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 Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2007 2:50 pm
A dark leaopard sulked across the grass. It was night, clouds occasonally making blots in the sky, covering stars, but many more were still visible. It was a common night; Sukari had left him to himself during it. He was obedient, always did what she told, so she let him be free at night, or sort of, he had to return at sunrise.
But sunrise was still hours away, Sukari had just retired to her den with the family. So the young male could allow himself away. He would hunt a few small critters now, when he had the chance to do it for himself. He'd already caught a mouse and ate it, and now prowled along the tall grass, his dark fur hiding him rather well, but in contrast, the white fur he had was slightly more visible. But it wasn't that much a giveaway, he didn't have that much white.
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Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2007 8:41 pm
Continued of AIM 
Not like a certain someone who was lounging in a tree overhead, just maybe ten yards further from where the dark pelted male roamed.
Kiyoshi's mostly white form stood out like a sore thumb at night, so she didn't even bother trying to hunt. Instead, she'd found herself a small watering hole that she liked to hang around at night. She had an affinity for the water, because like her pelt, she saw starlight whenever she gazed into the reflective black surface. It was like bathing in a sea of stars, and so sometimes she'd just sit in the middle of a pond or puddle and stare, smiling, sometimes eyes closed. Tonight, for instance. Her branch extended well out over the small body of water, a mirror image below of everything above.
He'd caught sight of a mouse. a rather plump one, skittering around in search for food and maybe a shelter. And soon he started to chase it. Mice were easy to overcome in speed; he could just chase it from the boot.
But as he caught up on it; it'd catch up with the water, and right where his eyes first got on, was the rather bright reflection of the moon, and the leopard skidded to a stop in surprise, the mouse quickly vanishing in the grass. Water. He quietly recalled where he used to live, they went swimming back then! The dark male looked across the water, eyeing the reflections in it. Untill he saw something that wasn't a moon or a tar; a reflection of a leopard. White! Maybe it was--
His eyes snapped up to the female, and the small spark in them vanished emmediately. No, it wasn't his father. Like he'd ever leave the jungle anyways.
Kiyoshi glanced down at the rustling of the grasses, spotting the grown male as the mouse disappeared, and staring at him as he took a few seconds to spot her. She hadn't really been taught manners as a cub, seperated from her mother very young. She continued staring even after she'd been spotted, silver eyes taking him in and memorizing his pelt in the dark.
Without a word then, she straightened, and leapt down into the cool waters below, landing on all fours with feline ease. A brief pause, the staring continued, and finally she spoke up, not moving from where she now stood.
"You are?"
He watched as she leapt right into the water; so it was shallow. He could just walk through it. At first he took a step back, but decided against actually leaving.
"I am Usiku. " He said, but added in a mutter, looking to the side. "Or whats left of him. " He shrugged, then looked back at the female, before remembering he'd lost a mouse, and looking slightly regretfull. Well, that was a lost meal.
"How about you? " He asked, rather dull and emotionless. Sometimes he just felt like stuff didn't matter anymore. He'd gotten his mother killed, and he couldn't go home. He was a slave. What was there to look forward to anyway?
"Kiyoshi." Which was all she could remember about life before her seperation, well, besides her mother's scent and warmth, and the way she sounded when she purred. "How can you only be part of yourself? You look whole to me."
A few swishing steps and the female drew closer, nose and whiskers twitching as she took in his scent, trying to trace any missing parts or signs of injury.
He quirked a brow, but it probably wasn't visible right now, against his dark fur. "I'm not what I used to be. " He said, patiently. "Hello Kiyoshi. " Usiku shrugged. Maybe thats what you're supposed to say.
"Er.. Thats a nice name. " Try and be polite. He was sure thats what his mother would want him to do-- well. This was really just small talk. He hadn't met many others, besides Halili and Sukari's family.
Kiyoshi moved back enough to stare at him with wide eyes. "Really?? What did you use to be? I've never heard about leopards changing species before, or-- well, I guess that means you weren't a leopard all the time." She grinned, and it wasn't clear if she really meant what she said or if she was simply being silly. "You smell kind of like a lion, is that what you used to be?"
