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 Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 9:26 pm
It wasn’t often that Nadifa left her family, but there were times when everyone needed to be alone, especially someone as anxious around crowds as she was. Not that their new home was especially crowded or anything. It simply was slightly more crowded than their old home. Not to mention, any slight change in Nadifa’s daily routine could make the cheetah fall into a pit of neurosis, and there was no getting her out of that sort of pit for weeks. Much better for her own mental health---and that of her family---if she got out every now and then. And it was a beautiful day. The sky overhead was a patchwork of blue and white, with great big fluffy clouds gently coasting by. Occasionally, one would drift by the sun, but even that couldn’t damper the mood. The sun’s rays would continue to filter down to the land below, dappling against the ground. Little flowers, pink and white, sprang up from the green grass, splashes of colors everywhere.
Well, so long as you didn’t mind that the only colors were green, pink, and white. Oh, and some blue from the little spring that was just barely trickling by. While it sure didn’t look like it, the dry season was starting, and already some of the smaller riverlets were drying up. Alright, in all fairness, there was also a red-orange antelope that Nadifa had recently killed, it’s glassy eyes still staring upwards. And, because she had recently killed, Nadifa was frantically licking at her fur, trying to get rid of every last bit of blood.
Ugh… the idea of it drying in her fur… that was just gross! Besides, she was trying to teach her cubs some basic hygiene. What would she look like if she came home covered with dry blood?! A big hypocrite, that’s what! That, and it attracted flies. She hated flies, especially since they always seemed to fly right into her face. Of course, all of her careful cleaning would be ruined the moment that she started to eat, but Nadifa didn’t think about that much.
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Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 10:08 pm
Ezuzu went threw the daily routine of her own but sleeping was a slight problem for her. She had not slept in four days and it bothered her. She walked around for hours and laid around for a day waiting for the chance to get some sleep but the feelings never came to her.
She sighed as she paced a lake and laid down next to it. Thinking to herself for all the time she had went threw thing like this. Stressing was usually the main thing but she never stressed over much so what was the point of getting stressed over that fact she was stressed and didn't know what it was.
She closed her eyes and rolled over, the feeling had come to sleep and she did. Drifting off into a deep sleep. Her snoring could be heard a mile away but who cared....there was no one around to hear her.
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Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 10:57 pm
Well, no one except another nosy and curious cheetah. Nadifa’s first instinct upon hearing the snores was to ignore it. It wasn’t any of her business and the sooner she got back home to her cubs and mate, the better. Except… except… she sighed softly, remembering Kolo’s gentle admonition that she get more ‘social’. She needed more friends, he told her gently, because he wasn’t there all the time. Besides, she really did get lonely sometimes. The cubs were great, but they were getting to that age when they didn’t want their mother around all the time.
Very slowly and cautiously, the cheetah stood up and followed the directions of the snores, eventually finding a black and… and… well, the colors weren’t easy to describe. The best Nadifa could do was ‘shades of gray’, but that hardly did the marbling effect any justice. And she was very, very clearly asleep. Shifting her weight uncomfortably, Nadifa wasn’t sure what to do. Go back and pretend she had never found the other cheetah? Wake her up? After all, there were lots of… of predators out here that would have no problem eating a sleeping cheetah.
“H-hello?” she asked nervously, her voice barely above a whisper. But, remembering that most didn’t hear whispers, she raised her voice. “H-he-hello?”
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Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 11:08 pm
Ezuzu couldn't shake the feeling of being...watched. She had to be on her guard though, things out here didn't have a problem eating a cheetah like her. She rolled over till she felt water and opened her eyes. She heard someone say something but it was hard to make out what was said. Then the voice repeated....a very broken..hello? Yea...thats what it sounded like.
Her eyes shifted to the direction of the cat standing next to her...near her. Ezuzu's vision adjusted...first it was a brownish blob now a cheetah..a brownish-red from the looks of her. Ezuzu was very mad...she had finally gotten to sleep and this girl had the nerve to bother her...of course the cat didn't know...
