The sun was high above her head - a few wispy clouds stretched across the horizon but did little to block out the majority of the evening sun. With the departure of summer mixed with the breeze off the ocean however the suns rays were a welcome feeling as they beat against her fur and warmed her against any coastal autumn chill. Rose's claws dug gently against the thin layer of sand that slowly gave way to the feeling of hard stone beneath her. A seagull squawked in the distance as she neared the rocky ledge of the tidepools. Peering over the edge she winced slightly as the scent of something decaying in one of the pools hit her in the face, causing her nose to scrunch and tongue to protrude in a look of disgust before she moved away to travel to more pleasant pools. Eyes began to squint slightly against the sun reflecting over the ocean to her side as she traveled. She jumped easily between layers of rocks and the different oceanic outcroppings, occasionally peering down into a random tidepool in search of inspiration and treasure to be had. She continued this leisurely strolling until suddenly a crashing sound from one of the pools ahead of her caught her attention. She paused, ears twitching at the sound for a moment until suddenly another crashing sound rang out, this time with a strange peeling scream as the form of a large seal suddenly popped up from the pool. It was a large, blubbery beast of a creature, and its eyes were fixed directly at her as it postured and screamed in her direction. Clearly the thing was not happy to have a lion wandering about, it was quiet possible it was protecting a youngling in the tidepool he was trying desperately to keep her away form. Fortunately for the seal Rose wasn't much of a fighter, and he was, to be honest, rather terrifying in the way he'd just appeared and began charging at her. AHH!! she let out a scream of fright, turning and beginning to high-tail it down the beach, jumping between the rocky ledges with less grace than she would have liked in her haste. Determined to see her properly ran off from its sanctuary the seal didn't settle for simply startling her as he began screeching his way down the beach in an aggressive attempt to chase her away. One would have thought a lion would have no trouble outrunning a rather clumsy creature such as a seal, but as she ran Rose was overcome by a sudden wave of irrational fear of the large, lumbering brute (though that part would distinctly not be going into the epic ballad of the lion and the sea-beast that was undoubtedly going to arise from current experiences.) That fear caused her to stumble several times as she rushed to move away from the hazardous pool and get back to the flatter ground, only then to find the sand much more of a hinderance to herself than the seal as he continued to trumpet after her. Leave me alone you fat sea cow! She began hurling insults over her shoulder at the creature as she very slowly but surely began making leeway and began to put some distance between herself and him. At least she hoped that was what she was doing, she wasn't keen on stopping to really check at the moment. Surely it would stop chasing her and go back to whatever it was protecting sooner or later, right?

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He'd finally wandered out of the desert, but he hadn't gotten away from the sand. In fact, he'd kind of doubled down on the sand at this point. It was a good thing he didn't particularly mind it, though it got absolutely everywhere and he was fairly certain he'd be finding it in his mane for years to come.

At least this place had more to look at in the form of fish and various other creatures in the tide pools, and... a woman running from a seal.

Akuji stopped to watch in bemusement, a snicker and then a full on laugh leaving him. Wow, that was just embarrassing for her. He watched her scramble to escape, almost expecting the seal to catch up with her and... what exactly it would do he didn't know. Gnaw on her ankles or something, most likely. He didn't think it could do much of anything to hurt her, unless she allowed it to get close enough to flop on her and squish her into the sand.

Ah yes, you tell it, he called from the sidelines as she hurled insults back at the creature, seemingly all bark and no bite. Hilarious. Absolutely hilarious.

@Rose

I'MMA TAKE THE WORLD WITH ME WHEN THEY PUT ME IN THE DIRT

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Her breath was becoming heavy, more and more effort required to take in heaving gulps of air as she finally began putting some distance between herself and her peruser. The massive creature finally began to slow until it stopped fully where rocky tidepools merged with soft sandy beach. Though it no longer seems included to chase her it still stated on at her, screaming at her in a loud squealing bark that made her wish she could turn her ear inside out to make it stop. She turned to face the creature, another insult waiting at the tip of her tongue when the sound of another voice reached her. Her yellow eyes snapped towards @Akuji as he called out from the sidelines. Her eyes narrowed in his direction. Oh? she yelled back at him, annoyance now firmly plastered on her face as the sea creature continued to yell at her and a stranger laughed at her plight. Let’s see you drive this thing away then shall we? she raised an eyebrow as she cast him a quick look before turning her eyes back to the seal. It might have decided to give up the chase by all appearances, but now that she had an opportunity to examine it straight on she was glad she’d chosen the “flight” response in her fight or flight reaction. It wasn’t just any seal chasing after her, but appeared to be an adult elephant seal, and an angry one at that. It was significant larger than her - no, an adult elephant seal didn’t seem like a target she wanted to take on. Not that an adult anything would be something she wanted to take on, but at least another lion might have been closer to her own size. Bard +5 make someone laugh (1/2)

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Heh, it was so easy to annoy the denizens of these lands. He was going to have entirely too much fun with this, it seemed. They could at least make it a bit of a challenge for him.

She would, naturally, ask for help, the typical damsel in distress, but unfortunately for her he was far from a white knight. And why should I do that? he asked, making no move to budge from his spot. If she gave him a good reason then he'd at least think about it. Besides, looks like he's all talk and no bite too, he concluded as they both looked back at the seal which had stopped chasing her, perhaps because of the awkward, flopping waddle he had to do in order to follow her on the sand.

Hmm, he wondered if it tasted any good, because it surely wouldn't be too difficult to hunt so long as it was out of the water. Maybe they were what the beachfront prides ate instead of going inland for actual, regular meals.

