[JRP] Just a Blur [ Racing Stripes & Uhleko ]

[Depawsit]

Running.

That's what she was built for, for as long as she could remember the only thing on her mind had been running. She couldn't stand the thought of sitting still for more than a few seconds, it absolutely drove her mad. She would start by pacing, and that slow pace would soon turn into a jog. Pretty soon, she was at a full blown run, and if she happened to be talking to anyone? Well, they were sort of left wondering what had just happened.

Which was probably why the young lioness didn't have many friends. She couldn't help it that her fleet footed nature kept her on her toes. She also coudln't help that there was a strange sensation that shot through her feet when she stood still too long. It truly drove her mad!

Even now as she ran, her toes crunching under some strange new dirt she could feel the tingling urging her forward. But her heart was racing too heavily, she needed to stop. From where she was running she could see a large pool of water to her right! "Praise the gods!" She mumbled to herself as she drug her heavy body to the water. HEr tail dragging heavily through this strange new dirt.

Silverlutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Uhleko sat quietly by one of the many ponds that littered his home pride. He loved being by the water, mostly because there was usually a nice mud hole to play in. He loved to draw pictures with the mud and his paws, and more often than not he'd return to his mother's side completely dark brown rather than white with patches of purple. His siblings had finally gotten the message that if they played with him, they'd end up covered in mud as well. They found it hilarious at first, but when Uhleko got some of the watery dirt in their eyes by accident, they hadn't been laughing.

He used large leaves now for his canvases, which were a bit better since they didn't move, but they were green, and he much preferred to have a light background to work on. His own flanks were covered in paw prints and doodles, but about halfway up his torso it stopped. It was hard to twist that much to reach the blank canvas, after all!

A noise made the young cub lift his head, and he watched a strange lioness come running to the pool of water. He shrunk back, a bit wary, and thanks to his accidental camouflage blended in nicely to the bushes and dirt he was near. Uhleko hadn't met many lions yet, so it was possible she was in the pride, so after a few minutes of watching her drink, he lifted his head.

"Hello," he called out, his voice a bit soft, but it didn't waver. "Why were you running?"

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

Her heart was beating so loudly in her ears that she hadn't even heard the young one's small but quiet greeting. The thing that caught her sight was the strange sensation she got from the vision, as though the mud to her side was moving?! But mud didn't move! Mud wasn't alive!

Slowly allowing her eyes to dart to the side, she jumped with a start! The water pooling from her mouth as she held herself to the ground. Fighting against the very sensations that were yelling at her to run. But she couldn't run, this was a cub! It was alone, if she left it, what would become of it?

"I.. I was just enjoying the weather today!" She fibbed, putting on a forced smile for the cub. Though something more pressing was pushing at her mind.

"Err.. why exactly are you covered in mud? A...and where are your parents little one?"

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

The weather? Uhleko glanced up at the sky, partly covered by tree limbs and leaves, and supposed it was a nice day. Why someone would run to celebrate that, he wasn't sure, but he supposed it wasn't his place to say. He loved to draw with mud, after all...there were plenty of lions that probably thought that was weird.

"Oh...mom's around," he said, nodding his head back through the forest in the direction of their den. "Dad...he's around," he repeated, grinning this time as he glanced back up at the sky. His father was a god, so of course he wasn't always here with them, but he'd fly in for a visit from time to time. "Why?" he asked, looking back at the female. Perhaps she wasn't from here...this pride was pretty tucked away and not many outsiders knew about it, so was it possible she'd managed to get through the patrols?

"...what's your name?" he asked, tilting his head just a bit. If she gave a gypsy name he'd know. He himself didn't have one yet, but he knew the importance of them, so if she gave him her true name...well. He'd have a little power over her without intending to, and he'd know if she were a Kizi or not.

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

So Mom was around ... but no sign of Dad? She felt bad for the little cub, though she wouldn't ever mention it to him. Perhaps he was happy with his little family just the way it was. Perhaps he didn't even know that there was supposed to be a dad in the picture. She'd known her whole life that her Dad was supposed to be in the picture, but Mom had made it perfectly clear that Dad wouldn't be coming around anymore, Perhaps his mom was a little less blunt on the subject,

Tilting her head to the side, she looked quizzically at the young cub. Had he asked her why? Such a strange thing for a cub to question its elders. Or at least, it was strange for her! She didn't get to know other's that well, so she only went by what she herelf had been taught. "Well ... because you're just a wee little thing. All out here on your lonesome? Aren't you scared some big scary lion will come and take you away?"

