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 Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 3:21 am
(( xD Thankyou! I luffle them a lot... it's my first SoA breeding, so I'm really happy. ;w; *nod nod nod* And about the tense switching... xD No problemo! <3
And, yup, it was an awesome holiday, although I'm sorry for keeping you waiting for so long. ><' ^w^ ))
Chachili noticed Kiji's discomfort, and paused.
"Well, I can see that you're not a bad... lion," she despised that word, and reluctantly let it slip through her teeth, "Kiji, I'm sorry we couldn't have met on a brighter note. Lots of things have happened, that's all. Sometimes, it's hard when the past catches up to you..."
She looked into Kiji's eyes. They were so friendly. And yet, since Chachili had talked to Kijibwa, those eyes had slowly began to fill up with guilt. She had been thinking wrong, not realising her mistake.
She had misjudged the whole lion race that day, when it had come tearing down the mountain, searching for fresh Klipspringer flesh to break into. Being horror-struck, and terrified, Chachili had thought of the first lion she'd encountered to be what all lions were like... weren't they savage and brutal? Not frightened of spilling blood?
But now, after meeting Kiji, Chachili was confused. Kiji wasn't the lion she'd met that day. No, Kiji was someone different, someone she could trust, just like the other kind-hearted predators she'd met out and about in the savannah.
Bowing down her head, Chachili looked up and gave a slight smile. She would trust Kiji. He seemed the type to strike up a new friendship, and Chachili was always searching for these.
"So, you don't know why I look so fat, Kiji?" she chuckled, eyes glimmering, "I'm holding fawns in my belly. I don't know when they'll come out, but it should be soon. When they do, though, you'll have to promise not to... eat them!"
She said this light-heartedly, with a smile. It was slightly sad, but nethertheless more heartening then the smiles she had given Kiji before.
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Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 11:57 am
(( That's good! ))
He kept his eyes on the ground, even when she apologized again and gave a vague explanation for why. He didn't blame her for being fearful, if he was prey he might have reacted the same way, he supposed.
"You don't have to apologize," he said finally, deciding that she shouldn't have to keep apologizing. Kijibwa lifted his head back up and looked her in the eyes, still feeling guilty but hoping to stop sulking. When she turned the topic back to her pregnancy, Kiji's expression turned confused again. His blue eyes fell on her stomach.
"Um, no," he answered, he hadn't known why she'd looked so fat. He'd hardly noticed, "How- er- why are they in your belly? And I wouldn't eat fawns!" He nodded firmly, he meant it.
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Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 2:08 am
At once, Chachili brightened. Kijibwa's response to her pregnant belly was rather a funny one, and she grinned.
"How?" Chachili gave a slight snort, "How'd they get into there? Seriously, Kijibwa, you're kidding right?... Well, you know how when one finds a mate, and then they... ah, well... you know... love eachother..." she blushed, then shook her head briskly, "Well, you know what I mean. And then, poof! Fawns!"
She looked at Kiji, a little puzzled.
"Surely," she said, "You know what I mean, Kijibwa? Haven't you found a mate for yourself?"
To Chachili, he seemed like a lion that was old enough to understand. She had thought of him as a terrifying, adult beast only moments ago.
It was nice how Kijibwa's misunderstanding had lightened up the mood, though. Chachili was rather grateful for that.
Kiji had been right, after all. She had been apologizing too much. But... she had been genuinely frightened.
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Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:36 am
Kijibwa just stared at Chachili for a moment when she grinned, shaking his head to her question about him kidding. The extent of his knowledge was limited, but what she said confirmed it really- mother, father, love.
"Me?" he asked, startled back out of a daze, "I guess so. I know what you mean... and I.. I've found a mate, but I didn't think of that.." Now he wasn't feeling particularly smart, which made his guilt less noticable but wasn't a good feeling either.
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Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 11:23 pm
Chachili nodded, seeing that Kiji did, indeed- to some extent- understand what she was talking about. Mates. Most every adult knew of having and finding a mate, although Chachili's own mate was not with her now.
He'd most likely never pop up again.
She shook the bitter thought away, and concerntrated on Kijibwa.
"Everyone should understand that," she nodded, "It's a natural thing, becoming attached to another. But I can't keep on spouting this drivel... it'll sound like I'm a sap, which I'm not!" she grinned, then reared on her hind legs, "I'm actually a boxer, you know. A hare taught me once. It's an interesting tactic to learn, boxing. You should try it one day... get lessons, or something. Just if you're interested."
