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 Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 10:23 am
This place was strange! It was further north than Kuku had ever been, and he was surprised at what a difference just going one way rather than the other could make on a landscape. It was nearing dusk, and so he was hoping to find some folks to socialize with, or at least a kill to possibly peek in on. The land was odd though, so maybe the people were weird too. Hmm. He hadn't thought of that. Distracted, me stared down between his toes. Why was the grass a different color? It wasn't purple or red or something like that, but the shade was off...Oh well. Probably no reason. Still, the little difference nagged at him.
Moving on, he began to smell a rather familiar smell. Like a corner bar dive that you routinely avoid, he slowed, and began to skirt the area the stink was coming from. Lions. It seemed they were everywhere! It smelled like a regular pride too, not just some rogue. Better be on his best behavior then. If he could get away unharassed that'd be fine. He set off at an easy lope, always keeping one eye out for anyone that might appear.
A sigh slipped from the young adolecent's lips as she drifted away from the trees that protected her pride. Her home. She loved it simply to pieces, the intricate history, the prophecies that were foretold yet she had been feeling so empty. Things had been ever-so-boring and she was out to find something to entertain herself. She did after all think that people were there to do as she wished. She was used to getting her way and she'd be damned if she didn't now. Of course she just needed to find a living creature that could entertain her for a while.
Unfortunately the task seemed much more difficult than she had imagined, even though it had been the same way not too long ago. Shaking her head she tilted it back letting her gaze travel over the sky. "Another boring day. How...boring." She stated chuckling at herself. Lowering her head she spotted the cheetah. Furrowing her brow she tilted her head sideways. "Excuse me!"
Uh oh. Kuku turned to see who was calling him without stopping. If it was bad, he'd be better off running from a moving start, not a standstill. But there! A lion, sure, but not an adult. And a female. She seemed polite, at least from this distance. Far be it from him to distress one of the fairer sex by ignoring them.
He changed his pace and direction, cautiously crossing the line of scent that had kept him at bay before, to get nearer (if only a little) to the adolescent. "Yes? Can I help you miss?" He stood still, a god few yards from her, tail swishing behind. If it was a trap he could still run, but so far it didn't seem so. He was hungry for some talking too.
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 11:40 am
Jipima watched with mild interest as he glanced back but kept moving. Was he meaning to ignore her? Arching a brow a frown started to form upon her maw when he turned and headed her way. Pleased by the fact he chose not to ignore her she let a rather pretty smile slip across her lips. "Hello!" She called to him chipperly before she trotted his way to make the distance between them even shorter. "Ah, no. Well...yes. You see I'm awfully bored and was wondering if you would be interested in having a bit of a conversation with me." She told him lowering her head as though embarrassed before lifting it just slightly and looking up at him through her eyelashes. "You don't mind do you sir?"
She hoped her little ploy would work, it was the first time she had really tried it but she had seen a few of the preybeast do similar actions and hoped it would work. Slowly she lifted her head a little more to get a better look at him. Obviously he wasn't a lion but he was definitely a feline. He was thin and lanky which made her thoughts swirl.
What was she...? Kuku was distracted pretty quickly by the coy motions the female was going through. "Huh. Didn't think I'd look good enough for that sort of response after walking for a week." He mumbled to himself. Still, no complaints were made. He began his own little set of tricks, sitting back on his haunches, looking completely nonchalant. One brow arched, showing mild interest, in a cool sort of teen-age hot stuff way. He could play this game too, it seemed.
"You want to talk? Well I'm not doing anything more important. Why not?" Besides, if he rejected her and se threw a fit that'd be a bother. Better to appease her, especially if she lived in this pride. He'd never been one to judge an individual by species, and to say he wasn't at least somewhat attracted to the larger ladies was a bit of a lie. His tastes did run more to older cheetahs and leopards than lion, buuut...
"Was there something specific you wanted to ask?"
"Did you say something?" She inquired when she heard a bit of a mumble come from him. She assumed that it wasn't important, much less for her, if he didn't speak it clearly for her to understand. As she waited for some kind of response she continued to study him. He definitely looked like no other creature she had seen before. Given she had spent her entire life around lions, who were much more bulky that the male before her, it wasn't saying much. Still she was absolutely fascinated by his appearance.
His lanky frame gave him the appearance of gracefulness, something she was looking for in a possible prince. "Really?" She asked letting that smile cross her lips again as she tilted her head just the slightest bit letting her tuff of hair fall over one eye. With his question she let her head fall back just a bit as she thought about it. "Well I would really like to know your name..."
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 9:31 am
Kuku wasn't entirely oblivious to the lioness's searching looks. She wasn't that subtle as to hide her interest, which of course made him more interested. He shifted a bit, considering sitting back on his haunches. Who knew how long he'd be here, 'captivated' by this fine lady?
Oh, she wanted his name? Wasn't that sweet! Something told him that he should still be wary. This girl wasn't all as innocent and lonely as it might first seem. "Oh, I'm Kukuruza. It's nice to meetcha..ah...you are?"
"Kukuruza..." Jipima purred liking the sound of his name as it rolled off her tongue. It was a longer and almost prettier than the name of the male that she had run into a few days before. "My name is Jipima." She replied sinking to her haunches and wrapping her tail around her paws. "It is quite nice to meet you. Although I have to ask..." She trailed of biting down on her bottom lip lightly as she furrowed her brows trying to decide the best way to ask the question that had been poking at her since she first spotted him. "I hope this doesn't sound rude but...do you mind telling me exactly what you are? I'm afraid I haven't come across a male like you before." She admitted with a sigh dipping her head down as she looked at the ground seemingly embarrassed by the information.
