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 Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:54 pm
She glanced down at the white and pink shell that lay on her chest, smiling softly to herself before her gray paws began to move once again. Treading lightly over the rubble and shorter shrubbery, she moved like a ghost as a breeze hid the noise of her movement through the grass. She saw a figure up ahead, but did not speak yet. In order for the cat to hear, she'd have to raise her voice, and that simply would not do.
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Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2007 10:01 pm
Kru had separated from Alula for the time being, to do some errands on his own, this time, he was out to scout for a close water whole for the female and himself, it was about time to drink something that wasn't river. The leopard's long, stout, bulky body moved across the ground with careful steps, his mind wandering off to thoughts of that special someone for himself. However, as of right then and there, Alula was the only one who is trying for his heart.
Kru scaled a tree in seconds before popping his head from the top.
"Where... oh where has this water hole gone?... Where oh where...."
The male stopped as his sky blue gaze fell on a moving, gray object. It was too solid to be anything else, so there was no harm in asking. Kru quickly got out of the tree and headed in a direction to cut it off.
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Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2007 10:07 pm
She had heard his little song from a distance as his voice was carried by the wind which rustled the grass. Her lips turned upward in a soft, barely-there Mona-Lisa-smile as she watched him approach. It was a leopard. That much was easy to tell, judging by how he had leapt down from the tree. She had never met a leopard before, but her parents and relatives had told her much of them. True, her father had been a mildly crazy lion in his old age, but everyone else had been sure to teach the cub and her littermates as much as they could about the outside world. The Marsh King may have frowned upon it, but Adia was finding it fascinating.
Her head inclined to one side as the figure drew nearer, his dark pelt and blue stripes stark against the green grass of the savannah. Her smile broadened - only slightly, so that it was polite and not gawdy - as she hailed a greeting, "Hullo, sir."
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Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2007 10:11 pm
He smiled brightly, "Why hello there, miss," he greeted. "Name's Ba'kru."
He paused to let her take in the information and himself as he did the same. Lioness. Grey. Spots. Pink eyes. a shell around her neck. Well, she was interesting at first glance, but that was not quite the point of /this/ trip, no it was for directions. He knew where to go because he knew where the North Star was, but the issue now was where to get water and rest.
"Say, you don't happen to know where there is a water hole do you?" he asked as he beamed with happiness, he had no reason to be anything but really. Once he got to the ocean, Alula was going to tell him something and he wanted to know what.
"May I also inquire, where did you get such a shell?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2007 10:21 pm
Nodding her head slightly to finish the introduction, a lion's form of shaking hands, she offered her own name as well, "I'm Adia'Dafina."
She didn't offer him a nickname, however, as they had only just met. It wasn't polite and they weren't friends just yet. He seemed nice, though, and worth the effort of sticking around. She took in his pattern, shape and size, wondering briefly if all leopards had that pattern and were so much smaller than she. Supposing he really wasn't that much smaller, she inclined her head to one side as she tried to appear as if she weren't staring.
His inquiry saved her. Frowning thoughtfully, she glanced back the way she had came and hesitated before nodding, "I believe I saw one a short distance that way. Couldn't have been more than a half a mile. It seemed large enough, and no elephants were near by."
His question about the shell, however, made her smile broaden so that her teeth glinted as she glanced down at it's pearly wonder. "It was a gift, from my mother. Father had given it to her when they'd arrived at the ocean."
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Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 3:14 am
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Adia," he shortened her name out of habit. He himself preferred Kru over Ba'kru.
Kru looked around, taking in the scenery and all possible land markings to see if there were anything that could direct him to this water hole, it wasn't too far then. Just as he glanced from the corner of his eye, he caught her staring for a moment. His brow cocked as he turned to her and smiled.
"You have a nice body, too. Is this a first time you ever saw a leopard?" he quizzed as he got to his feet so she could get a better look. "We don't normally come out of the jungle sooo... I am quite the oddity out here."
"The ocean? Well, if I can find those at the ocean, than more of a reason to go! Surely something as beautiful as that must attract quite a number of females to the shore. And Alula will be happy with a small gift of sorts. Is that far from here?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 4:07 am
Adia didn't even twitch as he shortened her name. Perhaps that was a custom between leopards. She could respect that, though she considered it odd.
