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 Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 11:02 am
 Their polite conversation continued throughout the rest of the day and soon enough it was night. Yejide didn't forget her request. Holding it in the back of her mind up until the sun began to set. With the pair of them seated on a hillside to watch the last of the sun's golden rays tuck away beneath the horizon line. What was once hot turned to warmth. Yejide relished in the sensation, lifting her chin to expose the underside to the warm rays. The pair watched as large shadows grew from behind trees and rocks and the like... slowly morphing into one blotch of darkness once the sun finally set.
It was then that Yejide sprung up from her seated position. As if she had pent up all of her energy up until now. "The sun is gone~ Now you can show me just how fast you are!" The female urged, staring intently at her new found companion. Trying to rouse him from his seated position, the female lightly thawped her slender tail against the side of his arm. Never mind the fact Haraka never SAID he would or wouldn't run for her... the lioness was eager to see his agility. "Come on." She circled the male once before settling in front of him.
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 12:19 pm
Haraka was rather enjoying Yejide's company, they were not destined to fall in love and live happily ever after but at least they would know each other somewhat and he hoped part on good terms afterwards. Perhaps she would even tell the cubs of him someday - if indeed they came to be anyways. He had laughed at her proposal earlier, feeling a bit self conscious now that he admitted the meaning of his name, he had always done well in races against his siblings however and as far as he could tell he was fairly quick.
the question was..did his self consciousness outweigh his desire to show off just a little bit? Yejide was not helping, her playful enabling was only egging him on..as he was sure she meant to. Laughing slightly he glanced around them as though seeking a reason to go and run, or perhaps a finishing point point for this impromptu run, it wouldn't do to just run in a pointless circle really. "Perhaps...but I'll feel silly running alone" He told her.
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 12:41 pm
When Haraka cast his gaze this way and that, the lioness turned her head to follow. Trying to figure out just what he was looking for. From the height of the hill they were currently poised upon, it was easy to see all around. While Yejide would normally make a river or lake bed as a destination, she knew because it was the peak of dry season that hopes of finding one within running distance was out of the question.
"Well, I may not be the fastest... but I am pretty fast." The female stated with a nod, walking up beside the male to catch his attention. "How about there?" She offered, pointing her nose down towards a trio of large trees about half a mile away. Lining herself up, the lioness bent her torso in preparation. "Shall you do the honors of counting us off?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 4:35 pm
It looked as though he had well and truly agreed to this now, or at least Yejide wasn't about to let him get away with backing out of it. Well alright then - it had been a while since he had partaken of a race and it might be fun, Standing up he eyed the trio of trees she had pointed out and nodded "Those will work" He agreed, as they were neither to close nor to far away.
Crouching down slightly to prepare much as Yejide was doing the chocolate lion fixed his gaze on the tree's, glancing over only once to see if Yejide was ready before starting the count down, assured that she was he started "On your mark...get set...and GO!" He shouted out, launching himself forward with a quick lunge of his back legs only a split second later. Typically a gentleman Haraka was also a somewhat competitive lion and with honor of his names meaning at stake he was certainly going to give this race his best effort and so all of his attention was focused firmly on the finish line now.
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Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 5:56 am
Her claws formed small grooves in the dirt beneath her paws. The lioness tensed up momentarily as her companion marked them off. Once he said 'Go!' the female released her tense muscle and sprang forward as well. A small cloud of dirt was kicked up once she drove her paws back to dive forward. Scrambling to keep up with her competitor.
Just because she was sure this male was most likely going to beat her, it didn't mean she wasn't going to give it her all. She kept pace with the lion for now, her dodgy vision caused by her bobbing form as she ran. If there was one thing Yejide noticed, was the fact she had to take longer strides than normal to keep up. To make this 'race' easier, the lioness pretended she was chasing down some prey animal. Maybe a gazelle?
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Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 7:51 am
So far Yejide was keeping up with him fairly well and Haraka found that somewhat compelling - it meant he actually had a real competitor and that always made things more fun. Flattening his ears Haraka stretched out his legs as far as he could with each stride attempting to cover the most amount of ground he possibly could with each step.
The trio of trees they had chosen as the end point were coming up quickly, both lion and lioness were speeding across the plains at top speed and likely giving any prey areas who happened to be in the area into a panic - even if at the moment they weren't focused on hunting. It had been a long time since Haraka had done something like this purely for fun and he found that he rather missed it, of course a rogue rarely had the chance for such playful endevours, traveling alone tended to cut those chances rather drastically in the long run.
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Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 9:38 am
Nearing the final stretch of the race Yejide began to feel what she knew and feared would eventually come... Her muscles strained as her lunges burned within her chest. She began to fall behind, going from beside the male to a few steps behind. The female never gave up completely, but her body wasn't allowing her to keep pace with the longer limb and faster male. Breathing heavily her gait began to slow. Watching as Haraka kept the same pace as when they began. Watching his muscles flex beneath his fur.
This was never a race about winning, so the female didn't mind that her companion went on ahead. She prided herself in other skills... losing a race wasn't the end of the world.
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Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 10:24 am
Running was so freeing, Haraka was so caught up in the moment that for a little bit he didn't even notice the female falling behind, his focus was so pinpointed on the trio of trees that it wasn't until after they flashed past and he slowed his pace that he took note that Yejide was still not right beside him - she wasn't far behind though and circling as he slowed he gave her a happy grin "It's been a long time since I've done something like that" He told her in between huffs of breath while he recovered. Had the race gone on much longer then Haraka was sure he would have had to slow before the finish.
Strangely while he was out of breath the run had energized him somewhat and he padded around in a small circle. "It was fun though yes?" He asked Yejide, wondering if she had enjoyed the completely pointless but playful race as much as he had.
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Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 10:38 am
Finally reaching their destination, the lioness plopped her bottom down to allow herself to rest. Both shoulders rose and fell significantly with each of her shallow gulps of air. Nostrils flared as she sucked in breath. The lioness' eyes followed Haraka as he continued to walk around. He seemed much more energized, didn't he?
The female preferred not to speak for now. Pooling her energy in breathing for now. She was healthy but she clearly wasn't much of a runner. The lioness never really had to chase her prey down for long instances. Creeping up on the quarry and maybe running a few yards before taking the creature down.
"Sure..." Yejide managed to breath out in response to his question. Finally her head didn't feel as light as only a few seconds prior. "You weren't named incorrectly." The lioness ventured, smiling at the male. "It seems like you could have kept going. You should continue... this obviously makes you happy." She pointed out, noticing how lively he suddenly was.
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Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 11:01 am
Haraka gave the lioness a warm look as she stated that his name was suiting "Nor were you" He told her with a sweeping motion towards her spotted hide and then forcing himself to settle "I do like to run" He told her "I used to race my bothers all the time when were were younger..but i think for the moment I'd rather stay here with you"
The sun was on the verge of disappearing below the horizon and it would soon be full night. "That is..if you still want me to stick around of course" He continued on, though he had yet to see any sign that the female had changed her mind and surely she would have left long before now if she had. No he did not expect an objection and this was as good a place as any to finish watching the sunset and spend the night.
FIN
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