Makoto was beginning to think she was cursed.
It had been ages since she had left the Amazons in search of a donor for her second litter, and so far the only males she had come across were already taken. Granted, she could have just stolen one for a night, but did she really want that on her record? A male stealer? Her sister had talked enough gossip about such females when she was alive, and Makoto didn't want to risk it.
As it stood, though, she was paw deep in slimy filth that covered one entire side of the river. All she wanted was a drink, damn it! She growled and trudged through, trying her hardest to pull her large muscles through the muck.
Ele, on the other hand, was chill'axed on the bank like it was the prime spot on a beach. Crocodiles hung out on the other side, and so long as he didn't make a lot of noise they tended to leave him alone. If they didn't, well, unlike Makoto, he could run in mud.
The shrunken male rolled onto his back, his pride mane completely soaked with Gods only knew what. It was then that his eyes picked on a large, dark shape....A paw that was about to step on his face....Huh. "Watch out, okay? I'm down here." He said nonchalantly, wriggling in the slop.
If Makoto wasn't a trained warrior, if she weren't a proud lioness, she might have screamed. She wanted to. As it stood, she stumbled back, startled and dazed before landing on her rump next to the prone lion.
"What the hell are you doing?" She responded at last in a curt, angered tone. "I could have- Just what in the hell are you doing?" Yeah, good plan. Lay all the blame on him, and totally don't focus on the fact that she wasn't paying attention. Genius. "You're not dying, are you?"
Her disgusted tone was so touching it almost brought Ele to tears. He blinked lazy, opaque eyes up at her before shifting to his side. His long body stretched out, making him look bigger than he was. Lions from his pride were generally a small breed, but because of his Vegetarian lifestyle Ele looked a little different, if only because of his weight loss. It made his limbs skinnier, thus giving him illusionary height.
"I'm waiting for my friend Ige to get back. Don't know where she went; didn't really ask." Her business was her own, and he had accepted that a long time ago. "So, I thought I'd take a nap. It's too hot for shade, and the mud is so much cooler anyway."
"I see...." Makoto gave him a look that one might reserve only for toe jam. She'd seen plenty of odd things in her life, but this really took the cake. The way he flopped back down into the mud like it was a second home brought her feelings full circle.
This was DEFINITELY not the one.
"Do you know of any other males in the area? Ones that aren't...well, like you?"
"You're really rude, do you know that?" He said it bluntly, and not without some ire. Ele could put up with a lot, but snide comments got under his fur sometimes. Especially when he was already missing a seriously good nap. He sighed and sat up, dried mud making his movements stiff, but fresh goop dripping down his dark fur.
"I think there were some around here earlier, maybe a little further south. If Ige's found them, though, there won't be anything left for you." He grinned a little and looked out over the water. "They'll be lucky if they can walk straight for a month."
Gods above, she really, REALLY did not need to know that. "Thanks...." She took a deep breath, and attempted to stand, finding it harder than she could have imagined. Her limbs were sucked back down into the mud before she had a chance to ever stretch.
All it did was give her a better look at the male. He was slender, almost feminine, and his ribs were almost visible. Was he ill? "What's wrong with you, anyway? You really do look like you've got one paw in the other world."
"Uh....really?" He looked at himself, almost like he'd never noticed his strange looks before. "Huh. Well, I don't eat meat, so maybe that's it? I've always looked like this."
He was healthy. Ele could run, jump, hunt, and trudge through his swamp homeland just fine, so what did it matter if he wasn't as buff as the other lions? It didn't matter, did it?
"My sister used to call your kind Taime'sööja." Finally! She could stand. With welcome relief, Makoto started to make her way to the water. "It means "plant eater. There used to be a whole group of them back in the jungle where we lived. They all died out, though. Bet you can't guess why?" She gave him a sharp look before bending down to take her drink.
Lions just couldn't survive on plants alone. It wasn't natural, and in the end it destroyed them. Surely he could see that? Or at least, his friend Ige could? Oh, wait, she was probably like him. Greeeaaaaattttt.
"I eat a little, when I get really sick, but it's just not right. They're creatures too, just like you and me. What gives us the right to kill them? Doesn't that make us murderers?" If he did that...well, it would bring him one step closer to being like his grandfather. His family was tainted enough without him adding fuel to the fire.
"Taime'sööja, huh? Sounds like a name I could live with." It felt...right. As rude, and brash as this lioness was, she had a point. That name really did suit him.
“Yeah, well, I’ll let you decide on that one.” Now that her thirst was quenched, Makoto was ready to get the hell away from him. She nodded towards the male as politely as she could before picking over the driest pieces of land she could find. “I hope that whole plant thing goes well for you, kid, but seriously, eat a fish or something. You’re going to blow away some day.”
Without turning back, Makoto made it to dry land and hit it running. She’d spent too much time as it was gabbing with the runt. She really had to get to business! Curse or not, anything was better than having cubs with that…that thing!
Ele watched her race off with a light-hearted grin before settling back down into the mud. “I like fish, “he murmured. “They’re so cool to watch.” And with a large yawn, he drifted back to sleep.
(WC: 1,125 )
