Dufi was by the water which wasn't all that surprising she seemed to live by it. Her life had been the pride and the sea since she was a cub and that hadn't changed once. Her love was for the water and she spent all her time laying on the beach looking out at the water as it moved towards shore and then out again. She spoke to it as if she had a conversation with it, as if it spoke to her as she spoke to it. Of course it didn't but she believed it did and had always believed this.
As she had grown she had learnt to be more normal around the others in the pride. Her mother adored her though and Dufi loved her mother back, and her father but her father was odd to and that made Dufi happy. She wasn't that odd after all. She loved her life but of course nothing she could love more then the water on which she watched now.
"If only others could hear you as I do... then maybe they would understand..." She sighed as she looked out at the foamy waves. Oh how beautiful it was!
Lulu was so happy - like both her grandmothers, she was following in their footsteps to look after the pride's children, and whilst she wasn't nearly as good as coming up with stories like Grandma Azi, she still liked looking after the younger lions. Lulu herself wasn't the most mature of lioness', so the children seemed to enjoy her company. What better way to spend a day than playing tag? And not even getting told off for it!
Walking along the beach, Lulu gave a giggle everytime the waves crawled far enough up the beach to lap against her paws, making her jump a little. It was so cold! Giggling gleefully, she broke into a bound across the beach, though suddenly skidded to a halt as she spotted a dark shape up ahead. Frowning, she was pretty sure she recognized the lioness, she'd grown up in the pride around the same time as Lulu and her siblings had.
"Hey...Hey you!" she called, running to meet the stranger.
Dufi turned to see Lulu running towards her. She smiled recognising the female, not that she had really done much of the making friends thing when she was younger but all the cubs had chances to meet each other.
"Heya! Lulu isn't it?" Dufi smiled as she sat up, her tail curling around her. She tried to recall the parents and then smiled as she remembered them. Was a large litter she came from to. Yes she could still remember something, that wasn't a bad thing.
"Nice day isn't it?" Dufi smiled as she spoke to Lulu though it wasn't long before her eyes strayed back towards the sea. Maybe she should have been born a fish. Maybe someone had got something wrong... was that possible? Oh wait lion... she then turned her attention back to Lulu, still smiling as if her attention had been on her the whole time.
Ohdear, wasn't this embarrassing. The lioness seemed to recognize Lulu, but Lulu didn't have a clue who she was! Well, she did have a clue...she recognized her from when she was younger, the two probably played together more than once. But Lulu didn't exactly have the best memory, and she couldn't quite remember her name... "Uh...y-yeah! You're...uhm...your name...uhhhhhh..."
Cheeks flushed red as she looked to the dark lioness for help. The conversation, perhaps a little predictably, turned to the weather, and Lulu glanced upwards. The sun was high in the sky, and a few clouds were dotted around. Nice was...a pretty good way to sum it up, yeah. She looked back to Dufi, smiling and nodding, "Yeah, it is! I like when its sunny, you can cool yourself off by going for a swim."
Dufi smiled at Lulu as she struggled to remember her name. It didn't surprise Dufi in the slightest that she wasn't remembered she had avoided playing when she could to come and sit by the sea.
"Dufi." She smiled as she said her name. The blue lioness moving to stand up and stretch a little. Apparently laying down got rather boring rather quickly.
"You like swimming?" Not that it would be surprising that a lion in this pride liked swimming but Dufi never assumed such things. "Do you want to go for a swim now?" Dufi could pretend to be a fish again!
Dufi? ...Lulu frowned. She'd expected the name to sound familiar, to click somewhere in her head and make her feel silly for forgetting it. But no, it didn't - she was fairly certain she'd never heard the name before. How strange. She soon brightened her expression again, however, smiling widely as she imitated Dufi, also stretching her back out with a slight purr of content.
"Swimming?" Lulu repeated, eyes seeming to sparkle as she nodded eagerly, "Yeah, swimming is amazing! I love it when you look underwater and see all the fish and pretty coral." Her eyes widened a little at Dufi's offer, of going for a swim now. Wasn't it cubs that went for a swim? Lulu always felt a little embarrassed nowadays, when she went swimming... "Sure!"
Dufi could never feel embarrassed about swimming it was as if she was made for it!
"Awesome!" She didn't wait for Lulu she just ran straight down and jumped into the water. The cold water embracing her as she swam about. Oh yes this is where she belonged.
"Love you always..." She whispered to the water as she swam about. She had completely forgotten about Lulu as she had entered the water, all she wanted was the sea and the fish... ooo there was one. Her head suddenly went under the water as she watched a fish swim by that looked like the rainbow had been painted on it.
What was that? She turned and surfaced again seeing Lulu and laughing at herself for forgetting about her.
"Come look these fish look like rainbows!"
Woa, she was eager! Laughing gleefully, Lulu couldn't help but nleash the cub-within as she dashed after Dufi, crashing into the water with a surprised cry - it was so cold! She was soon diving underneath it, however, becoming accustomed to the temperature, breaking the surface with a happy cry. She loved this! Just...all of it! She felt so free, so happy!
Dufi seemed to have disappeared, and Lulu glanced around with a confused frown. Suddenly her new friend appeared not to far away, however, and the idea of rainbow fishies was enough to make the brown lioness dash over, sticking her head under the water, bubbles rising from her maw as she giggled. "Twhat's swo cwooooool!"
