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 Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2007 12:31 pm
 Tan colored paws wandered aimlessly through the trees without a real purpose. Occasionally their owner would glance back behind him to check on the sleeping black female. The cheetah was tired but he knew that he couldn't sleep just yet. No, he needed to scope out the area to make sure everything was safe and that there was game nearby should his companion wake and demand food. Kikahawia'Kikavu also found that he wanted to make sure water was near by. Not for her but for him.
The spotted cheetah's jade colored eyes surveyed the area around him. He pushed his tiredness aside to remain alert. He never traveled far from the black female, it would make him feel absolutely terrible if something happened to her.
That was just the kind of gentleman he was.
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2007 5:09 pm
Etana'Mayasa was spending this day as she spent most days: relaxing and trying to find something to do while ignoring her rumbling stomach. She didn't like hunting, it was too much hard work. Her last meal had been donated by a strangely generous lioness that Etana couldn't quite figure out. And since she believed a svelte figure was an attractive aspect of herself anyway, she didn't mind waiting out the couple of days between meals.
Something perked her interest; the noise of movement in the brush. Eta didn't smell prey; normally they traveled in such large groups that the smell was overwhelming. Assuming it was a lone predator, like herself, the cheetah didn't bother to hide herself, and instead waited patiently for the other to come near enough to see her.
Etana loved meeting new people. Each one was so interesting to learn about, figure out, and they each had such possibilities. Twitching her tail in amused anticipation, she watched eagerly to see the face of another potentially useful creature.
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Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2007 5:49 pm
It wasn't long before the male stumbled into the female's presence. When he first saw he her he blinked and stumbled backwards. Why hadn't he smelt her? It was probably because he was distracted by other things. Quickly he regained his composure and brought a cheerful smile to his face. Swallowing dryly he ran his tongue over the roof of his mouth. "Hello miss." he said politely bowing his head to her.
His jade eyes kept to the grasses as he kept his head down. Slowly he lifted his head, his ears flickering nervously. Normal he wasn't nervous, he rarely ever was but now seemed different. Mentally shrugging it off he tilted his head slightly. His tongue made his way over his teeth as he waited for some response from the other before speaking again.
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Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 6:53 am
Etan wasn't one to speak without thinking, and even two words spoken to her in greeting warranted a rehearsed reply. First, she looked him over up close; she did this even knowing that looks can be deceiving. Etana usually relied more on her intuition, how things "felt," than her eyes or ears. And this male had an air of gentility, perhaps kindness. Maybe even gullibility? Perhaps that was only wishful thinking.
Deciding he wasn't going to attack her, Etana allowed herself to reply. "Hello to you, as well," she spoke, just a shortly as he had spoken to her.
She sensed nervousness in his body language and took this as an opportunity to look even more confidant than usual. Her dark maroon eyes were trained on him, giving him her full attention. To some this would seem polite; to others, perhaps it would unnerve them more. Eta sat with her back straight, head up and shoulders forward, excited by this game. The more he acted shy and backed down, the more ground she would take. Eta wondered if he was breakable. Would he, when threatened, fire back at her? Or would he back down more?
But of course it was too early to tell. Etana didn't want to scare him away within the first five minutes. She had to encourage conversation and friendliness first. "What brings you out this way, friend?" she asked with interest, with the tip of her tail batting lightly against the ground.
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Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 7:15 am
Kika swallowed down as much of his nervousness as he could, straightening himself somewhat to match her good posture. He smiled sheepishly at her before responding to her question. "I was scoping out the area, in search for prey miss." he told her nodding his head as he continued, "I have a friend I'm helping out who isn't in the best condition right now and thought I'd be of some good use and fetch some food for her before she wakes up." he explained but not saying much more on the matter. One of the other reasons was because he wanted to get away from his companion if only for a little.
"I hope you don't mind me asking but, why are you out here by yourself miss?" he inquired flicking his ears back. "These places can be dangerous for a female on her own." he commented letting his gaze drop to the ground as he mindlessly pawed at it.
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Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 7:53 am
Etana's eyes widened as the other cheetah spoke. He was out here hunting for a companion? A female companion? Eta was jealous immediately. She had always dreamed of getting a male to hunt for her - she loathed hunting. But still, she must be cautious. Perhaps this was his mate that was too pregnant with cubs to hunt for herself. She musn't jump to conclusions. Instead, she asked some probing questions disguised as polite interest. "Oh? That's quite the noble thing to do. Is your companion sick, that she cannot hunt for herself?"
Eta smiled at his next words. The more he spoke, the more she found out about his character. He certainly was the genteel, polite type. She would respond in kind, so that try and make him feel more at ease, like he was speaking to someone like himself. "No, sir, I don't mind the question at all. And though I am thankful for your concern, I am quite capable of taking care of myself. After all, my mother kicked me and my two sisters out of her territory when we were but little. My sisters and I do not get along, so we split up, and since then I have fended for myself."
