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 Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 8:45 pm
It was raining. Not even that - it was absolutely pouring. The day had started out so beautiful. Not a single cloud had dotted the sky. Little Magharibi had thought it was the perfect day to go out on a little adventure on her own. It was so rare she could sneak off, what with twelve other siblings running around constantly. One would think, with that many, her parents' eyes wouldn't be so quick to spot one making a run for it. Yet, somehow, they always did. That was why she'd snuck away during naptime, perfectly thrilled with herself.
Now, however, the young pup was curled beneath a large leaf, a rather glum expression on her face. Her normally wagging tail lay limp at her feet. This was just not any fun at all. Her first day out on her own, and it just had to rain. At first, she'd thought the light sprinkles had been fun, dancing around in them amongst the grass. But then the droplets had grown bigger. They'd gotten in her eyes, and turned the ground to mush beneath her perfectly white paws. While the tomboyish Maggie didn't mind being dirty, there was just something about that sucking, popping noise when she lifted her feet that just sent tingles down her spine. She'd fled to nice, solid grass as soon as possible.
Laying her head on her paws with a slight 'hmph', she gazed out into the gray, dreary world. There was absolutely nothing to do now.
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Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 8:55 pm
 Magharibi might have been sad about the rain, but Ilori certainly was not. He ran at full speed through the mud and slid across the plains, yelling at full volume with "WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!" until he ran out of breath. Nothing every kept the cub down long before he found a way to amuse myself, and somehow he was never lonely. Even though he and his parents had only recently survived an encounter with the fearful firekins, now they were all safe, and Ilori had chosen not to press the matter.
If he was depressed about it, then he would just bring it up again. He was still angry, of course, but he got over things. He always did. He didn't need to hate the world. Not when he could have fun, even on a rainy day!
So that was exactly what he chose to do. Have fun, even if it was by himself. And he would continue to do so until someone in his family either stopped moping around, or he found a new friend to play with. Which he was fairly good at doing.
The rain would be his friend for now!
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Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 9:12 pm
Lulled by the pattering of the rain, Maggie had fallen into a light doze. She had slipped away during her naptime, after all. A yawn stretched her muzzle, still short and rounded with puppydom. Just as her bright blue eyes began to drift to a close, her ears twitched. There was a noise. A far away noise...that was slowly growing louder. Lifting her head, her large ears swiveled forward like gigantic satellites. What was that?
Naturally curious, as all puppies are wont to be, she quietly lifted herself to her paws and trotted forward, staying beneath the shelter of the undergrowth nearby. It didn't sound like one of her siblings, but it was definitely a young voice. Had someone else in the pack had pups?
Bouncing forward, she came to an abrupt stop as soon as she saw the auburn figure playing in the mud. What could that thing possibly be?! It kind of...looked like her. It was short...and it had similar colors. But it didn't look like a canine at all! Perhaps it was deformed...? Poor Maggie, having lived a sheltered life so far, had never once seen a lion before.
So there she stood, mouth hanging open in pure sight of the new, strange creature, gawking like an absolute idiot.
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Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 9:25 pm
"WEEEEEEEEEE!" Ilori's voice continued to echo around the corner until his eyes fell on Maggie. He stopped abruptly and blinked several times, mouth opening and closing as his head tilted to the side. This was a little wierd. Ilori had traveled around a lot, but he had never once before seen a lion that looked so... so very odd. It was... small, and cute, like him.
It was young... and cute... but it wasn't... there was something... wierd... wierd about that cub. Which made him blink a few times, looking straight at the... what he could only assume was another cub like him. Or is was some wierd kind of rodent... but he didn't think so...
Was there something wrong with it? It looked fairly normal. Freindly enough. Intelligent enough... well, except that it was staring at him in the exact same way that he was staring at it.
Which was getting them nowhere. So, Ilori did what he always did.
"Hi over there! A lot of rain, don't you think? I'm Ilori! Who are you?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 9:43 pm
Maybe wild dogs from other packs looked different? Like...a different species, or something. It had a much shorter nose that her's, and it's tail was abnormally skinny. And what was the point of that tuft on the end? She stretched her head out slightly, trying to inhale its scent. Yet, the rain had bogged everything down until the world smelled like wet and grass and mud. It was a good smell, but it was just getting in the way this afternoon.
