The dunes might seem like an imposing place to most, but Ambrose is rather experienced when it comes to negotiating the treacherous sands. He and his sister sidestepped the quicksand many times in their youth... he took plenty of close calls with the desert, but it hasn't claimed him yet. Hunger might, though. Being on his own means he's free to do whatever he pleases... but it also means providing for himself. Some days, it's harder than others. A few hours after seeking out a bush to lay under in a bid to preserve his energy, he finally sees something stir in the sands. Ears swivel towards the distant sound of sand granules being pushed aside by tiny feet.

He immediately launches his bulk towards the creature, kicking up fistfuls of sand beneath his heels as he goes. Not exactly a sneaky or dignified approach, but out on these flat and monotonous planes, trying to hide himself would be useless. Eager paws slaughter the distance between himself and his quarry in lumbersome strides, muscles working overtime in the sand. Another stride and he's upon the lizard, pinning it beneath two heavy paws and immediately using its head as his personal chew toy, tail flicking excitedly. "And pop goes the weasel," he remarks to himself, seemingly rather satisfied with his accomplishments.

@Elswyth

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elsie, on the other hand, knew very little of deserts and sand. though she had crossed some on the trek here from willowbrook she had not spent much time in any of them -- and she had yet to explore this corner of amaryllis. she did not know of the dangers of quicksand, and it was this lack of knowledge that would prove to be... unfortunate.

she had spotted the male, was drawn in by his lunging strides and apparent catch. elswyth bounded over with every intention of making a new friend (naive little creature that she was) and with a "nice catch!" shouted out by way of announcing herself.

but then...

one of those pockets made her stumble, her front paws on firm ground by her back ones seeming to get stuck not much, but enough that they had sunk beneath the sand and she sought to jerk them free. which, of course, did her zero good at all. a little more of a frantic struggle as she realized she was not getting anywhere, and that, in fact, she was sunk deeper in to the sand. "um..." wide-eyes jerked from her back paws to the male, hoping the stranger might be able to help...

@Ambrose

Art by Aurora

He's crunching away at the tiny carcass when a feminine voice breaks the lull. The interruption catches him somewhat by surprise—lions usually avoid this place. And truthfully, they would be foolish not to. The desert has very little to offer in the way of food and water, and it certainly doesn't abide carelessness. He lifts up his head, displaying a blood-bedabbled muzzle. The sight of her takes him aback: a decidedly charming lioness, wrapped in peach-blossom pink. And to top if all off, she compliments him!

Even if the comment is a passing one, the yearling feels his face heat up, but quickly files away the sentiment. Be cool. He has a reputation to uphold. He stretches theatrically, feigning nonchalance. Claws flex, digging into the sand. "Well, I'm not just a pretty face, you know." He smiles rather derisively, somehow even looking more smug than before. "What can I say? It's all about the pizazz. And trust me—no one's got more of that than me." Smugly he turns towards her, only to realize she's gotten shorter somehow. Wait... "Uh. What's happening?"

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she would have laughed. it was funny. except she was a bit too pre-occupied with the fact that she couldn't move! her front paws scrambled uselessly on the ground, unable to pull her back legs out of the decidedly sticky sand. "uh mr. pizzazz..." not to interrupt him or anything... thankfully he does notice that shes... sinking... and she stares wide-eyed up at him. "i don't know! i was hoping you would know. i'm... stuck?" she made a good show of trying to pull herself forward to demonstrate, making no progress except to fall flat on her face with an 'oof.' gathering her front legs beneath her again she pushed up, feeling her back paws sink a little lower in to the sand. "help?" @Ambrose

image by vyx, code by koi

He can't help but feel a bit annoyed at first—he doesn't like being interrupted when he's gloating, but it doesn't take him too long to realize the severity of the situation. He doesn't know if it's the shock, but he stares at her for a solid few seconds before it finally clicks. She wiggles a bit, only to smack face-first into the sand with a wet thud. He immediately launches to his feet, recognizing the waterlogged texture that seems to have her trapped. Sand. Quicksand! "Listen, I don't really do—" Ambrose circles her once or twice, feverishly, then hesitantly advances before his paw starts to sink into the mucky sand and he hastily pulls it back. "Heroics—" Fear filters into his voice as he stands there indecisively. Why would he risk his life for a lion he barely knows? The world was never so kind to him, but this lioness is hardly to blame for his hardships. "Okay, Ambrose... double or nothing. Come on, you worthless bag of spit." Eyes become distant, focused, almost unstrung from reality as every muscle in his body coils, and then...