Dufi chuckled as Lulu seemed to enjoy this as much as she did. It was as if the pride had been blessed to be like the fish that swam around them. Dufi loved the fish, the different colours and shapes. They were all so amazing.
"Look Lulu look!" She called suddenly and stuck her head under the water again. A large turtle was swimming a little way away from them. It was huge and Dufi couldn't help but admire how gracefully it moved in the water.
She lifted her head back out of the water and took a deep breath, oh this was amazing!
Ohhh, a turtle! Lulu had to break the surface to gulp another breath of air, but she was soon under the water again, eyes wide and sparkling at the world before her - it was so different, so much prettier than the world above the water. Sometimes, she wished she could live down here permanantly. Unfortunately, lack of gills made that difficult.
Dufi had to breath, and Lulu moved up with her, giggling gleefully. "This is so amazing! I've never seen this part of the water before!"
"You haven't?" Dufi was surprised that she hadn't, she said she had liked to swim! Surely she would have explored all of this before? Then again she said that she hadn't. How strange.
"I wish I was a fish sometimes. It's always so beautiful down there... I wonder if the god of fish would let me be a fish for a day..." She wasn't sure if it was even possible but the idea made her smile. She would get to swim around and be all fish like and pretty!
Lulu shook her head. Usually she didn't swim in the wide open sea out here - she'd found a nice little bay further around the beach. You had to clamber over some rocks, but it was worth it when you were left in the serene, perfect little area. It was just...amazing.
"No, I wouldn't want to be a fish..." Lulu frowned, shaking her head. She agreed that it was beautiful down there, but she liked it up here, with all of her family. "They smell weird, and taste nice...I wouldn't want to taste nice, because then someone would eat me!"
Dufi hadn't thought about that.
"Maybe a big fish then, a big big big one that is just too big to catch, then no one could eat me!" Yes that seemed like a sound plan though of course Dufi wasn't known for sound plans in fact she wasn't really good at plans in the slightest.
She didn't really care too much though she soon ducked back under and started swimming, oh it was such an amazing feeling being able to swim in the sea. It was just so beautiful!
"But..." Lulu began, before shaking her head and just grinning. She figured it was pointless to argue, because it was a pretty pointless conversation, really. They never would be able to become fish. Giggling still, she paddled, keeping herself in the same place in the water, though Dufi soon dived under again. Grinning, Lulu followed her, twisting and turning in the water, even managing a somersault!
Dufi loved it pretending to be a fish though of course her movements were no where near as graceful nor as swift as a fish. She made large movements that looked clumsy and silly next to the wildlife of the waters.
She saw Lulu do a somersault and decided to try and copy though it didn't work as well and just looked rather silly, she didn't care too much though. She had to break the surface again for some air. It annoyed her this breathing thing. Maybe instead of being a fish she could just grow gills? Yes that would be better, she would be the only real lion fish hybrid thing!
She was getting hungry though so as soon as she had taken her breath she was back under the water. She then looked for the ugliest of the fish and started chase. She wanted fish for dinner!
Lulu giggled. Breaking the surface, she suddenly became aware of how late it was becoming, and how empty her stomach was. Frowning, she glanced around for Dufi, spotting her darting after a fish. Giggling, but shaking her head, Lulu began making her way to the shore, hoping the darker lioness would follow suit. Lulu didn't really fancy fish tonight, and even so she couldn't catch a fish at all. Hence why she hadn't become a Kinengwe - the pride would go hungry if they were waiting on her for their meal!
"Dufi! C'mon, its getting late!" she called as she reached the shore, and it was becoming obvious that Dufi wasn't following her.
Dufi managed to catch the fish and headed to the shore where Lulu was.
"You hungry?" She spoke slightly muffled with her fish in her mouth but she was proud of her catch. Hunting fish was her specialty!
She dropped the fish and smiled, her blue pelt dripping wet, she looked rather silly but Dufi was happy, she was always happy when she was wet and had fish for dinner
Lulu giggled when Dufi finally appeared, a fish clamped almost comically in her maw. When she was offered the meal, she shook her head, smiling, "No thanks - besides, you caught it! You should eat it!"
She grinned, admittedly a little jealous of Dufi's fish-catching skills. She wished she could catch fish that well! Ah well...perhaps one day she'd catch a fish, or get someone to show her all the hints and tips. She'd ask Dufi, if she didn't have to be going. "I should go...I've got to babysit some of the cubs tonight."
"Oh okay..." Dufi was more then happy to eat the fish but she always offered first. After all she was suppose to hunt for the pride.
"Oh maybe I can bring the cubs some fish later?" Dufi offered. She would probably eat her fish and go catch some more anyway, the pride did need feeding after all!
Ohhh, so Dufi was a huntress? That made more sense! Giggling at her own failure, Lulu nodded eagerly at the offer of dinner. She wasn't sure whether the cubs had eaten or not, but she was sure they wouldn't turn down the offer of fish! "Ohhh, that'd be great!" Lulu grinned, hopping a little on the spot. "Thank you!"
Glancing behind her, in the direction she'd be heading, she looked back to Dufi with a warm smile, "I'll see you later, then?"
Dufi nodded. Sounded all good to her, she would take Lulu and the cub a large mouthful of fish. It was perfect!
"Yes I will see you later!" Dufi smiled before laying down and tucking in to the fish she had already caught. Then she would catch loads more for the cubs and anyone else who didn't hunt because of other duties.
Lulu grinned, waving a quick farewell to her new friend before turning and dashing towards the dens. She hoped she wouldn't be told off for being slightly late!
