It felt odd, not to have to skulk in a place that smelt so strongly, everywhere, of lion. Her first night in the bluffs had been restless, full of little sounds and starts that distrubed her slumber. It had left the tigress feeling truly weary as daybreak trickled warm summer light across her face.

But up she got anyway, moving into the dawn light with a yawn and deep stretch. She strained her toes to their limits and relaxed with a huff of satisfaction. Perhaps she would take a look at the bluff's cache and see what was needed. The best way to make herself useful to the pride that had so graciously taken her in would be assessing their needs and getting herself busy hunting.

Where exactly the cache was... she didn't know. Leila set to work looking, padding softly over stone and sand across the maze that was the plateau.

- all welcome!

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Restlessness was so unfamiliar to Vanadís that she couldn't put a name to it. Spirits were restless at times, their discontent manifesting as small acts of nature; sudden shifts in temperature or weather, animals influenced to act out of character to their instincts, wind that gusts and swirls to kick dirt in the eyes and nose. Lions were not restless, for lions had Purpose. Whether to Serve or to Lead, there was a path set before them all.

Yet here, in this valley so lush and brimming with life, Vanadís was struggling to define her purpose. In her previous home that was so suddenly destroyed, she'd had something to do every waking moment. Herbs to gather, rituals to prepare for, pride members to council. There were no demands on her, here. Not once had she been called upon for her Trade. She was left to her own devices, and she had no idea what to do with that.

This morning found the Cleric moving through the pride's territory to check on the herbs she'd transplanted to the dry soil. There were some species of plant - such as bog sage - that could survive in less-than-ideal conditions if given the right care. Certain mushrooms thrived in the cold burrows and caverns tucked into the Bluff's rocky sides.

The wind shifted and an unfamiliar scent hit her nose. It was feline and predator, but not lion. She paused, left foreleg still lifted with paw dangling just above the ground. Her head turned to find the source of the scent only to land upon the striped, boldly colored creature moving through the territory. @Leila was much smaller than any lioness, yet her lithe frame bespoke a strength and grace that Vana would not want to cross.

Instinct won out over curiosity and surprise; Vanadís found her weight shifting to face the other creature - whose smell indicated she was as much part of the Bluffs as Vana. A deferent bowing of the head was offered, blue-and-taupe eyes flicking to the tigress' paws. Where you Lead, I will Follow. Such was Vana's role in this world, no matter how confusing and contradictory she found her environment to be.

"How may I be of Service?" Calm words, gentle tone. Her posture was relaxed and serene as to inspire the same in this stranger. Her own uncertainty was tucked safely away in the back of her mind. She would not make the stranger uncomfortable with her own misgivings.

That would not Serve.

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Leila had been trying to be quiet, still a little nervous with the idea of being unaccompanied in a lion-ruled territory. The sand was warm underpaw and the rocky trails confusing. Even after several attempts at following a food-scent, she was feeling lost and turned around. The overlapping trails left no clear definition to where a cache might be, putting a blockade to her plans.

The shuffle of paws on stone made Leila tense in suprise, too busy in her tracking to realise she had crossed another's path. Now she noticed the brindled woman's scent, it was obvious she was a Bluffs resident too. Oh! Leila murmured in reply, Hello. What did she mean, service? Not knowing, Leila wondered if she had seemed that obviously lost. It seemed so.

I'm trying to find the cache. she explained politely, But it's tricky. Do... do you know where it is?

@Vanadís

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It was the first time since she'd come to Amaryllis that someone had asked for her help. It wasn't quite the assistance she was accustomed to providing, but Vanadís leaped at the opportunity. It was something to focus her energy on, at least for the next few minutes.

"Ah... yes, the Bluff's Rangers have hidden it well." A gentle smile manifested in a relaxing of the brow and a crinkling of eyes. "You're on the right track, in fact." Her smile turned warm and encouraging. The Cleric turned to lead the stranger to the pride's store of food. Vana hadn't been offering empty reassurance; she had only to adjust the tigress' original course by a slight degree.

The food store was deep inside the Bluff's territory. It would take a few minutes to get there. Vana's pace was adjusted so that she was never truly in front of Leila. Vanadís would indicate any necessary course corrections with a natural shift of weight and direction designed to steer Leila in the right direction without allowing her to fall behind.

"I am Vanadís," the lioness added. There was no expectation that Leila reply or give her own name. Vana's was offered out of necessity - so that the tigress could call on her in the future if needed.

@Leila

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A little laugh huffed from dark lips, mostly out of relief and to soothe herself. That makes me feel better about all the wandering around. Leila admitted with a small and reserved crinkle of her eyes. The closest she'd manage to a smile with a stranger. Though with the new experience of having pridemates... it would be something she'd need to work on. Mm, that was enough eye contact for a little while. Had she been staring too long?

