At one point, not all that long ago, Myra had rather boldly stated that hunting here in Amaryllis wasn’t quite as challenging as she’d been used to in her homeland. Today, she was far more inclined to retract that statement. Perhaps plead with Sol for forgiveness for her overconfidence.

Startling that flock of birds and coming away empty-handed had been unfortunate, but not terribly unusual. Sometimes luck just wasn’t on your side when it came to the hunt. The same could be said about getting kicked in the face by that antelope. Being half-trampled by a herd of zebras however, was getting to be a little bit much as far as bad luck went. Then if getting chased halfway across the country by an enraged elephant wasn’t the most unnecessarily dramatic sign from the universe that it was time to stop for the day, she didn’t know what was.

She waited for a long time amidst the boulders she’d wedged herself between, long after the ground had stopped shaking and silence had fallen. Time enough for her heartbeat to slow and her ragged breaths to even back out. Tentatively, she poked her head back out, blue eyes squinting against the glare of the afternoon sun. Ah, look at that. She’d landed herself squarely in the middle of the nowhere. So the bad luck streak continued.

Perhaps it would be best if she just…sat here, for a little while longer.

+5 Exercise to gain strength

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+5 Exercise to gain endurance (excluding spars)

At this point, Seraphiel had given up upon figuring out what was going to happen next. Alliances rose and fell as did the prides, and now the Oasis found itself at odds with others for reasons he didn't claim to know. Because of that, he was continuing to better himself, refusing to allow himself to become complacent.

It seemed wisest to work out in the desert lands that were like the Oasis, and so he'd gone out to the badlands to run, setting a steady pace for himself to keep himself moving for as long as he could. To let his lungs and heart get into rhythm and carry his massive frame across the sands. Speed wasn't his thing, it was strength, but he also needed to be able to keep up in a fight.

He wasn't the only one out here, and he slowed to a walk as he spotted the woman, who seemed to be... being chased by an elephant. Well that seemed less than ideal. Fortunately for her, she found a place to stow herself away, and Seraphiel too waited for the elephant to leave before heading down to the rocks to make sure she was all right.

A good thing you are so fast, he commented as he drew near.

@Myra

ART BY IRISH / CODING BY SENTINEL

Slowly, ever so slowly, the adrenaline flowing through her veins began to fade away, her frantic heartbeat soothed by the blessed silence that now reigned over her at the long last. Now that she was no longer in danger of being stomped on by a massive foot, she found that she was rather tired. And sore. And quite irritated by the fact that she'd accomplished little more than risking her life today. It seemed she'd be returning home both empty-pawed and worse for wear. Oh, it was going to be hard to live that one down.

Well, at least she'd gotten some exercise in. One could label running for one's life as 'exercise' right? It'd certainly be hard to find a regime more intense.

The adrenaline spiked once more as the sound of an unfamiliar voice drifted into her safe little nook, breath catching as an automatic 'Oh, what now?' rung through her mind. Cautiously, Myra poked her head from the crevice, nostrils flaring as she regarded the hulking male with narrowed eyes. A man of the Oasis. Joy of joys.

"You don't say." Well, if the huntress was any slower, she likely would have expired long ago, before she'd ever even had the chance to be ground beneath an enraged elephant's heel. But that danger, at least, has passed. For now. "Don't suppose you're here to add to my misfortunes, are you?" She rather hopes not. As much as she desires the opportunity to carve a mark that won't soon be forgotten into Andal's ranks, the fact of the matter remains - she's tired and sore. Very tired and sore.

@Seraphiel

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He caught the scent of the Mire as he approached and sighed mentally. Well, this could go a few different ways depending on the reaction he got from her. It likely wouldn't be as friendly of an encounter as he'd expected it might be initially. Oh well, he was here now and so he might as well continue to speak with her.

I've no intention to, he replied honestly. If she wanted to start trouble, that was on her. I know our prides have no love lost between them but I've nothing against you personally. He didn't know if she felt the same way, and supposed he would find out soon.

He glanced in the direction the elephant had gone and then back to her. What was its problem? he asked, wondering if she even knew.

@Myra

ART BY IRISH / CODING BY SENTINEL

Funny, that this hulking beast from the Oasis should be the first creature she's encountered today that doesn't want to trample her into the dust. "How noble of you." She drawled out insincerely with a harsh huff of breath. "I'll make no promises of the same." Yet for the moment she remains where she is, claws scraping roughly against the red stone beneath her rather than against the titan's pale-masked face.

If he were one of spotted royals of the Oasis, or the bronze King of Vermeda, the huntress likely wouldn't have been able to stop herself from pushing through her aching muscles to sink her fangs into his flesh. She could still do so, anyway. She thinks about it. It's tempting. But with no overwhelming grudge present to blind her to how unwise it would be to start something now when all her energy and adrenaline had already been spent, well...perhaps she could accept a temporary truce, just this once. "Don't expect me to hesitate, should our paths ever cross again." A tense truce, perhaps, on her side of things.