"Wha..." She whispered and stretched, making popping noises as she did. Her claws dug into the ground as she sat in front of the cheetah. "May I help you?" It was a rude tone indeed. Ezuzu wasn't happy with her waking her up and she wanted the girl to know it on site; it will take forever and a day to get that feeling back....
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Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 11:47 pm
As soon as the other cheetah spoke, Nadifa realized that she had made the wrong decision. Her ears flattened against her skull and her shoulders hunched slightly. This not only drew a perfect picture of sorrow, but colored it in as well. Possibly crayons were used, perhaps by an overenthusiastic three-year old. “I-I’m sorry f-fo-for w-w-waking you…” her stutter was worse than ever now, barely even understandable. It always got worse when she was anxious and she certainly was now. “I kn-know that it’s r-rude… it’s j-just th-that there’s a lot of p-p-pre-pre… lots of th-things out there…” she was trying to explain that she was merely worried about the other cheetahs health, that something else might come across a sleeping cheetah and not think twice about killing her.
With the cheetah numbers so low, the loss of even a single cheetah could mean the loss of the entire species. “I… the… there are l-lions an-and things out here…” she managed to get out, once she was feeling slightly calmer. After all, the other cheetah hadn’t attacked her yet. That was a positive sign. Not getting attacked was always a good thing in Nadifa’s book, if she had a book. Chances are, if she could write, her hand would probably shake too much to write legibly, just as her voice almost constantly shook.
She shifted her weight, uncomfortably wondering if the other cheetah was a member of the same coalition. Perhaps… there was a chance. Looking down at the dirt, she made a small symbol with her claw before looking back up expectantly at the other cheetah.
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 12:00 am
Ezuzu would have slapped her if it wasn't for the simple fact she could smell how nervous she was. She had to pick threw and put together her sentences to get what she said right. She had never met a cat that stuttered so much, usually it was just cubs that did it...adjusting to their new tongue. "It's alright...I guess. I haven't slept in a while...days. So it's hard for me to get some decent sleep.
When the cheetah made the small symbol in the girl Ezuzu just stared at it and tilted her head. "what is that? Some kind of thing you like to draw?" She had to admit this wasn't like any other experience she had had. To her this cat was next to retarded..but she wasn't one to judge so soon. Maybe it was just a condition.
Her eyed ran over the body marks of the cheetah...she was pretty...she started to wonder what brought her here? She could smell blood on her...faint but just enough. Made Ezuzu think of the fact she had been more caught up in sleeping then eating.
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 12:09 am
Nadifa’s eyes opened wide at the news that the other cheetah hadn’t slept in days. Now she felt really bad for waking her up. “I-I’m very sorry… p-please, let m-me make it u-up to you.” It shouldn’t have been possible to stutter on a word with only two letters in it, but, by some miracle, Nadifa managed it. “I’ll m-make it up t-to you… I r-recently caught an an-antelope… w-would you like some?” Hunting was plentiful in the Duma’Chama lands, so Nadifa felt she could spare part of her kill. Besides, she really did feel guilty for waking someone up like that.
Hmm… another cheetah way out here… now that she was no longer panicking completely, Nadifa’s brain was working. She couldn’t smell any other creatures around, besides herself and this other cheetah. So… so maybe it would be safe to mention the coalition? The entire point of the symbol on the ground was to silently communicate about the coalition, to keep it safe from the prying eyes of leopards and lions and anyone else who wanted to make a meal of any cheetah cubs. Or worse. “It’s a n-nervous habit,” she said softly. “And I th-thought you w-were from… th-there’s a group of cheetahs. We-we live in p-peace. M-my family is t-there. We’re al-always on the l-lookout for n-new members… prey is p-p-p… lots.” She offered up a smile that didn’t so much look nervous as it did leak the emotion.
