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 Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 4:47 pm
Today she wandered along the edge of the dense vegetation bordering the Southlands. The shade was a relief on her back, though her pink tounge still poked out from her jaws in a heavy pant. Lela's goal was the small watering pool she'd discovered a few days before. It was a peaceful spot - full of green ferns, and even a miniature (and we mean very miniature) waterfall. It was the perfect place to spend a lazy afternoon sleeping and playing in the water.
The young girl also believed that no one else knew of her secret spot. She would be absolutely crushed if one of her siblings found out. Not, of course, that Lela disliked her siblings, but the juvenile did seem to enjoy peace and quiet much more than her rambunctious siblings.
Turning into the heavily shaded vegetation, she crawled over massive roots and underneath exotic flowers. Only a little farther now.
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 5:01 pm
A bright orange wild dog lay in the shade near the small pool. She was once more talking to herself. No, not herself! Never herself.
"It's really very pretty, isn't it? I betcha they would call me a liar if I told them... I know. They'd call me a liar no matter what I said. I'm not a liar, right?" she talked to her friend, the one no one else could see.
She followed him with her gaze, frowning a little at his departure to the skies. He only did that when someone was sneaking up on her. Of course, that only happened in her mind. It was only a hallucination of what her acute senses had picked up. She tensed inside, ready for the oncoming threat, though she looked lazy.
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 5:10 pm
Lela struggled over the last large root, tumbling through the thick fern leaves. Landing with a small 'oomph', she pulled her eyes open slowly. Of course, the first thing she saw was a large creature of orange. She gasped, scrambled to her feet, and backed her rear halfway into the green foliage. Her mother and all the other adults of her pack had always taught her to be untrusting of any strange creature she happened upon. However, more often than not, Lela's curiousity won over her cautiousness.
However, she was still nervous. She'd never seen a wild dog so vibrantly colored in all her life. Ears sliding forward from where they'd lain flat on her head, she inhaled deeply, trying to catch the other's scent. Mother always said you could tell a wild dog by their scent. Voice quivering slightly, she focused cautious eyes on the other female. "Wh-Who're you?" Summoning her last ouces of bravery, she followed it with: "And what're you d-doing by m-my p-pond?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 5:20 pm
Kweu gave the pup a sidelong glance and looked up as her friend landed again.
"I'm sorry. We didn't know it was your pond," she replied, looking over the smaller wild dog. The newcomer was darker than her and Motubawa, but really pretty. She glanced at her friend again and watched him shrug his feathered shoulders.
"I'm Kweu. Who are you?" she asked, dragging out the question a little bit, anunciating the words, not in a mocking tone, but comical. Unlike the smaller wild dog, her ears wear perked up in welcome.
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 5:29 pm
Lela tilted her head, as pups are wont to do when confused. She could've sworn the other female had said 'we', but as she looked around, she couldn't see hide nor hair of anyone else in the area. Shrugging it off as not having heard her correctly, her tiny body shed some of its tenseness. Taking a few steps forward on white-tipped paws, her tail began to sway back and forth in a pleasant manner. "Well...I suppose it's not really my pond at all. I just didn't know anybody else knew about it. Do you come here to be alone too?"
Settling down on a large piece of rock that jutted over the peaceful water, the pup sat her haunches down. She giggled at the way the other canine talked, entirely amused with her comical nature. "I'm Lela'Bahari, but everyone just calls me Lela." Perking her ears forward, she asked, "Where did you come from? I've never seen you before."
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 5:39 pm
Kweu looked off in thought, deciding to answer the last question first.
"We come from everywhere and nowhere," she said, closing her eyes and looking very wise. Then she opened one and grinned at Lela.
"Odd, I know, but it's true. We go everywhere and sometimes I don't even know where we've been. And I'm never alone. Motu's almost always with me," she said, her ears twitching in his direction when he thrilled at her, the sound reaching her ears alone. The odd wild dog wondered how this one would react to her. Sometimes, they were cautious around her once she had told them about Motubawa, the secretive bird that had been her friend for years. Other times laughed and called her names. And sometimes, they'd seem to understand. She didn't understand why she was the only one who could see or hear him, but she'd given up trying to find out.
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 6:12 pm
Lela's brow wrinkled in confusion. She had never been very good with riddles, and the female's reply seemed to be one - at least to her young mind. Yet, very slowly, a dawning light crept onto her expression. "Oh! You mean you're a rogue?" Her blue eyes widened in wonder. She'd only heard stories about life as a rogue - the freedom, the limitlessness. Lela often wondered sometimes if maybe that was the life for her, except that she'd probably get lonely. "That must be a lot of fun, not being limited to a pack."
She grinned in return to the Kweu, her eyes looking around for the one she called 'Motu'. Not finding anything near, or even smelling anything besides the two of them, she returned her eyes to the orange canine. "I don't see anybody..." She twitched an ear as a bug buzzed dully around it. "Is he not here or is he..." Lela thought hard, remembering something she'd often done as a very young pup when she was frustrated at her siblings. "Or is he...invisible?" When she'd been smaller, Lela had invented playthings and playmates to amuse her when her siblings didn't want to play. Perhaps that was what Kweu meant - though she did seem a little old for imaginary friends.
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Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 7:06 pm
kweu tilted her head and nodded.
"Yes, I'm a rogue. My pack wasn't very nice, so we had to leave," she replied and looked down when Lela said she couldn't see Motu. Nobody could, it would seem. How odd. How odd, indeed.
But when the pup asked if he was invisible, the bright female's ears perked up and her yellow eyes sparkled.
