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 Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 7:13 pm
She'd laughed once more as the little cub had rolled onto his back, noticing the scar across his eye, and how this one differed in colour from the other. She imagined that it was from the incident in which his friend had died, but didn't ask about it. She felt it might upset the youngster again, and she didn't want to risk it now that he was perking up a bit.
"My brother? I don't know where he is now. We parted ways many moons ago, when we were barely into adulthood. I'm actually wandering in an attempt to find him. It's been so long since I've seen him, and I miss him."
She sighs gently, before asking tentatively, "Do you have anywhere you call home, little one? I don't have a permanent home of my own to take you to so you can rest in safety..." She tilts her head to the side a little.
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 7:22 pm
"That's sad. I hope you can find him." Korou smiled happily and flicked his small ears about randomly. "As for a home, what's that?"
He noticed her tail that was flicking across the long grass and pounced on it. It was a lot longer than his, and her spots didn't go the entire way to the end of her tail. It looked pretty all black and stuff. He licked at her fur happily.
Somehow he was happy, the throbbing of his leg almost gone. That made him feel better. Much better.
ninja
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 7:33 pm
She laughed yet again as he pounced and licked her tail, happily flicking it to entice him further. It was good for cubs to play, and to play with friends. It built trust and companionship, and that was exactly what this little sweetie needed. Someone who'd always be there for him to run to if he needed it.
His comment had taken her aback a little, but really, is it so surprising? He'd lost his family and his friend. No place had probably ever felt like home to him. Well, in truth, no place had ever felt like home to her, either.
"A home is a place you're familiar with, that you feel safe in. An ideal place to make a home would be in some kind of cave... sheltered and protected from the hot sun and anyone who'd do you harm. I've never had the need to settle down in any one place myself, but I think I can find somewhere safe for us to sleep tonight."
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 8:39 pm
"You sleep at night?" He turned and stared at her.
He was confused. His darker fur was always hot in the sun, so he tried to sleep as much as he could during the day and move during the night. Of course, he never really hunted, so it didn't matter.
Not that he ever could hurt anything. He couldn't even kill ants when he was walking, he sidestepped away from them in an effort to not hurt any of them. A "bleeding heart" was what his friend had called him. Said it was because he had seen his family get washed away.
Yet Korou didn't remember that happening. He barely remembered his family anymore, just that he had one.
But a home... someplace safe?
"I like to run at night, but I can't run anymore. Not right now. So a place to sleep tonight sounds nice." He smiled at Zakiya. She was nice. Maybe he hadn't lost his family after all, he just hadn't met them all yet.
ninja
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Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:54 am
"I sleep whenever I get tired from my travels. I've never had a set time of the day that I've slept..." She gives another elegant shrug of her shoulders. "I prefer to travel in the day, as there's more light to see by. So, I usually end up finding somewhere to sleep later in the day."
Her dark pelt, too, caused her to suffer from the heat, but after many years of travelling this way, she had learned, for the most part, to ignore it. She'd also learned, through trial and error, to pace herself, so as to cover greater distances in a single day with the least amount of stress.
"You'll definitely not be able to run for a while, little one, but can you stand?"
[ That's going to be his nickname forever, even when he's grown and is bigger than her. XD Her little one. ^__^ ]
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Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 11:08 am
"Hm. More sunlight to see by eh? That does make sense." Korou contemplated for a bit on the idea of sleeping at night. It might seem strange to him right now, but if he got used to it then it could be nice. The bugs wouldn't get him as much as they did when he moved around. That would be a pleasant bonus.
His tail twitched a little and a noise in the grasses suddenly sounded far too loud for him and Korou jerked against Zakiya's side and crushed himself to her fur in a brief bout of terror. Things that were too loud, or things that happened too fast... all of them scared him.
As it turned out the sound was just a tiny little rodent that had pushed a rock out of the ground and it had collided with another rock.
ninja
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Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 11:20 am
As the frightened little cub buries himself against her side, raising a paw to rest it gently against him as her head lowered to give him another nuzzle. The first had seemed to calm him, and she hoped this one would, too.
Her eyes moved to locate the source of the noise, one she would have paid only a small amount of attention to herself, sighing gently when she caught sight of the small rodent.
"Hey, hey... it's all right, Korou," she murmurs softly, comfortingly.
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Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 11:39 am
Shivering again for a long moment he finally calmed down. he calmed down enough even to nuzzle Zakiya back.
"I'm sorry. Noises that I don't expect scare me anymore." Korou told her in a small and embarrased voice.
He twitched his spotted tail again and gazed around himself tiredly. He had limped for a long time. Now he needed to rest.
ninja
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Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 11:56 am
She lifted her head once again to peer out across the grasslands, trying to decide on an appropriate direction to find shelter. Whichever direction was as good as the next, she supposed. Sadly, she didn't know the terrain very well, having only been here a matter of days herself.
She could see that Korou was tired, that he'd need to sleep soon. If he was as skittish and frightened as this, he probably hadn't eaten, either. The prey animals would most likely have startled him. He'd need her to hunt for him before the day was out.
"It's all right, little one. You don't have to be ashamed of such things with me." She smiles, turning her kind purple eyes on him for a moment, before she starts scanning the vast land again.
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Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 12:44 pm
With a large yawn the cheetah cub nestled into Zakiya's side and let out a mewl of contentment. She was nice and warm and nice period. He wouldn't mind staying with her if she still wanted him to.
Then his stomach let out a loud rumble and his eyes popped back open. If it hadn't been that he felt it then he would have panicked from the noise. But as it was, his stomach felt like someone had punched him.
"I think I'm hungry." He mused to Zakiya.
ninja
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Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 1:05 pm
"I think you are, too," she says with a little chuckle. "We'll have to find somewhere safe for you to rest while I hunt for something to eat. Do you think you can stand, Korou?"
She watches him, waiting for him to attempt to stand, ready to offer him support if he needs it. She thinks he likely will; that wound was pretty bad. It was probable that he'd need a while before he could stand and walk as he used to. But she didn't mind being there for him.
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Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 1:31 pm
"I think I can. I just can't move fast." With a grunt the small cheetah stood and wobbled a bit before placing all of his weight on his other front leg.
"Yeah, I can."
Korou took a limping step forward and his leg seemed to hold him, so he turned and gave her a toothy grin.
ninja
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Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 1:58 pm
She grinned back at him and stood up, too, stretching out her muscles and rolling her shoulders. It might take her a while to find shelter, especially moving at a slow pace. It was best to start sooner rather than later.
"Come on, little one," she says, turning and starting a slow walk east. She'd originally come from that direction, and she knew there would be somewhere safe to sleep there, if she couldn't find anywhere closer. She just hoped he'd be able to walk the distance; it was quite far, unfortunately.
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Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:20 pm
"okay." Korou responded happily and limped slowly after her.
He decided to hop for part of it and probably looked weird, but he didn't care. His tail twtiched happily and he looked up at the clouds in the sky. They seemed to be making a road toward the direction that they were headed. It was neat. He wanted to run after it, but he couldn't.
ninja
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Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 3:12 pm
Her eyes scanned the horizon and all around for signs of potential danger and food as she walked at a slow pace. If on her own, she probably wouldn't have paid as much attention, but now she had another's safety and comfort to concern herself with, and so she was extra vigilant now.
"How long has it been since you last ate something, Korou?" she asks, glancing back over her shoulder at him. If she was to satisfy his hunger properly, she needed to know what size kill he needed. It was becoming clearer that a small kill wouldn't do at all, as she was starting to feel a little hungry herself.
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