Alone again, she had not seen that strangely pelted lioness, the one who seemed so threatening, or her friend Kijani in a while, for a few nights she wandered alone, moving around in the night was so much easier, so less likely to be spotted when there was a canvas of shadows all around you, to keep a brightly colored pelt away from hungry..disturbed onlookers. She shivered at the thoughts that made a tingle go down her spine, oh the things that could lurk in the night, especially after she had hid her meal from not too long ago. She had gotten better at hunting, brought down a couple of lonely gazelles, too slow to outrun her. Though, she could have only taken one, she had only eaten half of one, the other, untouched, but fresh enough if she felt a rumble in the pit of her stomach.

So here she was, traveling back to the think grove of cicada trees where she had hidden her prizes, covered them in branches to make the scent less noticeable, she hoped there were no prying eyes tonight, no, not tonight.


Ah, another fine day in the amazing world of Africa! And, yes, it was indeed a world to those who chose to see it as such, full of fascinating and interesting places to see and felines to meet. And by ?meet?, Kayin meant ?avoid?. Right now, he wasn?t feeling particularly inclined towards felines in general after his last encounter with lions. Stupid beasts? as if it was HIS fault that they were so gullible! Hunger gnawed at the sides of the cheetah?s stomach as he wandered about, idly wondering if there would be any food in his future. Now, a real Seer would have been able to see whether or not there was food? but, alas, all he had were his sham skills at Seerhood.

Still, it was pretty amusing. And the look on that lion?s face was totally wor? hey, what was that smell? Kayin?s ears pricked forward and his nostrils flared. His steps changed direction, leading him towards a small grove of trees. Again, he sniffed the wind, smelling the scent of blood. Ohhh? someone had made a kill and left it unguarded? Tsk, tsk? ?Well, we can?t let good food go unguarded! Why, if I were any sort of decent, I would find this delicate meal and guard it from all comers,? he said out loud, mostly to himself. Coming to the decision that the best place to hide this meal would be in his own belly, the black and white cheetah sprinted to the grove and began to hunt for the dead gazelle.

?Come out, come out, wherever you are? I know you?re out here. I can smell you. Ah! There you are?? Hidden under some branches, eh? Well, he would take care of that, since he was such a concerned citizen?



Some voice off in the near distance, a distance near where she had slept the night before, where..her gazelle were. her gazelle! She broke out into a run, letting her lean legs carry her as fast as they could. Something pale in the moonlight in front of her, seemingly searching, unable to have found it yet she hoped? She hoped, she prayed even, it took a lot to find those gazelle in this part of the area. "Hey!" she called out, knowing that by the paleness of the pelt that it was neither Kijani nor that other strange lioness, though it didn't seem like a larger adversary, that is, until she got closer. NOt as much large as in bulky, but long, lean, fast, a cheetah? Why would a cheetah be scavenging? "Hey! These are mine," she said defensively, moving herself between the cheetah and the bushes, as a wall to protect her meal.

Kayin?s ears pressed back against his skull at the sound of someone else in the area and he had to resist the impulse to simply run. That probably would have been the smart thing to do, at this point. Weakened from earlier tangles with lions and hungry, he wouldn?t be much of an adversary. But, he was too hungry to simply leave without a fight. He regretted his decision to stay as the colorful lioness stepped between him and his prey. There wouldn?t be much of a contest between a cheetah and a lion, regardless of the sex of those involved. ?In all fairness, you did leave them alone,? he protested, trying to sidle around her to get at the prey. If he was fast enough, maybe he could dart in, grab one, and then run off? course, he?d be caught eventually, but hopefully he would have eaten his fill by then.

?Besides, you?ve got more than one!? The lioness had mentioned ?these? are mine, an indication of plural. ?Come on, can?t you share with a poor cheetah?? he gave her his very best charming grin, complete with angelic violet eyes. He even did his best to suck in his stomach a little, just to make his ribs show a bit. Yes, it was a low trick, but he was hungry!


Ishi'hiari watched him idlely, watched his movement, though he seemed to be truthful (though he was putting on a show, she is rather oblivious at times) she wondered if he would just attack her for them. Though, he seemed tired, hungry, she knew that feeling, and her heart sympathized with him fairly quickly. She gulped, looked to her gazelle, one full, one half eaten, then him. "You can have the one I haven't eaten yet...okay? But the other is mine, fair, yes?" she asked and said at once. She then went to remove the branches off from the gazelle, grasped her half eaten prey in ehr mouh and took a few steps to move it to the side, where she would eat it. She sat back on her haunches, watched him, and made a motion with ehr head, "You can have that one...eat up!"

