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 Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 1:11 pm
 It was late in the afternoon, but the evening twilight had not come just yet. The sun had not even begun to set yet. Usually at the end of the day things get more quiet and peaceful but not here. The jungle would get even more noisy as the creatures of the night awoke.
But for Sumati it was time to return home. Not that he really needed to, he had a couple of more hours before it would begin to get dark. He just had nothing interesting to do and had decided to return to the den early for once. Tough he did so slowly, enjoying his walk. Because once the sun would start to set the fireflies would come out and he really enjoyed watching them. And chasing them, he was a young cheetah boy after all. He really liked their colorfulness and bright light.
And so he trudged along at a steady pace, not in a hurry to get anywhere.
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Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2009 10:15 am
Kipepo herself was wandering the Achana borders, occasionally pausing to play with an interesting pebble, or roll around in the dirt like a cheetah enjoyed doing. Today had been a good day - only one vision, and that had been hours ago. Whilst that might mean that another was due anytime now, she for now enjoyed the blissful time she has without them. Her mother had told her of the pride near here, and told her not to venture into their lands - more out of courtesy than out of fear for her cub's safety. The Achana weren't a violent pride, and wandering into their borders wasn't a danger - especially not to a mere cub like Kipepo.
Or at least, that was what she'd been told. For all she knew, they could be cub-killers, who murdered any cub they found! It was unlikely, though, the cheetah cub chuckling to herself at the thought as she continued along the border, face to the ground, watching as she put one foot in front of the other.
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 10:24 am
Sumati reached a fallen tree and a quick look around told him he couldn't go around it. He could get stuck in the branches if he tried to go over it, so he had to crawl under it. That wasn't hard and in seconds he appeared on the other side, covered in dirt and tree bark he had scraped off unintentionally.
Sumati shook his fur clean of them and was about to walk away, but something stopped him. He looked back at the tree and decided to climb on one of it's thicker branches - it would give him a wonderful view of his surroundings. And so he did. The view was indeed beautiful but that was not what caught his attention. He saw another cheetah cub, a little younger than him by the looks of it. But he didn't know this cub. "Hello!" He called loudly. "Who are you?"
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 8:14 am
Wha? Who, where, what? Shouts of greeting met Kipepo's ears, the pale cheetah cub glancing around, pivoting on her paws in an attempt to find the source of the sound. But...she found none! Was it a ghost? She growled softly, a warning that came to her instinctively, before she suddenly looked up, dark eyes shining as she spotted the blue cheetah in the trees - well, he didn't exactly blend in. Blinking once, then twice, she snorted a little - she'd known he was up there all along. Yep.
"I'm Kipepo - who're you?" she responded, voicing her question in a somewhat accusing tone.
Oh, it seemed she wasn't too happy to see him. It wasn't a very good start. However, Sumati pretended he didn't notice her grumpiness and smiled charmingly. "Nice to meet you, Kipepo. I'm Sumati." He decided it was kind of rude to be staring at her from above like that, so he climbed down. "What are you doing out here all alone?"
Kipepo backed away a little as Sumati removed himself from the tree, keeping herself a fair distance away. Mamma had always said not to trust strangers - and this boy was pretty strange. Although his blue was pretty - pretty just like her. Although he didn't have her mask, and Kipepo liked her mask best. ...Sumati? She hadn't heard that name before. Hmm - perhaps she should make an effort to remember it.
"I'm exploring, of course. Why, what's it to you?" she replied a little harshly, shooting him an irritated look as she walked past him, lowering her nose to a pretty blue flower and sniffing it with appreciation.
"Nothing. It's just that it's getting a little late. Mom says little cubs shouldn't be wandering alone at this time." He said with a shrug. "I haven't seen you 'round here before, so I just thought you might be lost or something." That and he was rather thrilled to meet a new face. Sumati loved meeting new people and living in a pride in such a remote location, with heavily guarded borders made it rather hard.