Taking a hesitant step forward, Maggie tilted her head to the side, blinking as the other creature mimicked her own confused expression. And then it spoke! It had a normal enough voice, though it was obviously male. A nervous grin spread over her face, and her fluffy tail raised itself in a slow wag. "I'm Magharibi, though my family calls me Maggie," she called. But it was pointless to stand at the opposite ends of a clearing and yell, wasn't it? Besides, he didn't really look all that dangerous...So the curious pup trotted forward until she was only a few feet from him. Turning her head practically on its side again, she blinked at him a moment. "I'm from the Mpinzani pack. What pack are you from?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 9:55 pm
"Me? Oh, I'm not from a pack. I'm a rouge, so are my mother and father," Ilori said, looking over the puppy. Her long nose, her fluffy tail which he sort of envied. It looked really neat! He wanted one, "And my brother... but I hear that my brother and sister live in some place called the Pridelands, wherever that is. But... that's a pride... what's a pack? That's like a pride isn't it? I think it is... they kind of sound similar."
Ilori ran forward to meet her, looking perfectly happy to go and meet the cub. As it turned out, being in true danger hadn't changed his sense of not really thinking that other creatures might hurt him, "Sometimes lions call me Lori though... hey, do all the lions in your pack look like you? You have such a cool tail! I've never seen one before! Wanna trade? Wait... do you know how to trade tails? Is that even possible...?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 3:26 pm
Wait...Could it possibly be...? There was someone else in the world just as overly talkative as Maggie?! Her face split in a pure grin, even though the rain was pattering hard against her spine. Her white tail wiggled even harder, curling over her spine. She was so happy, she even temporarily forgotten her parents' warnings to never talk to anything that claimed to be a rogue. They always said they could be dangerous, but how could this one be dangerous? He was the same size as her! "I've never heard of the Pridelands. Or a pride. But if its where lots of creatures live with each other with their babies and family and stuff, then it must be similar to a pack." She nodded matter-o-factly.
But her blue eyes widened at his next statement. Lions? What were those? "What are...lions?" she asked, confusion all over her pretty face. "I don't think I've ever heard of anything called a lion. But I'm a wild dog. And everybody in my pack looks kind of similar. We're all different colors, though, and there are a lot of them that are a lot bigger than me. But I don't see them that often. Mommy and Daddy have said that my brothers and sisters and I are too young to go wherever we want."
That, of course, completely contradicted her presence in the clearing. Yet it only made her feel a little big guilty. She glanced back at her tail, swishing it. "You like it? I've always liked it too. I'm the only one in my family with a pure white tail," she giggled. Maggie had always thought her snowy tail made her special. "I like your tail too, though. But I don't think it's possible to trade tails. I think it might hurt a little bit." She shrugged. "So what are you doing out here? Aren't your mother and father with you?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 6:47 pm
"Yep, then that's a pride!" Ilori nodded enthusiasticly, though he had never heard of a pack before, so they would have to be the same thing. He liked Maggie though, she like many of the other cubs he had met, was fun! Happy, which he loved. He didn't like it when other lions were in bad moods... but he was beginning to think that Maggie wasn't a lion. They looked close... but not close enough that they were the same. This girl and him, they weren't the same.
This was way too cool for words! She was a... a wild dog, she had said, and he had never heard of one of those before. How cool was that? They were totally different, but there they were, talking! It was amazing! "Well, I'm a lion, not a wild dog. And lions all look similar from the most part... all different colors too, and some a lot bigger than me... so, I guess that lions and wild dogs must be different! I mean, my brother my mom and dad all look like me, and all the lions that I've ever met have looked like us... so are we different... um... what's it called? Species! That's it!"
