He was free.

Free from the guilt, the constant nagging in the back of his head. The look of disappointment from his father. How his mother would glance sorrowfully at him from the shadows. No longer was he the liger they looked down upon, but a liger of his own. Years of torment, nightmares, startling awake unable to breathe and covered in sweat would hopefully soon be behind him. He could feel it in his bones. In how his massive paws pressed into the damp, soggy ground that squelched beneath his toes.

As soon as he had crash landed on the shore, raft a miserable mess of wet soaked logs that barely held his weight, he was off. Cooped up on something so small for so long, he wanted to stretch his legs. Every joint creaked and moaned as he elongated his spine and gave his whole body a good tension relieving shake. Hunger churned in his stomach, but he soon knew he would have something to eat. It was the energy built up in his nerves, his blood, his muscles that he needed to release first.

Raumr Regalus, the Third

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Look at that. A running cat. Taiga lay upon one of the boulders near the runestones, eyes of claret fixed on the land beyond, when an interesting sight caught her eye. A big lion running full tilt across the plain nearby. His face seemed joyous rather than angry or focused on the hunt. Big paws pulled at the edge of the stone, claws protruding to sink at the stone. Should she? Mmm... yes. Yes she should.

A moment later, the giant cave lioness launched herself off of her pedestal and ran after the maned feline. His scent tickled her nose and the lioness was a bit confused. Not a lion. Not a tiger. Both? Neither? She'd have to ask him about it when she caught up to him.

The black and white feline cut through the terrain, her strides long and graceful. She wouldn't be able to hold this pace forever due to her size, but she could hold it long enough to run beside the man for a short while. As she came up level with him, one brow lifted and Taiga flashed a grin before putting on a final burst of speed just for fun. Shortly after she was spent and was forced to skid to a halt. Thankfully there was a little stream nearby and Taiga moved towards it, dipping down to wet her tongue and cool off.

"Taiga"

Raumr did not expect to be in the likes of feline company so soon. How had he not noticed the gigantic female that now sped up behind him? At first, he didn't take note. Only focused on the strain of his muscles, his skin pulling taut as he continued his energy spending run. It's not until the thud of her paws that trembles the very ground beneath his own does he look backward. Surprise flits across his expression for a mere moment, fiery amber eyes widening momentarily as he takes her in. Never in his life had he seen such a beautiful specimen before.

While others might panic, Raumr smiles back, his lopsided grin framed by the scars around his lips and nose. She easily overtakes his stride, bursting ahead of him with a gorgeous smile that makes his insides melt instantly. Out of breath both from the exercise and what stands before him, he skids to a stop, droplets of mud spraying up his tan and ivory legs. He knows he doesn't look his best currently. His mane is crusted with sea salt, his coat is in desperate need of a bath, and his stomach in need of a good meal, but he won't shy away. Fear was the number one thing that got anyone killed. No, this would be his moment.

Following her to the stream, long strides and large paws carrying him with an unearthly grace, he too approaches the water. Dipping his own muzzle to the surface, lapping quietly at the cool and refreshing liquid, he only dares steal a momentary glance at her. Let the silence sink in for a moment longer, only until their bellies are full and water is falling from their lips.

Pleased with how his arrival to this foreign land is turning out, but thoroughly exhausted from the journey, he plops himself down with his front paws laying partially in the stream. Stretching out his legs and rolling over to his side, he faces the queen that will soon haunt his every dream. "I have only just arrived in these lands and already, such an alluring lady is here to welcome me? What have I done to be so blessed?" His throat, now thoroughly wetted, allows deep, rumbling vocals as thick as honey and just as sweet to roll easily off of his tongue as he maintains a relaxed but interested gaze upon her.

Raumr Regalus, the Third

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photo credit unplash.com

One her thirst was slated, Taiga rose again, elbows straightening. Droplets of water clung to her lips and she licked them away before turning to the stripey man. Eyes of ruby watch as he gracefully deposits himself upon his side in the stream, not at all concerned about getting wet. He eyes her and Taiga brazenly does the same, taking in the way that his pelt shifts from pale to earthen and striped. He's a beautiful specimen of feline maleness and Taiga quite appreciates both his appearance and his thick, honeyed speech.

