Usui huffed and flicked his head to get the puff of hair which hung over his crown away from his eyes. It was part of his growing mane. Apart from the brown covering his head, there were cream furs sprouting from his cheeks too. Dark brown fur ran along his neck and chest too. Last he checked in the river, the colour of his fur had matched that of his tail tip and he'd put on some bulk. It was rather awkward being a teenager. He thought he had the world in his paws as a child but now, armed with more experiences and more mysteries to crack, he wasn't quite so sure any more. A soft sigh escaped Usui's lips as he headed towards the crystal river and bent over to take a sip of water. The cool aqua ran down his throat and quenched his thirst. Usui looked at his wavering reflection in the river and allowed yet another sigh to escape from his lips. Never having seen what an adult lion was, the boy wondered if more hair should sprout all over him like a furball. Maybe being hairy set male lions apart from female lions. It was peculiar question and a simple one but having no role model simply resulted in him being unable to predict his future growth. Having pondered on this and drunk his fill, the green-eyed youth padded to the corner and lay down, stretching his forepaws in front of him and aligning his hind legs neatly to his right in a curved fashion. He wondered who would visit Polaris at this hour.

@Arkrael

Nostrils flared, sucking in the many scents that surrounded the area. It was easy to pick out what scent's belonged to what, but it was one in particular scent that drew her immediate attention. Audit's twitched and listened trying to decide which way her new-found friend was going. A thoughtful rumble began to sound within her chest and Arkrael slowly rose to her paws. She stared down at the riverbed she had chosen to rest against. It seemed a far distance between her head and the water these days as it seemed like it was only yesterday she had been the young pup watching these waters first rush back down the riverbed once more. She had finally fully grown; or at least she believed she wasn't going to do any more growing.

When her eyes settled upon her wounded shoulder a sneer took over her expression. The wound still ached, even still bled from time to time if she was not careful. Even now there was blood drying on her fur around the puncture wounds. She would have to go clean it soon less he wanted to get it infected. Shaking away her thoughts, Arkrael lifted her gaze and looked ahead. She could hear the distant grating of golems as they moved aimlessly near the Dam. She had since given up studying those things; at least for now.

Paws carried her slowly along the riverside, a noticeable gimp to her right leg as she went. It was a tedious to put weight on her paw, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been the day after the three-headed canine had tried to eat her. Her tail swayed behind her as she carried on in no rush to get to her current destination. It didn't sound like Usui was moving anymore. When her eyes finally did settle over the growing lion a small smile crept across her features.

"Usui, it's good to see you" she hummed pleasantly as she pulled herself closer to him until she was only a few paw steps away. At this point she slowly sunk down and rested against the ground once more, eager to get the weight off her paw and shoulder. She rolled just a little bit to her side, giving her right foreleg more room to stretch out and not cramp up her shoulder. "What has brought you to the river, my friend?" There could have been several reasons why Usui was here. Much like her own reasoning for being in this place. Yet she figured it would be a decent conversation starter and they could move on from that easily if Usui so wished.

"Speech"
'Thoughts'

---

Tags: Usui
OoC: Yay it's not so crappy ^^;