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 Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 3:39 pm
Kucha'angaza was quite nervous. He had always traveled by himself, and didn't even know where he was going. But he had made a new friend - one of those rare creatures he rarely found - and had somehow been lassoed into coming to meet her family. Family. The one thing the blind leopard had never had. But he already knew so much about hers; she even had a cub! He was facinated, but mostly afraid, loathe as he was to admit it. He didn't know what to expect. Supposedly there would be a male lion there, and for this reason he was truely freaked. Never in his life had he ever met another male.
So he padded along behind Matawi, his paws trying desperately to remember this new route. Her ever-calm attitude seemed to soothe him, despite how jittery he usually was.
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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 3:52 pm
Matawi was leading the poor fellow to the comfort and safety of her own small group. It was growing steadily. Her mothering instincts growing stronger with every new addition. Her baby, her new friend. She sensed there would be many more to come. This didn't bother her one bit. There was enjoyment in watching over things. It was peaceful work that tugged on her heart strings.
Bright eyes were watching out for Kucha and herself. She would not and could not let either of them fall into the paws of something sinister. But it was a peaceful day. With very little chance of running into something cruel. She smiled brightly, even though He couldn't see it, and spoke.
"Are you enjoying such a leisurely stroll?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 7:31 pm
Kucha nodded. "It's nice to simply walk and not have to lead myself for once," he agreed humorously. But his face still showed how jittery he was. He tried to suppress his anxiety and simply calm down. He could smell the warmth in the air, the scent of heather and grass and dust. His unusually thick white fur rustled in the breeze, and he let himself relax.
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Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 10:02 am
Her heart really did go out to him. All alone. A feeling that she harbored for so long. It was a piece of the past that she was glad to bury with her hurtful childhood. A smile was plastered onto her face. More so a wise grin. She was enjoying his company. if anything he was helping fill the hole that was left when she abandoned her own cubs. Her precious babies.
"How have you managed to hunt without eyes?" She asked compassionately. It was surely a side effect of mothering to speak sweetly and encourage answers.
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Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 8:12 pm
He shrugged, smiling smugly at her concerned tone. "It's not that hard, really," he began. "I can feel the beats of a zebra's hooves on the earth; hear their yelps; and smell the blood pulsing through their veins." Kucha sighed at the thought of the draining concentration it actually took to do all these things at once. His mind had a pitiful way of tying all of the ends together without being able to see them in action.
"I'm sure sight would be helpful, of course," he said, voicing his thoughts. "More than once I've convinced some wandering female to hunt for me and enjoy the spoils myself!" he added with a nervous chuckle, hoping he hadn't offended Matawi.
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Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 7:33 pm
Poetic. Simply Poetic. Darker skies and twinkling stars. Listening to the way Kucha worded things. Closed eyes, slow breaths. Jealous beats of her calm heart. She strived to keep herself collected. Yet, Kucha could speak with silver words. Weaving deeply into her mind and gnawing at the core. Could being blind really be so fascinating at times?
Tawi smiled, eyes still shut and mind pacing, Heart beginning to race. "There has never been anything wrong with getting what you need." She blinked slowly, opening her eyes to the darkening world. "Is being blind like a never ending, moonless night?" she was slammed with regret. Kucha had probably never seen the moon, or knew what it was for that matter. A regretful look wouldn't mend anything for the sightless, but her heart went out to him. 'I'm sorry' seemed to trivial. It had been said once. And once was all that she was willing to repeat herself. Matawi wondered how she would get used to his disability. If she ever could...
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Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 8:15 pm
Kucha's ears twitched. Moon? I haven't heard of moons in a long time.... since Mother sang our lullabies... "Well, I suppose you could put it that way?" he answered awkwardly, unsure of quite what she was trying to describe. "I honestly can't tell the difference between a moonless or moon-full night," he sighed wistfully. "But night and day, that's a different story. The sun can warm the pelt on the coldest of days, giving me a hint of what one such as yourself might call 'day,'" A soothing kind of excitement started to flow gently through him. "But I can always tell when night comes. Everything seems to wake up, getting ready to hunt. The smells grow stronger, feelings seem more intense. Well, it's not really anything physical, I suppose. Just a feeling."
It was hard for him to describe his world. It wasn't like it was a totally blank slate. He had other senses besides sight. Besides, he was never once able to see in his life, so it didn't make too much of a trouble for him. In fact, if his mother hadn't abandoned him and he hadn't been made fun of by his siblings (and others he had met), he probably wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.
But it was not that way. Yet here he was, with another living thing that actually seemed interested, perhaps even passionate about him. It was like she wanted to help him. But what could ever be done to help me?
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Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 6:11 pm
"Well.... Let me try and paint this picture." She Spoke. Softly, softly. Weaving in bits and pieces of what she knew and what he may be able to comprehend. A Smaller voice for the smaller colors. Happy for bright, Sad for dim. Menacing. Changes in the slightest to weave her tale of the sun and moon.
