[Rhea.]

The female saber stood still on the dune overlooking the rolling sea and roaring gulls. Her short sand color fur swept in all directions from the heavy wind of the ocean. Rhea took little notice of her surroundings as she just stood there with toes and claws dug deep into the sand. The warm beads trapped between her toes was comforting and she dove her paw deeper smiling at the sensation. Her attention was pulled back to the sea as a seagull called loudly near her making her large round ears to snap its way in full attention. With her head cocked to one side, she held her eyes shut to listen intently.

 Rhea had traveled from far way woods a great many leagues away just to hear the ocean lapping against the shores of this beach. The journey had not been an easy one as she only traveled during the full sunlight only being able to follow the heat of the sun beating down on her pelt as a compass. She ate very little, only what she could scavenge. It was not until she was able to actually smell the salty sea air that travel had been easier. Rhea was actually surprised when after finding her way to the beach she had smelled other sabers in the area. She had not been expecting that.

Crossing the border unknowingly, she had found her perch and stood proudly facing the deep waters. In her mind if the others sabers came at her hostilely her she would run for it, run into the sea and take her chances slim as they were. However, if the sabers of the territory seemed forgiving and gentle she may take the chance to stay. Finally finding a place to belong.

Rhea then snapped open her dull blue eyes expecting to see the blue green waters roaring with sea foam against white shores with birds gliding against a pale blue sky. What she saw however was darkness. As far as she could see, was nothing but a black expanse of no one and nothing. She could however feel the waves crashing against the earth vibrating against her half buried paws, hear the ocean and those white birds flying above her, and she could smell the air filled with salt, sand, and sabers.  Who said the blind could not see? Rhea closed her eyes again and continued to take in her surroundings.

[callie]

It had been quite a long time since Calanthe had seen the ocean, had recognized the cliffs and plains from the time when she was just old enough to walk, following behind her parents as they left their pride behind. If she tried hard enough, she could remember her mother trying to teach her to fish in one of the smaller tide pools, pridefully beaming at her when she had climbed out with a small fish in her jaws and seagrass covering her face. Such memories were far away in the young adult's mind, foggy and fragmented. Memories like that served to fuel her curiosity about the land of her birth, intrigued to know of the Seafang clan from which her parents had originated and where she had as well.

But upon the death of her mother, she had been determined to find the lands of which her mother spoke so fondly, melancholy heavy in her voice. Callie had always liked to wander, now was her chance. And so, she had traveled. Across lands far and wide until her paws ached and her pads began to crack and bleed until, at last, she saw familiar prairies and a sliver of ocean in the distance. She had taken off from the forest she had been walking through, plunging into the land with enthusiasm. Until she was stopped by an itty bitty silver-coated snow leopard, calmly informing her that the land was claimed by a new pride.

Calanthe, stricken with the news, had asked what had become of the Seafang pride. The little leopard--Amabelle--had looked away nervously. Apologetically, she had informed the young saber that she didn't know what befell the old pride. However, she did extend the offer to join the new one, a proposition that Callie found too enticing to deny. How could she, when she was always hungry for knowledge? She could potentially find clues of what had happened to her relatives while also learning about the land on which she had spent her first few months alive. Amabelle had welcomed her happily, informing her she was a healer and then sending her on her way.

And now, a few days later, Callie was already hard at work to prove her worth. On her way back to the beach to do some fishing after finishing her morning rounds, the guard spotted a pale golden figure on the horizon. The scent on the wind was not one of Stoneclaw, raising alarm bells in the saber's mind. Hurrying over, quietly, she spoke up to catch the slightly smaller saber's attention. "Excuse me," she began, tone polite but intrigued, "but I'm afraid you're trespassing upon lands that belong to the pride of Stoneclaw. Could you state your name and business?"

As she spoke, she noticed a few things about the figure, even though they were turned away from her. They looked... horribly skinny. Practically emaciated, if Calanthe were honest. But still, the stranger's golden pelt was lovely and, as the guard came up on her right, her face was even more so. She almost gawped, stunned at how, even when starved, the stranger looked so goddamn pretty. "Not to intrude, but are you alright? You look... so skinny," she commented softly, eyes worried for the fellow saber. No one should be that skinny, especially when she should clearly weigh a lot more.

[Rhea.]

Feeling the earth between her toes rumbling Rhea took a deep breath through her mouth tasting the air with her tongue. There was a new scent on the air other than the sea salt air, this one was more familiar and she knew it well. It was one of the Sabers she guessed lived in this territory and the smell was ground stronger. Rhea still stood very still as she listened to far off thudding steps draw closer to her until they stopped a few feet behind her. All else fell away as she focused in on the stranger standing behind her. She could hear the air rushing from strong lungs and the wind hitting a broad frame; if Rhea took a breath, she could smell the saber clean ocean scented fur. Rheas paws and claws stayed buried waiting for any sign of movement, her whole body was relaxed and listening to the world. 

