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 Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 9:00 am
Hivu wandered the boarders of the jungle boredly, as she did every day. Every single day since her daughter, Kumbuko, had disappeared, she had looked for her on the outskirts of her jungle home, but nowadays it was more habit than hope. She had left as a mere cub, and now her other two were nearly at adolescence. It had been a long, painful time, and now Hivu was fiercely protective of her children.
She had to admit, though, that her little babies were growing up, and they didn't need her any more.
It pained her inside, knowing that they, too, would soon leave her to seek mates and adventure. Still, she knew in her heart that it was what was best for them. She was getting used to being left all alone, to fend for herself, but it didn't make it any less painful. The lonely leopardess craved a life-long companion, but past experience had told her not to expect too much. The best she could do, in her mind, was find Limbuko again and hope that she would again swell with his cubs, and be able to have a purpose in life once more.
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 1:34 pm
"Zuko" had never been a social child, but with time he had slowly become bitter as well as antisocial. His father had sworn to be with his mother, mated her, produced two children with her, and now, after all this he'd simply taken his sister and disappeared. It wasn't that Zuko knew WHERE they went or why, just that they were gone. If one were to ask Zuko he'd swear he didn't even care where the "b*****d" was, so long as he didn't have to face him again. Even the namesake he'd been given was detested.
So he'd stayed with his mother so long as he could, then eventually he too left home, just needing to get away. She still believed Bato would return, but Zuko knew the truth, and he couldn't sit around waiting for his mother to accept it.
He slowed to a stop at the edge of a jungle, glaring in at the foilage. He wasn't the best climber, having such stubby non-retractable claws, and being lanky as he was, and his build didn't much allow for him to move easily in crowded places, but he was sick of seeing nothing but open plains for days. He was just about to take a step forward when black and white movement caught his eye, causing one brow to quirk.
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 4:51 pm
Hivu, too, noticed something different. If not for the great lot of white that the cheetah had on him, she would have gotten her hopes up that it could be her daughter, but no, not today it seemed. Determined to distract herself from the despair of her loss, she padded over to him, a forced smile on her face.
"Hello there, may I ask what a cheetah such as yourself is doing here?" She asked, having only seen one cheetah in the jungle before. He promptly left, however, being unable to use his proffered method of hunting in such dense vegetation. "I don't see many of your kind in the jungle." Her tone was friendly, and she seemed quite interested in him.
In fact, she almost thought he could be related to her if not for the difference in species. Their colors were identical, and the markings not terribly far off. She wondered secretly to herself if a cheetah would be able to satisfy her need for cubs to care for... If a god could, why not him? But the real question was if he would want to or not.
"But I forget my manners, my name is Msuluhivu, but you can call me Hivu if you want to." Her voice was suddenly flirty and feminine, "What's your name?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 5:48 pm
The first thing the cheetah felt was tense. Brash, reckless, and fight-thirsty as he may be, he didn't have a deathwish, and knew all too well that a female leopard was more than match enough to take him on at this short a distance. To make matters more complex he smelt cubs on her, though no trace of the male or mate. Still, a protective mother was nothing to underestimate in these lands.
"Just passing through..." He replied, albeit a bit wary, though he did seem to stop bristling so much when she spoke in a kind enough tone. "Believe me, it would take a hell of a lot to convince me to stay. I can't hunt in this kind of vegetation, and I haven't got any particular itch to try.
Though his eyes did stay on her, not missing their similar coloring either. Quirking a brow, he wondered, what game was she playing? Was she actually flirting with him?
"... My name is... Roho." He lied, the first word he could think of that he'd rather go by, anything but his birth name. "It's Roho... So, Hivu, why don't you just come outright and say what it is you want?"
Was she easy to read? Hardly, it just so happened that Zuko, or, rather, "Roho" was a distrusting male, and pessimistic, brash and tactless to boot. She could very well want not a thing from him and it wouldn't matter, he'd still have suspected. He was, however, curious, as he was hardly put off by the flirting.
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 7:08 pm
"Pity." She said sadly, "I wouldn't say no to some company these days." She blinked innocently at him for a moment, before sitting down and wrapping her long tail around her legs daintily.