"I mean.. " He paused, what was the right word? "Personality-wise. " He said, sitting down and curling his tail around his paws, and ear twitching when she talked about the lion. Was she mocking him?
"That is because I live with a lion, a cheetah and thir little half-breeds. " Half-breed, to him, wasn't a really impolite term. That was what they were, and unlike humans, he didn't go looking for weird terms to define a hybrid. "Though I kind of have no choice in the matter. "
"Ohhh... I get it now. I'm sorry you lost yourself..." She said scincerely, with a small look of sympathy. "I've lost an important part of me too."
She seemed perplexed that he wouldn't have a choice. Everyone had a choice, didn't they...? The other options might not be that fun, but...
"But I don't get it... why don't you have a choice? They can't make you stay if you don't want to, that's not very nice..."
He sighed, looking slightly thankful for her sympathy. But then she seemed surprised.
"Actually.. They can. " He shrugged, looking in the direction he'd last seen the mouse. "If I leave, she'll probably hunt me down and kill me. Or beat my up. " He shrugged. He hadn't really tried leaving, but he wouldn't put it past Sukari.
"And either way, its not like I have a home to go to anymore. "
The look on Kiyoshi's face shifted rather drastically at that, eyes wide. Oh, she didn't like the sound of that at ALL. "But, but--! Why would someone do that?!"
It wasn't that she hadn't heard the rest, but he'd given her quite a scare.
He blinked. She was so surprised about what? Well.. He had kind-of gotten used to it. He didn't answer right away, however, and paused to ponder. "I guess because they use me. I babysit their kids, and hunt for them often. " He shrugged, looking at her.
"But they let me off the hook at night-- sort-of. I have to be back at sunrise. " The male got up, and moved towards the water, crouching at its edge and lapping a bit; he felt thirsty. Standing again, he looked at the leopardess that remained in the middle. "So I stay up at night to hunt for myself. " And because of this, Usiku didn't sleep much!
"Well.... why don't you leave with me? If you're the one that babysits the cubs, she wouldn't have anyone to look after them, so she couldn't just up and leave them behind to come after you... right? And if you got far enough away she wouldn't be able to find you."
The reasoning was a bit naive at best, but maybe logical in it's simplicity. What mother, Kiyoshi believed, would leave her cubs unattended, after all?
He smiled slightly. This was kind of funny, but it was nice. "Thats a nice offer. But I'm not the only one there. There is the lioness, her mate, a cheetah, and they have a wild dog with them too-- not in better position than myself. So the cubs wouldn't be left alone, even if I wasn't there. "
He sighed. Escaping would be good-- but to where? He didn't dare return do the jungle. How would his father take it? He'd gotten his mate killed! He didn't want to give his father the news. "I can never go back. " He thought aloud, folding his ears close to his head and looking quietly at his reflection.
Given her strange behavior and reactions up till now, maybe the invasion of personal space wouldn't come as much of a shock, but Kiyoshi didn't know better well enough to think anything of it herself anyway. She purred reassuringly, and apologetic, and moved forward to brush her head against Usiku's.
"There's got to be a way out. I'll help, maybe I can talk to her." She suggested optimistically. "I'm sure if she realized what she was doing, she'd let you all go."
He almsot pulled away at the sudden touch, surprised, but he didn't actually dislike it. No one had actually been nice to him since his mother and father, Fenris was perhaps a nice kid, but he had never been close. Ocasionally he'd want to play with Usiku, and he'd oblige, if only because he knew Sukari wouldn't aproove of him not doing the will of her son.
"She wouldn't. She knows what she's doing. " He sighed, and laid down. "And if you tried to help-- you'd be getting in trouble. " He hadn't known the female long, but he wouldn't want trouble for anyone. What if Sukari pulled her in too? With him, it wasn't so bad. He wouldn't protest, because life with Sukari was all he had.
"Besides, I sort of deserve it. " He mumbled.
"Why do you think that?" Kiyoshi asked, sitting next to him on her haunches and gazing down, not minding the chill of her lower half.
He sighed, raising his head and looking to the side, but didn't bother twisting around to look up at her. "I got my mother killed. " Usiku said quietly, and for once, a bit of emotion; a rather sad tone to his voice.
