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 Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 8:51 pm
Aaaah, the Southlands. She'd heard of this place from her mother's stories... vast, open, and currently free from any ruling pack or pride. It seemed a nice, interesting sort of place to explore... and, although her mother had told her many times not to stray too far from her packlands, Jibanza couldn't help but give in to the wild nature of a juvenile wild-dog. She was old enough, anyway, to go off on her own. Hey, what could happen?!
She'd managed so far to come home safely after every occassion. What could stop her this time?
A spot of rain flipped off the top of a large blade of grass, and hit Jibanza squarely in the face, interrupting her from her thoughts.
"Well, well, well. I guess it's gonna' rain soon," she mumbled, taking in the moist scent of an approaching storm in the distance, "Gee, I picked a good day to come out somewhere different. I should've known it would rain on the day I started off for this place."
That was the weather for you. It never worked towards your advantage...
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Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:13 pm
It wasn't strange for rain to come to the Southlands, but Mati hadn't seen it too often. So when the first drop of rain hit him he was, of course, overjoyed.
His mother and siblings were probably under the cover of their rocky cave, but Mati was too far to make it back home in time to avoid the rain. Not that he had any intentions of going back anyways! The pup trotted smoothly for the first time in a long time, able to forget his growth-induced clumsiness as rain fell harder around him.
The landscape faded to grey as the storm broke loose. Thunder, distant for now, rumbled ominously across the empty grasslands. The pup jumped and stared up at the sky, uncertain.
Maybe it would be better to go back...
No! Grey ears flopped as Mati shoke his head. If he was going to protect his family, he couldn't be scared of anything! Not even if the sky growled at him.
He glided forwards, a shade in the already grey landscape.
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Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:31 pm
Jibanza, on the other hand, was rather used to the grumbles and rumbles of the sky, so she hardly took notice of it's sounds, and concerntrated more on it's rather peculiar scent. Water mixed with Southland soil... why, it was quite a strong mix.
She shook her head, and flicked back her ears as small spots of rain hit her. Hmmm... was it just her, or were the raindrops falling harder? Suddenly, she felt a little troubled that the storm was approaching more quickly than expected... hopefully it would pass in an instant, with nothing more than a few flashes and cracks. But Jibanza was so far away from her home...
"It's nothing," she thought, turning away and padding off in search of shelter, "Just a storm. I've seen plenty of them in my lifetime. It's just a storm. It's just a storm."
She was used to them, wasn't she? Jibanza's stomach twisted and churned dangerously, butterflies rising and falling. She was used to them.
Wasn't she?
She didn't notice the quickening of her pace, or the nervous feelings rising in her throat. At least, she tried not to notice them. The rumbles were getting louder... louder than the ones at home, huh?
This wasn't going to be just any old passing raincloud.
This could be big. The little earth-coloured dog wasn't familiar with this territory, either... what was she going to do? Where was shelter when she needed it? Jibanza, losing her cool, broke into a run, and didn't notice the grey figure trotting nearby...
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Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:51 pm
Mati didn't see the brown figure until it was too late to avoid collision. His first thought was accompained by a surge of adrenaline-inducing fear - for himself, for his mother, his family --
Hyena!
Hackles rose in a flash, teeth bared even as he hit the mud and went sliding. He scrambled to his feet in a flurry of mud and whimpering growls (which were quickly drowned out by the fury of the storm). It wasn't until he'd regained his feet and stood braced for battle that he saw here -
"... a wild dog?" The words were silenced by the roar of the sudden downpour.
Immediatly his hackles dropped and he slipped and slid his way over to her side. The dirt of the Southlands was quickly churned to mud as the rain pummled into the earth. It was coming so hard, he could barely see - it hit his side with such force that he nearly yelped.
Without finding out her purpose, he nudged her once and barked. Follow me! his eyes seemed to say. His tail wagged tentatively as he stared back at her.
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Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 10:03 pm
Oh, how she'd been running!
Running, running, running... all to escape that horrible storm. The rain had soaked through her pelt, and she looked like a wet rat- terribly thin and fragile, and shaking violently as the cold wind ripped and roared past her ears.
She'd been something she usually wasn't... no longer had her confident, tomboyish persona reined over her senses. Instead, that part of her personality had retreated, and she was nothing but a pup again. Lost in a strange land. Lost, and afraid.
That was until she'd felt a soft, warm creature press against her. Her eyes widening, Jibanza turned and squinted, attempting to see her rescuer through the blinding shield of the rain. She could only see a flurry of blurred fur, grey it was, and feel only the warmth of her rescuer's body.
