[PRP] Lions Doggy Paddle? (Ufisadi x Awani)

[SilverLutz]

Ufisadi felt like a new lion, he really did. Just two or so weeks ago he had told his close friend, Awani, about the secret he had kept for so long. She had listened through the whole story and hugged him after, accepting him for his mistakes. Now it felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, and life couldn't be better. He still felt badly about what he had done, but now he was active in trying to pay everything forward. Doing good deeds, helping those who needed a paw. He still enjoyed a good laugh, but make sure others were laughing with him and that it was at no one's expense but his own, and even then it was usually all in good fun.

It was after one such episode of getting his pride mates to laugh - chasing a rabbit and sliding in a pile of mud so that it looked like he was a swamp monster rather than a lion - that he found himself heading to the larger pond in the area to wash off. He was still chuckling as he waded in to the water, watching the pale color of his fur show as the mud seeped out of his fur. Ah...that was better. He moved in a few more inches and carefully stopped once the water reached his chest, working on one part of his body at a time to clean it of mud.  

[Talencia]

It had warmed Awani's heart to see Sadi's demeanor improve so greatly since he'd unburdened himself with her. She'd been so proud to see him interacting, joking harmlessly, and being very social now. He needed friends, and she was so glad that the pride had been the right one to provide them for him, including herself.

Today she was working on a different kind of stealth than what she usually practiced. During a combat situation, one had to use all the options one had to accomplish the mission. Since most felines abhorred water, that meant that using water for reconnaissance and infiltration would be a vital asset to her team. As such, Awani had been working hard not only on her swimming skills, but on her ability to move smoothly and quietly through water.

She was quite gratified to realize that Sadi didn't know that she was there in the big lake. She took a deep breath and dove under the water's surface with barely a ripple. She left her eyes open in the murky water, letting bubbles arise from her nostrils once in a while as she swam closer. She was definitely improving in this new method of sneaking! She drew pretty close to him, due to her smaller size, before she burst from the surface, purposely spraying him with a large amount of water, though resisting the urge to roar like some deep-water monster.  

[SilverLutz]

Ufisadi dunked his head under to relieve his mane of the mud, working his paws against his chest as he sat back on his haunches, trying to get the dirt out as best he could. He'd be itchy tomorrow if he couldn't get it out now, after all. The sun would dry it and it would cake against his skin and...ew. That wasn't something he wanted.

As he washed, he spotted a few bubbles making their way towards him. He tilted his head, watching the pattern bring them closer and closer to where he sat. Curious at what kind of fish was coming to meet him, he leaned in to peer into the water. He barely finished moving in when the all-too familiar face of Awani burst from under the water, sending a tidal wave of cool liquid over him.

"Ah!" He fell over in surprise, paws and tail flailing as he was dunked by his own momentum. He rolled to his feet and stood, gasping for air, eyes wide in surprise and shock at the dunk. He turned to look at Awani, now soaked through and through, and started to weakly laugh.

"What...what was that?" he asked, coughing up a bit of water before his laughter resumed. "Awani...you're a leopard! Not a fish!"

Talencia

 

[Talencia]

She paddled about in the deeper water, just out his reach, grinning at him. The water slicked her fur completely flat, highlighting the angles of her skull and the ripples of muscle in her neck and shoulders She playfully swept one paw across the top of the water, sending a small sheet of water his way. "When this fish bites, you'll wonder if I'm a crocodile rather than a fish!" She peeled back her lips in a mock snarl, revealing her sharp pearly whites.

"Why don't you come learn to fish with me?" she offered, arching a brow and laughing at her continued puns on his description of her. When it came to her job she often was extremely serious, but she was the sort who thoroughly enjoyed a good laugh when safe and sound at home. She paddled in circles as if daring him to come after her. "You look like you could use a bath anyway," she added with another laugh, "so c'mon!"  

[SilverLutz]

Sadi turned his head as Awani splashed him again, still chuckling. He lifted a paw to push his mane out of his eyes, shaking his head just a bit to dry off. His head got heavy when it was this wet! Watching her pretended to be a crocodile made him laugh again, and he was once again on his feet, chest deep in the water.

"Learn to fish?" he repeated, the laughter dying down, but the smile remaining on his face. "Oh...I don't know about that. I like feeling the ground beneath my paws. Besides, I'm getting pretty clean with you splashing me." He lifted a paw to return the favor, sending a little wave of water in her direction.

"Besides, I'm not a very graceful swimmer. You, on the other hand, could pass for a fish. I didn't see you coming at all! You blend in with the darkness out there, too," he added, nodding his head to the darker part of the lake where she continued to circle.

