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 Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 12:31 am
 Lost. She'd gotten herself bloody lost. And now her beautiful white fur was dirtied with mud and gunk! Aqila shook herself, trying to remove the disgusting muck from her fur and growled when she failed. Stupid, stupid swamp. And she couldn't tell how long she'd been walking. Had it been a few hours? Or a whole day? It was hard to tell with the darkness caused by the trees. Her legs complained that it'd likely been a whole day and decided to stop working.
With an unceremonious squelch, Aqila landed belly-first in the mud. Looking rather dejected, she sighed. Great. The day couldn't get any worse, could it? And all because she had to know where those lonely paw prints led, and if they were leopard or cheetah.
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Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 12:38 am
A simple patrol. That's what Dovev had started. It had turned into tracking a rather strange set of paw prints. They were feline, and not at all leopard. Too small and shaped wrong even for a cub. The frown on his face grew deeper as he drew closer to the source. Was this creature here to hurt Belle? If it was, he would put a stop to that before it got near her.
He wasn't expecting the white shape covered in the mud that could be found in most of his dark home. Raising a brow, he trotted over.
"Got yourself lost?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 12:50 am
Black eyes went wide and teeth were bared as Aqila got her legs to work. They supported her, barely, and she faced the idiot who dared talk to her. And nearly winced. Even in this darkness, he was a rather...vibrant green.
And a leopard. Leopards were almost as bad as lions. Relaxing her muscles so her hackles didn't stand up, she tried to make herself look as dignified as possible. It wouldn't do to let such a filthy beast get the better of her.
"Yes. But it wouldn't be so easy if you left warnings for travelers. I assume you are the...keeper of this bit of land."
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Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 12:58 am
Dovev's neutral face returned to its earlier frown. Right off the bat, he didn't like this one. A cheetah, if the build was any clue. And a very...haughty female.
"Most sane creatures avoid this place, so warnings aren't needed." He drew himself out of the 'slump' he usually walked in, to show his full bulk. The hardships he'd faced growing up had made him a large fellow, and he wasn't afraid of showing it when he needed to. "But those insane ones who wander in here, like you, are the reason I'm here. To make sure you idiots don't die trying to find your way back out."
He nearly got in her face with his last words, annoyance in his narrowed purple eyes. "Now...if you want rest before I lead you out, follow me. You look ready to collapse."
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 9:16 am
Aqila's eyes narrowed back at the leopard, tail thrashing behind her best as it could in the mud. He was bigger than he'd appeared, and used biting words right back. Call her insane, would he? Not for long. She'd play along for now. She did need to rest...perhaps she could get a free meal from him. Males WERE suckers for a good-looking female after all.
And Aqila knew, without the mud, she was a stunner.
"Fine. But I warn you...best not try anything, lest you find I'm not exactly helpless either."
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 9:22 am
Dovev chuckled darkly and turned towards his home.
"I'm better than the idiots out there. I won't touch you unless you cause me trouble or you want me to." Dovev took pride in his manner as a gentleman, far different from many males he'd seen. Oh, certainly his speech a minute ago hadn't been exactly 'gentlemanly'...but it had been needed.
Dovev was a practical leopard as well. He started trotting through the mud to his home, where Belle likely waited.
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 9:28 am
Aqila followed the leopard, not entirely trusting his word. Males were known to break their word often, after all. Especially males that weren't cheetahs. She snorted. Stupid males.
She observed the swampy jungle around her as the went. It did have some beauty...a vine of brilliant flowers here, a flight of jeweled insects there, the flickering of fireflies in another area. Aqila could see why he dealt with the mud. Of course, she intended to be out as soon as possible. She also realized another thing...
She couldn't exactly do much if she didn't have a name for the idiot leopard. "My name is Aqila...what is yours."
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 9:35 am
Violet eyes flickered back to the cheetah. "Dovev. My name is Dovev." Aqila...that was a rather nice sounding name, despite the nasty attitude of the cheetah it belonged to. "Once we arrive at my home, you can wash up. There's no mud for quite a bit around my den." He noticed the way she looked at the flora and fauna around her...
With a sort of veiled interest, the sort one sees from a scholar. Chuckling, he pointed out a group of near-glowing eyes watching them. "Those belong to the owl family that live here. They're nice...but wary of strangers."
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 10:27 am
Wash up? Aqila would tolerate this leopard just for that chance to be clean again and rid her fur of this horrible mud! In fact...the fact she was covered in mud was part of her problem at the moment. Even she would admit her personality wasn't the best towards others...but currently, it was worse than normal. Black eyes flickered to catch the glowing ones, and she blinked.
There were owls in this place? Owls tended to be rather pretty birds. Smart, too. She smiled a little and nodded her head towards them. "Owls tend to be...they're a quiet sort, and like staying that way. Strangers tend to bring too much noise."
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 10:33 am
Dovev nodded. "Yes...I rather like owls. They help keep the vermin population down, and they make rather good conversation partners." Once one got an owl on a topic they liked, they could banter back and forth like a raven.
"So...why did you wander in here? I've only seen one other cheetah besides yourself in here." This track of land was no place for a cheetah, after all. Too much mud and too many trees for a cheetah to be comfortable.
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 10:48 am
Aqila frowned and snorted. "I was following tracks that obviously belonged to a cub of some sort. I let my curiosity get the better of me...simple as that." She would be so much more careful in the future. So much more indeed. The cheetah sped up to walk side-by-side with her...'host'.
"What brought YOU to here. I know leopards are fond of trees and all...but why so much mud?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:01 am
"To get away from the world." Violet eyes flickered back to the cheetah. "This world is full of disgusting evils, and I sought to escape them. It just so happens I can be useful while doing so." He frowned and turned his eyes back to the way ahead of him.
"And those cub-tracks likely belonged to the cub I found and am taking care of. By the way..." Dovev looked at Aqila again, eyes devoid of any emotion. "You hurt her, you won't leave this place alive."
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Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:07 am
Well, well, well...A non-cheetah who realized the truth of the world. How...quaint. She was smirking...until the green feline leveled that cold, void expression on her. Aqila shivered without thinking and scoot half a step away. "I have NO intention of harming your little one, so long as she's not a self-righteous lion."
Lions. Oh how she HATED lions.
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Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:12 am
"She's not." Dovev let his eyes wander ahead again, emotion returning to them. He supposed he was a little protective of Belle...but one couldn't be too careful in this world. The trip continued in silence, until they reached the small river that bordered the northern part of his den. "You can wash here."
He waded in the water long enough to rinse the muck from his legs and paws, then hopped onto the dry land of his home. "Once you're done, I'll show you where you can sleep. Tomorrow, after you eat, I'll show you the way out."
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Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:15 am
Aqila stepped into the water gracefully, despite her want to just jump in. Didn't want a lowly leopard watching her act like a cub. As the mud started to run off, she made the curious half-purr only a cheetah could make. And once she was clean, she stepped out, a couple feet from Dovev.
"For your hospitality and assistance, I thank you. Now...lead the way." She was in a much better mood now...much better indeed.
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