He would wander aimlessly, allowing for the thoughts to finally fog up his mind. After the uprising had ended in his defeat, Keir felt more than a little lost in what he should do next in life. Too wound up in what he had been doing and what he should do next to realize that both mother and a sibling had all but vanished and came back without him ever knowing, too. But the lion was an adult, one that was ready to create a life for himself and needing to put himself first while doing it. He didn't realize where he were until the haze from his mind finally lifted, causing for Keir to take a look around. It would cause for a snort of sorts to be released, one of humor. The flamingo pond. His mind was subconsciously trying to bring back good memories, and the memory of him and @Vitala here was something he more than cherished. With a sigh would the lion take a seat where grass met clear ground, blue eyes watching the pink birds in silence.

art by corvus, code by dee

glass walls and waterfalls

our bones may turn to stone, our hearts won't rust

❧
The fields had become a temporary residence for her after the lagoon fell. No interest in maintaining ties with the odd stranger who took over or follow the Sigrun family to wherever they moved to congregate. Vitala was also not quite committed to following Zulema this time. It felt as though as soon as she arrived to this land she was swept up alongside the footsteps of her carmine sibling. Though, not necessarily a bad thing.

While she loved her dearly, she realized there was still much of these lands she had not seen or explored. She was a coastal denizen from the moment she crossed the land bridge with her brother. He seemed to have disappeared with his own motives that she figured was to come sooner or later. Wandering, disappearing and non-commitments seem to run deep in their blood. Vitala guilty of her own disappearances, however, was pleased to remain here with her sister from now on. Especially now that a future here was brewing on the horizons.

As the colder months began to take their rightful place among the lands, Vitala needed to make a plan moving forward before winter was upon them. Her idea for this day was to make up a little temporary cache for herself somewhere, but the scent of @Keir wafting passed her nostrils adjusted her plans. She followed the edge of the water across the fields until it lead to the seclusion of the flamingo pond. Her arrival hardly disturbed the noise of the rosy birds, chuffing to get the black lion's attention as she neared him. Her expression was mostly tired, but perked up at the sight of him.

If he had been paying more attention to his surroundings then maybe he would’ve heard Vitala’s footfalls, but with being so consumed in his thoughts he were oblivious to her presence. It wouldn’t be until ears heard the chuffs that he would once more snap out of being deeply submerged in his mind, skull turning toward the direction the sound had come from. Blue eyes would land upon the freckled woman, giving her a soft and welcoming smile as she neared. He could tell she looked more fatigued than normal, and he could only assume it were from being displaced from her home in the Lagoon and having to figure out what to do or where to go. Losing a home was never easy and it always seemed to bring on a lot of stress; that he knew all about.

Hey stranger, he would greet her with, a front paw lifting just slightly from the ground only to pat it a couple of times, wanting to draw @Vitala in to sit next to him. He could feel the comfortable and familiar begin to settle in whenever he were around the lioness, and it were a feeling he didn’t realize he needed until now. How are things? Brows would furrow as he asked, tail tip twitching beside him. I heard about Scilla. I’m sorry that you lost your home. Keir didn’t know how long she’d been there, but it was the pride he knew her to be in ever since the two had met.

art by corvus, code by dee

glass walls and waterfalls

our bones may turn to stone, our hearts won't rust

❧
"Hey, you," she breathed, more than happy to close the gap and slink up beside him. Placing herself at his side, she buried her head into his mane in greeting with a little purr. She could feel the stress and tension fall from her shoulders when she touched him. Pulling back to answer him she gave a bit of a sigh. "Things are odd," she started simply, "I've lived in the lagoon for well over a year and a half. Since I came to Amaryllis, really. So, it's weird to try and think of somewhere else to go." She began to explain, feeling the word vomit take a hold of her.

"I'm not sure where I would want to go anyway. My sister likely wants me to follow her, but I just.. don't think I can this time." Vitala admitted, her ears faltering some when she thought of possibly disappointing her kin. Of course she would understand and deep down she knew Zu wouldn't hold anything against her. Besides, she had no plans of leaving the whole land. She wouldn't have to worry about that, at least. Her eyes drifted from @Keir's to the flamingos as she chewed on the inside of her cheek; her usual go-to for nerves or stress.

It felt so normal, how the two of them felt so comfortable around each other. And as @Vitala pushed her face into the thick of his mane would Keir lean into the touch, his own rough sounding purr matching beat with her own. After a few moments would he feel the weight of her head pull away, his body positioning itself so that he were slightly turned; a way for him to watch her without having to keep his head turned to the side the whole time to do so. The obsidian man would keep silent as she dove into her worries, learning that she had been in Scilla for just about as long as she had been in Amaryllis. Her story sounded very similar to his and Keir would nod at her words.

I know what you mean, he would begin, gaze watching her face, When my family arrived here I was a young cub and Caladan was my first ever home. I was there almost until my first birthday, left Amaryllis for a couple of months and then came right back to it when I came back here. Something about the coastal pride really drew him in - the sea salt air, the lull of the waves, the overall beauty of the territory. It was something he most certainly wanted back in his life one way or another, but now just didn’t seem like the right time.

