[PRP] Getting Used To This (Jola x Tamu)

[Polette]

Wandering rather aimlessly, Tamu seemed very unfocused today. He had since moved further in to the pride, and things were going well, but he couldn't help but be concerned about Jola. He hadn't seen her in a little while, and he was worried that maybe something had happened.

He tried to look on the bright side, to lighten his mood. For one, there was now another cheetah in the pride. Secondly, she was nice, and sweet, and friendly, and....Tamu stopped himself mid-thought. The more he dwelled on how thankful he was to have another cheetah in the pride, the more he started to worry about her.

Focusing more on his surroundings now, Tamu flicked his brown eyes in a few random directions. Wait...was that? Taking in a sharp breath, he could feel the excitement welling in his chest as he layed eyes on a familiar black silhouette.

 

[Polette]

His eyes wide with hope and excitement, Tamu felt his heart sink as she apparently didn't see him. Well, that did seem to be something she'd do. Letting out a semi-relieved sigh, Tamu trotted up behind her, a smile on his face.

"Jola~" Peeking around to her face, Tamu chuckled a little to himself. She had seemed so focused and in-thought, it made him feel a little bad for trying to interrupt it. "You look a little....lost?" Grinning at her, he felt a little mean for pointing it out.

"No matter...I'm just glad to see you." Glancing to the side, the words were a little hard to say for some odd reason. Wasn't he excited to see her? It just didn't seem to want to show for some reason.

 

[Polette]

Watching her reaction, Tamu couldn't help but let out a small laugh. There was something so....charming about it. It almost seemed cruel, finding humor in someone else's shock, but Tamu really couldn't help it.

"Oh, I went out a little earlier." Giving her a smile, he thought about his early-morning search - he had found some vibrant feathers, which had really made him happy. "You probably should." Leaning in a little closer in a teasing way, Tamu grinned at Jola. Part of him didn't want her to change, because he loved her reactions.

"You were....looking for me?" Leaning back, he felt almost....embarrassed. Shuffling his paws in the dirt a little, he glanced down, swallowing his nerves. "Oh, I've been good." Smiling, his focus returned to the dark cheetah before him. "Just...you know. Keepin' busy." He chuckled slightly, thinking of his profession. He couldn't have picked a better thing for him to do. "But how are you? I was....worried." His eyes trailed off a little.

 

[Polette]

Standing there, Tamu kept his eyes on Jola as she spoke. He always thought it was good practice in paying attention, but he felt a little more....absorbed today.

"Oh, yeah." He smiled at her, kind of happy at her surprise. "For what I do, I find that I travel out a lot, to find lots of special things." He glanced to the side, lowering his voice to a barely audible level. "I found you out there, after all..." And she was special. To him, it was one of the greatest things to have a friendly face here. Well....yeah.

"Busy is nice." Nodding his head, he really wondered what she was like when she wasn't with him. "It can be slow when you first start out." Chuckling to himself, he remembered his first couple tries at finding and making things. It had gone....a little disastrously. "But I just know that you'll get the hang of it really quick. And if you ever need help, I'm always here."

 

[Polette]

"Be of help to me?" Tamu's ears perked at the thought. It really would be nice to have her helping, and livening up his day. "Oh, yes, of course." Smiling at her, he felt a little sad at the thought of her trading with others, but he didn't focus too much on it.

"So, um..." For once, he found himself at a loss for words. "....you like it here?" Grinning sheepishly, he really wanted to have something interesting or funny to say, but he found himself quite tonge-tied.

Though, there was some merit in his question. He was the one, after all, who really showed this place to her, and if she didn't like it - well, he'd feel just awful. This was his home now, and he wanted Jola to feel the same way he did about it.

 

[Polette]

"That.....I'm glad." Looking down for a moment, Tamu tried to hide the smile on his face. He knew it must've been so hard for her to be able to come to a pride of all places, with that kind of fear. He had grown up living on good terms with lions near his den, so he found that coming here was almost....natural.

"I think it was just....harder on my own, I guess." Laughing a little, he thought back to his adolescent days, roaming around with no one by his side. His sisters had their own lives, and Tamu had just needed to find a life of his own. "Though I definitely would've preferred meeting someone like you first." Smiling at her, he wondered what it would have been like if they had met before he had come to this pride. He loved this pride, he did, but his own species was something nothing could replace.

 

[Polette]

"So we have." Ears perking up at those words, his mind returned to the present task; he had just returned from searching, hadn't he? That scene seemed so far away now, with Jola standing before him.

"I- you have no idea how happy that makes me." Glancing down for a moment, the words were a little on the quiet side. He was so glad to hear someone finally say that to him, especially her.

"Would you like to help me with me work, then?" Smiling at her, he thought it'd be nice to have a little company while he worked on things. Plus, an extra paw or two couldn't hurt.