Hop. Hop. Hop.
She liked hopping. But then she was a bunny, so she was supposed to hop! Niamh giggled gleefully in a rather high-pitched voice, hopping through the thick vegetation, having to kick hard in order to propel herself over the thick bushes and plants. But it was like a game! Higher and higher became the bushes, and she wanted to see how far she could go before getting stuck! Another hard kick to the ground and she leapt over another, the bottom just brushing her stomach, causing her to curl into a ball with giggles at the ticklish sensation, landing rather harder on the ground that she'd expected.
Niamh squeaked loudly, but uncurled, and was unhurt - just sore. She whined softly, suddenly not wanting to jump about anymore. She didn't like getting hurt. It wasn't nice.
Kipepo wasn't hunting, for once. She'd been given a day off, and Fu had been given the task of providing food for the evening. This gave Kipepo a chance to wander and explore her surroundings, but further out than she'd previously been allowed to, as a youngster. She'd ventured to the thick vegetation on the edge of the grasslands today, curious as to what creatures and plants lived in such a place. Sniffing her way through the bushes and trees and plants cautiously, she made to put her foot down in one of the rare fee spaces of dirt, only to suddenly find it occupied by a small, predominantly black shape.
Pulling her paw back, not wanting to squish it, Kipepo instead found another space for it, lowering her head to sniff it. It looked...fluffy. How odd.
"DON'T STEP ON ME!" came the small hare's desperate cry, as she looked up only to find a huge blue paw bearing down on her, about to squish her tiny body into a pile of...what would it be? Would she just be a pretty colourful pile like her fur, or...? Luckily enough it seemed it wouldn't be needed, as the large monster had noticed her anyway. But oh, it wasn't a monster! It was a pretty blue cheetah, with a pretty face-mask-marking! Niamh gazed up with awe-filled, wide eyes, mouth hanging open slightly.
"You're face is so prettyyyy~!" she squeaked, in her signature high-pitched voice.
Oh, it was alive? The blue cheetah female heard a rather high-pitched...well, it was a squeal, really. She blinked down, suddenly realizing it was alive - now she looked more closely, she could make out two little ears, and a little nose. And two shining eyes. But how was that possible - she was so tiny! Kipepo hadn't thought it was possible to get hares that small! "Hello, little one," she cooed, unable to do anything but patronize the small hare. She was just so cute!
"Awww, thank you!" she responsed, touched by the compliment, "You're colours are very pretty - I like your green spots!"
Niamh blinked several times, ears lifting from where they'd been, flat against her head, as she tilted her head to the left a little as she gazed at Kipepo in silent for several moments, before breaking into a sweet smile, eyes closed with the force of the smile. "Thank you! I'm Niamh! Niamh Niamh Niamh Niamh Niamh! What's your name, pretty cheetah-lady?"
This little darling was just so adorable! Kipepo couldn't help but smile at the small hare's presence, her maw curved upwards in a warm, genuine smile that just wouldn't go away. Not that she minded - this was a nice change to those nasty visions she occasionally got. She reached out a paw, ruffling the hare's head fondly, before placing her paw back on the bare ground it came from.
"I'm Kipepo. Ki - Pe - Po. What're you doing out here all alone, Niamh?"
She liked the pretty cheetah lady's smile. It was pretty. Pretty pretty pretty. ...Wait she was repeating herself! Momma told her not to do that! Shaking her head, before suddenly stopping as she realized her head was being ruffled, Niamh instead resumed her adorable smiling, eyes closed once again. If she could, she would've been purring, quite content to be petted. But then it was over and her eyes opened again, looking up to Kipepo expectantly. "Ohhh, that's a pretty name! Niamh likes that name, yes she does! And I'm not alone! Momma's...somewhere. Over there. But I'm a big girl, I can handle myself, yes Niamh can!"
The young hare seemed to enjoy the petting, but Kipepo didn't want to continue, afraid she might squish her. It was harder to balance on three limbs than she'd thought it would be, and she was so afraid of squashing her new friend - she was just so tiny! So instead she smiled, nodding her gratitude for the second compliment, before raising her eyebrows, partially in surprise and partially to react in the way she thought Niamh would like. "Oh really? You're a big girl, huh? You don't look very big to me!"
Niamh continued watching Kipepo with awe and wonder, amazed at how a cheetah could be so pretty and nice and amazing and...nice. Had she thought that already? Ah well, it didn't matter! Bouncing a little on the spot, having too much energy stored in her to just be sitting still, Niamh began speaking again, but co-ordinated her speaks, so every time she jumped she squeaked out a word, "I'm...not...small! I'm...just...slightly...smaller...than...average!"
The tiny hare beginning to bounce surprised Kipepo at first, before she suddenly realized - wait, Niamh was a hare. Hares were supposed to bounce. She should've seen that coming. That was probably how she'd gotten to where she was right now, rather than crawling under it all. Unable to stop herself, Kipepo giggled as the youngster began speaking, but only speaking a word when she bounced, meaning it took her a few moments to speak the whole sentence. Once she was sure the hare had no more to say, Kipepo replied,
"Okay, okay! I believe you. Now, would you like some help getting home, or are you alright on your own?"
Kipepo her giggling - her new friend liked her bouncing! Niamh liked it when others smiled and laughed, it showed they were happy, and being happy was much nicer than being sad. Niamh didn't like it when others were sad. And she really didn't like it when she was sad. So, if her bouncing was making Kipepo happy, she'd keep it up! She wasn't getting tired, so it was fine. Niamh smiled, although it was probably difficult to see due to her constant motion. "I'll...be...fine...thank...you!"
Then she suddenly stopped bouncing, a sad expression on her face, ears drooping down the side of her face, bottom lip quivering as a threat to cry, "Is...is Kipepo leaving?"
...Oh dear. She had been planning to leave, yes, but she didn't know now. She didn't want to upset the poor thing, and her face looked so sad...Kipepo didn't want to make such a cute hare sad! But she really should be getting back, it was dark...
"Yes, I am, Niamh," she began, quickly continuing, "But we'll meet again, right? I'll promise if you do!"
"Meet again?" Niamh repeated, tilting her head to the left, warning signs gone...for now. And for good, apparently, when a bright smile lit up the young hare's face, as she once again took up bouncing, smiling again as she attempted to wave whilst bouncing. It...didn't go well, so she gave up, content with just bouncing. "Okay! I'll...see...you...soon...Kipepo!"
Kipepo smiled. Nice save. She waved to the small hare, feeling she should give her a hug...but Niamh seemed happy to be bouncing, and she didn't want to interrupt her. So instead she merely nodded, before turning and jogging off back in the direction she'd came. What a cute little hare she'd met!
"Byeeeeee!" Niamh called after her new friend. She continued bouncing for a long while after Kipepo had left her view, before her energy finally began to lapse and she stopped, only t resume again as she bounced her way back home.
