It had been three days since Bali had left Areia’s company. They had had so much fun together, and they had both felt such a connection with one another; it truly was amazing. She had filled up so many spaces in his heart - a sister, a lover, a teacher - all things that he had yearned to have since he was young. As she had said, their souls were permanently linked, with an invisible life force running between the two. She had said he was her strength, and she was his air. While he gave her reason and force to do things, she gave him room to breath, air to just sit in without feeling the need to do anything more. It was a lazy feeling, but it was something that Bali needed in his cramped life.

Their meeting itself had been something of an amazing thing. Within moments of speaking to each other, they had felt an immense force grasp hold of their souls, and they felt like they had become one, and always had been. Others would think them crazy, but Bali could feel what had happened. The desert seemed to have worked its magic on the two strangers, morphing them into the other half of their puzzle. The thought of it made Bali’s head spin, as it moved into deeper and deeper meanings for the cheetah. What others would have probably called heat stroke, he called gaining a newfound sight. It was beautiful and so meaningful to him.

Though the thought of the two parting ways and never seeing each other again did cross his mind, he quickly shoved it away, knowing that neither of them would ever allow for such a thing to happen in their lifetimes. They couldn’t allow for it to happen. Since that faithful day, the two cheetahs became soul mates, forever drawn to the other, no matter how far the distance. In its most basic form, the two of them needed each other, like no creature has needed another before. While most could blame their fractured cubhoods for that, Bali tried not to blame too much on the past. For him, it was over and done with, and he never had to look back if he didn’t want to. It was all merely a reference for him to pull on when the time called for it.

At the moment, Bali was well within the Savannah, relishing the feeling of the grass slide between his toes. It was so cool and calming, and he had truly missed this feeling when he was with Areia; though nothing else could really penetrate his mind as long as she was around.

Thinking about it now, their relationship seemed rather perverted. While he calls her ‘sister,’ he knows that both his mind and body crave her. She is beautiful, charming, seductive - and he knows that she thinks the same of him. He would be lying if he said that they hadn’t fooled around while in each other’s company - no title could change the fact that the two had only met just a short time ago, and they were merely entranced by the immense chemistry that they shared. Bali still felt it, now, as he walked under a paling sky. No matter how many females Bali would end up with, Areia was his one and only everything now. And he was hers. No societal taboo could change the fact that at the end of the day, if they both craved each other enough, they’d be sharing a den for the night. The only thing that kept Bali’s mind straight about the whole issue was the fact that he knew for a fact that they shared no biological relation. Sure, glimpses of consequences floated through his dreams every now and then, but he knew that if anything happened, they’d handle it when the time came.

Coming to a stop, Bali looked up towards the sky. His mind was growing heavy with all the thinking he was doing about him and Areia; a reason that he didn’t want to leave her in the first place. The blue sky was darkening, with the traces of pink and orange seeping from view. He stared up at the trickle of stars that were starting to appear, wondering if Areia was looking up at them as well.

It had been a sad decision, when Bali finally had to leave the desert, but he knew well that she’d be waiting for him when he was done with whatever ‘this’ was. He had set off wanting to figure himself out, figure out if what they shared was right and how they should approach it from now on. While he’d never call her crazy, Areia didn’t exactly see the world in the same manner that everyone else saw it; the world was a giant source of energy, and every creature on it was linked to that in her mind. For some lucky few, the earth had chosen for them to be together, making their relationship sacred and eternal. After what he felt, he knew at least that much just had to be true. But for the rest, he wasn’t so sure on where Areia was getting her ideas from. Most of it, he knew, had to have been from her mother, who by this point in time he’d accepted as being crazy. But some of it had to have come from the lonely days of solice Areia spent in the desert, with no one to guide her or give her love. As soon as he came into her life, though, he could see that everything started to straighten itself out in her head.

Giving his head a shake, Bali tried to clear his mind of all thoughts and concerns. It was all weighing too heavily on him at this point, and he wanted nothing more then to just see everything clearly and return to Areia in the desert. For now, though, he settled on just finding somewhere safe for him to rest for the night.