"Excuse me,"
"But I'm afraid you're trespassing upon lands that belong to the pride of Stoneclaw. Could you state your name and business?"

Rhea didn’t bother to face the stranger, being blind she never got into the habit of looking at things. However, she did cock her head until her ear was able to swivel toward the voice. Vocal sound and words was something Rhea was good at deciphering. This particular saber sounded sweet and caring, there was a bit of caution hinted in the others tone but overall Rhea could not hear any malice. While debating on how to answer the sabers question the said stranger continued on, now though the other walked closer to her.

"Not to intrude, but are you alright? You look... so skinny,"

 Rhea could feel the shadow and heat of the others body close to her side now and instinctively she turned her head. She wasn’t quite looking face to face at the stranger but with her eyes still closed she would be facing in the general direction. It was good enough in any case.  She didn’t know how she looked but she knew she always had a hard time finding food. Being how she was hunting was never an easy task so scavenging or eating wild berries and ate able roots she could smell was the only way she could survive. It was an odd thing for a stranger to ask of her wellbeing, since she was trespassing.

Realizing she was now facing the other saber she opened up her pale blue eyes to ‘look’ at the other. Seeing the same darkness as always she focused on the sabers breathing to judge her location. “So, sorry.” Rhea began with a soft breath. “I came here to listen to the sea.. It sounds so wonderful.” Closing her eyes again slowly she continued, “Rhea is my name.”

Turning around fully now with her back to the sea she stood very close to the stranger, “I didn’t mean to cross your boarder, if I may ask. Where am i?” She had heard of Saber clans before but she had never dared to try to enter one, being as she was she always assumed she would be an outcast. Timidly she asked, “May I ask who you are?”

[callie]

Calanthe watched the stranger carefully. As lovely as she may appear, even roses hid thorns. She couldn't let beauty blind her, as much as she might like to. Ironic considering the fact that she didn't know of the other's lack of sight. Regardless, Callie was wary despite the stranger's clear hungry figure. Sometimes, the hungriest were the most dangerous. Though the golden saber's appearance did do her favors in the guard's book, as much as she might be ashamed of it. She had always been a sucker for pretty people (and most people were pretty in her opinion), regardless of how sour their personalities might be. But... this soft golden saber gave Callie the impression that she was different. She sure as hell hoped so.

Even when Rhea didn't face her, Callie tried to appear as least threatening as possible. She didn't want to be rude or potentially seem hostile and, if the stranger were hostile, she would like them to underestimate her capabilities. If she were honest, her skills weren't much, but surprise could always shift the tide if things came down to a fight of tooth and claw. Then again, so could the large weight imbalance.

As Callie came closer, the stranger turned to face her but still didn't open her eyes. And she wasn't exactly facing her, just a bit off from her target. How... odd. She tilted her head, momentarily confused at the movement. Did her eyes hurt?? Did she stare at the sun too long or something? Callie did that once. Not her proudest moment, if she were honest. Then again, she had a lot of those. Sure, she was smart, but did she use that intelligence? Not even a little bit. Common sense was not included in her packaging. You had to pay extra for that and, frankly, Callie was a cheapskate.

"I came here to listen to the sea.. It sounds so wonderful."

Looking toward the sea at the other saber's comment, Callie agreed. The sea really was quite nice, a constant despite the world's constant change. Not as wonderful as you do, the young saber thought in response, ears turning pink at her thoughts. Jeez, Cal, get a hold of yourself. You're on the job! Then again, she had finished her morning rounds earlier so... she wasn't technically on the job, right? Whatever. It was then that Callie turned to look at Rhea again, eyes widening at her pale blue eyes. She had seen eyes like that before.

She's blind.

Blinking, eyes wide, the saber took a few moments too long to respond. "Oh! Uh, my name's Calanthe! But, um, friends just call me Callie or Cal, I guess," she said quickly in return, introducing herself with a bit of nervousness tinting her sheepish tone as she punctuated her sentence with a light chuckle, "You can call me Callie if you'd like." Smooth. Really smooth. "Or Calanthe! Calanthe is fine, too, if you'd prefer it," she fumbled, scrambling her words and almost stuttering. I'm a mess, jeez.

