AIM LOG: xo -- k a i r i & _ p a o cx
Tarik lay sprawled out underneath the shade of a particularly large tree, happy to have found a place to rest even though night had already fallen. Somehow he'd stalled flying back up to the haven for several days now, admitting to only himself that he was too lazy to make the effort. It was probably because he'd been running into the most peculiar mortals during his extended stay. With a sigh the male rolled onto his back, eyes catching the familiar constellations that decorated the night sky. With that in sight he couldn't help but remember a certain lioness, and he smirked.
"Stupid game," he muttered to the passing breeze. "At least it keeps me entertained."
Night.
He hated it.
On one of his nightly strolls, in an attempt to prevent himself from falling asleep, Halali padded across the savannah, always making sure to remember which direction home was in. If he had to get home, he would need to know which was. The young cheetah sighed, pausing in his stroll to gaze up at the stars, frowning. There were so many - didn't they get lonely, being up there by themselves? Sighing, he cast his gaze back down, and frowned as he spotted the large shadow of someone under a nearby tree.
Sinking to the ground, he froze. What if it was a bad guy?
Being preoccupied with the little game he and Xina used to play, the diety didn't notice that there was someone approaching. That is, until he heard a faint thump from a distance. His ears twitched at the sound and he immediately was back on his stomach, staring curiously into the horizon. He tilted his head curiously and stood, making his over to where he thought the sound had come from. Though, as faint as it was he could've been a mile off. Usually he wouldn't bother, but the thump could really have been anything. An injured mortal, though, was what he was keeping a lookout for.
"Hello?" he called. "Anyone out here?"
Ack, it was coming towards him! Panicing, Hal whined softly, trying to shuffle backwards quietly. He...well, he failed. Shuffling and quietly don't go together too well. Trying to blend in with the ground was useless, with his dark coat and orange spots...and so, Halali instead jumped to his feet where he was, right in front of Tarik, attempting to growl in the most intimidating manner that he could muster.
It...wasn't very frightening.
"Go away!" he barked, baring his teeth, "Leave me alone!"
Tarik wasn't really surprised when a little cheetah popped out just a few feet in front of him, trying to look the part of an intimidating predator. The diety smirked and took a seat, happy to see that he wasn't dealing with someone who'd been injured. Just...a little mortal. He seemed pretty rude for one so young, though Tarik really wasn't one to say anything of that sort. When he was this cheetah's age he was ten times more rude. Which probably explained his lack of friends at the time.
"What if I say no?" he asked jokingly, wanting to other to relax. Simply put, he looked pretty silly trying to look scary. "I'm Tarik," the male said, wanting to sound as friendly as possible. "You are?"
He...didn't look scared? ...Why!? He was growling at him, he was supposed to be terrified! Trying to growl more, it failed, until Halali just gave up with a disgruntled huff. He glared at Tarik, rather grumpily, trying to stare him down now. But that didn't work, so he just flopped down onto the ground again with a sigh.
"Then...then you're a fat poo," was the only answer the cheetah could come up with in his sulky mood, "Halali."
A fat poo? Tarik chuckled at the young cheetah's words, shaking his head as an amused smile settled on his maw. "It's nice to meet you, Halali." The adolescent lifted his eyes again and looked around, waiting to see if an older cheetah would come after this little guy. After a moment of waiting he looked back at the young cheetah. "Are your parents around here somewhere?" he asked, genuinely worried. "Or are you lost or something?" There was a bit of him that couldn't but hope that he would answer 'no' to this question. The last thing he wanted to worry about was a little cheetah following him around.
His parents? Halali looked up to the lion, forehead creasing in a frown. Why did he want to know about his parents? ...He wasn't gonna hurt Momma, was he!? Hal growled softly, but finding himself rather sleepy, it soon tapered off, and he merely shrugged. "Somewhere - I'm just walking for I don't fall asleep." Because falling asleep was very, very bad. Bad things happened when you slept.
"I'm not lost," he spoke, answering the question in a tone that suggested that that subject of conversation was finished. Family was boring to talk about, anyway.
He seemed pretty sure that he wasn't lost, so Tarik let the subject go. It really wasn't his problem anyway, and he inwardly sighed when the cub answered thusly. "I see," he said, sounding fairly relieved. "Well then what brings you out here at this hour?" he asked, knowing full well that most parents wouldn't let their kids wander around this late. Not that he knew that by experience, mind you, but he'd spoken with enough parents to know.
"If you're on your way home maybe I can walk with you? Like I said, it's pretty late. You're a pretty easy target for a group of hungry hyenas, so it's best you have someone older with you, don't you think?"
Halali struggled to his feet, swaying sleepily from side to side as he blinked his heavy eyelids. He needed to get home - Momma would wake soon, and be worried if he wasn't there. Why was this weird lion wanting to know so much about him, anyway? Narrowing his eyes, Halali studied Tarik carefully, slowly beginning to back away. He was a bad guy! He was just acting friendly to lul Hal into a false sense of security!
And...and he wanted him to lead him back to his family!?
Halali growled, this time more ferociously as he skidded backwards, hissing. "Stay away! I won't let you hurt them!"
And next thing you knew...he was gone. Racing off back to the den.
Tarik was a bit surprised when the cheetahs yelled at the top of his lungs before hurrying off. Blinking away the strange encounter, Tarik slowly made his way back to where he'd been resting not too long ago. "Strange little guy," he muttered as he lay his head down to finally get some rest. "Oh well. At least he got a sense of urgency. Hopefully he hurried home." With that being his final thought Tarik finally managed to fall asleep, murmuring something about cubs being a world of trouble.