"...X?" she whispered, though her words, too, were silenced.
It had to be her hyena friend! Who else would come and save her like this? Who else would? Her hopes rose high, and her heart pounded faster with joy. She'd been searching for her friend for a long while! Had he found her?...
Then, she heard the bark. Her heart sunk.
If this wasn't X, then who was it? She'd never really come across anyone else that would help her out like this.
Choking on the strange wet that fell from the sky, Jibanza resolved to think about it later.
Closing her eyes, she pressed closer to the her helper's side, and trusted him to lead the way.
"I'm coming!" she mouthed, and her eyes brightened as she watched the stranger come into focus... and his tail was flicking, left to right. A wag. That was a good thing. It meant that she'd be safe, soon.
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Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 10:40 pm
Mati shivered and wanted to curl up on the ground and attempt to just... sit out the storm. The path was muddy and twisted, difficult to discern through the silvery curtains that veiled his sight. He stumbled more than once, but he forced himself to keep going.
The girl at his side was shivering even more violently than himself. He turned his small body in front of hers as they walked, attempting to shield her from the worst of the wind and rain. Blue eyes narrowed as he sought to peer into the gloom, guiding their steps more by instinct than true knowledge.
He wondered for a moment who the girl at his side was, and where she'd come from. What was she doing all the way out here alone and unprotected? Something could snatch her up in a second...
But these thoughts were driven from his mind by the pelting rain that stung his fur and face. Squinting, Mati could just barely make out the ledge, now little more than a dark shape on the shifting silver backdrop.
But he knew it was there, and his heart lept.
They were so close. Almost there... his legs burned from the effort of slogging his way through the sucking mud.
Almost there...
His paws hit firm, hard rock and a wave of relief swept through his small form. Water dripped from him and onto the dusty floor; it stained the rock a deep brown-red. Legs shaking, he crawled into the small alcove, then turned to help his rescuee.
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Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 11:07 pm
"Ah..." Jibanza spluttered, as she missed her footing and slipped as soon as they had felt the transition from mud to rock, "Nnnnn!"
She found her paws skidding in all directions, and struggled to regain her balance... and failed, crumbling to the floor in a heap. She rolled on her side, exhausted, into the rocky hollow her rescuer had found, and at once noticed the difference between inside and out.
In here, it was a tad warmer (thought still a slight draught coming through), and much drier. There was shelter from the rain, and the noise of the storm had been muffled, quitened a little, and replaced with the occasional sound of water dripping down the rock.
Collecting herself, with her heart still racing at 50 kilometres per hour, Jibanza looked to see the face of her rescuer... and found a very wet wild dog, possibly around the same age as herself, staring right back at her.
"Th-th-th-thankyou!" she spluttered, quivering a little from the cold, but finding that she was much more comfortable than she had been a few moments before, "That is some brutal storm out there... sheesh, I've... I've never seen something like that before."
She coughed a little, and got to her paws, shaking the water off her coat.
"Thankyou so much. Really, really, really!"
She looked outside. It didn't seem that the storm was going to stop anytime soon. It was still passing overhead... it would take at least a conversation's worth of time for it to completely clear up.
'Here goes,' she thought, feeling she owed it to the stranger to start up a conversation.
"D... does it usually rain like this around here?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 11:36 pm
Mati stepped -or stumbled, he wasn't sure- out of the way and sank down on his hanches, his legs rubbery and numb. When she slipped he jerked upright, but was unable to stop her slide. Blood rushed to his head and for a moment his vision grew hazy...
The sound of her breathing and the dripping of the water on the cold stone floor gave him a focus. Blinking rapidly, he managed to shake off the strange tingling and looked into a pair of violet-blue eyes.
"Oh, it-t-t-t was-s-s-sn't anyth-th-ing." Shivers rocked his small form. With effort he managed to drag himself to the entrance of the small alcove and shake off. His fur was a deep steel grey, and the white patches were stained a dirty brown.
The young wild dog - he saw now she was close to his age, if not the same! - was a brown that almost blended into the drier rock.
Despite the cold and the storm that raged outside, curiosity rose up like a fire and warmed the ghost-pup. He wagged his tail again, still hesitantly, and smiled.
"I kn-kn-ew of th-this place." The pup's blue eyes shifted towards the back, where a small collection of grasses and leaves was layed out on the rock. He'd brought them here when he was playing by himself, pretending to be traveling far away from home...
"Oh! N-no, it do-doesn't normally r-rain like th-this." His shivering grew less, his voice stronger. "I've never s-seen it this b-bad before."
