Word Count 1125
Her cousin had left the jungle and the colony. The elders have even downplayed her exit, determining that her decision to venture into the God lands would mark the end of her in a way that the games were incapable of doing. In her wake she had left death and destruction, brought about by the unusual beast who had followed her. He had been tame in her presence, yet few could mistake the shrieks of agony as he had torn the game's participants asunder each time they had come to close to Noona. When she had returned the elders had been furious but they dared not to question the gods lest they bring down their wrath.
Nevertheless, her cousin's decision to leave had left a lasting impression on Ni'it as she too, had echoed the behaviour that Noona had once exhibited. Quiet, unassuming and passive, she had preferred to avoid combat and while her brighter cousin had been there she had been able to hide in the shadows unnoticed. However as Noona had departed attention had shifted to the next weak link and sure enough, there had been whispers that she would be the next to enter the games - suffice to say that she had doubted she would have survived.
It was for this reason that the cheetah had taken the greatest gamble of her life and had followed suit. In the dead of night she had slipped passed the guards and had escaped, unnoticed, into the jungle. It was from here that she made her escape and with one last breath and a final look back at her home, she had travelled into the realms of the gods. What she got was not quite what she expected... The moment she stepped out, she was instantly greeted by the space of a quizzical and bemused lioness, one who seemed to have been rather comfortable until her tail had been stepped on.
"Good evening," Chessa replied mildly, a small smile lining her lips as she tugged her tail away from the cheetah's paw and adjusted position ever so slightly so that Ni'it would be able to move without further difficulties. "I was unaware that cheetah existed within the forest, it's not their usual habitat," she observed and tilted her head to the side, her lips pursing as she noticed the confusion and uncertainty on the cheetah's face.
"I..." Ni'it stumbled over her own words and then shook her head. The lioness was like nothing she had ever seen before, it was both fascinating and terrifying at the same time. Was this how Noona had felt when she had met the beast for the first time? "I'm sorry," he apologised at last and then cleared her throat. "I didn't... you see there are supposed to be..."
"Are you all right?" Chessa enquired, electing to make sure the cheetah wasn't about to have a fit.
"Are you a god?" Ni'it croaked.
"No," Chessa chuckled and then pursed her lips, "Although my mother is, a largely absent mother but my mother all the same," she remarked and then lifted a brow, "Why, are you looking for one?" she added.
"N-no, I would...I would never seek a god out!"
"Just as well really, they tend to find you if they want something, you'd be wasting your time otherwise."
"But these are god lands," Ni'it was incredulous and slowly but surely it dawned on the lioness. By the sounds of it this cheetah had never been beyond the jungle, an isolated gathering of individuals who had foreign and otherwise illogical beliefs that few could fathom. Whoever had founded this colony had probably decided that this region was sacred for some reason or another...either that, or they just didn't want anyone leaving!
"They were shaped by gods but only so mortals could live on them," Chessa corrected and took a deep breath, rising to her feet and moving towards the cheetah. It was with a gentle tug of Ni'it's ear that she brought her fully out of the jungle so that her paws could touch the drier soil that lay beyond the protective barrier of the trees. "Welcome to the savannah, the home of many more of the gods creatures," she uttered.
"I see, but if you're not a god then what are you?"
"A lion," Chessa replied smoothly and pointed at one of the nearby Klipspringer in the distance. "Incidently, that's a Klipspringer and they're quite tasty if you want a large meal." She continued along this track for a while, pointing out various creatures in small lits so that the cheetah had time to absorb the information. By the gods she would need it if she was going to last longer than thirty seconds out here - more importantly, she was going to have to stop gawking unless she wanted to be killed mid-blink!
Eventually the lioness fell quiet and as she did, a strange silence fell across the pair. It wasn't an uncomfortable atmosphere, but the combination of bemused lioness and overwhelmed cheetah made for an interesting mixture. While there wasn't tension, there almost seemed to be an unspoken warning - if someone spoke at the wrong time then the quiet and calm would be shattered and promptly replaced by panic and a sudden desire to run as far away as possible.
"This is a lot to take in," Ni'it croaked and furrowed her brow. "I'm sorry I... I don't know your name?"
"It's Chessa, and yours?"
"Ni'it," the cheetah replied and took in a deep breath. It was then that she elected to ask a rather farfetched question. She wasn't likely to get an answer, particularly with the revelation that there were far more creatures present in the godlands than she had ever anticipated but it was worth a shot. "A year or so ago my cousin crossed into these lands too, did you happen to see a pink cheetah at all?"
Chessa shook her head.
"Sadly I don't remain in one place for long, I only arrived a few days ago," chessa replied and then pursed her lips. "Can you remember were she may have been headed...?"
"She never said," Ni'it confessed sadly and heaved a sigh.
"Well you can always look for her, someone is bound to have seen her," Chessa smiled reassuringly and glanced back towards the jungle, her eyes narrowing. "The only thing you will need to do, is take the plunge and take more than one step away from your home..." she added.
Ni'it, remaining silent, glanced back over her shoulder to follow the lioness's gaze and then without a sound, took not one, but two shy steps forward.
It was time she found her cousin...
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