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 Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:52 am
 Have you ever felt like this? Have strange things happened, are you going round the twist?
Well, she could honestly say that she had a few strange things happened to her lately. There was a giant sand storm when she was crossing the desert by the pride that dwelled there. Then when she got to, what she thought, was the flat lands, the grasses were black and scorched with fire. It seemed all of the world was suffering from odd weather. Her ears pinned back against her head as she continued to walk through the charred grass. Her paws were turning black and she had black on her nose from sniffing the ground to try to find some form of life, or at least where a herd of zebras or something had been.
Venya was starving. Her stomach rumbled loudly as she walked a long ways, leaving the crunch grass behind to something brown. Dead from drought. It crunched in a different way under her paws. Was there a river close? She had no idea, but she could hope.
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:58 am
 This land was no place for him. He often found it ironic that, as a leopard with a marking that looked suspiciously like food, he was often wandering in lands like this - dead and barren. What had caused it? He couldn't say. Still, even in the most desolate of landscapes there was hope. Scrubby little plants that persevered and prospered, shoots of green poking upwards through ash...little things that said even these lands were not forsaken by the gods. Even if they looked as if they had borne a god' wrath. There was movement ahead, which resolved itself into a brown figure which further clarified itself into a lioness. Quolibet was often suspicious of lions. They were larger than any other creatures he regularly ran into, and most seemed to have some sort of superiority complex where others were concerned. So he did nothing towards her, merely kept on moving. And watching her out of the corner of his eye.
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 11:06 am
Noise caught her attention as soon as she heard it. She pulled her head up and peered out before spotting a very yellow leopard. She narrowed her eyes slightly before sighing. A leopard wasn't a meal. They were too stringy and their meat too tough. She knew because she'd found a dead one once and tried it out. She gave it to the hyenas. Licking her dry fur on her muzzle, she padded over to him. Venya didn't know about a superiority complex or anything of the like, but maybe he knew where some water was.
"Excuse me," she called out to him, stopping withing a comfortable talking distance where she didn't have to actually scream. Just talk a bit louder than normal. "Excuse me, but do you know where a river is? Perhaps a like or a stream even? Some form of water?"
She would see if this leopard was stuck up.
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 11:10 am
Well well well. A lioness asking him for directions. The leopard's lips curled upwards in something that could just barely be called a smile. This was entertaining. He could, if he so chose, send her 'round in circles and deeper into the desolation. Or he could be courteous and aid her.
Or he could ignore her. There was always that option.
Hmmm.
Quolibet flipped a mental rock. Light, he sent her to her grave. Dark, he aided her. Point, he ignored her. The mental image flopped around before landing dark side up.
"There is a seep not too far from here," he said aloud. "But it is slow and hard to spot. Even if you find it, you may not get more than a few mouthfuls at a time."
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 11:43 am
Maybe he was a snob after all. All he had done thus far was smile at her and stare like he had some kind of brain damage. A frown pulled at her lips as she waited for his answer. It seemed he was doing some debating now, as she watched his face. Well! He wasn't very kind if he had to think about helping her. He was probably the kind of leopard that didn't do well with lions and only stuck to their kind. Like some lion prides. She, personally, only had a problem with hyenas. They tended to be vicious when hunting near her. She'd been robbed of a meal or two because of four or more hyenas around her.
When he spoke, Venya looked surprised. Really? "A seep?" She asked, stepping just a little closer. "Will you be so kind as to show me where? A few mouthfuls is better than nothing." It'd been about a day and a half since she had anything to wet her mouth on besides plant water, but even then she couldn't get more than a few drops at a time. So a mouthful was plenty to her.
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 1:05 pm
That was expected. If she'd been from around here, she would have already known about the seep. Since she didn't, obviously he'd have to show her. So be it. He'd already opened his mouth, so he might as well follow through.
Wordlessly, the yellow and green leopard turned and headed for the place. It was easy to miss if you didn't know where you were going. He himself did not live in this forsaken land, but nearby, close enough that he'd long ago made it a point to be aware of all the water sources around here.
Dehydration was a terrible thing to watch.
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Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 2:14 pm
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Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2012 9:34 am
She followed the yellow and green male as he walked in front of her completely silent. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. Her ears flicked back and forth as they walked and then a sigh escaped Venya's lips as she realized that he wasn't going to be talking any time soon. It was left up to her to break the awkward silence.
At least, awkward to her.
"I'm Venya, by the way," she said in her best attempt to sound friendly. It wasn't that she wasn't friendly, it was just quiet things made her nervous. "What's your name?"
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Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2012 9:40 am
The leopard started slightly as the lioness broke the comfortable silence. He certainly hadn't planned on saying anything more to her, not even after leading her to the seep. So the fact that she'd spoken threw him off a bit. She didn't seem to be one who talked nonstop, and yet was she simply unable to appreciate the silence?
"Quolibet," he answered shortly. Thankfully there was the seep up ahead. The yellow and green leopard hastened his steps so that he could extract himself from the awkward situation as soon as possible.
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Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2012 9:45 am
When he said his name and quickened his pace, her ears flattened against her head. Her own paws moved to keep up with him, but she remained quiet. Well, he was an awkward one, wasn't he? Liking the silence was something Venya had never understood.
To her, silence was like a weight on her ears. It was deafening. With each passing minute, pressure built up in her ears and it felt like her head was going to explode. Not to mention the ringing in her ears. But, it would seem she would have to put up with it. This leopard, Quolibet, didn't seem to want to talk to her. Far be it from her to impose herself too much.
So, her paws moved quietly and quickly. Mouth shut as she tried to focus on anything else besides the pressure in her head and ringing in her ears.
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Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2012 9:49 am
Thank the gods, she'd finally shut up after that. Quolibet could almost sigh in relief, but he didn't. Instead he came up to the seep and turned around, pointing with one paw to where the water slowly leaked out from the earth and formed a small pool. It wasn't enough to really satisfy unless if you were patient, but it was enough to sustain you.
Having done his duty to ensure that a fool didn't die of dehydration, the leopard proceeded to bound over several rocks and go back on his way. He didn't wait to hear if the lioness would thank him or ask for clarification. His job here was done.
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Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2012 9:54 am
Well, she didn't know how to feel about him just leaving like that, but she supposed she had no other choice than to live with it. Venya sighed and looked at the small pool of water and got close enough to drink it dry before she laid down on her stomach, waiting for it to refill. She probably wouldn't be seeing him any time soon, but at least she'd gotten water from the attempt at being social. Too bad he wasn't more social. One would think he would be with his sunny pelt. Ah, well.
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