Indeed, the rain was coming down in a torrent, washing away everything that wasn't securily attached to the ground. Anything that was foolish enough to attempt to navigate the storm.
Mati nodded towards the leaf and grass "bed". "If you w-want, you can sit on th-that. It would be w-w-warmer!"
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Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 3:16 am
A bed crafted from grass and leaves, huh?
It looked tempting, very tempting indeed. In fact, if Jibanza wasn't as stubborn as she was, she would've gratefully accepted the prospect of sitting on a nice, warm bed to warm up that freezing bottom of hers.
But then, she looked to her rescuer. He, too, looked freezing cold... he was absolutely drenched from head to toe, and the cold had caused him to stutter over his words more than she.
It seemed that her fearless helper had copped the most savagery from the storm... after all, he had shielded her from it's full force most of the way. Of course he would be cold.
The little lady furrowed her brow, and gave a greatly exaggerated shake of her head.
"N-no, it's okay," she insisted, and sat up straight to try and make herself look at least a little noble, "I mean, this is your shack, right? I'm not here to invade or anything. Plus, you took on the wind and protected me... I don't need a boy to look after me so much."
She looked away after saying that. It was true... she felt a little embarrassed, and ashamed at admitting she'd been the 'damsel-in-distress' for the day. Jibanza herself had grown up surrounded by brothers, and she liked to think of herself as one of them. Tough. Rowdy. Confident. Strong. She'd never wanted to be seen as a... 'girl' that needed rescue.
She sighed, then straightened, getting to her paws once more and padding to the stranger's side. Still, no matter how embarrassed she was feeling now, she was still very grateful that he'd come to her aid.
"You should sit on that warm patch, Mister Grey," she grinned, water still dripping off her face, "Forget me... I mean, you... you were the one that went out and, uh... well... saved me..."
She trotted to the back of him, and gently tugged at his tail with her teeth.
"C-cooome ohhhnn," she mumbled, her mouth full of tail and fur, "Thish musht be a rare occashion for itsh to rrraayeen sho hard, shositdown!"
He deserved that warm patch, not her. She tugged harder, hoping that he would take
"Name esh Jibanza," her voice were still slurred through gritted teeth clamped gently onto tailfluff, "Whash yoursh?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 7:36 pm
In his family, the females were equally regarded as the males. However, Mati wasn't content to just accept the bed meekly. Had Jibanza been a male he would have made the same offer. It was more out of a desire to protect than any 'damsel in destress' chivalry.
But how could he explain that?
"Really, it-t's alright. I'll b-be fine!" He was, to his dismay, slowly being dragged backwards. Paws scrabbled on the ground, but she was -strong-! Catching his claws on a rock nearby, he managed to resist her efforts. Now that he looked at it, the bed was large enough for two to sleep on.
"W-wait! We can share the bed." He wasn't about to take the only source of warmth away from someone who needed it more than him! She looked so wet and cold! But maybe she'd be willing to reach a compromise. "Look, there's enough th-there for us both to have beds, if you want."
Outside the storm still raged, but already his trip through it's ferocity seemed like a memory. His body was warming itself, his shivers slowing. Thunder rolled across the open land and was still barely heard over the pounding rain. Somehow though, it was comforting. Being closed in and sheltered while something so amazing rent the world outside...
Mati gently managed to extricate his tail from Jibanza's mouth and turned to face her, a smile cracking his maw. This time the wagging of his tail wasn't tentative.
"Really! See?" With a few swipes of his paw he spread the pile out, until two could sleep comfortably (and seperatly) on it. Not that he would have minded sleeping next to her, then they could be warm together like his brothers and sisters.
But... just in case she didn't like him or something...
"Oh! And my name is Matima." His soft tail rustled the dry grass as it moved. "Nice to meet you, Jibanza!"
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 12:30 am
Jibanza, too, had almost completely forgotten the savagery of the storm outside. Now, it almost seemed like an... an adventure, or something of the kind. Wait until she told her brothers at home... oh, they'd hear it all. Ten times more exaggerated, of course, but they'd hear about it alright. She'd have to keep it from her mother, though, lest she get a bit of a scolding and a stern beating for being out too long.
She switched her mind back to the cave. Now, the stranger was scrabbling at the floor. Hah! This was like a game... sorta. Giggling through gritted teeth, she pulled even harder, in a playful, gentle way.
She knew this game. She usually played it with her brothers, although they'd tug using fresh kill, rather than the tail of a rescuer. Usually, they won, though she hoped she was getting better at the game.