With her path corrected she is content to follow @Vanadís's guidance, trying very hard to memorise the path they took through the rocky plateau as Leila planned to frequent it. Once she had her feet under her and had figured out the best spots to hunt, the tigress was determined to see it full to bursting.

Leila glanced up from her concentration, brow softening as curiosity reared it's head. I'm Leila, she returned automatically, trying her very best to be friendly despite how awkwardly it fit on her, Have you been in Wolfron for a while? She seemed to know the routes, at least. Or was very reassuringly leading her somewhere else and making it up as she went. Leila never discounted possibilities.

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The Cleric didn't notice any awkwardness from Leila, primarily because her own gaze avoided meeting Leila's. It was a matter of respect and deference, after all. Vana's purpose was to Serve, to Follow where others Lead. It wasn't a matter of inferiority, it was simply her role in life. She was a spiritual guide and healer. It was symbolic in a sense, that her gaze remained on their path, and that when her eyes turned to Leila they tended to be lowered toward her paws.

To an outsider looking in, it might appear that Vanadís was a submissive creature. This wasn't entirely the case. She was deferent in the sense that she showed others courteous regard and was aware of her status within the pride's ranks. She was also confident in her abilities.

The tiger offered small talk. Vana was more comfortable engaging in it with her than she'd been with the Noble who'd brought her to Wolfbron.

"I have lived here for less than a moon." Her course shifted, her stride slowing briefly to allow Leila the chance to sense the change and adjust. They were getting closer. There was evidence of more paws traveling over this particular path. "It is different here than where I come from." There was a flash of surprise at herself for saying that. It'd been on her mind since she'd arrived, the uncertainty bubbling in her chest and filling her head.

@Leila

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The silver brindled lioness was unusual, Leila thought. Most of the others of @Vanadís’s kind had been more upfront - lots of eye contact, lots of tall necks and looking down on her. Although Leila was still smaller in stature than the woman, it felt less egregious - her lowered posture and demeanour made them feel more equal, to Leila.

The tigress’s head tilted to glance at Vana as she spoke, interested. I see, she mused with a nod, thoughtful and a little pleased to find something they had in common, It’s very different here than where I came from too. She took a moment to take in the weathered path - the evidence of many paws frequently travelling. The Wolfbron scent was thick. A scent that was hers now too. It’s my first time being in a lion pride. My kind are supposed to be solitary. Much to Leila’s historical displeasure and difficulty.

But I don’t like a loner’s life much. eye flitted again to Vanadìs. Is it rude to ask where you come from is like? She hadn’t said home so Leila skirted the assumption. Learning anything she could about lion culture was very interesting.

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Vana recently had a taste of being alone, and she hadn't liked it much either. Perhaps for different reasons than @Leila, but she could relate to what the she-tiger said, nonetheless.

Is it rude to ask what where you come from is like?

The Cleric's gaze flicked to Leila, a hint of surprise in her expression before it smoothed away. It was the first time anyone had been concerned with how Vanadís might perceive something. That wasn't an exaggeration. There were very clear roles where she came from. A lion's stature was decided as soon as they started to grow in the womb, and they were aware of it from birth. It wasn't a matter of rudeness or courtesy, but entitlement.

How to describe her homeland? How did one describe what was normal, what they experienced every day?

It was a few seconds before Vanadís replied, and in that time the pair had drawn close to a rocky niche. The stones were strategically place. The smell of raw meat was obvious this close to the cache.

"Where I come from is..." she trailed off, lifting her head to look around at the Bluffs. She struggled to find the words, and settled on describing the land instead. "... much greener than this. I'd never seen the ocean before crossing the sand to this valley." Her eyes strayed to the peaks visible on the horizon. "It was flatter, too."

The Cleric's attention turned to the cache, muzzle dipping toward it. "Here you are." As Leila had undoubtedly discerned from the smell of carcass in the air.

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Leila was worried she had offended the woman with how quickly @Vanadís had glanced up. But when no prickly admonishment came, she relaxed. Not that Vana seemed to be the sort for snappy retorts by Leila's guess. She was a tricky read, especially for Leila who struggled to do so in the first place.

Leila didn't mind the pause, picking up the scent of old and new prey - the telltale note of a cache, but on a scale she'd never experienced. It only made sense a lion pride's food store would be larger, but she had had trouble imaging it. Interest drew her back, her eyes darting from the hollow that obviously led to what she sought, back to Vanadís.

"Like a forest?" she questioned with a tilt of her striped head, "I travelled through many to get here." None of which had been good to settle in like she had originally hoped. Either they had been too difficult to live in with scarce resources or already claimed by various creatures.

Shifting toward the cache, she realised she had another task to request of the grey lioness. "You probably have a better idea of what the pride numbers are like than me," she guessed, "Could you help me figure out what they might need?" Prey, obviously, but there could be pelts, horns and bones that could also be used. Besides, Vanadís had not been bad company and a job to be done was always easier with an extra set of paws.

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