[PRP] Just A Fugitive

[soutou]

Kimanda was still avoiding Tuli and he was still avoiding the Nchi'mahadhi. He had ventured near the lands thrice, but lost the nerve every single time. He could not imagine Nsundu being terribly impressed with his feat and he'd rather not explain the miracle of life to little Kitambi. Maybe she already knew, but most cubs didn't and quite frankly, it was their parents' job to explain that. Nsundu might kill him for corrupting her daughter. Who knew. A bad idea all around.

The spotless cheetah was about to sit when he noticed someone else on the horizon. Ever curious and increasingly wary -who knew where Tuli might be lurking?- Kimanda began to slink towards the shape. It wasn't until he was only a few paces away could he confidently decide was a cheetah. Hmm. He was meeting all sorts of females on his journey...if you could call it that. Heh.

"Hey there!" he called before sitting in the dirt. Couldn't get too close. What if she was a psycho?  

[Storei]

Fortunately for him, this cheetah was nothing of the sort. Sure, she was a little crazy, but it was a healthy creative kind of crazy. Yatima was just like every other cheetah on the plains other than her thirst for singing...Which was what she was just happening to do. A small little song was escaping her teeth and her padded feet were paddling softly against the dirt. However, her song was abruptly interrupted as she realized that she was being watched.

Yatima's head snapped up at the sound of the voice and she furrowed her brows with confusion. It wasn't too often that another voice called for her. Turning her head around, she called out, "What ho? Who calls?"  

[soutou]

What did she mean 'what ho?' and 'who calls?' "I call, of course!" the cheetah called back, only to realize that was really a very, very bad answer. She wouldn't ask if she didn't know his name. Instantly, Kimanda began to feel the sting of remorse; she was just trying to be polite, wasn't she? Chances were. And he was just assuming she was some sort of nut, which wasn't fair. He should at least get a good look at her before making up his mind.

Kimanda got up and took a few steps closer. "My name is Kimanda and I hail from the Nchi'mahadhi," he called, a little softer this time. For some reason, this cheetah...she made him feel like he should announce where he was from. Maybe it was the formality? Oh, what did it matter. It already came from his mouth and was decidedly less stupid than his first statement. "And might I ask your name?"  

[Storei]

With the tilt of her head, Yatima watched as the other cheetah came forward. It didn't take long, but Yatima was surprised that she didn't notice him before. Perhaps it was because of his coat color, the fact that he could blend into the soft earth of the savanna if he so wished. She gave him a hearty smile and chuckled despite herself as he gave her a meager answer to her call. She, as well, didn't mean to sound so formal, but with the lyrics to different songs and hymns of old running through her head, she kind of made a floydian slip.

"Oh well," she thought to herself.

"And I," Yatima announced as well, choking on an honest giggle that escaped her throat, "Am Yatima. I hail from...No where." She gave a shrug of her shoulders and looked around the plains that expanded around her. She was hoping that she would have an indication as to where she had come from but...There was no clue. The fact that she didn't know, somehow made her chuckle and she turned her bright green eyes back at Kimanda. "What brings you here...To no where?"  

[soutou]

...she was laughing at him. Kimanda sighed and flicked his ears back. What a way to start a conversation, by making a total and complete fool of himself. The spotless cheetah eyed the merry female, Yatima, and shrugged. Well, there was no where to go but up from here, right? "I am a fugitive. On the run," he added, frowning as soon the words came out of his mouth. Of course he was on the run!

"I seem to be saying a lot of stupid things today," he commented, to no one in particular. Kimanda shrugs and sat once he was a few paces away from Yatima. He swished his tail and remained silent for only a moment before finding it too uncomfortable. "What about you? Why are you here?"  

[Storei]

"A fugitive? Whatever did you do to earn that title?" asked the cheetah in interest as she relaxed herself. He was no threat, Yatima could sense. Others she could feel had hostile intentions and she would turn tail and flee at the first inclination of evil. But this one...She didn't feel like he would try and cause her harm. Watching him with her cool bright green eyes, like the color of new green leaves. When he asked hi next question, Yatima raised her brows lightly and thought about it.

