Fidia did not like being on the ground. If he had the option, he would spend all of his time atop mountains or rock structures or, best yet, in trees. Sometimes, the rogue lands offered very few trees for him to hide in, and that was always stressful. While his coat was good for hiding in the tall grasses of the yellow savannah, he just hated being that close to his enemies and the larger species out there. Threats, and things he did not trust. Fidia had a very difficult time dealing with other creatures, even other cheetahs: for the most part, he preferred to just be alone. There was nothing in his past that gave him any cause to distrust others as much as he did, at least as far as he could remember. That was just the point. The only thing he could remember was being alone, and that had suited him just fine for a large chunk of his life. It had been a very solitary upbringing, sure, and he never knew what happened to his parents or if he had ever had siblings, but as time passed he found his concern about such things wane.
As long as he was safe from anything that might try to steal his food or his life away from him, he felt that was enough.
Vumbi, on the other paw, was very family oriented, and he was so happy to have a new pack to call home that he felt light footed as he pranced his way out into the open plains to find himself a small snack. He was really craving some rabbit, and though that was a very difficult thing for him to catch most of the time, he thought it was always worth it. They just tasted so good! And all the running around and hunting was good for him, anyway. Kept his nose sharp and his body fit. He wanted to be the best he could be, to help in this new home of his. To be a part of this land. He had to get to know everything around their home, as well as he knew the lands of the pack itself. He just could not bear the thought of letting his new family down, in any way. What would Taigi think, if he turned out to be useless, or if she thought he was selfish or something likewise mortifying? She would never give him the time of day, or night, as the case often was with this pack and their late hours, again. And that would just crush him, as he was growing so fond of her company, he would be heartbroken to mess it up now.
The wild dog was surprised when he looked up to see a set of dim, but dangerous looking eyes staring at him under half closed lids. With a yelp, Vumbi jumped back and stepped awkwardly on a fallen branch, which rolled under his paw and sent both of his back legs spilling backwards while his front legs remained rooted to the floor. His back half, then, fell to the ground and he jerked awkwardly back with a secondary yelp, which chased after the first before it had time to fade from the air. He managed to catch himself before his front paws gave out on him, but he was half splayed out in a very unbecoming, and thoroughly embarrassing, way.
The cheetah growled at him, prowling through the branches of the tree he was calling his current home. He was not sure about wild dogs, having never experienced one up close before. They were smaller in size than many of the other predators, and lacked the speed and grace of the larger cats. Really, they looked like clumsy, uncoordinated messes. He was not sure he had ever seen one running with any sort of order to its paws, and the way they seemed to like to hang their tongues out of their mouths was… unbecoming at best. Disgusting, most of the time. Fidia swished his long tail behind him, holding it out to keep his balance as he circled around the tree and yet somehow managed to never take his eyes off of the wild dog below. He did give the other a quizzical look, however, when he was finished with his panic and was half fallen over.
“You startled me!” Vumbi whined, in response to the look he was now getting. He hauled his butt up and drew his legs together, standing up straight now. He puffed his chest out in an effort to save some face and look a little more tough, but the cheetah did not seem impressed. In fact, Fidia did not seem too fussed by Vumbi any more at all. The growling had stopped, and Fidia settled down comfortably in the branches of the tree, crossing his paws and looking as patient as he knew how. He looked like he was part owl, or something likewise sagely and patient. It was creepy, and Vumbi was not sure he liked the way the long cat was looking at him.
Maybe the rabbit could wait until the next day… or maybe he would find one on the other side of the pack lands… where this cheetah was not.
“I uh… I’m just going to… go.”
Vumbi backed up slowly, watching the cheetah as he went. Fidia watched him silently, and when Vumbi finally did turn and skitter away in that strange loping gait these dogs had, Fidia actually smirked and shook his head. He was now sure that he did not fear wild dogs in any way, and though he would always be careful around them, he did not have to run away or leap into the trees at the sight of them. Maybe these would be the first creatures he actually got to know, and maybe, if the stars were aligned, he might make a friend out of one of them.
Not that one, of course. That one was scared of him, and would likely not be back any time soon. But that was alright, too, as Fidia was incredibly amused by the whole moment, which was a rare feat for him.
Word Count in Word: 1,039
