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 Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 10:25 pm
It seemed like a good idea at the time.
It surprised even Fenja that she hadn’t learned how those words were so often the prelude to trouble. Well, it was too late now.
It had been a while since she’d seen a river. A real river, deep and dark, with running fresh water and not just some muddy barely drinkable water hole. She hadn’t been able to resist. One nice swim and she’d be on her way soon enough. Of course things never quite go as planned, do they? Fenja loved to swim. Even though it wasn’t a particularly hot day, the cool water was refreshing and pleasant to the skin and she was reluctant to leave. It started raining. Fenja submerged her head to hear the sound of the raindrops hitting the surface, laughing and twirling underwater much like an inexperienced cub who finds a new wonder in the world.
And then it wasn’t fun anymore. The sun dropped on the horizon, the wind picked up and the moon rose slowly in the sky. But the rain didn’t stop. The water grew dark and uninviting. Fenja started feeling cold and decided it was time to go back to her journey, cursing herself for not leaving when the weather was more suitable for a wet coat.
Only she couldn’t. The river bank was steep and muddy. Fenja tried climbing dozens of times and every single time she found herself sliding back down. With the current threatening to dangerously carry her body downstream, Fenja put all her efforts into on final attempt at freedom, muffling a roar as she leaped out of the water. One step, two steps… slide. Muddy paws betrayed her in the end and she dropped again. Thankfully, she managed to find a rocky support so even though her lower half was underwater, her position was somewhat stable. The bright lioness shone in the midst of the dark mud that surrounded her as she grabbed a small root for added support and waited for her strength to return, panting a little as she tried to come up with a better plan.
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Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 10:57 pm
 Night. It was a calming thing, Baride found. His dark pelt blended into the grasses, bright salmon eyes piercing the night. The cheetah seemed to glide through the grasses, too absorbed in his own thoughts to even think to worry about any possible dangers.. Any who assaulted him would regret the encounter in the end, anyhow. This new pride.. A dangerous thing to his siblings, but something that they all seemed to love so much.. and so, he tagged along, watching over, cutting down trouble before it could become a bother. He couldn't shake the feeling that his brother, Nanashi, who had brought them there would eventually regret it.. But, as unlikely as it was, he might be wrong.
The cheetah had been in the middle of his ponderings when a rather loud noise shook his ear. Scrapings, muffled growls, slight roars, and then a chorus of panting filled the air.. Very near the river, if he was not mistaken.. And he usually wasn't. Of all the things that Baride lacked, curiosity was far from one of them. Even the cold cheetah, renowned for his endless politeness, and less known for the vicious streak he prudently kept hidden, could not refuse the bait of such odd sounds. His near perfectly silent steps brought him to the edge, the crown of the river bank before it dropped at a steep, and muddy, slope.
It was a long moment before he spotted her. The pale lioness was near covered in mud, clinging desperately to a rock and root. It was not enough to pull a laugh from the cheetah's maw, but it did earn a slight, pitying smile. "...It would seem that someone has gotten themselves into quite a bit of trouble.." His voice lacked a typical warmth, though its politeness was the most notable thing of the tone. Typically, a lion in distress (it was rather doubtful that he would care whether it was a male or female) would have been cause for a passing glance and no more.. But there was a sparkle to her that caught his eye. Actually, it was the sparkle of her eyes that did so. While he could see little of the pale, mud-coated pelt, the lioness's eyes certainly were beautiful, a word that hardly ever crossed Baride's mind, except to say that something was not...
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Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 11:52 pm
Fenja wasn’t exactly pessimistic – as so many do, she liked to consider herself realistic - but when the cold voice reached her ears, the lioness wasn’t thrilled. That didn’t sound like someone who was coming to help… it more closely resembled someone who was about to throw a bit of mud in her face to see if she’d fall.
She felt a little too vulnerable and rather annoyed as the male talked about her situation like someone who is casually discussing the weather but she wouldn’t risk driving her only potential help away by being impolite.
“So it would seem…” she shook the mud off her face to get a better look at her company. Dark grey. Or was it blue? She couldn’t tell. Beautiful eyes… pink. Cheetah. She usually liked cheetahs but she wasn’t too sure about this fellow. Still, a small smile formed as her expression lightened. “I don’t suppose you can give me a little help here...?”
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Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 6:00 pm
Baride thought for a long moment. The mud would pull him in with nothing else to grip to. Not to mention the fact that even the slight lioness probably out-weighed him. The math was simple, and quick. If he moved to help, he would be sucked down as well, and Baride could hardly say he was fond of mud. "..No, sorry." His prompt and polite tone made it seem as if she had asked if he might have a pen.
Seeming rather oblivious, the cheetah laid perpendicular to the bank, peering down to the jeweled eyes. He watched the colors dance, completely blind to the lioness's expression. "You have some beautiful eyes, though." His eyes near closed in a smile, a genuine thing that was rare for the cheetah.. It quite simply would be a shame if the lioness wouldn't be able to make her way out...
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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 1:36 pm
What? That was quick… and cold.
“Why thank you, that’s a nice thought to carry with me… as I drown.” She sounded polite almost happy at first but the last words were full of bitter sarcasm. She seemed to regret it though because she lifted one of her back paws and made a little effort to slowly get her rump to break the water’s edge. Her wet clean tail waved as she tried to balance herself. “My eyes are the same the same color as most of my coat you know…“ Fenja never thought of them as anything special. It was her coat that usually got all the attention.
The lioness was aware that there wasn’t much anyone could really do to help her at this point though. It’s not like she expected him to jump into the water and serve as a base to propel her up (though it would be nice if he’d at least offered it). But she could definitely use a few words of comfort as she was getting increasingly annoyed and tired (and scared). It wasn’t helping that her only company wasn’t looking the least bit worried. The paw she had lifted suddenly slid down and she almost fell from the rock under her other paw. Grabbing the root with her maw again, the bright lioness struggled a little to get back into a safe position before finally settling again, a light shiver racing through her body.
