Isikali stood warily atop a slight hillock in the otherwise quite flat savannah. She feared being followed still, either by her ex husband or by that lover-boy lion. So it was good to be able to see above the tall grass...the blue cheetah could see far. But she was also worried she in turn could be spotted easily.
*
Kenya sighed lightly, this name quest was turning out to be harder than he thought. He had been wandering around the open planes for what seemed to be forever, and still hadn't been able to take on a name. What if he never was able to find another name? What if he couldn't go home? Questions like these plagued his mind days at a time, and sometimes he wondered if they would be true
*
Isikali spotted a lion not far off, and a lioness a ways further and summoning her courage, decided to see if there was a jungle whose edge she could skirt or a desert or something nearby. It was best to vary the terrain you went through if possible if you were being followed. It made it harder for someone to track you. Warily she made her way over to a mostly-white lion hoping he'd do so she needn't try any of the more distant figures.
"Hello?"
*
Kenya was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a voice. It was female. He looked up to see a cheetah walking towards him. He knew of others in the area, and looked back to see if any one else was looking towards her, expecting someone else to me meeting her. He had never seen her in his life, and was wondering if she was mistaking him for someone else. "Me?" He asked as he pointed a paw towards himself when he saw that none of the others turned.
"Yes you sugar. Sorry for coming up to you like this, but I was wondering if you'd be able to give a poor stranger a little advice...please?" It was politely said and she smiled prettily - but not too prettily! Last thing she wanted was another lion falling for her and following her like a love sick cub. She decided this lion didn't seem a threat and came a wee bit closer, so it was easier to talk at a reasonable volume.
*
Sugar? He took a few steps back, a little intimidated by her choice of words. "Um..." he looked her up and down with his plum colored eyes. What was she playing at? He looked back behind her, seeing if there was a get away from her if the situation turned bad. "I uh.. I can try." He said as he smiled lightly, sitting a few steps away from her.
*
"Thankyou. I was wondering if you knew of a jungle, or a desert, or a swamp in any direction, at all?" Her smile grew at his obvious unease. She was trying to be as laid back and unthreatening as possible, so it was amusing. "I'm being followed and I think they mean to kill me, you see...and while I think they're a few days behind me, changing terrain is a wise precaution against them tracking me down."
*
"Well uh.." He said as he looked away from the blue female to think. There's a swamp a few days east of here." He said as he looked over to her. "I'm apart of a pride in the swamp lands." He said. Was something wrong with this girl? Some one was after her to kill her? Whoops....maybe he shouldn't have brought his pride into this. "But uh..." He said, trying to take her mind off of his pride. "I think there's a jungle a day south." He said, not sure what he was saying.
*
"Wonderful. You've just helped a poor female escape a life of a slave, a beaten wife. You have my thanks." Isikali explained and thanked him at once, taking in the information - and that he looked rather concerned. But if he lived in the swamp he needn't be.She much prefered jungle and so wouldn't be bothering his pride.
"Anything I might be able to help you with in return?"
*
Life of a slave? He had never heard anything like that. Maybe she was just lying, and telling him some tall tale. Either way, he doubted he could gain anything from her. Then he thought...maybe she could help him with his name quest. "Well...there, might be something." He said as he looked down to his paws and fiddled with his tail.
*
"What is it?" She asked, her tail tip twitching. Isikali hoped it was something she could indeed help with and help with swiftly. The sooner she got off the windswept plain and into the jungle the better!
*
He looked back up to her, "Well you see, as apart of my pride I'm supposed to go out and find a new name." He explained, "But, I'm having a little trouble finding a name." He said blinking lightly, "I was...wondering if you'd be able to help?"
*
"Well now....what a charming custom! I'm on my second name myself in fact though not for such a nice reason." She thought about it and explained her comment. "I was born Kitoku'uzwa. A Jewel To Be Sold. But that never suited me really and so now I am free to live as I choose, I call myself Isikali, the Wild Heart. Maybe you should do likewise. Think of who you are, what you are, and try to create a name around that."
*
He thought about her words. "I guess...I guess your right." He had never thought about looking inside himself for the answer. Then again, he didn't really know himself that well. It..wasn't much help, but he wouldn't tell her. "Thank you."
*
"And thankyou again...you've helped me stay free and away from that sorry a** husband of mine. Beat me night and day he did..." She sighed. "Well, goodluck with you name-finding sugar! And goodbye. Thanks so much."
[end!]
