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 Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2010 6:16 pm
 Kiume was staring down at his little lavender paws with a frown. He wondered if there was something wrong with him. He couldn't run as fast as his siblings, and when he tried... he just ended up in a tangled sad mess. It's fortunate the young cub didn't have the attention span to dwell on it much longer than that.
He sprang up from his rest and bounded back into the den where his brothers and mother were... sleeping? STILL? On closer inspection, the young cheetah learned that they weren't sleeping. Just holding very still. Kiume hasn't learned the difference quite yet. Nevertheless, it was time to start the day with a little bit of playtime. And a side of pestering the parents, as usual.
"Carles!" He peeped, clumsily jumping at his brother with a nonchalant grin. "I'm gunna get you!"
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Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2010 7:16 pm
Carles got landed on by his dark brother and extruded an 'oof' in reply. He opened an eye to peer up at Kiume. "You're awake oftly early. What are you doing this morning?"
He looked back towards the butterfly he'd been watching. "Lets go chase butterflies today. I know where a lot of them are. In the valley of flowers." Not only was there lots of butterflies to chase, there was also stuff to find and explore. He pushed to his feet, dumping his brother to the dirt in the process. Looking down he peered closely at Kiume. "Wanna come?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2010 7:25 pm
"Yeah, why aren't you awake so oftly early, silly head?" Kiume giggled in response. "It's fun to watch the sun c'mup and say hello. She's oftly warm." The cub gave his brother a brief nuzzle as if to show him just how warm the sun was.
"Butterflies?" Kiume asked curiously as he sunk into his brother's considerably lighter fur. The cub had never paid much attention to butterflies. But now that he actually put some thought to it, they were pretty fascinating to look at. And they didn't have legs! Maybe it'd be good to chase something without legs. They can't possibly make a fool out of a clumsy cub like Kiume by tripping him or something!
With a plop, the cub fell to the dirt and giggled. "Okay! I'll come with you!"
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Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2010 7:48 pm
"Well I was awake. Sort of. Watching the butterfly made me doze off again." He sounded sheepish. "Sure it is. Next time 'fore sunrise, you come get me and we'll go watch it come up together." He purred and nuzzled his brother back. His family was awesome!
"Yeah! Don't you think they flutter by so pretty? Their random motion amusing me. Like they can't fly straight." He giggled at the thought. With a paw he playfully rolled his brother over. "C'mon then! Lets go."
Lifting his paws high, Carles prance proudly away. His brother was coming, they were going exploring, the day was young and beautiful. There was nothing more he could have asked for.
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Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2010 8:16 pm
"Y'sure? Sometimes waking up early is a bad thing..." Kiume frowned deeply, remembering the time he woke up in such a sour mood that he snapped at mom. Mom! Of all beings! But his illness was cured when he took a nap that afternoon. As far as Kiume is concerned, sleep is good. Very good. But maybe watching the sunrise with your big brother was even better.
"They kin'a pretty weird..." Carles was right, they can't fly straight. Probably due to lack of legs... and lack of tail... This was the perfect opportunity to make himself look like the most graceful thing in whole mountains. Kiume giggled and rolled onto his paws, bouncing after his brother with his tail swaying playfully. He was so proud of himself for thinking up such an amazing plan.
"I'll race you!" In his state of over-confidence, Kiume challenged his brother to race to a place he's never been before. It was in that instant that all his smarts seemed to disappear. Despite it all, Kiume leaped into an aimless sprint. "I'll beat you, just watch!"
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Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2010 8:35 pm
He wiggled his tail and grinned. "Course! One time wont hurt me. Sides, I'll take a nap afterward if I need to." He gave a non-concerned shrug. "It'll be fun and I don't mind doing it for you Kiume."
"I think they are pretty. It's like they're in no hurry to get anywhere." He wondered how that would be. Going where you wanted without really having any where to go. For a moment, he thought it would be awesome. Then he looked back over his shoulder to see his brother following. How could he give up that?
Carles blinked then laughed to the wind as he gave chase to his brother. It would be fun just to romp through the woods. Once they got tired then they could go lay amid the flowers and stalk butterflies. It was as good a plan as any for the young cub.
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Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2010 8:45 pm
With howling laughter, Kiume looked behind him to see his brother on his tail. The cub was determined not to let him win - to show his paws who's boss - to romp in the flowers and - BAM.
The cub forgot to look where he was going again. A large stone protruding through the earth blocked his path and caused pain to sear through his head. By now he was used to the pain of his clumsiness, it was a dull, numb throb. But he couldn't help but think he'd failed all over again.
"Ouch..." Kiume's pink eyes watered up as he began to cry.
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Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2010 9:14 pm
Carles was merrily right on his brother's tail. When he saw Kiume looking back, he opened his mouth to warn him to watch where he was going.... but it was too late. As it was, he was too close himself. Putting on the brakes he tried his hardest to stop.
