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 Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 7:32 pm
Chikala walked high above the ground, balancing carefully as she walked from one branch to another. She had been... well, she really didn't have a singular word at that moment for how she had been feeling for the past few days. After how nice she had been and everything, that insufferable lion could have at least said good-bye before leaving, but nooooo. He just up and left, and after she had dozed off, too.
She sighed as she walked a bit more, shaking her head. She forgave it, it was probably in his nature. But, really, it was just plain rude. Then again, it really didn't matter that much. Once they left her territory, she rarely saw any of the creatures she met again. That was just the way things were. Sad? Maybe. Lonely? For her, of course. Such is life.
She was tracing through the branches that hung over the far side of her lake when suddenly a bird flew up right in front of her. She let out a short cry of surprise and took a quick step backwards, a step that was too quick. Her paw slipped and she fell, catching the branch with her front paws. Her claws dug into the wood and she let out an almost involuntary cry for help as her lower legs scrambled for a foothold that wasn't there.
Her claws slipped and she fell, smacking the side of her head on another branch before splashing into the deeper section of the water. She attempted to swim back up to the air she needed so much, but the crack to her head caused her vision to blacken and her limbs to not work properly.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:28 am
 Boy, did he feel like an a**. Which was strange for him, since he reveled in just how much of a jerk he was on most days. It was an art form at which he excelled. A true master, as any of the great artists were claimed to be. Each moment he made another angry was just another notch on the wall. For him to actually feel bad about something that came so naturally to him… it was just strange.
Regardless, bad he did feel.
These feelings, guilt swirled about remorse and decorated delicately with a light coating of confusion, were his scapegoat for returning to Chikala’s territory. She was the only one he could think of that he had wronged in the recent past. Unless this was some pre-emptive strike of emotions, she had to be the reason he was feeling so bad. And he wanted to make her pay for it.
No. Bad Jeraha.
He wanted to make up for abandoning her the way he had. It had been a foolish thing to do in retrospect, just departing while she slept. The reasoning behind, though so seemingly perfect at the time, was now lost on him. As much as it pained him to think about it, he knew he needed to apologize. And quickly, before the guilt pangs killed him.
Sniffing the air, he soon pin-pointed her scent, trailing it to the water’s edge. Blinking, he found the scent dispersed by the water, making it more difficult to locate which way she had decided to go. As it turned out, he didn’t even need his nose, spotting something splashing about in the lake. In that moment his sense of ‘oh no, animal in trouble’ came into direct play, seizing control of his body and causing him to leap into the waters without a second glance at the figure. Not yet aware that he was rushing to save the very same lioness he had been looking for, Jeraha used his powerful legs to draw himself closer to the struggling creature. Diving under the water, he moved himself under her body, surfacing so her head was resting on top of his. It was all he could think to do to keep it above water as he swam for the bank.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:53 am
I'm drowning, Chikala thought to herself mildly as her body continued to try and fight. That's not right... I know how to swim.
Strange how when under the water everything seemed to lose urgency. Or maybe it was that crack to the head.
Suddenly, there was a body underneath her, pushing her upwards, towards the surface and- Air! She gasped as her head broke the surface, coughing as the world started spinning, spots of light dancing in front of her eyes. Shaking a bit for a moment, she lay limp on her rescuer until he reached the shore, closing her eyes to make the spots go away.
She honestly had no idea who it was that had saved her and right at that moment, she really didn't care. What she did care about, was that he was warm, big, and had just saved her life. Of course, she was having a good bit of trouble organizing her thoughts, so maybe those were just the ones that mattered the most.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:03 am
Saving a life.
Yeah, it’s what he did.
Gently, Jeraha knelt against the ground, trying to shift the body off his back without just plopping her down in the mud. It didn’t take a genius to see that she was disoriented. Maybe she had hit her head on something before falling. Looking around, he wasn’t sure what could have happened, really, but at that moment it didn’t matter much either. He needed to focus on making sure she was okay.
Looking down at her at length, it finally clicked that he was looking at Chikala. Eyes widening, he moved a little closer to her soggy frame, ignoring for a moment that he probably looked completely ridiculous with his wet man dangling around his neck and over his face.
