Howahkan wadded through the shadows of the trees as she traveled. She enjoyed this type of game, seeing how long she could weave in and out of the dark patches while trying to avoid the sun. Though, some times it was impossible to not avoid the sun. The leaves in the canopy parted every now and then, which only added to the difficulty. She could understand the advantages leopards had in this environment. Their pelts would blend in nicely with the dotted patches. Her chocolate fur did have it's advantages though. She could easily fuse into the savanna as well as the jungle. Of course, a hot day seemed to brighten up the dry dirt which didn't bode well for her hide. The shadows were definitely better.
Anga flopped over in his sleep, his feet kicked absently into the air. He was having a nightmare. No matter how far he ran, he couldn't escape the little, evil laughter coming from the depths of darkness. His pelt began to sweat and haze clouded his mind. Panic swept over him, but there was nothing he could do! He yelled for help, but only whimpers escaped his lips. The little devils taunted him and poked him with their talons. They closed in and their needle teeth descended on him. They pierced flesh, his blood flowing out like a river through the empty air. The smell so intoxicating he gagged. Finally, the darkness settled in and Anga uttered "Ah, the world shall miss me!" very dramatically.
An unsettling noise drifted to Howa's ears. She paused and crouched low to the ground, keeping close to her friend the shadow. Caramel eyes darted across the area until they settled on a black lion. She sank deeper into the growth, cautious of this new threat. His moments were sporadic and alarming. It was almost like he was sick, but as she watched, Howa noticed that he was only dreaming. What a dream he must be having. Whatever was happening, she was glad she wasn't apart of it.
Certain that he wasn't going to attack her any time soon, she crept closer to the lion. Again, she kept to the shadows, relying on their color to mask her body. His noises were becoming clearer. She made out whimpering and to her surprise he belted out words. Her ears flattened on her head, threatened from the sudden outburst. A hiss escaped through her teeth.
Anga's head snapped up while he gulped in buckets of air. His eyes were crazy, panicked into thinking he was still in the dream. As the realization that things were normal and not a nightmare, his head settled back onto the ground. An exhausting sigh rippled through his body. He felt a 100 years old. Even in his sleep the cubs wouldn't leave him alone. Wait...he jumped up onto his feet and glanced around. Where were they?! This is why he can't sleep! Nope, nope, nope! Now they were gone and gods knows what trouble they were getting into!
Howa pressed her body into the ground as the male woke. She shouldn't have gotten so close. One head turn towards her direction and he would see her. There was no telling if he was friendly or not. Stupid, she knows better. However, at his current state, Howa could easily outrun the male. He looked run down and exhausted. She didn't even think his strength could match her's at this point, but the panic in his eyes made him look different. Something was wrong and he did look rather upset. Not angry. Angry was a bad thing, but he just seemed worries. And stressed...a lot of stressed. She decided then to help. Slowly, she picked up herself up and stepped into the light. She didn't want to startle the male, he already looked like he was about to break.
"Excuse me, have you lost something?" She hoped she appeared harmless.
Anga whirled around at the question. He didn't realize he wasn't alone. Oh! He can't deal with this right now! Wait... did she offer help? Anga practicably threw himself at her. "Yes!" He noticed that he might come across as crazy, so he picked himself up and took a deep breath. "Ah, sorry. Yes, see...I have some little rugrats and I...um...don't know where they went..." He trailed off, embarrassed to admit that he couldn't keep track of some cubs. But they were devils! Anga could swore that they were smarter than him...of course he didn't say it out loud. Gods knows what the little demons would do to him.
Howa pulled back when the male lounged at her. He sure did have a lot of energy. She was rather slow when she firsts wakes up. Though, Howa didn't dream so vividly like he did. The mention of cubs caught her attention. "When was the last time you saw them?" This was serious. Was their no mother to look after them? At the distress the male exuded, she doubted he had any help. His fur was fringed and she could see bags under his eyes. He probably didn't get much to eat either. The parent life was hard on this one.
Anga cocked his head to the side to think. When was the last time he saw them?... they were "playing" in the forest. Well, the edge of the forest. He watched as they competed with how many bugs they could kill. Shetani managed to rank in quite a number before the other brother got bored. Anga thought they'd be fine for awhile... he could at least get an hour of sleep...To no surprised, they ruined that for him too. He slumped down, defeated. Uggggg so annoying and frustrating. You know what? Forget about it. There's no need to stress about those two. For gods sake, they tore apart a rabbit in seconds. At this point, they could take care of themselves if danger crossed their paths. It was the other party Anga was more concerned with. "Nevermind, I'm sure they're playing a game with me. They'll come back eventually."
A whirlwind. Howa felt like she was spinning in all different directions. This male was everywhere in his emotions. One minute in panic and the next, complacent. She couldn't keep up with him, but it seemed he wasn't worried anymore. He sounded confident that his cubs would return. Though she worried about them... the world was not safe. "Um, ok. She walked past him before turning around. "Though, I will be in the area, if you need help call for me. My name is Howahkan."
Anga nodded his thanks. She would be useful in chancing down the little devils with her speed, but it just wasn't worth it. He reassured her, "Thanks, but they really will be fine. And the name's Anga." He attempted to grin, but only managed to look like he was wincing.
Howa nodded before jogging off. She wasn't sure if she'd meet this lion again, but she hoped everything turned out ok.
(wc = 1066)
