The sky was blue, the grass was green, the sun was shiny and yellow…blah blah blah. It was a nice day. Big deal. A slender black cheetah prowled through the gently swaying grass, every inch of her graceful form a sullen sulk. Lonely. She was all alone on a day almost as pretty as she was. The boy she’d met last night had been horrible, and the marks she left on his stupid muzzle had barely been enough to convince him she wasn’t interested. She was tired, grumpy, hungry, and lonely. It was not a good day. It ought to be raining.
Stupid sunshine. Pretending the world was all happy and wonderful when it really, really, really wasn’t. Aiko growled, her black tail lashing briefly before she put her head down and continued on her way. At least soon she wouldn’t be thirsty anymore… that was something…
Water erupted in a tremendous splash as the body hit it. Panting happily, the splotchy black and tan dog shook himself vigorously, further spraying the contents of the wide shallow river all over the place. Bright blue eyes were happy as he looked around himself, tail wagging and tongue lolling to see…no one. No one at all.
Aandag bit back a howl of frustration. Attention was vital to the young wild dog. He’d fought for it with all his siblings to no avail, and now that he was on his own…well. Sometimes it was better. He’d meet a pretty girl and get to show off all day, or make a friendly rival with another young male for a few hours. But most of the time…most of the time it was like this.
No one around. No one to see him, not one person to appreciate his efforts. The world wasn’t being fair at all.
Soft black ears swiveled forward from where they’d been pinned back against her well-shaped skull at the sound of a splash. Aiko hesitated, frowning at the bank of the river. A splash could be good. It could mean company. But it could also be bad. It could mean something that would try to eat her or worse. And with the way her luck had been running…she wasn’t betting good odds on decent company.
But she was thirsty, darn it, and wanted her drink.
With all the dignity of an affronted feline, and there was a great deal of that, she stalked, or maybe flounced, right to the edge of the bank where she knew the trail to be. She’d come by here on her way out, from losing her brothers. And now she was going back. But first, she wanted her darn drink! Caution not entirely ignored, she paused to peer curiously down into the water.
Just in case… but, heck, even a fight wouldn’t be so bad right about now! At least she’d be the focal point of someone’s attention!
Maybe fishing wasn’t exactly his forte. Aandag frowned, water dribbling past his snapped jaws as he went nearly cross-eyed examining the stick he’d so cleverly hunted down. At least no one had witnessed the fiasco but…well. Frankly, he’d rather be laughed at than alone! Alone was so…so dull! Such a waste of time!
”Argh!” he growled, snapping the stick and worrying it into the mud, thus coating his muzzle and paws liberally with the stuff. But who cared, no one around to impress. Scowling, he prowled back into the river and reassumed his stance, watching for another fish to try to sneak past him.
If his nose hadn’t been quite so filled with mud, he might have caught the cheetah’s scent.
Aiko stared down at the large wild dog destroying a stick in a fit of fury. What on earth…? Well. He might be annoyed, but it was in an amusing sort of way. She could hardly imagine someone worth a real threat rolling about in the mud with sticks.
Her curiosity piqued, she made her way quietly down the path worn by other thirsty creatures coming from this side of the river. The dog didn’t seem to notice her, apparently quite intent on whatever it was that he was doing. Smiling to herself, she stepped into the cool flow of water, dipping her head for the drink she’d wanted though her violet eyes stayed fixed on him. Was that mud, or was his fur naturally that splotchy?
She giggled quietly to herself at the thought, straightening to stare at him again. What was he doing? It…it almost seemed like he might be…fishing…?
Wait for it.
…wait for it…
The plumed tail waved slowly from side to side as Aandag watched the silvery flash of fish out in the deeper water. They'd come closer when he didn’t move right away. They didn’t seem that smart, but then they had tiny heads. Stood to reason they’d have tiny brains too. And tiny attention spans. And tiny memories. And… ahah!
With a lunge that quite effectively startled the other fish away, the wild dog snapped at the fish that had come to investigate his forepaws. Water was everywhere and, shallow though it was, he was instantly soaked. His first snap missed, but his jaws were apparently quicker than the fish and, behold! Success!