The tingling in her paws was getting maddening but still she stayed. Soon she would run, and leave this cub all by himself but the time wasn't now.

"My name is Nia'dubaku ... and what is your name cutie?" She asked, her tail thumping rhythmically with the tingling in her toes.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Uhleko giggled softly at the lioness' concern. A big scary lion...no one was scary here! Unless she was the big scary lion...but...she wasn't that scary. And he bet he'd be bigger than her when he was done growing. His father was a god! He was huge! His mom wasn't that big, but he hoped he'd take after Iiro in size.

The name made the giggling stop, though, and he pressed a muddy paw to his muzzle, eyes wide. Her real name! Oh...she wasn't from here then. Uh oh...now he was a little nervous. She was a scary lion now. Not a big one, but scary all the same. How had she gotten in? Mom said there were patrols to keep everyone safe, and that uncle Straw Dog and aunt Fireheart wouldn't let anyone mean or bad in. Maybe...maybe she wasn't mean? She hadn't been so far.

"I can't tell you," he said when she asked for his name. "I don't have my Gypsy name yet and I can't tell you my real name cos it's a secret! Only my family can know it," he said matter-o-factly. "Sorry. Are you lost? I think you're lost. This is a pride, you know."

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

Nia had remained for so long as the cub had, a smile resting peacefully on her face as she talked back and forth with him. Despite her tingling feet and the urge to sprint away, she was at ease her with this little one. But when she mentioned her name, it was as though she had told him something far worse. The cub's smile froze to something closer to fear and he brought a paw to his muzzle in surprise.

Her own eyes widened at the cub's reaction, and instinctively she rose to her paws and had a look around. The two appeared to be safe still, though still he remained fearful. Did that mean ... he was scared of ... her?

She gulped down the anxiety and settled down once more. Trying not to scare him any more than she may already have done.

"A gypsy name you say?" Her ears perked at the mention of something that seemed vaguely familiar to her. "Well I tell you, that's a real shame. I'd sure like to know that gypsy name of your's if you ever find out what it is!" She smiled genuinely this time. Her comfort level returning with each word the cub spoke. "Actually no, I think i'm right where i'm supposed to be. And you-" Picking up a paw she gently tapped him square on the nose."Are the one who helped me find it!" Smiling once more, she began to knead her paws into the mud to ease the tingling.

"You see, i've been looking for you so called gypsies for quite some time now!

I rather think i'd like to become one of you!"

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

"Oh, I'll find it eventually," Uhleko reassured her. Everyone had to have one! You wouldn't be a Gypsy without one! He grinned at the lioness as she spoke, his ears flicking up. The tap to his nose made him laugh, and he lifted a muddy paw to rub his black nose, turning it brown.

"You've been looking for us?" he repeated, looking up at the pale female. "That's great that you found us, then!" Now that he knew she didn't mean him any harm, he shoved his paws back into the mud and stood up. "You'll need a Gypsy name, too," he said, tail flicking, sending mud flying everywhere. "I won't tell anyone your real name," he added with a tiny smile. "I'll keep it a secret for you! If you really wanna be a Gypsy you should figure out a name to tell people."

He tilted his head this way and that before moving forward to press his muddy paws to her pale coat. "Here...I'll help! I'll draw a picture and you can be called what I draw."

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

"Indeed I have, and its been quite some time! I've been running for a very long time!" She laughed at her comment, though it was a sad laugh. She hated running sometimes, the tingling just got to be too much for her body to handle.

Lowering herself down to the cub's level, her belly smeared with mud, she narrowed his eyes to meet his. As though she were sizing him up for something. "Hmmm lets see ... strong shoulders, blue eyes, confidence .... I think I can trust you!" Again she winked as she nodded at the cub's promise. Though he was right, she would be needing one of these names he spoke of ... but how would she go about getting one...