Keir would watch as Vitala seemed to struggle with what decisions she should make and whether or not she should stick with family. Although family was a nice thing to have around, Keir had learned that to really grow he needed to carve his own path out for himself, and being on his own without family was what he found out he needed. I’ve been thinking about maybe joining the Hollow. The comment would be thrown out there as a hidden suggestion; he wasn’t going to try to bribe Vitala in following him (as much as he would like to have her around every day rather than when they travelled to one another, but he didn’t want to be that lion that seemed too clingy) but planting the idea in her mind just might help. Roan has been good to me, and after the uprising… Voice would trail off, feeling now both embarrassed and a bit angered at how those turn of events.

art by corvus, code by dee

glass walls and waterfalls

our bones may turn to stone, our hearts won't rust

❧
The features of her face softened as she listened to @Keir tell a similar tale. It was nice to continue to learn more and more about him and his life before she met him. She would drink in any details he would give. "Funny, how we were neighbors for quite a while without even knowing," she would sneak the comment in there quietly when she saw a moment while he continued to speak. He mentioned potentially living at the Hollow, Vitala drawing her eyes up to him a moment. She had heard many good things about Roan from a few others in passing and it seemed he lead the Hollows well. Her mind did flash to the challenge that she watched Keir partake in with him, but was glad that they were in good faith.

When he mentioned the uprising she frowned a little with a hum. "I know.." she offered, unsure what all she could really say on the matter at this point. "I was originally going to join the Hollow. Magnus was ruling it then, but he told me and Zulema of the plans to usurp the lagoon throne so we waited and followed him there instead." Vitala mentioned, twitching the end of her tail in an idle matter as they conversed. Eventually she lowered herself to lay down and outstretch her hind legs to the side more comfortably.

"I imagine my sister would want to follow Magnus, or Saga, I'm not sure. She seems more attached to her alliance with the Sigrun than I." Which is why she was more than willing to find somewhere brand new. New people to meet, new customs, new scenery. "I'd go anywhere other than the coast, at this point. I need something other than the same old Sigrun affairs."

As she got more comfortable by laying next to him would the Keir also allow for his body to lower to the ground, front legs stretched out before him, attempting to allow a front paw to reach toward Vitala's own front limbs to brush against it and hind legs folded in close to him. His tail would thump the ground a couple of times as he listened to her speak of a Magnus before diving in on the Sigrun as a whole. He couldn't recall if he'd ever met the lion he spoke of, but it seemed as if a lot of lions were either affiliated one way or another with his family or they were enemies of them.

"What's the deal with the Sigrun, anyways?" A rather random question to be asking in a rather serious conversation about where their lives were going to lead them, but it was his curiosity that got the better of him. "I just really know about the Saga and the other woman who I fought for the Cove - Ulla." Ears would flicker as he mentioned the defeat against the older lioness, rolling his shoulders to relax himself as attention would be given back to @Vitala.

art by corvus, code by dee

glass walls and waterfalls

our bones may turn to stone, our hearts won't rust

❧
She relaxed her shoulders and hummed in thought to @Keir's question. Thinking back to her time among the Sigrun family, Vitala would try to recall things that she learned about them. "Their family bonds are strong. Stronger than anything I've ever seen," she began explaining. It almost aired on the side of cultism, if she were being completely honest. However, that was an entirely outside objective view. She only knew so much. As much as the Sigrun was willing to divulge to the public. The way they spoke, acted and conducted themselves, especially in tense group settings, that she observed over the last couple years was curious.

Some would say their family ties were admirable, but there was something off about it that she couldn't quite place. "They live and breathe by some god named Vellen. Last I heard, Saga claims she carries demigods in her womb- blessed by the very being." Vitala continued. From there she would dive into explaining the war that was festering between the Rike and the Sigrun. She knew little of the Rike herself, but had heard enough about the bloodshed between them.

"I can't quite explain it, but something about them unsettles me," Her eyes moved themselves from their surroundings to look upon his face.

Keir would stay silent as she would oblige him, telling him all she knew about the family. He knew from both firsthand experience and overhearing things that the Sigrun were a rather large and prominent family here in Amaryllis, but he was more than certain that they were not native to these lands. He also knew they had many allies here, and he had only heard rumblings of their nemesis as well as seeing for himself the death Saga and brought to two of their own. Vellen? He would repeat, a brow rising slightly. And this... Vellen tells them what to do? He had heard of crazier religions before, and even Amaryllis itself had its own Deities.

As @Vitala went on to now explain the rivalry between the Sigrun and this Rike family would Keir feel his muscles tense up a bit. So that was the family Morrigan spoke of, and one of their own participated in the uprising against him. He could remember what the Greyflood had said that day, about how they were cub killers and how the Rike woman had fought while pregnant. This was all so much and it took him a couple of minutes to allow for all of the information he had just learned to absorb into memory. That all just sounds so exhausting. But then again, Keir were beginning to carry his own hatred toward Alaric, and to him it was more than just defeating him at the uprising. Something about it felt personal but the obsidian lion couldn't place a paw on why. It was just a gut feeling.

art by corvus, code by dee

glass walls and waterfalls

our bones may turn to stone, our hearts won't rust

❧
Vitala nodded towards him with a short "Mhm," before continuing her answer, "They speak to them, supposedly. Seems to have a very important role in how they lives their lives." She shifted her weight slightly and tucked to back legs closer to her. Shimmying a little closer to @Keir, she would draw in a breath. "It seems wherever they go chaos is sure to follow. And they breed like rabbits. Probably to keep up with how many they lose. The Rike has killed a handful of their children. Or maybe they do, I don't know," It was pure speculation, as she wasn't completely intimate with the Sigrun. Only what she's gathered in passing from living among them. Vitala rubbed her face a shifted a little bit more, shaking her head dismissively.

"Sorry, sorry, now I'm just being crass," Clearing her throat to move on from that point for a moment, she watched the flamingos idle about knowing nothing of the complications of the lions that lived on around them. "I just can't imagine following something you can't see so blindly. Letting them.. tell you what to do? I've heard murmurs of a deity that lions believe in here; I can't recall the name now." She wasn't entirely a believer in higher powers herself.