Short legs carried the cub with a waddling gait. His size made him look much younger than he was. At first glance hardly any would assume that he was only a few months out from being a yearling. It was because of his age that he had been sent out and away from home. Coming of age trials were something to look forward to and Bahati certainly was excited for it.

Large paws helped to carry him across the sand with ease. He had very little trouble with the constantly shifting terrain. At least it was in the center of the strip of land. This was not the same thing that held true of the sand that was nearer to the water. And the reason that Bahati found this out? There had been movement in the water that had drawn his attention.

The boy watched the ripples in the water that the fish below the surface caused. His body slid into a crouched position as he continued to assess the situation. Could he get it? It certainly looked close enough.

karsa has seen many things in his time patrolling the passage. a good many rogues pass through here on their way into (or back into) the valley which meant the young savante had seen people of all colors and creeds passing through. though this was definitely new.

it was not often that children found themselves in the passage on their own - often stuck close by the sides of their parents. especially not when they were as young as this child was - surely not more than a few months old if karsa was judging on size. though besides a little wobble when he walked, the kid seemed far more confident in his limbs than karsa remembered being at that age. all kids aged differently or something - if he remembered what aunt lilli had once told him.

the strawberry man approaches just as he sees the cub peering into the water's edge, stopping a good distance away and hoping he didn't spook the kid too badly. "see any fish in there?" comes the savante's question. he pauses then for a long moment, peering at the water too in curiosity. "you got a name?" karsa follows up with another question, blue eyes then turning to @Bahati in curiosity. "i'm karsa savante, i'm from a place called obsidian hollow. if you're hungry i think we can get you something to fill you up." though it probably wouldn't be fish... if that was a preference or something. was a kid this old even able to eat meat? god, karsa was so out of his element here, it was almost embarrassing.

@Bahati

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She found herself in the Passage once more and found herself being the in presence of someone from the Hollow. Now, Aphrodite did not have any issues with the pride herself but Miaran did and therefore had been told that she needed to be cautious and that was exactly what she was going to do as she walked towards the group of lions. She put space between herself and @Karsa as she turned her gaze towards the other. A cub, and yet when she looked down at him she would've thought that he was much younger but Aphrodite knew that he must be older. She had seen lions in his condition in her travels to Amaryllis but she wasn't going to point it out. He may not like that.

Welcome to Amaryllis, young one. Aphrodite of the Cove. If you like fish there is plenty there. She would muse softly, taking note that he was trying to hunt for some fish and she was keen to let him do it. Watch him and if he needed help then Aphrodite would offer it but right now, she'd wait. Karsa had offered him food in the Hollow but was not claiming the child. Aphrodite have half a mind to do that but she wasn't in the mood to fight.. yet.

@Bahati

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Being an experienced hunter had its perks and she found herself rather lucky today. Venturing passed the Passage with a wandering set of eyes and a limp kori bustard dangling from her jaws. Renly had not had any intention of stopping and parading the Lagoon at the mountain's bosom today but the congregation swarming something had her attention this time.

Perhaps it was because she could not even see the subject that they were swarming which meant it was either prey or a child (or maybe even a very very small adult lion, who was to say). Only as she approached did she heard the end snippets of food and only a moment later did she see the dark-colored child by the water. You can have this, she said as she let go of the bustard and let it hit the ground, freshly killed. The Lagoon had enough food to last them a while longer before their next hunt and this had been more or less for herself, but she was more than happy to feed a youngling. From her own deductions and experience she figured he was maybe four to six months old (certainly not nine months, as dwarfism was new to her) but no matter his age, a good meal was necessary.

I'm Renly. For a cub, she did not see a reason to boast of her pride and tell him things that he might not yet understand. Renly's intention was to offer immediate sustenance and did not expect anything more than a happy belly. @Bahati @Karsa @Aphrodite

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"Some fish." The boy answered the question that was posed to him along with a nod towards the small ripple in the water. He couldn't see the fish contained beneath the salt water but he was certain that it was there. It had to be there. What else could cause the water to do that? In his limited experience so far it was only wish that did that to the water.

By the time he had answered the man's first question they were joined by a pair of lionesses. Each adult spoke a name. The first two spoke of places that meant nothing to the cub. They had to be important to be spoken about though. That much Bahati had learned. Others only gave names to things when they were really important.

"I'm Bahati Cheboi." The boy spoke his name before sniffing at the bird that had been laid down for him to have. He had forgotten all about the fish for this treat that was offered. Sure, the meat was enticing but there was something even more important about it. It was a bird. Birds flew. So that meant....

"You can fly?" He asked of Renly. Because how else did one catch a bird if they didn't fly up after it?