Panting around the fish he’d crushed in his teeth, tail wagging proudly, Aandag felt his ears start to droop in dismay. He’d done it alright…but no one saw. With a huffing sigh, he turned to go back to the shore to eat his catch…
…and looked right into the curious purple eyes of a slender black feline.
Aiko watched, fascinated, as the dog tried to fish. He seemed patient, at least. Though his wagging tail might alert some of the fish, a moving shadow would scare them some. Still, his form was…unique. Might be effective though…
The cheetah herself was rather startled when he all but dove into the water, giggling again as he floundered for a few moments. Did he actually catch a fish? Well, wasn’t that something! He might not have skill or talent, but he did have some food. That was pretty good!
…oh…
Oops, she’d meant to be gone before he turned around! People were always talking about cats and dogs like they were mortal enemies…now she’d done it. “Er…hi. Nice catch,” she tried, her tone friendly. She took back what she’d been thinking earlier, she so did not want to have a fight…
Aandag stared, fish flopping limply in his jaws. A cat. A bigish feline, though it…it didn’t look like a lion. It was all legs, skinny little thing. A slight build, looked fast. Cheetah then. He’d never met a cheetah before. His tail stopped wagging to be held erect, ears pressed forward attentively. He wasn’t sure what to make of this cat… was it going to steal his dinner?
At her words, and with a voice like that it could only be a female, the plumed tail began to pump back and forth in earnest.
”I know, right?” the dog puffed up slightly, the wary look replaced by one of open friendliness. She knew what she was talking about, he was so good… good of her to notice. He loved being noticed. It was what he lived for.
Well, he seemed to be a friendly sort now wasn’t he? At his happy response to her words, Aiko felt herself relax slightly, a smile slowly spreading across her features. Dog he might be, but he was still much the better of the stupid male she’d had the misfortune of meeting last night!
”A bit noisy,”she laughed, ”But effective nonetheless, and that’s what counts, right?” It was warm enough that the water wasn’t much of a bother, actually, the coolness against her feet was fairly nice really. She took a few more steps into the river, the water reaching a little more than halfway up her legs where she stopped. He seemed…well. He might be a dog. But he seemed decent company. Surely better than none at all.
”So tell me, fish hunter, what’s your name?” she asked, teasing him with her eyes. He was a bit bulky for her taste, looked clumsy like all dogs did in comparison to felines. But she didn’t plan to sleep with him, ugh, no. Just play a little. It had been a lonely sort of day.
His tail only continued to wag as she laughed and spoke, coming closer. He’d half expected her to flee, she’d looked so surprised when he’d turned around. But here she was. Laughing and talking. If only she’d been a dog like him…he was sure she was a beauty by feline standards. Graceful, well muscled but not too well, a lovely sort of fur…
Oh, if only she’d been a wild dog like him. This could have been a fabulous day…but if he was going to be chasing tail it wouldn’t be feline tail. That was just…just no. Not at all. No way.
But she did seem like she might be fun. And he did so love to impress lovely ladies…
”Pfft, I’m sure I could get another!” he grinned, laying the smushed looking dead fish on the shore opposite. It was much lower than the cliff she must have come down, only a bit more than a foot above the water. ”And it’s Aandag. What about you, pretty thing?” What? He could flirt with a girl if he wanted!
Aiko giggled as he boasted playfully, and more when he called her a pretty thing. He was smart for a dog wasn’t he. Observant. Good taste. All of the above. If only he’d been a feline…but they could still enjoy each other. In fact, she was already enjoying him.
”It’s Aiko,” she purred, flicking her sleek black tail playfully at him, ”And I’d love to join you for a spot of fishing,” She didn’t much want to get wet, and fishing wasn’t exactly her best point. But still. Maybe he’d share if she didn’t do so well.
Picking her way through the water, trying to minimize contact with it, she moved to stand nearer to him. Well, maybe not so near. She still remembered that explosion of water and had no desire to be caught in it next time. It was warm, but not that warm!
