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 Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 12:37 am
AIM LOG: Tahja Estes & iPao v2 She'd wandered off after watching the sunrise with her sister and making that early morning's wishes. Hoping that they'd come true, as this was their first time trying it out, and with the wish fresh on her mind still, Maisha bounded through the grasses with an energetic giggle. Occasionally there'd be a flash of gray and pink amidst the golden browns that were slowly gaining a green tint, and more often a flash of a bushy ended tail. It wasn't until that blur had reached a fruit tree that the bounding and rustling of grasses stopped, just past the edge of the grass itself.
Maisha stared up at the tree with delight. This was exactly where she'd meant to end up, at the base of THIS tree, with THESE fruits and blossoming flowers, because it was here at -THIS- tree that the butterflies could be found.
It took her a few tries and standing quite still, but with patience and a grin, finally some of the butterflies chose to flutter down long enough, one landing directly on her nose. She laughed a bit, staring up at it's gorgeous colors with wide blue eyes, unaware of the stranger heading her way nowThe day, much to his relief, hadn't gotten too hot yet, and it'd been a while since he wandered away from his home. Everything was moving too fast there, strangely enough, so he decided it was best for him to leave. A bit selfish, sure, but there were some situations where one just had to be. Or...well, at least that's what he believed. In any case, it was already too late to turn back, so he pressed forward, in hopes of finding company. Though leopards really were meant to be solitary creatures, he'd grown accustomed to always having somebody to talk to. And with a sigh Chui stopped walking, eyes lazily looked from one horizon to another. "It's all dirt all over the place..." he said with another sigh. "Not all dirt," Came Maisha's response though she hadn't been directly addressed. He could have easily overlooked her as she was clear on the other side of the tree trunk, so it must've been odd to suddenly hear the tree speaking back to him.His eyes darted in the general direction of where the voice had come from, and he raised a brow. A talking...tree? So, to satisfy his curiosity, he padded over to it and stared it down. "Umm..well, mostly?" he replied, taking a seat and waiting. If it really was a talking tree, then it'd have a mouth right? So he kept his eyes open for any signs of one.."Well there's lots of grass, and trees, and sky, too!"
She fell out of her stance and rounded the tree, losing the butterfly, but not seeming to mind with this new prospective companion in front of her instead. Poking her head around the tree, wow, she was surprised by his sisze, having never met a male of any other species before.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 12:39 am
Chui almost flushed when a cheetah rounded the tree. Luckily for him, though, some miraculous part of him managed to hold it together, and he merely smiled at her. "Well...that's true. But not enough." He examined her a bit, noting that she wasn't quite an adult yet, but no longer a child either. He recalled his adolescent years and smiled reminiscently. "So what are you doing out here alone?" the leopard asked, genuinely curious. He half expected a family nearby, actually.
"There must be a lot more where you come from." She smiled back, glancing back towards the butterflies that previously held her undivided attention. "I was just bored. Mom and Gabus and Nyota aren't far. What about you? You must be a long way from home..."
He smirked at her comment, and he nodded. "I lived in the jungle, with trees everywhere," he said, half-wishing he was back home. But...well, no. He had to leave, even for just a little while. "Ahh, it's not that far from here. I haven't been traveling for days, anyway. Just most of today." Chui looked past her, curious as to where she glancing. "Bored?" the leopard went on to ask. "So...what'd you do to occupy yourself?"
"Really??" She asked, suddenly wide eyed and fully attentive again as she whipped her big blue eyes back around with alarming speed. "I've never been to the jungle before, are there a lot of flowers? Is it colorful? Oh, I bet it's wonderful! Momma said that they're always full of life, I bet it never gets dull there!" She beamed, bounding closer in a few quick steps to take in his scent a little better. Sure enough she could detect all the bright subtleties of jungle life still lingering on his fur. "Hm? Bored? Oh! Right, well the butterflies were just keeping me company of course!" She chirped with a toothy grin.
Chui smiled wide, glad to see that at least one of them was enthusiastic about the place. Of course, you'd have to live there to really understand why it...really wasn't that different from anywhere else. At least in the rogue lands. "Yep, I'm gonna go back there someday. Mmm...yeah, there was flowers, but nowhere near as many trees. And yes, plenty of colors. Mostly green and brown." Then he paused to think of how to reply to her 'full of life' comment. She was so...enthusiastic about it, and he really didn't want to be the one to tell her that it wasn't really all that great. So, with a grin, he nodded. "Yep, never gets dull," and that was that.
Then he quirked a brow. "The...butterflies?" he asked. "Were you talking to them or something?"
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 12:42 am
FLOP. She dropped onto her stomach before him just as abruptly, tail still twitching energetically though. "Awesome..." Came the awed reply. It sounded like everything she'd been told and then some! "I'll bet the butterflies there are even bigger and brighter than the ones out here! Plus probably not so shy. I was just playing with them, but I don't think they like me all that much. They're much more interested in the flowers. I bet they'd like you a lot though, since you smell like the jungle?"
The pink striped female was still smiling as she cocked her head to the side, bushy ended tail thumping the grass and dirt.