He slowed some and managed to change his trajectory from right at his brother and rock to the edge of the rock. Clipping its side sent the young cub head over tail. "Ooof, ouch" Whap, Thap. Low branches hit the rolling cub and helping to bring him to a stop. Sitting up Carles took stock of himself.
Nothing seemed seriously hurt, but he'd for sure have bruises after that. His brother! He could hear Kiume crying. Levering himself to unsteady paws the mostly white cub stumbled his way back. "Kiume? Are you ok?" Coming up behind the dark cub, his nose nudged his brother reassuringly.
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Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2010 9:52 pm
Kiume blinked away his tears just in time to watch his brother take a tumble as well. Though not quiet as painful as his own, it made him feel better that he wasn't the only one unable to control his paws just yet.
"I'm okay." Kiume smiled, cheeks moist with tears, though every sign of sadness in his face had vanished. He responded to his brother's nudge with his own nuzzle. "Maybe we should walk instead." He giggled, completely unaware his little plan wouldn't last long as soon as their competitive spirits flared strong again.
The dark cub brushed a stray leaf from Carles' white coat before starting off again into the woods. "Which way are we going, again?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 1:36 pm
Carles purred when his brother stated he was alright. "You had me worried. When you run, its best to keep your eyes on where you're going and not where you've been." He sounded slightly amused and gave another nudge to his brother's shoulder. "Walking is good too. I need to catch my breath anyhow."
He smiled as the other cub brushed a leaf off. "Silly Kiume! We're going this way of course." He set out at a slow trot. Weaving his little body in between and around trees. Carles made a game of the weaving. "Can you follow this pattern?"
Indirectly he was leading the darker cub towards the meadow, but they weren't getting there very fast.
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Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2010 11:02 pm
The small cub took comfort in his older brother's purr. "You're right. Mtima told me that too, but I keep forgetting." Kiume giggled, playfully rolling into the dirt as Carles nudged him. "Yeah, walking is good too! But how do I catch my breath when I can't even catch my paws?" Disregarding his own silly question, Kiume leapt up and began to follow the pink cubbin.
He stepped in the dents in the earth that Carles' paws made, looking up only for a second to see him weaving in odd patterns around the trees and bushes. "Can I? Uuhhmm... Let's see!" He tried to remember the pattern, weaving in between two trees, then around the bush... wait no... around the bush THEN between the two trees... right? Kiume glanced at Carles for his approval. "Did I do it right?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 6:53 pm
"That's easy enough to fix. Instead of leading, if you follow then you can watch ahead and not crash." It seemed perfectly logical to him. That also counted on Kiume willing to follow.
Carles giggled. "Yup! Right on." He tried another way. Over the fallen tree trunk, through the rocks, and make a big loop. At the end he turned back and called, "Lets see you do that!" His tail waved energetically. It should be pretty easy, he thought.
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Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 7:01 pm
"Wow Carles... You're so smart!" Kiume padded to his brother, licking his white cheek like moma does to show affection. "I hope I'm as smart as you some day."
The little cub payed special attention this time as he watched his brother weave through the forest. "I can do that!"
He attempted a leap over the fallen tree trunk, but it proved too tall for his underdeveloped legs. Instead he slid around it, hoping it wouldn't count against him. The crack between the rocks was simple, though. He squeezed past them, and mimicked Carles' big loop and caught up with his brother. "I did it!" Kiume beamed, waving his tail and waiting for Carles' approval.
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Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2010 2:59 pm
He dug a paw into the dirt. His brother was embarrassing him. "Naw, just lookin' out fer ya." That's what brothers did right? He purred and nuzzled Kiume back.
When the leap failed, he pretended not to notice. It really wasn't all that important after all. The rest pass with no problem and Carles beamed. "Yay!" He looked around for something else to lead his brother through. "Oh hey look! We're almost to the meadow!" He set off at a trot, doing a simple back-n-forth weave through the trees. Suddenly the trees ended and he stopped; standing as the meadow opened out in front of him. "Kiume, come see!" There didn't seem to be a bit of life, other than plants.
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Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 10:00 pm
"We are?!" Kiume let out an excited yelp as he burst into a sprint in front of his brother and pretended not to tumble in the process. No, that wasn't him being clumsy again. This particular patch of dirt just happened to be very astounding. When he lifted his face from it, the purple marking on the side of his face was caked with the mud - blending into the rest of his brown fur.
Then he bounced to his paws again, trotting at a more careful pace behind his brother. "Whooaaa..." The meadow revealed itself to him. "How can anything be so... big?" Besides the sky, Kiume had never seen anything so vast. Unlike the sky, it was all for them to play with. "What are we waiting for, Carles? Let's go!" Without a second thought, the young cub dashed into the tall grass, motioning for his brother to follow.
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