Poikilo broke away from his small family for a short walk. It wasn't uncommon that Poi would request a moment to himself, so his brothers didn't think much of it. Celile never did. The young leopard's little white paws dragged across the dirt and gravel as he walked, his mind swimming with thoughts of that gorgeous lioness he saw the other day. The sun beat down relentlessly on the earth, heating up the very rocks and grass blades on the ground. The breeze was hardly a whisper, offering no relief from the relentless heat. Poikilo's blue tail flickered and his dual colored eyes gazed from left to right as he continued on. There was no sign of water anywhere, and the young leopard was only beginning to realize how thirsty he was. Vultures circled the sky, though there was no corpse to be seen. They were just as hungry as he was.
It hadn't been too long since he saw that white lioness with the red cloth. Poikilo paused gazed at the clouds. Maybe he should try to see her again. It would probably take several days, and he knew no one would come looking for him if he got lost. They had traveled a significant distance since he met Pikushi. But, it would be worth it... he couldn't get her off his mind. His brothers had noticed, he could tell, that he had often drifted away into a dream world with Pikushi. Blinded by his emotions, Poikilo set off on his journey back towards the home of the white lioness. He was aware of the dangers he was about to confront, the risk of starvation or being eaten by larger carnivores... it was no different from his daily life. The only thing was, now he's doing it all alone for a rather selfish purpose.
Pikushi had taken that stranger's advice, and began her journey to find the handsome leopard against the will of her grandfather and her mother. Pikushi's pristine fur was dirtied with mud and dust from the dry savannah air. Especially her paws were brown with gunk, and Pikushi frowned and sat down to lick her fur clean for the hundredth time that day. she could never meet her prince with gross fur like this... She had to be absolutely perfect. Besides the dirty coat, Pikushi was experiencing a new sort of fear. It was the first time she had ever found herself completely alone. She looked left and right and she saw no one... absolutely no one. Not her brother Neguko, not her uncle Faeris... Not even her grandpa Hoco or her mother Kori.
Pikushi's heart wrenched in fear as she realized how much trouble she was going to be in when she got back. They would punish her and scold her, no doubt... they would say i told you so and ban her from ever leaving again. She thought she would be miserable. Maybe she would never return, if they were going to treat her that way. she would just have to stay with Poikilo forever... But first she had to find him.
Poikilo felt himself getting weary already, but he marched right through it. His tongue felt dry, his paws were worn and dirty, and his eyes heavy and dry. Whenever this happened while he was traveling with Celile, he would just go into a soulless-like state. His mind elsewhere while his body kept moving. But he couldn't do that now, he had to be vigilant.
"Pi-... Pikushi?" Poikilo blinked, his greenish eyes squinting into the distance. He could barely make out a white form dragging itself across the savannah. Was it her? How could it be, though? He hadn't even walked far enough to arrive in their territory. Regardless, Poikilo advanced. Soon enough he came close enough to recognize that it was the one he was searching for. "Pikushi! It's you! I thought I would never see you again!" Poikilo bounded at her, but froze just as he realized her tear-stained face. "What... what's wrong?"
Pikushi saw Poikilo first, but she was fearful that he would be disgusted by her appearance.. dirty and melancholy. It wasn't her most beautiful moment. "Poikilo..." She said, thrown into anxiety at his hesitation. "Poikilo... I just had to see you again. But now... I think my mom will be furious at me, and I'm scared to go back! I want to stay with you!"
Poikilo nuzzled the young lioness, pained by her words. He wanted to stay with her as well, but he knew they wouldn't make it on their own. Besides... he couldn't abandon his brothers with that beast they call a mother. "Pikushi..." He said, tenderly swiping a tear from her white cheek. "Who could be mad at a perfect little face like this?" He paused, his bluish eyes lingering on her pink ones. "I want to stay with you, too but... Pikushi..." It hurt him to force the words from his throat. "We can't. We have other places to be..."
Pikushi's face flooded with tears as the gentle leopard spoke the truth. She didn't want to abandon her family either. She would miss them more than she could conceive at her young age. She knew she had to leave again, but she took her time to enjoy Poikilo's scent and soft fur.
"Poikilo!" The crackled voice of an angry teal leopard sounded across the savannah. Celile tracked her son across the savannah, a blaze in her eyes that meant trouble for the young leopard. "Poikilo, there you are... Yer very lucky yeh haven' been ea'en..." She paused to examine her son's company.. It appeared to be a young lioness. Celile couldn't deny how pleased she was to see her son making friends with the superior feline species. A tender grin settled on her face as she addressed Pikushi. "Well, hello there princess. I'm sorry I hafta break up yer lil... date."
Bashful and surprised by the mother's sudden appearance, Pikushi blushed and eyed the ground. Poikilo noticed that rare warmth in Celile's face. He decided to take the opportunity to say goodbye to his lioness friend. "Could you, uh... give us a minute, mom?"
Celile rolled her eyes and started back on the trail to her endless journey. "Make it quick, Poi. Were no' gonna wait fer yeh."
Poikilo turned his attention to the lioness again and gave her another quick lick to the cheek. "When we're adults, we can see each other again. Then.. Then we can do whatever we want! And we can stay with each other if we want to... Pikushi... will you promise to wait for me until then?"
Pikushi smiled and nodded in response to Poikilo's question. At the moment, there was nothing else in the world she wanted more than that. "Yes, I promise, Poikilo..."
The young leopard smiled and turned away. He pranced back towards his family, looking forward to the day he can finally be with his princess forever.
WC: 1163
