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Kuishi yawned tiredly. Yesterday had been long and exhausting, causing the leopard's bones to be sore and his mood sour. Not that he didn't enjoy his job, Kuishi simply wished it wasn't so demanding sometimes. Pouring water onto the tracks, moving fallen trees, dragging prey carcasses back to the pride. It was all manual labor that required his toughened leopard body to endure the stress of lugging around material. It also involved a great deal of patience and visits to the pride healers frequently.

Today was unlike yesterday however, for today it was raining. It wasn't as if rain put a hold on any of Kuishi's regular activities, but it did manage to slow them down. Particularly one that involved dampening the dirt track. That usually lasted a good hour or two before he was required to do something else.

That being said, Kuishi now waited patiently under a tree for the rain to cease falling. Or, you know, for him to be demanded elsewhere. Regardless he sat alone, eyeing carefully the crowd of cheetahs a little more than a mile away. From what his ears could tell they were debating on whether to begin practice or wait out the rain like he was doing.

The leopard watched as Rieseln played. Humph, even on his best days that amount of happiness escaped him. In fact most of his co-workers were convinced he was just a mean old Grinch. Whatever that was. He wasn't even that old anyways... Nonetheless it made Kuishi slightly jealous to know that adults like Ries still had enough childishness within them for frolicking about.

Oh, and just his luck; she decided he needed company. Not that he didn't mind company, he just preferred... Less eccentric company.

"Hmm, indeed." Kuishi nodded in response. He shook his head to free any water droplets that clung to his fur. It seemed to be surprisingly a lot, for quite a handful of the specks went flying this way and that. "Do you not like it when its overly hot out then?"

Rieseln... Rieseln... Kuishi struggled to remember where he had heard that name before. Quite a few of the pride members had mentioned such a name once or twice; but the leopard had dismissed it as being associated with some sort of rumor. Now that he was actually acquainted with the owner of that name he could finally make an assumption as to whether it was a bad thing or not. That in itself gave his day a little more cheer than before, although his grumpiness was not about to let up anytime soon...

"Even the snow?" He said with a slight chuckle. Not that he was sure she knew what snow was. He himself had only heard stories about the stuff. Cold, wet and in an unpleasant abundance. He had also heard snow fell from the sky like rain did, in fact he had heard it was just frozen rain. Not that he had believed the person who told him that mind you, he knew all too well rain didn't become that cold.

Ah, right. Now he was the one holding Ries up. "Kuishi." He said in a firm tone. He wanted to ensure she had heard his name correctly, so a strong voice was necessary he had learned. Curling his tail closer to him Kuishi glanced over to the Cheetahs, of which a few had decided to test their luck by sliding on the mud. "Pff." He rolled his eyes. "They're going to regret that when they crash into walls."

"True. its rather dangerous though, and not all cheetahs are careful." Or any cheetah, he thought to himself. From as far back as being a cub Kuishi knew that the racers were willing to risk it all to obtain victory. Life or limb was nothing worth fretting over if they could prove they were the best. Oh, and also because the healers were always nearby. Had they not half the stunts the leopard had seen in his lifetime probably wouldn't have been done.

His ears perked up as he noticed some of the more reckless cheetahs sliding closer to Ries and himself. Oh great, were they going to get covered in mud now? Because that would really be the cherry on top of his oh so fabulous day.

He lifted his paw to cover his face as they surged closer to the duo, who up to this point, were staying relatively dry. "Do you own any then?" Kuishi asked in the most polite tone he could muster. Perhaps that was why she seemed confident the cheetahs would be fine. Or perhaps it was that she trusted they knew what they were doing regardless of whether they belonged to her or not. He had never encountered such pleasure in trusting a racer so fully. He was half worried they were going to wipe out the pride one day, but that was simply old worries rising up. 'no,' he told himself. They were perfectly fine. At the least a sprain would result of this practice. Nothing over the top for him to maul over and be grouchy about.

"Ah, so you're one of the seers." He nodded to himself. That's right, only a few seers were actually part of the pride. Each and every were considered an extreme asset, and encouraged to share any and all race-related visions they experienced. So in short it was easy to understand Ries predicament. "Maybe they think you'll be a better coach to your cheetahs then themselves." Yes, if he knew he could give better tips than the leopard next to him, he would definitely view it as sort of cheating. Although not anything major... Much of the race was up to the cheetahs abilities, not anyone giving hints about what they should or could do.

"Ah, the breeders are all about speed, yes?" Or at least from he had heard they were. Although not necessarily true. Weren't some breeders after looks rather than skill? Bah, he was thinking to hard. This was why he was convinced he needed more breaks in his line of work. A portion of that conviction though had to do with his sore back. And legs... And arms... and well just about every bone in his body.

Shaking his fur out again Kuishi's expression turned sour when he noticed the oncoming cheetahs weren't slowing. "Perfect." He muttered to himself, preparing grudgingly for the oncoming spray of muddy water. But he wouldn't yell at them. No, no, no. Then he would become a mean old grumpy Grinch. The last thing he needed added to his horrid title was anything that included 'mean' in it.

Kuishi nodded as Ries left. It was nice to know that he had actually met one of the pride seers. To be honest she didn't seem to be that bad either, although he didn't look forward to whatever circumstances led them to meet next. At best he hoped it would be under the hot savannah sun rather than in the rain again. Yuck, that would mean more mud.

Speaking of leaving, it was probably about time he get back to work. Let's see, next on his schedule was moving logs over to the grass track. Something about using them as seats for watchers and guests. Regardless he lifted his body off the ground, inching backwards as quickly as he could. Well, as quickly as he felt necessary. As the cheetahs zoomed by his hairs stood on end and ears flattened against his skull, 'please no mud, please no mud...' He thought as he continued walking reverse.

To his liking, not much got on him. In fact only a few splashes of it ended up on his arm. Then there was the splash that ended up on his face. "Perfect." He spat out the mud in his mouth before turning his back sourly and heading off towards the grass track. Well, at least his day couldn't get any worse. Or could it? He prayed to whatever gods were listening it wouldn't. The last thing he needed was for even more mud getting stuck to him. Or anyone overly annoying to show up.