A rumble of laughter leaves the giantess as she settles down on the bank. The rosette covered lioness dropped onto her side, then rolled about on her back like some little kitten. Toes spread as she stretched, accompanied by a wide yawn that flashed horridly long canines. Only once she settled on her side in the grass, one red eye upon the man, did she answer. "I suppose you were in the right place at the right time."

The felines long tail flicked through the grass in long, languid strokes. Despite being terribly handsome, the lion was a mess. His fur was mottled with dirt and his mane hung in clumps. He said that he was new to these lands... had he been blown to Auster in a whirlwind? "I am called Taiga," she informed the man, a mischievous glint in her eye, "And you need a bath."


"Taiga"

His fiery gaze lingers on the woman who stretches before him. Her form is impressive and her beauty is untold. A simple elegance that he doesn't ever want to look away from. How he had truly come to be so blessed? Had his hard work paid off? All the running, the fear, the nightmares, would they be over now that he was here? Wherever it was that he was...

"And what might this right place be called?" He questions with a lift of his brow. His tail sweeps through the grass as well, a playful flick to it as he smiles charmingly back at her. There was something mischievous and luring about her expression, her ruby gaze, her everything. Even her name is perfection, so fitting for a female such as herself and he takes no insult to her comment. Instead, he lets out a rumbling laugh that leans his chin back toward the heavens. "I spent many weeks at sea and salt water unfortunately is not good bath water or terribly tasty," he admits cheekily as he places his fiery gaze back upon Taiga.

"I am Raumr and perhaps you might be interested in helping me refresh my appearance?" Raumr lets his head cant, body shifting slightly to a more comfortable position as his toes flex in the water. Jumping into the stream would be one way to rinse the dirt and salt from his fur and hair, but a lady to join him would make it all the more enticing.

Raumr Regalus, the Third

table coding by bunni ♥
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The liger giant asked her what the place was called and Taiga tipped her head back and forth in a contemplative fashion. "This continent is called Auster. These are the Runestones." she then motioned towards the north. "That way lays Boreas, across the land bridge." The lioness had come to know these lands fairly well, though she knew Auster less well than the frigid northern territories. Lion though she may be, winter was her element, as the thick coat indicated.

He had come from the sea; an intriguing thought. Desert cats like his species of lion weren't as fond of water as she was, she imagined. And yet... he'd come across the water and he lay in water now. Perhaps she didn't know as much about this newer blood as she thought. That was good. Taiga liked surprises.

A name was given and it was a very fitting one at that. The maned man looked like a Raumr. His cheeky reply, asking her to help him, brought an intrigued rumble from the black and white feline. Was he testing her? Did he expect her to reject his offer? Hmm.

Rising from her place in the grass, Taiga stepped out into the cool water of the stream. Physical contact was common in cats, and so she wasted no time in beginning to groom him, her warm, pink tongue dragging across his brow. She could taste the salt on his fur and wouldn't be able to take much of it, but she'd risen to the challenge, at least.

"Taiga"

Raumr takes a moment to glance around at the Runestones and the further distance past them. It already seemed to be such a massive place. He would have to do much exploring, his mind already settled on it. For now though, he would return his focus back to the pretty lady near him. Watching as she moves into the water closer to him, he can't help the smile that spreads across his lips.

"I will forever be thankful and in your debt," Raumr croons as her warm, pink tongue drags across his brow. Pressing into her touch, he lets out a pleased rumble, his eyes closing for a moment. As his fiery eyes flutter back open, he scoots deeper into the stream so that the rest of him could begin to rinse itself of the ripe salt water that coated every hair upon his body. In return for Taiga's generosity, Raumr's own darkened tongue reaches out to move across her cheek and down near her neck.

Raumr Regalus, the Third

table coding by bunni ♥