He strikes as if on the hunt, catching a mouthful of her pink nape between his jaws before scurrying out of there hastily (and rather gracelessly). As he's trying to get her onto solid sand, his haunches threaten to sink into the quicksand before freeing himself with a rather graceless kick. Every muscle in his body is working overtime to drag her along, and he falls onto the solid side of the sand decidedly wide-eyed and shaking with exhaustion (or is it adrenaline?), staring at her with almost comical disbelief and surprise. Did he just do that? He resists the urge to look around for witnesses; that would put quite a dent in his reputation as a cool, uncaring rogue, after all. He speaks between gasping breaths. "THAT... stays between us. You got that?"

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for all his bravado and performance he was clearly unsure about helping. a tiny frown creased her features, an expression the girl rarely wore, but she was more than frustrated with him. "p-please?" and maybe that was what did it, because suddenly he was doubling down and psyching himself up -- Ambrose, it seemed to be.

before she could think much about that he had her by the nape, and instinctively she went almost limp in his grasp. the combination of his pulling and her not fighting the sand forced it to relinquish her with an audible sucking sound. elswyth is free in a tumble of her tiny body and a flop of her ears, quickly scrambling away from the dangerous pit as soon as her paws found solid ground.

blinking at him in equal surprise, and then looking back at the rapidly filling impression in the sand she had left behind before her eyes turned to him again. "you s-saved me!" bright eyed and wondrous and looking very much like she did think he was a hero.

@Ambrose

Art by Aurora

As Ambrose stares at her, he can see her eyes filling up some kind of awe, a sort of reverence. Oh no. It seems that, despite his best efforts, his image as a cool, indifferent rogue has already been vanquished. Immediately, his face sours—the next thing he knows, she's going spread the word about this (undeniably handsome) rogue with perfect hair who swooped in to save her. All his rogue friends are going to think he went soft. Worse... they might think he's one for charity. He shivers.

"Oh, stuff a sock in it." Tail flicks with annoyance as he rises to his feet and pushes her onto her shoulder with a single paw. He doesn't like the way she's looking at him. At this point, he doesn't even want compensation for what he's done. No, right now, he just wants to leave her in the desert and forget this ever happened. He pitches a quick cursory glance around—luckily, there's nothing around for miles but sand. This time.

"Record scratch on that last part, okay? I never saved you." He speaks the words as if they're something inherently childish and naïve. "As far as we're both concerned, this never happened. And if you ever do talk about this... well, let's just say I pulled you out of that quicksand, I can throw you back in." He rolls his shoulders, shamelessly. An idle threat, of course—even Ambrose isn't so terrible as to kill a harmless little pink lioness, no matter how ditzy.

He meets her eyes again, hoping to find something else than the oh-god-a-rogue-with-perfect-hair-saved-me look. "What were you doing gallivanting around this desert, anyway? You're a bigger idiot than I am. Were you raised by monkeys, by any chance?"

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well, that sucked the wind right out of her sails, didn't it?

stuff a sock in it he said, and while she had no idea what a sock was or what she was supposed to stuff it in to, she got the gist of what he was saying all the same. elswyth was used to being told off for her rambling and her exuberance, though she had thought she had it in check, here.

he carries on with his usual phrases, and she simply nods and sends her ears bouncing. "i won't tell." she would, probably, because elsie loved to tell stories, but she made a mental note to keep his name out of it. clearly he didn't want to be known for anything good.

maybe that was why he was being so darn mean!

"i was just exploring. i like to find new places to explore, to see what kind of creatures i can find. i didn't know it was dangerous." she frowned a little, delicate features furrowing as she huffed up at him. "you don't have to be so mean you know."

@Ambrose

Art by Aurora