“Chikala?” he asked faintly, prodding her with a paw, “hey, are you alright? Wake up now.” His voice was a blend of his usual dark tones and concern, creating this odd, gruff but slightly panicked voice.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:18 am
Chikala groaned a bit when he set her down and she began to realize that her head was hurting, as well as her shoulder and one paw.
"Stupid bird... Didn't mean to fall..." she mumbled and opened one eye to look up at her rescuer, wondering a bit how he knew her name. The world started spinning again and she closed her eye with another groan and lie still for a minute.
When she tried again, she was able to focus, if just a little bit, on the lion and her face became confused. Was she hallucinating?
"Jeraha?" she asked, blinking behind her soggy mane. What was he doing back here? He'd left, and nobody ever came back... right? Right. So she must be hallucinating. Or dreaming. Maybe she was just dreaming.
She must have hit her head harder than she thought, because she was never as scatter-brained as she currently was.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:48 am
His took solace in knowing that he was not the only one who looked really silly with a wet mane, though hers was on a much smaller scale than his. At least she wasn’t being strangled by the unruly hairs clinging so desperately to his neck.
As she spoke, he sighed. It may have been babble he didn’t fully understand the context of, but it was still better than nothing. He had been worried that she would pass out on him. What was he supposed to do if that happened? He wasn’t familiar with the plants in the area. There was nothing he could give her to smell and stir awake her senses again.
“Yes,” he answered faintly, “I’m surprised you remember me. Or… anything, for that matter. What happened to you?” he asked, though with the natural anger in his tone it sounded more like a demand.
“Take it easy,” he sighed after a moment, sitting back now that he knew she was at least mildly aware of her surroundings, “seems you’ve had a bit of an adventure. Apparently I can’t leave you alone for five minutes.”
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:58 am
Chikala closed her eyes again and sighed. Nope, that was definitely Jeraha. She flinched a bit at the tone of his voice and huffed at how the flinch made her shoulder hurt more.
"Was in the tree. Not paying enough attention... Thinking about you, bird flew up, I fell. Hit a branch, hit water, an' the world flipped upside-down," she explained in broken sentences as her daze began to wear off. Her head still hurt like hell, but at least she could think again, more or less. She wanted to laugh at his last comment. She'd lived this long without his help, but nooooo. Fall out of one tree and you're branded for life.
Her eyes opened again and she blinked up at him.
"You... thank you." She had originally intended to question his saving of her, but then figured it'd probably just be better if she thanked him.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 12:16 pm
“Ah,” Jeraha said, perplexed by the notion that someone had been thinking about him. Was her anger so blinding that she hadn’t seen the bird coming up? Did the bird attack her? He didn’t understand the full situation, but he wasn’t sure she would be able to explain it any better for a while yet. So he didn’t ask further questions, leaving the matter for another time. The whole matter, including the thought that she had been thinking about him for any reason.
“Just keep still,” he said faintly, “looks like the bump to your head is nice a big. I can see it from here,” he lied teasingly, “I didn’t take you for the uncoordinated type.”
When she thanked him, he got to his feet, promptly shaking the water off his fur and mane. Mane poofing a little, he reclined back against the ground, sitting on his back feet once more. “Nothing to thank me for,” he replied, “I happened to be nearby and saw something splashing around. I didn’t know it was you. I’m… glad… you weren’t more seriously hurt. How’s your head?” he got up again, moving closer to her. Carefully, he sniffed at her head, his nose lightly brushing against the bump.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 12:26 pm
Chikala flinched when he touched it but still managed to smile a bit.
"Hurts like hell, least I can see without the world spinning now," she replied, content to just lie where she was instead of trying to rid her fur of the water as he had. She wanted to come up with a retort for his tease over her coordination, or lack-there-of, but nothing was coming to mind and she gave up.
"Well, I'm glad you were near. Who knows what could'a happened," she added and some part of her mind poked the rest of it. Now that was odd. Why had he been near in the first place? Surely he had gone farther in the time since he had left. But then, what reason did he have to come back? Nice questions, but no answers, and that was frustrating and frustration hurt her head, so she tried to stop thinking.
Which was easier said than done.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 12:35 pm
“I’m pretty sure I know what could have happened. You could have drowned,” replied the larger animal casually, stepping back once he had investigated her head enough. He moved around her, looking over the rest of her body. Checking for injuries without saying that was what he was actually doing.
