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 Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 9:43 am
Shambe stretched out in the bough of a tree, exhausted from his night long run. It wasn't often that he traveled at such a pace, but he felt an extreme compulsion to escape the place where he had been. Unlike his usual escapes this time he was not being chased, except perhaps by himself. The naive leopardess had gotten under his skin and he had been agitated ever since. He felt as if he were losing his touch, that was dangerous. His self confidence had faltered and now he wasn't even sure he could fool a ratel.
It was another fine morning, the sun bright, the sky blue, and a song was in her heart. She was in a rollicking mood, and was practically cantering along, doing a three-part beat with her paws. She was even humming and kicking out a leg in the pause between each three-beat, sometimes a foreleg fling, sometimes a hindleg swing. Her tail behind her twirled in circles, always to that same beat. She practically felt like singing at the top of her lungs, but she knew her strengths as well as her weaknesses. Though she could dance, singing was not at all her forte. So humming was all she did to accompany her rocking maneuvers. In fact, she was feeling so good, her mission was far from her thoughts. She was entirely in the moment, the here and now.
The cheetah spied a flash of pink and purple on the horizon, lifting his head curiously. It was too small to be a lion or one of his kind, an adult at least, so what was it? It was flailing about, perhaps it was injured. He licked his chops rudely and stretched out his front paws, deciding whether it would be advised to call out. Deciding against it he began to descend the tree slowly, gripping his claws into each individual branch. He didn't like trees.
The crackle and scrape of claws on bark drew her attention, large ears swiveling to locate the source before she turned her head. She paused in place, paws still drumming the beat, though she no longer rocked back and forth with it. The tree was some distance away, and she could only make out movement, not form. Intrigued and never afraid to go and investigate, though perhaps caution would have been called for, she set off towards the tree, tail waving greeting. Her paws altered their beat, now trotting in a more expected one-two rhythm, though with an occasional extra paw-thump to the ground to add to the song in her head. When close enough, she called out a cheery, "Greetings!" It wouldn't do to appear rude or startle the creature by coming too close all at once!
Shambe made a peculiar face, a mix of confusion and downright disgust. What the heck was that? He'd seen dogs in his youth but he had made a particular point to avoid them since, and he had certainly never seen one with coloring, or a disposition, like hers. "Hello...there," he returned, unsure of the practices for such a greeting. He stepped closer to inspect her, obviously not concerned with being too polite. She interested him, but at the same time her enthusiasm unnerved him. "Are these your lands?"
"My lands? Oh no!" She laughed light-heartedly. "My lands are far, far from here." She settled herself on her haunches, but one forepaw kept swinging and/or tapping rhythmically, and her tail swished in time behind her. She tipped her ears inquisitively. "I take it then that these are not your lands either. May I inquire where you are headed?" This was all in a very friendly, conversational tone. It was clear ad daylight that this canine had not a mean bone in her body, nor any intention of doing harm or evil. It just wasn't her way. "Or have I caught you at a bad time?" Her head and ears canted the opposite way this time, eyes bright and innocent.
"Don't know, wherever the wind carries me I suppose." That was cheesy, even for him. It was true though, as long as the wind was going away from the leopardess. She seemed alright, sociable and decently intelligent. He was still wary. "No time is particularly better than another, except perhaps dusk, but that wasn't what you meant I suppose," he teased, stretching himself forward, "Shambe, and you are?"
She paused for a quick scratch at a sudden itch behind her ear, classic canine pose and all. She stopped and smiled at his introduction. "So pleasant to meet you, Shambe! My name is Siesha." Tail waving happily, she gave a play-bow in greeting, one paw tucked under her chest daintily. "I'm a wanderer too, with no particular place to go." She stood and did a little jig. "I do it by choice, though. I am learning about the lives of others, their miseries and heartaches." Her words were spoken blithely, with n o real emotional connection to the unhappiness she sought. It still was somewhat of a novel or unknown concept to her. Much learning still was needed, for sure.
Shambe cocked his head, her speech was strange and he wasn't entirely sure that it wasn't a joke. He peered around suspiciously for signs of a trickster, but finding none looked back at her. "Well then Siesha, you've come to the right place I suppose, I've been chased out of more places than the snakes," he laughed, settling a bit. He could outrun a dog if he needed, probably. Her dancing had caught his eye but he chose not to mention it, thinking it might be a twitch.