If anxiety could take on a solid form, there would have been a messy little puddle of it right at Nadifa’s feet. “Th… there aren’t m-many cheetahs left…” she said softly, very, very sadly. “It’s our s-sanctuary…”
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 12:29 am
Ezuzu heard her stomach growl at the mention of a meal...one she didn't have to kill for was even better. The urge to hit the girl each time she stuttered. Her eyes went back to the symbol on the ground "aw...like a cult or club? Sounds interesting.,.by the way I think you should know my name. It's Ezuzu" She hadn't thought about telling the cat off but in a way she wanted to laugh each time she spoke too....she could tell she was calming down by the way she stopped stuttering so much.
"I guess we can speak about this somewhere else. It seems to be a private matter. Where is this antelope you speak of?" She said as she stood up and stretched once more and yawned.
"You got a family? As in your mom and dad or your mate and cuds? or a mix of both?!" She said in a friendly way..she didn't want to even think what her mate was like.
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 12:37 am
For the first time, something other than abject fear or sorrow appeared on Nadifa’s face. Her eyes narrowed in a way that could only indicate anger and the slight fluff of her fur meant the same thing. “N-no, it is n-not a c-cult!” she said sharply. “It’s a c-coalition of ch-cheetahs to k-k-keep our sp-species alive.” It made perfect sense to her. Aailyah, the Seer, had foreseen the doom of cheetahs, if they didn’t band together to survive. They would continue to be dominated by lions and hybrids would be born… Nadifa had nothing against hybrids, personally, mostly because she had never encountered one, but… well… none of them could breed. That meant a continual decline in cheetahs everywhere. The coalition was going to prevent that.
Calming down slightly, some of her stutter disappeared as she began to lead the way back to her kill from earlier. “J-just my mate and our cubs. Oh! Right… my n-name is Nadifa.” She flashed a bright smile over at Ezuzu and made a note to never attempt to say the other cheetah’s name. If she started stuttering that name, she would probably never stop. “My mate K-kolo found it. Or… well he h-heard of it…” there was nothing besides genuine affection at the mention of Kolo; it was very clear that she thought highly of this mate of hers.
The kill wasn’t very far and, before long, Nadifa had led the way to the dead antelope. “G-go ahead… I’m not h-hungry…”
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 12:49 am
Ezuzu stopped and listened to her yell about the cult. Nothing like a mad person who stutter. She nodded "I'm sorry...you never told me that part." Her eyed went over to the antelope. "How many cubs do you have? ..also you have a very nice name" She wanted to here Nadifa say her name but she understood why she didn't.
She walked over to the antelope. She wished she had a family...she didn't know what she would say if Nadifa she wanted to know about her family. She had none and she would tell her the truth about it.
She lay down and started to rip bits of the antelope meat off the bone. It tasted good to her...a meal was really what she needed. Before she knew it she was crushing bone and her nose and mouth were covered in blood. She would thank the cheetah after her meal.
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 1:09 am
“It’s a p-place of safety…” Nadifa murmured softly, feeling bad about the outburst. Still, she felt mostly vindicated for her annoyance. The coalition was helping cheetahs. It saved her cubs and that alone warranted her loyalty. True, she and Kolo could have taken care of all five of them… but, it was better this way. This way, several cheetahs could look after the babies; no danger of any of them going missing or something. And they were far away from any lions. “Five. I have f-five cubs,” she said proudly, relishing the fact that she had so many healthy cubs. Most cheetahs only had two or three (only one of which generally survived), so she had every reason to be proud.
“And th-thank you… you have a l-lovely name too.” She was silent for a moment, merely resting her eyes as the other cheetah gorged herself. This was honestly about as relaxed as Nadifa ever got, unless she was truly sleeping. “You sh-should visit the c-coalition. You don’t h-have to stay. F-few cheetahs actually st-stay all th-the time.” Of course, she wasn’t about to pressure her new ‘friend’ into joining or anything.
An awkward silence came over the cheetahs until Nadifa clearly felt pressured to say something. “A-are you r-running from something?” she asked curiously. It was the only reason she could think of to not sleep for a couple of days. “O-one of our m-members… Kayin, he g-got into some trouble with some l-lions. Aailyah p-patched him up.”
