[PRP] Look what I brought! [Kimanda/Yatima/Kitambi]

[soutou]

Kimanda nearly bounced his way into the Nchi'mahadhi lands. If he knew how to sing, he would have been singing at the top of his lungs. (He really should get Nsundu to teach him how to sing. If he could dance, and had basic Rhythm, singing couldn't be too hard, right? Could Nsundu even sing? He'd have to ask.) He turned back to Yatima and halted, wriggling in place as he waited for the female to catch up. "C'mon," he called cheerfully. "We're here! Now I just need to introduce you to Kitambi! And if we're lucky, we might run into Nsundu too," he chirped, waiting until Yatima was at his side before bounding off again.

Honestly, the spotless cheetah had no idea where Kitambi might be. Sure, he had spent a lot of time with her, but only at her specified times and her specific locations. So it was time for guesswork. Probably not the lake, and probably not the firefly-dance spot either. It was the middle of the day, no good for fireflies. So she might be resting or playing with her sister (though Kitambi didn't really strike him as the playful type). "I'm not really sure where she is," he admitted sheepishly. "So if you see a little brown lion cub, chances are, it's probably her."  

[Storei]

chuckling slightly despite herself, Yatima increased her pace to catch up to the over eager cheetah. It was like chasing a butterfly, she could run as fast as she could after him but he would always flit and bounce out of the way. It was endearing in a way, but then again she saw the other cheetah as still having the soul of a youth. No wonder he wasn't ready for cubs. She wouldn't doubt him in the least.

"A little brown cub is what we're looking for?" Yatima echoed after Kimanda as she followed after him. She tried to stay the best she could in his paw prints, but the distracting sights of the new area had her astounded. It was interesting to be in a new place! Yatima was beginning to enjoy her decision to follow this stranger into his place of sanctuary.

"Alright, I don't see her there...Not there..."  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

Kitambi hadn't changed much since the last time Kimanda had seen her. She was a little bigger, but other than that there was nothing noteworthy about her appearance. The same dark brown fur with spots, same jewellery, and of course, the same emotionless expression on her face. She still sat on top of her little hill, in the shade of the tree, in the same play she had initially met the dancing cheetah. After all, the daughter of the Malenga was anything if not unchanging.

Thus, the brown cub sat dutifully on her little watch hill, brown eyes staring outwards across the lake. Normally she would have been watching the pride borders, but today there was a breeze across the lake. It felt nice through her fur. With a small sigh, Kitambi closed her eyes and enjoyed the wind. She had no idea that two cheetahs were on the look out for her, otherwise she would have gone to greet them. That would have been the proper thing to do.  

[soutou]

Kimanda continued to bounce and leap as though his toes are on fire and his the ground was out to get him. It was fun and it made the spotless cheetah feel so good. He even began to twist and turn in the air, like a spry colt feeling his very best in the spring. He was showing off, even if there was no need, even if he didn't really need to. He felt good and for the first time in a while, he was quite happy and he wasn't alone. Why, that was plenty of reason to celebrate.

Having checked every other place, Kimanda decided he should turn towards the lake. Perhaps Kitambi really did have a reason to be over there. He could never judge the little cub, she was unpredictable and unreadable, and he wasn't really sure why he bothered pretending he knew what was going on. He almost didn't notice the cub, except for the breeze made the grass sway and Kitambi did not, in fact, sway. "Kitambi!" he crowed, skidding to a stop. "There you are!" He whipped around to catch Yatima's gaze before taking off up the hill, nearly colliding with the little cub.

"Kitambi," he purred. "This is my friend, Yatima."  

[Storei]

Trying her best to keep herself grounded and not caught up in the anti-gravital ballet with Kimanda, Yatima followed suit. She was tempted to join in, but she didn't know if she should or not. It was a question of conduct and she wasn't sure if it was in her place to frolic like a young cub with a stranger she hardly knew.

To be kind to her twiching feet, she let them dance slightly as she followed after. It wouldn't be out of place to let herself walk to a particular rhythm, right?

