There was most certainly something amiss as he traveled into the jungle near to the forest. A fog rolling in that had him slowing his steps almost too dramatically for someone not to notice. A cat slowly coming to the realization that this was something far too familiar and a being that he wasn't so keen on coming into contact with so soon. Was this the Mist having returned? Jafar stood alert, watching it creep slowly through the jungle. The urge to investigate thickened while his brain told him that he knew what would happen if it was the dreadful mist. Jafar turned his head up to alert anyone nearby to stay away from it, just in case they hadn't been present for that chaos.

Adrien had relaxing on one of the flat stones at the water's edge, idly dipping the toes of one paw into the cool while she thought about how it would soon be too cold to enjoy her casual swims, when the concerned chuffs of an unknown male reached her ears. It sounded like...a warning almost, she thinks as she turned her fiery-maned head towards the call, her lips pursing into a worried frown.

If there's some danger lurking about this place she's come to call home, then naturally, she's not going to leave this be. The noblewoman sought out the voice's owner on careful paws, not having to travel far before she eventually came across @Jafar's coppery form. "Bonjour, monsieur." She greeted politely with a dip of her head, stepping a bit closer while her gilded gaze roamed around their surroundings curiously. She's not exactly seeing anything out of the ordinary just yet.

There was a mist drifting between the trees that seemed surprisingly thick for the time of day, sure, but that wasn't something Adrien would feel particularly inclined to be concerned about. "Is...there something wrong? Are you alright?" She questioned, inquisitive gaze returning to him with a slight tilt of her head.

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Jafar had not anticipated company to arrive so quickly so when @Adrien did arrive he looked to be surprised for a brief second. Manes were a relatively uncommon thing for his own family for females to have and so his first assumption was it to be a male but was pleasantly surprised by the voice that came out. It was polite and perhaps kind, if he were to read into it more, though he was sure to have not imagined that she seemed confused, too. The mist has returned, I believe. He warned her taking a step to his right to further gauge not just the mist seeping through but also to look at her and trying to decipher if she knew what that meant. The Mist took a few people several months ago. Returned them, but they were gone for a long time. It was an eerie situation that no one could rightfully explain but he couldn't shake the thought that it was back and it was back for a purpose.

Ah, but Adrien is quite used to seeing that brief look of surprise that flashes across the man's face, a corner of her mouth twitching in gentle amusement. Her fiery mane has long marked her as a rarity amongst women. She'd learned long ago to take pride in her crimson curls - even if she sometimes wished that it would be a little more obvious to others that she was a lady. Clearly.

@Jafar speaks of a returning mist, and a slight frown purses the noblewoman's lips, her head tilting further. "The mist?" What he says rings the smallest bell within the depths of her mind, something someone had said to her quite a few months ago. Khal had said that the mist in this land should be avoided - it was something Adrien had accepted easily enough at the time, though she hadn't quite understood his meaning.

But the bright-pelted male's explanation does offer some measure of sense, at least. "You make it sound like a monster out of a fairytale, kidnapping people for some mysterious purpose." She comments, her expression a bit amused as she turns her head to examine the creeping mist a bit closer, considering how heavy it really was, how densely it had gathered together. "But I can see how it would be easy to get lost within it if you're not careful. I ended up being turned around in a thick haze of smoke last spring." Surprisingly, that had been one of less traumatizing things that had happened to her during that series of disastrous weather.

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The gentlest of hums vibrates within his throat as he affirms her questionable reiteration of the mist back at him. Something that he knew to be a strange thing to tell folks to be wary of and yet he had seen what it had done to the folks that had been "lost" in it. How disoriented they had been upon coming back out and how very few answers had been given in lieu of that. I imagine being warned of a simple mist is quite odd, he states quietly as he gazes around the woods carefully before ultimately giving the mist his attention. Perhaps this one was harmless but he knew better than to test danger. After all, he had a pride, a mate and children and could not risk curiosity right now.

I know a handful of lions that claim to have been lost in this mist for months. Countless search parties in their name and when the mist disappeared for a time, they returned. Well, almost all of them. Jafar had had to keep a tight leash on his children during that time as they were prone to wandering off and doing what they were told not to. He had been lucky but those of his extended family were not so. I imagine being lost in the mist is no different than being lost in smoke. This may not even be the same mist as before but best to be caution of it. Jafar wasn't big on believing in fate or destiny, but he certainly did not wish to play the fool and pretend as though everything was rainbows and sunshine, either.

@Adrien

She can't quite hold back the light chuckle that spills past her lips, slightly inclining her head in agreement with the fact that mist is indeed an unusual thing to be warned off from. "It's certainly one of the most obscure warnings I've yet heard, oui." And yet, it does seem difficult to suggest that the male might just be jesting with her - his countenance is quite the serious one. Or maybe it's simply a mask he wears well? She couldn't say.

But the noblewoman's own expression does smooth back out into something more attentive as @Jafar continued. The situation he describes is more dire than what she had first imagined, she must admit. Would anyone dare to lie about such a thing? "For months? Did they wander out through the Passage without noticing?" It's difficult to imagine how else someone might evade being found on this peninsula for so long.

But then, Adrien could hardly claim to know all of Amaryllis's hidden nooks and crannies herself. Even the jungle continues to hold some secrets from her - strange mist included, apparently.

"Well, it's hardly an experience I would wish to repeat, smoke or mist. I'll take care to avoid wandering too close. Merci, monsieur." Why take any chances? Adrien can hardly claim to have good luck when it came to hazardous environments.