"A lioness attacked me, and she came to defend me. But the lioness was to strong.. She had no chance, and I was too young to help. " He rested his head on his paws again, ears against his skull. "She was teaching me how to hunt in the savannah. my dad stayed home in the jungle. "
"..." Kiyoshi's ears pinned softly to her head, her expression sad as well. After a long pause, she settled to lie down, speaking up quietly. "I'm sorry......... but... do you really think she'd want you to be unhappy like this? She'd want you to be free to make your own choices, don't you think...? Why else would she protect you like that?"
She nudged him encouragingly, lightly with her nose, but didn't push beyond that. Her memories of her mother were faint, but she missed her.
"I guess she wouldn't. " He admitted, and closed his eyes, then smiled weakly, opening his eyes again. "Thanks. " He muttered, then pulled himself up to sit, and looked at the leopardess.
"I should find a way out, maybe. But I'm in over my head. " He sighed, but remained with a smile. Build-wise, Usiku was strangely healthy; single-born, he'd already had the potential to grow nice and healthy, and since he managed too eat at night, he did keep himself rather healthy. He was perhaps more of a mess from lack of sleep.
"The offer to help still stands." She grinned, glad to see that got through to him. Seeing others in such a bad disposition was never something she could stomach well. "You must be tired, hunting all day and all night. Maybe I can hunt for you so you can rest more, and I'll see if I can find someone to help."
"And I'll accept it. " He said, smiling. The idea of escaping sounded so nice-- he wasn't a cheerful fellow in particular, but the leopardess being nice to him, it kind of made him feel so much better.
"I'm good-- not really very hungry. " Usiku nodded. "Besides, I best hunt for myself-- I gotta keep good at it. " He looked backwards. It wasn't exactly where the camp was, but he had to keep himself in a good hunting condition.
"But if I want to escape-- we'll have to plan a bit. " He smiled meekly. "It can't be easy. Sukari is more loose with me than with the wild dog, but she doesn't trust me much. " He thought. One night wouldn't be enough, it couldn't be. Under this gloomy shell, Usiku was a rather smart leopard, and perhaps he would have been a cocky-know-it-all if it weren't for what he'd been through. "Are you always here? "
Kiyoshi listened carefully to his reasoning, glancing back the way he did curiously, as if expecting to see the lioness watching them. Looking back to Usiku though, she nodded. "Yes, right here, this is one of my spots." She grinned, excited to be helping, and she had an idea of just who to recruit for backup if they needed it, but finding her would be difficult.
"Good. " He said, allowing himself to feel confident. "Sukari--the lioness-- usually lets me off the hook at night, like I said. Sometimes she watches where I go, sometimes I did good, so she lets me go off-- like today. " He nodded smartly. He wouldn't always be able to come, of course. Especially if it might strengthen his scent trail; she might get suspicious, and she patrolled alot.
"So whenever I can, I'll come here talk to you. " He stated.
"Alright." The smile remained, and she took a moment to flick a little water on his nose, grinning. "I'll be here waiting then,"
"Right. " Usiku nodded, and wirrgled his nose in amusement as it suddenly got sprinkled with water. Whiskers twitching, his green eyes looked over Kiyoshi for a moment, then he stood.
"I better get going. " He said, slightly regretfully. "I only have nightime to eat and get some sleep. " He looked at the water, contemplating another drink, but decided he didn't need it. "So.. " He paused. "I'll come back when I get the chance. " He smiled, and backed a few paces away, waiting for a response; it'd be rude to just run off.
Kiyoshi giggled a bit as his nose twitched, not at all unlike a cubs. As he stood up to go she did the same, watching him quietly and nodding in response. "Okay, be careful." She smiled, pawing in his general direction in a goodbye wave. She intended to see him off from where she stood, then maybe she'd see about some dinner as well. When she saw him again, she hoped there'd be some good news about his situation.
His whiskers twitched in amusement at the 'wave', and he took a few more steps back. "Bye. " Usiku nodded, then turned and started to trot away, his dark pelt melting into the night, the white ring on his tail slowly vanishing in the grass.
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