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 1:26 am
Ezuzu was indeed surprised...not many had five it was something to be very proud about. Ezuzu lifted her head and licked her lips. "No..I'm not running. I have insomnia...thats why I have a hard time sleeping....as for why I'm alone...when I was a cub I can barely remember my parents..the last thing I remember was them telling me something about hunting. I slept then I woke up alone...I don't even remember what they look like...barely even their voices. So I really have no one...most of the time it's better for me to be alone...I'm not good with others" Her voice was very emotionless...not sadness or even anger in her voice..just she told and went about eating.
She felt that weird silence return...didn't bother her much. She hated it when the girl stuttered...the fact it was going away was good. Her thoughts went bitter again...she hated talking about her parents...how they left her to fend for herself at only months old.
Hunting as always been interesting...she would watch her kill for hours instead of minutes and attacking....all she thought most about was how much of this animal could she eat before she was full. The tears and rips off the meat was enough to make anyone not want to watch or hear her eat.
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 1:37 am
Confusion returned to Nadifa’s features at the story. Had she asked why Ezuzu was alone? She didn’t think she did… but, clearly, she must have insinuated some sort of curiosity about the other cheetah. “I d-didn’t a-ask you about your f-family,” she pointed out, a little meekly. So, if someone had volunteered such sensitive information, she figured, then they wanted her to know. But why? Just for the sake of knowing? Nadifa only managed to stare at Ezuzu for so long before looking away, repulsed by the sight of all the blood. It was just the mess that got to her, really.
Hurriedly, she began grooming herself once more; even just the sight of blood could get her into a grooming mood. Grooming also had the added effect of acting as a sort of outlet for her anxiety. While she would never be a zippity-do-dah type of personality, she could calm down at least a little, at least until she was no longer as high-strung as a harp on amphetamines. “I’m so-sorry to hear that about your parents,” she murmured quietly. “M-my parents died too.” And Nadifa wasn’t really good with others either. Oh, she tried. She really did. Socializing with many other individuals at once---her own cubs excepted---made her too anxious. And far too many discounted her as some sort of a moron just because of her stutter. Only Kolo had bothered to listen.
“Y-you must be very s-strong to survive on your own,” she added eventually, feeling that it needed to be said.
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 2:01 am
Ezuzu saw the confusion but she just wanted to explain some things about herself. That she wasn't 'running' from anything..she had no reason to. Her stomach was packed so she woddled a few feet away from the antelope and started to groom herself. Once she was done she lay down and looked over at Nadifa.
"They did? I wish I knew what happened to mine. There were some lions that were like me...they had stars and stuff. I don't know where they went..wish I would have asked them some questions and stuff..." She said and sighed." You're lucky to have a family and all that stuff. HEY! Can I meet them?" She smiled.
"I want to meet the man that married you and the cubs! Maybe I can meet them later...when I join the cult" She yawned then looked back at the dead antelope...still wanting to eat more of it but her body wouldn't move.
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 12:16 pm
Oh, yes. Nadifa knew how very lucky she was; Kolo was a good cheetah and she was lucky to have found him. Or he found her. Whatever, either way, Nadifa was still a winner in the game of luck for once. Twice, if you counted all of her cubs, which she certainly did. She blinked in surprise at the sudden interest in her family and felt vaguely uneasy about bringing a stranger so close to her cubs… she had fought to defend them before, and would do so again, no matter who the attacker was. But Ezuzu was another cheetah. That was perfectly fine. She had never heard of a cheetah attacking another cheetah’s cubs.
She laughed slightly. At least her laugh wasn’t stuttery. “You m-mean you want to meet the man who c-can put up with my st-stutter,” she corrected, not seeming offended in any way. “And I s-said before… we’re not a c-cult. There aren’t any religious b-beliefs u-uniting us. J-just our sp-species.” So, really, it was more of a specieist thing than anything else… but cheetahs clearly were better than any other cat, as far as Nadifa was concerned. “Y-yes, you can meet him. And some of my c-cubs… most of them are s-sleeping right now.” At least, they were supposed to be sleeping. It was what she told Kolo; but, more likely, they were all playing right now, with Kolo right in the middle of the game. He was a good father.
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