[Request] From The Rivers To The Coast

[Jaybird]

The duststorm had been raging for hours. Fine, sharp sand sweeping across the open landscape, blinding the animals the got in its path. The swift-footed, antelope and giraffe and the birds too, fled before it, racing to keep out of the danger. The sturdy, the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus and the elephant, stood firm, backs turned against the sand, trying to outlast it.

A grey shape sped across the dry land, footprints being washed away behind him by the roaring wind. A lion. He panted through gritted teeth, sliding to crouch behind an overhanging rock in the hope that the storm could not last much longer. His dark, almost black, mane was matted with sand and grass that had been kicked up by the wind, his green eyes red as he rubbed them with one paw, trying to remove the grains that had gummed around the edges.

Kicheko sighed deeply and settled more comfortably behind his makeshift shelter. He was tired, and as his growling belly reminded him, hadn't managed a kill, or even scavenged someone else's, in days. He looked sadly into the storm, knowing sooner or later the wind would have to die down. But for his own sake, he hoped sooner.

[Lillian]

Rahdi had ran against the wind, seeing a small boulder to shelter behind and not giving one thought about his smaller brother, who had been finding it hard to keep up. "Rahdi! Help me!", he said, coughing and being pulled back. The older lion sighed and bit his neck fur, dragging him back and making sure he was ok.

"Farji! Next time keep up with me!", he shouted in his brother's face as the storm kept on blowing. "It's not my fault, you're the one who decided to go into the desert!", his brother shouted back. The two argued for a while before settling down, waiting for the storm to pass.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

"Shani! Shani!", the distressed lioness called out, her mate pulling her back, away from the rolling duststorm. No one would of noticed the tiny figure trying to fight against the winds, sand in her eyes. Shani wanted to cry but she kept walking, but alas, she couldn't hold out. She curled up on the sandy floor of the desert and hid her face.
-------
Dafina had been sheltering underneath a lonesome tree that had fallen down during the storm, she growled and looked up to the sky, "Dreadful weather!". She had been lonely for some time now, not having seen another lion in days, now this storm just dampened her mood.

[Jaybird]

Kicheko could not stand the stillness any more, despite the storm that was still whipping itself into a frenzy outside, the lion left the rock. Head bowed against the wind, his paws ached from the effort of pressing on. He growled to himself.

"Looks like you're in bad shape old boy,"
After many months alone, Kicheko had picked up the habit of talking to himself recently. Inwardly, he realised it was probably due to sheer loneliness. Five months ago he had a family, his sisters, to talk to. Being a rogue was taking some serious getting used to.

To his sheer delight, he thought he noticed a drop in the wind, just a little. Maybe it was his imagination, but the pressure against his face and chest from the pounding sand seemed infinitescimally less, and it was enough to raise his spirits a little.

[Lillian]

(I have Wi-Fi tonight ^^ Going out soon but I'll be back later hopefully)

Farji's ears perked up, did the wind just die down slightly? He looked over to his brother, "Rahdi, I think it's got calmer, shall we find better shelter?". The older lion sighed, "Nooo, we're fine here idoit! W-Where are we now?". Farji shrugged and looked out again, it looked even calmer, maybe he was right.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

As the winds continued to die down, Shani looked up, facing away from the wind she saw a grey figure, a grey lion. She got up, and managed to come closer and shouted against the wind, knowing her voice probably wasn't that loud. "Hello? Hello?", she croaked, some sand got into her mouth and she spluttered.
-------
Dafina heard some lions arguing from behind her, one was called Rahdi apparently, she decided to go and say hi when the storm calmed down completely, she needed a friend right now.

[Jaybird]

Kicheko pricked his ears up, he could have sworn he heard a voice behind him. Whipping his head around, away from the wind, he squinted into the dust. For a brief moment he thought there was nothing there. Then he saw a shape in the storm, a lioness.
For a minute he was almost driven to run away, worried she might be defending a territory, or a kill, or worse, cubs. He had run in with angry mothers before, and wasn't prepared to do it again. But his curiosity was strong, and the loneliness of the last few months drove him to turn tail and step towards the lioness. Tense, prepared to run, he answered her call. "Hello?" He called, as loudly as he could against the wind.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Shani came closer, her eyes stinging the very young lioness tried to clear the sand from her throat. "Help me...", she coughed. She fell over in the sand, the winds had picked up again and died down, they had been doing this for a while. Like most people say, 'It gets worse before it gets better'.
----
Dafina meanwhile had got up and started to make her way to the small boulder, where the two male lions were sheltering.

[Jaybird]

Kicheko saw her struggling, and his tension melted away to urgency. Despite the wind he bounded over as best he could, stumbling in his blindness. Despite his small stature, the lioness was smaller. He lifted his shoulders to attempt to shield the dust from her face, trying to allow her to stand up, turning his own head away.
"This way," He coughed, gesturing in the direction he had come from, back to where he had sheltered under the overhang, "It's safe there."