Those angelic-looking violet eyes blinked in surprise at the sudden generosity. Honestly, Kayin hadn?t been expecting this? well, not exactly. He had been expecting his ploy to work, but not until after he brought up the real sob stories and continued to look mournful as the lioness ate. He had even been going over the stories he would tell. But, since they weren?t needed, he perked up considerably. ?Thank you very much. It?s appreciated, you have no idea?? before he could go into any details, he dug in, pulling off a few long strips of meat. It was amazing, how fast the cheetah was trying to eat. It was almost as if he was afraid she would take it away if he didn?t eat it fast enough? ?My name is Kayin, by the way,? he said in between bites. Since it was such a common name on the Savannah, he felt no worries in sharing his true name with strangers. Anyone trying to find a cheetah named Kayin would find hundreds of them, he bet. ?I had the most unpleasant run-in with a few lions the other day. Been running ever since.?

Ishi'Hiari watched him, and smiled as he began to feast, she herself deleved into ripping pieces of the fine meat, savoring each bite. She wasn't starving, but it was just the right amount for her stomach, it made her apetite feel satisfied, that was for sure. "Kayin, a nice name," she said with a nod, licking her lips, she herself speaking in between bites as well "I'm Ishi'Hiari, Ishi is fine though," she said with a nod, munching still. "Its nice to meet you, though I wish it were under better circumstances yes? I'm sorry for the run in you had, I had a strange one not that long ago with strange lioness." It seemed like uncommon happenings...happened a lot more than she thought.

?Ishi, then. Times have been hard, recently. And I don?t think they?ll be getting any better either.? The old patter and habit of manipulating others was coming back to Kayin now and he was already wondering if there was a way he could manipulate Ishi. She was nice. Very nice, actually, and far more generous than a rogue lion should have been. Maybe she hadn?t left her pride for very long then. Another bit of meat disappeared down the cheetah?s mouth. Nope, he wasn?t savoring the meat as he should have; he was just trying to eat as much as he could, before someone else could take it away.

?The omens are pretty bad, from what I can tell,? he added after a moment of thought. ?Strange felines everywhere, violence is growing. It?s bad juju, that?s what it is. The dry season is just starting and already everyone?s getting all violent towards everyone else. You mark my words. There?s a storm coming, Ishi.? It sounded far more conversational than Kayin?s typical fake-Seer messages, but that was ok. He was out of practice.


"A storm? Violence I cna understand, this lioness I met, something was not right with her, she was quite agitated that I went too near to a spot of hers or something, her eyes...something in them seemed crazed, if I do say so myself," she said with a smile, a nod. Though his words were strange, he was not a god, offspring of a good? Not likely for it seems as if the only gods she had heard of were lions, not cheetahs, nor leopards or any other kind of feline. "How do you know all of this? Has someone told you?" what were those called, that could see things, even hear things...what was the word, it was on the tip of her tongue.

Aha! So she could be manipulated by that old trick? it was one of his favorites, even if it had landed him in a bit of trouble recently. ?Tell? No one tells me these things, Ishi. I simply know. Life is tough for cheetahs, tougher than most think. So, we?re fast? Yeah, that?s helped us a whole lot. Speed is nothing when you tire out as fast as a cheetah does. Far too many times I?ve had meals snatched away from me by a lion who watched closely. Hyenas have pure numbers. And leopards can climb trees. The point is, I would?ve died a long time ago, if it weren?t for my talents of knowing things. I dunno how to explain it. I just know.? Hmm? for this one, he decided, he would keep things only pseudo-mystical. She seemed slightly less gullible than the black lion he had encountered before. ?That lion you came across, she?ll be only the first of many troubles you?ll face.? That was one of his favorite statements to make. It was so often true.

"really? I'll see her again?" she gulped, that lioness, she was so strange, oh no, she should only travel at night now, keep herself as hidden away as possible during the day when the sun was high and cast its beating light down upon all under its great mass. "I wish I could just know like you know things, it would be so helpful, and perhaps, perhaps I'd be able to finally find my purpose, where I can be something, bring something grand into this world, I want to do that, so much Kayin. Do you think, if I could know things you know, I might be able to find that?" she asked in all seriousness, waiting anxiously for his reply.
Ohh? she was tricky. She was, in some ways, smarter than the last few lions Kayin had come across. She asked the right question. Not ?can she find me again? but ?WILL she find me again?. It was those little words, can versus will, that made all the difference. Kayin shifted himself slightly, bringing his head up slightly higher and did his best to look majestic. His efforts were dampened by the fact that the blood from the gazelle was staining his lovely black and white coat, much to his annoyance. ?It?s a possibility. I think you will meet her again, some day,? he hazarded eventually. ?Travel only when the moon?s light is dying, Ishi. It?ll help protect you.? Ha! One didn?t need to be a Seer to know that much. Everyone knew that bright colors would stick out more in broad daylight or bright moonlight. Right when both were balanced, when both were dim? that was a good time for the easily visible.