“Man, it’s cold.” She didn’t look up this time. She looked a little more concerned with not falling now. “Would it really hurt you just to show a little concern?”
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Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 6:35 pm
Baride seemed to regard things for a moment, once again running his salmon eyes over the scene. "It very well might." His voice held its same even tone, regarding her and her situation as unfortunate, though not entirely worth any prolonged investment. "Any sort of investment of emotion will quickly lead to frustration when the already evident is realized, that I cannot help you, due to your bulk and the slippery slope, and then to panic, followed by self doubt and guilt. All of which are rather undesirable in their entirety." The cheetah ran his mind over his words, as if checking over. They seemed wordy now that he relayed them in his own ears. "..Would you rather have someone observing who is a panicking idiot, or someone who is calm enough to actually find a solution?" The cheetah wasn't sure when he had decided to help, and in truth he wasn't sure he would help at all, but he could at least look for an option. Despite his coldness, the cheetah did have conscience, and leaving the lion here would impact him in some way or another. He settled on his belly in the grass, paws almost daintily crossed before him as he looked over the edge. "You would have a better hold if you moved a foot or so to your right. It seems the mud has washed down to the bedrock of the river."
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Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 10:09 pm
Fenja snorted when he spoke, finding his small speech almost as tiring as her previous efforts to return to safety. Normally she would find his words and seriousness amusing and come up with witty retorts but under the current circumstances – when she considered herself to be in great danger - they annoyed her greatly.
“Well, if those were my only choices, I suppose I’d rather have the second.” She eyed the cheetah suspiciously when he lowered his body but the suspicion quickly gave way to a rather aggravated expression when he seemed to make himself oh-so-comfortable. Fenja was going to snap at him as soon as she found mean enough words but the lioness failed to find ones that accurately described her fury and the dark cheetah spoke again cutting her off rather effectively.
“Heh?” Was he… helping her? She was surprised he actually bothered enough to even consider a solution as he’d put it. Fenja allowed herself to be fair for a moment. Despite his words and cold demeanor, he was still here. He hadn’t left her – a complete stranger - alone. And he was even sharing helpful thoughts with her. In a slight delayed response, the bright lioness followed the cheetah’s suggestion and immediately felt a little steadier. “Like this…? Yes, it’s better. Not as slippery.”
She wondered the new-found support would be enough to serve as a base for the lioness to use as she propelled herself up. The less muddy area seemed just a little out of reach if she got a lucky jump.
“Is there anything around that we could use?” A big fallen branch, maybe? Hopefully? The didn't even notice she'd used "we" instead of "I".
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Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 9:22 pm
Baride took a moment to peer about, searching for something that the two of them could use. If the lioness could propel herself using some added traction, then perhaps he could be of help. He could not physically lift her, of course, but maybe he could give the leverage she needed. Soon, a branch caught his eye as it hang rather precariously from a tree. Without a word, he trotted over to the tree, leaving the lioness to her bedrock--if only for a moment.
The cheetah lighted onto the first cleft of the tree, wedging his nimble paws in the dissection of two limbs. Soon his small paws had carried him to the edge of the broken branch. Thankfully, it had not yet begun to rot, so it readily supported the male's weight. Almost danitily, Baride placed his forepaws on the end of the dangling branch, heaving his slight weight until the last fiber snapped, and the branch fell. Of course, he himself did not fall, but rather jumped, and lighted beautifully on the ground. It was hardly another second before the male again appeared at the edge of the river, and a medium sized branch began to peek over the edge to work its way down. When it was at a satisfactory level, the cheetah held it under his paws. "Will this do well enough?" Though it was a question, there was something in his tone that said that this was about as good as the female was going to get..
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Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 1:18 pm
The bright lioness’ chest tightened when the cheetah disappeared from view as she was perhaps underestimating just how comforting it was to have some company during this difficult time. For a while she couldn’t hear much beside the sound of the raging wind and the tree branches that swayed in a violent dance to its tune.
“Hey, are you still ther-…?” her words were cut short as Fenja heard something crack and then fall. Concerned, she was going to ask if the cheetah was alright but almost instantly the dark shape returned, this time pushing a branch in her direction. He probably wouldn’t be able to pull her up if she were to grab the end of the branch so it seemed he meant to give her some support. This time Fenja couldn’t possibly be the least bit upset regarding his tone. He had probably just given her a way out of the mess she’d so carelessly gotten herself into. “I think so. Yes, it will do nicely.” Or so she hoped.
The lioness braced herself for a few moments as she searched for the proper mindset to try the little stunt. Yes, she could do it. The edge was within her grasp now and it would take but a small effort on her part to reach it. Yes, she could it.
Her muscles tensed as she readied herself for the jump. Suddenly her back paws used the meager support to propel the lioness’ body upward. Her front paws met the muddy surface once and pushed hard and when her back paws touched the ground again, they found a rough surface instead of the slippery doom that had forced her down before. She kicked the branch hard, thankful that that the solemn cheetah still seemed to be holding the other end and jumped to the side as she landed heavily and ungracefully right on the edge, the deep breath that Fenja hadn’t noticed she’d been holding suddenly coming out. Safe. At last.
---------------------------------
It was finally over. Baride wasn’t particularly good company but Fenja stayed with him for a little while out of gratitude and politeness. It wouldn’t be nice to just ditch him after he’d just saved her life, right? They had an awkward talk in a shelter they’d found together – though it seemed it was only Fenja that was feeling awkward. When the rain and wind died down, the two cats got up and moved on their separate ways, neither looking back for so much as a second.
- FIN -
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