SECONDHAND SMOKE — JOINING - Printable Version

Gods, it was hot.

The noonday sun walked its searing fingers up her spine, setting the skin beneath the fur alight. Her tongue was a rash of nettles in her mouth, scraping raw her teeth and throat. Poison had always been a skeleton of a cat, but it had been a long time since her ribs had strained so desperately against the walls of her pelt. All she'd eaten in the past day was a lizard that had taken more energy to catch than it was worth. That, and the sand blowing through the dunes and into every crevice of her body. Mostly sand. She was a desert herself by now.

She dismissed it as a mirage at first. A hallucination, her mind conjuring up miracles where there were none. But as her paws lurched onward, the vision loomed closer. She had to pass by several trees, strung with vines, and towering shrubs, buzzing with insects, before she finally stopped to concede: Yes, this was a jungle. Yes, this was real. The humid air choking her lungs was a welcome change from the monotony of the desert.

Water from a recent rainfall had collected in the wide leaves of a nearby shrub, magnifying the green veins of its container. The first hasty sip sent her coughing and sputtering. As she drank, fresh vitality surged through her, washing away the haze in her head. Washing away the strain of the past few weeks, the sleeplessness and the solitude. Her muzzle was soaked when the small pool finally ran out. Clearer-eyed, she glanced up.

A treehouse creaked in the canopy above her.

Well, fuck.

Ninazu smelled the intruder before seeing the cheetah – the lioness took to patrolling the rainforest whenever her head needed clearing. Occasionally, that meant dealing with an ornery slave while already in a poor mood, but her outings usually provided nothing more interesting than prey to hunt. Today, obviously, failed to give her a peaceful moment; well, at least that kept the boredom demons away.

Lashing her fire-tipped tail, the lioness calmly walked towards the lithe female. With the desert smell clinging to the other’s skin, she doubted there was any need to rush. Besides, cheetahs weren’t known for their endurance, and Ninazu stubbornly tracked her prey no matter the initial headstart or distance.

“The jungle and everything else here belongs to the Pitt. So, what are you here for?” she asked, voice clinical and clipped. Right now, the lioness didn’t see a potential recruit to the ranks – instead, the cheetah looked to be a desert wanderer too green to remember to pack water. Of course, Ninazu knew plenty of people joined the Pitt that way; when she worked as the group’s primary healer, she saw plenty of dehydrated newcomers. But she wasn’t about to offer help or the like without getting something in return.

Poise threw her head back, grumbling out a sigh. The first shelter she found from the elements, and it was a fucking VIP clubhouse. The world had it out for her. "You know what," she began, turning around. The words died on her lips.

An on-fire lioness in the middle of the jungle wasn't the weirdest thing she'd ever seen, but it was up there. Did the water here do things to you? Poise let her gaze roam over the lioness's form, then snap back up to make steady contact. She lifted her lip in a grin. If this was Death, she didn't want to live. "Came to see you, of course," she said, winking a sand-encrusted eye. Her voice was hoarse. That was sexy, right?

Gods, if they could see her now. She'd blame her lack of inhibition on the sleep deprivation, but they'd just call her out on her shit. Bet you anything they were having better luck on their own. She dropped the smirk and leaned forward. "Look, hot stuff, I'll kick your ass if I have to, but I don't plan on eating sand for a week again. Give me some good food and a place to pass out for a few hours, and we'll be golden."

/ ooc: i'm so embarrassed on my daughter's behalf rip