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 Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 11:51 pm
The scents and sounds and sights had gone from the vaguely familiar to extreme familiarity...though Kairi wondered at the myriad of scents that now came from her childhood home. How many creatures now lived in the jungle? There hadn't been many when she'd left...She sighed and pressed forward in the dusk. Silas was safe in an old den she'd once used as a hiding place when she was his size. And while he was safe and sleeping...Kairi was intent on finding her old friends.
She was coming home, and she was going to be just a little selfish. She wanted to see her old friends first. To have a little time with them before introducing them to the little leopon that had, in all but blood, become her son. The leopardess stopped at a familiar tree, where she had last seen them, so long ago. Maybe...she would get lucky and they wouldn't be too far off.
It hadn't been that long ago earlier that day that the lanky cheetah had been spotted at their borders. Unfortunately her concern for Isi caused some initial suspicion, and he seemed to notice it. Or, maybe it was just seeing someone inhabing the jungle that he hadn't expected, maybe it was an old haunt of his, she'd have to wait till Msinji returned to ask if he recognized the one she'd describe, for now she just opted to worry about it later. It was the scent of another cheetah that now caught her attention, rather. She went on patrol in hopes of catching sight of him again to find out who he was, but she'd not have any luck this day.
As she was coming back from the borders a new scent caught her nose that she had not noticed on her way out. Surprised, she changed course, moving as quietly as she could towards this new scent.
~Hmm... Leopard by the smell of them, and a female, with a cub?~
Another new member to join their ranks perhaps? She could hope, she was anxious for more blood, bigger numbers, glad to hear word of them had spread gradually and that others were indeed seeking them as a safe haven.
Kairi sighed as she had no luck in finding her friends near the tree, and sat at its base. She would need to go back to Silas soon...she didn't want to worry him. After all...she was his second mother, and he was a little leery about loosing her. As she stood again, a new smell caught her attention. Blinking, she looked about. Wasn't either of her friends...and the scent was of...well, she couldn't tell if they were leopard or cheetah. The thought occured to her to run and find a hiding place...but this was her home. And she wasn't going to run. Nope, she had finished with running a good while ago.
So she stayed, ready to bolt into the tree where her advantage lie if the mysterious other feline meant harm. And she would make sure they were lead away from her son. No one was going to hurt the leopon while she was around. No one.
"Whose there?" She called ahead, waiting to hear an answer. It wouldn't do to be caught unawares by an irritated intruder though she actually doubted that the leopard was such.
Kairi relaxed, just a bit. Whoever it was...seemed to be worried about their own safety as well. "My name is Kairi! I...I used to live in the area, and I return to find signs that the land has been claimed. So...I'm afraid I'm a bit confused." She really, really hoped the other feline was good. She did not want to deal with a violent creature right now. "Now who might I be talking to?"
Well, that cleared that right up. Tony moved to step into view. Still a distance away for the time being but at least visible she greeted the other, taking her in. Definitely female, definitely a leopard, and not a visible threat. "Kairi... My name is Toh Ni, and you would be correct. Msinji didn't find any signs of someone living here before... I apologize, but the Achana, we've made this our home now. We're a coalition of hybrids and full breeds, it's meant to be a haven for us. I'm their leader."
Kairi blinked at the feline before her. That...would certainly explain the scent. A hybrid, like Silas. The leopard bowed her head. "That...that is alright. Though...I did hear right that it's a coalition for full breeds and hybrids?" If that was true...perhaps she needn't find another place after all! First things first though...She needed to find out what she could. "Could you tell me more about it, Toh Ni?"
"What would you like to know? We've been here... not too long, perhaps a few cycles of the moon, we're a rather well rounded group... Four lions... four leopards... eight cheetahs... then there are the other hybrids like myself. We have every mix known to felines pretty much." She tilted her head. "Hmm... the lands have probably changed since you were here last as well, the Earthquake from a while ago has changed the landscape of some of this place. The ravine on the eastern border is gone now, for instance..."
To hear the ravine was gone made Kairi a bit relieved really...she had never much liked that place. It had given her the creeps. Though to hear so many cheetahs were in the jungle was odd. Unless...they stuck mostly to the grasslands nearby. "Well...I suppose, what I want to know most...are two things really. One...is this coalition safe? And the second thing...I will ask when I have an answer to the first." Maybe...maybe Riku and Sora had come here to this discovery? Maybe they were still here...she hoped they were still here.
"It is..." Tony nodded a bit, sensing that for some reason or another Kairi, this leopard, wanted to know for a good reason. She was sure she'd just met another potential member, or members though one wasn't present. "We patrol constantly, our neighbors on the East, the Unity Walkers, have a pact with us to offer shelter and protection if it's ever needed, but we're doubtful if that will be the case. Msinji and I chose this location because it's isolated.."
Kairi gave a sigh of relief. "That's good." Perhaps they'd let her stay. And Silas. "My second question was...have you seen a cheetah name Sora or a leopard named Riku? They were my friends growing up here. And I hoped they might have come back this way." It was why she'd come to this spot particulary, after all. And if they WERE here, even more reason to want to join this coalition. Where Sora and Riku went, Kairi went. She was NOT about to let them leave her behind again.
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 11:35 pm
Toh paused, thinking. Sora or Riku, well neither name was familiar she knew, but Msinji mentioned that he'd known of this place before and he'd set out to check for it on a hunch, hoping it would be hospitable still, then there was that skulking cheetah...