Kuku nodded. It sounded a little different when the lion said it, but he presumed it was just some lilt of a local dialect. He bobbed his head at recieving her name, tryign to memorize how it sounded before attempting to say it back. "Jipima? Yeah, Jipima."
He stretched a bit, for a moment looking even longer and thinner than he really was, before settling back a bit. Not fully sitting, he was comfortable, but still able to bolt almost as quickly as if he'd been standing. He didn't expect to have to now, but it was good practice to stay in.
Safe to say her question surprised him. Didn't know what he was? Well he knew she was a lion...Had she been sheltered, or were there simply none of his kind in the area? That was a bit bleak then. He was glad he'd found out now, before he'd been wandering around too long. "I'm a cheetah." He stood again, turning, to offer a side view. "You've never seen a cheetah before?"
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 10:03 am
"Perfect." She replied with a pleased nod. Of course now she needed to decide how to approach things, how to quiz him without letting him know that she was testing him. She hadn't had much of a chance to do it before so she figured she could at least practice. When he spoke to her the thoughts left her mind and she tilted her head sideways before shaking it.
"I haven't I'm afraid, I don't see many except lions here." She admitted almost sadly before she realized he had told her what he was. "A cheetah? How very nice, I've heard a few stories...is it true that cheetah's are the fast animals in the savanna?"
Kuku's face split in a wide, pleased grin at having gotten the name right! Yes! Point for Kuku! His tail lashed about and he shifted to sit again, waiting expectantly for more questions. If she didn't know what a cheetah was, he expected he would be getting lots of them. A shame it was mostly lions though. They could be unfriendly, and scary too, when they wanted!
At least she'd heard of cheetahs though. "Yeah, we're fast. Really fast when we want to be." He stood up tall, proud of the fact. A pause. "I could show you, I suppose. It's really a sight, I hear." Nevermind that he'd probably be pooped afterward. Typical guy, he ignored that for a chance to show off to a girl.
"Would you?" She asked batting her eyes as she lifted her head, excitement clear upon her features as she shifted, moving to almost stand. "I would like it very much..." She started trailing off as she assumed he would be able to figure out that she really wanted to see. "When you run do can you run at your top speed without tiring for long periods?" She couldn't help but ask, her curiosity was getting the better of her. "I don't really think lions have anything to show for..." She commented sadly.
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 10:16 am
Slowly but surely, the repeated coy gestures of the lioness were getting to Kuku. She was younger than him but oh! She was cute! How could he say no? He stood then, and began stretching. He could go from a dead stop, but he'd do better limbering up first. He made sure to try to look extra manly while he did it too, in a sort of subconscious way.
"Well that depends on what you mean by long periods. It's hard to maintain speed when you turn, like if you're chasing something. I don't think we can go too very long, but it's usually long enough. Don't sell yourself short! Lions are the biggest cat around, and strong too. Cheetahs would know, because for all our speed, we're not nearly as strong. Anyways..." He took a sort of ready pose, and looked to Jipima to give him the go to run.
"Oh, that makes sense..." She replied with a nod of her head as she proccessed the information. As her thoughts did so she looked back up at him taking in the sight of him. She had to admit she rather enjoyed seeing his lanky, thin frame as opposed to the somewhat bulky form of a lion. Even with that thought in mind she pushed him off of her mental list. A prince had to be the same species didn't he? Maybe not...As she pondered those thoughts he flickered back onto her list. "I'll try not to. Strong you say? I'm not quite sure about that." She told him with a light ring of laughter as she looked at her own form. It definitely hadn't been worked to build up muscle, she had just what she needed to hunt. When she hunted that was.
When he looked at her waiting for her okay to go she smiled and nodded. "Go."
Ready ready ready...Now that he was going to run, Kuku's attention had strayed almost entirely from Jipima. He let her comment about not being strong drift past...it wasn't 'go', and thus was filtered out. Generations of waiting for that signal to run, to take off like a shot, made him act like this. He was ready. He was-
Go.
She may as well have yelled, for the reaction it got. Without a thought, almost before she'd finished saying the word, he was off. Legs pumping, he flew away from the lioness, running straight out, for maximum speed. His lanky form was even more aparent, and his tail lashed behind him, keeping his balance and making him seem twice as long. Brilliant in his prime, he covered a massive distance before beginning to slow, slow, and turn to trot back, much slower, but still at a decent speed.
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 11:42 am
Jipima watched in amazement as the male shot forward, legs pumping sprinting so quickly he was barely more than a blur at first. Her mouth hung open just the slightest in awe before she clamped it shut letting her dark blue eyes follow his form. He seemed to be even thinner and longer. He was also so graceful. The way he kept his balance as he moved at such a high pace had her mind swirling. It was simply amazing. "Brilliant." She whispered to herself as she watched him turn and make his way back towards her. "That was wonderful Kukuruza!"
Oh man. He hadn't run straight out like that in ages it seemed. He had been surprised to see how for he'd gone in just a moment when he turned around. The walk back was nice though, it gave him time to catch his breath and go back to normal. By the time he was beside Jipima again, he may as well have not run at all.
"Thanks! And call me Kuku." He sat, then slid down more to be reclining. Whew! At least he thought he'd made a good impression. "I haven't run in forever just straight like that. Gazelle and other prey know to turn when we chase them. Turning is crazy hard."
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