A grey lion lazed around under the shade of a tree, if shade could have been cast on this day. The sun was blotted out by... rather dark clouds. Makali could tell it would rain, and he eagerly awaited it. Rain meant mud, mud meant making girls freak out, an activity Makali could get no more enjoyment out of than anything else in the world! The teen's tail flicked with boredom, though it wouldn't last long. He felt one plip on the tip of his nose, and the rain started to fall. Not hard, but enough to... well... make mud.
"Hah, perfect!" the adolescent -- though he still acted like a cub-- said to himself as he rose to his paws. A maniacal smirk crossed the boy's face as he padded out. Now all he needed was a victim...
---
Sadly for him, the one possibly victim that'd soon come in to scene knew him. and his friend, Chokuto. And she also knew their sort of games, AND she.. played.. their sort of games. She didn't even mind when her white coat was covered in mud. It'd be soon enough.
See, she'd been heading Makali's way when it started, and once it did, and she saw him standing amid the mud.. well, Wingu had a plan. She ducked, first, beneath a bush, waiting for Makali to look the right way in his searchfor victims-- right way, being, away from her. Once that was compelted, the juvenile smirked, shotting out of her hiding spot, and once not far away from him, leaping into the air, only to hit the breaks as soon as her paws touched the ground.
This, with the mud, made the white female slide across the ground at a high speed(high enough for her, anyway!), and soon enough she slid infont of Makali, shooting up mud that could go as high as his face. Perfect mud sling!
---
What on earth is that-- Makali thought to himself, turning towards the strange sound (which just-so-happened to be Wingu sliding in the mud,) only to be greeted with a splat to the face. Luckily, Makali had been able to close his eyes in time. He raised a paw and rubbed the mud off his eyes (the rest of his face he didn't care about) to open his golden eyes and see a smaller, white-and-brown (due to mud) lion... A girl lion!? He recognized the face, but couldn't remember the name that went with it.
"You!" Makali said in mock-anger, quickly side-swiping a pawful of mud at the girl, aimed directly at her head. "How is it that everyone can sneak up on me? I've really got to get better at spotting people..." Makali figured he could always go to Choku for practice on that- the other teen wouldn't mind surprise-pouncing him a few times, he was sure. "What is your name again? Starts with a W." he stated, that much he remembered, though he kept his head above hers so that she couldn't claim victory in splatting his face more than he had hers.
---
Wingu laughed, raising a paw to try and intercept the mud he flung at her, instead only ending up with a werid-shaped mud splat on her face. Still Wingu kicked her legs out to try and hit more on the grey male.
"Like I'm telling you! This gives me an advantage, Makali!" any advantage was good, even knowing someones name when they didn't know your own could be an advantage. "You'll just have to remember it. "
---
Makali was slowly starting to look like his brother, Sado, who was mostly brown, Wingu was covering the last bits of grey that showed from under the mud. "Well fine then, be that way. I'll just call you W-girl, then," Makali said, having made up his mind. He couldn't remember the rest, it'd come to him eventually.
The rain continued to pour, making it easy to get more mud... and be more maneuverable. The adolescent jumped to his paws and did a quick side-step which, with the slickness of the earth, let him go far to the side. He bent his body enough that he slid sideways and was behind the juve, only facing away from her so he could fling mud with the tuft of fur on his tail. Yeah, he was cool, if he could pull it off, that was.
---
"Fine! " Wingu huffed, rolling her eyes, tohugh hadn't expect Makali to suddenly slide out of view during the roll. She blinked, and then felt a bit of mud go splat on the back of her head. "Hey! " She growled, turning to pounce at Makali's heels, clinging to them so he couldn't move his leg.
The mud was soon enough washing off, though, because of the rain. It was getting rather strong.. maybe that wasn't so good. But who cared!
---
What mane Makali had was totally in his eyes now, the mud had given it a bit of stiffness, but now that the mud was washing off... his eyes were completely covered in deflated teen-mane. What was worse, Makali had the lioness clinging to his leg, there was no escape!
"I remember, Wingu!" Makali said suddenly, the clinging having jerked his memory. He flipped the mane out of his face the best he could and he could see that his tail-fling had been successful. The male's ego inflated, he imagined that the trick had looked pretty cool. Back to business. "Now c'mon, get offa my leg!" Makali said over the sound of the downpour, giving his leg a shake only to find it had no success. "If you're not careful, I'll sit on you!" He could only hope the threat would work. The rain worked his mane down onto his face again, giving him a rather comical look- it would be hard for anyone to take him seriously.
---
Wingu growled, folding her ears back and making sure not to let go as he shaked his leg(she'd go flying!) contemplating biting it, but that'd be too rough for a game. So instead, she just stretched her neck far enough to grab his tail, shouting out a muffled "never!" to the adolescent.
