Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ashanti was sleeping. They’d hunkered down in a small grove to escape the midday sun and, exhausted from the long walk from the jungle, Baraka’s adopted mother had laid down for a little rest. But that little rest was turned into a very long one, as Ashanti began snoring, ears twitching from whatever dreams were visiting.

And Baraka was bored.

‘We’re not in roguelands,’ his mother had warned. ‘We may not be welcome here.’

Or something like that. Baraka didn’t care. He still had so much energy to waste and this was his first time exploring lands that were so wide and open and not full of endless wet trees. So off he scampered. In the far distance a massive rock loomed, dominating the landscape.

He’d never make it that far so he settled for an anthill, stalking the long line of ants as they went about their business.

The stalker did not realize for a second that he was also being stalked. Baraka was following the ants, head close to the dirt, watching them scurry along, wondering what the inside of their anthill looked like when -

“AAGH!” He gave a yell as something heavy landed on him and for a moment he was convinced he felt talons wrap around his belly because it must be an eagle swooping down to snatch him up. He rolled, kicking out blindly at his attacker.

Oh, they were furry.

Not an eagle.

Cool. Whatever it was, he bit it.

“I thought you were trying to eat me! You could have been a hyena or somethin’,” he protested, his non-existent mane bristling along his neck. “Who just jumps someone like that?”

With a bit of grumbling, he sat up, looking her over properly. He’d played with plenty of cubs when he was in the jungle but it’d been just himself and his new mum for a while now. This was the perfect opportunity to have some fun.

“Pride? Nah. I don’t need any pride.” He looked smug about it, his head turning to follow her circling. “I’m a rogue. Free to roam wherever I please. The name’s Baraka. What about you?”

Huh? A princess? As if.

That was a fun game though.

“Oh yeah,” he laughed. “Pleasure to meet you, your highness.” He gave a silly little bow over his paw. “But you’re not the only royalty here. I was going to keep it a secret buuuut, my true name is Prince Baraka of the Roguelands, and of course I'm out here on my own. I don’t need anyone!”

And hopefully his mum didn’t wake up any time soon to ruin his story.

“Well, yeah,” she was poking holes in his lie and Baraka did some quick mental gymnastics, “but they need someone to rule over them, y’know. They call me the Roaming Prince and we, uh, we meet up once a year to talk about important royal stuff or whatever.”

It still sounded ridiculous but they were both just playing anyway.

He laughed, rolling his eyes a bit. “Uh yeah, I totally believe you.” Spoiler: He did not.

“Ok,” he said at her declaration, tail flicking eagerly. “Go on then, prove it, princess.”