It had been a long, long day, and all Safi wanted to do was flop down where he was and sleep. But he knew the importance of finding a less....conspicous place to sleep. He did not feel like getting eaten in the middle of the night. He yawned and shook himself. Ugh...stupid elephant had decided to chase him after deciding the adolescent was somehow a threat.
Safi?! A threat?! Sure, Safi knew he was a good hunter...but even in his younger days he wasn't stupid enough to think he could take down an elephant calf! It woud take a whole pride of lions to do that! He sighed. Staying away from his family was getting harder and harder lately. But he knew he had to continue on for another day or two before heading home. The wild dog was determined to find his parents or siblings...He had to.
He had to show them he was alive and well and had a family of his own. That he was a good hunter, and a good father. He especially wanted to show his mother Pich...his little diamond that shone like her. His tiredness was forgotten quickly as he grinned, thoughts on his family.
Poor Safi wasn't likely to catch a break on this day, because the world and Ujuzi in particular had seen fit to let Momo loose on it. Age was no limiter on fun, in Momo's humble opinion! She was looking for some good old fashioned fun, and she'd found it!
Incidentally it had everything to do with the herd of Wildebeast now stampeding closer and closer in Safi's direction, with Momo tailing behind it, tail high and tongue lolling from her mouth with a huge cross between a smile and a grin. She only drw her tongue back in long enough to call out-- "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" --before springing her hind legs and launching towards the closest beast, only to miss her target and crash tumbling to the ground with a yelp and a few grunts, a fit of dust swelling up both in their wake and all around her. The sound of coughing indicated that she was still alive, and she stumbled to her paws, ignoring her filthy state. "Okay! I'll just-- *COUGH* --c-catch up with you guys next time!" She wheezed a bit, but seemed just as happy as moments before. "Whoo!"
Safi was jarred from his thoughts as the ground shook beneath him and mobile thunder roared towards him. He knew that sound...OH CRAP. Quickly finding the dust cloud heralding the approach of the stampeding creatures, he knew to NOT try and outrun it. Instead, he bolted to the side, not wanting to get caught by it at all! He'd seen the result of creatures caught in stampedes...He did not want his pups to become orphans!
And he managed to get out of the way...barely. He watched, stunned, as the herd of wildebeast practically flew by. Pink eyes wide, even after they passed, he looked around, trying to find out what had spooked them...He wanted to know if he needed to run too. Seeing nothing, Safi moved closer to where they had run from and was startled when something rose from the dust. He yipped and jumped back...then relaxed when he noticed the something was a very dusty, dirty wild dog.
"Uh....are you...Okay?"
The female was just delighted with herself, until she noticed Safi, when she suddenly shifted interest. Oh! New face! Hello there?
"Oh, I didn't see you standing over there! I'm fine! See? Just a little dirt!" She grinned, tail wagging quite happily. "Ever tried to ride a Wildebeast before? Lots of fun if you can manage to actually get on one."
... Something was wrong with this one, to be sure.
Safi blinked. Okay...female...and really hyper. Almost reminded him of Kisu. He titled his head, both curious and rather confused.
"Uh...nope. Haven't tried riding one...The horns kinda make me a little leery..." And oh did wildebeast have horns. Big, nasty horns that he'd seen take down a lioness. "But...I'm glad you're okay. Were you why the herd just ran that way?" He indicated the direction he'd come from with a front paw.
"What's the fun if there's not a little risk? Besides, Wildebeast riding is nothing compared to croc hoppin'." Momo calmly reasoned as she settled onto her haunches and lifted a hind leg to scratch behind one large ear, looking at the male. "Probably? Why? Which herd? Was that bad? Hey, do you know where I can find a watering hole to wash off? Dirt and dust don't taste too good and there's a little too much to lick myself clean. Ya know? What's your name?"
Now, it should be said in her defense that normally she was a little calmer, but she was hyper from the rush AND in a great mood, so she'd be a little more talkative than normal.
Safi was amazed at her energy, suddenly reminded very much of not his son, but himself at a younger age. It was hard to believe that Safi had once been that hyper. Though...he was accident prone, not a daredevil. He scratched the dirt under him a little.
"Uh...lesse...There was a watering hole about half a day from here. Towards the sunset. And...If it was the rather large herd that was running really fast...It kinda almost ran me over." Though Safi almost felt like giving her a piece of his mind...he just couldn't find it in him. Unless she decided to attack him, Safi couldn't find a mean bone in his body.
"I'm Safi'mmoja. And yes...dirt is definitely not a good taste."
"Oh! Well, heh, sorry about that! Good thing it was just almost or I'd feel pretty bad right now!" Momo laughed a bit, shaking out her fur once again for good measure. "You want to come with me to wash out the taste then? You hungry? I could help you hunt something down to make it up to you if you want? I'm starving, myself." Momo paused, scratching behind an ear while keeping her eyes glued to Safi. "Not literally, of course--"
"Uhm...Sure?" He wasn't really hungry...but company was always a good thing. Especially company that wasn't looking for a fight. He chuckled. "You're too pretty to be literally starving. Though it's nice to run across someone who actually admits when they're hungry." He wrinkled his nose. "Too many who pretend not to be for the sake of 'politeness'." He smiled. "So...What's your name?"
Momo's tail took up a friendly wag, and she grinned, tongue hanging from her mouth as she caught her breath from her little exertion. Too pretty to literally be starving? Well that was silly. She was sure she could starve just like everyone else, beauty hardly was a deciding factor. Such compliments at times like this went right over her head, partly because she was prone to process them very literally, while using a similarly blunt manner of thinking for things like.... Hippo hopping and wildebeast surfing...
