James found himself grazing along the edge of one of the worn trails sprawling through Eridanus, his legs awkwardly spread to allow him to reach down and nip at the grasses growing just outside the dirt path. He had been grazing for a good twenty minutes, ears perked up as he munched away happily, the grass sweet and tasty to his herbivore tongue.

His head lifted as he chewed his mouthful, looking around cautiously, having a weird feeling all of a sudden.

Like he was being watched.

The foal shook his head and kept eating, though he prepared to bolt, just in case. It was probably Titanite watching him, or a rabbit or something, but one could never be too careful. Not when it came to survival.

James looked up again, the feeling he had made his skin crawl. He started to walk off, head low and muscles tense, eyes flicking back and forth nervously. Who was out there?

@Aristotle

Eridanus was proving to be quite a peaceful place. He now knew that he was not the only intelligent and thinking creature in this strange world. He had met a large creature that lumbered along on all fours but had strange paws with long thin extensions coming off of them. He had learned from the creature known as Elspet that they were hands.

The large feline though heavy made little noise as his wide soft pads landed on the ground. He wasn’t exactly one to follow paths. A strange scent he had yet to encounter wafted up into his powerful nostrils. It smelled of dirt and grass and sweat. The large young man stopped hidden in the dense brush off the side of the path.

Looking out through the bush he was concealed in he spotted a large creature, clearly an herbivore. He was strange, his large heavy body was held on top of long slender legs, that ended in strange hard things. Whatever they were they were clearly on opposite sides of the food chain. Not that he really noticed or knew this.

The young lion stood curiously watching the creature as it leisurely munched on grasses on the other side of the path. The creature’s back was facing the young lion who watched it more curious than malicious. Well Elspet had turned out to be a kind woman. She had helped apply his markings. Perhaps this one would be friendly as well. He wanted to know what it was that the creature’s legs ended in.

Shaking himself Aristotle let out a soft growl to himself, the creature’s scent began to change alerting him that it was nervous. He watched as it began to walk away. This wasn’t good, it was leaving and he hadn’t had a chance to find out what it was. Quickly the young lion leapt through the bushes and trotted towards the new creature.


"Speech"
Notes:
Awkward Lion is Awkward. XD
The Philosopher
The Alchemist
Aristotle

@James

James let out a rather undignified yelp as he heard the bushes rustle and the massive lion trotting towards him. He took off at a canter through the forest, following the paths that would reduce the debris and obstacles blocking his way. He was fast, very fast, his legs pumping and carrying him quite the distance with each stride.

He slid to a stop and took off into the bush instead, using his knowledge of the area to his advantage as he followed a near-invisible path through the thick foliage.

"Go away!!", he yelled behind him, "I'm not food!!"

Being a prey animal wasn't going well, so far... but at least he had his legs.

James slowed down as he stopped hearing a pursuit, though, in his ignorance, he failed to realize that of course, a hunter wouldn't be noisy. They would stalk and pounce when he least expected it.

So he walked towards where he knew he'd be safe, where Titanite tended to hang out, eating berries and watching grass grow, as the behemoth did. He just hoped he wasn't being followed.

His ears were perked as he walked, brown eyes glancing to and fro, full of anxiety.

@Aristotle

Aristotle had left the cover of the brush beside the path, to try and make his way over to the new creature. However just as the creature noticed him, it gave a rather strange and undignified cry. Okay well that didn’t go over to well. As he began trotting towards the creature it The young lion blinked twice as the creature took off at a rather fast pace.

Not realizing what he was doing. Aristotle took off at a rather fast pace of his own, his massive paws digging into the ground to propel him forward, sturdy limbs to support every stride. He was a hunter whether he knew it or not. As he gave chase, the creature a few paces in front of him cried back at him to go away. But why? He hadn’t done anything wrong. What about food? He could eat however he wasn’t particularly hungry.

Suddenly the creature stopped dead in its tracks. Before Aristotle had a good chance to slow down. He made a fool of himself yet again as his front legs became entang;ed with each other and he tumbled butt over head into the dirt. Well that was graceful and sure to make a lasting mark.

