Kin was sound asleep. It had been a rough night last night, he had to escape from a few birds of prey that had been following him in the hot desert all day. With a loud yawn he slowly woke up, he looked around at the early morning sun and smiled, he liked sun rises. Getting up and stretching, he proceeded to walk forward when he realized... There was nothing there! Quickly back-steping, he realized his was up in a tree! "Ahhhh!" he yelled, "How did this even happen?!"

Mmm, mornings. They were so bright; so cheery. Everything about them was sweet and inviting. But Oboé was tired. She'd stayed up pretty late into the night, spending time with a few people she had met up with. It'd been a pretty interesting evening. But now, she just wanted to go back to bed. Plus, all this hot morning sun was giving her a big headache.

But Oboé never complained. She always took things in stride. She just had to find a good tree to lounge in and everything would be peachy!

"Ah~," Oboé sighed with relief, seeing a large tree in the distance. It was covered in large green leaves and looked extremely enticing. It was perfect! Walking up to the tree, Oboé noticed something; it was making noises. Was someone in there already...? It was a very small voice.

"Hello~!" Oboé called gently, gazing up into the branches, searching for whatever was there. The sun was in her eyes and she couldn't see very well.

Kin was gripping onto the tree branch he was on for dear life. He wasn't a big fan of heights, and he didnt even remember how he had gotten up here! This was not a good way to start the morning.... It was then that he heard a voice from below, and in a panic he looked down and called out, "Hello?! Who's there?!"

A smile spread across Oboé's face at the sound of a small voice. Something young was up there. A leopard cub? As far as she knew, only leopards really climbed trees. What else could it be, then?

With the thought of speaking to another leopard in mind, Oboé replied to the young voice, sounding as though she were holding back a laugh, "I am called Oboé. Who are you?" she asked back. "...And where are you?" she added. Squinting for so long in the sunlight wasn't doing much to get rid of her headache. The sooner she knew where this creature was, the better. Maybe then she could circle around in a shady spot and see him?

Kinyago was suddenly mad at the speaker below him. He could hear a hint of a laugh when she spoke, did she think he was some kind of weak thing? "Hey, my name is Kinyago," he called from his perch, "and it sounds like im right above you... I dont need any help though! Im perfectly fine!" He said letting out a yelp when he almost fell off.

"Ohhh~!" Oboé exclaimed happily, her large tail swaying back and forth. She moved a bit closer to the tree so she was directly beneath it and placed her large paws against its rough trunk. The shade covered her instantly and finally, she could see.

There, just above her, was a small wild dog pup.

"PFFFT." Oboé sputtered, followed by a loud, clear laugh. Her laughter died down and she grinned lazily. "How on earth did a little wild dog get up into a tree?" she asked, bewildered. Another laugh bubbled out of her when he almost fell. It was all too amusing. She'd never seen a wild dog in a tree before, especially a pup. Judging by the fact that they were in a large, sandy clearing and the pup seemed alone, Oboé guessed he had no parents. No wonder he'd gotten himself into such a situation.

"Don't fret, little Kinyago," Oboé called up soothingly. "I'll get you down."

Ok, Kin was mad now. The female, he had no idea what she was, was outright laughing at him! He wasnt in trouble! He just... didnt know what to do. "I dont know how I got up in this tree!" he said back, "But I can get down just fine... By myself! I dont need your help!" With that, he let go of the branch with two of his paws, only to slip and start hanging with just his front paws! "Ahhh! What do i do now?!" he said to himself.

Oboé was busying herself with slowly climbing the tree. She was taking her time so she could figure out how to get the pup out of the tree with what little room there was left on the branch he was stuck on. If she climbed close enough and leaned out, perhaps she could grab him? Hmmm, but that was risky, she thought.

"Mhm~!" Oboé hummed with a smile, as if she hadn't heard what he'd said.

But then he let go of the branch. What a stupid pup! Well, not very stupid. It was really quite brave. But that didn't matter. He was hanging there now. At least that left more room for Oboé to move onto the branch and help him.

Oboé climbed up into the branch and stood directly above the wild dog pup. She bent her head down, examining him and smiling. Wild dogs were interesting creatures. She'd never really seen a wild dog pup before. He was quite cute. "Keep holding on, little one." she said calmly. Then she pressed herself against as much of the branch as she could, careful to avoid his paws. She bent her head down and grabbed his scruff. Then she pulled him up and sat on the branch. That was easy.

Now she just had to think about what method to use to get down from the tree.

