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Today was Antallian's turn to hunt for himself, his mate, and their cubs. Not to mention Xerxes and Bunikee along with their cubs. It was almost, he reflected with a smile, a small pride. Not that Ina would like the comparison, true as it might be. His Spina was quite vocally against prides and was prone to using their friends as examples of the evils of prides. The other mated pair had had to learn the lands, landmarks, and navigation, and their birth had ill-prepared them for it. Not to mention the fact that they'd returned to the rogue lands, though both had supposedly intended to return to their pride...

It wasn't something they brought up, and An didn't care to inquire too closely.

The white lion turned his attention to the land around him - marginal, this place. Not desert by a long shot, but still not able to support a great deal of life. He had to range farther than he cared to in his hunting in order to not deplete the lands nearest his family too much.

He was on edge and uneasy today. There had been more lions seen around of late, and he'd heard some strange whispers.

Well. He wasn't certain how'd he'd missed seeing that lion before. The other male was big, much bigger than Antallian. And the stranger was a bright red, with a black mane that did nothing to help him conceal his presence. Bauble, at least, could coat his fur with the dust of the dry ground, not to mention knowing every rise and dip of these lands where a full grown lion could hide.

He didn't know what the stranger's purpose was, nor if he might attack. His posture seemed wary, but, perhaps, not inclined to attack. Antallian came closer, to an easy speaking distance. He forced himself to remain relaxed and to seem unthreatening.

This could, of course, change in the blink of an eye, but no need for the stranger to know that.

"Aye, an' yer a big one, no mistakin' that," he commented.

He couldn't read the stranger's expression well, had no basis to judge what sort of thoughts the red lion entertained. He spoke of kin though and a mental lip curled in disdain. He'd bet the next moon's hunting that the other male was from a pride.

"Ah am what Ah was born," he replied reasonably to the statement - or was it a question? - of his coloration. It meant fairly little to Antallian, though it made him proud to see his own colors and markings mingling with Ina's on their children.

"An you, Ah'd guess you ta be from some pride or another," Bauble added neutrally. A man couldn't help his birth after all, and he wondered what drove this one to be out on his own, away from his kin.

Could he pick them or could he pick them? Then again, it was child's play to spot a pride-born lion in the rogue lands. They had a distinct tendency to get lost. The name of the pride meant nothing to Antallian, but he did note it down. Perhaps Xerxes or Bunikee might know something of them. He doubted his own Ina had heard more than he.

"An' what else would Ah be?" the white lion responded reasonably. "An' why else here? 'Snot easy tae live here, not if'n ya don't know the land." It was a subtle threat, did the big red lion know it or not. If he was so desperate, Antallian could help him...or could choose to ignore his need. So far, he hadn't made a decision one way or another. Then again, he wasn't sure this stranger was so close to his limit after all.

Really, did he look so much like a pride lion? Antallian had never thought so in his life. Or maybe the other male was just stupid. It was a possibility, but he didn't seem that unintelligent.

The white lion was surprised to hear the traveler was from a desert pride. He wouldn't have thought there'd be enough water or food to support an organization so large. This revelation made him warier of the big red lion. It seemed the stranger wouldn't need help finding food, water or shelter.

And that meant the other lion had no real need of Antallian. Immediately his thoughts began to turn to how he could escape this conversation and meeting gracefully, and without leading the red lion back to the cubs.

"A perfect place, that'd be tha Havens," Bauble replied with a snort. "An' Ah wouldn't know 'bout that, seein' as Ah don't know what can live in the desert."

Oh really, did he look that stupid? Antallian knew far better than to attempt to do anything in a desert during the day. It was much cooler - though no less dangerous - after night had fallen. Not to mention his fur would camouflage better against the moonlit sand than during the daytime. But he wasn't going to mention any of that to the red lion.

"Ah have na interest in seein' tha desert," he replied truthfully enough.

Polite. Civil. Not bad words to use to describe a conversation. Antallian was still on edge though as he watched the other lion begin to depart. He had no reason to prolong this, and he did need to actually do some hunting while he was out.

"Ya could say that," he replied, watching the red lion. "Fair winds favor ya," and may they never return you here, he finished silently. The white lion wasn't going to budge from this spot until he was certain the red had gone. He wasn't sure why this particular lion had gotten his hackles up, but damned if he wasn't going to take every precaution.