Why did she shout? Simple, the rain was roaring in her ears. Soon enough, something worse than the simple rain sound came as lightning itself took a hand, jabbing at the tree Makali had been under. The bad thing about storms in the savannah; anything too high was a target. The tree had been unfortunate.
The sound that followed was enough to make Wingu jump off Makali's heels, dashing to the other side for a couple of strides before catchning sight of the now, firelit tree. "Um.. " she gaped, ears perked. "Maybe we should.. uh.. find shelter. Or something. "
---
Makali growled in aggravation that the younger lioness was so stubborn! Not that it was a surprise, but it still irked him.
Until his mind was suddenly and forcefully pried off of those thoughts. Makali didn't jump as far away as Wingu did, but he indeed jumped and gave a quick yell. The teen had seen a flash of light so bright that it was strong enough to penetrate his saturated mane, and he was no fool, he knew what it was before he heard the sound of the thunderclap, (though it was strong enough to make his guts shake.) He quickly flicked the mane out of his face again before turning to the smaller lion. "Yeah, yeah we should." he said, almost all of the fun gone from his voice. Almost. It was still a little fun, thrilling! Makali knew his life could be at stake here, but he still loved it. He started to run in a certain direction. "I'm pretty sure there's a cave around over there somewhere!" The male said, pausing to make sure Wingu was following.
---
She stared at the fire for a bit longer. It was surviving in the rain for now. She jsut wondered wht she's see next time she came around here; burnt up tree, or mostly burnt up? Shaking her head out of those thoughts, Wingu turned to chase Makali, skidding as he paused.
"you sure? We're kidna far from pride rock! " she said, looking back. She couldn't even see the rock from where they were! However, like Makali, thrill pulsed through her body. That lightning could have hit them!
---
"No, not really!" the teen responded to her question. He only thought he remembered one over here... once. "But we need to get out of this, or we're next. You think we ought to go to the rock, first?" He yelled, still running, but slower now. He could barely hear himself over the storm, another bolt of lightning struck off to his right, far enough that they were safe, but still too close for comfort. He folded his ears back for the clap of thunder that soon followed that strike. Another thrill went through the teen's body as he awaited a response from the younger female.
---
"Pride rock is too far! And there's too much open to ge there! " Wing uwas smart enough to know that you should never hide under a tree in the plains during a storm, and that you should avoid open grounds in which you'd be the tallest thing around. Of course, she had Makali around and he wa staller than her, if anything, he'd get hit first! .. not that she wanted him too. Much as they got on eachother's nerved, Wingu still considered him, Chokuto and those.. other guys friends.
"I say we find you cave! " or cower under a rock.
---
Makali gave her one quick nod. "I'm pretty sure there's a cave of sorts where I'm headed." Of course, the last time he'd visited it, he'd been much smaller... He knew Wingu would be able to fit in it, but as for him... well, he wasn't so sure. He'd gotten pretty big. He kept up as fast of a pace as he could where he thought the smaller lion could keep up.
Sure enough, the cave of sorts was ahead. It was a hole, protected by two downed trees, just as he'd remembered it. Would he fit? Probably not, they'd see. Wingu would, at least. "There!" the teen said with a tilt of the head.
---
Makali looked into the hole, trying to evaluate its size. He might have been able to if it had been just a bit smaller. His mind raced, he really wanted a shelter, but he wanted it quick, and he didn't want to be putting others at stake. The teen glanced around for anything nearby that would suffice for him. If he got in the cave, she would have to come out, and he wasn't about to leave a friend stranded.
"You stay in there, I don't think I'll fit inside, but I think I can fit somewhere over there. He pointed to a spot right across from the hole's opening... There were some rocks, not boulders, but he thought he might be able to squish himself in under it all, or at least dig some of it out. He went to go check it out, and sure enough, if he dug some up, he could fit in. He did so and waited, golden eyes locked on the other den's entrance. While Wingu was a pain sometimes, and a girl, she was still one of Makali's best friends (though he'd never say it out loud, she was a girl, after all, even if she was a tomboy) and he would always protect a friend as much as he could. He wanted to be sure he'd be able to fling mud at her when the storm subsided.
---
Wingu blinked, opening her mouth to complain, but before she had a chance Makali had already ran off and found a spot. She grumped a little bit, but at least he had some shelter. And she had her den. They were safe!But now she was bored. This rain could take a while. So she'd have to find something to spend her time on. Hm..Because of the angle from where Makali was to her den, she could see him. Keeping this in mind, Wingu looked n his direction for a bit, and..
Shouted. "HEY! GUESS WHAT I AM! " The white juvenile grinned, then started to hobble around inside the den, infront of the entrance so that she could be seen, doing her best imitation of a wildebeest.
