It was a beautiful day in the Kizingo'Zaa lands. The weather was sunny and dry, allowing those that lived among the trees the opportunity to move around without feeling like the air was stifling them. There was a cool breeze blowing in from the ocean that, if one sat close enough, they could feel even through the foliage. Noon hadn't quite come yet, the sun fairly high in the sky even still, but the trees helped shade the floor of the little forest so that it wouldn't exhaust anyone. Indeed, it was a paradise on earth.A large cub sat in this prime location, the sea breeze ruffling his whiskers while blue eyes focused on what his paws were doing. Every now and then the breeze would push his purple mane aside and the look of pure concentration could be seen. It was a bit odd for a cub to be so focused, even though Uhleko was nearly an adolescent now. Considering who his father was - the god of laughter - one might expect him to be giggling and snickering as he worked. But no, the cub sat with a focused and intense gaze as his paws continued to work.
Those who knew the cub wouldn't have been surprised to see his mostly white pelt stained with blues and reds and greens, but any who were new to the pride might mistake the splotches for his markings. There were a few purple spots here and there that weren't paint, but it was very hard to tell. His paws were almost completely black at the toes and, as the messy colors went up his front legs, they split from that muddy color into red, green, blue, and even a bit of yellow. It was as though a rainbow were coming from his storm cloud paws. His mother would chide him gently about getting so messy, but it was getting to the point where he worked with his messy berries and fruits so much that his fur was pretty grey from his toes down to the bottom of his paws.
Uhleko didn't mind, though. Mixing berries and other things he could find to make dyes was just as fun as using them to make wonderful creations. His favorite canvases were his siblings and mother, but large leaves would do the trick in a pinch. The only problem with the leaves was that they repelled the watery dye where fur would soak it up and hold the color. Thus the little gypsy was experimenting with different ways to make the dye stick to the leaves. First he had scratched the leaves to make little grooves to hold the dye, but while the colorful water pooled in the scratch marks, no matter how long he let it dry it would always run out. Next had been to use more berries than water, but chunks of the fruit ruined how easily the dye spread. When he let the messy paintings dry, all that was left was dried pieces of fruit.
Uhleko make a quiet noise of frustration as he continued to mush chewed up leaves - he had done the chewing and he had bits of green stuck in his teeth still, yuck - into the dye. The leaves weren't holding the color of the red water he was working it, and in fact were just making it a weird old, dried blood color. Great.
The nice day wasn't being squandered by anyone. Even the elderly of the pride were out sunning themselves on the beach, just in the reach of the shade offered by the trees in case they got to hot. Then all that was needed was to roll over a few times and boom, refreshing relaxation! The old lions weren't the only ones down on the beach, though. There were lions of all ages, some even playing in the water. It really was the perfect day to just lay around and be lions. Vodnitvar was taking advantage of the sea breeze by sunning himself on some rocks that jutted out into the sea, enjoying the warmth from the dark rocks and the sun above. The heat made his bad hip and leg feel much better, and for once he felt like his old self, ready to run through the grassy plains in the rouge lands just beyond the borders of the pride.His mini daydream was rudely cut short by seawater splashing him in the face. He lifted his head in surprise and shook it free of the salty water, glaring at the wave that had crashed so suddenly against his makeshift bed. He could see the tide was coming in and, rather than continue to get splashed, he decided it would be better if he moved into the forest to avoid the heat of the day. While the warmth was nice, he didn't want to end up becoming overheated.
Into the woods Voddy went, taking his time to enjoy the smells of the forest. A familiar sound caught his ear, and he turned his head to peer through the trees and bushes to see if he could spot what it was. After a bit of walking, he came into a clearing beside a little pool of water. Just a few paces away sat Uhleko, the son of a rather...interesting friend. Frite had been in his life for quite some time now, but only recently did he not feel the urge to leave whenever she was near. She had come to terms with the fact that he was with Fireheart and she needed to move on. She had, thankfully, and they were on the slow path to being mutual friends. Her recent litter with a god had surprised him, but also had put the lingering fears aside of her still wanting to be with him in more than a friendly way. He and Fireheart, his mate, had become honorary aunts and uncles to the litter after the admission from Frite that Vodnitvar was like a big brother to her, always watching and protecting her.
He could see the cub's frustration with whatever he was doing. Mixing more paints, it would seem. Interested, he moved over to the colorful cub to see what was going on.
FIN
WC: 1041