Roho eh? That was an interesting name. "Why is it that I have to want something from you, Roho?" She asked, placing a look of mocking shock on her face, "Can't a girl just come over for a little chat? Maybe I should be asking you what YOU want." To some individuals, like Tego for instance, this would have been said in an offensive tone, but in this case it was as flirty as the rest of her talk with him. "Tell me, Roho, what DO you want here? Surely this isn't an ideal vacation spot for your kind?" She let a delicate purr lace her words this time, as if teasing him.
As "Roho" was not put off by her flirting, Hivu was not put off by his suspicious attitude. On the contrary, it made her curious. She liked a man of mystery, and he was just that. However, she made a point of remembering that even if she did get her wish for more cubs, they couldn't live together. No, this was no place for a Cheetah, and Hivu couldn't imagine life without her precious jungle. It seemed that this leopardess would never find a lasting love, only short relationships with near-strangers.
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 8:53 pm
She -was- flirting with him.
"No, hardly... but I have my reasons for coming this way."
His mother did mention spending some time here, though now that he'd been he didn't see why. Maybe he needed to go further in to find out.
His gaze went from Hivu to the jungle behind her, his gray eyes surveying the trees. His mother was an avid climber despite the same hinderance that kept him from doing so.
"I doubt you can give me what I'm looking for..."
Then, one gray eye met with hers as he glanced to his side again.
"... but if you're offering something else, I can probably be convinced."
There was really only one question on his mind, concerning that.
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Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 7:02 am
"Alright, have your secrets." She laughed, "I can't say that I blame you, not everyone around here is trustworthy... That's why I tend to be all alone." She sighed, her face drooping for a second pitifully. Of course, she didn't MEAN it, but who says she can't act depressed for attention?
"Oh really? I'll bet I can. After all, I'll give you anything you want." She purred again, "Something else? And what might that be?" She had a look of faux concentration on her face, as if solving a riddle.
"I have a lot of things to offer to you, but are any of them something you want?" She stood up, flicking her tail and taking a step toward him, examining "Roho" from head to paw.
"But I'm not talking charity, you'd have to give something back for my... Services."
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Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 3:03 pm
Finally, Zuko smirked. "Ahhh... see? That's more along the lines of what I was expecting. What's the catch?"
He kept his bemused expression as he watched the coy female examine him over, ignoring the pleasant shudder that traced the length of his spine, causing his fur to bristle in a rippling wave as it went. His interest was certainly perked, even while in the back of his mind he was still questioning. Lions and lions, cheetahs and cheetahs, leopards and leopards, wild dogs and wild dogs, hyenas and hyenas, so on and so forth... But he'd never heard of a cheetah and a leopard... let alone anything else with something besides one of it's own.
Well, that wasn't entirely true, he'd heard of it in theory, but he'd never actually thought that was a.... an actual occurrence. It did seem a little odd, but what was the worst that could happen?
And so he went along with it, tilting his head to one side a little.
"Just what is this price you're asking for your 'services'?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 3:09 pm
Hivu smiled, "The catch? Oh, nothing much. You'll just owe me one, that's all." She winked, taking another step closer. She was now quite sure that he knew what she was getting at, and he didn't seem to mind one bit.
While "Roho" wasn't aware of what could happen between the feline species, Hivu was quite sure that this would work out in her favor. She had the cubs of a lion, a god even, so she figured a mere mortal cheetah ought to be able to do the same thing, right? She certainly hoped so.
Still, she'd never heard of any circumstance other than her own, but it was worth a try. Besides, even if she didn't get the desired result, a little fun never hurt anyone.
"So, what do you say? Do we have an accord?" She was quite close now, only feet away, "This seems like a win-win situation in my eyes."
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 5:07 pm
"Right.... I suppose I can't turn an offer like that down," He finally allowed a small smirk, drawing closer, a bit slowly. This female, leopard or not, did make an interesting offer, but he wondered still about this.
Not being one to let fear or uncertainty hold him back, he moved with a bit more speed now, until he drew alongside her with a wink.
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 8:16 am
"Well then," Hivu purred, "Shall we go somewhere a bit more... Private?" She flicked her tail toward the jungle, "Unless you want to get started right away."
She returned his wink playfully, "I'm all yours, big boy."
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