---
Makali had to strain his ears, but he could hear her ok over the storm. He couldn't help but burst out laughing, and if Wingu couldn't hear him, she would be able to tell by sight that he was cracking up. "YOU LOOK HILARIOUS!" He yelled back, still laughing. once it subsided a bit, he called back, "UH... WATER BUFFALO?" Those were the same thing as what she was imitating, right? Or so it seemed. He didn't wait for confirmation before acting out what he was.
"WHAT AM I?" He put his front paw to his nose and made the weirdest sound any lion ever could make- he was attempting an elephant.
---
"WRONG! WILDEBEEST. " She shouted back, cupping her paws around her maw. "BUT YOU WERE CLOSE ENOUGH. " The white juve decided, before blinking, focusing to try and figure out what Makali was imitating.
Funny sound.. funny sound.. Hm. "ARE YOU AN... ELEPHANT? OR A STRANGLED BUFFALLO? " The last bit was just joking around, as Wingu perked her ears to hear a reply.
---
"VERY FUNNY!" He hollered back to her joke. There was a slight pause before he said more, "YEAH, AN ELEPHANT!" The rain was letting up a little bit, he probably guessed the storm was over, at least the thunder-and-lightning part, but he wasn't sure. "DO YOU THINK IT'S DONE?" He asked.
---
"I'M HILARIOUS, AREN'T I? " She yelled, though sarcasm was hard to keep in a yell, though she thought she got it! She blinked, tilting her head at his comment.
"MAYBE. WE SHOULD WAIT A BIT MORE. " Besides, playing this was fun! "OK, I GOT ONE. WHAT AM I NOW? " She shouted, hiding in the area he couldn't see, then pouncing out into view, only to pathetically hit the ground, imitating what most kids went through when trying their first hunt.
---
Makali watched as she vanished into darkness then pounced back out and landed rather clumsily. He said the only thing that came to mind, "A GIRL HUNTING?" He said it with a chuckle, but it was the best thing the teen could think of! After all, the only girl he'd seen hunt was a priss about it, she was afraid to get bloody, which made absolutely no sense to him.
---
"HEY! " Wingu stuck her tongue out, though he was being. .fair enough. She also knew prissy girls, so she did get where he was comming from. Wingu just hated being compared to them.
"FAIR 'NUFF. YOUR TURN! "
---
Makali took that as a win and set to pondering what he'd try to mimic next... He would try a rhino, but he'd not have enough space to do that under here... He wracked his brain until the first thing that seemed decent came to mind. He wondered if it'd be alright to do, but finally figured he'd do it. "ALRIGHT, GOT ONE!"
Makali clung to the nearest rock inside the den, giving it a playful glare and yelling "NEVER!" at it... as was done to his back leg just earlier that day. He smirked at the idea of it.
---
"HEY! " Wingu snorted, folding her ears back and furrowing her brows, though she still held a smile on her maw. it was ahrd not to laugh at the scene. "OH YEAH?! " She shouted, dipping her tail in the water then slapping it on her head, so the fur on the tuft spread out and.. mostly covered her eyes. Just to emphasize, she reached out and scooped up a bit of mud, rubbing it on the tail tuft a bit.
"WHO AM I? "
---
"OH, YOU'RE JEALOUS OF MY CLEARLY AMAZING MANE?" He called back with a smile, knowing that he must have looked that ridiculous in the rain. Not that he really cared, he wasn't one to care about looks that much. Still, he had to laugh, she was rather comical looking with extra fur all over her face.
---
Wingu started to walk around, throwing her head to the sides in a sort of strut, despite the fur on her face, and rather on purpouse crashing into the den wall, falling backwards in an exaggerated manner. She alughed, raising a paw to swipe her tail tuft off her face.
"HOW DO YOU EVEN SEE WITH THAT THING? " She laughed, then blinked and looked down for a moment. Hm, the water in here was getting higher, now it was past her ankles and going towards her shoulders. she hoped the rain stopped soon, or she'd have to find a different shelter.
She perked her ears to hear thunder-- sure enough she did hear some, but far off, it took moments for the sound to follow the flashes of light in the distance. "I THINK THE STORM IS GONAN GIVE US A BREAK, MAYBE WE CAN GET BACK TO PRIDE ROCK BEFORE IT PICKS UP AGAIN. "
---
Makali didn't wait for a second holler from her den. He didn't say anything until he was outside her den. "I don't really know. When it's dry it's poofy, but when it's wet... It's not." He answered, turning his eyes upwards to glare at his mane. "But I don't run into rocks." He stated simply... "Race you back to Pride Rock?" He asked above the sound of the falling rain and the distant thunder.
---
She blinked, flopping backwards with a splash as suddenly Makali seemed to pop up right next to the den. "Poofy. I'll call you poofy from now on. " She stated, tohugh mostly joking. She proably wouldn't remember to always call him poofy. Chokuto was poofier than him anyway, because he was older.
