It was a bright sunny day, where the wind blew just right and the sun was just shiny enough for a certain cheetah cub to be running about. Bounding around as if she was on a high.. she could 'see' things. Playing with her. Creatures and others of make-believe- but he family thought she was pretty much loopy. Her sister knew better though. Tossing herself around- rolling and playing. Giggling on her own. Well. Thats what she THOUGHT she was doing. But that was all in her head.. What she was REALLY doing.. was staring at a rock. She was just merely picturing herself running about. Starring down that rock as if it were to move.. and would tackle it if it did.. In her pouncing position.
The rock was one of many in the sunny clearing. Only a few paces away sat a much larger stone and stretched out on top of that stone lay Palia, fast asleep. She did not notice the cub’s approach. Apparently the cub had not noticed her either, she had her back turned and the dull brown of her coat almost blended in with the stone upon which she lay. The same could not have been said if her other side were exposed to the cub, for her forelegs where white and colored as if her paws had been dipped in fire. Or perhaps the cub simply didn’t care about Palia’s company. Either way, Palia was oblivious. She twitched in her sleep. The sun’s warmth had been pleasant at first but now was growing too hot for comfort. She would be waking soon.
Then the hallucinations came. Her back paws edging to jump.. And as soon as she saw one of her 'make believe friends' jump. She dodged forward in real life and in her hallucination- tackling the rock in such away that she took it in close to her as she rolled from the force she put in to it.. Rolling and bobbing around til she hit another rock.. It took her a second.. before her body sprawled out like a armadillo.. Her but in the air- and the back of her head against the ground.
"NNNYYYYAAAA~~~YY." She called out.. In a sluggish way.. as if she did not just get thrown and thrashed around from her roll. Her eyes opened calmly.. then slitted as she held up the rock.. "Oh.. why hello friend." Then hugged it before looking up. There... looked to be a white spot on that rock.. But it looked too big and lumpy to hold. Rolling herself on the side as she got up. Sniffing.. Giggling a little.. and waving her body about as if she'd tip over at any given minute. "Wha... white spot." She sniffed at it.. then poked it- but retorted it for a moment before looking astonished.. "Whaaaaooow.. " She poked it again. "Hehe grrooovy~" She giggled and nuzzled it before picking up the rock and placing it right next to the other rock. Wagging her tail. "There. Family again. yay!" A bright smile against her maw. Not ever thinking that the white spot was something else.. just thinking the rock was lumpy.
Palia blinked heavily and struggled to lift her tired head. In the end she managed only an inch. “Huh?”
A small tan and green thing filled her blurry eyes. She soon recognized the thing as a cheetah cub, but the cub’s words went completely over her head. Even if the cub was making sense she wouldn’t have understood a word she said. She stretched out her long legs and tilted back her head in a wide yawn. Damn good nap. She flicked her tail and looked at the… ugh, at the cub before her. “Who are you?”
Then the white spot moved.. and as soon as it moved.. her eyes went up to wonder.. 'OMG! THE ROCK IS TALKING!' Taking back as she gasped and quickly jumped back.. All in to springing motion.. "Rock~ rock just came to bring you your baby rock?" She nuzzled the rock before her just a tad.. then slowly walked back.. Before she spotted ears. Wow, this must have been the weirst looking rock in the savannah. Taking another step back. "I am Lin- but i am not a rock. I'm a tree." Nodding fiercely. "But we can still be friends?" She offered in a soft smile. "Your one weird looking rock!" She called out and lightly giggled- rolling on to her back and looking up at the big moving rock.. Wagging her tail happily.
When the cub touched her Palia’s ears flattened and her lips curled. She sat up abruptly and curled her tail tightly around her paws as if to shield them from the little ankle-biter that snuck up on her in her sleep. The cub was babbling to her. It was using words.
It was annoying. “What the ******** are you talking about, kid?”
"OH!!" She jumped back.. then propted herself up and jumped back forward to her. Wagging her tail happily. "Your not a rock!" She laughed. Wagging her tail happily. "You look .. like a rock. Like you were some talking rock.." Laughing more as she leaned back and sat with a thump to the ground. "I thought you were- so I brought you a tiny rock! Because I thought tiny rocks are bigger one's cubs." Nodding softly.. Then she preened a very merry yet high as hell smile. Slitted eyes and ears back and all! "Whats your name~ " The name part- trying to get out of her lips but it sorta dangled it a bit.