@Rose

I'MMA TAKE THE WORLD WITH ME WHEN THEY PUT ME IN THE DIRT

code by corvus

Her nostril flared and her brow knotted downward as she scowled, casting a sneering glance over at the other lion. So far he was the most obnoxious she’d met there by far, overall not a terrible thing considering his mocking was more a mere annoyance now that the seal was giving up its chase. That’s alright, I’d be scared too if I were that small. she shot over at him. If he was going to say she was all bark the least she could do was, well, bark. She let out another annoyed huff of air as she stared at the seal until it finally began to waddle backwards and start an awkward return back down the shoreline. The danger passed she finally turned to keep her focus directly on @Akuji. Shouldn’t you be back home with your parents, cub? Don’t want to get swept into the ocean now do you? she mocked, poking fun of his physical appearance. He clearly wasn’t a cub, but she couldn’t help but note he was the shortest lion she’d ever met. Under more pleasant circumstances she’d have been fascinated by him, but given the embarrassment still hot hidden behind ever blushing cheeks she had little interest in playing nice.

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There were many things he would tolerate, surprisingly given his generally short (ha ha) temper. For example, he knew most took umbrage with his attitude and the things he said. That was fine. Generally he acted in such a way as to raise their ire on purpose. So that was fine.

But, the one thing he wouldn't abide by was commentary on his appearance.

A low snarl left him and he snapped his teeth together in warning. Watch your tongue, or you'll wish the seal had caught you, he growled. He wasn't afraid to back up his bark, after all. Buuuuut, he was feeling a bit lazy that day, and so he was willing to let it slide, presuming she cooperated. And look, he was even going to be nice and give her something else to talk about so she would surely be even more inclined to cooperate.

You looking for food in those pools or just pretty fish?

@Rose

I'MMA TAKE THE WORLD WITH ME WHEN THEY PUT ME IN THE DIRT

code by corvus

A wave if smug satisfaction rippled through her as she seemed to strike a nerve in the lion. It seemed the little man took east offense- but he shouldn’t have had his first impression that of being an ass then if he didn’t want to get poke at a bit. Comfortable with the fact that the seal was no longer any danger she focused fully on @Akuji and offered an overly exaggerated bow, My apologies, I had no ideas you were so terrifying. Never would have crossed you if I would have known you were more dangerous than a territorial elephant seal. she apologized. She, too, wasn’t in much of a fighting mood. Well to be fair she was never in a fighting mood as she wasn’t a fighter. At his question she lifted a brow and shrugged, Haven't seen much to eat or any pretty fish in the pools to be honest. Mostly just looking for a good story to tell. Guess being chased by a seal could be an interesting story… just gotta find the right words for it. she began to trail off as she drifted off towards her own thoughts again. Bard +5 defuse tension in a thread without violence (1/2)

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Her bow was met with scrutiny, searching it and her words for sarcasm that would surely be met with tooth and claw... but then he relaxed, allowed both to mollify him and soothe wounded pride and ego. Fortunately for her, he was in rather a good mood that day. Not that it ever took much to put him in a bad mood, really. He was rather mercurial like that.

He chuckled at her comment, but not unkindly interestingly enough. Tell of how you engaged it in glorious battle, how the sun glinted off its lower tusks as it roared loud enough to deafen. How it almost pinned you beneath its enormous weight but you escaped by digging out the sand beneath it, he replied. There, wasn't he just ever so helpful? How kind of him, truly. Maybe he should have helped, then he could have been the hero in her little story. But the title of hero had never suited him, and it wasn't about to start doing so.

@Rose

I'MMA TAKE THE WORLD WITH ME WHEN THEY PUT ME IN THE DIRT

code by corvus

She listened as he spun the events of the previous moments - as short as the excitement had been it sounded surprisingly eventful as he weaved words even she was envious of. Ah! she exclaimed with an excited laugh, nodding vigorously at him, It seems I’ve come across a man of knowledge! she declared, it was decidedly a compliment in her opinion. A man with a silver tongue, I couldn’t have written that better myself. she nodded again. Danger now passed Rose took a moment to compose herself again, shaking out her fluffy lavender hued coat and freeing it from bits of sand and debris she’d picked up in her scramble. Name’s Rose, who do I have the pleasure of keeping company with today? she asked as she adjusted herself more comfortably, sitting down as she caught her breath. She still wasn’t completely certain about this lion or his behavior, but he could compose a pretty good story on the fly, and that was at least enough to draw her in. @Akuji Bard +5 defuse tension in a thread without violence (2/2) +5 make someone laugh (2/2)

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He chuckled low in his throat at her comment, though he also lifted his head slightly, preening under her praise. He was quite the vain and fickle creature, considering a moment ago she had been spitting insults. What made him potentially dangerous could also just as easily pacify him, it seemed. There can be rather few of us, he replied. Men of knowledge, he meant. And granted, quite often he would lump himself into the category of mindless fighting machine whenever someone poked just a bit too hard at one of his buttons, but otherwise yes he could speak quite eloquently, thank you for noticing.

@Rose eh? Easy enough to remember. Didn't quite fit her appearance, except maybe around her cheeks, but hey, what did he know about flowers. Akuji Magero, he replied. Perhaps she would see fit to mention him in her tale, though he would be quite cross if it wasn't in a good light, and oh how he could hold a grudge. New to these lands, I'll admit. Thus far, they were a rather uninspiring place, save for a singular encounter with a three legged woman in the boneyard. That had been quite interesting.

I'MMA TAKE THE WORLD WITH ME WHEN THEY PUT ME IN THE DIRT

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