?Ha! Trust me, it?s no easier to figure out an individual?s true purpose. Even if I could tell you your true purpose, I wouldn?t. On moral grounds, you see. An individual?s true purpose is something they create themselves. It?s not something that?s handed out to them. Besides, it would undermine the point of your journey.? Not that he knew she was on a journey or anything. That was a wild guess. And, if she wasn?t on a journey, then he would just claim that she would, some day, be on one. And everyone wins!


See that lioness again? Again, she gulped, she didnt want to, at least, she didnt want to unless the lioness seemed a bit more sane, or she was stronger, yes, if Ishi was much stronger she would have nothing to worry about, though the build of the lioness was..well, lets say that the lioness could make an easy match of any lion, male or female. She nodded at his words thugh, "I've been traveling at night, to stay out of the way of others, to not be seen. I ahve an idea of what my purpose is Kayin, but I don't know if I am right, if it is right, my thoughts, and I don't want to make a mistake, but the thought of it, so bright and shiney, something my life has not been, to tell the truth."

Again, Kayin gave the lioness one of his best smiles, a bright and cheery look that he felt would brighten up anyone?s day. ?No one ever knows what their true purpose is. Even Seers cannot See someone?s purpose. I think that the entire point of life is to figure out an individual?s purpose. All of your experiences, everything you?ve been through, they?re all leading up to something. And you will know it. When it comes to you, there will be no question about it. It?ll be a perfectly clear moment, when everything makes sense. You won?t have to ask yourself ?is this it?. You will just know ?this IS it?.? Ha. It would have been so nice if life really did work like that. For Kayin, things were generally lined up along the, ?does this give me the greatest benefit? philosophy. As for manipulating this poor lioness who had clearly been given a poor hand of cards from the beginning? well, he was sure he would get something out of it eventually. Already he had gotten one meal.

Ishi listened to his words, and nodded, and smiled, though yawned as well. "Kayin," she began, "would you like to stay around here for a little while? I do have some thinking over to do, and, you seem so wise, I do enjoy your company, its up to you," she said wiht a truly sincere smile, settling herself to lay down on the ground, stretched her forearms. Would he stay, give her some company that she'd like so she wouldnt have to spend another night alone? Hope, all she could do is wonder and hope.

Now that it was perfectly clear that Ishi wouldn?t steal the meal from Kayin, the cheetah was finally slowing down and starting to actually chew each mouthful slowly. Hmm? stay here? He blinked those wide violet eyes, those eyes that could charm a bird from its nest without even trying. Well, this seemed like a pleasant enough of a place. Very nice and quiet. A good place for a recovery and prey was obviously plentiful here, if a lion as brightly-colored as Ishi could catch two gazelles in one day. ?I thank you, Ishi, and I?ll take you up on that offer. I?m in need of a quiet place for the next two or three days and you seem like good company.? She honestly did seem like a good lioness. A bit confused, perhaps, and scared, but everyone was like that a few times in their lives. Perhaps Kayin should have felt some remorse for lying to her. But he didn?t. Stashing the remnants of the gazelle behind the leaves, the black and white cheetah went to work cleaning himself. ?So. Did you leave your family, or did they leave you?? he asked eventually, mildly curious about the answer. (done)

Ishi yawned again, though a smile was on her face. She too moved her gazelle to be hidden again, and nesteld herself amongst the underbrush beneath the cicada tree branches. After she was nestled in, she yawned again, let her eyes half close, slumber catching her. "Its such a blur still, I don't know how it happened, but they are somewhere, and I am here, I wish I knew, but I don't," she said tiredly. "I'm glad, you'll stay, it'll be ncie, to have company, not be alone..." alone, the thought crossed her mind adn something seemed to click. Eyes closed, a smile on her maw, a purpose in her dreams...yes, a purpose.

Huh. The poor girl really was desperate for company, now wasn?t she? Well, Kayin didn?t mind. So long as it proved profitable to stay in one place, he was perfectly ok with it. Of course, the moment that he felt he was in danger here, he would be off like a? well, a frightened cheetah out of a dangerous place. For now, his mind whirred away, trying to predict what questions Ishi would ask tomorrow and tried to figure out the best answer. That is, what he thought she would want to hear. That was what felines usually wanted from Seers. They didn?t want to hear all of this stuff about, ?oh, bad things are going to happen!? or ?stay out of the sun?s rays two moons from now?. They wanted to hear simple and plain things. But, it had been a long day for the cheetah. Once his fur was glossy and clean, he bounced towards a sheltered area and pulled the leaves in around himself, creating a small nest of sorts. Also, it would shield him from the sun, once it rose.

?Night, Ishi,? he said, although he was pretty sure she was already asleep. Funny thing, he was perfectly fine with manipulating others, but going to sleep without saying ?good night? just felt wrong. Curling up neatly, the cheetah focused now on sleeping.