'Training won't hurt', she supposed, 'and getting this one into the bed at the same time! Nice idea, Ban, nice idea! Then that'll be as good as killing two gazelles with one claw, and then we ca-'
"W-wait! We can share the bed."
She grinned from ear to ear at that, and at once her own tail flopped side-to-side in a slow, amused wag. Sharing? Wow, that wasn't a word she heard often around here. It was a harsh world out there, and many that she had encountered had let her know that for a fact. And yet... this complete strange was willing to... share? Share?
Why, an idea like that was... was...
"Completely genius!" she piped up, and feel backwards onto the stone floor as she lost grip of Matima's tail, 'Oof!'
Getting up, and following Matima with her eyes, Jibanza raised an eyebrow. Now, he was cracking a smile. And now he was wagging his tail. And, whoah... was he really off making the beds for the both of them?! Wooow, he sure knew how to handle a situation! This guy was like Mummy... only smaller. Jibanza grinned, and trotted contentedly by his side.
"That's all well and dandy, Matima!" she grinned, her voice loud and tail whirring, "But how about a game of tag before we rest? I mean, it's the best way to forget that storm out there... lying there's gonna' be a tad boring, too. And I haven't met someone my age in a long time!"
She bent her front low, and waved her bottom in the air, playful.
"It's a different game of tag, though," she nodded, beaming, "When I tap you on the shoulder, you have to tell me about these lands... And who you are, and how you got so brave!"
She moved around, excitedly, jerking back every now and then in fear she'd get tagged.
"And then, we'll rest, Matima! By the way, it's great to meet you, too! Someone my own age and in a different land... it's so great. I never knew there were more of my own kind out here!"
Unknown to Jibanza, the storm outside was easing a little. Now, the thunder was growing more distant, and only the heavy rain and howling wind remained. The lightning, however, had taken off in another direction, although the sky... and outside... was still dark and grey.
Slowly, it was passing. Slowly.
(( Hoshizzleshrimp, I got carried away with writing a response! xD;; Sorry about the length... Dx Don't feel that we need to continue this in such big spurts, either. XD *bricked SO HARD* ))
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Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 6:37 pm
Mati grinned and pretended intense interest in a small colored pebble on the floor. "Really, it isn't -that- great an idea." But her praise brought heat to his face and he thought he might burst for pride. Like that time he caught a rabbit and impressed Jeuri. The pup's grey tail began to wag faster.
"Tag?" The pup frowned slightly, although inwardly he was as happy as he'd ever been. He sidled closer to Jibanza and pushed the pebble across the floor with one large grew paw. (Those paws caused him no end of trouble! Mama said it mean he was going to be big. Mati just thought it was a pain.) "I don't know, I'm awful tired..."
Closer... almost there... NOW!
Frown vanishing, the pup lept forwards and managed to thwap Jibanza on the shoulder with a paw. Dancing backwards, Mati grinned and waited for her to chase him. Good thing he'd picked a fairly large hideout!
"Now you have to tell me about your home!" He cried with youthful joy. She'd have her chance to ask him questions, but he wanted to know about her just as much!
Prancing around, he came as close as he dared several times before darting backwards to safety again. Like Jibanza, he was nearly oblivious to the passing of the storm, so intent was he on the game at hand.
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Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 7:15 pm
Jibanza, of course, had been distracted by Mati's smiles and frowns... so it wasn't surprising that, before she could blink, she'd been tagged.
"Uh! What the?..." she stood, cemented in one place for a moment, and then, realising what had happened, grinned, "Heeeeey! That was sneaky of you, Mati. Very sneaky."
Darn! And she'd wanted to ask Matima all those questions, too! Well, she'd just have to get him back twice as fast!
"Look out!" she leapt for him, but missed. Gosh, this boy sure had some speed... or, at least, was good at confusing her. One minute he was behind her, and the other he was out in front of her, teasing. She narrowed her eyes, and concentrated harder.
Suddenly, she remembered.
'Oh!' Jibanza thought, 'Right.. I need to tell Matima about myself, too.'
And so, darting in and out, back and forth, she started speaking, attempting to catch Matima at the same time.
"Alright, so my name's Jibanza, but my friends call me-" she leapt for him, but tagged the wall instead, "-uh, 'Ban'. And I live in this really nice pack, the Kingwa'Mbwa Pack to be precise, but I'm not there often. It's a pack full of singers, although right now, we've lost our song. So I decided to come to the Southlands and... GOTCHA! " she hurled herself towards Mati, and opened her eyes to find him only a hairs length out of reach. Darn, she'd almost had him!
