Lion of Prideless
Played by KittyKookiez
tl;dr below if you don't feel like reading all this :s
At first glance, anyone who sees Matthias hanging around the gaping maw that is the Rift of Thade--name unknown--would call him crazy. They're wrong! He knows exactly what he's doing, something he knows he doesn't even need to assure himself of, and he's done it often. While this was his first time at this particular place, Matthias had been to many dangerous places in his lifetime. Some of those feats caught up to him, in the form of scars that would never heal, or a memory that would truly scare him, but he did not give in to fear. He did not fear bleeding, or pain. He looked forward to the thrill, the adrenaline, the pure excitement felt everytime he made himself face the monsters behind him, whether they were beast, place, or object. It is part of what boosts his confidence, gives him drive, gives him purpose. He must do things like this, because without it, he is not here. He is not alive.
The lion carefully finds himself descending the slopes of the Great Maw (a name he personally gave it) in a slow, meticulous manner. As daring as he is, caution must still be used in such situations. The part of the slope he found himself on was not as steep as other parts, something he checked before even making his first step down. Bright eyes scan for any details that might gleam from the darkness of the Maw, but all the way up here, he sees nothing. He wonders, constantly, what may be below. The dead bodies of many failed explorers... he mused, wary of the idea but otherwise unbothered. But perhaps there is treasure? In his travels, he had come across quite a few lions and others who sported accessories. Necklaces, bracelets, ear-rings, bandanas... How the hell did they get those things? They made them? How did they find those beautiful gems, those glowing artifacts? He wanted a necklace or something of his own one day. Something that could, perhaps, match his eyes. Or maybe something that stood boldly out from the rest of his body--some color so bright that it was nigh impossible not to catch the eyes of anyone who dare glance his way. He wanted something that would command respect and revere, something as bold as he was. Yes...that was another thing that egged him on.
Claws scrape and dig themselves into the sharp, sandy slopes and ledges as best as a lion could. The descent down would be slow and hard, which is the reason why he chose this particular day to explore. What, you thought he just came across the Great Maw and and plunged right in? No, no, no! He thought to himself, as if there was an audiance watching his daring feat. The thought made him smile. The weather is clear and sunny, and there's a warm, slow breeze.
Indeed: it was early morning when he set out to do his task. The sun peeked out from the horizon shyly when he made his way to the Maw. The evening before, Matthias took to hunting enough food to get himself comfortably full, then slept all through the night to regain a bunch of his energy. It had not rained around here in days, and the sky was littered with clouds for the past few days, clouds that did not thicken or bundle up. Today, the weather was much the same. The time he'd spent here was not much; great progress had been done in the past hour or so, and the sun was fairly visible by now, and orange glow surrounding the ball of light like a blanket. He would have plenty of time, in theory, to get to the bottom while the sun was still out. Depending on how much he explored, he might even be able to get out just before the sun sets--but it was all speculations. Guesstimations. It did not deter him. The food he caught would be enough to last him a few days. And there would, hopefully, still be enough light from overhead for him to use it to aid in his night-vision. While exploring the cave itself would be a challenge in and of itself, he liked to think that the journey up wouldn't be so bad. After all, this wasn't his first time climbing up steep places.
With tail out for balance and toes splayed, Matthias continued his journey downwards. He noticed, as he descended, that there were many nooks and crannies hidden amongst the sides of the Maw. Did prey live around here? A good whiff of the air answered his question with a yes. So, even if something bad happened, at least he could try to find a snack around here.
“Text”
tl;dr: Matthias is descending the Rift of Thade carefully. It is early morning with scattered clouds. He is not that far down, and can be easily seen and heard if someone peared over the edge and raised their voice.