When they finally found the cub, Yatima bowed her head in respect and said, "Hello, it's nice to meet you! I've heard a lot of good things about you."  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

Kitambi's dark brown ears perked at her name, turning her head to look at the speaker. Was that... Kimanda? Yes, there was no mistaking it. The springy spotless cheetah was back! The cub's eyes lit up instantly at the sight of her friend, her facial expression changing only slightly into a tiny smile. "Here I am indeed," she replied, tilting her head when he looked behind him. Had he brought somebody with him?

Her question was answered when Yatima came up over the hill after him. Aaah, another cheetah. So Kimanda really did have friends. Not that she had doubted him, but she wasn't sure how many felines wanted to hang around a cheetah with an inflated ego. Perhaps when she sent him out of the pride with a deflated ego he became a little more amiable. Who knew. "Pleasure to meet you, Yatima. Are you his travel companion?" She looked between the two cheetahs, not sure if Kimanda had brought his friend just to meet her or because he wanted something from her.  

[soutou]

Kimanda frowned at the words 'travel companion'. The last time he had visited the Nchi'mahadhi, he had a different travel companion. One travel companion known fondly as Tuli. The very same Tuli Kimanda had galloped away from at full speed, no intention of ever looking back. The very same Tuli Kimanda had gathered Yatima to forget. He liked Yatima better anyways, right? Right. Of course. She had wanted to meet his lions and she wanted to learn how to dance. So clearly, she was a better choice. Except, not for that kind of thing. As friends. Friends were much better.

"She's my new travel companion," Kimanda interjected, flashing Yatima a brilliant smile before looking back at Kitambi. "She's interested in dancing and stuff. So I told her about Rhythm and all that so I just had to bring her to meet you." Kimanda's entire face lit up with a smile. "You are the best, after all. And you taught me! And. I just needed to prove that I was not the only dancing cheetah." Kimanda shifted, bumping into Kitambi playfully. It wasn't that he 'wanted' something from her, persay. Well, it was a complicated situation.  

[Storei]

Traveling companion? Well, Yatima supposed that would be a proper term for their sudden fragile relationship. She didn't know if it meant more or not, judging by the look on Kimanda's face. It looked like the words had hurt, but only for a second. Why they hurt? Yatima didn't know. She couldn't even guess. The word "traveling companion" though, didn't sound tasteful to Yatima. She had places to go, places to see, and she was sure that their relationship would split as soon as their roads took different paths.

She was here to learn to dance.

Yatima nodded her head as Kimanda spoke and she offered an ear to ear smile, "Yes, I'm a lover of song, but my feet still need to learn to dance. When I heard that you knew, I was very interested! Would you mind teaching me?"  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

Kitambi raised an eyebrow in response to Kimanda's frown, not sure what he found so unpleasant about what she said. After all, how was she supposed to know he had a new traveling companion? Mind you, if she knew he had ditched his last one because of cubs, she would have had more than few words to say about that. However, seeing as she was currently oblivious, she would simply assume that the relationship between this cheetah and her friend was complicated. Thus, she would accept whatever answer he gave her as being the partial truth. The truth would come out in the end.

The cub turned her attention to the new cheetah when Kimanda said she was interested in dancing. So he had brought her another pupil. Wise move, seeing as he was still a learner himself. Kitambi had to risk the urge to scoff when Kimanda said he had to prove he wasn't the only dancing cheetah, responding to his bump with a playful swat in his direction.

"Of course not. A lover of song should have no problem with Rhythm or dancing. What kind of songs do you sing, Yatima?" Kitambi couldn't help but let her own ego inflate a little when Kimanda said that she was the best. He obviously had enough faith in her to teach this cheetah, and that meant a lot to Kitambi.  

[soutou]

Kimanda made a low noise in his throat when Kitambi swatted at him. Half of him had wondered if the cub actually knew how to play in the first place. Pleased with her reaction, he bumped her again before flopping down right on top of the cub. He made a pleased noise and rolled off almost immediately, ending up somewhere next to the lion and near Yatima. Kitambi was a strange thing, but Kimanda did so adore her. He swished his tail and batted at Kitambi again.