Chachili paused. Was the conversation sounding forced? Maybe... talking with a lion was a hard thing for her to do, and finding a subject was even more difficult. Hesitating, she looked up at the sky, through the trees.
Night was approaching, and Chachili knew that she'd need to flee from the jungle as it became night. She was not the nocturnal type, herself, and felt daunted by all the unfamiliar territory. Plus, hunters came out at night. She shuddered.
"I'd best be off, Kiji," she said, uneasily, "It's getting late... the sun is setting, and, well... I think I should be getting to my usual safe place in the savannah, in the 'High Grass'."
She wasn't sure if Kijibwa had ever heard of the 'High Grass', where she rested, safely, surrounded by the taller blades of grass, but decided it was not worth explaining. She needed to get out, before it got dark.
Turning, she looked around. Oh, no. Where was she, exactly?
"Uh... Kiji, which way is it to the savannah?"
With a sinking feeling, Chachili knew that she was lost.
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Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 8:52 pm
"Don't worry," he muttered, "You don't sound any more like a sap than you did before." Kiji glanced up when she reared and explained how she is, in fact, a boxer. He raises an eyebrow, forgetting to feel bad for a moment as he watched her.
"A boxer?" he chuckled quietly, "Maybe I should get lessons, it sounds funny." When an awkward silence fell once again, he looked back to the ground and batted a small stone around until she spoke again. Her wish to depart got only a nod from the lion, and then a frown when it turned out she didn't know where she was.
"It's off in..." he paused and looked around the trees, murmuring under his breath as he determined the way back to the desert and the way back to the part of the jungle where the waterfall he was staying at was. He finally looked off in a direction just a couple degrees off of the direction Chachili had come from, "That way, I believe. I could walk with you, if you like.."
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Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2006 12:14 am
Chachili nodded, a little half-heartedly. Ah, this meeting had been very... interesting, to say the least. And slightly awkward, too. Yes, a slight bit awkward, indeed.
However, Chachili's perception of the lion species had changed since the meeting with Kijibwa, and she felt she was staring at a totally different creature to the one that had haunted her childhood.
"Walk with me?... Uh..." Chachili looked to the floor, "Well, if you don't mind. I have a feeling that I may be a little lost."
She looked around her. Trees, jungle, greenery. It was all like some sort of maze.
"Do you know this place well, Kiji?" she asked, tilting her head and trotting slowly, and carefully, forward. The journey was nearing it's end, yet she still knew hardly anything about the lion himself.
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Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2006 11:44 am
"I wouldn't mind walking with you at all," he declared, he'd had a feeling she was lost when she asked which way it was, and now was determined to help her find her way safely. His view of hunting was altered after his encounter with the klipspringer, and he was a little less ignorant in several ways as well.
Kijibwa got to his feet and steps carefully forward, not wanting to startle her. He nodded, and turned in the direction they would need to go to find the savannah.
"I do know the jungle well," he smiled, "I grew up here, actually." The place you were as a child usually was the easiest place to remember, to find your way around in. He'd had plenty of time to do that!
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 12:25 am
Chachili nodded, and forced a weak smile. It was forced, yes, but it was a smile... Chachili just thought that she owed Kijibwa at least that.
"Thankyou," she said softly, "Thankyou for offering to lead me out. And... and for..." she looked to the ground, blushing a little, "... not eating me, Kijibwa. Really, I don't know if I've been that terrified in a long time."
'And so full of distrust,' she thought to herself, 'It's a rare day that I find myself doubting another with such... bitterness.'
Chachili turned sharply on her heel at once, then looked Kiji in the eye, a little stubbornly.
"But I'm not apologising. As you said, I've apologised far enough. This is a 'thankyou'... ah, what am I doing? First I'm spouting hateful garbage at a lion, and then I'm thanking him! What has the world come too?"
She shook her head, but looked a little brighter, certainly in higher spirits than she had been before. Now it was time to converse with Kiji like she would have with any other creature.
"You grew up here? Wow... you must know the place well... I grew up in a more mountainous area, myself, which is... quite a far bit away from here. However, I do remember coming through this jungle as a fawn. Scary stuff, back then. But I was impressed at how green the jungle really was..." she looked at it, childhood memories flooding back to her, "I remember running past a big waterfall, fearful of my life. Something was chasing me, I think. But the foliage of the jungle gave me protection... and all it's different scents confused my pursuers nose, so I could escape. Ah, yes, it's been a while since I was here."
She grinned, remembering the chase.
