A silence settled over the two lions, the only noise the bugs in the trees and grass. Uhleko continued to stare at his failed attempts at making a thicker paint and Vodnitvar gazed at the water as he tried to think of a way to help. The cub couldn't paint on lions all the time...that was just for fun when he was a cub. It was always washed off, and he could tell the young male wanted something that would stick around forever. Or as long as nature would allow. He drummed his toes on the ground in thought before making a face. He looked down and saw a little pile of mud from an overturned attempt that Uhleko had discarded in frustration. The mud had turned blue and just wouldn't come off of his toes."Well..I'm sure we'll think of something," he murmured as he stood to wash off his feet. His whole paw squelched in the mud, and he grimaced just a bit. "Ugh...regular mud is bad enough," he muttered, moving to the water's edge, leaving blue footprints behind with every other step he took. Uhleko looked up, his sad expression brightening instantly when he saw the footprints. The blue was staying behind in the shape it had been left in...even on the plants that Vodnitvar stepped on.
"Wait! Uncle Dog, don't wash it off!" he said excitedly, jumping to his feet. He grabbed a fresh leaf with his teeth and carried it over to the larger lion, who wore a rather perplexed expression on his face. Uhleko put the leaf down and reached out, taking one of the muddy paws. He pressed it against the leaf and smeared it from side to side. The mud came off of Vodnitvar's paw and stuck to the leaf, only smudging when it was touched. "Look!" the cub said in excitement, putting Voddy's paw down. "Look, Uncle Dog, it's staying! It's staying!"
He whooped in delight and turned in a quick circle before dashing over to the blue mud. He squished both paws into it and hopped over to a clean leaf, starting to smear in a much more precise manner. Blue eventually became a rough outline of the lion before him, and after washing his paws off, Voddy moved to see just what Uhleko was up to. He was surprised at the detail going in to the muddy painting. The lines were heavy and thick because Uhleko's toes were growing, just like the rest of him, but he could still tell who it was of. He remained silent through the little session, though, not wanting to disturb the artist.
Finally Uhleko sat back, letting out a little sigh, a grin on his face. "Man...that works really well!" he said with a happy tone to his voice. "The mud is already drying, too...I can't wait to see if it sticks." The excitement in his voice was obvious, which made Voddy smile a bit.
"It's great," he said after a moment. He had never met a lion that could do something like that before and, while it wasn't a talent that he valued in himself and his own children, he knew it was a skill that shouldn't be downplayed. "Looks just like me. Even down to the scowl," he said with a little snort of amusement. Uhleko grinned sheepishly up at his uncle, his tail still lashing back and forth.
"Thanks," he said softly, looking at the painting again before getting up to wash off the mud. He peered at his paws once they were clean, humming softly. "The dye doesn't stick to my fur as much...mom'll like that," he said with a grin. "Wow...this is great! I can't wait to experiment with different mud and dirt." He looked up at Voddy as he came back, admiration shining in his eyes. "Thanks so much for your help!"
"My help?" Voddy repeated, before giving a soft 'tch'. "All I did was get my paws dirty. You're the one that came up with it, little doodler."
"Well...if you hadn't done it, I wouldn't have had the idea!" Uhleko insisted. "So thanks! You can keep that if you want," he added, nodding to the leaf. "I bet Auntie Fireheart would love it," he teased softly, which made the larger lion grow a bit flustered.
"She'd probably think I was vain for bringing it home," he muttered, which made Uhleko laugh.
"Tell her it's for her, then!" he said, pushing the leaf towards his uncle, who after a moment pulled it closer with his paw. The mud was already drying thanks to its thin application and the heat, and the berry juice was helping to keep it from cracking. Shaking his head, he bent down to bump his forehead against his nephew's.
"I'll do just that," he said softly. "Thank you. It's lovely. And good luck with your experimenting...perhaps you can ask your father to bring back some dirt from far away places. See if that makes a difference," he suggested, which made Uhleko's ears lift in delight.
"Oh, that's a great idea! I think I'll do that the next time I see him," he agreed. "Thanks, Uncle Dog," Uhleko added as the blue lion leaned down to pick up the portrait. Vodnitvar nodded his thanks before turning to go, an amused look on his face. Fireheart would certainly get a kick out of this, at any rate. As would his children.
Uhleko watched him go, a grin on his face before turning around to mess around with the water to berry juice to dirt ratio. He'd need a better way of applying it, too. His paws were getting too big to do detail work like he used to when he was younger. He'd work on that later, though...for now he was curious about how to make the colors more vibrant, to battle the dark brown of the dirt. These were the things that excited him. He got to work, not afraid to get his paws completely filthy in the mud.
FIN
WC 1016
