[PRP] Dark and stormy... day? (Vappu, Hila)

[Annchen]

Vappu would have loved to show Hila her pride from its best side, but the weather just wouldn't cooperate. She had managed to sleep a little, but she was still tired and the ongoing storm terrified her. That was one of the reasons she'd stayed in the forest with the other dancers. She could have tried to pick her way up the mountain to her den, but that would have meant braving the storm. It would also have meant leaving the interesting cheetah male and she wasn't prepared to do that just yet. She'd enjoyed the flirting during the dance, and she'd love to talk more...

She sighed and yawned, sitting up in the sort-of dry spot she had curled up in. The trees sheltered them from most of the rain, but every time one creaked she was scared it would come toppling down. It would be hard for her to go back to sleep with all this noise!  

[SilverLutz]

Hila had taken shelter after the dance in the forest, even though trees tended to attract the flashes of lightning in the sky. So far he was lucky, though, and his tree continued to protect him at least a bit from the heavy rains and wind. He kept his hood down since it kept blowing in his face, and it was rather heavy from all the water. He'd been in storms before, but this one was particularly fierce, and he was glad he had decided to hang out in the pride for a bit. Having to travel in that would not be fun.

Glancing around, he noticed that he wasn't the only one huddling here, and it was just his luck that it was the pretty cheetah from the dance. The storm suddenly forgotten, Hila grinned and ducked his head as he started to head over to her, slinking under the trees to reach her.

"Well hello," he purred as he approached, finally within ear shot. "Fancy seeing you here, Vappu. It really is a small savanna."

Annchen

 

[Annchen]

SilverLutz

Vappu laughed at Hila's cheesy comment, but her happy laughter was cut short when an old branch snapped with a loud bang high up in one of the trees. She flinched at the sound and looked around nervously. Nothing horrible seemed to have happened so she turned back to the other cheetah.

"Hello Hila," she said, smiling faintly, "I don't really mind rain.... I mean, my season is spring so I'm used to plenty of it. It can even be really nice with a bit of rain, you know? But this... I don't like this at all. Have you ever seen such a storm? What was that?"

The trees swayed and creaked as if they were in agony, and the unfamiliar sounds mad her fur want to stand on end. The cheerful cheetah talked a lot under the best of circumstances, and when she was nervous she talked even more. She leaned closer to Hila for every strange howl and creak the storm produced.  

[SilverLutz]

Hila flinched as well at the loud sound and glanced up with a mildly worried look into the tree tops. Nothing was crashing down, so that much was good. If he knew the area better he might have known of a better place to take shelter, but as it stood he'd just have to run the risk of getting crushed by a falling branch.

Thoughts of dying or serious injury left him, though, as soon as Vappu jumped closer to him. Her questions made him chuckle, some of his confidence returning after the little scare. "I've seen some very intense storms, but never from a forest. I must admit, it's a bit scarier when you know a tree could fall on you at any moment." At least in the savanna there was nothing to land on you but the rain.

He turned his head to comfort her, purring softly as he bumped his head against her cheek. "Not to worry, Vappu. This, like all other storms, will pass. And you'll be that much wiser because of it!"

Annchen

 

[Annchen]

SilverLutz

Vappu's eyes widened when Hila mentioned the possibility of falling trees. That was nearly as scary as the fire and lightning from earlier this morning. She tried hard not to panic and run off into the storm. Running would solve nothing in this case, but the instinct to fight or flee was leaning heavily towards fleeing. The presence of someone much more calm and collected helped her hold it together, if only just. The whites of her eyes were showing and betrayed how close she was to losing it.

"Should we find a sturdier tree for shelter," she asked nervously, and leaned on him, wondering if the trees they were sitting under had any plans to crush them. "I do have a really nice den up on the mountainside, but I'm not running there in this."

She made a sweeping motion with one of her front paws, trying to describe what couldn't be described.  

[SilverLutz]

Hila could see how frightened she was and, with a little noise of concern, lifted his paw to press against hers gently. "Moving at all in this kind of weather is foolish. It's best to stay where we are. The trees here are so thick that even if one does fall, it will be stopped on the way down by its brethren."

He didn't let the moment pass him by to press up against her as well, both to soothe her and for his own personal benefit. She was very warm and attractive, so why not? Purring softly, he nuzzled his nose against her cheek to try to soothe her rapidly beating heart.

"Although, once the storm is over, I'd love to see your den," he said a bit slyly after a moment. "This tree is serving its purpose for the time being, but I doubt it would make a very good home for a few months." Yes, Hila was seriously considering spending some time with this pride. His last attempt at pridal life hadn't gone so well, but this place was fun and had plenty of pretty females for him to flirt with. If the living spaces were good, then it was a done deal and he'd be hunting for his own place to call home for the time being.

