It was just a dream right? Sure she'd been awake when it happened but it felt like a dream. At first it had been very easy to discredit it as nothing. A very weird and upsetting dream but just that. Two weird voices in her head, strange sights. It was very much like every dream she'd had.

It was the concern her family had that worried her. The fact that they all had the same dream too? Struggling to make sense of it Dio took a walk down into the fields below the peak, somewhere she could walk without worrying about falling off a cliff. In the amber and green waves she walked along, gaze locked up into the cloudy sky over head with a fiercely contemplative look.

@Haruki_{CODE | BACKGROUND | ART BY MUULAND}

~*~ Although having never mastered the sensation of being ‘settled’ and ‘secure’, the young lion was pleased that his home had not been snatched by greedy unfamiliar strangers. However, a distinct inadequacy had stemmed from his witness of the challenge and the other fights that had ensued – he did not know how to defend his home, his pride mates, or himself. It was a distinct gap in his knowledge that the lilac yearling was determined to correct and had the warriors of the Lagoon been in better shape, he may have turned to them first. Yet they were not, and so the young lion had found his way to the golden prairie in search of a target that might serve a similar purpose as well as provide an ample meal. He managed to bring down an older gazelle – not an ideal choice for his purpose, but he was not picky seeing as they were on the cusp of winter – and he would gnash his fangs against its hind leg and toss his head with vigor, tugging on it like a dog would a bone with growls erupting from his throat every few moments. And while this technique might serve to strengthen the muscles in his neck, it did little else for any budding sparring skills-he recognize this rather quickly-and so once he had succeeded in removing the limb, he found his way back onto his belly with a pant and a frustrated sigh—and would poke at the meal with a halfhearted frown, utterly oblivious to the dark-painted yearling not ten lengths away from where he now lay. @Diomedeidae~*~

The scent of a meal catches her attention. It's a metallic, iron aroma of blood mingled with perfumes of fear and the thrill of a chase. Subconsciously Dio licks at her lips and turned into the breeze which carried it. Not particularly hungry but eager enough in the throws of winter to investigate what might be an abandoned carcass for a quick meal.

But as it turns out the meal was not left to its own devices, and instead besides it she found a young lion doned in curious, but beautiful, shades of lilac. The tinge of the blood from the leg shimmering when light caught within the drops. Hello. Dio calls out and upon her sun hued legs begins to quickly jaunt over closer to @Haruki._{CODE | BACKGROUND | ART BY MUULAND}

~*~ A word summons him, pulling the thoughtful lion from his reverie and he lifts his turquoise eyes to find a lioness draped in the colors of ocean water moving in his direction. He blinks and shifts to push himself upwards, folded ears hinging forward, and posture begins to tighten with the growing anxiety that social encounters sometimes inspired within the male. “Hello,” He calls back to her, voice quiet and unobtrusive in the autumn air, curiosity and uncertainty warring for his mood. His paw had placed itself without conscious effort protectively atop his old gazelle prize as he watched her draw closer, and Haruki felt his belly clench in embarrassment for the unconscious behavior. He was not a rogue any longer-he needn’t fight strangers for small scraps. Still, he didn’t remove the paw just yet. “Who are you?” His voice emerged again, his abrupt query belied by the quiet gentleness of his tenor. @Diomedeidae~*~

He seems protective of the food he's found. Inside Dio's belly there is a sad little gurgle as it looked like a snack might be out of the question. Not that she faulted @Haruki for wanting what it looked like he rightly earned to stay his. His defense also compels Dio to stop moving towards him. Her paws settled on the ground, pulled close to each other, and she let her shoulders relax while she stood there with distance yet between them. No sudden movements, no signals she was playing or planning anything. There was just her teal eyes which seemed to lightly settle over his features respectfully responsive to his body language. Diomedeidae Valour. Her jumble of a name comes quick and easy out of her lips, tongue dancing around with practice on the series of sounds. Or just Dio. A smile caresses her face. Who are you?_{CODE | BACKGROUND | ART BY MUULAND}

~*~ There was respect in the posture of the navy-furred stranger, not in the same way one might react to a superior, but instead in the way she acknowledges his space and does nothing to intrude upon it. It is somehow unexpected, but enormously appreciated, and inspires the lion to relax a bit himself. His paw lowers from the carcass, and his posture eases ever so slightly. Some habits were hard to break, after all. Her introduction is as impressive as any of the monarchs and royalty he had met in this land so far, with a first name that seemed to be designed for legends and a last name to support this imaginative comparison. She shortens it then, quick and easy and Haruki fells compelled to protest. “I like Diomedeidae,” He admits with an awkward twist of his tail that he pulls closer to his form. “I think it’s nice. I’m Haruki.” He introduces, and then glances to the gazelle, his turquoise gaze warily lifting back to hers. “Would you like some?” The yearling pushes it a bit towards her, before dropping his paw, his gaze wary but inquisitive. @Diomedeidae~*~