A rare bit of sun had found a path down through the dark canopy of a thick reach of the Mire. Its rays were brilliant against the dark shadows and creepy hues of trees, water, and foliage, that thrived in Ecrosia. It touched upon the ground and the grass looked green, the dirt brown and dry. And ever a cat, it called to Imrae like she a moth and it a flame. Her path was evident and she moved like a creature clearly on a mission. Into the beam of sunlight she went and it bathed her face in its pleasant warmth. Instantly her eyes shut and her features turned upwards to face the light. She was happy, her shoulders bristling with a muted sort of excitement and contentment. An emotion she only felt safe letting out a little of because of her perceived solitude. A happy sigh, a flop to the ground, her belly turned up to catch the sunbeam along her curly fur.

@Freckle

The mire was always humid, but with summer it had began to err on stifling. In those hot parts of the days where the flies buzzed and the frogs hid in the deep mud to stay cool, Freckle had taken to a bit of wallowing himself. The mud was pleasant and kept the little bitey bugs that found their homes in the muck of the mire out of his fur.

When he got a little too cool in the swamp, nearly all of his body covered in thick mud, Freckle would rise and let himself dry. There was no point tidying himself up, when there was so much mud everywhere, and so he goes about his day looking like a little wet creature dragged from the depths of the mire's muddy heart.

He too is enjoying the rays of sun when he comes across a clay-toned youngster, a similar age to himself. She was flopped out in a pose of sheer relaxation - that was something he could get behind! Wordlessly, Freckle plopped himself down in the grass and stretched himself out to his full (meagre) length. "Don'tcha love this weather?" he yawns happily.

@Imrae

Imrae, senses diluted by the enjoyment she was feeling, did not hear or sense Freckle's approach until that plop on the ground sounded a gentle thud paired with a vibration through the soil. It rose up into her very soul and dropped her heart down into her gut. Someone was here. Someone saw her. Rapidly her features contorted into a frown while rolling around to her belly. Paws scrambled on the ground to pull her body a little bit away from the other young lion.

Yeah I guess so. She answered. Flat, trying to not let surprise invade her voice too much. Hopefully the darkness of her cheeks would not betray the ruby red hue quickly growing there.

Freckle lounged, head tilting to the side as he noted the sudden tension in the clay cub’s posture. He didn’t sit up, enjoying the feel of the sun and the soft earth beneath his mud-covered pelt. “What?” he echoed as he peered at @Imrae with a curious expression. Had he disturbed her?

“C’mon, there’s plenty of room.” he said. “Look, I’ll budge over.” He didn’t feel bad, necessarily. But he was confused. She didn’t own this particular patch of grass after all. “I’m Freckle. What’s your name?” he pressed on, hoping an introduction would perhaps ease the unexpected awkwardness.

@Imrae

Imrae quickly realized he's better than anyone she first expected to meet. She looks at him intently for a moment, quiet face overly fixated and staring with a bit more intensity than may be socially appropriate. Fine. She decides and moves back over. He talks a lot. It's a little annoying but he's also far less loud and in her face than any of her talkative siblings or the other Mire folk. She supposed it was something she could get used to, especially if it meant having to talk less herself. Imrae manuvered into the space near him and she laid down upon her belly, legs all curled in really close to her so she was more a curly little bean than lion cub. "Imrae. Who are your parents?"

As promised, Freckle did budge over to allow @Imrae the space back, letting himself settle into the warmth of the muddy grass. Had it been muddy before, or had he brought the mud with him? Hm.

A grin flashed to his spotted face as the clay girl agreed. Yesss, company! With no siblings Freckle was accustomed to wandering on his lonesome and to have a bit of company was definitely enjoyable. “Cool name.” he says, and shrugs to answer the second part. “No clue. Bruno found me, ages ago. So I’ve lived here since.”

Of course, now he wants to shoot back the question. “Who’re your parents?”

For now Imrae tries to relax but there is an unmistakable, but slight, air of rigidity to her. She is conscious of the space she is taking up and makes extra effort to ensure she doesn't accidentally brush against @Freckle or take up too much of the space around him. In particular her shoulders seem to carry the weight of her internal, self made, tension. While she felt her legs relaxed, happy to not be in use and curled comfortable against her, her shoulders and neck could not release just yet. She's watching him, she's still clearly figuring out how she felt about all of this.

Tanaz and Adeodatus. I have a lot of siblings. Bruno does too. Did he bring your siblings here too? Or... without parents was he truly alone like that? Because oh how she envied that idea.

Freckle was not so oblivious that he couldn’t notice the apprehension in his new acquaintance, and he did his best to overcompensate in his own relaxation, sprawling easily into the grass.

In truth, the names she returned meant very little to him but he nods like he understands. “Oh cool.” he answered with a grin. But the idea of siblings was a very alien concept to him. “I’ve met one of Bruno’s brothers, but not anyone else. Seen em’ around. They all look similar.” he pauses, considering, “Do your siblings look like you too?”

Oof, as for his own… “Er, I don’t have any.” he admits sheepishly, “I got a buddy though. His name’s Fang. He lives in the plains… somewhere.” Come to think of it, Frek hadn’t seen Thane in a while. Not since they’d be separated at the rush after the Lorien challenge.

“It means I don’t gotta share anything though. It’s great.” after all, how could he miss a thing he’d never had?

@Imrae

Kind of. We're all alike in one way or another. Whether it be red eyes, curly fur, dark masks, light speckling, there was some unifying thread between them all and to their parents back in turn. Imrae has noticed this, she's noticed many things about her siblings and parents. How they are the same, different. It was but a taste of how complicated life could really be when you boiled it down. Looking at their outsides was easy though compared to the differences and similarities in soul.

And this other child's soul was very different from any Imrae has experience so far. He's friendly, he's warm. Imrae despite her apprehensions feels the beginning of an appreciation for @Freckle. What's a... buddy? His demeanour did not seem to readily faulter or shift- Imrae's comfort grew. And at last she seems to turn on, engaged when he exposes he does not have siblings. He does not have to share. Her red eyes widen and for a second there is jealousy that dives into longing. I don't like when my siblings make me share. You're lucky.

If he had siblings, Freckle wondered what they would have looked like. Maybe tawny, with an abundance of speckles, was his best guess. In some ways, Fang was the closest thing he had to a sibling… though they did not look very similar. He twitched his muzzle as he considered it, figuring he needed to ask someone more educated on the matter. Amber eyes dart back to @Imrae, meeting her gaze with a quirk of his brows. ”What's a... buddy?” she asks and the young man looks briefly shocked. “Wh- You dunno?” he gapes, not intending to be rude but instead honestly flabbergasted. “S’like. A friend. A real good one. Someone y’ can rely on always.” a smile grew upon his spotted face once more. “They’re the best. D’ya have someone like that?” Of course he cannot resist the urge to boast as she reveals her envy, and he smirks. “I’ve got sooo many cool pelts.” he said, exaggerating. He had three, in fact. But when you weren’t very large, three pelts did feel like a lot. “N’ they’re all mine.” Maybe just maybe, he’d let her borrow one if she asked nice.