"I can't say that I know anyone by those particular names... but my head guard, Msinji-ausi, mentioned being familiar with these lands. He's a leopard, and I've spotted an unfamiliar male cheetah skulking about today, I've just yet to catch him long enough to talk. I'm afraid we're a bit wary of male cheetahs at the moment, though. One of our members' abusive ex-husband is possibly on the prowl looking for her, and so we have to be cautious. Perhaps he's your friend, and he's just looking to return home too. White, with a few black markings and a brown crown?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 11:44 pm
Msinji....the name did not sound familiar. At all. But...he'd know of here? Strange...That's when she caught it. It was faint...but it smelled like how she'd remembered Riku's scent. Coming from Toh Ni. Strange...why would she claim to not know him, but his scent was on her, as if she'd spent time around him? Unless...Ugh. She'd worry about it later. If she met this Msinji-ausi...well, she'd find out.
The leopard blinked at the queen's description of the cheetah that had been lurking. That...that did sound like him. Like Sora. She nodded, smiling brightly. "That sounds like Sora! I haven't seen any other cheetahs that look quite like him while I was traveling...so I doubt it's someone else."
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 11:54 pm
"Well, if you can vouch for him I certainly owe him an apology for being suspicious." The female laughed sheepishly. She felt silly for thinking him suspect, but she wasn't taking those types of chances when it came to her family, and he might have been a friend of the b*****d even without her knowing.
"It shouldn't be hard to find him again, I could see if I could follow his scent, but maybe we'll get lucky and he'll run into you and decide to make himself known."
Her attention shifted then at the sound of rustling ferns, and a familiar scent from before came back. It was Msinji that showed himself, however, rather than the pale faced cheetah. He was simply making his approach known.
"Msinji... so there you are, after sending me out on that wild goose chase."
The male spared Toh Ni a respectful glance before eyes landed again on the fuchsia colored leopard before them. Calmly he greeted her as if it had only been days since he'd seen her last instead of months. "Hello, Kairi..."
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 12:03 am
Kairi shook her head. "It's okay to be suspicious. Just not all the time. That's when you start being paranoid." And paranoid was bad. She nodded in agreement with the leotah. "Even if I see him before he sees me...I owe him a good spook." She laughed, then blinked as someone approached. Was that...
It was. She blinked at the male leopard, and it clicked in her head as Toh Ni spoke. So...this mysterious Msinji-ausi WAS Riku. That had Kairi a little confused. Why the name change?
"It's been a while, Riku." She smiled...more glad to see a familiar face in the place she'd once called home than she was miffed or angry. Oh...she would likely give him a piece of her mind later. But for now, it was a reunion. Even if one member of the party was missing.
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 12:10 am
Toh Ni looked on at the reunion for a moment with a small smile. So this was Kairi's "Riku", well it certainly raised some questions, but questions whose answers could wait a bit at least. Rising, she prepared to excuse herself.
"Kairi, it was lovely meeting you, you're welcome to stay with us if that's your choice. I'll leave it to Msinji to help you find a den."
Because the lands may have changed since she was there last, and some dens were taken now, and she may wish to get a chance to catch up with him this way. With a polite dip of her head Toh Ni turned and slipped back the way that she had come to allow the two a bit of privacy.
He nodded to Kairi's reply.
"So you came after us after all... I shouldn't have been surprised."
They were a trio, after all, he just hadn't realized how much of one until he'd set off on his own. Now he was beginning to understand that they were somehow undeniably tied to one another, or maybe those two friends of his were just too damn stubborn to let him go anywhere alone. Surprisingly he really didn't mind that.
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 12:23 am
Kairi was going to say something to Toh Ni...but all she managed to get in before the leotah slipped off was a thankful smile and nod. She laughed and shook her head. "Well...that's one way to excuse yourself." She looked back to Riku, a 'well, duh' expression on her face.
"Did you really think I was going to just sit here, while you two were off doing goodness-knows-what?" Patient, Kairi was. The girl on the sidelines...that she was not. Kairi much preferred facing things head-on, friends beside her. "You two are more than just friends to me...you're family. Very hard-to-find family, at that."
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 8:39 pm
The leopard offered a small and easy going smirk, drawing closer but keeping a friendly distance. Touchy feely Riku was not, but cold he wasn't either.
"Manners never were my strong point." He pointed out quietly to the first comment, playful though, in his own way. "It's good to see you're still as fit as the last time I saw you."
Hell, more so if anything. She had certainly grown. They all had, hadn't they? Who would have expected for them to be meeting again like this?
"So does that mean that I'm harder, or easier to find than Sora...?"
A slow grin, he wondered if she'd noticed his scent upon entering the jungle or not, he'd guess no.
((Double negatives FTW. >_>; ))
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Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 7:18 pm
Manners were...ugh. That was the understatement of the year. The only creature she knew with worse manners was Sora, not through fault of his own though. Sora was just...Sora. Kairi did perk up a bit though. She was rather fit. She had been all over the place, after all. And Silas wasn't the sit-still sort when night fell.
She laughed a bit at his question. "Well...since I've found you now, I think you're easier. Though Toh Ni said she'd spotted a cheetah lurking around...sounded an awful lot like Sora~ So perhaps he'd have been easier to find, if you hadn't shown up." By her grin, she was teasing him now.
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Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 9:08 pm
"Hey, everyone knows that leopards ARE stealth. I could run circles around Sora and he'd never even know it." The male snorted with a small smirk. "We should look for him... but after you've gotten some rest."
He moved closer to buffet her shoulder a little roughly, like they had when they were cubs. Kairi would always be Kairi, for that they were both glad. If they wandered the rest of their natural days they could rest soundly knowing their friendship would always keep them grounded together.
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