The male chuckled, enjoying the fact that her way of thinking wasn't all too mature yet. It made him feel much more comfortable, in fact, and he tilted his head a bit when she said that they might like him more. "I smell like the jungle?" he asked, not sure exactly what she meant. He didn't really realize that the savanna smelled much more different than his home. "Well...maybe..." he said, walking up to where the butterflies were. He'd never bothered with the creatures before, but if she said they'd like him, then why not?
And sure enough, a few fluttered his way, landing very momentarily before fluttering away once more, only to be replaced by more. He quirked a brow and started walking back to her, losing all the butterflies along the way. "Well that was interesting. So what's your name?"
Maisha just grinned as if she knew for a fact that she was right, and really she might as well have been. She moved so that she could watch him disappear around the tree, and she saw the little display. It was with a giggle then that she stood to all fours again and circled him swiftly.
"Maisha. My-ee-sha! Momma says it means life."
"Maisha.." he said, testing the name on his tongue. "It's a nice name," Chui concluded with a smile. "Mine's Chui. Chewy. You know...like...that piece of food you just can't seem to chew enough before you know you can swallow it without choking." He laughed a bit, but continued. "It's nice to meet you." He took a seat once more, his tail swaying with the gentle breeze that decided to pass them by. "I don't...really know what my name means. I can't remember if my mom ever told me or not, so....yeah."
"Nice to meet you too, Che~wy!" She giggled, moving closer again and sitting close, not even minding that he was much larger than her (Given the age, species, and gender difference). "You know, I've never met a leopard up close before!" Came the excited observation. "I don't think it's bad if you don't know what your name means, it just means you get to make up your own meaning! That's what momma did for hers!"
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 12:44 am
"Oh?" he mused, thinking that it wasn't so strange that she's never met a leopard up close. They tend to be very solitary creatures, only sticking to their immediate family if ever in a group. "Well, I suppose there's first for everything." The male chuckled, not minding that she continue to move closer. "As for my name, I'd rather leave it as it is in my mind - just a name, without a meaning. I'd hate to give it the wrong meaning, y'know."
"Hmm... yes, that makes sense too." She smiled, settling down on her stomach, her head on her paws. It did make sense, after all. "Your name is yours, that's reason enough for it to be special. I've heard that there's a pride of lions that leave home just to find the meaning of their names. Can you imagine spending that much time searching for one?"
"No, I can't," he replied with a chuckle, following her in suit and laying down, though he kept his head up. "But I can understand why they do it." And their conversation went on, seemingly for hours, a chuckle and a laugh here and there. Soon, nightfall came, and Chui smiled at her. "It seems we've managed to lose track of time," he said. "Wouldn't your family worry if you didn't return to them tonight?"
The way that the conversation just flowed the young cheetah had already long since forgotten why she'd come out this far in the first place. She'd certainly found the company and fun that she'd been hoping and searching for, but now it was winding to an end, to her disappointment. Blue eyes drifted reluctantly from Chui's form to look at the sky again and realize it was dark. Wait, what? The sun had already gone down? Where did the time go so fast?
"Mmm.... is it really that late already?" She sighed slowly, lifting her head again from her paws. "Not really, as long as I'm back by morning." She observed, looking back to Chui. "Do you have to go...?"
"No, I don't have anywhere I have to be," he replied, the smile still lingering. It'd been a while since he last found good company in the rogue lands, and even then he didn't manage to lose track of time. The only other time this happened was with... And he shook his head, clearing his mind of her name and face. "Anyway, you're sure it's fine?" If there was anything Chui didn't want after him, it was an angry father. Or...worse. An angry mother.....
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 7:35 pm
"Mmm... it's fine." She smiled, moving again, but this time she didn't just draw close, she settled directly beside him instead of in front of him, and when she settled it was so that their sides were touching lightly. "It's a little cold out here alone isn't it? Do you mind?" She questioned a bit innocently, resting her head on her paws but looking up at him for any signs of such.
"If you say so..." he replied, though his voice died down as she moved and settled beside him. By now the smile was practically glued onto his maw, and he shook his head at her question. "No, you're right," he said, then lowered his own head down to his paws. He was facing her though, if only slightly. "It is pretty cold out tonight. So no, I don't mind at all."
"You're really warm, though." She observed with a small smile, unable to help the satisfied purr as she curled up closer still towards him, leaning into his side a little, not enough to be considered rude or pushy though. The motion was slow and soft besides.
He purred quietly, resting his tail gently on her other side. "Mm, so are you.." he replied, the smile still lingering. Chui rested his head a bit closer to hers, eyes still somewhat open, and he glanced at her every now and then. He was a bit unsure, but...
Maisha felt his gaze, but didn't understand the weight of the situation, she would have been happy to just lay there, and for a while they did. Two friends who'd met by happenstance had bonded over the hours of the day, and without a care in the world they'd talked for hours. Now that night was falling the cold of night was setting in. It would be a while yet before Maisha had to return home, before her sister and brother and mother might start to wonder, and longer still before they'd start to worry. Until then, then, she'd spend a little more time in Chui's company.
There, under the stars and the shadow of the fruit tree, the two would bond again, but for the time being it was looking as if maybe part of Maisha's wish that morning had already come true...
~ Fin
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