"Uh, well, we've lost our song, so I'm looking for it, so that we younger pups can learn to sing. Not only that, but I'm after a hyena, and my father, who are both missing. After then, there are plans to travel to the Jungle... So I'm really..." she paused, and stopped running for the moment, "A finder."
She wasn't sure if it was good timing, or just pure luck, but Matima came into view. He darted one way, and Jibanza followed, finding the speed she needed to tag him on the tail with a forepaw.
"Your turn!"
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 11:04 pm
Mati skidded to a halt and spun, trying to tag her back before she'd managed to get out of reach again. Paws scrabbled on the rocky ground and for a moment he thought he was going to lose his balance. Catching himself, the grey pup lunged forwards, certain his sudden retaliation would yeald a prize... His paw caught nothing but air. Mati grinned.
"You're fast!"
Slowing a moment to catch his breath, the pup considered what she'd told him already. Lost their song? He didn't even know that you -had- your own song! Man, he wanted to find his own! After all, the ones -he- made up all were ugly, and his sisters laughed at him. Maybe Ban could help him find a pretty one!
"Oh!" Mati jerked himself out of his thoughts and put his focus back onto Ban. Dancing forwards and back, he tried to tag her and tell his own story at the same time.
"My name is Matima, but you can call me - whoa!" The pup skidded to a halt before slamming into a wall. "Um, you can call me Mati. I live near here, in the forest area a little ways away! With my - " Mati lunged forwards and fell flat again. Scrambling to his feet, he continued. " - my Mom and our pack and my sisters and brothers! We don't have a song or nothing, we're just happy like we ar-- oof!"
Tripping over his own large paws, the pup flew forwards. However, it ended up to his advantage - paws outstretched to catch himself, he managed to snag Ban on the tip of one back paw.
He grinned up at her from his position on the rock. "And I guess I'm... well, a protector. That's what Jeuri said." The pup beamed and climbed back to his feet. Remembering his own attempt at tagging Ban earlier, he hopped back out of range.
"Your turn again! How do you find a song?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 2:47 am
"Hahaha! Seriously, I haven't played like this in a long time! You're a formidable opponent, Matima!"
Jibanza grinned, loving every minute of the game, but noticing that her breath was quickening, and her throat sore from it. All this tag was great, but it was also making her tired. Out of breath, and still laughing, she fell onto her back and closed her eyes.
"Alright, fine Mati..." she giggled, and cast a joyful glance in Matima's direction, "You win, you've got me. Still," she paused, and sat up straight, her eyes seeming to 'smile', or at least gleam brighter, "I owe you an explanation, I suppose."
She rolled over again, onto her back, and pawed at the air with her forepaws, swatting at a passing mosquito. It seemed to hiss at her with it's shrill voice, and gave up pursuing her exposed skin, leaving the den.
"To find a song," she said, relaxing, "You just have to... look for it. I'm not really sure where I'll find it, or if I'll ever find it. It's a complicated task. But-" her voice grew stronger, more determined, "I'll know it when I find it. After all, there's one main song that runs through our pack's line, but then, everyone has a voice, and their own individual song. And that is the Kingwa'Mbwa Pack."
She hesitated, hoping her talk was not becoming boring for Matima. After all, it was a serious subject.
"I guess... I also want to find my song. I never really thought it was that important... but then I grew, and I..." she stopped, and was quiet, "... I really want to use this voice my Mother gave me, and when I find my song, I'll be able to sing to the whole world."
Then, she giggled, squirming on the stone floor.
"All this talk is boring, though," she sighed, and her warm smile stretched, "Say, is it just me, or am I starting to feel... tired? I suppose playing all that tag takes a lot out of you, huh?"
She closed her eyes again, and took a deep breath. She felt that her breathing was getting heavier, and that her eye-lids were drooping. And there was that voice in her head, singing out for her to rest. Suddenly exhausted, the little wild dog got to her feet, and staggered grogily towards the leaf beds Matima had prepared earlier.
"Hmmm, even with the leaves, it's cold, Mati," she murmed, the storm passing overhead, "Do you think... we could warm up if we slept closer, in a ball, with our beds closer together? I do that with my brothers sometimes on nights like this."
For security, too, although she didn't say this out loud. Thundery nights often frightened her.
"Before I go to sleep," she whispered, "Tell me more about your Pack, and... why you're so brave, Mati! I want to become brave like you, someday... does your Pack specialise in training it's pups for bravery?"
She was generally interested. To have guts... why, that was a marvellous thing!
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