Secrets [Gray]

[attr="class","pltxt"]Lorem | Ipsum | Dolor | Plato |

Ista was oblivious to the stranger approaching and continued to struggle against Plato until she realized that he was no longer watching her. Instead of using the opportunity she looked to see what had stolen his attention, there was a young female approaching them and as she got closer she could begin to see the details in her fur and she began to drift. When the pup spoke she said nothing, but Plato was already responding, hoping that the presence of another would deter any further investigations "No, thank you, little lady." And he moved to give Ista a shove back before she could protest only to find that she was already approaching the stranger eyeing her curiously and in an admiring manner but one he doubted that the pup had ever encountered. Letting out a groan he loped after her, catching up to her in two easy bounds before slowing.

She moved her head down but not by much, the pup was already almost her size and would grow to be larger than her by far not that that troubled her any. There were plenty of creatures that were larger than her but it was only natural that someone had to be smaller in order for someone else to be larger. It had been such a long time since she had shared her stories with a pup and one came to mind as she asked as she took her in "Oh your face looks so pretty." Tilting her head a bit to catch the angle differently she peered closer, nose pushing towards the other wolf's cheek with little to no regard for personal space as Plato came closer much more sedately now that the distance between them was shorter.

He seemed resigned enough to his fate to introduce the both of them. "This is Ista and I am Plato, I apologize for intruding on these lands." His voice trailed off as he waited for Ista to react in some way but nothing was forthcoming and now that she had seen this pup it did not seem as if she would be persuaded to leave anytime soon.

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[attr="class","pltxt"]Lorem | Ipsum | Dolor | Plato |
Plato paused he could answer this question, but he had a feeling it may make the young one more comfortable to speak to the smaller wolf even if she seemed nothing but curious about the pair of them which was something that surprised him. He was used to others fearing him or at least being wary of what he could do. Even that large male wolf they had met earlier had been wary of him and defensive of the female that he had been with whenever Plato wandered around. Nudging her with his shoulder he tried to urge her to speak and not continue to be int he face of the pup. She took a while to hear the question but the answer was instantaneous once she snapped out of her trance long enough to answer it. A high airy laugh filled the air right before she replied with an equally friendly huff "He hunted me down and stalked me until I let him tag along." It made him blush which was gratifying and she went back to examining the overlapping of the fur across her face. Her markings were truly unique most wolves had markings that were different from one another but similar in form, however everything about these seemed to be markedly hers which was interesting and impressive. Backing up a bit to give the younger one space she found her gaze drawn to the landscape. This desert was different than anything she had seen before with much more plant life and less of the burning sand scorching her paws. She wondered if this pack had chosen it for that reason.It would make sense to choose something prosperous if they were for some reason compelled to choose something other than a land in the east where there were other packs. Truly this was an amazing area and she would want to explore it all if she could get away with it.
His lips twitching he couldn't allow that side of the story to be the only one that was heard even if it was basically true. Sometimes he was surprised that she could even manage to describe it so shrewdly. Despite his slightly disadvantaged portrayal in the narrative he did not feel picked on, she was not trying to call him an out of control dangerous predator to her. Rumbling a short laugh alongside her he added "I thought that it was you who hunted me down." His voice lilted up a little bit at the end as if in question, but really it was more of a statement.

tagged|| @gray,
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word count|| 531

[attr="class","pltxt"]Lorem | Ipsum | Dolor | Plato |

Realizing that Ista's attention had once again been drawn elsewhere pulling her focus away from the young pup he felt moderately relieved she was no longer crowding the youth but realized that she would not be answering any questions while otherwise occupied. He answered for her, trying to make his voice sound as non-threatening as possible, lions weren't exactly made to have soft and comforting voices "We didn't." He shifted on his paws as Ista began to drift, unsure of whether to grab her or to stay and try and be polite in his interaction with the tiny female before them.

There was a moment of silence as she asked her next question and Plato wanted to say that no thank you very much but they would be going because they weren't even supposed to be there to begin with. His first priority was keeping Ista safe from herself and having her be mauled by some pack wolf with a stick too far up its butt to realize that she was harmless, or at least to others, was far from that. He could fight a few wolves possibly at a time but an entire pack would be impossible for even a male of his size.