Ilori didn't really question her being there though. He wandered wherever he wanted all the time, and his parents were never bothered by it, "I like my tail too, but I'm excited for when I get my mane. I don't know if wild dogs get those though... it's when you get long hair all around your face... anyway, it looks really cool! I guess that a tail... movey thing would kinda hurt..." He shook his head, smiling, "I like to wander anyway. I go wherever I want, as long as I stay near my parents. My mom and dad are probably sleeping. I don't think that they like the rain."
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Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 8:28 pm
The more and more that Maggie thought about it, the more she noticed how different they were. Her tail was fluffier, her nose was longer, and even her ears were pointier. But they did have some things in common: four feet, two eyes, two ears, and lots of soft fur. To the young pup, that was all that mattered for a friendship to strike up between two creatures - species and appearances weren't important, so long as you were having fun.
"Spe...cies...?" she said slowly, the word rolling oddly off her tongue. She'd never heard that word before. But she nodded along anyway. Ilori seemed well-learned, so she figured whatever he said must be right. "You seem awfully smart," she grinned, wagging her tail. "You know a lot more than me. But I guess it's because you get to wander. I have to stay in the den with my parents and brothers and sisters." She poked her tongue out, making a face. Maggie wanted nothing more than to run around and explore. To her, staying near the den was horribly boring.
"I don't think I've ever seen a mane before. I don't think we get any fluffier. At least, my mom and dad haven't. I don't know about the rest of my pack though. But I thing a wild dog with lots of fur around its face would look weird," she giggled. "It must be so nice to get to go wherever you want to. My parents don't let me go anywhere, so I have to sneak out if I want to explore. But, since you're a rogue, does that mean your family gets to go wherever it wants too? You must've seen some amazing places!"
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 7:08 pm
Ilori grinned, not caring much that Maggie was a different species either. It hadn't bothered him before, why should it now? "I only know about different species because I met... an... um, cheeton... which is a lion and a cheeta mixed together... but I've never seen a cheeta, just the cheeton, so I don't know that much about them. But you're the first wild dog I've ever met before! And I'm not really that smart..." the small lion trailed off, moving mud between his paws, "I just... yeah, I pick up stuff... but no, I'm not all that smart really." He almost felt bashful about that. He had been accused of being a lot of things before, but smart had never been one of them.
"Manes only really grow on boys with lions... it's cool," Ilori smiled, "I'll have to come and show you when I get bigger," he then tilted his head to the side, "Being able to go everywhere is pretty neat. Yeah, my family and I travel everywhere together, so I've been almost everywhere! Well... not everywhere... I mean... I've been lots of places though... we just go wherever."
When he heard that she wasn't allowed to go off alone though, Ilori stood up and grinned, "Alright then! If you're not allowed to go anywhere, then you and I are going to play until... until um... until something happens and we get bored! And we're going to have a great time!" Though what they would do, Ilori wasn't sure yet. He just knew that they would find something!
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 7:56 pm
Maggie's crystal eyes widened at the mention of a cheeton. She hadn't heard of a cheetah, more less other species being able to have babies together! Of course, the pup would never fully understand this concept until she was much older, but that was beside the point. "Woooow," she said slowly, dragging the word out in childish wonder. "And you're much smarter than me," she said, nodding earnestly. "I don't know practically anything. Unless it's about my own pack. And even that I don't know much about." The only things Maggie had been accused of was laughing too much, and never being quiet. Neither of which she could personally see as being bad traits. There were too many clouds in this world: there needed to be rainbows to balance them out.
"Oh," she said, looking a little disappointed with the manes. She'd wanted one too! But the expression was soon swept off her face. "You'll definitely have to come back and show me! That is, if you can find your way back. Lions aren't supposed to be able to find out pack," she said quizzically, tilting her head. It was true. The Mpinzani pack was very sheltered, nestled between two mountains. "But it must be so nice to see other lands." She puffed out her chest proudly. "When I get bigger, I'm going to go exploring everywhere. Mommy says I can go wherever I want when I get bigger." She grinned happily.
She danced on her white paws, giving a small bark of excitement. "There's tons to do here! We can go to the forest...or...or we can even go to the river!" She would leave the choice up to her newfound friend. They were all old places to her, but to this visitor, it would all be new.