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 8:20 am
"I'm not little!" Kipepo growled, rounding on Sumati with bared teeth. She remained tense that way for several moments, before snorting as she relaxed, going back to inspecting the pretty flower in front of her. She liked it - maybe she should take it home to Momma? Pretending to ignore Sumati didn't seem to be working too well, though, as she listened to what he said through curiosity, even if she didn't want to.
"I'm not lost, either. I know exactly where I am!" she spoke, although it wasn't entirely truthful. She didn't really know where she was - but she knew roughly? She knew you had to go past the super-big tree, and past a few more bushes onto the savannah, and from there you could see the top of the large rock behind which her family was denned.
'Uh, bad move.' Sumati thought as he stepped back. Kipepo wasn't like any of his Achana friends. Which made her all the more interesting. That in turn made him feel stupid for upsetting her like that. He should be a little more careful about what he said to her.
"Oh, well, that's good for you." He said with a small smile. Wondering what to say next, he averted his eyes to a bird that flew above them. After a moment he looked back at the other blue cheetah and shifted uncomfortably before asking "So, um, do you want some company? I could show you some pretty interesting places around here."
He stepped back - good! That meant he was, like, afraid of her! Enjoying this new 'power', Kipepo turned, walking past Sumati again, heading for a bush of berries this time. She sniffed them cautiously, before sticking out her tongue to swallow one, then another, then another. Ooo - juicy. They were tasty!
"Company?" she repeated, turning around to watch Sumati at last, licking the berry-juice from her lips. The mention of interesting places piqued her interest, though, Kipepo narrowing her gaze to look at him closely. "...What kind of interesting places?"
"Well, um," Sumati wondered what would be the best place to show her at this time. "Well, there's this cave my auntie Sam showed me..."
Kipepo watched him closely, almost a little boredly. It had better be a very interesting cave.. "Are there bats?" she asked, almost a little eagerly. She'd heard of bats, but never seen one before!
"Oh, no, no bats. Me and my brothers use it as a secret headquarters, of sirts. But it's really pretty during the day, when there's more sunlight. I guess it might get too dark by the time we get there." He looked around, thinking of al the other places he and the other pride cubs played, wondering which one would be best. A firefly caught his eyes and he grinned when he thought of the perfect place.
"I know! There's this spring where most of the fireflies gather in the evening. It looks really nice when they fly around and the water reflects them."
Kipepo's face drooped a little - bummer. She'd wanted bats. Disinterested all of a sudden she turned away, only to spot a firefly. And it was so pretty! She took a step forwards, raising a paw to bat at it, before Sumati's words distracted her once again And it was about more of these pretty fireflies? Kipepo's eyes sparkled in excitement as she nodded, taking a step towards him.
"Yes, yes - take me there!"
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 8:25 am
'Yes!' Sumati mentally cheered, grinning widely. "Okay, this way!" He said and led her towards the most dense part of the jungle. Thankfully, the thick growth still let trough enough light so the two cubs wouldn't be tripping in the darkness. Soon the sound of water reached their ears. Pausing in his tep briefly, Sumati turned to Kipepo. "We're here. It's just behind that bush."
It was like a really small waterfall, surrounded by a stone wall on one side. It formed a small pool and many different plants and colorful flowers covered the rocks around it. And best of all, many fireflies, some in stranger colors than others, were buzzing over the pool. The reflections of the water on the stone wall combined with their light created a very beautiful effect.
Kipepo bounded after Sumati, having to bound and jump in order to keep up with him, especially since he was a little larger and older than her. The light filtered through the leaves, in a rather pretty way - it made the vegetation seem dappled and spotty. The sound of water excited her, as did the knowledge that they were there.
Her eyes sparkled at the sight. It was...amazing. Beautiful! She gasped excitedly, taking a step forwards before halting herself, not wanting to disturb the beauty of it. "It's...it's gorgeous..."
Sumati watched Kipepo's excitement with a smile. He let her enjoy the sight for a while before speaking quietly, so he wouldn't disturb the fireflies. "I knew you'd like it. It's a special place."
Sitting down, he turned his attention back to the flashing insects. "Me and the other Achana cubs often come here just to watch them. Especially when we've played tag all day!" He chuckled.