The dark male moves to contemplate the reason behind the elephant's ire, and Myra can only offer a shrug. "Seems she wasn't interested in sharing drinking water with a lion. Must have thought I was eyeing up her calf." As if a lone lioness would dare to try to snatch a sturdy calf while the adults were still around. Overreaction, much? Must have been a new mother. Such an explanation fit in with the rest of today's luck.

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Fair enough, he commented, waiting to see if she was going to make good on her threat. She didn't, though, and he nodded in acceptance of her promised aggression later. He might not have had a clue why their prides had initially started their war with each other, but at this point he'd seen enough members of the Mire attack members of the Oasis that he didn't particularly trust them or care to run into any of them. But, here he was and he wasn't going to start something for the sake of it.

Seems... overzealous, he commented. Granted he didn't have a child of his own and therefore couldn't know how he would react in the same situation, but he liked to think he wouldn't attempt to trample someone just for looking at the kid.

I'd heard mothers could be overprotective, but that sounds excessively so, he said, mostly joking.

@Myra

ART BY IRISH / CODING BY SENTINEL

The desert male does not go back on his word, and so Myra continues to let this little truce of theirs exist in peace. It seems fair enough, indeed. If ever they do meet in battle on another day, it shall be when Myra is at her full strength. Perhaps a part of her looks forward to it.

"I'd say." She huffs out with a roll of her eyes. It was fortunate that she possessed a hunter's reflexes, or else she would surely be little more than a golden pancake flattened into the riverbank. And she'd barely even looked that calf's way! Overzealous was an understatement.

"That is what they say. I wouldn't know it personally." She and her sisters had been raised in a very...specific way. Harsh, would probably be the word most would use. And Myra doubts that she herself would ever be described as 'motherly.' Which was fine with her, really. "More likely it's just a good ol' case of the hunter's bad luck. A day like this has to happen at least once a season." She says with a light shrug. "Can't say that I've ever been so unlucky as to be nearly trampled before, though. Guess there's a first for everything." Joy of joys.

@Seraphiel

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Neither would I, he admitted. Where he had grown up it was survival of the fittest. If they made a foolish choice and got themselves in trouble, even as a cub, then they had to get themselves out of it. Losing a cub wasn't uncommon, and they weren't mourned either. Perhaps privately but their mother every once in a while, but certainly not where anyone else could see. Once they were weaned, they were on their own, and that was that.

That's true. One can't always be successful. I'd say it keeps things interesting, but almost being trampled by an elephant is perhaps too interesting, he commented. There was indeed a first time for everything, but some firsts were to be avoided if possible. He'd attempt to learn from her misfortune and stay well away from any elephants with calves, particularly if he was alone.

Hmm, maybe that elephant had a child taken from her once before. They say elephants have an excellent memory, he commented, suddenly thinking of it.

@Myra

ART BY IRISH / CODING BY SENTINEL

So perhaps they are not so different after all, at least in that regard. Not that she feels particularly surprised - @Seraphiel is, as far she knows, a beast of the dry sands just as she is. That life in the desert is exceptionally harsh, is an obvious statement hardly worth saying. The wasteland held no mercy for the young and weak.

"Oh, I don't know, I found the experience to be quite bracing." Myra deadpanned, sarcasm heavy on her tongue. "You should try it sometime." That event, at least, would be far more entertaining for her to watch than it had been for her to participate in. "Get your blood flowing." Though whether it might flow through his veins or across the ground was up for debate.

With a sigh, the huntress would finally step fully out from her stony shelter, pausing briefly to shake the dust from her short fur while a pointed ear remained tilted in the titan's direction. "Perhaps. I've heard similar things." She replied with a shrug. His theory isn't a terrible one, she could admit. "But she may come to learn that such overprotectiveness is a danger in of itself. Could she truly trust that another would ensure her calf's safety while she pursued me?"

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Seraphiel found himself smirking in amusement at her dry tone and comments. It was his sense of humor too, on the rare occasion he made jokes. I think I'll take your word for it, he replied. I'm not exactly built for speed. Were the situations reversed he might well have wound up a maroon smear on the ground. Which would be no great loss to quite a few lions, including the one he was currently speaking to, but he liked to think someone would care.

True, you could have been an elaborate ruse to separate her from her child for a group of hunters lying in wait, he said. Obviously she hadn't been, but it could have been the case. Besides, if you never learn to defend yourself then what kind of life are you going to lead when you grow up? Yes, protect your children, obviously, but you couldn't coddle them their whole lives either. They had to at least be able to defend themselves.

@Myra

ART BY IRISH / CODING BY SENTINEL