Luckily, or unluckily, at her offer to show them the surrounding landscape Ista suddenly snapped back to attentiveness and brought her gaze back over to the little femme. Smiling her voice much more down to earth now she replied with genuine pleasure coating her words "I would love that, I have never seen any desert like this." Every place she saw was new and different and even if it may seem old and familiar to some the she-wolf never had to search very much to find something new and intriguing about her surroundings. And if such things were not available to her then her mind would drift from those places and take her to other worlds or variations of the one she was in. Drawing stories, simplistic in nature but still exciting and interesting to her.

Glancing over at Plato she tried to assess him, he was nervous but the initial panic at being on another wolf's or pack's in this case territory was wearing off and he was beginning to accept the fact that they would be here. She wondered if someone would come and chase them off or if they would be able to wander at their leisure along with the young female. Ista did not concern herself with learning about the packs besides the two of her parents and while they had thought her oblivious to the tension between them she had been aware enough of it to want to hide behind a smile. To pretend about the things that she saw until she could no longer ignore it and it drove her out. That betrayal had won out until she had found or chanced upon her own happy ending.

Gray obviously smelled like a pack though and there had to be someone watching out for her if that was the case. She would not make Plato fight, for as proficient as he was about it she knew that the part of him that enjoyed being feared had dulled into a resigned expectation that he would be. And while she did not think him particularly fearsome she knew enough about how to twist words to make an interesting antagonist to know that other wolves might perceive him that way. This one was curious and she was glad for it, she may have been tempted to leave the beautiful scenery if the pup had quivered in fear of her companion.

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word count|| 607

[attr="class","pltxt"]Lorem | Ipsum | Dolor | Plato |

Despite her interest in her surroundings, her ears perked at the question. To be truthful Plato was the only lion she had ever met and he did not speak often about his family, not in a way that made her think that they parted on bad terms just that they were not particularly important to him and he had never expressed a desire to reconnect with others of his kind. And she was curious as to how he would respond to a question about them, just as curious as she was about other lions. He shook his head at her protests, mane shaking against his shoulders, "Don't worry." Whiskers twitching as he tried to recall the last time he had had a friendly interaction with those of his kind, not just passing males that he warned off as soon as he came across them or a female viciously protecting her cubs or belonging to another male. "I would say I'm a bit quieter than any other lions you might meet since we tend to be protective of our territory and possessions," Ista wasn't a possession exactly but she was his to care for. "When you get to know them better some are louder and some quieter, I would say I fall closer to quiet on that spectrum since I'm not quite a youngster anymore." Not that he always had been quiet, but he would like to think that even as a firebrand youth recently kicked from his pride he had not been so biosterous. Certainly he was placid enough to accept Ista's company.

When they arrived she was glad that she had managed to not stop along the way to look at the shrubs in detail because this water was gorgeous in its own right if not the same manner as the ocean. When the female invited her in she answered quickly. "Oh that sounds amazing!" She gazed at the water never unsure of herself but knowing that she was inexperienced. For all the years she had on the youth she had no swum before and though she was sure that instinct would work in her favor she doubted that it was quite as easy as Gray seemed to think it was. "I don't think I've ever done it before." With that said before Plato could interject that the last time she had been in a large body of water she had almost drowned she leapt in, allowing herself to explore the water through sensations other than sight. The sound of it as she splashed into it the feel of floating her fur moving in every direction. her paws barely scraped the bottom and she found herself flailing to stay afloat but it was made easier by the fact that her head was above the water instead of poking at the secrets within its depths.

The lion watched her with concern written plain across his features and he dipped his paws into the shallows but did not make a move to further submerge himself. At least having the courtesy to explain himself he said in a despondent growl "I don't do well with water." While lionesses could plunge about in the waters following prey Plato preferred not to get swept away by the currents. He was a large brute and little could overpower him by strength even if his intellect could be more easily rivaled the sensation of losing control to the water and trusting it to buoy his bulk and not sweep him away was a bit much and he would rather that Ista not drift too far from the shore but he was distinctly aware, with the young one so close, how much like an over-concerned parent he would sound if he made such comments.

Ista seemed either oblivious to his troubles or quite aware of his predicament because she laughed the water splashing up against the bottom of her jaw as she called out to the wolf "Come on!" Moving her paws a bit more determinedly in the water she caused great ripples and large drops of water to go flying inciting the other to play. A trait that she had not lost in all her years.

tagged|| @gray,
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word count|| 700