"My second time being pursued by something wanting my blood. Such memories don't leave me easily, even if it happened seasons ago. But Kiji... it's interesting you, yourself, grew up here. In a pride, perhaps? A jungle pride? Do they have those here?" she trotted forward, alongside the lion, "Did you grow up in a pride? Have you ever seen the savannah?"
Aah, questions. Chachili was full of them. But she was genuinely curious about Kijibwa... he was a lion, after all.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 5:12 am
Kijibwa was pleased to find that she at least trusted him enough now to walk with him, and started along the way to the edge of the jungle which led to the savannah. He didn't say anything when she said the first couple of comments, not really sure what to say or do other than smile sheepishly and nod.
He stayed silent at her story of her narrow escape from a predator in the jungle, wondering if she was one of the many things he'd failed at hunting when he was younger- the waterfall even then was one of his favorite places. Hunting wasn't really so easy until he got bigger. However, he'd never say it could have been him.
"I didn't grow up in a pride, I never was much for groups," he answered finally, since the questions were more direct, "I was alone here from a rather young age, but it was better than the desert I was in before that. I've seen the savannah, I left the jungle when I was younger. I came back to show someone what it was like."
Kijibwa would have asked her questions, but the stories really seemed to be answers to the typical 'what about you?'
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 11:14 pm
"Ah, never been one for groups, huh?" Chachili's eyes glimmered sadly, "Mmhmm, I can understand that feeling. I was in a herd, once, myself. Those were not happy days. The leader was more of a dictator back then. Even his own offspring were treated as though they were nothing but slaves... until the lion came, and the herd divided," she smiled, "I guess you could say 'the lion gave me freedom'. In some sort of... way. I passed through this jungle, like I told you, and arrived at the savannah, where I stayed for a long time. There's these long grassy areas there, the 'High Grass', where I spend most of my time."
She paused, then looked back to Kiji.
"Someone?" she asked, "Ah, so you've also seen the savannah. It's a dry place out there... not much greenery at all. The one you met must have had a big shock, seeing all of this... trees, water, animals... everything, everywhere."
She trotted, forward, noticing that some of the features of the jungle were becoming more familiar. They were nearing the savannah.
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Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 7:28 pm
"Not really," he replied with a shrug, "Groups don't seem like much for travelling, though my travelling has been slower lately. And not just because I have someone with me this time." Kijibwa listened to her story, nodding at the end of it, "I don't think I would be able to stand having a dictator, it's nice being able to choose your own way."
He keeps walking, looking a bit more cheerful at the friendly conversation. Conversation and walking were good distractions from guilt. "I've been to most areas around the jungle, but not really far out except the desert, and beyond that. Siku was quite amazed with the trees, but not nearly as much as by the water.."
He laughed as he thought back to her reaction to the streams. Then he took a good look around and smiled, "We're getting close."
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 11:33 pm
"Siku..." Chachili repeated the name, taking in Kijibwa's story, "Sounds like an interesting girl, that one, with a name like 'Siku'," she paused, then laughed, "She wasn't impressed with the water, eh? Well... that's a shame... the waterfalls here, I find, are some of the most spectacular things in the jungle. They protect, give water and look..." she hesitated, searching for the right word, "Divine. As in 'heavenly', divine. Not that they're that special, but they seem like something... 'unearthly', I think, from a desert dweller's perspective."
She trotted along, looking at Kiji with a little more trust than before. He wasn't going to eat her, it seemed. Just... a friendly chat. The awkwardness had long fallen. This was just like a talk between neighbours on a fine afternoon, rather than predator talking to prey.
"Dictatorship isn't very fun," she agreed, nodding sadly, "But, you know, it's worth it when you finally become free. It's worth it, all the way."
Chachili could see bright sunshine far ahead. The trees, once thick over their heads, were beginning to part. The earth was becoming more brown, and less green, and the calming melody of water trickling down rocks had become a distant murmur.
Chachili stopped, and looked at Kiji. He had been a fine guide. She'd been daunted at first, but she'd gotten used to him. Maybe the next time, if they did meet again, Chachili would greet Kijibwa with a smile. Maybe.
"The savannah is just beyond here," she grinned, nodding, "I know where I am!"
She bounded forward, ready to leap towards home, but stopped...
Kijibwa...
She looked back, and bowed her head.
"We should meet again, someday. I'll be stronger then, and even if you wanted to crush my bones, you wouldn't be able to! Next time I see you, I'll be your equal, Kijibwa!"
She said this light-heartedly, and with a small chuckle, and then swiftly bounded away towards the desert.
(( Thanks for the roleplay, Ecavi! xD <3 ))
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