It was raining.

But strangely enough, Taku didn't mind. He'd grown a lot since he was younger, and whilst he still wasn't fond of water, it wasn't like he could really avoid rain. Large bodies of water such as the sea scared him still, since he could still drown there. But small droplets of rain...he didn't mind them as much anymore. The lion smiled as he walked across the savannah, coat plastered to his skin by the rain, as he realized just how much she'd grown. Both physically, and mentally.

He now towered over his twin sister instead of being roughly the same height as her, and took great glee in teasing her about it. Glancing around, Takuma frowned - he should really find Amanzi. But right now, he was searching for Kari... the lionness had annoyed him when they'd first met, but by the time he'd left he'd felt quite...attached to her. She was sweet, underneath her fiery exterior. A little like him.

Swatting his drenched mane from his eyes so he could see better, the lion continued forwards, in search of the Kusini'mwezi lands.


Black clouds were rolling in from the silhouettes of mountains in the distance. Their deep roars were soft, but threatening, and growing closer.

Sellion stood still, head pointed to the sky, eyes wide and mouth agape. Rain landed on his tongue and pooled on his face, streaming into his eyes. It was by no means a downpour of rain; more like a light, sporadic drizzle. Yet the farther he walked, the harder the rain seemed to get. He walked and walked, all the while staring up at the sky with his mouth open, and the rain got harder and hard. Soon, he was wondering if he was actually controlling the level of rain. Perhaps his demonic powers were so strong that he could influence the weather? That would be delicious...

Before he had much time to dwell on that subject, he slipped in a slick patch of mud and landed hard on his chin. He remained motionless on his belly, face-down. Rain poured on top of him and chilled his blood, making him cold. Finally, the cheetah jumped to his feet, mud covering his underbelly. He shook himself, mud and rain flying off of his coat...

...And all over a lion.

Sellion blinked and stared.


What was that? There was something walking towards him, in the distance - a dark shape, but with pathes of bright colour? He soon realized it was a cheetah, frowning as he sidestepped so Sellion wouldn't run into him. The cheetah was looking at the sky, and wasn't concentrating at all on where he was going, or who he might run into.

And then he slipped and fell into a patch of mud.

Taku snorted, finding this quite amusing as he took a step forwards, lowering his head as if to ask if the cheetah was alright. He was a little motionless - maybe he'd actually hurt himself? Oh, but then he jumped to his feet again, causing Taku to shuffle backwards a little which a grin. Who was this guy? He seemed a little...odd.

And then, suddenly, Taku was the one covered in mud. "I...HEY!" he roared, face quickly turning from one of amusement to one of anger, "Watch it, moron!"


Sellion spit mud and water out of his mouth to the side, never taking his pink eyes off the male lion in front of him. The roar would've been enough to make anyone else get their claws out or wince, but Sellion was not "anyone else".

"Moron." he repeated, staring. "Moron, moron, moron, moron, moron..." he echoed blankly, over and over again, rolling the unfamiliar word off of his tongue. What did it mean? It sounded exquisite...Like a...Like a magic spell.

Like a demonic chant.

So Sellion continued to say the word over and over again, staring at the lion all the while.


What?

Takuma was confused, now. Had he said something wrong? He hadn't expected the cheetah to repeat his words, much less over and over and over and over... Was he ever going to stop, actually? Getting irritated far too quickly, Takuma took a step back, before growling softly, the growl slowly beginning to grow deeper until he finally snapped, flashing his teeth at Sellion. "Shut UP!"


Sellion immediately shut up after being ordered to. But why had he shut up? Moreover, why had he been asked to shut up? Perhaps that demonic chant was not meant for him to use...Or perhaps it wasn't a demonic chant at all. A demonic chant came from the soul wthin; it came from one's own dark mind. Of course, of course, of course...He had to make his OWN demonic chant. He couldn't go around stealing the chants of others. Besides, if one used someone's demonic chant, it had no power.

Whether or not any of that was true, or all made up on the spot, no one could say. But it all made perfect sense to Sellion.

"Ahhh, I apologize." Sellion said after a moment. He bowed elegantly, giving a rare display of the good manners and etiquette he was taught as a cub. "I did not mean to upset you, fellow demon." he said gleefully, moving back into a standing pose and grinning at the lion. He held back a shiver that threatened to run down his spine.

Demon lions were so thrilling...


...He shut up?

Taku blinked, slightly surprised that the cheetah had shut up when asked. He soon composed himself, though, giving a small nod to show that he was pleased his demands had been met. And even an apology? Taku smiled - he was impressed. maybe now that the cheetah had gotten the crazy out of his system they could chat and even make friends with each other...

Demon? What in Africa was a demon? Weren't those evil things? Taku's forehead furrowed in confused as he watched the cheetah carefully, paws ready to flee should he need to. This cheetah seemed a little...mentally unstable? Was that the right word? ...Words?

"I'm not a demon," Taku stated quite plainly, shrugging a little, "I'm just a...lion?"


Ears perking at the sentence, Sellion blinked and his eyes hardened with confusion.

Wasn't a demon? Wasn't? Why not? He did demon chants...Hmm...Looking at him, he didn't look like a demon lion. His colors were light. Yet there was some familiar color on him that made him think of demons...The color of his markings...He had seen that color before. But where? Hmm. Hmm.

Oh, well.

"Not?" Sellion echoed, frowning with furrowed brows. "Then why does your soul possess a demonic chant?" he asked, curling his lip.

Maybe this demon lion was just being coy and didn't want others to know he was a demon. A demon lion living in secrecy...Heeheheeeee...What a wonderful thought. What chaos was this demon lion planning? It was all nearly too much to THINK about.


Now the cheetah was looking at him. And he was feeling a little uncomfortable. Taku frowned, slowly beginning to fidget a little more, and a little more, and even a little more, until he got to the point where he just wanted to blurt something else. Oh, but then the cheetah spoke anyway, seeming surprised that he wasn't a demon? Of course he wasn't a demon, that such a stupid thing! Who on earth still believed that demons were real!?

"It wasn't a demon chant! It was just...a word! A word to tell you you're stupid!" Taku insisted with another growl, getting annoyed now. he didn't have time for this - he had to go find Kari!


"Righhhhht," Sellion said slyly, smiling with narrowed eyes.

So this demon was hiding amongst mortals, pretending not to be a demon. What a joyous task. In some ways, Sellion envied him. It would be impossible for the cheetah to live undercover for the pure joy and chaos of it, because he was so demonic that you could tell what he was from a glance.

At least, in his mind that was true.

Sellion let the demon lion's insults roll off like water on a duck's back. After all, he didn't really mean them. Demons looked out for each other, after all. So Sellion smiled politely, not at all feeling threatened or "stupid" as the lion had called him.

Then he grinned deviously, rain water rolling off his white teeth. "Is there anything I can do to aid you in your dem--secret quest?" he asked.


Ugh, why wouldn't this crazy cheetah believe him!? 'Cause he was sure of that, now - this cheetah was certainly crazy. Taku growled, claws scratching lightly against the ground in annoyance and irritation as he contemplated attacking this cheetah - he was fully grown now. And adult. He had far more of a chance than he would have ever had before.

But he didn't have time to fight! Kari would be waiting! Ignoring any mentions of quests, Taku snarled, "You're crazy!", before dashing off, racing towards the jungles that bordered the Kusini'mwezi lands.