She blinked wildly a few times at his sudden statement, obviously taken aback for a moment as her cheeks turned pink and she startled ever so slightly. It was only a matter of seconds before she recovered herself, however, and she cleared her throat as she briefly looked away. Returning her attention to him with a subtle smile, she nodded, "It is. There are none near the shore."
He didn't need to know about her father, didn't need to know that she'd never left the mile by mile box that her family lived in. He didn't need to know that the only hunts she had ever went on were supervised, just in case she went outside the box. He had supervised them. It was the only way they could get to be alone and this leopard did not need to know that.
"Miles," she sighed so soft that is was almost inaudible, as if in that one exhale she released every bit of missing and regret she had. Little bit at a time, to keep from truly missing at all. Each mile put her heart and mind at ease. "Many a days journey, but if you are steady in your traveling, you and this... Alula could reach there in a week or so."
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Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 11:29 am
Kru laughed playfully at her sudden florid face, she knew she was caught! He smiled and let out a soft purr. He had been admired before by Alula, it was quite confusing as he never quite had anyone admire him as she had, she was ever so tactful about it, but perhaps being wet from head to tow, leaving no fluff of fur to hide his physique. However, she did not seem to mind it.
"Well, I am glad that I am one of the few that you have met, Adia. You know, we leopards are very nocturnal hunters so we slept a lot during the day while you lions take over the savanna. And when you are in your slumber, it is us who hunt in the jungles," he spoke.
He was willing to go just about anywhere to complete this quest of his. His heart called out to him, calling out of him to the heart of that to be his lover. He just had to wait for that special someone to answer back. However, he knew beyond a doubt that this love was nowhere near the jungle.
"That will simply not do. Nope, not at all, I must get there soon! I am a bit anxious for her answer; she says that she will tell me if she really loves me or not and I am quite curious of her answer. I don't know if I do, but I do care about her, perhaps it is a jump in our friendship, but surely something can be done," The leopard rambled about his relationship with Alula. A strange friendship that was stuck within a rift between that of friends and mates. He looked at her and smiled.
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Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 12:33 pm
The lioness refrained from shaking the discomfort out of her pelt. She was still reeling from being found out, and she was a bit confused by the leopard's speech. He spoke formally, and yet called her by her nickname as if he were a brother. He most assuredly was not, and yet she, of course, couldn't find it in her heart to chastise him. Frowning slightly, she listened attentatively to him speak about leopards and about his strange love that she could only barely follow. Why were there terms about when love could be proclaimed? That seemed odd, but she supposed that she and her lover hadn't exactly been following customs when they had went about it, either.
Tail swishing mildly behind her, she hesitated as she tried to find exactly how she would respond. Her face remained a flacid smile, hiding any true emotion behind a mask. It was only when her eyes sparkled with true emotion that at last she concluded a satisfactory answer, "There is naught but openland and marsh around my home, no jungle for leopards to prowl in."
As for his relationship, that was touchier. That was a private matter, and his speaking of it nearly made her blush as she tried to accustom herself to hearing such a thing. At last, she responded to this as well, "I may be wrong, another inlet of ocean may be closer than the one I travel from. My way has been straight, but perhaps if you travel a little north or south, you will find quicker results?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 12:42 pm
There we go, that was the answer, rather the tid bit of information that he was seeking. However, he could not simply ask outright asking her how he could get there faster. He knew if he and Alula ran, they could make it faster, but... it was hard to say if he could even keep up with a cheetah. Kru smiled and nodded.
"Opened lands for Alula to run and I to follow, traverse. Marshes are no obstacle for us, don't you worry. As for the jungles, those dumb leopards can prowl and sleep all they want, the adventure's out here in the savanna! I think you know what I mean," Kru got to his feet and stretched, causing the strips upon his back to ripple over his spine and muscles.
"I thank you for the chat, Adia. However, I best be getting back to Alula before she gets any ideas of wanderin' off without me!" The leopard laugh before dipping his head for her.
"Good bye." with a quick smile, he turned and darted off.
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