<style type="text/css">
.maritlala {padding:15px; line-height:1.3em;}
.maritlala p {font-family:geneva, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size:1em;}
.maritlala b {font-family:tahoma;}
</style>
It was strange how he took such pleasure in patrolling. The painted cane was fastened behind him where he sat atop Belle, watching the world around him absent-mindedly as he - as she! - patrolled familiar paths. He did very little, in fact, other than enjoy the peace of his surroundings. It was very likely that the state of mind he was in would cause him to need a few moments to gather himself should anything unexpected happen. What a useful scout he was, who was too busy staring at all kinds of real and unreal things about him to notice they were straying from their usual path? Belle knew the paths, but she wasn't young, either. Only when a very, very familiar scent tickled his nostrils did Dawali realized she had taken him far out towards the borders in a different direction than what had been intended. He did not signal her to stop and turn around, however, because he recognized the scent of another Amara, and soon she was heading towards the source at a much higher pace.
With the sun high in the sky, Dawali's pelt shone like the burning embers of the Great Fire itself, and not far ahead he saw one who mirrored that pelt. His shorter, stockier older brother, it was! The Chief lifted a hand and held it there as he called out a greeting for the male. How he wanted to just swing down off of Belle's back to greet his brother properly! But, the leg would not allow it. Instead, he slowed Belle to a halt quite close to Songan, and beamed at his brother from up there. "Hello, Songan!" He was quite cheerful now, compared to what his mindset had been for the past days and hours. "You've followed Chitsa to come take care of us, I guess?" he joked, winking at the older male. Still, there was some truth to it in Dawali's mind. With their 'Doda gone, Songan was perhaps the closest thing to a father Dawali had. What else could have brought the male to come here? "She arrived only days ago. You were not engaged in the conflict?" It was curiosity, as much as it was his need to map out the existing information. Who had been touched by the conflict?