“Well you look like a bush,” Palia grumbled, thinking she was being insulting to the cub. She wanted it to go away. The cub’s apparently ‘bright’ imagination only worsened her vexation. Palia was not wildly imaginative in the way of cubs and found their pretend games merely tedious, even creepy. Her ears flicked. Instead of answering the cub’s question, she asked, “Shouldn’t you be with your parents? They wouldn’t want you wandering around talking to strangers. That can be dangerous.”
Lin's ears twitched.. then waved in a sing song manner. Her parents - made the happy little family and nothing was ever really wrong. Strangers? They were possible friends.. "Bush?" She tilted her head. "I'm a tree- but close enough." Nodding happily as she got up and waved her tail sluggishly behind her.. Yawning and mewing just slightly. "My pappa and momma let us run about. We're free~~~~~~" Waving her paw to the side in a wave like manner. Ocean like.. "So your saying your dangerous? I am a herbal cub. I can make yea happy and not dangerous if yea want?"
Palia arched a brow. She had been thinking of swatting the cub to make it go away – she would not hurt it, probably – but the cub’s words puzzled and intrigued her. This didn’t sound like a game. She bristled and chided herself for being gullible. And yet she had to wonder, how could this cub know a word – herbal – that she had never heard before? “What do you mean herbal? What’s that?”
Tail pacing- well she thought it was. Really it was dragging itself..from one tail then another. "huh?" Taking back by her not knowing what a herbal was. She was learning about it on her own and her father explained to her.. and then a talking tree did. But that was besides the point. "Stay.. RIGHT here. I'll show you." Turning, and tripping over her paws that didn't really get up- falling forward slightly before taking up her paws again and ran off in the direction she came. Looking for the mint herbs that tickled your insides when yea smelt them.. Not moments later she came back with a full mouth of mint leafs and eucalyptus leafs. Her eyes going like 'whoa~' and her body feeling all tingly as she placed them down. "My- pappa~ woooaahh~~~.. its giving me the giggles!" She chirped and giggled ever so softly before looking up. "Pappa says Imma herbal cub.. cause I learn the plans.. and I'm a tree." Even if the cheetah would have disappeared right at that moment. Lin would have been talking to the plain open rock. Thinking the cheetah was there.. but her hallucinations would be coming back and filling in where the real cheetah was. "Its the leafs~ they can heal too~~~~~~~Yea..its groovy." Eyes almost looking as though they were closed and a goofy looking smile on her face.
The deranged look in the cub’s eyes set Palia on edge. Clearly the leaves were to blame. Palia almost laughed imagining a cheetah eating leaves, but she quickly figured out that it was the smell that made the cub so loopy. Palia poked the leaves suspiciously with her paw. “They look poisonous to me.”
She laughed softly.. Then looked up all slanted eyed. "No poisonous. Though poison oak I you should stay aways from. It makes you itchy." Nodding. "These make you tingle.. and happy!" She spouted. Falling over and wiggling her paws flailing. "I learn about them~ yep yep. I heard somewheres that theirs a goddess of herbs! I wants to be just like her~~~~" In a sing song like manner before flopping on one side. "I can teach yeas sometime." Pushing the leafs more closer to the female. "You can use these to make yea smile~ and tingle~~~ woooo~ feels funny." Rolling around before propping up in a lay position. Looking up at her. "Come on~ try yesh?"
Palia glanced at the cub and then at the leaves. As far as she was concerned, anything that made you roll around on your back laughing your tail off must be poisonous. Besides, she didn’t want to left wandering the savannah in a stupor. Unlike this cub Palia no longer had a mother to look after her. Despite her curiosity about the mysterious (possibly poisonous, she reminded herself) plants she had to decline. Shaking her head, she climbed down from her rock, her graceful body flowing with her. “Maybe some other time, kid. I have to go.”
And with that, Palia took off.
((Fin~))