He looked around, watching Yatima, but said nothing. For now, the conversation was between Yatima and Kitambi. He just had to wait. Soon enough, there'd be dancings, and then the spotless cheetah could strut his stuff.  

[Storei]

Yatima tried to keep her eyes on Kitambi, but it was hard to have a serious conversation with her when Kimanda was rolling all over her and begging for play. Yatima tilted her head and watched for a moment. It seemed like these two had their bodies switched or something. Everything was backwards! The grown adult was the cub and the cub was the adult! Perhaps it was because Kitambi was a lion. And they were cheetahs...Whatever it was. That's how they were, and that's how they'll be.

"Well," Yatima started slowly. She pondered the question. It wasn't like she really knew what songs she sang. They just kind of came to her, "All kinds of songs, really. From the earth to the sky and then from the dark to the light."

Her feet itched to dance and her tail swished from side to side.  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

One of Kitambi's ears swiveled to Kimanda when he made a noise, doing her best to focus on her guest. It was, however, very hard to focus when the male cheetah was dancing around her. She was about to flash him one of her irritated looks when he decided to flop on top of her, causing her to squeak in surprise. What in Indlovu's name was he doing? She shook when he got off of her, and raised her eyebrow at him. She swatted him back, sticking out her tongue before returning her attention to Yatima. Jeeze, Kimanda was such a hassle.

"Everything? Well, that's a good start. Have you ever seen a drum?" She wasn't sure how much Kimanda had told her. Rhythm was essential to know before she moved onto dancing. Kimanda knew that very well.  

[Storei]

"A drum?" Yatima curled her lip into a pensive frown. A drum. Where had she heard that term before? In the back of her mind there was a flicker of a memory, like the flickering delicate flame of wildfire. She was sure that somewhere, deep within the reaches of her foggy memory that there had been a drum. It wasn't the drum, the beating of her heart, it was something solid that she could reach, chew and pound upon. It was so back in her memory that she didn't realize she had drifted away from her body into a world different from this one.

"A drum...A drum is like a heart, right? Beating..." Yatima heard herself saying softly as she struggled to piece her memory together. It crumpled suddenly in her paws and she lost it. The flame was flickered out and it died. "I think I've seen one before, but it was such a long time ago." She gave a guilty smile and shrugged her slender shoulders.  

[soutou]

Kimanda huffed and sigh and looked around. This was getting him no where. Kitambi was not going to be distracted so easily. If he really wanted to get attention, he'd probably have to do something very obnoxious. Which, of course, would be very rude to Yatima. Considering he brought her here in the first place, he didn't want to ignore her and steal Kitambi away. That would just be mean. So, the spotless cheetah decided, he'd leave them be.

Kimanda got to his feet and shook the dust from his coat. "I'm going to go find Nsundu," he announced, looking from Yatima to Kitambi. He then paused, a wry grin curling on his lips. "Unless, of course, you want me to stay?" he purred. He would so love if the ladies...lady and cub asked him to stay. Anything to stroke the ego, even if he had to induce it.  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

Kitambi let Yatima think about her question, knowing it was probably more than a little odd. After all, not too many young lionesses asked if you had ever seen a drum before. Yatima, however, looked like she at least knew what the word was, and was thinking hard to remember where she knew it from. Perhaps the cheetah had seen one as a child, and was trying to think of what it looked like. Perhaps she had only seen one in passing, and didn't know much about it. The cub would only know the answer when Yatima spoke it.

She was pleasantly surprised when Yatima said a drum was like a heart beat, very impressed. "Yes, a drum is sort of like a heart beat. The Rhythm it produces is the heart beat. That's where Rhythm stems from." Kitambi gave the female cheetah an appraising nod, before turning to Kimanda when he spoke. "No, I need you here. You're going to teach her a few steps while I beat out a Rhythm for you too." Truthfully, she just wanted to see if he had improved at all.