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 Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 8:08 pm
 Kupili was alone, without her two constant companions for once. That is to say, the two had shown their usual exuberance and gone to explore something the leopardess was not interested in. Or, rather, Kupili had found the rock behind these vines to be of great interest, and her friends had quickly gotten bored with her detailed examination. The rock face, to her touch, was unusually smooth in places, though rough in others. Some parts looked as if they had been sheared away, though she wasn't entirely certain what could have done that. Plus, there was much less dirt to clear away here than in other areas... Kupili was deep in her examination, ignoring the world around her as she peered.
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 8:17 pm
Chacha was settled into life as a rogue, something she had never wanted but something she had accepted upon hearing about the devastation in the mountains. Her home was gone and she had to move on. The worst feeling was that she had never been able to reunite with her family because she simply never found a name. She was a lost child, wandering the wilderness, searching for something that didn't seem to matter much now.. And that easier to accept than she expected. Disappointment or no, this was life and the only predictable part of her own had been starting her pilgrimage.
It was a lonely way to live, though, and so Chacha never seemed to go long before imposing on a stranger, however briefly. When she spotted the backside of a leopard, she didn't hesitate to stop to investigate. The stranger was staring at a rock, she realized, as she crept closer.
Strange..
The lioness quietly moved closer and closer but she didn't call out. She was curious.
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 8:22 pm
The leopardess brushed aside more vines, and here gasped as the light caught in deep cracks formed with precision into the rock. Tracing a paw over them, Kupili was certain they could not be natural. Someone, or something, had deliberately made these marks.
Looking more closely, she could see they were not all the same. There were lines going in every direction, some crossing, some not. Most were contained in rows it seemed, but for what purpose she could not divine.
Good. She loved a mystery to solve, and this would occupy her well beyond when her companions returned.
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 8:30 pm
The closer she got, the more clear it became that the leopard was completely absorbed in this rock. It was also apparent that she wasn't just staring dumbly at the empty face of a boulder but something well-marked and quiet possibly meaningful.
Chacha relaxed now that she was close enough to see and examined the markings. She thought about the Ela'wadiyi and their tattoos, she thought about her mother and herself and the markings on their legs, she thought about the pride she had visited that purposefully created such things as tributes to the gods..
It wasn't quite like any of that, though.
"Well, what do you suppose it means?" she asked, finally making herself known.
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 8:35 pm
The leopardess was quiet as she considered the question, studying the marks a few moments longer.
"Well, it means a number of things. Firstly, that these were important enough to carve into the face of the rock that they might be preserved for all time. Secondly, they presumably carry some kind of meaning for those who did this. Thirdly, I suspect this location bore some further importance that necessitated the marks." Kupili looked more closely.
"It's the last that will be the the most informative at this time," she continued. "Mostly because there's no evidence as to who or what made the marks, and therefore we cannot hope to know what meaning they hold." So speaking, the leopardess glanced to her side at the stranger who now stood there.
"Unless, of course, you claim any additional knowledge?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 8:42 pm
Chacha was surprised when the leopardess just decided to roll with the question, seemingly unconcerned about a random lioness having wandered up to take a look and start up a conversation. She looked back and forth between the speaker and the subject of discussion thoughtfully.
"There might be evidence of who made the markings, unless you have been in the area a while and not seen anybody," she said, knowing she certainly hadn't been around long enough to determine such a thing, "If not, you not only won't get an easy answer but there's no hope of it lasting. The marks don't look deep enough to last without maintenance as the stone wears away."
Another something she had picked up on her pilgrimage, mostly near the coast where the water was relentless.. but it would happen here, too. Eventually.
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 8:47 pm
Kupili shook her head as she unsheathed a claw to scratch at the rock face.
"No, you see here how light the rock looks where I've scraped it? These marks are not new, else they'd be far lighter in color than the surrounding face. So those who made them might no longer be anywhere near here. Of course, it's entirely possible that this place is distant to them, possibly as a holy place or a waypoint on a journey. Unless if we find more information, we can never be certain."
The leopardess didn't much care that a lioness had chosen to strike up a conversation with her. She didn't fear lions, and it wasn't as if she didn't answer questions from her companions every single day, often far more pointless ones too. To speak with someone who seemed as intelligent as Kupili was a pleasure.
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 9:02 pm
Chacha was unconvinced by the demonstration but sensed an argument would be futile. It made sense to suggest it might mark a holy place or act as a landmark, but the age wasn't enough to discount the idea of the owners being nearby. Prides could last many generations, long enough for this weathered rock to age to this point.
"It may be related to the Ulili'mlindaji," she suggested, lifting a front paw and placing it on the rock thoughtfully, "They're the only group I know who practice such painstaking work, making shrines to the gods and goddesses. They're only a couple days from here."
If she couldn't argue, she may as well support the hypothesis. It might be too easy of an answer but not so if the leopard had never heard of them. It still didn't look quite right but not every shrine had been the same in her brief visit. Sense suggested the simplest answer was the most likely, though, and she was satisfied at that.
She put her paw back on the ground and backed up a few steps, ready to continue on her way.
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 9:07 pm
"Ulili'mlindaji..." the leopardess echoed, rolling the words around in her mouth. She didn't know what they signified, but the way the lioness mentioned them hinted that it was likely a pride or pack in the region.
"I suppose it's possible, but given the heights of these rows, I suspect it's unlikely. These may have been made by two-leggers." Which bought up a whole host of questions, such as if the two needed to conceal themselves from hunters.
Kupili's attention visibly remained on the rock, as she continued to not look at the lioness and focus on her discovery and mystery. It made little difference to her if the stranger left or stayed.
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 9:14 pm
The lioness shook her head, not seeing whatever connection Kupili did between the rocks and the so-called two-leggers. Maybe she was right, or maybe Chacha was right.. she might have liked to think more about it but this was as far as she was willing to go with such an unreceptive stranger.
There was plainly more to see and think about on this but she simply wasn't interested. It was plenty that it would give her something to think about as her journey continued, maybe even to keep an eye out for in the future.
Without a word, she stalked back off, leaving little evidence behind to show she had ever bothered to stop and chat with the strange leopardess.
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