What Is More Precious? [Open]

[Kivuli]

Large paws kicked up flaky dirt as the King of the Lowlands strode over the various parts of his territory. What had once been a slightly muddy, water filled field was now full of flaking, cracked ground, what water remained was only available in small pools and the lion had to wonder how they would make it through this. Temperatures climbed every day making the pride lethargic and making food and water more scarce than it had ever been in his lifetime.

Blue eyes narrowed as concern and frustration appeared on the King's features and he let out a light huff. His dark mane absorbed the heat horribly and made his tongue unravel every now and then to pant away some of the heat. There wasn't enough water to spare for them to be able to relax in it and he'd had to place rules for the cubs to even be kept from playing in it and wasting it. It was one of the strictest things he'd had to do so far but it was necessary to keep them alive.

His ears perked forward, listening for the sounds of the border falls that he knew would never come. They were but a slow lazy trickle these days, a sad reminder of just how far the lands had fallen in this drought. He brought his large bulk to the edge of what had once been a large pool and dipped his dark muzzle to lap up a small amount, just enough to keep him going. If he could leave it all to his pride he would have but even he had to take the necessary nourishment to live. He couldn't abandon his pride, they counted on him to get them through this and that was exactly what he intended to do.

If the weather got any worse it was likely he'd have to take extreme steps, even go so far as to seek outside help. It was hard to swallow ones pride like that but he wouldn't let his pride die because of a an over inflated ego of either his own or another's if he could help it. He glanced at the Highlands at these thoughts and frowned, he sincerely hated the thought of asking them for help of any kind and he wondered who was on the worse paw. It wasn't as if he could just stroll into the Highlands to see who it was that would break first if the King waited for just a little longer so he was left in the dark to wait.

Nothing guarenteed that the Highlanders would even come to the Lowlands for help, it was possible they'd go somewhere else...or come bearing war. It wasn't smart for anyone to shed blood but desperation and frustration could drive a sane lion to the insane.

[Safia]

S A F I A

She was dying. No, she was being over-dramatic. She wanted to die though, or maybe it was rather just go to sleep until the god forsaken drought passed. In the past she had never had any bad luck when it came to hunting, but lately it seemed as if she couldn't catch anything for herself, even a lowly mouse in the fields. It just wasn't possible for her, and it was frustrating. All she wanted was a simple, little mouse, but that even seemed to be to much to ask for. It was just terrible. And she couldn't even find any water.

Maybe that was why Safia was even daring to get this close to a pride's territory. Her steps were slow, hesitant, and it was all she could do to keep herself from tensing at ever little sound she heard, even the ones she herself made. It was quite pathetic really, but it was normally the only reaction she had near any pride territory. How would they react to seeing her? She wasn't sure, but from most of the lions she seemed to come across, the welcome wasn't as warm as she would prefer. So she couldn't help that she was being as cautious as she was at the moment.

Her paws kicked up soft puffs of dust as she moved with her slow pace, senses still on high alert. It wasn't long until she heard it: the sound of water. It was faint, but it was there all the same. Her ears perked up slightly, and for a moment she forgot she was in enemy territory as she bound towards the source of the sound, kicking up even more dirt with her strides as she moved along.

She soon found herself near a small pool of water, barely seen from a difference, but it was water all the same. In an instant her head dropped, lapping up the water like a hungry animal. Safia became completely oblivious to everything else around her, the call of her thirst so great by this point. But somewhere inside of her there was still sanity, and it was this part of her that heard the footfalls that came near her.Instantly her head snapped up, tensing in fear as her eyes darted about, looking for the source.

And then she saw him. The large lion seemed to tower in height above her, and it wasn't difficult to see the mass of muscle he most likely had beneath his pelt. She was still frozen, not daring to move as she waited for him to spring upon her in anger at seeing her in his territory. But when he looked up at her, she saw.....surprise? "I-I...." She stuttered softly as her ears pressed back against her skull, her body seeming to shrink in on herself as she came lower to the ground. "Please...don't harm me. I meant no harm....I just haven't had any water for days..." She merely hoped this lion would be kind and let her go without to much of a scratch.

[Raivu]

RAIVU

The bitty golden cub ignorantly trotted down the rocky climb of the Highlands, his home, his large paws scattering rocks everywhere along with clouds of dust as he nearly ran down the slope, but still keeping his pace restricted to a posh little skip, his mind off in his own little world. His bright green eyes were up towards the sky as he remembered how he used to watch the clouds pass over.. but now things were different.. day in and day out it was always the same. Sunrise, sunset, but the sky hadn't changed besides that. Not for a long time.