@Karsa @Aphrodite @Renly

there are more on karsa's heels, though neither of the two are familiar faces to the young savante. both receive a brief nod in greeting, though are not interacted with besides that for the time being. "hi, bahati, it's good to meet you." he responds, blue eyes crinkling at the corners as karsa smiles at the youth. "i don't know if there's many fish worth catching in there, if i'm going to be honest..." maybe some small guppies? it tended to be a harsh environment, so not much thrived out here.

it seems the lagoon representative with the bird holds most of the cub's interest for now, and he lets out a quiet laugh at the question asked. karsa can only assume the child is asking because she had brought a bird for him to eat. "those birds can spend a lot of time on the ground, surprisingly." and they were somehow everywhere, usually circling overhead but often lounging on branches and fallen trees or squabbling over someone's leftover kill. though he didn't know of anyone who had actually hunted one before. "do you want a snack? you can eat, if you want..." karsa trails off, eyes turning from @Aphrodite to @Renly before resting on @Bahati again. "but you shouldn't spend too much time out here, it's not that safe for someone young." or so small. all types of rogues and representatives monitored this passage and not all of them had good intentions.

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Setting down the bird, she hadn't even thought about the implications of how one could catch a bird. Though given his age it was a very, very good question and one that she likely would have had in her youth. It depends on your definition. I can't fly in the air but I sure can fly on the ground. There were no wings to launch her up into the sky but sometimes her legs counted as the wings upon the ground. A certain quickness to her that not-skilled huntress' often had.

But he is right, she motions to @Karsa, this bird spent a bit too long on the ground without realizing that I was close enough to entrap it. It had simply had a bout of bad luck but the good news was that it would never have any bad luck ever again, or good luck for that matter. Young @Bahati was given plenty of space to try and eat the bird if he wanted, happy to simply allow someone else to benefit from the nutrients while it was still fresh rather than getting stored in a cache for later.

The idea of the child finding unsavory folks did make Renly a bit nervous but she did what she could to keep those covered. The last thing she wanted was to worry the youngling and make him feel frightened. While they did not seem to be any of the frightening types, the young mind was a fragile thing that might connect the two without meaning.

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There was a flash of disappointment across the cub's features to learn that this bird had been caught on the ground rather than in the air. It would have made for an amazing story for the animal to have been caught in midair. Bahati sniffed at the offered meal once more before taking a small bite from it. Bird wasn't something that the boy had had before and so he ended up spitting out a mouth full of feathers.

The caution went over the boy's head for the most part. "Can swims." The youth said and held up a paw with his toes spread to show off the webbing between them. "Real good." At least he assumed the caution was due to the environment and the slowly encroaching tide. After all there appeared to be no one else in the area. Not that he had even pause to give thought that there were those around that would seek to actively harm someone else. Especially someone like him.

@Karsa @Renly

the kid gingerly takes a bite of bird and karsa has to fight back a laugh as @Bahati spits out only feathers. the young noble moves then, closer to where the bird lays in front of the child. "here." he murmurs, reaching out for the bird with claws outstretched. "you have to pull the feathers from the skin first." the savante explains in a quiet murmur, scraping his claws against the animal's skin and plucking more feathers from dimpled skin.

then suddenly, a paw is being thrust upwards and karsa's blue eyes turn towards it with interest. "if you're a good swimmer, you'll love it around here." he starts, clearing another patch of feathers. "there's some shoreline by the ocean and lots of rivers too." there were plenty of watering holes too, but they tended to have crocodiles in them so weren't the best idea for swimming in. "there's even water in the caves where i live." karsa had been a few times, watching in fascination as the water lit up with each stroke - something about the bacteria in it, from what someone had told him.

"here, if you want to eat, you can try again. maybe you wont eat so many feathers this time." with more than enough skin exposed for the boy to take a good bite, karsa places his foot back down and settles on his haunches.

@Renly

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Oh, cool! She addressed, somewhat perplexed with some wild curiosity at the webbed toes that @Bahati possessed. Renly had most certainly never seen anyone with toes like that but given how many sea creatures swam, it definitely would help him in the water more than it would if it were she. I'll bet you'll be one of the best swimmers in Amaryllis with the help of those, she grinned — delighted to see a young one's unique qualities shine bright just as she was excited that he was proud of it, too.

Then she looked to @Karsa and gave a quiet look that was filled with gratitude. Thankful that the Savante was helping to defeather the bird so that the child might have an easier time getting to the real stuff. I was just swimming in the ocean by my den this morning. Though, it's a bit different than the rivers. It's a bit saltier and not as good to drink. Renly let out a breathy laugh, knowing that she loved to swim in the ocean but the salty air and salty taste of the water was not for everyone. She didn't expect Bahati to enjoy it, either.

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