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 Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 3:24 pm
The sun had set and the light had appeared in Amri's vision, his heart hammering as clearly the time 'asleep' had been much longer than it felt. Blood once more lined his paws and his maw, claws caked with the dried red as the stench of the blood overwhelmed him. No longer was he hungry, and no longer was he alone in his little area of the forest. Clearly, even running had did little to prevent himself from keeping Mafujo at bay.
So, a few hours after his awakening, Amri settled out away from the jungle, annoyed by the noises. He needed to think, to discover a way to stop his frequent blackouts and stop the blood from flowing from his claws. Though he was not bleeding, he clearly killed in his other form, and that scared him. It scared him to remember.
"What am I going to do..." He groaned, stalking back and forth as dust lifted from his paws. Stopping, he would only get up moments later to continue pacing once more.
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Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 3:34 pm
A small maned wolf pup frolicked through the trees, glad to be away a moment from her crazy family. Her brother mostly, Beluwa had always scared her. She didn't mind the jungle so much when he wasn't following her, trying to trip her up or convince her to explore that scary dark hole in the middle of that tree trunk. Gods knew what scary bugs were lurking in there.
Kibu was the smallest of her litter and usually didn't like the games that her brother and sister played, prefering to sleep in the den away from them. Now that they were off on their own adventures she decided that exploring the jungle could be fun, just as long as she didn't run into any spider webs.
It was kind of dark out, and dark was not her favourite time to be alone. She was considering heading back towards the den when she heard a low voice not to far off. "He-helloooo," she called out to the darkness, "Is... anyone there?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 3:45 pm
Ears snapping alert, Amri turned his head to where the voice came, his soft pink eyes widening at the sound, "A cub...here?" And thus, he was padding through the brush and back into his forest. Though he might not agree with making friends, cubs did not belong in the jungle. Things could hurt and kill them, and so it was his job to get them out.
With that though cut to a halt, he made way through the last bush to stare at a pup, and one oddly colored at that. Just starring a moment, he caught himself and cleared his throat.
"Y-you shouldn't be here, this place is not safe at all." And with that, he continued to stare, not sure of what else to do. Though one thing was for sure, that was no leopard kit.
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Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 3:54 pm
Kibu's ears pulled back a little nervously and her tail tucked up to her belly. What was this strange creature that was staring at her, she'd never seen anything like it. Him, rather, her nose told her that much. He sure didn't look like her mother or father, or uncle Usu for that matter. Veeeery different.
"It's not so bad 'cause he's not here..." she said quietly, her voice was almost never more than a whisper, especially around strangers. The fact that this was the first stranger she had met was not the point, and she didn't know what to think of this fellow. With what could only be excused as a pup's bluntness she allowed her confusion to speak. "What are you mister? I never saw nobody like you before." she said with her head tipped up at him quizzically.
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Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 4:03 pm
He just blinked at her comment, before slowly tearing his eyes away and padding past the small one. As he moved over her shoulder, he took an indescrete sniff and noted the scent for future reference.
"I am a leopard...and you are lucky, usually leopards are not as nice as me...you see," He moved back around to face her, settling on the ground to be her level and show he was not a threat.
"Leopards have long, sharp claws that are like teeth, and very dangerous," to prove the point, he lifted a paw and unsheithed his first claw, before snapping it away again, "We also are very face, and eat...well...creatures like you."
He said this all in a poliet manor, not sounding as if he were hungry or even had the notion of eating her. He was just teaching her.
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Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 4:17 pm
Unfortunately, no matter how conversational Amri was being, she shuddered and backed up a step reclining to her haunches.
"I gots teeth and Uncle Usu. Nobody could eat meeee." She said, trying to cover her fear a little. She believed that Usufi and her mother would protect her from almost anything, but now she was here, alone with this stranger, this leopard, and she didn't know what to think of him. It was interesting that he was trying to teach her, so she thought she'd try to return the favour.
"Mama says I'm a maned wolf like she and daddy are." She nodded at that, she wasn't sure if he knew what her kind were, and it never hurt to mention her mother, she always felt better that way. Mama was one of those unseen protecting forces, one of those things that made you feel like everything would be okay no matter what.
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Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 8:35 pm
"Wolf Eh?" He asked softly, having chuckled at her last statement, "Wolfs belong in the plains, not the jungle." And with that, he moved and nodded towards his last path. Turning, he hoped she would follow, and take the hint overall.
"Come on, let me show you how to get out..." He added, deciding he needed to be blunt, "It is time for you to go, it's almost dark." And with that, he padded to the brush, lifted a paw, and pushed the leaves aside to show his path. Looking back to her, he waited paitently to see if she would come, or he would leave her.
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Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 8:44 pm
"Uh, okay mister leopard." Kibu stood up and padded towards him, tiny tail wagging rapidly behind her. She could see this fellow was trying to be friendly, and didn't seem like the sort who'd turn on her and try to eat her when she wasn't looking.
Or, at least, she sure hoped so.
"By the way, m'name's Kibuhuti'Kota, but you can call me Kibu if you want." she added cheerily. She bounded a bit in front of him and dodged back behind him, a tiny ball of energy. She knew her way for the most part, but it was nice of him to escort her.
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Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 9:34 am
"My name is Amri," He said softly, eyeing her darts around with slight discomfort and continusly reminding himself the need to leave her alone. It would not be good if he suddenly blacked out, not good at all.
"Alright Kibu...right through here," And with that, he lifted his paw again and pushed the brush away, revealing his same area where he paced from before. The trail and everything was still in the dead grasses, and all the trees parted to reveal the plains around them.
"It is safer out here, in the open where animals cannot see you or lurk from the trees."
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Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 2:08 pm
'Safer out there? she mused. Kibu supposed it could be true, but wouldn't it be easier for the bigger hungry critters to find her out in the open? She'd be able to see them better too though, maybe that was Amri's point. Ever introspective she decided to leave those things unsaid and bounced lightly through the opening he had made for her.
"Thank you for you as...assis... help Amri." The poor little thing still tripped over the bigger words, but hopefully soon her mouth would be able to keep up with the vast vocabulary she was picking up so quickly.
She rolled happily in the dust and grasses inhaling the dried grassy scent of the plains. It was lovely out here. The sort of place she could see herself spending a lot of time in.
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Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 2:25 pm
Amri just nodded and watched as she rushed off, pondering before stepping out as well. Sending her a soft smile, he knew this would be their goodbye. Though they were not close, at least in his opinion, he couldn't help but enjoy the time they spoke, she being so cute and bouncy. It made him want kits soon, just so he could teach them when they were still willing to listen.
"Kibu, I must leave...if you ever get in trouble, come find me. My eyes will always be pink. I have a...twin who has red eyes...never speak to him. Promise me you will never speak to him." His eyes tried to catch hers, to show she would understand and agree.
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Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 2:43 pm
"Okay Amri. I promise." She nodded solemnly, her bright gold eyes locking with his for a moment. Young as she was she understood when somebody older than her was trying to make an important point.
"It was nice to have met you!" She called, bounding away after a small yellow and black bird that had caught her eye.
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Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 6:20 pm
Watching her go, he waited until she was out of earshot before pouncing back into the woods, hoping she would take his heed and stick away. Though he had the feeling that wouldn't happen, he couldn't help but hold a smile across his maw. He knew she would grow strong, and he also met a new creature that never was in the jungle. Sometimes, the bright side of things were overlooked, but he didn't miss them now.
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