Aandag watched with a waving tail as she picked her way so delicately towards him. Didn’t she like being wet? It was fun! Ah well, maybe the ‘cats don’t like water’ thing was true after all. But the ‘cats don’t like dogs’ thing was obviously false. He didn’t have much interspecies cortship information, but he was pretty sure she was flirting with him.
Not a bad day after all.
”Don’t you worry your pretty head, babe, Aandag can set you up with a snack,” he chuckled, ”Why don’t you hop up on shore and keep an eye on what we’ve got so far, eh sweetheart?”. Maybe that was too much. Maybe. She might smack him now, joy. But the words just so loved to roll right off his tongue!
Aiko definitly approved of this boy, dog or no. ”Aw, how sweet,” she cooed when he offered to catch her food for her. Score, now she didn’t have to fish and get wet. Well, wetter. Gingerly she waded past him, her gently waving tail tip just grazing that splotchy muzzle before she bounded up and out of the river. She gave herself a brisk shake before turning and sitting daintily on the bank beside his fish. She had no plans to steal it, he proved to be a lovely gentleman and she’d every intention of encouraging this sort of behavior. If only certain felines could be so very thoughtful and funny and courteous and…all that good stuff.
”I’ll keep an eye on things, don’t you worry handsome,” the cheetah giggled again, her violet eyes bright with the fun of it. Flirting with a fishing dog. That wasn’t at all how she’d pictured her little brother-vacation going. She certainly hadn’t expected it to be the highlight either!
No smack? No reprimand? Ah, the gods, or spirits or whoever called the shots, were playing him a cruel trick. This Aiko seemed like his type of girl, finally, and yet…she was a cheetah. Or some other slender speedy feline. Oh, it was such a cruel twist of fate. Or ironic. One or the other. Ironic sounded funner, he’d go for that then.
”Never fear, my lady, I’ll take care of dinner,” he said in a rather overly noble tone before bowing his muzzle back into the water, which caused him to snort and sputter with surprise. He grinned at her, tail flailing happily at the sky, before he turned to resume his task with all seriousness. He so did not want to botch it this time.
Lucky, his patience paid off again, and with another crashing splash Aandag emerged victorious and successful and quite pleased with himself. ”Here ya are sweetling,” he chuckled, dropping the fish at her slender little black paws before shaking himself vigorously to rid himself of all that water weight. At least he was definitely clean now!
Dinner and a show. Oh how fun!
Aiko purred delightedly as she watched him, her tail tapping lightly against the sparse grass along the bank. He was such a charming boy, it would be easy to forget he was a dog. She’d been expecting someone more bruitish. And yet it was last night’s lion that had been the brute, and this evening’s dog that was the dashing hero. Or something close. Sidekick or jester perhaps. She giggled again, her eyes bright with fun as he made his catch and trotted to join her. When he shook himself off she squealed with startled dismay and ducked away, laughing all the while. So she’d gotten a bit damper after all. No big deal. It was worth it.
”Why, thank you,” she crooned, laying comfortably beside him and digging in to the fish he’d brough her. The bones were hard to pick out, he’d really crushed it hadn’t he, but it was still free food. If only he’d been feline…she’d have loved her brothers to meet him.
As it was, when she’d finished, she rose to her feet and, swiping her tongue playfully across his head said, ”Meeting you was the best thing all week!” and loped off with a laugh. She watched to catch up to her brothers before nightfall, and it was already getting dark.
Aandag was pleased that she was so relaxed around him, he’d been expecting skittish and finicky if anything at all. It was a comfortable sort of silence, contented. They both had what they wanted after all. Company to admire them.
He was having some difficulty getting the meat, or what fish seemed to pass for meat, out from the bones and scales, and so he was engrossed in this task when he received the unexpected gesture of affection.
”Thanks babe~” he chuckled, watching as she turned and ran off. Probably back to her kitty cat friends. Not that Aandag minded. She was fun, for a feline. No, that wasn’t quite fair. Kitty or dog, she had still been enjoyable.
FIN
