Now that she was officially no longer a member of Ecrosia Mire, she was feeling a lot more than she thought she would. Feelings that she had not anticipated feeling; perhaps it was the uncertainty or the shadowing of the task ahead. A task that she had thought would be rather easy but the more she thought about it, the more daunting it seemed. To join a pride by simply going to its border? Hm. Not fun. Zelda thought maybe she could tinker around at the Passage and hope that the leader she wanted would arrive but what if they didn't? Then she would wind up likely getting claimed to a pride that she didn't want. At least, that would be her luck. So instead Zelda wandered the Scarab Dunes and tried to figure out a scenario by which was a little less frustrating or daunting. She wanted to do the task but Leander's words rang in her ear. That if the task became too difficult, to pull back. That she should not risk her life and yet, she wanted to win. Zelda wanted to show her business partner that she was capable of doing great things and was deserving of a crown. Asking a leader strange questions about their pride before joining could either be seen as thoughtful or hella sketchy. She was certain that her vision would be the latter. So she was left with a very tough decision and knew, more than anything, that she was on a tight schedule.

^{MANIP BY YUMPY !}

Leander has been biding his time -- waiting for the right moment to strike. Though he had thought himself to have had a home in the Lagoon, that had all been for nought. Though he has waited patiently, the patched male is surprised to have not heard from @Zelda. So, the Miroslav begins to meander towards the Dunes in search of the smoky woman. He would hope that she has come good on her claims and has infiltrated Ryker's ranks.

He catches drift of her scent on the warm desert zephyr, large paws deft on the soft sands, being a beast well accustomed to such surrounds. She is not hard to find, mismatched gaze finding her adrift -- as if lost at sea. He can't be so sure from such distance but there seems to be a lack of a pride scent on her hide. "I did not think of you as a procastinator," he rumbles on approach, masculine features void of expression though there is a tinge of disappointment in his voice.

With his nearing she knows that she has not completely his request. Not even close and yet, she doesn't entirely feel guilt. If anything she feels as though she is simply being cautious. Zelda did recognize herself as being very adept but she knew she had her weaknesses, too, but the one thing she relied on most was her gut feelings. So she did not waver nor show @Leander that she was second guessing his plan of attack. The time that I have spent on the territories near your Oasis has been much. So she hadn't been entirely shirking her duties but enough so that he could penalize her for a smidge. My gut feeling tells me that he is no concern of yours. That wasn't to say that any of what she was saying was accurate for she had not witnessed anything with her own two eyes. However, looking at Andal from a distance and with Leander's initial warning of not getting in too deep echoing in her head, she knew to rely on her best instincts.

^{MANIP BY YUMPY !}

Leander could say that he was disappointed by her lack of progress. More than that, the patched male found himself more disappointed by the fact that @Zelda had not done what she had said that she would do. He keeps these thoughts to himself, listening silently as she speaks of the things that she has ascertained from skirting about the Oasis. What does that mean? Leander presses as he talks about how Ryker is of no concern to him. For now, he ignores the fact that this is merely based on her best assumptions -- her gut as she so called it.

Don't get your balls twisted, @Leander. Geez. Zelda scoffed, perhaps just as frustrated now with him as he with her. What was the point of any of this if she didn't offer him a line of honesty in their communications? I'm still going to do it. It just took longer to get out of Ecrosia than I had intended. Plus, she wasn't even sure she knew what the male of the Oasis was called. Showing up on the borders and immediately asking to be in the pride seemed like a poor plan. She needed some kind of story on why she chose Andal.

Maybe that was why it felt so twisted in her gut. Because she could feel that whatever lie she might have told on the spot wouldn't have been sufficient. What information do you have on him? Other than that he fought for the Oasis and won, taking it from your family? Perhaps it will give me a better story on why I randomly chose to live there over nine other prides. Because, as if it weren't obvious, she would rather choose nearly anywhere else to live over a sandy desert. Ecrosia probably was at the bottom of the list, ironically.

Leander scoffs at her reply, It would be far more apparent if my balls were in a twist. For one, it was unlikely that he would simply sit here and take the disappointment of lack of action on her part. Ears prick at the mention of the Mire, Did Alaric give you a hard time? For that would seem in tune with the man that the Miroslav had conjured in his head -- very much a pain in the ass.

@Zelda asks for more information, the patched male listening and thinking as to what he truly knew about Ryker, the bridge of his nose wrinkling as he thinks of the culprit that had overthrown his brother. He used to live in the Bluffs and seem to have some sort of grudge against us. I am not sure if that has been spurred on by Amara or if it is just a personal distaste.

It had been odd, the way Ryker had continuously come asking for trouble. A thought then as Leander contemplates their options. He might take you in without question if he learnt that you considered the Miroslav's an enemy. He looks down at his paws, wondering if Zelda might be on the same train of thought as he or if he might need to spell out what he was proposing they do.

Staging an attack may just be the thing they needed to do..

A tiny in-throat chuckle was emitted as she looked to @Leander and imagined what it might look like if his balls truly were in a twist. It was humorous, of course, though likely would not feel so good for him. Not so much in his woooooords, but definitely wasn't thrilled. After all, it must be hard to let such a hard working individual leave his pride, right? Unlike her vitiligo friend, Alaric had never been anything except nice to her and had never presented as anything other than a grumpy old man. He was nice, if not a little rough around the edges.

The gray woman hums in thought as he divulges a bit more information about her target. Taking it in deeply despite her being a rather lax individual, this task was something she did have interest in pursuing but she had decided she wanted to be a little smarter about it than she had originally planned. I guess I could stage the frustration of a burnt lover... Antares did leave me, after all... that was a good idea, right? That she was burned by Antares and thus his brothers were on her "list". Maybe? That seemed like a fun play. Sounds fun.

table by ferus, art by cootie