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Trust Jafar. A few years ago, he would have laughed in the face of the lion that said there was a dangerous mist out there. Would have called the lion a crazy lunatic and called it a day, so he was thankful in a way that @Adrien did not do what he might have back then. A serious expression was, unfortunately, something stuck on his face more often than he happy or jesting one. That kind of an experience was left for those that had broken it down with years of time spent with him. Even then, it wasn't an encounter that was very common.

Mm. More like... they existed in a mist that never ended. Though, he assumed that it was likely that it occurred outside Amaryllis, too. I couldn't say for sure if it was out of this land or within it. Those details he hadn't gotten from anyone but from t he descriptions that he had received, it had just been mist. Everywhere. Again he knew that his warning was a weird one and he didn't expect the lion to heed it but at the very least he had tried. Whether she got lost in it or not was not his business if she got curious but he wouldn't sleep poorly if she did, especially with his help and all the pointing to danger.

All this dark talk and I don't even know your name, he attempts a half-smile but it fades quickly as he bobs his head, I am Jafar Casales, Sovereign of Firnen Rainforest. To ease her along into introducing herself now. So if she did somehow get lost in it, he would know what name to call it if he did attempt to search for them.

Perhaps it is simply her own memory of being disoriented amidst a haze of stinging smoke and whipping winds that makes Adrien more inclined to listen to the stoic man's words of caution. But even if that were not the case, it would hardly be polite to laugh at a concerned passerby, would it? Whether there is something more to this mist or not, she can believe that he believes that it's a cause for concern. That, at least, must be worth something.

"I suppose they truly must have lost all sense of direction." Could anything truly be endless? It certainly might seem that way, if one was to be turned in circles time and time again. It would be a logical enough explanation. But...did it really all add up? "Strange though, that the mist would've persisted after so many days." It didn't usually take that long for it to burn away in the sunlight, did it not? And could it really cover such a vast area that the voices of a search party could not reach those trapped within? It made for quite the mystery indeed. "Does this land suffer from a lot of cold spells?"

Oh, but where were her manners? Introductions are most certainly in order, and Adrien would accept @Jafar's words with a dip of her own head and a pleasant smile. So he was the Sovereign of the rainforest pride, then. Maybe she would've known that before, had she not been so...distracted, the day Firnen had last been claimed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sovereign Jafar. My name is Adrien Thibault. I suppose we could call each other neighbors - I live here in the jungle as well." It would do her and Nazonal both some good if they could establish positive connections with pride lions here, she imagined. Perhaps there had been some good luck involved in this chance meeting.

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Indeed. He offers without a second thought. He wasn't a paranoid male nor did he typically take on the role of caring for strangers, but at some point he had come to the conclusion that someone loved someone, right? That meant that @Adrien likely had someone that would care if they were gone. From what little I know of it, the last year or so has been different than it has in the past. Strange occurrences that haven't been brought to light before. Jafar could not speak for anything past two or three years as he hadn't been here but the last year, most definitely, had been more strange than before.

Ah, a neighbor. That was quite the coincidence to be able to mingle with a lion that was making a home in a territory near to them. Normally he might have inquired about whether or not she wanted to make the Rainforest a more established home but it didn't take much to recognize that she must be living in the jungle for a reason. That if she wanted to be in a pride, she would've done so. As neighbors, then, should you ever need anything -- call for me. Or Maia, too, for help as he was certain she wouldn't turn away a stranger in need. Especially if they gave her his name. Though, he hoped she wouldn't be at his door screaming help because the mist grabbed a loved one because then he'd just roll his eyes and sag his shoulders.

"Hmm. I suppose that's just my luck then, that I happened to arrive at such a time." Adrien commented with a light chuckle. She supposes it's comforting to have additional confirmational that the strange events of the past year weren't exactly considered to be normal around here. "Maybe the next spring shall make up for the poor luck that the last one brought with it." But then again, as unpredictable as the land itself seemed to be, who could say that it was truly over? Things could always take another turn for the worse at any time. That is the reality of things.

Maybe a mist that could steal lions away wasn't so unlikely after all.

Ah, but for now the day remains bright and lovely, and Adrien feels rather uninclined to hold on to such dark and gloomy thoughts too tightly for the time being. She has a home now, a place to belong within the embrace of the jungle. Why not simply enjoy that, for a little while? But while the thoughts of whatever potholes the future might bring aren't particularly pleasant, the noblewoman's smile widens subtly in response to @Jafar's kind words, appreciative of his thoughtfulness. A gentleman, indeed. "Merci, bon monsieur. That's very kind of you." It's pleasing to hear that the Rainforest pride harbors such kindness. "I'll keep all you've said in mind." She should pass that along to Nazonal. Speaking of, Adrien hasn't seen them yet today, come to think of it. Perhaps she should rectify that.

"Well, I should probably be on my way, but I do hope that our paths cross again, Jafar. Stay safe." Her tone is warm with sincerity. Though their conversation may have centered around dark, mysterious things, Adrien feels that the Sovereign is a decent sort. "If the coming seasons should offer you and your pride any difficulties, I would be happy to offer what aid I can, as well." The pride lions should know that they have some decent neighbors within the jungle as well. Adrien thinks it's only fair, if they are to essentially live alongside each other.

And with that, the maned woman would make her departure, taking notable care to avoid the tendrils of mist that still lingered between the trees.

/exit Adrien

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