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One step, two steps, three st-OMGOSHWASTHATABUTTERFLY?!?! The adolescent lioness leapt after it with a merry squeak - so much for growing up. It was often difficult for the deaf teen to understand exactly what her father told her, but she was fairly certain he'd been telling her to grow up. It wasn't that she wanted to be the baby still...it was just that being young was so much more fun! Who wanted to go out hunting when they could chase butterflies?

...Wait. Where'd the butterfly gone?

Pivoting sharply on the spot, Chache'Kindu's ears drooped as she realized that whilst thinking she'd lost track of the butterfly she'd originally been chasing. Whining softly, she pouted, blowing upwards to cause the tuft of fur on top of her head to momentarily lift, before flopping down again. Unaware of exactly where she was, she quickly surveyed her surroundings with wide, minty-colored eyes. She was an observant female - when you were deaf, you had to be.

And so with bright, curious eyes, she continued forwards.



Somehow, it seemed Caide was getting more and more visitors too close to the pride. Still, so far, none of them had been wanting to cause harm; just didn't know where they were. Now, a whine caught his attention, causing his ears to flick and his tangerine colored eyes to narrow a bit more. Tossing his gray mane out of his face, the adolescent male stepped further into the swirling mists that seemed to be forever surrounding his pride.

He blended in almost completely because of his coloration. The only thing that stood out was his eye color. Stalking closer, he saw that it was a brown female about his age. Arching a brow, he decided he'd stay here and watch her. See if she wanted to harm his pride. But she wasn't exactly talking to herself. "Hm.."

THERE.

It didn't take Chache long at all to spot Caide once he'd emerged from the mists, the female watching him, spinning on the spot to make sure she was watching him at all times as he circled her. What did he want!? Was he going to eat her? He didn't...seem particularly intimidating. Her eyes flickered to his tail, forehead frowning a little. Was he making calming motions? ...What!? Utterly confused, she stood up straight, losing any posture indicating fear or an offensive nature.

His lips moved, but too quickly, and the words were lost. She frowned, trying to get her confusion across, even more so as he continued again. She shook her head, bringing her paws up to her ears and pressing down, before adopting her sitting position again with a bright smile, hoping to have gotten the point across. And then, as she usually did, Chache adopted the universal position for 'Let's Play!' - the one with her head by the ground and her hind in the air, wriggling about.

The confusion was written on her face, which made Caide confused. Why wasn't she talking? A frown appeared on his face as he watched her move and then let his brows furrow.

Wait... play? She wanted to play? Really? That confused the male even further. But, was he one to pass up playing? No way! Caide didn't get to play enough in his opinion. However, he was on duty. Snorting, he adapted the same pose as her and smirked. "Just for a little bit," he said slowly. He figured out when he was talking fast she got confused. So, talking slower might help. Right? Right.

He circled her again, noticing the red splotch on her backside and smirked. She was a very pretty female, wasn't she? He half wanted to know if she was going to join the pride. Then the two could play together for longer than what they were going to.

After a moment, Caide lept at her, claws not showing, letting her know that this was, indeed, all play. Grinning from ear to ear, he wanted to overshoot, to jump over her. Hopefully she didn't lunge back. Because then they'd collide.

She grinned, feeling somewhat superior as she managed to tackle him to the ground, her front paws either side of his head as she sat quite comfortable on his chest. She smiled sweetly down at him, giggling as he chewed her cheek, ignoring his tail. It was fun, was all! They were having such a laugh! She liked these mists, Chache had decided - she'd have to come back here more often.

Refusing to let him escape, instead she lifted a paw to point at herself, opening her mouth to attempt forming the words. "Shhh....Cchache'Kindu." she spoke, struggling a little but getting there. Her name was the one thing she was most confident in saying, yet she was still proud of herself, beaming brightly as she looked down at Caide.

"So, you're Chache? 's a good name," he said slowly. He figured she was either slow, or deaf, but he was going to go with the nicer of the two and think deaf. He watched the proud female on him and gave a little chuckle, leaning up to chew on her cheek again before slipping out from under her like his training had taught him.

He then pushed her over carefully and pinned her under him, getting comfortable. "I'm Caideiseach..... Or just Caide." The male nodded a bit before mimicking her beaming smile, flashing his pearly whites to her.

She smiled to herself as he climbed off of her, but if there was one thing she didn't see coming it was the tickling. With a rather shrill shriek she collapsed into a quivering, giggling pile of fur, wriggling about under his paw, helpless to stop her reactions. Her paws kept flying out, trying to knock his paw away and stop the torture, Chache eternally grateful when he finally did - although it had worked. Her grin was the widest one yet.

She watched his mouth, nodding to show she'd understood, instinctively turning to point behind her and even beginning to...before realizing she'd forgotten where 'behind her' was. The mists had gotten her lost. Pausing, she frowned, before turning back to Caide with a rather sheepish expression. She soon moved forwards, though, cocking her head to the left and tapping him gently on the nose with a paw. She was asking about him.

So she lived that way, uh? Or she didn't know? With a smirk, Caide understood that she was utterly and hopelessly lost. Good thing there was only one direction she could have come from. He'd take her away from the mists when she wanted too.

The tap on his nose made him sneeze and he looked at her with an arched brow. Oh, she wanted to know about him? Well, he couldn't tell her, so he pretended like he didn't understand what she wanted to know. Instead, he tapped her right back on the nose and then chewed on her tuft of hair and pulled lightly, trying to start the playing back up. Laughter bubbled from his throat since the saliva made her tuft stick up awkwardly and he attempted to fix it with his paw once again. "Oops! Sorry about that!"

She blinked, somewhat surprised by Caide using his claw, but it didn't hurt so she soon smiled, even wider again as he spoke back slowly. It took her several moments, but she eventually got there by mimicking a few words with her own mouth, a small 'o' forming as she realizing why he hadn't replied the first time. She pouted, curiosity telling her to continue pestering, but instead she nodded to show she understood, smiling reassuringly.

She began to purr as he licked her nose, returning the affection with a nuzzle to his cheek, watching him carefully again as he spoke. She understood these words without much trouble, frowning a little before giving a reluctant nod. She didn't want to leave - she liked Caide. But she flashed a smile, standing to show she was ready.

The purr made him purr and he returned the nuzzle with a happy noise. Then, she got up and he noticed the frown on her face. "You don't have to go if you're not ready, yet," Caide said with a little noise, chewing on her ear playfully. With a chuckle, he pounced on her again and then nibbled on her cheek again before pulling back.

However, he started walking the way to get out of the mist so she could go home. Turning around at the edge, he watched the female with a happy look. "If you come back, we can play again. And it can be for a bit longer next time," he said with a grin.