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 Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 12:36 pm
 The sun was achingly sweet on her flanks, warming her right to her bones. It was not yet afternoon, when Lani would have to slink off to some shadowy place to keep cool, and the bright rays of sunrise were stretching out their paintbrush fingers across the savannah. Lani’s already bright coat seemed to glow like fire in the warm light. And she knew it too, of course, vain little thing. Lani popped back on her haunches and nibbled a bit of dirt from her foreleg.
Lani was, at present, in need of a drink. She’d spent quite a bit of the morning loping through the scrubland looking for a beetle or two to scrounge up for breakfast. One overturned log later and she’d filled her belly with fat, wriggling grubs. Delicious! Not the heartiest meal, but they were fatty and rich. They’d do her good for the rest of the day.
With a yawn, Lani stretched and popped her joints about, before leaping onto her toes and taking off toward the sweet-wet scent of water. There was a river not too far, not one she frequented, but at the moment, any water would do.
Not too many animals about it, it seemed. A few jittering birds causing a ruckus as they cleaned themselves, but not antelope or predators in sight, it seemed. The scent and sound of water masked her senses, making her blind to anything but what her eyes could see. She’d have to be quick.
Lani darted toward the water, her tail flicking behind her, and sank her head down to drink.
SPLASH!
Something huge and monstrous lunged out of the shore, snapping meter-long jaws her way. Lani yipped and scrambled backwards, her hair on end, teeth bared.
The crocodile had missed its target, thankfully, and sank back into the murky depths.
Lani bristled and bared her teeth, barking furiously at the river side, where the monster left a long belly track. She pranced nervously back and forth… keeping a good few body-lengths between her in the water.
“Almost killed me, the b*****d!”
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Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 1:05 pm
Bahatisha couldn't help but be a little upset... It had been a long time since her last big risk! Well, ok, she had maybe taken a risk when she went after those warthog piglets the other day... But she had done that alone! It was more fun to do with someone else- even if that someone is just watching! Yes, the young wild dog was looking for adventure for days, but not finding it. Her luck was low, she supposed, but she had hope for a turnaround! Luck, as it was, had to always be on her side.
Though, now she felt only thirst driving her, with the sun beating down. With a steady lope towards the scent of water, her panting was pretty loud... As she approached the water, she couldn't help to hear a commotion. Her favorite sound on a day like this! She padded up to the other wild dog in sight, who was poofed up aimed at the water. She had missed what exactly had happened, but she could put it together. The female's words and the remaining path were all she needed to know.
"Sounds like that was a close one!" she said from a distance- the stranger was clearly still on-edge. She hoped not to have startled the stranger further.
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Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 5:48 pm
With her attention on the still-rippling water, Lani didn’t notice anyone approaching her from behind. Her nerves were all alight with fire and it seemed that everything was much brighter than it should have been. Had her life flashed before her eyes? Lani had no idea… she’d been to saving the rest of it to pay attention. She could barely see the shape of the croc under the surface, lazily making his way toward the opposite bank.
Finally, finally, she shook, ridding herself off excess nervousness. Lani sent one more purposeful growl in the crocodile’s direction and jerked her chin up high in the air. While she was trying to put on a brave front, her tail continue to belie her, hanging low between her thighs and twitching back and forth.
The sound of someone else startled her. She leaped into the air and flipped about, landing daintily on her toe-tips, ears flipped back and teeth flashing.
Another dog. Almost immediately, Lani calmed herself, settling back and lowering her head. A young one, too. No threat at all. Although… how much had she seen? How embarrassing!
“Much too close,” she huffed, glancing over her shoulder,” And now I’m thirstier than ever… but I’m not going back in there with Mr. Crocodile on my tail.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 3:11 pm
Hati was glad she'd stayed a little bit away- that would have been bad if she'd crept up too much. "Geez, some crocodiles... so snappy!" she said with a little chuckle. "Talk about bad manners. My name's Bahatisha," she said at the mention of bad manners- not introducing herself would mean she had them too! "But you can just call me Hati," she said with a nod, glad that the other had calmed down some. She approached to a more normal conversational distance.
"That's a big problem," she said, glancing back towards the river too. "Truth is, I'm pretty thirsty too... And I'm not sure I know of another nearby water hole around here... Do you?" There was a possibility the multicolored stranger would be more familiar with the landscape around here.
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Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2012 1:32 am
Lani shuffled her paws in the dirt, casting the waterhole one last, useless, sneer, before prancing further up the bank. She stopped a few yards away from the little white female and offered her a toothy grin. Her fur was still fluffed along her back, so she shook herself, attempting to rinse away the last vestiges of her fright.
“Bahatisha!” Lani exclaimed with a chortle,” That’s nearly as bad as my name. I’m Laniluana, but mostly I prefer Lani.” Lani and Hati, that didn’t sound too rough. Rolled easily enough off the tongue. Ugh, the tongue… Lani smacked her jaws open and slapped her tongue on the roof of her mouth. Dry as sun-baked carrion.
“No others for many miles, and none as fresh as this one,” she eyed the river, watching its tail snake off into the distance,” Could always follow the river and see if Mr.Crocodile gets bored...” She wasn’t really counting on it, though. And where one crocodile lived, others were sure to be squatters.
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