The boy watched as the male raked his claws against the bird and pulled feathers away. Bahati would have never thought to do that himself. But then what food he was given had usually already been prepared for him. Of course he would have to learn all these techniques now that he was on his own. He was sent out on a quest and he had to find himself. Part of that meant being able to take care of himself and survive on his own. Or with the help of a spirit guide should he prove to have the aptitude for that.

He listened as loads of places with water were named off. It didn't seem as if there would be a lack of places in which to take a dip. That also meant lots of places to find food too. Fishing was something that the boy had a small amount of experience with.

The woman said that she had just been out swimming, this caused the cub to look up at her with a grin. He then looked back to the lion. "You swim too?" He named off all the water spots but had not mentioned that he had enjoyed them himself.

Once the bird had been mostly defeathered in one area he looked grateful for the assistance. "Thank you." The child hadn't been raised without manners and it showed. He took a bite from the exposed flesh and chewed, evaluating the taste of the new piece of meat.

@Karsa @Renly

While @Bahati's curiosity led him to ask the important questions to the Hollow male, Renly was content to just make sure that the boy was taken care of. She had no doubt, truly, that he was in good hands with @Karsa but it was best to know for certain. Renly had grown up in a family that had always been full to the brim with children and thus she had a rather protective streak when it came to youth. There's plenty to eat here in Amaryllis no matter where you're at. Seafood, river fish, land animals, flying animals... the truth was that Renly had never known this land to ever go through a famine of any sort. The winters were a bit slow but they were never left wanting.

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@bahati’s attention turns to karsa and the memories that the child’s question brings back makes him smile fondly. “sometimes.” it had been a while, but well over-due in this heat. “i used to go a lot with my siblings when we were younger.” wasn’t that how it worked? the older one got, the less time there was to simply enjoy life when conflicting responsibilities always seemed to stand in the way. though it seems the lioness doesn’t have such a problem either, so maybe it was karsa and his bad time management.

“you’re welcome.” at least the kid was polite. “eat up.” he encourages with a grin, plopping back down into a seat as bahati digs in. though the young savante didn’t eat birds like this very often, it actually didn’t look half bad from this vantage point - and the kid didn’t seem to mind it either. “so is there anything specific that brings you here?” karsa shoots a quick glance at @Renly, wondering if she was just as curious about the lone child as he was.

coding by daanyen | art by nevvvia

It would seem that everyone here swam and so it wasn't such an unusual feature. But then swimming was also an important way of life back home as well. Seafood was always on the menu back in Bahati's birth pride. It was what the boy was able to get for himself. Hunting land animals was something that the youth struggled with. And flying creatures had always been out of the realm of thought before this meal.

The youth ate slowly, savoring each bite the he took. It was completely unlike anything that he had ever had before. It wasn't something that he was certain that he would ever be able to have again as he had no idea how to even go about getting himself a meal like this.

When asked what brought him to the area Bahati perked up. Chest puffed out as the boy proudly stated. "I'm on a quest. Everyone has one." It was a coming of age ritual within his birth pride. Everyone went on a quest to find themselves. It also gave guidance towards those whom had more shamanistic abilities as well.

@Karsa @Renly

"a quest, huh?" karsa questions, interest sparking in his blue eyes. "what kind of quest are you on?" maybe @Bahati had been sent all this way to find something or someone - or maybe it was something entirely different.

everyone has one.

that at least, leaves the young savante stumped. if everyone had a quest - what was his? the kid was right, surely everyone had some purpose to fulfill beyond just existing. maybe karsa hadn't found his quite yet, but he hadn't expected to be faced with such a deep, philosophical question in the passage. much less being presented with such a dilemma by a child.

coding by daanyen | art by nevvvia

Sounds interesting, she remarked just after @Karsa's a quest, huh? Because who didn't like to be on a quest? It sounded quite awesome and eventful and she wondered, too, what @Bahati's quest might be. He was still quite young and there were a lot of things that he could be capable of if not beginning to already. Just as the Savante was dumbstruck so too was she. What quest was she on? So far she had been met with very little in regards to purpose other than to try and serve her family and be near to them. But without her family, she was just a cog in the well-oiled machine. Adjusting herself comfortably, she gave the youngling her rapt attention — I'd love to hear about your quest. Perhaps we can help? Were they allowed to help? Renly hoped so because maybe, just maybe, it might give her a temporary purpose, too.

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Bahati tilted his head in confusion when he was asked what kind of quest he was on. Was there more than one type of quest? The boy had never considered that before. He had always been told that everyone in the pride went on the quest. So yes, it was always the quest versus a quest.

The lioness offered the help of both of the adults with his quest. Was that allowed? No rules had ever been given in regards to the quest. "I don't know..." The boy finally spoke with a frown, clearly upset that he didn't have a clear answer for the questions. He didn't like this feeling of being stumped and at a loss for how to answer.

"Everyone just goes on a quest and they just know what they are supposed to do. There are spirits to be find to help guide you and they let you know that you are meant to be a shaman. Everyone wants to be a shaman. So maybe I got to find spirits?" Bahati tried to answer to the best of his ability what he had heard others speak of after having returned from their quests. He had just assumed that he would go out and he would somehow complete the quest quickly and then he would go back and everyone would be proud of him. He had never really considered what all would be involved in going on a quest.

"What did you do for your quest? Did you find spirits?" Cause the boy had to assume that everyone went on quests as a rite of passage as well.


@Karsa @Renly