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 Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 9:55 am
 Qahwa's limbs were weary and his paws were sore, and even his tail seemed to want to drag on the ground as he made his way through the rogue lands. He was in familiar territory, even though it was not his own territory. He knew it did not belong to a pride, which was good, and he knew the lioness who lived here, which was better.
Haldeilda frequently allowed him to stay in her territory for whatever time it took him to decide he was ready to move on. It was rare that his decision to continue his wandering lifestyle had anything to do with disagreement between himself and his leonine host. Often it was simply a result of his own inability to stay in one place for too long, even if it was a place where he was content and comfortable.
In this moment he was looking forward to seeing the mostly brown lioness. His wanderings had been particularly trying it seemed to him as he reflected. There were lots of idiots out there, and many of them seemed drawn to him, which was ridiculously improbable. Oh, there'd been that one leopardess who had come to him by the river. Kav-something or other. She had been sweet. And laughably gullible. He'd have to tell Halle about her. She'd probably be amused.
First he had to find Halle, however, and that was proving more difficult than it should have. He couldn't pick out a recent trail or scent to follow, which left him with only one choice: to go to her den. He tried to avoid doing that when he wasn't invited, for though he knew he was not unwelcome, he could also understand how unpleasant it might feel to return home and smell someone else's scent, even if it was a familiar person. He would not do that to Haldeilda, who was one of the few people he counted among his friends.
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Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 10:38 am
 Qahwa's decision to look for Halle near her den was an accurate one. Today, Haldeilda didn't feel much like meandering through her territory. The weather seemed like it would take a turn for the worse as a wave of passing clouds proceeded to travel across the sky, blotting out the sun for a few moments.
Halle's resting spot at the front of her den allowed for an optimal view at most of her territory anyway. She had gotten lucky at finding this odd rock outcropping in the middle of the savannah and had set up camp there some time ago. So when Halle's ears picked up some movement at the western edges of her territory it took on a small shift in her position to investigate from her shaded abode.
On the horizon she could see a large figure approaching. Being upwind she couldn't scent the intruder, but she could see them partially. It looked like a male leopard, either black or brown in color. She wasn't sure which at the moment. A twinge pulled at her, and she wondered if perhaps it was Qahwa come to see her again. Haldeilda liked to count the days between Qahwa's visits, and this time it was remarkably shorter than previous instances. Getting up from her spot by her den, Halle decided to take the risk of meeting Qahwa half-way, hoping she was right in her assessment and that she hadn't just walked into a very undesirable situation.
"Qahwa?" Haldeilda called, puffing herself up a bit in case it was not her friend, "Is that you?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 11:09 am
Qahwa was both surprised and not surprised by Halle's appearance. On one hand, he was surprised by her sudden appearance. On the other hand, he was not surprised that she had appeared suddenly. It made sense in his head, anyway. He wasn't used to being taken by surprise, but when he was, Halle was one of those best able to do so.
He didn't know how she was able to sneak up on him with such facility, but he suspected it had something to do with the fact that he tended to let his guard down once he knew he was near her home. He had never encountered anything dangerous there, and thus he had come to regard the place as safe, somewhere he didn't have to be on high alert all the time. Which meant that sometimes things - in most cases Halle herself - escaped his notice.
"Halle!" he called back with an easy grin. His energy felt renewed by her arrival. "Of course it's me. How many other leopards do you get in these parts?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 8:38 am
"Not many," Haldeilda said, a grin pasted across her face at the fact it was her friend and not some stranger.
It was a relief given the past few weeks in her territory. The herds had come through, giving her plenty of food to feast on, but attracting predators in which she didn't want around. Even though she had no cubs, and therefore an intruder's presence was not as significant, she couldn't simply have whomever wandering her lands. Other Rogues would get the wrong idea and mistake her home for some haven with a lioness who couldn't hold her own. She'd spent the last few weeks driving many people out of her territory and was glad the herds had moved on.
"I was just surprised, is all. Pleasantly," Halle said reassuringly.
She could see how even friends of hers could be a little sketchy about showing up unannounced. She had her bad days, after all. Those days where she wanted nothing to do with anyone and where company was an unwanted feeling. Halle would chalk it up to womanly angst and apologize accordingly afterwards. When in the Rogue Lands you never wanted a burnt bridge with a friend or ally.
"How have you been? You must tell me of your travels! You know I love to hear about them," She grinned.
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Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 9:44 am
Qahwa didn't quite bound to close the distance between them, but he didn't exactly meander, either. He was very glad to see his friend. Glad and relieved. When he reached her he bumped the top of his head against her shoulder in a sign of friendly affection.He could tell from the way the grass was mostly trampled, even now, that herds had moved through this area not long ago, and he knew that would mean an influx of people pursuing them. He didn't envy Halle the task of keeping them out of her territory and away from her den.
"Of course pleasantly. I am excellent company. And not bad to look at, either," he replied with a cocksure grin.
In truth, Qahwa was aware that he was not always excellent company. Sometimes he came to Haldeilda so bitter and dejected he wondered that she didn't toss him out on his rump and tell him to quit feeling sorry for himself. That's how he would have reacted if he'd met someone like himself in one of his dark moods, at any rate, but Qahwa had a much shorter fuse and far less tolerance for stupidity than Halle seemed to have. Her forbearance impressed him mightily.
