The adventure had been far less than what she had been expecting. It had been dangerous, and her quest had almost taken her life. Though she hardly cared. She hardly remembered now. She was home, and that was what mattered to her.
She stretched out of her den, looking at the swamplands for what they had become. They were lovely, and she had always felt right at home. She supposed that is why momma was so careful with her. She wanted her little girl to stay home forever
and the entire time she had been gone, Kimama had been fretting. Now that she had returned, with the new name of Luciernaga, it was taking Kimama time. She had continuously called her "Dia" still. Though Luci couldn't really blame her. Her old name
having been Incendia, had been hers up until recently. She didn't mind too much. At least, she didn't think she did.
The sun had caked the mud around her den, and she frowned and stomped on it. Nothing splattered, no goo held her in place. She hated that. She sauntered on, preferring to find something less infuriating to spend her time on. She liked mud, and constantly
she was trying to bring fresh mud home. It was to make her feel like she really was home, as when she had been on her quest she had had to work to find the mud to sit in. She was determined never to do that again. But each time she broughtt he mud back, it was caked
and dry by the time she woke up the next day. It was a load of crap. She knew the direction of the mud pits, and that was where she was heading. She had wanted to be alone, so she had slyly snuck around the pride members that she would have had to contact with. She was prepared
to be irritated if anyone approached her. She wanted to be alone, and each time she got that desire someone tried to take it from her. Talk talk talk. It's all anyone did these days. She supposed she had gotten used to being alone, and it was taking time to get back in habits of li ving
with the pride again. She managed to get around the others, without a word to her. She was almost sure they hadn't even seen her. Yes, that was what she was hoping for. With a grin, she leapt down off a rock, landing on an old rotten tree stump. The stump crushed underneath her body and she
cried out as she fell into it. It collapsed under her weight, and she groaned. Well that hadn't gone quite as planned. She could see others turning their heads to see the commotion and quickly she was up and hiding under the stump. After a few seconds, she was sure they stopped looking. Once glance
proved it, and she was back darting to the mud pits.
It wasn't easy to find an unoccupied strip of mud. Most of the pride liked to enjoy the past time, and this was no exception. Though usually the ones mudbathing weren't too chatty. They had far too much on their minds, and that was of utter calm and relaxation. She was okay with that, and she lowered her body
into the cool mud. It engorfed her, covering all but her head and she closed her eyes, flipping onto her back. Once she was comfortable, she stretched out, inhaling and exhaling. It was the most calm she had felt in a long time, and she was thankful for this time alone. Her tail thrashed in the mud, causing more of a scene
than she had wanted to make before. Though she didn't much mind anymore. If anyone approached her, maybe she could convince them th at she was hard of hearing..Or maybe she had dirt in her ears. Yes that was entirely possible. With a stretch of her body she let her toes squish in the mud that covered her.
It had seemed like days that she had stretched out into the relaxing state. Though she knew it was likely less than a few hours. She could really lose herself in her own meditation. She hadn't been interrupted once, nor had she had to even move. She had really enjoyed her time. Though with the sun slowly setting, she knew that her time
was running out. Momma would be angry if she didn't return home before dark. Though she wasn't really worried about mothers anger, she was respectful of her mother. She stood from the mud, shaking her body and watching bits fly around. She was a poof ball of dirt when she finally stepped form the mud pit to head home.
It was common for her, and where father likely would have demanded she bathe before, he was used to it now. She grinned when she thought of that. Father just getting over her being dirty, simply because he tired of demanding she clean before coming home. She always forgot, and he eventually just stopped mentioning it. She loved her poppa..
Same as her mother. She loved them so much and her family was really all she had. But that didn't mean she wasn't her own person. She preferred things that mother didn't understand, and father just really didn't pay much attention to. Likely because they saw how quickly she grew up.
"Momma! I'm home." She called, stepping into the darkness of the den and letting it engulf her. Her mothers painted form approached her and offered a tsk of a noise.
"Oh darling. What on earth were you doing all day?" Though her voice let Luci know she knew exactly where she had been.
"I was just...home." Luci said, and nuzzled into her mother before retreating to the back of the den. She knew of the little pile of furs, and it was a nice, welcome sight when you had been out all day.
WC: 1003
