Chupa was bored, very bored. Her paws seemed to have never been so restless. She was an active pup, constantly moving, running, jumping. Chupa meant 'jump'; she had even been named appropriately! She couldn't find her siblings, or her mother, so she'd gone for a wander. Not too far, she was within sight of the den thus far, and intended to keep within the packs borders. Chupa had heard whisperings of tales from the outside world and wasn't sure that it was safe. They had been to visit the Nyota during their festival, but that was different, they were all together. She was an active and playful pup, but she also knew when to stay safe. Some of the things she had heard in passing from the adults had both frightened and intruiged her. Perhaps today, she would find someone to talk to in the Tangambili, but perhaps not. The little maroon and white pup skipped along joyfully, clumsily trying to avoid a small rock or two in her path.
Londea hadn't been in the place long, but she was sure it was where she wanted to stay. Being on her own had never had her feeling safe- but now, now it seemed like she could actually relax every once in a while. Assuming she was welcome there. She still wasn't sure if she needed to do something special to call this place her home.
Sighing softly, she sat herself down, though she didn't have much time to her thoughts. Blinking, her ears perking, she turned her head, peering over her shoulder at a young pup heading her way. "Oh," she offered softly, "hello little one."
Chupa was still in a world of her own bouncing along when she heard a voice and attempted to stop mid-skip. Unfortunately it wasn't as successful as she hoped and she ended up half falling towards Londea. She picked herself up and her eyes widened. It certainly wasn't Mama or her sisters, and she hadn't seen this lady around before! Scurrying a little closer across the ground she jumped up to steady herself on her paws and looked cautiously at the female. She looked like she would be friendly, at least. "Hello!" She called out, fidgeting on the spot. "Are you from around here? Mama says not to talk to strangers, but you look like us so you might be safe."
Londea let out a little gasp when she saw the puppy fall, getting to her feet and moving to see if the little thing was okay. But before she had even managed to get very far, it looked as though the puppy was back on her feet again. Good- she really didn't want to join a pack with letting a puppy get hurt as her opening first impression.
Probably wouldn't have gone over very well.
"Your Mama is right," she smiled lightly, "you shouldn't talk to strangers. It can be dangerous if you're not careful. But I'm not here to hurt anyone, so you don't have to worry. My name is Londea- I'm from quite far away and I found this place during my travels." She smiled brightly, her tail swaying slowly from side to side. "I thought it might be a nice home. Do you like it here?'
Chupa hadn't bothered to worry when she fell. In all honesty she was used to it, constantly running and skipping everywhere had it's disadvantages. The red pup had never been particularly surefooted. The soft ground hadn't been too harsh of a fall. Listening to Londea speak, she nodded dramatically. "Strangers can be dangerous, but I'm glad that's not what you are! I didn't think so!" She offered Londea a wide smile "It's a good home, Oh yes! I was born here with my sisters, and there's another pack that we're friends with too, and we went to their celebration, and we met loads of other wild dogs, and it was really good. I had so much fun and I hope one day we can go again or maybe they will come and visit us but I'm glad you like it here because I do too and it is a good place to be!" The pup finally stopped for a sharp inward breath and then asked the question she'd been dying to ask once she'd got everything else out of the way. "What's it like out there though, travelling?"
Londea smiled. The pup was very nice, though she hoped that it didn't come back to haunt her. Maybe things were different when you had a pack- maybe you didn't have to worry about it so much. But when she had been in the rogue lands, she had never thought to talk to strangers. Normally they would try to kill her if she tried. It was a dangerous place, as far as she was concerned, and she was glad to be rid of it. Assuming she was rid of it, of course. What if this pack had no space for her?
She would have to go back out there all on her own again.
"Wow, this sounds very nice," she hummed lightly, "you pack sounds lovely and I'm happy you shared all that information with me! I didn't know there were other packs around here, too." She looked throughtful for a moment, but decided not to say bad things about the rogue lands- it was just nature. "It's a scary place, because you're normally alone when you're traveling. I'm sure there are plenty who like it though. For me, I think being in a place like this is much better."
So Chupa thought right, it was a scary place out there. She blinked slowly whilst images of random creatures and big scary teeth zoomed through her head. "I don't think I'd like it..." The little pup puffed out her chest. "I like my home where it is! I wonder if those that travel with their friends think differently, though?" At the mention of another pack she nodded. "Oh yes, there's more of us around than you might think!" Chupa gave Londea a wise nod and hopped from one paw to the other. "So, where did you go, where did you live. Does it all look the same? What aout the creatures?!" Despite her fear she couldn't help but be intrigued.
"they might," Londea replied with a smile, "everything is better when you have friends and family around, so maybe they like it." She wondered if she would feel the need to be in a pack if she had some family with her. It did seem like she wouldn't have to feel so lonely if she had a brother or a sister, or even more, to keep her company. But she didn't have any family- she didn't know them. And trying to find friends in the rogue lands had been a very scary adventure.
"I've been all over," she chuckled, "from big muddy places, to places covered in nothing but trees, to places with really big pools of water! There's a lot of different places out there, and it doesn't look the same at all!" She smiled. Maybe it wasn't ALL bad.
"Have you seen a lion before?" She asked lightly.
The different places that Londea had been to sounded amazing. Big muddy places certainly sounded like fun, messy fun! Chupa liked trees. They were big green leafy creatures in their own right. A lion! Chupa had heard about them, many things. She had heard that they were brave, fierce, and huge. She had also heard that there were some with more gentle hearts, but it was hard to imagine what a lion would actually look like, especially next to her as she was so small.
"I haven't seen a lion- no. W-what are they like? Are they really fierce like some people say?" She cocked her head.
"They are," Londea replied lightly, "I mean, at least the ones I met. I bet they're all different from one another, too, just like us." She hadn't met any really nice lions, though. It was part of the reason she didn't want to live alone anymore. Lions were scary and tried to eat her when she was careless. She didn't care much for lions, but she wasn't going to say they were all bad- she just hadn't met a GOOD one.
"They're really big and have squished noses that don't look like our noses. They also have all this fur around their necks if they're males, but they don't if they're females! They're very strange. And they are very strong! You don't want to make one mad- that's for sure!" She chuckled to herself, wondering if there was anything she could compare them to. They really didn't look like dogs at all.
Which wasn't surprising- they were cats.
"I suppose they would all just be like us, really. We have different minds and different ways of behaving." Chupa wondered if she would ever meet a lion. Could she ever compare her imagination to the real thing?
"I've heard about their faces, and also that they're fluffier than we are, and that the males are the fluffiest, which seems strange. Being fluffy doesn't really make you stronger, does it?" The pup pondered out loud.
"I should go - I hope we can talk some more now that you're staying!" She wagged her tail happily and jumped up and down quickly. "I shall tell mother and my sisters how nice you are! I'm Chupa, by the way!" And with that the energetic little pup made a sudden move to bounce away.
Cajanic