It was a dark night, rain drizzling down in torrents and the faint sound of thunder nearby. This was a night to stay in and keep dry, and that was what Aislin planned to do. Wet paws and soggy fur? No, thank you, she would avoid that as best she could. Which is why the cave she'd found was the perfect place to take refuge in. It was well within rogue lands, and sniffing around showed no other scents to suggest any former or current occupants.
So it was with a contented purr that the dark-furred lioness curled further into the darkest corner she could find. She purposefully turned her back to the entrance of the cave, allowing her black fur to blend her into the darkness. This was one trait she was grateful to have inherited from her father. Black fur was great for disappearing when she didn't want to be found.
A ways away, frantic white paws rushed across the ground, slipping from time to time before quickly catching their owner before he went tumbling to the ground. As a cheetah, he was naturally very fast, but rain made this a much more difficult task. He had noticed how cloudy it was getting... but he didn't think it would get this bad!
Suddenly, solid ground gave way to slick mud beneath his paws, and with a yelp of shock, Roku went down hard on his side, skidding a few feet before coming to a stop beside a boulder. He lay there, stunned, with the rain dripping down his fur and into his mouth. Sputtering the droplets back out, he shook his head to try and clear it, and then stumbled back to his feet.
He needed to get out of this rain, ESPECIALLY before that lightning got too close. He did NOT want to be around when that started striking the ground. Huddling up against the boulder, he looked quickly around him, trying desperately to find somewhere to hide out for the night.
There! White tipped ears perked up at the sight of a small cave just ahead of him. Even if it turned out to be small, it was more than enough to protect him from the elements for the night. So, with that in mind, he charged forward towards the entrance.
Aislin was drifting by this point, just on the cusp of falling asleep, when a thudding sound started to drum closer and closer. Ears flicking up, she whipped her head around just as the sleek form came tumbling through the entryway. Her first thought was, 'What the hell?!', followed by the side note of, 'Who's stupid enough to be wandering around in a storm like this?'
It didn't look like he'd noticed her yet though - again, thanks to her dark fur - so she took advantage of the moment to study the male in front of her. He was dark, much like her actually, with a bright golden mane plastered to his head. 'Actually, he looks kind of familiar...' If there was one thing she prided herself on, it was a decently good memory, but she couldn't quite put her paw on where she'd seen this cheetah before...
Roku practially collapsed to the ground, relieved to feel solid dry land beneath his paws. Now if only his fur was dry too... but he could fix that with a quick... or maybe not-so-quick bath. Curling his tail around to his front, he proceeded to give a few thorough licks across the mismatched fur, hoping to get at least some of it cleaned off so he could rest.
But then the feeling of being watched fell over him. Pausing, he suddenly realized that in his haste to find shelter, he very well could have wandered into some creature's home. Blue eyes drew slowly through the shadows, trying to pinpoint who was staring at him and why they were being so quiet. When he finally spotted the glowing green eyes practically piercing his hide, he jumped and scrambled back up to his feet. It was like the shadows itself had eyes! However, upon closer inspection, he could just make out the black form tucked away in the darkness.
Clearing his throat, he took a small step forward and said, "I'm sorry if I'm intruding, but... is it alright if I stay the night?" He gestered his nose towards the exit, "The storm has gotten pretty bad. I'll be gone once it's stopped though."
Aislin frowned, now sure that she had heard that voice somewhere before. She snarled a bit to herself, aggravated that she couldn't remember, but she stilled when she finally registered his words. Snorting, the lioness turned her back on him again, "As long as you're quiet, I don't care. I'm using the cave for the same reason as you." She paused, narrowed eyes glancing back at him briefly, "Though, you're not very smart, wandering around in this weather in the first place."
Bristling, Rokusasu started to bare his teeth right back, but he caught himself at the last moment, instead puffing out his cheeks and looking away. "I didn't mean to stay out in it. I just..." He looked down at his paws, "lost track of time, I guess." Man, first he loses his memory, then he loses his way, now he's lost track of time... hopefully this isn't an ongoing trend on his part.
A few quick sniffs had him glancing back up and tilting his head in contemplation. Come to think of it, she smelled kind of familiar. Studying her for a moment, it suddenly hit him. "Wait... I think I know you! We met a while back, under a bunch of stars! You helped me out when I was lost and trying to decide what to do."
Slowly turning her head back around, she stared deadpan back at him. Yep, now that he mentioned it, that sounded about right. Wasn't his name Rosubu, or Bokuamu, or something? At the time, she just wanted him to go away. 'And that still hasn't changed.' But for as much as she wanted to be alone, the storm outside was getting pretty bad...
Ugh, fine. She'd leave him be for now. So long as he wasn't annoying, anyway.
Sighing harshly, Aislin lifted a paw up to rub at her forehead. "Yeah, you were... Racksauce, or something."
The cheetah huffed, "It's Rokusasu. Not whatever you just said," he sat down, "and you're... Aislin, right?"
Letting out a scoff of her own, she replied, "Yes, and that's just difficult to remember. Who names their kid that?"
"I... did." Slightly put out, Roku's ear flattened against his head. It wasn't THAT weird of a name. Ro-ku-sa-su, see? Not so hard! Although he did pronounce it kind of quick, so the letters sort of blended together....
Her stare got a bit harder, trying to decipher those words. "... What do you mean, 'you did'? You can't just make up your own name." He couldn't seriously be suggesting that his parents never named him. What would they call him growing up? Kid? Brat? Even she wasn't that heartless.... Okay, maybe that wasn't true. She would. BUT she would give her cubs actual names too.
At her words, he glanced down at the ground, trying to figure out how to answer that. She was probably right - in that he probably did have a name that his parents gave him, but it's not his fault that he didn't know what it was. Taking a deep breath, he looked back up and answered, "Well... I don't know what my real name is. So, I had to make one up." Noticing her judging look, he quickly continued, "I can't remember, okay?!"
There was silence for a minute, the lioness and the cheetah staring each other down in the darkness, before Aislin finally sighed and looked away. "You really are hopeless. Fine, but I'm NOT saying something that lengthy again." She hummed, "Think I'll call you Roxas instead. Easier on the tongue."
'Wait, what?!" Roku - now dubbed Roxas against his will - sat stunned for a second. "How could- you just said that you can't just make up a name!" The poor cheetah was confused. This lioness was hot one minute and then cold the next!
She shook her head, twisting back around and laying her head across her paws. "No, I said YOU couldn't just choose your own name. There's nothing stopping me though." She paused to let out a long yawn, "Now I don't know about you, but I'm tired. The storm won't be stopping for a while, so we may as well get comfortable." With that, she closed her eyes, clearly done with this conversation.
Bewildered, he sat there, unsure of how to proceed with the conversation. Though appearantely that conversation was over anyway. Still, his mouth gaped open and close a few times, before he finally settled on dropping the subject. What did it matter, he supposed, if someone gave him a new name. Or rather, a nickname, because that's really what it was.
Shaking his black head, he lay down, chirped an "I guess" and "good night" to the lioness, and then began the arduous task of cleaning his still damp fur. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be getting any sleep until he'd bathed himself. So, with that in mind, he prepared himself for a long night next to this strange female.