"Sure! " Without hesitation, Wingu shot out of the wet den, mostly to get a head start. "What am I now? " She called back over her shoulder. Wingu was small, but at least she had speed covered-- for folks her age, anyway.
---
"Hey now, no poofy-calling!" Makali said defensively. "I'm not that poofy anyway..." he muttered to himself. As soon as the suggestion of a race came up, however, the smaller lioness was out of the den and speeding off towards Pride Rock, a reaction he hadn't really expected, though he should have.
"I'd call you a CHEETUR!" He yelled just before running to catch up, proud of his lame pun... despite the fact that it was lame. Too bad the rush was gone- they weren't running for their lives or anything... kinda made it less exciting.
---
"Oooh, right! " She said sarcastically, folding her ears back as she sped up. "Actually, wrong! I'm beating you! " She teased, umping into the air for a moment to splash up some mud and water, sliding for a few feet before regaining her normal gait, and trying her best to stay ahead of the ollder male-- though positive he'd catch up soon enough.
"We need thunderstorms more often, they're great fun! "
---
Well, he couldn't let himself lose to a girl, definitely not to a younger lion- it just wouldn't make much sense physically. Makali picked up his gait as much as he could, and decided to do a slide as he passed her. "Not for long!" he said happily, though he wasn't in any way trying to rub it in. When he regained friction, the male turned his head a little, enough to see where he was going, but enough to let Wingu know he was talking to her. "We do need thunderstorms more often! I love the sliding!" he did another slide before resuming his regular running.
---
She huffed, and tohugh she sped upa bit more, didn't try too hard to acacth up, and merely decided to enjoy the wet, slippery ride, sding across the ground every now and then. That is, untill..
Pride rock came into view. And got bigger and bigger, then Wingu hit a halt. "Ew, " she wrinkled her nose. They'd had so much fun, it seemed kinda of sucky to go home. The white juvenile looked at her fur-- which hardly looks white and tidy.
"I bet my grandma's gonna fuss over my fur again, " she stuck her tongue out. Wingu was like her mom-- which wa skidna whyshe was sure her mom didn't mind ehr dirty pelt so much.
---
Makali kept running until Wingu stopped suddenly. He hit the brakes and went skidding, making a little turn as he did so to face her. He tilted his head curiously until she gave an answer. He pondered possibilities for a moment and came to two possibilities.
"I hate it when adults do that too," Makali said understandingly, despite the fact that he himself was well on his way to becoming an adult. "Well, either we can dunk you in a water hole and have you walk carefully so your grandma doesn't know you got all muddy, and therefore can't possibly fuss over your fur... Or, maybe we could go hang out at Choku's den, or mine, but there are bound to be siblings somewhere about... Or you could be fussed over." Makali stuck his tongue out at the thought. That was a torture he wouldn't wish on anyone. "Unless you've got a better idea?" He offered.
---
"Hm, " Wingu pondered, tapping her chin. "Siblings.. " she wasn't so sure she wanted to hang about her siblings right now. Or Chokuto's-- though Tizona seemed pretty cool.
"We should find our own.. hideout plaace! " She said, grinning mischeviously. "We could hang out there! and avoid.. fur-fussing. " she hated fur fussing.
---
Makali pondered her words out loud. "Yeah... A hideout would be pretty cool... Only if we can tell Chokuto, though. I don't think I'd be able to keep that secret." Makali said honestly. "As for where we would find it... I'm not so sure." He said honestly. He could think of a few caves he'd seen, but none big enough to be considered a hideout. Maybe if he was still a cub, but he wasn't, neither was she, and neither was Choku. "It'd have to be pretty big, which means it'd have to be around here, pretty much..." He said, continuing to think out loud. "You wanna look for a spot now?" He asked, though he had no idea where a good place would be.
---
"That the whole point! Only us, Chokuto and.. those other guys, " she ahrdly knew the other guys, to be honest. "But no, not now. " The thunder could always threaten to show up again. "How 'bout tomorrow? A bit after sunhigh, so we dont burn our backs or everything. We can call Choku! "
Who, on a mental note, was puffier than Makali. "sound like a plan? "
---
"Yeah, sounds good. We'll meet up tomorrow after sunhigh and go hunting for a spot!" Makali said happily. He could hardly wait, he still felt like a cub anticipating some insanely exciting event. The male's tail flicked lightly behind him as he made a mental note- ditch family tomorrow, if anyone tries to follow. He stuck his tongue out happily.
"Well, Wingu, tomorrow we find an awesome spot! I hope your grandma doesn't fuss over it too much, good luck with that." he gave her a friendly nod before he headed off towards his own den. He urged the rest of today and until sunhigh tomorrow to come and go quickly.
-- Fin --
