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Hila had taken shelter after the dance in the forest, even though trees tended to attract the flashes of lightning in the sky. So far he was lucky, though, and his tree continued to protect him at least a bit from the heavy rains and wind. He kept his hood down since it kept blowing in his face, and it was rather heavy from all the water. He'd been in storms before, but this one was particularly fierce, and he was glad he had decided to hang out in the pride for a bit. Having to travel in that would not be fun.

Glancing around, he noticed that he wasn't the only one huddling here, and it was just his luck that it was the pretty cheetah from the dance. The storm suddenly forgotten, Hila grinned and ducked his head as he started to head over to her, slinking under the trees to reach her.

"Well hello," he purred as he approached, finally within ear shot. "Fancy seeing you here, Vappu. It really is a small savanna."

Hila flinched as well at the loud sound and glanced up with a mildly worried look into the tree tops. Nothing was crashing down, so that much was good. If he knew the area better he might have known of a better place to take shelter, but as it stood he'd just have to run the risk of getting crushed by a falling branch.

Thoughts of dying or serious injury left him, though, as soon as Vappu jumped closer to him. Her questions made him chuckle, some of his confidence returning after the little scare. "I've seen some very intense storms, but never from a forest. I must admit, it's a bit scarier when you know a tree could fall on you at any moment." At least in the savanna there was nothing to land on you but the rain.

He turned his head to comfort her, purring softly as he bumped his head against her cheek. "Not to worry, Vappu. This, like all other storms, will pass. And you'll be that much wiser because of it!"

Hila could see how frightened she was and, with a little noise of concern, lifted his paw to press against hers gently. "Moving at all in this kind of weather is foolish. It's best to stay where we are. The trees here are so thick that even if one does fall, it will be stopped on the way down by its brethren."

He didn't let the moment pass him by to press up against her as well, both to soothe her and for his own personal benefit. She was very warm and attractive, so why not? Purring softly, he nuzzled his nose against her cheek to try to soothe her rapidly beating heart.

"Although, once the storm is over, I'd love to see your den," he said a bit slyly after a moment. "This tree is serving its purpose for the time being, but I doubt it would make a very good home for a few months." Yes, Hila was seriously considering spending some time with this pride. His last attempt at pridal life hadn't gone so well, but this place was fun and had plenty of pretty females for him to flirt with. If the living spaces were good, then it was a done deal and he'd be hunting for his own place to call home for the time being.

Hila made a soft 'tsk'ing noise as Vappu spoke about her den. The poor thing...going home to a soggy bed. That just wouldn't do! Perhaps he could help her air out her things and find some not-soggy stuff once everything got a good dose of sun. And, perhaps, help her build some sort of roof to keep the rain out, but one that she could push and pull back and forth as she pleased to let the sun in.

"We can fix that," he reassured her, patting her paw with his own. "For now let's stay here, though, and weather this storm." She seemed to be a bit less scared when he distracted her with talking, so he decided to keep that up. "So, the dance was a lot of fun. I've never come across a pride quite as enjoyable as this one. Would you care to tell me a bit about it? If I plan on spending a few months here I'd like to know how it runs."

Hila glanced up slightly as Vappu spoke, watching the storm, and would glance back at her frequently to nod or give a soft noise of interest. Once she finished he nodded again, a smile on his face. "This sounds like a fun place to stay for a while," he said quietly. "Good company, good fun, a very systematic but simple set up."

And with Vappu here, he could seriously consider staying long enough to help out at least a bit. Perhaps if he found himself still here in a years time he'd settle down for good, but for now he'd consider himself a long-term guest, willing to pull his weight.

"And look," he said, nodding up to the sky where the winds had calmed. It was still raining, but nowhere near as hard as it had been earlier, and the trees were no longer swaying dangerously. "It seems you've talked the storm away. Fancy that!"

As Vappu let some of the tension leave her body, Hila took his chance and leaned in to press his muzzle against her cheek gently to give her a bit of comfort. That and he'd be aching to do that the whole time. No harm, no foul. As she continued to speak, he paid close attention to her words, making sure she was focused as well as the last of the storm drifted away. He didn't need her getting worked up again as one last thunder bolt rumbled through the area. It was distant, though, signifying the end. The sun shone through the treetops and a few birds began to sing, despite the obvious destruction around them. They were lucky. Dipping his head to let his cowl fall back over it, he had the sinking suspicion that others might not be as fortunate as they had been.


FIN