"Up and down. Not too much of the down, though," he answered with a shrug. "I'll tell you about my travels if you'll tell me about the herds coming through. It's a phenomenon I always manage to miss, wherever I go."
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Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 1:54 pm
Haldeilda tried her best to hold back the smile that was forming on her face. Sometimes Qahwa could be quite incorrigible, and she tried to best not to encourage his antics since attempting to scold him for them didn't always take. He was funny too her though, and his sense of self was something Halle often admired. He would take chances she would not, and always presented the full extent of himself to the world, when she often wouldn't.
"I can neither confirm, nor deny this," Halle said, the smile growing wider on her face. She was so pleased to see him again. When he was around it felt more like home than normal.
"The herds," Haldeilda said with a strained sigh. It was something she would sooner forget. While having all that food at her doorstep was a dream come true; however, the fact that there was constant predators intruding upon her lands was not and Halle often found herself driving people out of her home than indulging in her good fortunes.
"The food was delicious, the company was unwanted," She mused, remembering a clout she had gotten on her back leg from trying to rush a large male lion out of her territory. She sighed. It was still open a little, which was probably why the vultures were still circling. They thought she'd be their meal. Too bad their wishes would never some true. "I have never had to force away so many felines and hyenas before. It was a blessing and a curse."
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Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 7:04 pm
"What? That I'm excellent company or not bad to look at? Personally, I would say you'd be a less biased judge than I am when it comes to it."
He swished his tail in a sort of shrug, willing to let the matter go. He was feeling incorrigible suddenly, his spirits lifted by having not only entered his friend's territory, but been welcomed. The welcome was important to him, for he had known many instances where he had been chased from a land where he had thought himself safe before. Such was always Qahwa's way, swinging from one extreme of temper to the other. Now he was on the upswing, obviously.
"What can I say? People are utterly uncivilized. Barring yourself, of course." He grinned. "I think you put it very well though."
He would have to remember how she'd phrased it, "the food was delicious, the company was unwanted," to use at a later date. It definitely had a good ring to it. He approved whole-heartedly of her wording and wondered if it heralded some new direction for her speech patterns in general. Then he wondered if she needed a new direction for her speech patterns, since he rather liked her usual turn of phrase.
"You seem to have done an admirable job of it. I salute you." So saying he sketched a jesting bow.
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 7:10 am
Hale smiled as Qahwa gave her a bow as he complimented her ability to keep her land as her own. He was so funny sometimes with his gestures and moods. He was definitely on the upbeat swing, which was nice for her. She had seen on several occasions where he was in a less than jesting mood. Regardless of whether he was upbeat or down-trodden, she'd never force him out of her lands just because he was having a bad day. She figured that was one thing that being friends was about; liking them enough to suffer through all their moods, not just the good ones.
"How long do you plan on staying this time, Qahwa?" Haldeilda asked, flashing her friend a pleasant smile. She figured if he was staying more than a day or so than she should gather them a feast of sorts. There were still a few pockets of prey that hadn't migrated on yet because of young, so they'd be easy pickings as a feast for the two.
"If you're hungry I can go grab you something," She offered.
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 8:56 am
Hale's question didn't exactly catch Qahwa by surprise, but he still hadn't given the matter a great deal of thought. He never really planned how long he would stay in Hale's territory. It was mostly a matter of showing up when he showed up and leaving when he left. Or when Hale hinted that it might be time for him to move on. She was always very pleasant in issuing those hints, but usually by the time she issued them, Qahwa had already reached the same conclusion and so they would be in accord.
It was one of the many things he liked about Hale. The way they seemed to understand each other so very well, even without having to articulate their thoughts a lot of the time. It had more or less always been like that too, as he remembered it. It was possible that it hadn't been, and that there'd been a period where there was awkwardness between them when they hadn't known each other so well, but he couldn't make himself remember that time, and in his memory that time hadn't existed.
"I'm not sure. Until you're tired of me, I suppose." He said that so frequently, he was surprised she asked. Maybe she liked the routine of asking the same question and receiving the same answer.
There were times when he stayed for only a short period of time, but even then, he was never really sure if it would be a short or long visit. Even if he came in thinking one thing, he quite frequently found himself lingering. Only rarely did he leave before he had expected to do so. It was pleasant to have a place of respite.
"I'm always hungry and willing to be fed. How else am I going to grow taller than you?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 7:20 am
Haldeilda chuckled at Qahwa's comment. She never really got tired of having the leopard's company, but having the friendship they had, she knew when it was time for him to move on. He'd start getting moody and become unpleasant sometimes. It was an odd relationship the two shared, but she liked having this relationship despite it's drawbacks.
"No one could ever tire of you," She said quietly with a smile, listening as he said he was always hungry and how he would never be taller than he if he didn't eat.
"Well, since we're both hungry I'll grab us somethin' to eat, than." Haldeilda said pleasantly, stretching out a little bit, her one leg twitching slightly in pain from the open wound. It would heal eventually, for now she'd have to deal with the nuisance it was as she grabbed herself and her friend something good to eat. Pregnant gazelle sounded good right about now.
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