cassandra Valour-Greyflood, by the way." She added, introducing herself as she shook pumpkin guts off of her paws.

@Chaeton

text. "speech."

Art by Drifty | Table code by Zodiac

This dark woman was a plethora of information as she divulged what felt like secrets to him of this strange land. Things that would not have made a whole lot of sense in any land but this is the first time he had seen pumpkins let alone hearing of someone, by name, that set out these things all over. Why would this... Nafasi... go through so much trouble? Obviously not quite understanding that Nafasi was not just some normal lion that was hell-bent on spending their time going into every territory in this land and delivering not just a couple pumpkins but many in each place. It seemed like a waste of time. Was this place not as large as he had first thought it was?

While @Cassandra mentioned that they were edible (but did not give any raving review of its taste), she mentioned that it was much more fruitful to smash them open. Some provided very nice "things" and other times... not nice things. Like... maggots? he asks, not quite understanding that there were a lot worse things than some living (and dead) creatures. Nature did not ever ask him many things nor gave him direct answers but he did wonder if She had led someone on a different path than him.

With that notion of curiosity, the lioness got both her paws upon the top of it and seemed to place all her weight to her front and smashed it open. Chaeton looked at the remains that were in the pumpkin and only saw more orange stuff. Gooey looking and judging by the lioness' paws, not something he was exactly keen on getting on him but... he was led here for a reason. So he moved to another one of the pumpkin's and cleared his throat as he did so Chaeton Alderfeather. Introducing himself whilst placing one paw after the other and putting his weight into in the hopes that he would begin to understand these pumpkins.

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double, double toil and trouble;
fire burn, and cauldron bubble...

Nafasi watches from the bushes, never once letting herself be seen by those huddled around her perfectly-placed pumpkins. They really were a curious bunch, weren't they? But, unfortunately for them, the sprite was feeling extra mischievous today, and had a trick up her sleeve! And so, with a small grin, the being tilted her maw down towards the earth, eyes glowing, before she gave a pointed flicker of her tail and brought her vision to life in the process.

Uh oh...

A disturbing green fog begins to swirl and escape out of the top of the pumpkin, and with it comes a terrible (and I mean terrible) odour. In fact, the smell is so bad that your eyes immediately begin to water and your stomach starts doing backflips. It's completely foul -- and to make matters worse, seconds later the pumpkin EXPLODES, covering you in a mix of pulp, seeds, and a smell that rivals the worst of any skunk spray.

pixel credit to moonlight-pendent13

A shrug would be given at the question as to why Nafasi would go to such trouble. "She is a mischievous sort of sprite, and loves to cause chaos and amusement." She said simply. To her, Nafasi had always seemed like the sort to enjoy a good prank - no matter if its was nasty or something. The spirits and deities of this land worked in mysterious ways in her mind. Nafasi was the mischievous one to Maua's soft and caring nature.

A shake of her head answered @Chaeton's question. "Worse than maggots. You just gotta crack them open and see what you find inside." Cassandra said simply, shaking the pulp off of her paws after stepping off the pumpkin she'd just broken open. The stranger would offer his name as well, and Cassandra would open her mouth to reply once again when she spots the fog seeming from the pumpkins, and then the smell hit her just a few moments before the pumpkin exploded and covered them in the pulp, seeds and the foul smell.

Gagging, Cassandra immediately made for the sea that was just behind them. Not caring for how cold it was, she immediately dunked herself into it. Salt water was bound to help remove the smell from her, and wash her pelt of the seeds and pulp. Glancing towards him, she gagged a bit as she stood soaking wet in the water. "That... was disgusting.." She said, letting out a sneeze as she continued to try to remove the scent from her pelt.

text. "speech."

Art by Drifty | Table code by Zodiac

A mischievous... sprite. A sprite? He asks, before clearing his throat and addressing. Sorry for all of the questions and confusion. I'm new to these lands and haven't been to any that have... sprites. He was a semi-religious guy on a good day but he had never dealt with the knowledge of "sprites" by any means and didn't really understand what it was she was referencing. The best he could come up with was that it was some... entity that enjoyed a good show.

As for worse than maggots, he couldn't begin to imagine what would be worse than maggots. So as he pushed his paws down on the pumpkin with the intent to find something cool (or gross), he was momentarily distracted by the fact that when he pushed down on it there seemed to be a strange fog-like substance that expelled before his nose instantly lifted with his lips as he nearly gagged on the smell alone. What the? Super young Chaeton might've inappropriately asked if she (or anyone) had farted but based on what @Cassandra had said, he was certain it was the pumpkins.

Only that wasn't the worst of it. Looking down to the side where the rest of the gourds sat, he noticed that a couple of them were growing in size beside him. It was slow at first but suddenly they beginning popping out in specific areas of their outside before suddenly POP. The noise was quite to cover the distinct feel of moisture and wetness, slimy guts moving down on his face as his eyes had naturally closed. His body was stunned into stillness, standing there as he felt inclined to simply exist in that second.

Without a second thought and already hearing his companion moving, he followed her sounds towards the open water and waded in. Pushing himself into the frigid temperatures of the water until he was fully immersed. Surfacing for a brief second, shaking his head and mane before going back in for another dunk. It was hard to tell if any of it was even coming off. Until for a second time he re-emerged and shook himself off again before taking a quick look around for Cassandra, what the fuck was that? Nafasi does this? It seemed... dangerous and while he could see that someone else would see silliness or fun... well, he hadn't been quite as amused.

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"She's one of Maua's followers. Maua is the main deity here, and the sprites are lesser deities that follow Maua. Nafasi likes to play games a tricks on the lions of the lands." She said simply, shrugging as she spoke. "Don't worry about it - I don't know everything about them, just some basic stuff. My mother is more knowledge, having studied Maua and their sprites for most of her life. She's actually seen Maua a few times now." She said simply. She'd never been super well versed in Maua and everything related to Them, but she knew the basics well enough to explain the basics to others.

Having rushed to the water after the pumpkin exploded on her, she chuckled slightly as @Chaeton joined her in the ocean. "Nafasi is... mischievous to say the least. Some of her pranks aren't exactly to the liking of most. Like this one. I suppose she has her moments. This is one of her nastier pranks I've seen if I'm being truthful." Cassandra said, flicking an ear before dunking herself into the water again to continue washing off the pumpkin guts and foul odor that had coated them from the pumpkins.

text. "speech."

Table code by Zodiac

There was apparently a lot about this land that he would have been wildly unaware of and while a part of him felt overwhelmed by it all, another part was soothed. A deity in these lands that had others that followed them? It was interesting and definitely served to distract him for a few minutes as @Cassandra explained. The idea of actually "seeing" this Maua made Chaeton a bit skeptical since he had never been anywhere that they expressed actually seeing them. Some had mentioned seeing them through rituals and the use of hallucinations from various herbs and plants. Was this how they communicated, too?

Chaeton swallowed, his brows furrowed in what was either confusion or irritation. It was hard to get on a read on what it was but he had no idea his face looked so contorted. I can't say I appreciate their antics... he addresses finally as he continued to mull over the idea of there being multiple deities to this land and one that enjoyed pranking someone by means of a disgusting wretch-inducing odor and sticky, goopy pumpkin guts that had covered the majority of his face and his mane.

Following in his companion's motions and dunking his head back in the water and out, rolling his head from left to right once he was out to try and get whatever was left in his mane out. I think I'll leave the pumpkin discoveries to someone else from now on. In fact, his entire interest in the orange gourds had left him the moment the guts had sunk into his fur.

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