"Well that seems kind of weird to me too. If you're hungry, being polite isn't going to fix it. I know manners are supposed to be important and all but they won't do anyone much good if you're dead." Still her tail wagged. "My name's Momo." She grinned. "What's yours?"
"Safi'mmoja. But I like Safi...Less of a mouthful." His smile grew to a grin. "I'm polite when it's not gonna get in the way of other things. Like filling my belly and getting away from a rather uh...mad gnu. Had some brainless cheetah try to talk to me once while I was trying to run away. That...was very unpleasant." He shuddered. Some animals had no sense of self-preservation. His happened to be rather high, considering he had a family to find and one to go back to.
The older wild dog threw her head back somewhat and had a laugh at that. One had to admit it did make a funny mental image, after all.
"Oh man, I've done that before. Small talk while running for your life? Not the best time for it but at least you have a funny story to tell your kids someday, right?"
With another chuckle and shake of her head Momo straightened and started off the way he had indicated.
Safi followed, tail wagging as he moved. "That it is! Thankfully I got away with nothing to scar or leave lasting injury!" Funny how he seemed to avoid the worst of things...Well, he had luck. And Safi was not about to abuse that luck.
"I remember loving listening to the funny stories of animals I met. Some of the things other animals get into...I don't even want to know how they managed it!"
"You must be pretty good at danger-dodging then." Momo grinned toothily back, as though it were a real term. It was obvious that at least she used it herself in reference to the trait quite often, not surprising given her penchant for living on the edge. "Really though? But knowing is half the fun! Not knowing is like, like... only hearing the punchline to a really good joke!"
If that was his way then so be it, far be it for her to force a belief onto someone, but she had to make that point (though she did so in a light hearted way).
"Danger...dodging? I guess it could be called that..." He nodded. "Yeah. I don't always manage to dodge it...but I guess I'm pretty good. Haven't gotten eaten or gored." And he didn't intend to. Safi wanted to live a nice, LONG life. Preferably full of family and fun and friends. "Ya know....I never thought of it that way before. I think I'll ask next time. Definitely!"
He laughed and nodded to himself. "Speaking of jokes...I know this good joke about a baboon and a zebra."
"Definitely good signs." Momo smiled casually again, very free and easy giving with the expression as they trotted along for their watery destination. "Oh, hey, hit me! Hit me, I want to hear this!"
Safi grinned...and then paused. "Ya know...I had the joke, and then it ran away from me, punchline and all." He sighed, ears flopping in dejection. "That seems to happen sometimes. Knowing my luck, I'll remember in a day or two." He smiled at Momo sheepishly. "Sorry..."
Momo just laughed, finding that to be almost as amusing as any joke he had to tell. "Hey, no worries. If I see you in a day or two you can tell me then! Besides, if you think of me when you remember the joke then it's worth not rembering it now." She winked with a grin, tail still wagging even as the watering hole came in sight up ahead.
Safi's smile grew to a grin. "I'll definitely remember you! Hard not to remember someone so pretty!" And fun-loving. It wasn't often Safi met someone as playful as him, let alone even more so! At the sight of the watering hole, he got a rather wicked look on his face. "Last one there is a rotten egg!" And with that, he took off towards the water, bumping shoulders with Momo as he passed.
For a moment Momo blinked owlishly at him. Who was pretty? Her?? So caught up in the moment at first she didn't see the shoulder bump coming, and stagered a bit in surprise as her eyes widened-- HEY!
"You're on!!!"
The she-dog smirked and bolted off right behind him, running at full speed to try to catch up, tongue moving to hang from one side of her mouth.
Safi probably would have won, having speed and some size on his side. However, his very nature worked against him. Not far from the water's edge, his front paws managed to find the only patch of tough, exposed grass roots in the area. With a yelp, he rolled head over paws and stopped just short of the water, dazed from the unexpected tumble.
Perhaps any other dog might have stopped, worried, but Momo came from a rough and tumble bunch, such spills were very common and never harmful in her expereience, so she just howled victoriously as she raced right into the water up to her knees with mirth. "Ha ha! I win!" She beamed, coming back to the shore again to stand in front of him, leaning down so that they were almost eye to eye. Momo was still grinning.
Safi recovered from the daze to Momo's grinning face. "Heh...I lost, for sure." Ah well...other days. Shaking himself a little, he moved to bump noses with her. "I dub thee fastest wild dog on the savanna!" The golden dog chuckled and stood up. "Roots...the bane of all good racers."
Momo snickered, wiggling her nose briefly as she was moving back to give him room to stand.
"So, do I get some kind of prize for winning?" The female teased, nosing his neck before moving to half circle him and dip her head for a drink, tail swaying again.
"Hmmm..." Safi trotted to stand beside her, getting a drink of his own while he thought. What sort of thing did others like? Girl wild dogs in particular...Not finding anything in his mind to help him, he finished his drink and smiled at her.
"What sort of prize would you like?" It was a simple question, right?
Her tongue lapped away at the water for a few seconds longer as she thought over this. What a question! What should she ask for she wondered? Well, it had been a while since she actually got to hang out with another. Why not that?
Raising her head again from the water's edge having been twice as thirsty from her previous adventure-- "Hang out with me and play with me today." She grinned, seeming pleased with this prospect.
That settled, she thought, she moved further into the water to try to rise away some of the dirt and dust from her fur at last.
Safi smiled and nodded. "I can definitely do that!" It would be nice to just be around someone else for a day. Someone that wasn't family, but a friend of sorts. Even if it was only for a day...it would be nice. A welcome change to his life.
He followed her out into the water, relishing the feel of the liquid in his fur. "So, Momo...what do ya wanna do first?" The day was just beginning...and there was no way he was gonna let it go to waste!