Then Rhea stood up and Calanthe tried to contain her giddy, but nervous, smile at their proximity. She quickly contained herself, scolding herself for acting like a cub with a dumb little crush. She wasn't a cub anymore and she had to be responsible, after all.

"You're in Stoneclaw. By some seaside cliffs. We're a pride of some sabers and even a few other big cats and even a few little wolves I think. I know a very sweet snow leopard, I think you'd like her," she began, starting to ramble before she caught herself. "If you'd like, you could join! We're currently few in numbers and I'm sure everyone would be happy to have you. There's no scarcity in jobs to do, as well. I'm sure you can find a place where you fit, and you can get plenty food too," Calanthe explained, beaming and ending her sentence with a wink despite knowing of Rhea's blindness.

[Rhea.]

Rhea stood there still and sturdy as a tree while the other saber, Callie, who continued to ramble and mutter. The stuttering and awkward note in Callie’s voice was sweet and Rhea could not help but smile fondly in the other sabers general direction. This saber seemed to her to be friendly enough which was a relief; she just listened to the girl fumble over her words. Adorable. With Rhea being blind she couldn’t see the twitching of Callie’s or that general embarrassed look the saber was sure to have, but Rhea could imagine. She hadnt been born blind and vague memories of colors, shapes and expressions was still there for her to conjured up if she needed too. Not that it did any good most the time.

You're in Stoneclaw. By some seaside cliffs. We're a pride of some sabers and even a few other big cats and even a few little wolves I think. I know a very sweet snow leopard, I think you'd like her,"

"If you'd like, you could join! We're currently few in numbers and I'm sure everyone would be happy to have you. There's no scarcity in jobs to do, as well. I'm sure you can find a place where you fit, and you can get plenty food too,"

The offer to join the pride was, unexpected. Rheas face must have shown her surprise because Callie had stopped talking and Rhea was sure she was being looked at expectedly. Rhea had tried in the past to join clans and prides but none would take her because of her disability, this was the first offer. Frowning with worry she stepped closer until her whiskers touched Callies chest, Rhea cocked her head to the side in puzzlement. ”I am blind.” she said this in a blunt and matter of fact tone. Rheas eyes blink as if on Que and she looked a bit worried. “I would love to join but...” the thought of having a home was so appealing she could feel her heart start to race and patter with excitement. However, she knew what she was and even though this saber offered, it might not be all up to her.

“I am afraid I would be a burden on a clan.” she spat out her fears with shaky breath. For a long moment, silence was all between them and Rhea could feel the blood rushing to her ears and pounding violently in terror. She did want to have a home and to join this Stoneclaw. Rhea also wanted this saber to be sure this was going to be acceptable.  ”I don’t want my hopes broken.” She said at last breaking the tension.

If this saber Callie was sure and accepted her into the ranks of Stoneclaw, Rhea would follow her deep into the territory or where ever she would go.

[callie]

Callie only grew more bashful as Rhea smiled at her goofiness. What could be more lovely than that? Even when it was suddenly right in front of her. It was then that she blinked at the sudden close proximity, looking down at Rhea with wide yellow eyes and cherry pink ears, trying to control her growing goofy smile. It wasn't often that she got up close and personal with a pretty girl, especially when said pretty girl was the one encroaching on Callie's personal space. (Did it look like she cared?) Actually, she was pretty sure this was the first time it had ever happened. Regardless, she was lovin' it.

She quickly sensed the shift in the other girl's demeanor, frowning at Rhea's worry. "And? So what if you're blind?" she asked, leaning down and nudging the other saber's face. "Being blind doesn't make you useless, Rhea," she murmured firmly, gazing at the other gently.

At the smaller saber's fearful words, Callie felt her heart begin to break. She had only known her for but a few minutes but already her empathy and sympathy were running rampant. She knew how Rhea had felt, had felt the same many times before. Being a burden was always something she was fearful of, of being a weight upon others without doing anything for herself. She didn't want Rhea to feel that way, especially not if she could help it. No one needed to feel that way, not if Callie was around to change that.

"You won't be a burden," she began, gentle but firm, "and your hopes won't be broken, I promise." Smiling, the brown and cream saber nudged at the other. "You and me, we could be an excellent guard duo. I'm sure you've got one hell of a nose and a surefire pair of ears, right? You could hear people coming long before I could!" Her smile turned to a toothy grin, one filled with warmth as she looked away from Rhea for just a moment to look at the land around them. "You're joining Stoneclaw, Rhea. And if anyone has a problem with that, just come to me and I can handle it if you want me to. I promise."

If the golden saber would relent to Callie's urging, she'd lead the other into the depths of Stoneclaw, all the while babbling about the territory and the pride that inhabited it.