This was all truth, an unusual thing for Etana to disclose. But she did not feel threatened by the male, and so felt no danger in telling the truth. Besides, he seemed a nice enough guy.
"I've forgotten to introduce myself," Eta said with a little laugh. "My name is Etana'Mayasa, and it's good to meet you."
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Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 8:13 am
Kika actually enjoyed hunting, it often gave him something to do, an excuse to move fast like a cheetah should. He had also grown accustom to hunting for others, mainly because he would always do so for his once small companion, a genet. She had been so loud and eccentric that she often scared away any prey she might have been able to get. Blinking he looked up at the female and nodded. "She's sorta sick. Not really sick as in sick with an illness though." he told her. "It's more of the fact she's deathly thin and in no condition to hunt for herself."
The cheetah shrugged, he hadn't thought much about it before. Even if Maua had been in a condition decent enough to hunt for herself he would probably still hunt for her if she asked him to, because that was the kind of guy he was. "Oh, I see. Well Miss if there's anything I can do for you while still in the same area let me know and I'd be happy to do it." he told her pleasantly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Etana'Mayasa." he said before stating his own name. "My name is Kikahawia'Kikavu however because it's so long you can call me Kika if you'd like.
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Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 10:05 am
"Oh please, call me Etana," the cheetah replied with a smile. "Or even Eta. Really, no one calls me by my full name. And I'm quite sorry about your friend's illness. It is not many males that would do such a kind thing for his friend. Certainly none that I have ever met."
Etana was halfway between thrilled and bewildered. Was it really that easy? He had just come out and offered to do something for her. A stranger. Though she wanted to take him up on that offer, she didn't want charity. Her method was a give-and-take; that way, the other person would get rewarded for their help and want to continue helping.
No, Eta didn't want hand-outs. Besides, she would be distracting this nice guy from a female who obviously taken advantage of his personality. Feeling obligated to this unseen intelligent lady, Eta couldn't in good conscience take away her meal ticket, even for a small amount of time. Eta had to respect that this other girl got to him before she had, so...what was to be done? Etana didn't want to let him get away too easily; he had potential to be useful. But how would she get at this usefulness without feeling like a charity case or a thief?
There had to be some way to finagle the situation, but it would take some thinking, and in the meantime there needed to be conversation to fill the empty space between them. Eta, distracted by her thoughts, tried to find something to say.
"It's a shame your mate feels poorly," Eta said finally; she added the "mate" part to test her theory of whether or not it was true. "And I appreciate the offer, of course, but I would hate to keep you from your duty to her. Perhaps you wouldn't mind if I turned that around, and offered to help you hunt for her?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 1:20 pm
"Etana it is then." he replied. "I was raised on the grounds to always put a lady's needs before my own and she needed my help." he explained as if there was a need to explain. There hadn't been but something compelled him to tell her. "I can't turn away from someone in need, I would regret not helping them later." he said with another shrug.
Kika was rather distracted unable to really focus on the female or anything around him. The male wasn't exactly sure why but he tried to push it out of his mind and focus on the cheetah before him. Her words caught his attention wholly. Had she just said mate?
"Ah, my companion is not my mate, she's far from it in any case." Kika told her rather quickly. "I'm more of her....escort until she finds a place to settle down or until a lion comes by willing to help." he continued. His words died on his tongue when she offered to help.
"I couldn't possibly trouble you Miss." he babbled less than smoothly.
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Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 3:53 pm
Etana smiled, impressed. She had decided to tell him the truth - well, an interpretation of it at least - and see how Kika responded. "Give my kudos to your mother then, Kika. She raised a fine son indeed. I myself was raised - the short amount of time my mother actually tried raising me - to look out for myself first. But I'm not so selfish as that; much as I like being on the receiving end of kindness, I cannot in good faith let a favor go unreturned. I have a strange dislike of hunting, in addition to my other faults. So you see, if you put these traits together, that I'm quite tempted to ask you for a favor. Yet I cannot ask that of you without giving you an expectation of something in return."
Kika's words, denying his friend as his mate, made Eta's smile bigger. "To go so far for a female friend who is not a mate is noble...but Kika, I cannot help but think that perhaps she is taking advantage of your kindness. Even if she is sickly, one cannot ask so much of a friend for so long. Does this relationship make you happy, Kika, really? And really, I'm not too certain that there's any lion that would go out of his way, as you have, for this lady."
Etana's eyelids lowered imperceptibly as she leaned forward just an inch or so. Her voice dropped a decibel in pitch. "I, myself, would never ask so much of a male without giving him something in return."