Well...She really didn't know why she was here. She had no purpose, nothing to flee, no past to hide from. She had no particular calling or any place to call home.

Swishing her tail from side to side so that it mimicked the other cheetah's tail, Yatima replied, "I don't know. I'm just traversing the world."  

[soutou]

It wasn't a title. "More like a label," he though aloud. He shrugged and shook his head. It was a label he gave himself. Did that mean he felt guilty about Tuli and the- Don't say it! It was easier to let it go if he never thought about it. "...I had an argument with a friend. About cubs." Ah, yes, the taboo subject. Kimanda got a little shiver just thinking about it. Tuli would get over it soon, right? Of course. (Though, honestly, Kimanda wasn't quite sure if he'd ever feel safe enough to find her.)

"A traveler?" Kimanda's ears perked and he forgot all about his own troubles. "Me too!" he crowed, overjoyed with the idea for no particular reason. Why was it so nice to meet another traveler? Wasn't that how he got himself in trouble in the first place? Of course it was. "So, where are you going?" Hey, you never know. Maybe she'd want some male company on that leg of her journey. Gods knew Kimanda could certainly use someone to talk to.  

[Storei]

Yatima's ears perked as she heard the other cheetah' voice unstably pronounce the word "cubs". She hadn't really ever been around cubs, but she knew that she had been one once. she could hardly remember what they were like and it was funny for her to think about having cubs of her own. Not yet, at any rate, he promised herself. They were all like little anchors that would force her to stay in one place and her heart would fall ill if she had to do that.

"Cubs? Were you thinking about having them?" Yatima asked naively with the flick of her tail. Then she chuckled as his eagerness exploded from him, "Me? Well, I don't have a particular direction to follow. For now I'm just going wherever the winds take me. I'm looking for inspiration."  

[soutou]

Kimanda blinked, temporarily dumbfounded by the question. Heh. If only she knew. "Well...no, in fact. Quite the opposite." The spotless cheetah shrugged and looked away. It wasn't really something he liked to think about, nevermind talk about. After all, it wasn't something he was terribly proud of and he still wasn't sure if he made the right choice. (This did not mean, however, he was going to change his mind. Oh no, he had entirely too much pride to do that.) "It was an accident, you see, and-"

Kimanda caught himself, snapping his jaw shut with eyes wide. Should he even be talking about such things? No, probably not. He threw himself back into the other topic of discusison. "Ah, great minds think alike," he purred, allowing himself to smile a bit. "I'm the same way. Except. I have that pride thing, yah know? But they don't make me stick around. And I get to dance with them whenever I want." Now, that may not be true, but Kimanda certainly liked to think it!  

[Storei]

The answer to her first question confused her. No, the opposite? He wasn't thinking about cubs so...He...Yatima pursed her lips into a frown of thought, well that could only mean that the accident he spoke of could be that...He had cubs on accident! Yatima's eyes widened at the thought. How terrible would that be to have cubs that you didn't want to have! The responsibility...Yatima didn't think that she'd be able to handle it, at least, now now. Not at this stage of life.

"I'm sorry to hear," she replied to the cheetah, "That's unfortunate, especially when you're not ready."

When she saw his face light up with glee, Yatima gave a soft smile, "A pride? I've never had a pride to go to. Is it really nice?  

[soutou]

...she...she understood? She understood! Kimanda did everything to keep from beaming (that was probably bad form) and bouncing on his feet. If only Tuli was this understanding, he wouldn't be in this mess in the first place! His tail thrashed wildly with excitement, dark eyes aglow. He was almost at a loss for words. Yatima was truly an amazing, amazing cheetah. It was a shame this was only a chance meeting (or was it?) and had to end sometime. Kimanda still had places to go and Yatima had traveling to do and- Wait. Wait!