Laying in the dirt the young lion rolled back onto his stomach and pushed himself up onto his paws. ”Uh… Hi?” He looked around checking for the creature. It was gone. He stopped for a moment closing his eyes he took a moment to study the scents. He had gone…. That way! The young lion once more took off at a run in the direction he had scented the creature. He was even more curious now. How could it be so fast on such strange feet? It didn’t take long for Aristotle to catch up to the creature as it had slowed to a walk. He however was still in a dead run as he had assumed the creature still would be, and this time as he failed to slow down he nearly tumbled right into the new creature.



Notes:
@James
The Philosopher
The Alchemist
Aristotle

James looked back as he watched the lion tumble over himself, one foot raised as he came to a stop incredibly close, and he took a few steps back before looking down at Ari. Well... he didn't seem very scary. Clumsy, that was for sure.

"... Erm- are you okay?", he asked, looking down at the pale lion.

He seemed to have some weird markings on his fur, James noted. They didn't seem natural, that was for sure, not to mention the feathers dangling from his ear. Weird.

"What are those?", he asked, nose pointing at his markings, "And the thing on your ear. Are those real? Are they a part of you?"

Curiosity started to well up, allowing him to step forward to curiously inspect the other's tail. It wasn't like anything he'd seen before, and it was long, with a tuft at the end. Weird. Everything about the other was weird. And pointy.

"Who are you?", he asked, lifting his head again, "I'm James... are you from around here?"

@Aristotle

Aaaaand again, he was on his back in the dirt. Why was running so hard? Well running was easy it seemed to be the stopping that landed him in the most undignified poses. The young lion grumbled in a low tone to no one in particular, as he righted himself. Slipping back onto all four paws, the young lion shook out his pelt, being extra sure to shake his mane and get the debris from it as well.

Finally it seemed that the new creature had stopped running from and was now talking to him. The creature asked if he was okay. Of course he was okay, he was durable. Wait he should probably answer aloud. “Uh… Yes?” Wait why had he made it a question. “I mean yes I’m alright.” He corrected himself as he ran a claw through the thick mane on his neck.

Suddenly the creature was asking questions, pointing its strange feet things at his markings, and asked about the feather hanging from his gem. “Uhm well they’re dyed. At least that’s what I think it’s called. They are added on with pigment from colored clay,mixed with berries to acquire the desired shade.” He explained, probably not exactly what the creature had asked. “As for the feather I believe it is real as it happens to be dangling from my ear, I can feel it, not to mention you can see it so it must be real.” Again answering the question but not exactly what had been asked.

Aristotle himself began inspecting the creature’s face. It was long and its ears, they were strange conical shapes. Not to mention he had large wide nostrils shaped for taking in large gulps of air when running. Aristotle’s blue eyes rolled curiously over the creature before looking him in the eyes. Ah a question that the answer would finally be direct and probably not completely miss what the other was asking. “I’m Aristotle.” He responded flatly to the other creature as it gave its own name.

James. That was a boys name right? They were both boys then weren’t they? Then he asked if Ari was from around the area. “Well yes I suppose I am. I don’t really have a home persay.” Well that was true. It had only been about two weeks since he had hatched. He hadn’t really settled anywhere since he had been born. He had just kind of wandered, sleeping where he wanted and moving on when he woke up. That’s what you were supposed to do wasn’t it? Finally now that he had a turn to ask questions Aristotle looked at James and just bluntly asked without much thought. “What are you?” His head tilted to the side as he walked in a circle around the creature named James.

"Speech"
Notes:
@James
The Philosopher
The Alchemist
Aristotle

What.

James was barely able to keep up, his brain working overtime to take in the information. He was nearly dizzy by the end of it, and shook his head out before blinking at Ari, wondering what kind of a name was Aristotle.

"... Can I call you Ari?", he asked, and gently spun around to follow him as he walked around him, "Um- I'm a horse. I think. What are you? You look... fearsome."

He watched the other inspect him and pointedly stared at Ari, too, wondering if his mane was soft or not. It looked soft.

"... Is your neck fur soft?", he asked curiously, "Can I touch it?"

He extended his neck, nosing the air towards it, wondering if it was soft and aching to touch it even if it wasn't. He liked soft things.

"I don't really have a home either,", he said, "I just wander around here, doing things. Eating, sleeping, talking with my friend... that sort of thing."

James shook his head and scratched his nose on his knee, wondering why Ari's paws were so... big. Like they were huge! Compared to Dragon's paws, at least. Or claws. He wasn't sure what they were called.