Eta had to really work to keep a smile off her face. This was really just a game, to see if Kika would go for it or not. She had no interest in mating with a soft-hearted male like this, especially not on first meeting. She had to make sure, of course, that his genes were good enough for her. So far, Kika didn't fit the bill, and so Eta was just practicing on him and having a bit of fun. Besides, she sensed he wouldn't leave his "ward," and she had already promised herself she would leave him for whatever female snared him first. Eta couldn't help testing him, and she wasn't in the practice of denying herself entertainment.
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Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 4:25 pm
"It doesn't take me long to complete a hunt so I could easily hunt for both you and my companion." he stated with a nod. "Your conversation with me is more than enough for me to do this favor." he stated sitting up straighter. All this talk of hunting was actually wiring up the male. He was ready to hunt, to move stealthily through the grasses as he closed in on a prey. The thought made him grin and flick his tail out.
" I suppose so Miss Etana, but I couldn't leave her to die." his said softly his ears flickering as he thought about her questions. "It doesn't necessarily make me happy but it does give me something to keep myself occupied. Running as fast as you can for hours on end is only so entertaining."
Running, how he loved it so. It was something that only a cheetah could find true delight in. It was what they were built for, their small lanky forms were perfect for high speed running. Granted they could only run so fast for so long but still it was exhilarating to the male. It was one thing he would never get bored of completely.
"Miss Maua, my companion, also provides me with company. I had grown rather accustomed to having someone by my side as I travel that when I lost my first companion that I wasn't exactly sure what to do." Kika admitted with a slight frown. "I couldn't exactly have a conversation with myself. Other's might think I was crazy." he chuckle lightly.
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Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 5:01 pm
Hmph. Kika really must be thick-headed, Etana thought. Or else he was just completely ignoring her subtle advances. Oh well, she wouldn't push the matter. But without being able to toy with his affections, and not willing to ask him to hunt for her, Eta was beginning to lose hope that Kika held much usefulness to her. She could see that he wouldn't budge about his connection with Maua. Ah, well.
But even as she thought that, her opinions began to change. As much as she hated charity, Eta saw his offer as too good to refuse offhand. He had offered - repeatedly! - to hunt for her and despite her better judgment, her rumbling stomach was beginning to convince her to accept his kindness. Maybe if she twisted her words around in such a way, she could avoid feeling guilty...hmm.
"Well, my friend, I suppose it would only be rude to refuse such a generous offer. Since you are going hunting anyway..." Eta couldn't make herself finish that sentence. It sounded like begging to her ears - something she couldn't do. "And while I have enjoyed conversing with you, I don't think it wise to keep you from your duties to your dear friend." Etana was beginning to edge out of the conversation. Let him hunt, and if he felt like brining some back to her, well...that wasn't objectable. Then he could be back to his lady and Eta could go on with her life, a little more sated than before. Not a bad plan.
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Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 8:00 pm
Kika wasn't the brightest male that could ever be found but he wasn't stupid. Perhaps if he wasn't so disheveled from the sudden, well not so sudden any longer, change in his life when he woke up however long ago it was he might have picked up on the female's subtle advances. As it was he had a hard time keeping his thoughts focused on something let alone focused enough to catch anything that could be taken as flitting.
"Then again...Maua is rather..troublesome." Kika mumbled not realizing that he was rambling, it was only when Etana spoke again that he broke from his thoughts. "Ah, well let me go fetch you something first. It shouldn't take me very long Miss Etana." Kika told her bowing his head as he stepped backward. "It'll only take a moment."
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Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 3:15 am
Etana cocked an eyebrow. A troublesome female? Eta tried not to smirk. Poor polite male had got himself into a contract with an overbearing female, perhaps? Lucky her. From what she could see, Kika made quite a nice manservant. Gentle and very giving, Etana could understand how easily a stronger-willed female could order him around.
She almost felt bad for him. But he seemed happy enough, so why should she mind if he offered - no, insisted - on hunting for her? It wasn't difficult to convince herself of how good this idea was. She immediately went from feeling like a beggar to feeling like a queen. "Very well then, Kika. If you insist. I'll be here waiting for you."
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 6:58 pm
Kika nodded to Etana turning and trotting off into the trees staying low as he sought out a suitable prey for her. He didn't want to go for something too small because he wanted to make sure she ate something that would definitely be filling but at the same time he didn't want to go for something too big because then it might be too much. However rustling in the bushes nearby left him no more options. He was going to catch whatever was there.
Stealthly he made sure he was downwind of the beast and snuck forward to see exactly why he was hunting. Luckily for him it was clipspringer which wasn't too big or too small, hopefully. Extending his claws he inched forward before he lunged at the preybeast sinking his teeth into it's neck, claws digging into it's flesh struggling to keep control as it fought wildly against him before falling lip. Releasing his vice-like grip on it's neck he grunted before wiggling under it's body to carry it upon his back.
Then he made his careful way back to the cheetah waiting for him.
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