Kimanda, idea-struck, began to actually bounce, tail still whipping around.

"Oh yes, very nice!" he crowed. He could never say enough nice things about the Nchi'mahadhi. Nsundu was there, and she was awesome. And Kitambi was there, and while Kitambi was just a cub, she was probably the best teacher he ever had and would ever have. And he would be happy to learn from her again. He even considered her his friend, even if in secret. "Would you like to come down with me? I'm traveling there. To see my friends. They could teach you Rhythm! Well, that is, if you like dancing." Kimanda never thought he'd like dancing, but here he was, preaching about it.  

[Storei]

The cheetah chuckled loudly, despite herself, at the other's display of excitement. He was still a youth, much like herself, and still brimming with the energy of a cub! It was pleasant to see, especially for a wandering traveler. He must really be lonely or troubled, Yatima thought absently, to be this excited to wander into her and talk for a first chance meeting. She was glad to make him excited and smile so.

It was then that Kimanda offered up the prospect of traveling with him to his pride.

At first, Yatima would have politely declined the offer, but then she heard the clever after thought...They could teach you rhythm! and immediately Yatima was roped in. She was always eager to learn more about the trade that controlled her life and any chance she could take, she would snatch like prey!

"That is a very generous offer!" the female replied, her own green eyes lighting up at the thought of learning to dance, "I would love to go there and learn rhythm."  

[soutou]

Kimanda's ears flicked. He blinked. Did he hear that right? His ears flicked again. No. No. Yes! If there was any possible way for Kimanda to be more excited than he already was, he was now. "Really!?" he chirped, prancing in place. His ears flicked, his tail lashed and his dark eyes danced. He couldn't even think of anything that would lift his mood any more than this. "...excellent! You won't mind learning from a cub, though, will you? Her name is Kitambi. We're friends, but she's kinda really hard to get along with at first. Kinda...weird. But the best cub I've ever met. Her mom, Nsundu, I'm friends with her too, she's in charge of the pride. And, well, they're just awesome. Kitambi taught me! She made me this necklace too." Kimanda stopped his train of babble to puff up his chest and show off the black-and-white shell-and-stone necklace.

And then a thought occurred to him. Tuli hadn't wanted to visit his pride because it was full of lions. Now, Kimanda had never been afraid of lions his entire life (he almost liked female cheetahs better than lionesses), but maybe that wasn't the norm. "You won't mind us being the only cheetahs, right?"  

[Storei]

"A cub?" Yatima echoed thoughtfully. Well, that was unexpected. She didn't expect to learn anything from a cub, but rather from an adult. From what she knew, the elders were supposed to teach the cubs, not the other way around. From all that she knew, the cub could be wiser. There was no stopping an eager mind from learning, she knew that, but still. Then the other cheetah continued on, mentioning lions.

...Lions.

Well, Yatima hadn't been around many lions to develop a precise opinion upon them, but she knew for sure that she could outrun one any day. If there was unexpected trouble, she would turn tail and flee. Besides...If this Kimanda could trust these lions and could be so excited, then it must be alright for her to venture in their midst.

"Well...I guess it's far from the norm, but I don't particularly mind," she stammered, her brows raising high. "They sound like a nice bunch."  

[soutou]

Yep, a cub. Kimanda wasn't too impressed with the idea himself at the time, but he wouldn't deny how much Kitambi had done for him. "Yeah, a cub. But I promise she's good," he said. Once they got past the basics, Yatima could probably learn for Nsundu. As for Kimanda, he was going to practice with Kitamabi until he was nearly as good as her. Then, he could go to Nsundu and she could teach him more. A good, sound theory. Probably the first sound theory Kimanda had in a long, long time.

"They are an excellent lot," he all but purred, twitching with excitement. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Kimanda whirled and started bounding off in the direction he knew to be his semi-home, taking a few long strides before skidding to a halt and looking around. Yatima was coming, wasn't she? She couldn't get left behind!