@Aristotle

Ari

Hope is but a waking dream

The young lion watched the new creature, he was shaking his head and blinking at him as if he didn’t understand what he had just said. But how could he not understand? He had spoken clearly and to the point and explained what the marks on his fur was. Of course he had explained it as if he would have been talking to himself.

Elspet had been an interesting find when she stumbled upon him and helped him put on his markings. The new creature asked if he could just call him by a shortened form of his name. He tilted his head to his left shoulder thinking it over. Ari wasn’t such a bad nickname, was still a regal name. ”I don’t see why not.”The young lion came back to full circle where he had been standing to begin with. He had wanted to inspect the rest of the new creature from head to toe. James asked about his mane. He asked what he was in return. ”I’m a lion. At least that’s what I figured out I think.” He was just as confused about what he was himself but the word lion sounded right.

The horse asked about his mane, asking if it was soft. ”It’s called a mane. It protects my throat from damage in the event of a fight.” Aristotle lifted his forepaw running it through his mane. He knew it was soft. He took exponentially good care of his mane. James asked if he could touch the lion’s mane. He thought for a moment, it wouldn’t be bad. He wasn’t against others touching him, in fact he had invited Elspet to touch him. ”I don’t see why not. Go ahead.” Aristotle offered to the horse with a soft smile, this action causing the tips of his razor sharp teeth to show.

James said he didn’t have a home either. Well that was interesting. He wasn’t the only nomad in this place, whatever it was. Of that he still wasn’t sure. Then the horse said he talked with friends. Friends meant others, that meant there was more! Now he was curious. What were they? Were there any others like him? What did the others look like. Excited the young lion bowed down and jumped from side to side in excitement. ”There are more? How many have you seen? Can I meet them? What are they?”
Aristotle cleared his throat as he stood still once more collecting himself.

James perked up and strode forward, nose brushing against Ari's soft mane before he pressed his head into it, gasping softly, "It is soft! Wow..."

James was still very young at this point, being maybe a week old, possibly less. So his communication skills still needed some work, mostly in the listening department. Being faced with a soft, pretty lion as well as being told many things (despite asking) was a bit hard to grasp, but he was trying!

"I have a friend, Titantite, who lives here in Eridanus- that's where we are right now. And I met two others in Cetus, where I was born. They took me here so I could eat and grow," James explained eagerly, his tail flicking back and forth.

James bobbed his head a bit and took a bite of grass to munch on while he too, collected himself, eyeing Ari as he inspected the other, nearly as intensely as the other had. Though he was less concerned, seeing as the biggest and most noticeable features of his were his teeth and paws, and those big blue eyes the youngling found himself staring at.

"... Your eyes are pretty," he said innocently, unaware of any implications they may have. It was just a compliment, and a statement he found to be true. They were very pretty.

@Aristotle

Ari

Hope is but a waking dream

Aristotle sat still as James approached him. He didn’t want to spook the poor boy as he had when he had first made his presence known. That had been a bit of a mistake on his part. As James’ breath met with dense fur of his mane it cause the muscles in his back to twitch which in turn could have been misconstrued as a shiver. It was however just the first time he had felt warm air that close to the skin of his neck. James for being such a strange animal was surprisingly gentle with his muzzle stroke through his mane. ”I’m glad you think so. It’s a secret but I always take extra time to groom my mane. He whispered the last sentence of his response to the young colt.

Aristotle gave a little giddy little prance in place. Doing so by lifting all four paws two on opposite sides. With his front left paw lifted his right hind paw was also in the air. A strange little habit he had picked up only mere hours after being birthed into the world. He couldn’t help it though it was a little tick he had when he was happy, it was the only way he knew how to show it, that and a big grin. But sadly as James had noted he was quite fearsome, and showing off just how big his teeth were didn’t seem like a good idea.

The young horse had panicked at the first sight of him so he didn’t want to take a chance with showing his chompers. Aristotle listened giddily as James spoke of his friends and where they were. The place they were currently in was called Eridanus. This was the place where he had been born. At least now he knew the name of it. So there were more places beyond this one, a place called Cetus, James’ birthplace.

Eating that was something he did to, but somehow he figured as he watched James munch on a mouthful of the green stuff they walked on. He wasn’t sure he should exactly tell the poor boy what it was he ate. ”Would, would you be willing to take me to meet them? You’re only the second person I have ever met, the first being a rather feisty Ape by the name of Elspet.” With that being said it was proof that the two boys were close in age.

@James