"Poikilo..." The teal leopardess slowly woke from her slumber to find two of her cubs gone missing. Caitan and Poikilo were always wandering off by themselves... Not that she would admit she minded much. It was probably Poikilo's idea, Caitan is an angel, after all. "Poikilo! Where are yeh!" The boom of her voice startled her other two sons awake, but Celile could care less. Tough love, right? "POIKILO!"
The young leopard sprung to his paws and jolted towards his mother, leaving his brother behind. Poi recognized that tone of voice, it was never a good sign when it came from Celile. She was upset, and worst of all, she was about to take it out on one of his brothers. Or, maybe him, but that was something he could deal with easier. "Yes, mom?" He panted, peeking from the roots of the tree Celile was sleeping under. "You need something?"
Celile grinned as she heard the scampering of desperate paws. She took the moment to enjoy the blue sky and the warmth of the sun as its light engulfed the savannah. "There yeh are, son." She said, with a tone that one might mistake for motherly fondness. In truth, Celile was angry. If Poikilo wanted to be independent so badly, Celile would allow him to experience the true horrors of the savannah. Without a soul to offer comfort. "I need... Something."
"Yeah? Well, what is it?" The young cub asked, tilting his head with curiosity. Poikilo never took her seriously when she appeared to be kind. She was never kind on the outside. It was just a ruse. Poikilo knew he was to be punished, but yet again, he had no idea what he was being punished for. "I'll get it for you, mom. Just tell me what it is." Poikilo feigned a grin, and briefly blinked away just to be sure his brothers were safe and unharmed. Thus far, it was all good.
Celile paused, a claw rose to stroke her chin as she came up with the rarest item she could think of. "I need a cloth." She said, turning to Poikilo with a mischievous grin. "Yeh know, one of those human artifacts... And I need it to be red. Go out and find one for me, Poikilo. Do you understand?"
Poikilo had never even seen a cloth before, but he has definitely heard of them from mom and her stories. Poikilo hesitated, but he knew if he refused it was likely he and his siblings wouldn't receive much to eat for the next few weeks. "Yes mom, I'll go find you a red cloth. Which way do I go?" First Poikilo would confront Caitan and ask him to watch after their weaker brothers before he left. He wouldn't tell him where he was going, Caitan would just get upset.
"I dun care, just come back wit the red cloth before I get impatient. Go on, now!"
Without a second thought, Poikilo nosed his brothers goodbye and set off on a journey way too dangerous for a juvenile. He could become an easy meal for a bird of prey or a pack of wild dogs.. or even a lion. "They're not that scary..." Poiki convinced himself as he wandered along the savannah aimlessly.
Pikushi hummed to herself as she eyed the shiny rocks in the oasis before her. She reached out a pure white paw, but recoiled when her toes made contact with the cold water. She shook the droplets away with a giggle, and stuck her tongue out at the offending water. The juvenile lioness paused as a flash of red and white caught her eye. With the curiosity of a youngster, she lifted herself to her toes and investigated the source of the bright color.
Poikilo felt as if it was hours before he finally came across something of color... Though, it didn't appear to be a cloth. It was the tail of a small lion. Poikilo padded towards the lion fearlessly... Maybe he would know where he could find some red cloth! "Hello there." He said, surprised when he discovered the lion wasn't even as big as himself. "Uh, I was wondering..."
Pikushi turned around and blinked at the stranger that just appeared before her. "Oh uhm... Hello." She giggled, thinking how silly she must have looked leaning over this boulder like that. With a second look at the creature, she was a little confused. He looked like a lion, but he didn't have as much mane as her brother did. Was his just growing in late? Pikushi blinked again as the pink feline stopped talking... "Yes? You were wondering...?" She giggled and gave the young leopard a poke to the nose.
Poikilo was struck by the young lion's beauty. He was so stunned that he'd forgotten what his purpose here was. Her pinkish white fur was so silky and fine, her eyes... Bright and fiery. "Uhh.." He finally snapped out of it when a smooth little toe prodded his white nose. "Sorry." He said with a grin, the pink fur on his cheeks turning an even deeper red. "I was wondering if you... You might know where I can find a red cloth?" Poikilo tilted his head. He was so enamored by her appearance, it wouldn't even matter if she said no.
"Red... Cloth?" Pikushi pondered to herself. She wasn't sure exactly what a cloth was but.. Red! She spun around, and snatched that glimmering red thing that had stolen her attention. The lioness presented it to the leopard, the red, tattered and dirty shred of cloth.
Poikilo was astonished. The lioness had instantly presented exactly what he needed! Though he was unimpressed by the sight of it - what kind of use could this ugly thing possibly provide for Celile? Regardless, he was thankful, and grinned at Pikushi. "Wow! Thank you, that's perfect!" Suddenly, Poikilo was disappointed that he'd even found it in the first place... Now he doesn't have an excuse to stay with the lioness for a bit longer. Maybe if he could just... "My name's Poikilo." He said, awaiting the gorgeous young female to share her name as well.
"You're welcome." Pikushi giggled and flicked her tail as the leopard shared his name. "I'm Pikushi. It was nice to meet you Poikilo." Poikilo, the poor young lion whose mane is yet to grow in. There's no doubt she would remember him.
"Pikushi, that's a cute name..." Poikilo said, bashfully reaching out to take the red cloth in his claws. "Well... Thanks again, Pikushi. It was nice to meet you. Goodbye."
WC: 1101
