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 Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 8:39 pm
 Arundo was sitting, staring at the pathetic little stream winding its way through the earth. It was nothing like the raging river along which his father had taught him how to fish. There were fish in this one, it was (barely) big enough to support them, but it was no sport at all to scoop them out. They were small, barely even a mouthful for a cub, let alone an adult. He actually could catch them now. The leopard hadn't been the first of his siblings to master the skill (had, in fact, been the last) but he had eventually learned. Not before he left though. Okay, well, to be perfectly fair, Arundo hadn't actually left his father. He'd just gotten lost and not been able to catch up. But he'd been an adult by then, so it just made sense to try and make it on his own, without his father. He certainly wasn't going to admit he was a total failure without any help getting along. Not to himself or anyone else.
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Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 12:40 pm
Chepe'tifu adored hunting.
Each takedown, each cry as she slowly killed her crippled victims, both excited her and assured her that this was who she was, what she was. It was both stimulating and soothing, in a sense. The assassin's clan might have scattered, but she would always be exactly what she was--a hunter, a killer, a murderer, with little pity and no remorse.
Catching sight of the preoccupied leopard, a wicked grin crossed her face. Now this...this could be fun.
"Well...what do we have here?"
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Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 12:45 pm
The lavender leopard turned around at the sound of a voice behind him to see...a female. A dusty brown female that didn't look quite like a leopard. She seemed similar to a cheetah also, but clearly wasn't that either.
Arundo had, at least, seen cheetahs. He'd even met one or two. They were nice enough. Sprinters and a lot faster than he was at the same distance. But they couldn't climb trees and didn't seem to be good at fishing either. That was about all he knew concerning cheetahs.
"A stream," he answered the stranger logically enough. "And some rocks. Oh, and a leopard and a woman who isn't a cheetah or a leopard!" the boy added with a wink for his unexpected companion.
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Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 12:58 pm
"Of course." The sandy leotah smirked as she padded closer, before glancing into the stream. Fish...they could be challenging enough, but required enough dexterity that a slow kill was nearly impossible...and what was the fun when they couldn't tell you how it hurt? Not to mention, these fish were pitifully small. No fun, no meat, not worth the effort. She raised a brow as she looked back at the leopard. "You're not after these...things, I hope."
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Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 2:08 pm
Arundo followed her gaze and answered with a laugh. "No...I could catch them, but what's the use? They're not worth eating." He reflected on the larger river he remembered from his youth. "Though if we were beside the big river, I could catch ones that were longer than my leg," he told the girl slyly. It was strange. He couldn't decide what she was. It was as if someone had taken a cheetah and a leopard and combined them together. But he didn't think that was possible. Was it?
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 9:03 pm
Chepe tilted her head for a moment, giving Arundo a sidelong look. "At least that would be a meal worth the lack of entertainment," she mused. "But I prefer something I can...run down, so to speak." She gave him a sharp-fanged grin. "More risk, more reward, less chance of drowning."
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 9:09 pm
Arundo gave the female a lopsided grin. "I can see the appeal. But there's so much competition! There aren't nearly so many who know how to fish though," he replied. As for drowning...did she not know how to swim at all?
Not to mention that he wasn't particularly good at hunting anything larger than, say, a ratel, if it was out of water. He was a leopard after all, not a lion. Though he still wasn't sure what this female was.
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 9:22 pm
"Oh, I don't have much trouble with competition." The sharp grin widened. "And it's worth it. What's a meal without a little bit of adventure to season it?" She was beyond amused by the curiousity she could see in him at this point. She'd swear he'd never seen one of her kind before. "You know, if you watch me any harder, your eyes might fall out." A wink.
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 9:26 pm
The leopard considered that statement. "I suppose adventure is good..." he admitted, clearly thinking over the idea. Maybe she was...hinting at something? Or was he reading her wrong? He certainly didn't want to act on what he thought he was seeing and risk being wrong.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" he exclaimed as she pointed out his rudeness. "I was just trying to figure out...ah...well, there's things about you like leopards, and other things like cheetahs and...well..." Arundo trailed off helplessly, shrugging his shoulders in silent defeat.
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 9:30 pm
Oh, she loved being right. An oddly young-sounding giggle escaped Chepe, before she winked again. "That's because I'm both. My mother was a cheetah, and my father was a leopard not so unlike yourself." Hopelessly naive, from what little her mother had said of him. Nice enough, but in the end a fool all the same.
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 9:34 pm
"Both!?" Yellow eyes widened and Arundo continued staring. "I didn't even know that was possible!" he burst out, shock unhinging his jaw from the the restraint it normally had.
Then he realized he was staring and probably offending her.
"Gee, I'm really sorry, I don't mean to stare or anything, but I've never met anyone like you before. Which you knew. Sorry!" he added quickly.
"Uh...my name's Arundo. What's yours?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2012 7:16 pm
"It's interesting what turns out to be possible if you only try it," Chepe answered with deceptive mildness. Inwardly, she was crowing with laughter at the look on the leopard's face--he really hadn't realized that cross-breeding was possible! "Hybrids like me usually aren't able to duplicate the trick, though. The combination doesn't lend itself well to...producing offspring."
Hmm. A name. "Tifu." Probably not best to give her full name, in case she got carried away.
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Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2012 7:21 pm
The lavender leopard swallowed nervously. What exactly was she getting at? He wasn't sure what she meant by hybrids not being able to produce offspring. Why wouldn't anyone be able to have kids? It didn't make any sense to Arundo at all.
"There's...not a lot I have tried," the boy admitted with some embarrasment. Tifu was so much more worldly than he was!
"What's it like, being a bit of both?" Arundo asked his conversational companion.
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Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:35 pm
"Suppose I show you?" Chepe smirked, beginning to saunter off. She did, however, pause to glance over her shoulder to check that he was following.
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Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:38 pm
He wasn't entirely certain what she was indicating with her words or her body language, but Arundo was definitely intrigued. So the lavender leopard obediently followed the female.
"Okay," he agreed aloud.
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