"That he is! Well, not to me, of course, but no one else can see him," she said, grinning and looked to where the bird perched. She listened to him for a moment and then looked back to Lela with a nod.
"He says it's a pleasure to meet you, and that he's glad you understand, if only a little," the strange wild dog added, her eyes closed happily as the fluffy tail wagged slightly behind her.
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 5:02 pm
A pack that wasn't nice? Lela couldn't imagine that. Her own pack consisted of such nice wild dogs - ones that would always respond to growls for play, or always brought back nice food. "Maybe you should try a different pack? I'm sure not all packs are bad."
Lela flopped down on her belly, paws dangling over the edge of her warm rock. Resting her chin on her legs, she watched Kweu with the greatest of interest. She hadn't met someone so interesting since meeting Mr. Kika so long ago. "I wish I could see him. Does that mean he's...magical, since only you can see him?" Lela was greatly interested in all the mysterious happenings of the earth, and in her puppish mind, she related all things mysterious to some form of magic.
She grinned, wagging her tail at Kweu. "I'm glad to meet him too. I wish I could understand more." Tilting her head in curiousity, Lela posed a question. "How did you meet Motu?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 6:04 pm
Kweu only shrugged. She wasn't sure Lela was right about that one. All packs looked nice on the outside, just like hers. But deep down they were really very mean, ready to scorn those different from them at the first chance.
When she asked about Motu, the older wild dog blinked and shrugged again.
"I'm not quite sure. I've asked him that before, but he always avoids the question. I've learned not to mind so much. When he doesn't want to tell me something, I let it be," she explained and looked up with her second question about the fire-colored bird.
"Hmmm... Well, when I was little younger than you, I think, I ran away. Oh, not far. Just to a rocky outcropping by where my pack lived. My older brothers had been very... mean again," the orange dog began to shiver a little as her mind took her back, replaying the scene as she told Lela.
A small orange pup huddled in the shadowed crevise in the rocks, listening as a group of four or five of her half-siblings ran past, yipping and calling for her in their bitter tones. Machungwa'kweu shivered when they had gone and tried to sink farther into the cave.
"Lost, little one?" a soft voice asked from behind her and she jumped away, her fur on end. She couldn't see what it was, not in the dim light, but she could make out the vague outline of a small bird.
"N-n-no," she whispered back and listened outside. She didn't hear anything of the older pups, so she slowly backed out of her hiding spot. The bird followed, hopping along, until they were both out in the harsh sunlight. The bird was not much bigger than she was and every color of the sun.
"Hello, I'm Motubawa. And you are...?" the bird asked and she looked fearful of him for a moment before turning to a curious little pup. She slowly walked up to him and sniffed his feathers.
"I'm Ma-chu... Ma-chun-gwa-kweu," she said slowly, for even she had trouble pronouncing all of it.
"Orange light. How fitting. Will we be friends, Kweu?" Motubawa asked, closing his eyes as he smiled and tilted his head. Kweu blinked and grinned as what he said dawned on her. A friend. A real friend.
"Forever and ever!" the small pup cried, her tail wagging cheerily...
Kweu laid her head on her paws and looked at the bird. He was only in her mind, of course, but she didn't know that.
"He's never left my side since then. Comes with me wherever I go."
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Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 3:11 pm
Lela had yet to see the meaner aspects of life in her short amount of time. She had been surrounded by wild dogs she perceived as wonderfully friendly. Even the various other creatures she'd happened to run into had been friendly to her.
Lela listened to Kweu's story in silence, her eyes widening with each passing word. Siblings being cruel? The poor thing couldn't even think such a thought! Her expression was aghast with horror and sympathy for the older female before her, yet it was soon replaced by joy at the mention of Motu. Even if she couldn't see him, Lela was finding herself very fond of the mystery bird.
"How sweet," she said, eyes forced to close with the largeness of her grin. "I wish I had a friend like that." Her blue eyes turned towards the path she had taken to get her. "I only have my brothers and sisters, but I don't play with them much anymore. I like being by myself." She thought a moment. "Except for Mr. Kika. He's a cheetah I met, a rogue like you. He promised to journey to the sea and come tell me stories." Her tail wagged forlornly. "I haven't seen him in ages, though."
edit adding an ending post. <3
Lela turned eyes above her, looking at the hints of sky falling through the thick canopy. The blue heavens were already tinged with a deep blue-purple. The young pup hadn't even noticed the time passing. Blue eyes wide, she turned an apologetic look to Kweu. "I'm sorry - but I didn't realize what time it was. My family will be waiting," she said, a small smile on her muzzle. "It was awfully nice meeting you. I hope we run into each other again soon." Wagging her tail at a rapid pace, the young pup yipped a farewell before darting off into the undergrowth. If she didn't hurry, she be horribly late...and that would only cause trouble for Lela.
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Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 7:58 pm
Kweu watched the pup run off with a small smile. It looked happy and yet so very sad at the same time. It was usually this way. She would probably not see Lela again. Not because she didn't like the little pup, but because that was just the way it was. Soon, Kweu would leave the Southlands and keep on following the footsteps of a creature that never existed, in a time that never was. She worried that she would forget the happy faces she met along the way, but knew her worries to be silly. She never forgot anything.
The strange orange dog stood, then and shook herself once. Motu was quiet as he watched her a moment before stretching his wings and taking off into the air. With a small huff, the mad dog was off, loping into the night towards a goal that didn't exist.
((Just wanted to finish it for Kweu.))
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