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:13 pm
Ilori grinned, "Tell you what, Maggie, when I get my mane, I'll come back and show you, and then if you want, you can come with me and I'll show you everywhere in the world!" he promised, looking positivly thrilled by the idea, "I'm not that smart, but I keep my promises!" These two were most certainly the rainbows inside all of the clouds. Even on that rainy day, they kept up their good moods, which Ilori was always grateful for. He, like Maggie, had never been told that he was quiet.
"I don't know all that much about packs, or prides... I only get what I do by traveling everywhere," Ilori smiled, doing his fun head tilt again, "Let's go wherever you like the best! Those are usually the best places!" Which they usually were. If someone loved a place, then they could share it with him, and he would have just as much fun as they did.
Ilori was happy pretty much anywhere he went. Rivers, forests, oceans, deserts, they all amazed him! Without travel, he couldn't help but think how boring his life would have been!
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:38 pm
"The world?" she whispered, eyes growing even larger, though that was surely almost impossible. "So long as we don't get lost, that sounds like a fun plan!" She waggled her tail at him, her grin so large it was practically splitting her face. If it was one thing Maggie hated, it was being lost. Of course, she always tried to make any situation better than it truly was, but the feeling of not having any idea where you were was still unpleasant.
Her brow crinkled as she thought. What was her favorite place? The jungle? No, it would be all hot and sticky right now. She didn't think the mountain caverns were a good idea, as that was where her pack slept. The stream was fun, but...Wait! She knew the perfect place! "I know! We can go to the lake! All we have to do is follow the stream, and I know exactly where that is!" Maggie turned around, bouncing a few steps in the direction she had originally come. The easiest way to find the stream was to go through the forest.
"Come on!" she barked, falling into a play bow, her tail swishing back and forth over her spine. Beating the earth with her paws, she took off at a slow lope. "Follow me!"
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:57 pm
"One thing about traveling is..." Ilori sprung after her, "As long as you aren't going anywhere, you never get lost! I've never really been lost before. I've always known my way," He laughed as he padded along next to the wild dog, "And I promise that when I have a mane, I'll show you the whole world if you want to see it. We'll go... wherever. It'll be great!"
He was excited about the lake. He had seen them, but he had never really had the time to stay and play around with them before. Now he had someone who went there all the time to show him how! As, virtually always, he was excited!
"Okay! Let's do it!" he said excitedly, running forward.
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Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 4:40 pm
Maggie set the pace at an easy lope: slow enough to not lose energy quickly, but fast enough to make good time. She wove in and out of the thin trees at the forest's border, making sure she splashed in every single puddle she encountered. The rain had let up some, but a few droplets still splattered down. She thought that maybe, if they had decided to go deeper into the forest, no rain would've made in through the thick canopy. But she was sure it was hot and muggy and just not pleasant at all in there right now.
The young pup paused every now and then, twitching her ears forward and sniffing the ground. She didn't know which would come first: the sound of the stream, or the smell of the water. As she paused for the third time, neck stretching her head towards the sky as she inhaled deeply, her dark blue eyes lit up. There it was! "This way!" she called over her shoulder to Ilori. She could smell the water on the air. It added an element to the air that Maggie hadn't discovered anywhere else, not even when it rained.
Bounding forward a bit more, the young rust and white pup led them to a narrow part of the stream. It bubbled, making slight chuckling noises, as it slid over smooth river rocks. She bent down to take a small swallow before pulling back to look at it. "We have to follow whichever way the water goes. It shouldn't be too terribly far now," she grinned, still bursting with excited energy. She looked back at the stream, deciding that it was indeed flowing south. Keeping close to the bank, she took off again, her white tail like a lighthouse's beacon up ahead.
Maggie hadn't lied, either, when she said it wasn't far. The stream began slowly widening, and its flow became stronger. Bursting through an area of thick undergrowth, Maggie landed paws first on the narrow strip of sand surrounding the large lake. It rippled from raindrops, its waters a perfect steel gray. One half lay open to a small grassy field, the other lined in the thick trees of the forest. "We're here!" She called back excitedly, leaping towards the water.
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