The was the impulse to hold this moment over her head forever, taunting her whenever he saw fit. But he knew it wasn’t something that would come to pass. After all, she had helped him out before. Now they were even. Or even-ish, anyway.
Still felt like he owed her.
“Is there anything I can get for you?” he asked, “if you know a plant that might help I can get it for you. Since I’m here and all.” He felt strange. Where was the desire to be mean? His attitude was much more muted than normal.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 12:53 pm
She shook her head slowly. She really didn't want to think about how she could have drowned. There were so many things she wanted to do in her life, and to be cut short from being able to... That was the scariest thing she could think of.
"No, it's fine. Just a bump after all," Chikala replied and watched him as best she could as he walked around her. She had so many questions to ask him. Why'd he leave without saying goodbye? Why'd he come back? Why was he being... almost nice.
The sensible part of her mine prodded forward again and promptly threw her questions away. He wasn't being a jerk, and who knew why. She also didn't know what might set him back again and if there was a chance that one of her questions would change that-
"Jeraha, why'd you come back?"
Mouth 2, Brain 0.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 1:22 pm
Nodding, the large male moved further away from her, feeling awkward. “Alright,” he said. Just a bump. Why was he getting so worked up if it was just a bump?
Halting, Jeraha looked at Chikala, studying her face for a moment. The hair that dangled constantly in front of those brilliant red eyes, the curious expression on her face, even the fluff in her ears swaying slightly as she moved her head was interesting to him now. Very strange indeed. Never had he been so intrigued by a target. Looking away abruptly, he cleared his throat rather loudly, tail swaying back and forth with an irritation that made the movements rigid.
“I don’t know,” he lied lowly, his eyes on anything that wasn’t her frame, “I just thought I would drop by. Is there something wrong with that? Because I’ll leave if I’m not welcome.”
There.
That was the way to do it; make her the bad guy so he wouldn’t have to admit his feelings. The Gods knew that the last thing he wanted was to admit to her he had been feeling guilty about what had happened before.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 1:42 pm
"Oh," was all Chikala managed to say and her gaze lowered. Her ears drooped and she slowly shook her head.
"I don't, I mean... I was just... Normally when others leave, they don't come back." There, she'd said it. She was completely alone most of the time. No friends, her family having gone their separate ways, even contact with others was brief. It was terribly lonely and deep down even she wondered how she could be so happy all most of the time. No, now that she thought about it, she was dismal when she was alone. Even a butterfly was welcome company, if only for a moment.
Her own glance flicked away her eyes sad as she considered her lifestyle.
"I'm sorry I asked. I just... didn't understand, that's all."
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 1:53 pm
Damnit all.
He needed to be banned from conversation. From interaction with other creatures. Save and run. That was the best way to go about things. Not save, chat, and promptly kick an animal when they’re down.
“Forget about it,” the male said lowly, shaking his head. His plan had been another bad one. “I was lying anyway. I didn’t just drop by. I… wanted to see how you were doing, I suppose is the creepy way to say it. Well, I felt… strange… about what had happened the other day. Maybe I shouldn’t have left like that.” This was weird. He didn’t want to tell her that he was feeling guilty, but now he had started talking so he had to say something. The result? Jeraha sounding like a complete idiot, of course.
“Ugh, nevermind,” he growled, irritated with himself, “it’s not important.”
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 2:30 pm
Chikala's gaze returned to him after he finished explaining, a smile on her maw and in her eyes.
"It's not creepy... It's..." she considered how to say it, but realized she couldn't be subtle. "It's sweet, knowing you wondered about me. And I'm really glad you came back," she finished, adding a 'for more reasons than one, I think' in her mind.
She kinda wanted to tell him off for sneaking off, because it HAD been rude, but, well... In the long run, she guessed good byes were usually awkward and sometimes difficult. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all that he just left. Jeraha really was different. She felt like telling him so, but considered what she knew about him. He was rough, hard, and easily annoyed on the outside. And what she had seen under all that, the little bit she glimpsed every so often, was kind, perhaps even a bit uncertain. She wanted to see more of that and she didn't think telling him about things she had noticed would open him up. Rather, it could very well make him try harder to keep that part hidden.
Dang it. She'd already called him sweet.
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