"Oh really?" Her ears pricked forward, and she actually stopped moving for several seconds as she leaned forward eagerly. "Whyever would you be chased out so often?" Her eyes were wide and guileless, and her curiousity was sparked so much that her haunches suddenly began prancing back and forth, shifting her weight from hip to hip quickly, with a bob in between each beat. Her tail stayed high and interested, waving madly, but still to the same rhythm as her paws. Both forelegs remained stationary, though, holding her weight as she leaned forward to hear moe. "Are you diseased? Or maybe you steal food?" She eyed him thoughtfully. He did look a bit on the skinny side, for a feline. Weren't they supposed to be bulky and strong? This one was lean and almost skeletal in comparison to the lions she'd met.
Why? He blinked, slightly caught off guard by her rocking. This was brilliant, her constant movement was distracting him, she could snatch something and he probably wouldn't even notice. "I... They didn't like my hair." The true test. "Where did you learn to do that?" he asked, trying to change the subject but also keenly interested in the motions. He had seen something similar in prides of lions, but they had never been skillful with it, too flamboyant and pronounced. That was useless to him, but this, this could work.
His answer was startling to her. So startling, in fact, that she missed a beat in her prancing. Her ears swiveled and her expression was baffled. Lamely her paws picked up the rhythm again, but slower and les spronounced and energetic this time. His hair? He was chased because of his hair? For a moment she ignored his question and peered close at him. "I am no feline, but to my eyes, you are quite handsome for one of your kind, if a little skinny," she announced bluntly. "Why would they not like your hair, and why would that make them chase you?" A flash of memory at her own blunder with a male leopard made her suddenly flush hotly, but she really had not meant to make fun of his hair! Truly! But she was recalled to his question by his clear interest in her hind end. Blinking, she turned to look at her own hindquarters, wondering what he saw. Ah, so that's what he had meant! "Oh, all my pack does this. I'm just very good at it." She smiled, merely stating fact rather than bragging. It was why she'd been sent out to learn more, after all.
"What for?" he asked bolder now, beginning to pace around her so he could look from different directions. Her motions seemed to be parallel, rhythmic and clean. "Does it help you hunt?" Peculiar that a whole pack would do such a thing, unless it had some wonderful benefit. He found himself trying to replicate the motion, but he couldn't seem to get it right. One foot always seemed to be in the way of the other.
Delighted, Seisha stood up straighter, and her rhythm not only doubled in speed, but her forepaws began to do a counter-rhythm to her hind. "Why, we do it to express ourselves!" she declared joyfully. His question about it helping to hunt, she laughed. "No, no, in fact it tends to get in the way of hunting." She'd managed well enough, but this was also because she did not mind scavanging. "Our worst dancers usually do the hunting for the pack." So pleased was she to be talking about her favorite subject, she gave a little buck in mid-beat, kicking out her legs in a dramatic pattern, but settling back down immediately into the hypnotic pattern, unaware of why exactly he wanted to know. Despite her run in with that nasty leopard, this cat's circling of her didn't bother her. He didn't seem hostile, and certainly wasn't powerful enough to do as much damage as the leopard had. He was smaller, more delicate, and much lighter in weight. She noticed him shifting his weight as if trying to mimic her, and her spirits soared further. "Do you want to learn?" she asked animatedly, for the space of four beats standing stock still in excitment.
"Huh?" Shambe seemed caught off guard by the offer, and distinctly so. It wasn't usual that someone wanted to help him after meeting him, especially to learn something as wonderfully complex and sweet as this. There had to be a catch, he just wasn't sure what it was yet. "If you do, what will I have to give you?" He was never the sort to wait until the end to find out, that was how you got duped, and one of his favorite methods.
