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Rain! Aya loved the rain. He had always loved it, from when he was a little pup until this very day. Mika hated it, though, so whenever it rained he was in charge of keeping a lookout for anyone that might try to bother them and, if it went on through the night, he'd go off in search of food. The warm rain was his favorite, because he could stay out in it forever and never get chilly. Today was a day with warm rain, thankfully, and he had no problem prancing about in the puddles as he conducted his rounds of the area they had chosen for their sleeping spot. He was so enthralled by splashing around that he didn't notice the dark lioness just a few paces away. Didn't notice, that is, until he jumped in a large puddle that splashed not only himself, but her with mud.

Instantly he realized his error. He looked up in first surprise, then fear, and then false anger. Inside he was shaking like a leaf, but outside he adopted a snarl that really wasn't as fierce as it could have been. Being covered in mud kind of killed the whole 'big, dangerous dog' thing. "Who are you?" he barked. "Why are you here?" Fair questions, considering she was pretty close to where Mika was dozing.

As the lioness turned to face him, Aya felt like a puppy. He had to resist the urge to tuck his tail between his legs and run. His training from his sister held him in place, tail raised, hackles up, teeth bared. He knew that if they got into a fight the lioness would win, considering she was larger than he and stronger, but he'd definitely give it his all.

"I asked you first!" he said in a rather childish manner. "You're trespassing on our territory here! That's not allowed." He fell silent for a moment as the lioness lamented to the gods about disaster and whatever else, before a little stab of actual annoyance broke through. "And I'm not a mutt! No more than you are," he growled. There were half-breeds in the feline community that Aya was rather scared of. The strength of a lion with the cunning of a leopard, or the speed of a cheetah. They terrified him and he was glad that hyenas and wild dogs stayed away from each other.

"So come on then! Who are you? What's your name and what are you doing here? There's better places to seek shelter from the rain."

Aya's eyes dilated a bit in fear as the lioness roared. Gods, that hurt his ears. He kept himself from trembling somehow, and his feet were now glued in place due to his nerves being shot. He couldn't run now even if he wanted to. Which he did...desperately.

As she went on, Aya wondered who the Mistweavers were. He had never heard of them before, but then again, he didn't know many of the lion prides in the area. Perhaps they were from far away, a corner of Africa that he had never been to. If he hadn't been so scared he might have asked her about them, but instead he was trying very hard not to wet himself. Well, we himself more. He doubted she'd notice since it was raining so hard.

"Ayawamat," he finally replied, the bite gone from his voice out of fear. "I'm not from any pack! Me and my sister are here and she's resting for the evening, and you're too close to our home for the night." Oh man, this was scary. Two wild dogs might be able to take on a lioness, but he was by himself and Mika was out of earshot. He just hoped that this lioness wouldn't take him as a threat and just laugh off his defensive position. Then he could turn tail and run.

Aya felt a little surge of pride roll through him as Katavi's face flashed a bit of apprehension. He should have lied, should have said something about a huge pack at his beck and call, ready to attack should he howl. It was too late for that, he knew, but perhaps just the thought of another wild dog around would keep the lioness at bay. All he wanted was for her to go away. There'd be a lot of other places to take shelter from the storm, after all. And the trees she was standing under were kind of measly. Surely there were thicker, hardier ones out there!

The flash of lightning and roll of thunder made him flinch in surprise, his resolve wavering just a bit. The smile she gave him didn't do much to comfort him, either. It was a hungry smile, and he really didn't want to be her dinner for the evening.

"Yeah, well...we were here first!" he insisted, stamping his paw a bit. The little splash sent just a bit more mud to land on Katavi's paw, and instantly Aya's ears went down. Oh no. His resolve was down and one more snap from the lioness would surely send him running. He could only hope his little, weak effort to get her to go would make her leave.

Aya had bigger and more dangerous things to worry about than a little thunder, but it had startled him, that was for sure. He knew the mud was the last straw even before the roar made him yip in fear, his legs giving out for a moment, making him lay in the mud puddle at the lioness' feet. He didn't need much more encouragement to leave than the snarl and the swipe. He was very glad that she missed, even though her claws hadn't been extended, he knew it would have knocked him silly. Lions were being and strong and, even though the females were smaller, they were in charge of most of the hunting, so their skills were quite deadly. If her claws were out and he had been hit...well. Goodnight Aya, sweet dreams, you're never waking up again.

He got his feet under him and took off, whining as he ran through the rain. Another crash of thunder gave him an extra burst of speed as he fled from the trees back to his sister's hiding spot. He decided that playing in the rain wasn't such a good idea. Oh, Mika was going to be so mad when he got back...

[Fin]