Kin was screaming! In his head of course, he couldnt show Oboe that he was scared. But what should he do?! His question was answered when he felt something grab the back of his neck and his legs left the branch. He looked back to see the pink female holding him there! "What are you doing?" he asked angrily, "I told you I could get myself down! Im not weak!" he said flailing his legs but with no effect. Oboe seemed off in her own world.

Oboé sniffed the air as she thought. She could climb down the tree, but it would be hard having to carry the pup. She'd dragged plenty of prey animals into trees before, of course, but she didn't have to be CAREFUL with THOSE...

Maybe she should just jump down? But that was risky, too. She'd never held a cub by the scruff before. And suppose her landing wasn't very graceful...What if she chomped down on his tender, puppy flesh? That would certainly be bad...

The pup was flailing and complaining about things, just as normal children do. She suspected he probably had to put up with a lot in his life if he was just a wandering orphan, looking out for himself. She suddenly felt a strange connection to the pup at the thought.

"Calm down, little thing." she said through her teeth as she held onto his scruff. She scanned the ground with her gold eyes and still, she thought. Jumping seemed like the best option. So, Oboé stood on the branch, wiggled her rump a bit to get a good footing, and sprang from the branch. She landed with a stumble onto the ground below.

Kin stopped his flailing simply because he had tired himself out. He stilled himself and just sort of, hung there in Oboe's mouth. He wondered how they would get down... as long as he didnt get hurt or fall, he was fine with it. He was still frustrated with the female for just picking him up like she did, but there was little he could do with that. "So... what exactly are you?" he asked the female. But he didnt get an answer as he felt her tense up and then leap from the tree! He screamed as they flew through the air and was still screaming as they landed. Kin wasnt good with heights.

Gaining her footing only after a short moment, Oboé stood still, a long sigh leaving her lungs. She lowered the pup to the ground and nuzzled him to his feet, because it seemed like he was about to fall over. She wondered what had caused him to scream so loud. It was only a little jump.

"I'm a leopard." Oboé answered his question, a smile of amusement on her face. "Why, have you not seen a leopard before, little thing?" she asked, peering down closely into his face. She blinked a few times, still enthralled with the looks of a wild dog. She made a mental note to get some wild dog friends in the future. They were interesting animals, to say the least. And they had such feisty pups.

After Kin realized that they were safely on the ground and out of Oboe's mouth, he stopped screaming. He looked around nervously, and then looked at himself, was he alright? He seemed to be, so he flopped on the ground, "Ahhh, I love you solid ground," he sighed. "A leopard? Nope, cant say I've ever seen one before, he said to Oboe with his eyes closed. "What are you doing out here?"

An almost inaudible giggle came from Oboé at the pup's love confession to the ground. Some creatures just didn't like to be up high, she guessed. It only added to the pup's cuteness.

"Mmm? Never seen a leopard?" Oboé asked with a rising tone, placing a paw against her chest as if she were offended. She put her paw back on the ground and stood, shaking dust from her pink fur. A poof of dust made a floating ring around her and landed softly on the ground, disappearing with the rest of the sand. Oboé sat again, prodding her paws against the ground to make herself more comfortable.

"Well," she started. "Now you have." she nodded sagely with a smile and glanced over at the tree she had just left. "Ahh, I was..." Her mind wandered and for a moment, she forgot what she'd gone over there to do in the first place. Then she remembered and her eyes widened with the revelation. "I was going to take a nap!" she said loudly as the whole thing dawned on her. Then her tiredness came back over her in a fresh wave and Oboé relaxed her eyelids.

Kin practically didnt see Oboe as she raised her paw to her chest, he was already falling back asleep! He did watch as Oboe herself laid down and closed her eyes, so he figured he might as well do the same. "Well, it was nice to meet you miss leopard, and I guess thank you for saving me from the tree.." Kin said softly, "But Im still really tired so Im gonna go back to sleep! Hopefully I'll see you around." Kin finished as he walked back to that cursed tree. Plopping down underneath it, he let out a loud yawn and promptly fell asleep in the shade.

Oboé watched the pup with a half-lidded smile as he sauntered off to the shade of the tree. What an interesting little fellow...He'd gone through quite the stunning ordeal and there he was, acting as if none of it had happened (besides the thank-you) and went to sleep.

Standing and stretching her length, a few joints cracking in the process, Oboé walked over to the tree. She climbed it soundlessly and made herself comfortable in a large branch, just above Kinyago.

"Goodnight, little thing." she said, a yawn escaping her mouth. What a strange morning it had been...

With that, Oboé closed her eyes and slept.