Annchen

 

[Annchen]

SilverLutz

Vappu gave the dancing trees one more worried glance, but Hila did sound as if he knew what he was talking about. She didn't mind snuggling up close to him for comfort and warmth, but she was mostly thinking about her own safety. In another circumstance she might have felt flustered by the close proximity to a handsome male, but for now she was in survival mode and didn't think along those lines. The lavender female was starting to calm down a little bit, and she felt better when they were talking. It was nice to think about after the storm. She'd love to take Hila to her sleeping place and show him around.

"Most of the dens are up on either of the mountain ridges," she said, taking comfort in talking about familiar things, "Mine is a niche between two larger rocks, but it keeps the weather out quite nicely. But I guess my bedding will get wet..."

She'd spent a fair amount of time gathering soft plant material and bits of fur to line her shelter with. It was open to the sky, but the sides of the two rocks provided ample shelter for her. Well, perhaps not against this kind of rain and wind... She was sure everything would be damp by now.  

[SilverLutz]

Hila made a soft 'tsk'ing noise as Vappu spoke about her den. The poor thing...going home to a soggy bed. That just wouldn't do! Perhaps he could help her air out her things and find some not-soggy stuff once everything got a good dose of sun. And, perhaps, help her build some sort of roof to keep the rain out, but one that she could push and pull back and forth as she pleased to let the sun in.

"We can fix that," he reassured her, patting her paw with his own. "For now let's stay here, though, and weather this storm." She seemed to be a bit less scared when he distracted her with talking, so he decided to keep that up. "So, the dance was a lot of fun. I've never come across a pride quite as enjoyable as this one. Would you care to tell me a bit about it? If I plan on spending a few months here I'd like to know how it runs."

Annchen

 

[Annchen]

SilverLutz

Vappu nodded. With Hila near she was still frightened, but it didn't seem impossible to stay under this tree and wait out the storm. They could do this together. She was pleased to hear that he planned on staying. Hopefully there would be more chances to watch him dance. Perhaps he could teach her some moves that she could use next year. In the middle of the storm her poor performance from last year's Midsummer Dance didn't feel as embarrassing anymore. Or at least not as important.

"Oh, that's great," she said and beamed at him, "We always welcome new folks here, but if you stick around long enough you'll be expected to help out."

Visitors were welcome to stay for the parties, but those that stayed several seasons were soon seen more as pride members and less as guests. A large number of pride members had actually joined that way. They came for the parties, and then stayed for the rest of it.

"We are divided in four clans," Vappu explained, "One for each season. Mine is spring, and during that season I work extra hard to make sure our parties are working smoothly. My main duty is to let everyone know that there is a party, since I'm a Crier."

She had many cheetah friends who also worked as Criers, but anyone who was willing to travel could do the job really. Vappy was a social creature and loved to run around in the rogue lands and talk to new friends so it suited her perfectly.

"There are four rulers, two mated couples," she explained, "One for each season. The king of Mrao and the Queen of Vuli are mated. Oh, that's winter and autumn. And then we have the Kaskazi king and the Demani queen, summer and spring. They're all really nice, and they make sure to keep an extra eye on their season and all the festivities."  

[SilverLutz]

Hila glanced up slightly as Vappu spoke, watching the storm, and would glance back at her frequently to nod or give a soft noise of interest. Once she finished he nodded again, a smile on his face. "This sounds like a fun place to stay for a while," he said quietly. "Good company, good fun, a very systematic but simple set up."

And with Vappu here, he could seriously consider staying long enough to help out at least a bit. Perhaps if he found himself still here in a years time he'd settle down for good, but for now he'd consider himself a long-term guest, willing to pull his weight.

"And look," he said, nodding up to the sky where the winds had calmed. It was still raining, but nowhere near as hard as it had been earlier, and the trees were no longer swaying dangerously. "It seems you've talked the storm away. Fancy that!"

Annchen

 

[Annchen]

SilverLutz

Finally... Sorry about the wait! I'm horrible at writing last posts for some reason xd

"I did?" Vappu said, looking up. It did look a bit less hostile than it had done earlier. "I guess we did..."

She sighed and her shoulders sank a bit as the tension in her muscles reduced. It was exhausting to stay on edge, but she didn't dare to relax completely. What if something scary happened again? But then again, Hila was here with her.

"It is a fun place," she said and glanced up at the trees again, "Most of the time at least. Here, let me tell you what we did for my season this year. Hopefully I can talk away the last of the storm..."

Even a violent storm could be bearable with good company... Fancy that.  

[SilverLutz]

As Vappu let some of the tension leave her body, Hila took his chance and leaned in to press his muzzle against her cheek gently to give her a bit of comfort. That and he'd be aching to do that the whole time. No harm, no foul. As she continued to speak, he paid close attention to her words, making sure she was focused as well as the last of the storm drifted away. He didn't need her getting worked up again as one last thunder bolt rumbled through the area. It was distant, though, signifying the end. The sun shone through the treetops and a few birds began to sing, despite the obvious destruction around them. They were lucky. Dipping his head to let his cowl fall back over it, he had the sinking suspicion that others might not be as fortunate as they had been.


FIN

Annchen

Just needed one more to get my word count up X3