Watching the cub, she giggled as he titled his paws and began to press his paws against her coat. She didn't mind one bit, dirt was a fond friend of the runner. Mud was just a very close relative. "Ohh! An artist! Oh yes, I very much like this idea! Very well! Give me the best picture, and gypsy name you can give me!" She grinned happily, trying her best to remain as still as possible for the cub as he tried to work about the masterpiece he wanted to create.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Uhleko stuck out his tongue in concentration as he began to paint with the mud, drawling little shapes and doodles. He was pretty good at circles, so he decorated her with those for a while before noticing her stripes. "Ooh...wait, wait," he murmured, moving to her other side. He began again, drawing some pretty decent tiger stripes on her clean side. He added a few paw prints for good measure.

"There...I like that side better," he said, observing the stripes. "Now it matches your markings you already have! Kind of,' he added, tilting his head to the other side. "Just..brown and ziggy zaggy instead of red and straight."

He nodded slightly before stepping back, a happy hum leaving his mouth before he gave a little snicker. "Sorry...you're all dirty now," he said, shaking his own paws. "But it's just mud. So it'll wash off!"

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

She was far too amused by this cub, it hurt her heart to know how much she yearned for some of her very own. She knew one day she would have her chance, she simply had to wait for that day to arrive. She laughed, while trying to remain still as the cub ran to her other side deciding against the side he'd been working on before.

As he worked, she had to remain still and fight back the giggles from the strange new tingling sensation that the little paws placed on her skin. Apparently she was quite ticklish, a fact she hadn't known up until this point! "This side you say? Well let's have a look then!" She mused, with a grin as wide as she could manage. Maneuvering herself over to the water proved to be a bit of a challenge, as she didn't want to disturb the paint. But soon she was there and her reflection gave her a perfect picture of what he had painted.

"How wonderful! They look like racing stripes!" She chimed in giddy with glee at the cub's handy work. "You're quite the artist, I wonder if your name will be able to showcase it!" Slowly she changed angles to admire the painting on her fur. She was quite pleased.

"Is this what I should go with then?

Racing Stripes?"

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Uhleko sat up straight as his work was admired, the praise making him both proud and embarrassed at the same time. He did love to draw, but his paintings and drawings were hardly as good as he wanted them to be. But hey, he was still a cub! He had lots of time to practice.

"Oooh...I like that," he said as he stood. "And you can in running...do you like to run?" he asked, tilting his head. "Because if you do then that would be perfect!" Plus, she had stripes that wouldn't ever wash off.

"I do like it though," he said, looking up at the older female with a grin. "Everyone has such interesting gypsy names...I'm excited to figure out what mine will be!" His mother had told him it wasn't something to rush, though, that it would come in time. He was patient, thankfully, so he didn't mind being 'nameless' for now.

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

"Oh yes, I love to run! Running is a big part of who I am!"[/color She hummed prancing as she spoke the words. Her tingling sensations were kicking into overdrive, with all the excitement, she would soon need to hit the trail once again. "I think its just perfect! Thank you little one!" She smiled happily, bopping him lightly on the head with her tail as she admired her paint once more.

"Ohh and i'm just as excited! I can not wait to hear the name of the lion who helped me discover my very own name!" Of course, now that she was here. She would be sure to keep tabs on the cub, and congratulate him when the time came for him to show his own name to the pride. In the meantime, she should probably be going ahead and introducing herself to someone besides a young cub. Before she get herself into trouble.

"Alright you, I must be going now, but should you ever need me. Be sure to come looking for little ole' Racing Stripes mmm'kay?"

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Uhleko laughed as Racing Stripes bopped him on the head with her tail, lifting his paw to rub his little mane, getting the purple fur dirty. Oh, his mother would be scrubbing for an hour to get it all out...

"All right! Welcome to the Kizi!" he said, bumping his dirty head against her leg. "I'll be sure to find you when I get my Gypsy name so you can call me something other than 'you' or 'little cub' or something."

He gave her one more grin before moving back to his mud hole, grabbing a few more large leaves to draw on. He sat down and hummed softly to himself as he mixed up more mud, squishing his paws into the puddle to make sure it was mixed well. He hunched over his leaf before starting to draw again, practicing his circles one more.

FIN