Well, the initial entrance into the land hadn't gone much of anywhere. A bunch of strangers coming to meet him and nothing resolved except learning his sister had followed him. Not something he'd expected, but he was glad to know she was around, at least.

Though he had no idea where she'd gotten to after that day.

Zacharie, faced with the coming chill of winter, had headed toward the more southern regions of the land in the hopes of avoiding the most bitter days. Here, he'd been quite happy to find an expanse of swampland, which was quite a familiar landscape since it had made up half his homelands. He moved with the ease of one who'd spent their entire life in the area, but with no real destination or goal in mind. Simple exploration to familiarize himself with the land.

Eventually, he'd have to find a place to settle, but that could wait at least a few more days. Maybe he'd track down his sister, see where she'd gone and if she'd found a place.

A hop, hop, hop, across a series of fallen logs, and a wet squelch as he landed and mud seeped between his toes, and Zacharie laughed lightly to himself, simply enjoying the familiarity of it all.

code by corvus

Todays adventure had led him entirely away from the open shore of the ocean, meandering deeper into the Jungle and into what looked to be a swamp area. Not a place on his bucket list, that was fort sure, especially since that pumpkin had exploded all over but he was intent on letting his paws go where they needed to go. Perhaps he might have been willing to continue going further south until he no longer could but a laugh had directed his attention elsewhere. Not usually one to get distracted but he did sense that that was where he was being pulled to, letting his paws move and make a detour towards @Zacharie's presence. Meandering closer and giving a chuff, alerting the other to his presence while he regarded and took to the details. A male, slightly younger than himself, quite large with a golden pelt (making note of the tail that he couldn't locate with his eyes) and a dark mane. @Corvus ★

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Maybe the local mud didn't have the same familiar scent, exactly, as the swamp he'd grown up in, but it still felt the same. A similar enough experience that he could, for a second or two at a time, pretend he'd never left the sprawling territory and massive family behind. He knew it had been for the best, in the long run, but he'd been glad to find his sister had followed him. And that she hadn't yet carried any of the judgmental stares and backhanded comments with her.

A chuff brought him out of his memory, the man perking up in search of the source - turned out to be a peachy-and-brown male. A bright, friendly, grin came as he spotted the man, "Bonjou!" hello, he called, comfortably ankle-deep in muck, "What brings you all de way out here, eh?" Did he live here? Had Zacharie stumbled upon someone's personal little territory of one? Or was he just out exploring too?

@Chaeton

code by corvus

The words that greeted him were a surprise but he recognized it as potentially French. A language that he was not well-versed in but knew enough of the basics to pick some apart. Thankfully, hello in most languages was something he could immediately translate. Certainly not the mud, he answers thinking that it is witty and funny, completely unaware that @Zacharie thought the swamp and mud was perfect and a reminder of a home that he had left behind. Chaeton was more of a forest or ocean kind of a guy but definitely respected others and their opinions. I'm passing through, getting a feel for the area. He pauses, his pace finally slowly now that he was close enough to hold conversation at a much quieter volume, I'm not a native here. Are you? Perhaps he, like the woman from the north, could instill some knowledge into him about the land that he had yet to acquire. @Corvus ★

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Not the mud? A man who didn't appreciate fine muck, then, it seemed. Zacharie's grin turned amused as he chuckled, "No? Ah, well, not for everybody is it," even back home there had been plenty who had avoided the messier parts of the territory.

As the stranger came closer, he'd recline to sit, unbothered by the way the mud seemed to get into every little crevice (especially with no tail to position to protect sensitive bits) fur and all the rest could be washed later. There couldn't be any shortage of water sources, after all. "Oh no, I was born a ways away, only jus' arrived las' month or so." He'd let his gaze drift and roam over the area, lingering briefly on a strange speck of orange in the brush, some sort of plant he wasn't familiar with? "Dis place, it reminds me of home," attention would settle back on the other male, if slightly distracted by the mystery, friendly grin still in place and glad for the company, "but you come from somewhere drier, weh?"¹ If he didn't like the mud, he had to come from a place with a lot less of it, right?

@Chaeton

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¹ mutation of "oui"; "yes"

code by corvus

double, double toil and trouble;
fire burn, and cauldron bubble...

Nafasi watches from the bushes, never once letting herself be seen by those huddled around her perfectly-placed pumpkins. They really were a curious bunch, weren't they? Well, fortunately for them, the sprite was feeling extra generous today, and had a treat for them that she has been wanting to share. And so, it was with a small smile that the being craned her head, watching the lions for a few more moments, before giving a quick stomp of her paw against the earth.

