[Razlok]

The morning had started out awfully, with visions that left Eldr shaking when they awoke, but the questions they were left with had no answers -- except to wander more. It was regrettable. The lion had been wandering for... well, as long as they could remember. To be more specific, they'd seen the moons of at least a year pass, maybe more. There had been a period of time at the beginning, where Eldr had just been... running. From whatever thing that had latched onto their dreams and gave them waking nightmares that left their heart stuttering in their chest. 

Now, they paced a forest between two dark barked trees some distance apart from each other, in the hopes that the repetition might bring some order back to their life. Eldr reached the end of their path, scraping the bark of the tree with their hip to leave some residue on their light fur as they turned around. The other tree was far in the distance, barely visible, and Eldr began their pacing again. The tension in their body made it impossible for Eldr to remain calm and retract their claws, so the tips of the overgrown appendages dug into the leaf litter, pulling up little bits on their points as they moved. The ginger banded tail of the lion moved rapidly in irritation as they mumbled. 

"But who would know? I've asked the bones an' I've asked the deep waters an' I've asked the- the- No, they gotta be sentient, right?" They barely slowed down to dodge a fallen branch, continuing to talk rapidly. "Who would know? I can't keep this up, I gotta go somewhere, I gotta-" They reached the other tree and turned on their heel abruptly, continuing their manic ritual as they reasoned out the issue.

[Shiisiln]

Willow paused in his wanderings. He wasn't entirely sure where he was; he'd been traveling through these thick, dark forests for weeks now, with hardly any sign of other people. He'd begun to wonder if he would ever meet anyone out here, or if he was just doomed to walk around in circles without ever seeing another soul.

But he'd just heard a voice nearby, he SWORE he had.

He turned and started walking towards it, despite the misgivings in his heart. There was always a chance than whoever was talking would be hostile towards him... but Willow had been traveling on his own for so long that he thought a fight would be preferable to the constant loneliness.

After walking only for a few yards, they catught a glimpse of something moving between the trees. Yes, this was definitely where the voice was coming from; Willow could hear someone uttering under their breathe as they walked back and forth.

Curious, he stepped forward to get a closer look- but his paw hit a large stick which snapped loudly under his weight. He cringed back nervously; whoever it was, friend or foe, they knew he was here now.

[Razlok]

Halfway through the next lap of pacing, Eldr heard a noise, the snapping of a branch. The forest was dark and still around them, so it couldn't be blamed on weather. Only uninvited company. The lion's instinct was to go on the defensive - swiveling to face the sound with their paws spread out so they could jump or sprint if need be. They scanned the treeline for signs of life as their heart beat rapidly in their chest. Eldr wasn't an aggressive being, but the sickness that caused the muttering anxiety and the stressed pacing had set them on edge.

"Who's there?" They called out to the trees, hoping idly that the only bark they'd find was the wooden kind. This was a strange land, and although Eldr had found themselves lucky so far, there was always a chance for conflict.

Tentatively, they moved forward to peer around the trunks and brush until they spotted another creature - a young bear? Eldr immediately dropped the tension in their body. The exact goings on of bears was foreign to them, but they remembered 'angry mama bear' was a thing. A thing Eldr didn't want to experience first hand. Paw. "Oh, hello. You startled me."

[Shiisiln]

Willow cautiously emerged from the bushes and looked up at the lion. He hadn't wanted to reveal himself quite so soon, but this creature didn't seem to be angry- or hungry.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to. I just heard your voice, and I was curious... I haven't seen anyone out here for a long time."

[Razlok]

"You been wanderin' long?" That was the first question that popped into Eldr's thoughts, even though a number of other ones probably should have occurred to them first. They tried to stand nonchalantly, as if they hadn't been pacing and muttering for the past... who knows how long. It occurred to them that the leaf litter impaled by their claws was unattractive (and weird), so they went about scraping it off while they talked. "I was just reasoning through a problem out loud, sometimes it helps me think."

[[OOC: Sorry for the delay, irl stuff happened.]]