The leopardess laughed like a cub as she leapt gleefully into the water with a mighty splash, watching the ripples fold across the glassy surface of the wide river. The stars and moon waved slowly with the ripples where they were reflected in the dark surface. It was precisely for this effect that Kir’ella had drenched herself, that and the way that in the water on such a still, clear night, it was as though she walked among the stars. The river was cold, but not too terribly cold, and the night air was warm enough that the cold was pleasant rather than biting. Laughing again, the pink leopardess lifted a paw and dabbled at one of the reflected stars, splashing it and then moving as though to cup it and hold it.
“That won’t work,” a voice pointed out from behind her, and Kir’ella turned, water dripping from her ears, to look at the young cheetah. Shin stood distainfully on the riverbank, his colorful toes well away from the water’s edge and his spotted fur perfectly dry. Still, in spite of his apparent attempt at neatness a few bits of it stuck up and there were tiny fragments of grass and dirt here and there, more visible against the paler colors but visible all the same. The leopardess smiled cheerfully, wading back towards the shore.
“I know I can’t just catch them like that,” she agreed, pausing when she was near enough to converse comfortably with her dry companion. “But it’s still fun, it’s like walking through the night sky,” the pink leopardess explained happily.
Shinobu watched the droplets slide through her wet and spiky fur to make little splashes and shivered involuntarily. Deliberately drench himself? Not very high on his to-do list. Not even on it, as a matter of fact. He could handle getting wet, sure. But if he didn’t have to then why would he do that? Why would she for that matter? “So, what, you’re just getting all soaked then?” he asked, maybe a little reluctant to approve of this lest that mean he should have to join her. After all, he was playing the game and he wanted to win.
“Sure, why not?” Kir’ella asked, tipping her head to the side, “It’s not hurting anything, the water’s a little cold sure but it’s such a lovely warm night and, well…” she trailed off uncertainly, watching him with soft eyes. She didn’t want to exclude her new friend after all. Her ears dropped slightly, and she shook her head to get a small fluff of sodden fur out of her golden eyes. “Nevermind…” the leopardess murmured, stepping out of the river. Maybe this was like the stars story, maybe it was just upsetting him. She hated the idea of making someone upset, a little mischief was fine, but actually making someone unhappy was just… just not okay.
Shinobu backed up as she left the water, her tail trailing drenched through the dirt. She wasn’t going to shake herself dry all over him, was she? Cautiously, he edged away, eyeing her for a moment before he realized she wasn’t just drooping from the water. She was actually unhappy. Well fantastic, he’d really done a good job on that tonight!
“Look…” he said softly, bracing himself for cold as he leaned in to nuzzle her shoulder gently, “I’m sorry, I just… I’m…” What would do the trick? What should he say? “It’s just… the water…” he mumbled, like someone admitting something embarrassing, but he left it at that. It wasn’t a lie, not if she made the mental leap herself. Ah, the power of assumptions.
“Oh…” the leopardess murmured, guilt and apology written all over her features. He was… was afraid of water? No wonder he was upset! Hastily, Kir’ella backed up from where the young cheetah was, as far as she could tell, bracing himself against a fear to comfort her. Her, who didn’t need comforting. “I’m fine, I’m sorry Shin,” she apologized, backing up a bit further before giving herself a good shaking. She should dry off, it was probably making him uncomfortable to see her so dripping and soaking wet. “I didn’t realize, we can do something else instead if you like…” the pink striped feline continued, twisting around to start licking her fur dry and grooming it back into some semblance of order. It was nice to be neat, not vital, but nice. And it wasn’t hard to do, and it would dry her faster which would probably make poor, poor Shin happier. Poor Shin! She’d been so, so, so inconsiderate! How awful of her!
“Don’t worry about it, it’s not you…” Shinobu protested faintly, thoroughly delighted with how well his plans were coming along. She was almost making it too easy. But only almost, there was still some challenge to this yet. That’s what was keeping it interesting though, after all, it would be a hollow victory if his opponent didn’t even try. “Let’s do something else?” the young cheetah suggested, his tail curling invitingly as he stepped towards her. “Are you hungry? The moon is bright tonight, we could have a little midnight hunt if you’d like?” And he could should off his skills. Friendly, with a soft spot that could look like weakness admitted to her, and supreme skills as a hunter and fighter. Oh, she’d be his already, his pretty little game…
“Well, if you’d like. Sure we can,” Kir’ella agreed, pausing in her attempts to make the fur between her shoulder blades lie flat and offering to him a small smile. At least he wasn’t mad at her, or upset. He seemed like he was alright now actually, and even excited to do something else with her. Or maybe he was just hungry and eager to eat. Whichever the case may be, however, she was happy to make sure he stayed happy. It was nice to spend time with a friend, it had been too long really. Ever since her father had… well. It had been some time since she’d gone back to Kavan’s pride. She’d heard about his brother, poor little thing, but after her father had failed to cure the young lion, well. Their welcome was a bit less warm now. It was a shame, no good had come from any of it at all, but she missed Kavan and his little friend. Maybe it was because of Zekile that Shin was putting her so quickly at ease, and by the same stretch making her hope he wasn’t upset. Zekile seemed anxious so often… she’d not met too many cheetahs and there really was something similar in their expressions it seemed.
Similar, but not quite alike. Zekile had always had some sort of sadness buried and reserved out of sight where no one who wasn’t looking closely could spot it. Shin was hiding something too, she was almost certain, but it wasn’t pain like that at least. Then again, there were different kinds of hurt. Maybe Shin’s would be one she could actually alleviate. “Shall we go?” Kir’ella invited warmly, her tail curling as well as she rose to her paws. Ah, there it was, a sweet little smile on Shin’s features.
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