As he was daydreaming, he had forgotten that he was mindlessly wandering off again, and to the worst of places. The Lowlands. If his mother knew where he was right now, he would suffer the consequences, and the thought of this made him sick to his stomach. Luckily she was out searching for food again.. He sort of knew how sensitive his mother was on the subject of the Lowlanders... Why are we like.. enemies of them anyway! Surely they aren't THAT bad, he pondered.

Raivu had never been to the border between them, but he had heard it was a huge river with a great warerfall! The thought of fresh water- No, any water made his throat feel dry and itchy. He was parched!

He thought he could see the river just up ahead, and he imagined it would be overflowing with a swift flow of water, so he picked up the pace and ran towards the border, clouds of dust filling the air.
He abruptly skidded to a halt just before the river. The river.. More like where the river once was.. he thought desperately as he gazed upon the sad stream of what was left. Is it really that bad? He sighed and drooped his head, just now coming to the full realization of how bad the drought really was. He lowered his haunches and sat on the hot soil, studying his paws as a breeze blew past him, toying with the tuft of blonde fur on his forehead. The wind was hot, not cool, and this made his frown deepen. His mother taught him that if the breeze was cool, usually it was wind coming from the coast, and the coast usually brought rain. This breeze was tepid though, and did little to lessen the temperature or make it more bareable.

He crouched down anyway and dipped his muzzle into the hot, muddy water. Even if it wasn't cool and refreshing, finally being able to get a drink he was very grateful for. He drank his fill, which wasn't too much, since he was still so young, until he shifted his green-eyed gaze upwards to see too huge lions on the other side of the stream. He stood quickly to his feet and backed up quickly, digging his claws into the dry dirt, though it didn't do much good. "H-Hey! You guys are Lowlanders!" he said in his awkward voice, though now it was projected in an attempt to sound 'tough'. He knew his mother wasn't there to protect him.

[Kivuli]

The King was deep in thought when he moved around some dying foliage and finally took note of his surroundings. One of those surroundings just happened to be a female lioness that was drinking from some of the muddy water that still remained to them. He paused in surprise and his eyes widened, of all things he'd been expecting to see it wasn't another lioness and he took a deep breath through his nose for good measure. She didn't smell like a Highlander nor did she act like one, especially when she began to stutter and ask for his mercy.

It was probably her begging that finally made him move and his ears dropped slightly, one brow raising as he looked on her. Her plight wasn't unusual and his features softened, despite needing what water they had there was no way he could really turn another creature away to die from dehydration and he lowered his head slightly so she would be more comfortable. "I'm not going to hurt you, water is scarce in these times but I'd never let someone die of thirst...where do you hail from?" he asked softly, trying to put her at ease with his tone alone.

He hadn't even noticed the cub, he'd been so engrossed in finding the lioness on his lands. However when another voice piped up, a young voice, and exclaimed they were lowlanders his eyes moved to the young golden cub. The cub had at least confirmed one thing, this lioness was no Highlander, he assumed that was what the cub was as he was on their side of the stream and he cocked his head to the side as he scrambled away. What an odd walk this was turning out to be for him.

"Calm yourself young one, I'm not going to hurt you and we are not Lowlanders, only myself" he didn't want to drag the lioness into petty disputes by accident. He stepped slightly closer to the stream, studying the pelt of the boy and wondering just who he belonged to, Kivuli hadn't seen all of the Highlanders of course so he couldn't be sure anyways and he glanced between the two rather confused. Was the water shortage so bad that his lands were left with the last of it? Or was this just chance?

[Mhusiku]

MHUSIKU

A slight, dry breeze swept around Mhusiku's nearly non-existent mane that was the same light blonde colour of his pelt. The normal scowl he wore on his sharp angular muzzle was ever present as he lazily walked up behind the two lions at the river, one of his eyebrows raising curiously. He didn't recognise the lioness, but he knew very well that the large, dark male was the King.

His paws stepped over the dusty soil, kicking up bits of it here and there. A low growl could be heard from within his throat, as it was a normal old habit he still took on. Whether it was to make himself appear more sinister or simply an unintentional growl was not known by many, but he never meant it as any threat.

The lithe body of this male carefully proceeded forward towards the other lions and the river, moving up between the King and the strange lioness, but still keeping a fair distance from the two. His low growl deepened to a louder tone for a moment, as he looked over the lioness and then across the 'river' at the small golden cub.

Mhusiku wasn't surprised to see that the river was nearly dried up completely, nor was he surprised to see the other lions there. He only hoped they wouldn't drain the rest of the water.. or mistake him for a lioness. His scowl deepened as he thought of this.

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