She started quietly, "Night. Black. Nothing. Empty air. Empty.... everything. Twinkles. Shining onto the scorched barren earth. Nothing but the planet, Imagine anything you would like for the earth, and the sky. Dark and menicing staring down at us. Moon. Smiling. Sending streaks of colors abound in the deep sky. Bright streaks..."
She paused and looked him over. "Can you imagine any of this , my dear?" She asked. Wanting to know if there was a purpose in trying to explain or if she was wasting her breath. Sightless since birth. A burden Matawi would have killed herself over. Every little thing amazed her. The new colors and sights. Wondering if new Smells and sounds rang clearer in Kucha's ears. Smells tickled his nose much easier. What was it 'seeing' through the eyes of the blind?
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Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 6:31 pm
The white leopard walked slowly, hearing the sounds of the night as the mixed with the female's words. He understood the nothing bit, and had heard enough from others to get what twinkles were. The earth he had felt beneath his paws; he knew the feeling well. It was hard for him to imagine colors or bright streaks, but the feeling was there, in her voice. The void of his life fit in with the feeling, filled up by the words. He could imagine his own world, where it made sense. In dreams, vague and fleeting as they were, he almost understood the colors and sights, a constant search for templates to fit the images in his head.
But Kucha nodded with a slight smile and pressed closer to Tawi, almost able to sense the sights by the energy she seemed to have. It made sense; everything she said opened up windows of "vision," so to speak. If only the gods could help me now, he thought, stopping and briefly tilting his head to the sky, straining his dead eyes to see the glimmers of the moon and stars. He stared until his head hurt with the vain effort.
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Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 2:19 pm
Shocking warmth. Tawi had been so wrapped up in her attempted story she hadn't notice him pushing closer to him. She smiled up at him and calmly pushed her head into his shoulder. Kucha made a nice pillow. Fluffy and soft.
They were in total contrast. Black and white. Plain and slightly decorated. His open eyes were pale, while hers pierced though everything. This sweet creature, with outer appearances so different from her own, shared a similar mind and soul. He was nearly a perfect best friend. He gave her room for creative spins on everything that his own eyes couldn't see.
"Do not hurt yourself." She giggled at him uncomfortably as she watched him stare into the sky, knowing he could see nothing.
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Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 8:18 pm
Tawi had been a good soul for him. She was able to help him with things he couldn't understand, and had plenty of feeling. Which was different from the awkward silence of others, who didn't understand him. But they were so similar. He didn't know what she looked like, but he could guess her basic anatomy from his own leopard body; that much was simple. It didn't mean much anyway. She was his friend, and that's all that mattered.
Kucha lowered his head and squeezed his eyes shut to prevent the dryness of a blank stare, blinking a few times before turning his face towards her. His eyes were out of focus and they couldn't find exactly where her face was, but he smiled at her anyway.
He tensed slightly when he felt her head on his shoulder, not knowing what it was at first. He had simply thought she was still looking ahead or something, and couldn't see the movement. But he relaxed when he heard her voice on his shoulder, feeling the soft rumbling of her voice in her throat. "I'm sure I'll survive," he chuckled slightly. "I've gotten this far, haven't I?"
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Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 5:23 pm
Matawi smiled at him. True he had gotten this far, but how much further could her get? It already seemed that he needed help as it was. What happened when he aged? The needed sight for catching food would be gone and his body wouldn't be able to take the stress of it. Kucha needed her. He needed a mother.
"You need me. That is the end of that discussion." She laughed, knowing she was right. He didn't only need Her he needed the safety of a large family to feed him and nurture him. It was obvious enough that he didn't get the much needed care when he was a cub. A good mother would have tried to teach him to use his other finely tuned senses.
"I wonder if we are getting any closer to our destination..." She paused, looking around. It was dark, her deep thinking distracting. She wondered how much further that the family could have been or if she had already passed them. Not like it mattered to much. It felt like she was with her 'family' right next to Kucha's side. This was comfort, and she prayed that her baby would agree with her.
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 7:48 pm
Kucha smiled, eyes glimmering as a subtle wind wrapped around the pair. "Indeed, you're probably right," he agreed with a soft laugh, his head-tuft swaying above his nose. All his life he had been sad and lonely. But here was something he never had: happiness and contentment. Who knows? It could be love. The white leopard barely knew the meaning of the word; that's what his new "mother" was for.
He cut his peace short and stopped abruptly coincidentally at the moment when Tawi paused. He had caught a faint scent in the breeze before, and now recognised the scent of cats as he lifted his face to breathe the wind. "Do you see something?" he asked, without needing a reply. She probably couldn't see the others, but he knew his sense of smell was likely much keener than hers. Kucha smiled slyly as he recognised a scent slightly similar to Tawi's. That must be her child! He could sense the leopardess's feeling of being near to home, so he justly assumed that they had indeed come close to their destination.
He broke into a brisk trot in the direction of the scent, curiosity and excitement on his face. Inside, he was horribly nervous. This would be the biggest group of animals he had ever faced that weren't prey, and he didn't know what to do or what to expect. But as Kucha felt Matawi's footsteps beside him and the brush of her fur against his pelt, he knew he wouldn't face them alone.
He would never have to face anything alone ever again.
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