Blithely unaware of his suspicions, she asnwered solemnly, her paws stirring again in a slower but more forceful beat, her paws raising small puffs of dust as they struck. "All I ask is that you listen and try your best," she told him. "I can't teach you if you ignore what I say." This wasn't so much experience talking as it was repetition of what her teachers had told her. Truth be told, this was her first chance to each anyone! It was thrilling, but she took such an honor very seriously. He might not be a wild dog that she was passing on pack tradition to, but he was a student nonetheless. She took on an air of authority that didn't quite sit naturally on her bubbly personality. "First, you must learn to stand properly." She moved to him and stuck a paw between his forelegs, tapping the inside of either leg, encouraging him to widen his stance. Before he could say anything, she was behind him, quick as a blink, and tapping the inside of his hind legs too. "Keeping your paws too close together is asking for inury," she quoted her teacher, merrily enjoying her new role and oblivious to the invasion of the feline's space. He'd wanted to learn, and this was the only way she knew how to teach.
Shambe awkwardly repositioned himself to that his paws were about as wide as hers had been, proportionally, but felt as if he were standing all askew. It didn't feel right, but who was he to question her methods. "Like this?" he asked somewhat sheepishly, never having been in this sort of situation. He felt like an idiot already, and hoped silently that no one was watching.
"Hmmm," she mused, eyeing him from a few steps away. "Maybe not quite so wide. Shift them just a little bit closer, but not much." She waited while he did so. "Now, try to land your paws in the same spots as they are now, every time." She demonstrated by lifting one paw and setting it down in exactly the same spot, without looking. "I can mark where they need to land so you can watch them, if you want," she offered. This was very rudimentary stuff, but if he couldn't do this, then he wasn't likely able to dance. A few pups had proven to be completely lacking in coordination or rhythm, and had been forced to take up more menial roles within the pack. All were loved though! Just not all were talented.
He seemed confused by the request, shaking one back leg out awkwardly before trying to return it to the spot. His legs didn't bend in quite the same way hers did, and he felt like he should be going forward. "Like this?" he asked, missing the mark by a few inches. Surely there was an easier way to this, there was always a shortcut. Maybe he'd just get himself a dancing dog and not have to learn it at all. No, that would probably be just as hard, dogs liked to travel together.
She shook her head tolerantly, showing absolutely no impatience. Her teachers had all been gentle, persistent, and thorough. She endeavored to be equally so. "No, just your front legs for right now, I think. Here, let me mark it for you." She used the tips of her fixed claws to draw a line in the earth in front of each forepaw, marking it's place and how wide it was. "Now, do as I do." She stood directly in front of him, very nearly nose to nose. She then lifted her front right paw, set it down, then left front paw, set it down. She rocked her shoulders as she did this, leaving her hips and hind paws anchored steadfastly. "See? It's like leaning right and left, except you pick up your paw when you lean." She did it a few more times to demonstrate, then stopped. "Now you try!" Avidly she watched his paws, hoping he'd watch his own paws too.
Shambe did watch his paws, a little too much. He began to rock as she had suggested, and was doing quite well with landing on the marks, however staring at the ground began to make him dizzy and without warning he put a paw down sideways and fell, smashing his face into the ground. He didn't get up for a moment, grumbling softly into the dirt about indignities and dogs. When he got up again, his face was colored by a scowl and he seemed almost angry at his feet. "I was doing good at first."
ongoing
(Dulcea and Talencia)
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 1:38 pm
"You were doing good!" she praised him sincerely, reaching to groom some of the dirt off his face as she would a pup's. "It just takes practice, that's all." She gave him an encouraging smile, nodding her head while her tail swung behind her. "It isn't something that comes easily to everyone. Sometimes it takes lots of patient exercise and practice! I've had a long time to learn, since I've been dancing since I was a pup. Don't give up! I'm sure you'll get it." She swiped the air between them playfully. "I need to go find some lunch though," she added, glancing up at the sun and surprised to find it high overhead. They had been at this for quite a while!
"You should take a break too. Doing it for too long makes it harder to dance, not easier." She danced in a circle, then sat down again. "I think you'll do fine, if you want to learn. Keep up what I showed you, then add your own special things to it. Swing your tail, use your hind legs, or jump between the beats. There's lots you can do." She rose to her paws again, all four paws prancing to an inner rhythm. "I hope we meet again! Farewell!" With that, she went bounding off in a random direction, tongue lolling happily and ears flapping in the wind.
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