[PRP] A Different Stranger (Whalow and Shabnam)

[Lilbabe808]

Shabnam was on the move as usual. If there was one thing she could be considered a master at, it would be traveling. Should she measure the amount of land she traveled, the miles would far outnumber the years she had lived. There was something about never staying in one place. Though for some reason there was a bit of yearning to find a home, to settle. Of course, she had yet to really find a place that would accept her for who she was and was not completely overrun by lions. As it were, she was content to remain a rogue. It wasn't so bad. She got to see many different things, some strange and some fascinating. Her eyes scanned the horizon as she pushed forward, her paws moving in an almost uniform fashion.
 

[Cajanic]

Whalow didn't really like to stand still- she was a cheetah. She liked to run. It was only natural that she enjoy something like that. Of course, tell that to her sister. The sluggish, lazy cheetah seemed only interested in taking naps and watching the sky above her like a lump. Not Whalow. Not when there was so much around her for her to explore.

She raced over the grasses, enjoying the way the dryer bits snapped against her paws as she ripped through. It was so much fun moving fast- who could hate that kind of speed?

Of course, seeing where she was going was difficult with that kind of speed, and she slammed right into something large and white, flashes of rainbows dancing in her eyes from the impact.

Or maybe that was part of the creature she had just run into.  

[Lilbabe808]

Cajanic

Shabnam had seriously been paying attention to where she was going and her surroundings. Of course, it wasn't her fault she hadn't seen the cheetah coming. With the speed it was going in, it had been a blur. There had been no time for her to respond. Before she knew it, all the air had been knocked out of her and she was lying on the ground. Her mouth gaped open trying to suck in air to breathe. Her eyes barely even registered the purple cheetah that was on top her. Finally, with a loud gasping wheeze, she gulped in air as if it were water and she had been dying of thirst. Then she pinned the cheetah with a vicious stare. There were no words yet since she was still recovering her breath.
 

[Cajanic]

Whalow rolled along the ground, a flurry of limbs, for several seconds before finally coming to a stop. When she sat herself up, she found the world continued to spin even though she no longer did. Shaking her head, she fought away the sensation, peering over her shoulder to see what she had run into. It was a hyena, by the looks of it, and not a very happy one at that. Maybe that was to be expected.

She had just crashed into her.

"Um, sorry," she said with a shrug of her cheetah shoulders, "I guess I wasn't really watching where I was going. But you should probably get out of the way if you hear a cheetah coming! Don't you know we're going really fast? Makes it hard for us to stop!"

Was she blaming the other for what had happened? In part, yes, yes she was. Because otherwise she would be too embarrassed about her mistake.  

[Lilbabe808]

Whereas most any animal would get even more mad at the ridiculous things that the cheetah had said, Shabnam did not. Instead, she broke out in laughter. Her sides heaving with it as she rolled back onto her paws. The cackle coming from her could have been described as crazy if one thought about the situation that brought it forth. But she had always had a very odd sense of humor. Then she finally managed to find the breath to speak. "You honestly think a hyena can move fast enough to get out of the way of a cheetah going at top speed?" She broke into laughter again. "Are you mad?"

After all, one had to be slightly off in the head to even think Shabnam had a chance to move. "You should have been the one paying attention." She put a very heavy emphasis on the 'you' part.
 

[Cajanic]

"I should think they could at least hear a cheetah coming! What else are those ears for?" She huffed, though she wasn't really that mad about it. She just felt a little embarrassed that she hadn't been more careful. Cheetahs were known for speed and control, not just blindly rushing over the terrain without paying attention to anything around them.

She was a poor cheetah for running into someone else, and that annoyed her. No doubt her sister would give her hell for it.

"I think we're both to blame," she insisted, "you can't be so careless out here, and maybe I could have been watching a bit more. Either way, the fault is even. Maybe we should just leave it at that."

She hoped so- it would help her feel just a little bit better about what had happened. Anyway, she didn't want to keep fighting with someone she had only just met.  

[Lilbabe808]

Shabnam was actually insulted at the words of the cheetah. How dare she mention her ears, as if just hearing a cheetah coming meant she should sidestep because obviously the cheetah was planning to run her over. "I should think that you should at least see a rainbow maned hyena. Or are your eyes useless?" She wasn't shouting, in fact, she had said in a low growl and slightly mocking tone. Really, this cheetah probably irritated her more than any other creature she had ever met in her life and she had met some weird ones.

Not a very ladylike hyena, Shabnam snorted at what was said. The fault was even. She was hardly at fault for getting run over. "Fine, we're even. But I suggest, young cheetah, that you learn to watch where you are going before you run over someone that would rather sink their teeth into you rather than bicker." She tacked on in her thoughts that the cheetah had the most ridiculous things to say ever. What was with her and running into the weird ones? Couldn't she run into a normal animal out here? Or was she forever cursed by the gods?
 

[Cajanic]

She listened, but not much sunk in. She was too busy thinking about what she was going to do after their conversation was over. Maybe she would go get something to eat, or see if her sister had gotten off her lazy a**. Anything was better than sitting there speaking to a very weird Hyena. Not that she knew many hyenas. This was the first one she had met.

"Humph, like that would ever happen," the cheetah replied rather indifferently, "I doubt anything capable of catching me would be so easily caught in my path." She wasn't worried about things trying to hurt her- why should she? After all, she was a god damn cheetah.

she would out run anything that tried to hurt her. Except another cheetah, perhaps, but why would her own kind attack her?

Thinking about it was starting to make her head hurt.
 

[Lilbabe808]

Shabnam had to nearly bite her tongue to keep herself from saying anything more. Really, she shouldn't. Why waste her breath and words on one that wouldn't even bother to listen? There was much this cheetah had to learn and she was not going to be the one to teach her. It was probably best if they parted ways.

She stood straight up, head high and turned away. Without looking back she said, "There is not much we have in common and I'd rather be on my way." There was dirt and bits of dry grass still stuck to her rainbow mane from being run over. Hopefully she'd never run into this particular cheetah ever again. Though this one was the first cheetah she encountered before. Now her views of them would forever be colored by this first meeting.

"Goodbye." Shabnam padded away slowly at her own leisure pace.
 

[Cajanic]

Whalow watched the other as she left, frowning slightly to herself. She did feel a little bit guilty, perhaps, that she had made an enemy from something so harmless. If she had just apologized, it would have been fine. But her damn ego had gotten in her way, making it difficult for her to see past saving face. Was it really worth it? Was being angry better than being embarrassed?

Yes. Yes it was.

"Goodbye!" She huffed, putting her nose in the air as she turned her head from the departing hyena. Maybe this whole thing could have been avoided, but she wasn't the cheetah for that kind of job.

She was just too stubborn, and just too interested in her own needs. So she picked herself up and took off again, hoping she wouldn't crash into anyone else on her adventures.

Lest history repeat.

-fin-