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 Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 11:58 pm
"You should rest, then," she scolded. It was more and more common she sounded like her mother, and part of her regretted that. "Not out here, though." Because there was water everywhere and it was cold and--
Her thoughts came to a screeching hault at the familiar blue and white bundle of fur coming toward them. Gzifa's voice was a pleased squeal, as if she herself hadn't seen him in forever, either.
"Khima!"
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 9:16 pm
Approaching the pair from afar, Khima stepped lightly on the drying ground, the head and forepaws of a young hare hanging loosely from his jaws. Though the hare was small, the wild dog was, nonetheless, proud of his catch. After all, he had never been a particularly good hunter, especially when it came to hunting alone, without the aid of a pack.
It was for this reason that Khima withheld from eating the animal himself, instead opting to save it as a gift for Gzifa. She would appreciate it, he knew. At least, he hoped she would! She wouldn't laugh at the size of it, would she? No, of course not, she was his friend! But still...
He didn't have long to ponder this issue, however, as he soon heard his named called in a voice that sent his worries away. "GIGFA," he called back, the hare in his mouth muffling his voice. Oh, right, the hare!
Setting the creature down as he neared Gzifa, Khima then grinned at her. "I caught it for you! Hope you like it! He almost got awa-"
His words fell short as he caught sight of the wild dog behind Gzifa. Hey, he recognized him! "Matima!" He sidestepped around Gzifa, the grin still on his muzzle. "Wow, I haven't seen you in forever! What're you doing here?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 9:43 pm
Mati hung back as Gzifa enthusiastically greeted his brother. No matter what the girl had said, he still felt like an intruder in an intimate moment.
Or at least, what -should- have been an intimate moment.
He cast his blue eyes to the sky, taking in the fading light and gilded clouds. He loved the way the landscape felt after rain; fresh, new, ready. Too bad he couldn't share --
The earth glimmered in the light of the dying sun. Muddy puddles of water transformed into still pools of gold and ruby. The combatants weren't interested in beauty. Someone shouted, and he was pulled forwards by the seething mass --
"Matima!"
The grey dog jerked and stared at his brother, eyes wide an uncomprehending for a brief moment. Then he relaxed and grinned, his tail wagging briefly.
"Oh, just... you know, taking care of a few things." The grin made his face look puppyish. "You've been doing the same?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 9:49 pm
"Oh, wow!" The female of the trio was all but gawking at the sight. Khima had caught something? And a bunny! Those were fast! It was sort of odd how proud she was of him, not that she concluded anything strange. "Thank you, Khima!"
When he brushed past her in favor of his brother, she wasn't bothered at all. She'd react the same if it was one of her siblings. Tail wagging rapidly, and the rabbit in her jaws, she watched the meeting with bright eyes.
Awww!
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 10:21 pm
His own tail wagging, Khima listened while studying his brother with pink eyes. Mati looked so...Well, actually, he hardly looked any different at all. Bigger, yes, but changed? Nah. He wondered briefly how his other littermates were, now that they were adults. Perhaps he should seek them all out again one day.
"What kind of things?" Khima asked, the thought of the question being "rude" never once crossing his mind. "Sort of, I guess. Me'n Gzifa have been traveling around, you know?"
At the mention of the female, he pivoted around to grin at her. When he saw that she had the hare in her jaws, Khima felt a momentary burst of joy. It was perfectly normal to feel gratitude at the acceptance of a right, right? "Oh, um, you're welcome," he said, remembering she had thanked him earlier.
Oddly embarrassed now, he turned back to face his brother. "So, how did you two meet up?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 10:29 pm
"Oh, you know..." Mati shrugged it off, one paw waving in vague motions. "Just meeting some others."
No need to go into details. He canted his head to the side and fell silent when Khima turned back to Gzifa. It seemed they were handling life in the 'wilds' (as it were) without a hitch. He'd hunted off an on - enough to know he wasn't much good at it. Lately he'd been surviving of off mice and other rodents.
"Coincidence." Mati admitted. "I wasn't really watching where I was going, and your pretty girl spotted me." He brought one leg up to his ear and scratched half-heartedly.
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 10:34 pm
"Pwty?" Gzifa muffled around the corpse. If her tail already hadn't been wagging, it would be now. She liked being called pretty. She wished her mother had said it to her once and a while, instead of just clumping her in with her siblings and calling them 'cute' as a group. It's why she had to leave, after all.
Gzifa took the compliment in an innocent way, though, and she'd be teasing Khima later he hadn't ever called her pretty. The hare thudded to the ground. "Hey, we should show him around here, Khima! This is one of the best places we've been to!"
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 10:59 pm
Khima nodded, the small bit of information enough to satiate his curiosity for now. He was getting better at recognizing when to stop with the questions, at least.
At Matima's next words, he merely stared at his brother for a moment, expression frozen, mouth agape. Did he just say...? Woah, wait! And his tongue worked again. "W-what? My girl? Gzifa isn't my girl, whatever that means. She's a friend. A pretty friend. A pretty girl friend. Yes. That." Again, he nodded, as if to assure himself and his brother that that was, indeed, what Gzifa was.
Thankful that she was distracting him from the issue, Khima turned to Gzifa. When he realized that the hare was once again on the ground, out of her jaws, he felt a sudden disappointment. Well, the hare was rather small. No wonder she didn't want it.
"Okay, we can do that! Any which way you wanna go first?" He asked with forced excitement in an attempt to push the disappointment away. He would probably feel better once they started to move, anyway.
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 11:10 pm
"Oh! Sorry! I just -- " Matima fumbled for words for a moment, his face growing hot again. "I just thought that, well, you were..." He glanced at both wild dogs and shrugged helplessly.
The way he saw it, the two were alone, together... all the time...
Well, something was bound to happen.
Apparently not. His smile returned, weak at first, then stronger. The prospect of exploring was always a good one! His blue eyes fell to the rabbit and his face darkened.
"You should eat that, you know." This time he spoke to Gzifa. "If you're traveling a lot, you'll need strength!" He scolded, then turned a stern gaze on his brother. "You too, Khima!"
Sometimes he really worried about his family...
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 11:26 pm
Gzifa liked Khima's brother. She did think that he needed to fix that bad habbit of not finishing his sentences. And what were they going on about anyway? Honestly, she hadn't been listening. Too busy charting out where they should go. She did manage to catch some of it.
"I'm saving it for after," Gzifa informed him. She was the type to need energy after their explorations, not before. In fact, she didn't get the other way. Wouldn't it just make you all bloaty and stuff while you were running around? Ick!
"Okay, come on, this way!"
And the new adventure began.
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