Talencia

 

[Talencia]

She ducked under the water to let the wave flow over her head before poking above the water again, blowing spray from her nostrils and shaking drips from her eyes. She grinned and made a face at him. "That's exactly why you should come learn! Get better at is so you can help me train, hmm?" With a mischievous grin, she ducked back under the water, very pleased with his comment about her blending with the bottom of the lake. This was good news! Usually this would be a maneuver for nighttime, but if she was blending during the day too, that boded well for this being a valid means of approach.

She snaked along the bottom, trying not to stir up too much mud, snuck in close and grazed one of his forelegs with her claws. She did it very lightly, so as not to break the skin at all. It merely was a tag-you're-it sort of touch, then she pushed off the bottom and shot away, parallel to the shore. She burst up into the air about three lengths from him, laughing and pulling herself up to stand in the shallower water. "You're slow!"  

[SilverLutz]

"Get better so I can help you train...riiiiight," Sadi said slowly. "Last time I helped you train I was limping for a week!" Of course he had exaggerated the pain he had been in and played it up just for fun, but the way she had pounced him had been very startling and he had to act like she was a savage beast to make up for his minor embarrassment. Awani went back under the water, though, and he sighed. Great...probably target practice again.

He jumped as a paw suddenly snaked out of the dark water and hooked him around his foreleg. He hobbled aside and looked back to the shore in time to see his friend stand in the shallow water, dripping wet and looking far more muscular now that her fur was plastered to her body. "And now you're trying to dismember me! Gods, you're a cruel leopardess," he called out, shaking his paw dramatically as he moved closer to her. "Look, I think you've severed a tendon, I'll never be able to use my claws again..."

Once he was within striking distance, he reached out and tapped her shoulder with his completely uninjured paw. He gave her a wink before dashing back into deeper water. It was the only way he could go to get away from her, really. Too bad he was in over his head in an instant, and he had to do a rather undignified doggy paddle to keep his head afloat. His bottom sank far below the surface so he was almost perpendicular to the bottom, his tail brushing the weeds that grew there.

Talencia

 

[Talencia]

As he mocked her, she laughed and quietly scooped up a pawful of mud, turning to gaze out over the water while slicking water from her face with the other paw. She knew he was coming, but she still let him get close enough for the lunge-tap. As he turned to leap away, she flung the mud at his retreating mane. It didn't really work, as it was too watered down. All that she ended up doing was flinging muddy drops at the back of his head, which wasn't nearly as satisfying as a glob of mud in his relatively dry mane.

"Oh no you don't!" she yowled like a battle cry, then leaped into the water after him. She soon had sank deep and found his tail. With a wicked grin, she grabbed his tail in her teeth, sinking them in enough to most certainly feel, then turned and rose towards the surface. Breaking into the air again, she began tugging him backwards, towards the shore again. She'd never had made any progress if he'd been touching ground, of course, but in the water, even her small body could move his larger bulk. She definitely liked water evening out the odds!  

[SilverLutz]

Ufisadi continued to paddle weakly, struggling to keep his head above water, but when he felt teeth sink into his tail - just enough to get a good grip, not do any damage - he knew he was done for. Awani might be smaller, but she was a far stronger swimmer than he. Sadi tried desperately to pull away, but it was no use: Awani was dragging him back to the shallows.

"All right, all right!" he said as he tried to doggy paddle just a bit more before giving up, floating with no resistance as his friend tugged him back. He looked over his shoulder, chuckling very quietly. She had enough of his tail in her mouth that he could gently flick her nose with the tip of it. "You win, mighty huntress. Be kind to your prey, will you?"

As his feet touched bottom he let his toes drag in the mud, still smiling. Ah, Awani was something else. Usually she was very calm and rational, but times like this...it was like she was a cub! It was incredibly adorable and admittedly appealing to the lion.

Talencia

Last one from me! Want me to give you Ufisadi's things or shall you give me Awanis? I've got 4 in my breeding post already X3

 

[Talencia]

She grimaced wordlessly at the tailtip flicking water against her nose, and immediately let go as his paws began to drag in the muddy silt on the bottom. She pretended to spit and gag from fur on her tongue, grinned over her shoulder at him, then whacked him with the tip of her own tail, which was significantly more substantial than his own fluffy tip. "You cad," she chuckled. Life was very good with him around. It was wonderful to have a dependable and gentle friend such as he. Her world was much enriched by his presence, and she made no bones about her affection for him. She led him up onto the dry bank so they could both drip-dry and groom out the water and leftover mud. As they sat, she would swat, nudge, nuzzle, or n** according to her mood, but always with the deep respect and comfortable companionship they had developed recently.

If only they could see the joys and sadness that still lay ahead!