She had to lean a little closer to Sumati, in order to hear him. She couldn't help but smile a little, though. He was right - it was a really special place. Maybe...maybe he wasn't as bad as she'd first thought. This was pretty cool, after all.
Achana? She turned to him with interest, frowning. "You're in the Achana? That's the hybrid place, right?" she asked, in the same hushed voice he'd used. Her eyes soon wandered back to the fireflies, though, mesmerized by the beautiful sight. "It really is beautiful, though. I can see why."
"Yup. My mom joined them right before I was born." He replied quietly. She knew about his home, that was good. "It's a really fun place, you can meet all kinds of creatures there. And they protect us cubs really well." The guards were constantly patrolling the borders and Sumati sometimes had a chat with them while exploring.
"Mhm." He nodded. "It's a great way to relax before going home. It's a long walk." As he was talking, Sumati noticed a firefly was flying very close to him. He stilled not wanting to scare it away and the small bright light settled on his nose. He stared at it with surprise, not sure what to do.
Kipepo watched Sumati with interest now, eyes wide as she listened. Protect cubs really well. She snorted a little, suppressing a giggle. "My Mama protects me and my siblings well enough~ We don't need fancy guards and stuff."
Relaxing was gooood, though. Kipepo purred a little as she stretched her front legs out, followed by her back and then her hind legs. Flopping onto the ground she laid down, watching Sumati with amusement as a firefly landed on his nose. She giggled at his expression, rolling over onto her back playfully. "You look silly!"
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 8:27 am
Sumati rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but some cubs don't have parents to protect them. And it's good to have someone help you." He retorted. "We're like a biiiiig family. Everyone helps out how they can."
Sumati watched Kipepo from the corner of his eye. He didn't say anything at first, but soon his nose became very itchy. "I feel silly, too." He said finally, making the bug fly away. He rubbed his nose with his paw and then laid next to Kipepo.
"What is your family like? Does your mom take care of you on her own or d you have a dad too?"
Big family? Well, wasn't that the point of a pride? Kipepo didn't say anything, though, instead just laying there on her back, watching Sumati whilst giggling a little uncontrollable. A rather disappointed "Awww..." escaped her maw when the firefly finally left, but as Sumati sat next to her she rolled back over onot her front, watching his with bright eyes and a smile.
"No, I've got a Mama and a Papa. And then there's my brother and my two sisters. And then I've got lots and lots of older brothers and sisters who I don't see as much. How about you?"
"One boy and two girls?" Sumati let out a small laugh. 'Your brother has it hard." He couldn't imagine what would it be like to have no other boys to play with.
"I have just my mom. And my two brothers, but I guess I already said that." Sumati said with a small smile. "I don't have any older brothers and sisters, but I have my auntie Toh Ni and uncle Huang. We are not really related, though." He explained. They were close friends of Isikali, but not actual relatives. "Auntie is a hybrid and uncle is a lion, but we are really close." As close as they were though, Sumati saw them rarely as of late. They were very busy with running the pride.
"One boy and three girls," she corrected with a grin, wiggling her butt a little playfully. Kicheko didn't seem to mind much - she'd never thought about how it must be boring for him sometimes.
"No sisters? Weird~" she thought out loud, frowning at his explanation. If they weren't related then they weren't really his aunt and uncle, qwere they? ...Sumati was confusing her a littl,e, but once again she chose not to pursue the issue. Looking to the sky, she wrinkling her nose. It was getting dark. "...I should go. Mama will be worried."
"Er..oops?" Sumati looked really embarassed. He didn't like looking stupid. Especially in front of girls as of late.
"Not really..." He wasn't really surprised she thought so. He was living in a pride with many families while she and her family were rogues. "Oh, okay." Sumati was a little disappointed she had to go already. "I suppose I should show you the way back. I don't want you to get lost in this jungle because of me." Sumati got up and stretched his legs and body. With one final look at the fireflies, he began leading Kipepo out of the jungle.
End
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