[PRP] I Guess You Could Say We're Scaredy Cats

[demonstration_evil]

Mkia could't help but grin a little bit. She was spending some time alone... and she couldn't say that she was entirely afraid. Well, no, alright, she was absolutly horrified in all truth... but she was fairly certain that she was keeping her cool. She didn't feel like she was going to jump out of her skin anyway.

Nervous. Nervous was how she felt about being all by herself... and that was when she could really start to wonder why being alone made her so scared. Why was it? She wasn't afraid of anyone in particular... not preditors, not bugs, not death... nothing... it was just... as soon as she felt like she was all by herself... she shivered involintarily.

She began to wander around the jungle again, trying not to think too hard about how scared or alone she really was... after all, that was usually when she met someone knew, right? The start of an adventure... adventure... right...? Right...?  

[Truth.Be.Told]

Maluuni was happy. Truly, verily, happy. Jani had led her to the jungle he'd grown up in. And it was everything he said it was. Lush, green, full of life. It was warmer than she was used to...but at long last, she was surrounded by LIFE.

The small red and brown lioness was happily lounging on the trunk of a fallen tree, just soaking up the heat and the sounds of the jungle around her. Some sounds were unfamiliar. Others were the same. Like birds and monkeys and the rustling of small prey animals.

Despite the feeling of dread that haunted her on and off, she was more content than she'd ever been. Life was good.

 

[demonstration_evil]

Mkia paused in shock when she saw a creature she had never encountered before... it looked like a leopard... but wasn't one... it was more like... she didn't know what it was. She could only stare, and smile a little, in both shock and happiness.

Someone new! How wild... and now that she wasn't alone anymore, she wasn't nearly as nervous! She was glad that was starting to fade away... she hated being scared. She was always happier when she was with others, even if she didn't know them!

She was about to speak... but then she saw the scars on the lioness. It seemed the other creature had been hurt... badly hurt, maybe? But she couldn't tell... she had never seen another predatoru creature injured before. Did that mean the other creature liked to fight... or did it mean that someone had attacked her? Should she speak up, or back off...?  

[Truth.Be.Told]

A new scent, a cub's scent, reached her nose. She opened on emerald eye and looked about, sniffing. Cubs...she was not afraid of. Cubs were to be treasured and protected...

She shook herself and stood, balancing on the fallen tree expertly. "Hullo? You've no need to be wary of me." She smiled softly and sat. "I do not hurt without reason." She would wait for the little one to come out. Didn't want to scare the cub inadvertently.

 

[demonstration_evil]

Mkia poked her head around the tree and smiled, "Oh... Hello there. I didn't think that you would hurt me, but you can't be too careful." She grinned a little, "Or so my parents tell me anyway. Hello, I'm Mkia. What's your name?"

Though most would call her foolish, when around other creatures, Mkia was simply fearless. It was what some might call a long-term side-effect of being afraid of being alone so long. Whenever she met anyone, she was always all too happy to meet them. It was just in her nature, what could she say?  

[Truth.Be.Told]

The appearance of the cub surprised her. The little one looked a little like a lion cub...but wasn't. Wrong scent. And she wasn't built like a cheetah...She had to be one of the leopards Jani spoke of! Maluuni chuckled softly.

"There is much out there that can hurt...but I am not one of them. I only hurt when I hunt...and that is so I may eat. But I always give proper thanks for my meals." She bowed her head. "I am Maluuni'jambo. Though you may call me 'Malu' if you wish."

She remembered when her first cubs had tried to speak their father's name and stumbled over it. Cubs usually seemed to prefer shortening names.

 

[demonstration_evil]

Mkia listened and nodded, "You talk sweetly." She told the lioness with a large smile, "And you have such a pretty name too! But it's a long name..."

She laughed a little, "I didn't know adults had nicknames! But okay, I'll call you Malu! Hey... you're name and my name both start with the same sound!" That seemed to please the young leopard to no end.

She looked over the large creature and smiled, "Um... I don't want to sound... you know, rude, but are you a leopard? You don't look like one."