Uhai wasn't one to wander. Okay, maybe he was. But today was just one of those days when he pulled himself around, if at all, by his claws. He knew the last time he'd been in this kind of situation, looking at the world around him, he'd recalled something unpleasant, and he'd sincerely hoped that this time, he would be a little luckier. The sun was high,and he knew there was NO WAY he could be the only feline roaming the grassy rogue lands he called home.
Here? Or was it there?
Ayida's eyes flicked nervously from one direction to the next, trying to remember which direction she had come from. There she was, trying to herd home a few animals, then the next thing she knew they'd escaped her and run off, leaving her lost in the middle of nowhere. Then she saw it, a splash of brown and white that kind of looked like one of the animals she'd had earlier. Cautiously she crawled in the creature's direction, body nearly flat against the ground in an attempt to hide the brightly colored spots that would give her away almost instantaneously.
A rustle in the grass nearby alerted Uhai to an unknown presence, his eyes widening as something seemed to approach through the tall grass. He quickly stood, taking a few steps away from the approaching threat and he spoke, "Um... Is someone there?" A small lump was forming in the male's throat at the idea that someone was considering him a snack, much less some kind of tormented toy. He could barely make out the blacks and white that made up his follwer's colors as he scrambled backwards, tripping over his own tail and planting his butt on the ground.
Her prey spoke?!
With a frustrated sigh, Ayida stood up, blinking at the male cheetah with a frown, "Aww darnit, you aren't what I wanted!" She huffed, defeated, and sat down, facing away from her former target and hunching her shoulders. "I really suck at this job..." She murmured under her breath, toying with the anthill on the ground in front of her with a paw,carefully avoiding the little bugs that scattered in and out of the mouth of their home.
Uhai perked his ears lightly, more than a little relieved at hearing his pursuer speak. When she turned her back to him, he stood, walking casually towards her and peering around her shoulder, "What is it that you're looking for, miss?" She may have just mistook him for food, he didn't care.He was just hoping for a good conversation, one he hadn't seen in a good while.
Ayida snorted, turning red in the face when he'd asked his question, "Oh, don't worry about it... It's nothing important." She turned to look at him, scooting away from him to better take in his coloring. How'd she mess up,again?He was obviously different, but with the distance, maybe he'd looked similar to her.Or maybe this heat was just a little too much when she didn't stop for water every so often,like she should have. She looked around for a moment before speaking again, "You wouldn't happen to know which way is north, would you?"
"North?" Uhai chirped, head tilting to one side as he gave her a once-over, "You're...actually lost?" He didn't want to laugh, couldn't laugh. The idea that someone would wander around in broad daylight and not keep track of where they were heading, something had to be wrong, "Just tell me what's up, I don't mind lending an ear when someone needs it."
Ayida raised a brow, "No offense, but I don't want to talk about stuff with a random strange cheetah I tried to nab for home..." She couldn't help the small smile that crept across her face. This guy was weird, but he seemed likable, whoever he was or wherever he'd come from. "But... I'm Ayida, for starters."
Uhai hadn't expected the introduction. In fact, he almost didn't hear it at all, and at the last moment he quickly spoke up, "Oh, right! I'm Uhai'kasi. Or Uhai, whichever you prefer. A pleasure to meet you, Ayida." He couldn't help but feel a little awkward befriending the femme, especially since she was a good amount larger than him and he wasn't sure if she was the type to anger easily. Always a lover, never a fighter, Uhai's favorite words.
"Uhai...? Well, alright." Ayida thought his name was weird, but to say it was against her nature. Her gaze shifted to the ground again, watching the ants in their little world before she spoke again, "I could go for some water, shame on me..."
Uhai quickly tapped her shoulder, face pointed to left of where they were sitting, "There's a stream nearby, if you want to take a little walk. I'd bring it to you, but I'm no better at carrying water than you probably are at fitting into a rabbit hole."
Without another word, Ayida was on her feet and headed in the direction he'd been looking, "No no, I can walk!" She couldn't contain the note in her voice that gave away just how thirsty she was, if her retreating form had been any less of a sign.
Uhai laughed.In all honesty, this girl was really something different, and he had to keep his pace fast in order to keep up with her, in all her excitement. When they hit a small hill, her gestured to the left and quickly tugged at her forearm, "Come on, this way still Miss Thirsty."
Ayida had only felt the tug to know to turn, and she quickly turned to head in the direction he was pointing.It was then she saw it, the cool water that ran alongside of the path they were taking. She ran forward, ready to jump in and not only drink the water, but splash around to cool off.
"Woah, hey, wait a minute!" Uhai called,quickly racing after the larger femme in an attempt to catch up. He knew about the depth that this part of the stream's mud had, as did most of the animals that lived nearby. But this lioness, if she didn't stop before she got stuck...
Ayida tried to slow down just a little too fast, and she fell headfirst into the stream at full force. She laughed it off until she realized the suction hold the riverbed had on her hind leg, her attempts to pull herself free only tightening the grip on her and she whined at the male cheetah, "Help?" A pout formed itself on her features, feeling utterly pitiful at this point.
Uhai slapped himself with a paw, quickly running over to help free her from the muck. He grabbed hold of her and pulled, knowing of no other way to free her without injuring her and possibly crippling her. He didn't know what pulling would do, so now was as good a time as any to find out. Hopefully, this would work. His hind legs dug into the dirt, his forelegs touching the water's ripples as he strained to dislodge her...
Ayida squeaked at the sudden pulling, doing everything in her own power to help free herself, including clawing at the edge of the water with her free leg. That is,if she could reach, but at this point, the hold on her leg just strained to keep her in place. Then she felt it, ever so lightly the strain was weakening. Her eyes widened in surprise at the power this little male had, her freed hind leg finally getting a grip on the ground so she could help pull herself forward.
Uhai had felt her slipping free just as she had, and it only made him pull harder in an effort to free her, "You know..." He grunted, straining less now that she was helping him, "...you really... should... learn to...listen..."
"I'm sorrry." Ayida's leg was halfway free,she could feel the mud stuck to her fur and wrinkled her nose at the grooming she was going to have to go through later on.But now wasn't the time for those kinds of thoughts, and with one last tug she freed her leg, only to fall on top of her companion from the sudden change.
Uhai groaned with the sudden appearance of the female crushing him, scrambling to free himself from underneath her and get fresh air. Managing to maneuver out from beneath her, he coughed a few times and looked at her, unable to help himself from laughing at the trauma that came along with this femme.
Laughter was one thing Ayida could agree to at that point, and she shook with it, "Oh wooow." She coughed out between laughs, stretching out along the ground with exhaustion, "You know, maybe you can lead the way from now on. For example, I need to get home..."
Uhai stretched out next to her, looking at her with a frown, "I thought you were thirsty?" He stood up slowly, offering her a paw to help her up as he looked in the direction they'd just come from.
"I'm just going to skip that for now.." Ayida frowned right back, accepting his help as she started walking in the direction the sun was setting, "Looks like home's this way... I think..."
Uhai shook his head and quickly walked after her, "How about I lead, and you follow, okay? We don't need a repeat..." He smiled softly, praying her directions were right. Heck, at least if she was wrong, he wouldn't mind taking an extra few minutes for conversation with her...
[Word Count: 1,614]
