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After Rome, she had barely done anything. Julien had found herself in a small desert, close to an oasis. It was hot, and she enjoyed sunbathing everyday, and drinking every night. There had been a human camp here long ago, but it had since long been abandoned. Most of the huts were torn to pieces, barely even one truly standing anymore. Digging around the place, she had found drinks in a crate, and had pushed it to the boulder she had claimed as hers. The rock jutted out of the hill side, putting her small crate of alcohol in the shade provided underneath. Being as she had nothing to do, she rarely left her rock, only to go explore the abandoned village. It had been months since she had gotten here, and she had learned how the human made their drinks, but hadn’t tried to make it herself. When her stash ran out, she decided, she’d move on.
The sun hung high in the sky, heat practically oozing out of the ground. A bottle was between Julien’s paws, as she sat on her rock, looking towards the small pool that she had been claiming as hers. She hadn’t seen anyone in days. Travelers were far and few, but she had been friendly. The desert wasn’t made for everyone, she had figured, after sleeping there for about a month. Now many more had passed, mainly because she wished for another party to attend. Julien licked up the liquid that dripped gently from the bottle, growing bored of the day. The entire morning she had slept, and then she had thought of going to the human village, but there was nothing there. During the second month whatever was left standing, she had torn it down. There were only a few bottles left in her crate. There was the temptation to drink it all down in one go, then get on her way to somewhere else. But she instead stretched out, then flopped back down, letting the warmth ebb into her.
It was almost hard not to hear someone coming close. The lioness remained on her side, tail flicking along with an ear. She had just started to really drift off. Maybe they would leave, she thought, half wanting to sleep, but half wanting to meet new people. If they came closer, she would open one eye, peering at the stranger. “Ya touch my drinks, I’ll hafta fight ya.” Even if the words were threatening, her tone was not. It was almost like a mother scolding a child. Finally, she would roll onto her belly, paws handing off the edge of her rock, as she would look at the traveler. “Welcome to the desert. What brings ya here, huh?” She practically purred out. She held her bottle in her paws, looking at whoever had come across her. Julien wasn’t thinking of the threats that come from strangers, but instead wondered how fun they could be. What could they do to entertain her?
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