Hm...

Without warning, the pumpkin suddenly splits down the middle, right in front of your eyes! And...oh? It looks like there is something tucked inside! Weird, but you might as well check it out. Investigating further, you find a collection of trinkets, feathers, gems, fruit, and other curious things hidden within the pumpkin, ripe for the taking! Looks like you got lucky today.

OOC Prize: free custom litter cub

pixel credit to moonlight-pendent13

Certainly not. At least, not for him. With a mane as light-colored as it was, truly getting anything out of it was a nightmare. In the best of days he wanted to present himself as clean and well-kept but being in the muck and grim didn't exactly help his cause. Ah, I see. I've only arrived less than a week ago. And boy, had he already gotten some interesting stories about deities and sprites. Strange things this land did give but he remained respectful and considerate of their ways just as he continued to believe that Nature would show him the way forward.

So this is normal for you, then? The swamp? A part of him could see the appeal in that less lions would seek to take or wish to live there. Less travelling meant less nosey folks coming to take a peek at your wares. I lived in a forest, nestled on the backside of a large mountain. I am used to cool temperatures and drier atmospheres. Mud wasn't entirely out of the picture where he came from but there was certainly no land as covered in it as Zaharli was.

Chaeton looked over to the pumpkin that had been gazed upon, pulling a paw up to point at it. I am told those have nice things in them, he starts but trails off to indicate a warning was coming but the last one I opened smelled foul and spit its insides at us. From what he gathered about @Zacharie thus far is that they didn't mind getting a little disgusting.

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Zacharie nodded, "I was born and raised in de swamp. Had a little forest 'round de back, plains 'round de front. Nice place." Plenty of friends and family and good food. He missed it more often than not, but exploring the world was exciting, too. And it was interesting to have a newfound sense of freedom.

And then the man spotted the strange orange thing, too, and gestured toward it and Zacharie would let his curiosity win out. standing, he'd move to investigate the thing, though he hesitated when it split, as his new acquaintance warned. However, no smell of rot or anything horrible came out of it, and so he moved to get a good look. "Ooooh, dis one full of all kind of good things. Here- come see!" He passed a paw through the assortment of trinkets and such, "Dere some fruit, some pretty t'ings," feathers, gems, other things that were nice for decoration. No rotting innards here.

@Chaeton

code by corvus

The fact that @Zacharie was born and raised in a swamp made sense that it wouldn't deter him now. Perhaps if Chaeton had grown up and gotten used to as a child, he might have found the same affinity. Just as how he had grown up in a forested area with amounts to their sides and found comfort in its memory. A little bit of almost everything then, he adds to Zacharie's explanation of where he came from. A little version of every type of scenery he could imagine though perhaps not the mountains.

Once the golden-hued lion moved towards the gourd, Chaeton stayed exactly where he was. Keeping his distance from the thing and hoping that he might actually see something nice for a change. As soon as he heard the crack he flinched, almost expecting for a shriek to explode from his company and an odor to show but it was far from it. Craning his head to see for himself, it would appear as though this one had yielded good things.

Chaeton slowly got himself to all four of his feet and began to pad closer and took a look at everything that had fallen out. And I stand corrected that they can have good things. Do you know a lion deity of these lands is the one who lays these out every year? Named Nafasi, likes to play tricks. At least, he believed that was what Cassandra had said. @Corvus ★

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Any mountains back home had been distant things sometimes entirely hidden by weather. He'd noticed the ones here were much closer, and supposed he should experience on eventually. See what all the fuss was about.

By the time his new friend joined his side, Zacharie had already placed a bright blue feather behind his ear and spread out the rest of the trinkets and such. Pretty as they were, he wasn't quite sure how to use or keep gems...maybe he could just gather up a mouthful when they were done and...awkwardly carry them somewhere he could hide them until he found a more permanent place to stay? Amour would probably like one or two, if he could find her.

"Dat so?" Brows raised in interest, easily accepting the existence of some trickster god. "Maybe dis means dey like us, eh?" He chuckled lightly; a trickster deity probably didn't play favorites with anyone, did they. He and his companion had most likely just gotten lucky, and their strange prize could have just as easily been something horrible as the other man had worried about. "Merci, Nafasi!" He called to the air, on the off chance said deity was still hanging around unseen, though the name carried the accent of the 'thank you'.

"What you want? We split it even, yeah?" If the guy wanted any of it at all, anyway.

@Chaeton

code by corvus