[PRP] - Coincidental Mistakes [End!]

[Daffupanda]

-- AIM Rp between Aviva, Mundoo and Nyoni ((Felyn & DFA))

Aviva could hear the sound of the ocean in the distance, like a sweet song calling out to her weary heart. She had been travelling for days, going whereever her feet led her to. Now, she was faced with an expanse of jungle - but the promise of the ocean on the otherside was too much to ignore. So, with a forced smile upon her maw, she began to trot through the greenery around her.

A soft hum trickled out of her maw, happy and uplifting as she sauntered along, picking her way through the tangled weaves of jungle foliage. Her eyes shifted, trying to look in every direction at once. She was a creature of open space - so many trees made her feel shut in. She saw the telltale signs of sky ahead of her, which meant she would break free of the jungle soon.

"Finally!" she sighed, picking up her pace, and hoping the last little bit of her jungle journey would go as smoothly as the rest had.

And likely, everything would have gone just fine and dandy had Mundoo not been using a small secluded corner of the jungle to take his afternoon nap in; his body, usualy glaringly obvious in the open, somehow merged quite well till it almost vanished under weeds, bushes and flowers. Not only that; but the fragance of the flower bush and vines he'd hidden within seemed to mask his scent, to a point it was probably inevitable when Aviva's paw landed directly over the male's tail as she padded.

Mundo's eyes snapped open then, his chest rumbling with a violent growl, "WHYSONOFA-!!" he jumped up to his feet, vegetation instantly and directly snapped from it's roots, flowers showering over both lions as the male turned till he placed his nose almost directly against Aviva's, "Look where you're GOING will you?!" snatching his tail from under her grasp, the he snorted and was just about to turn and leave when he paused, taking just a moment to look her up and down.

She looked..... familliar.

A cry sounded from her maw as his own echoed through the trees, her ears wilted as she shrunk down slightly. She hadn't even seen him, and here he was yelling at her for an honest mistake! The poor thing was skittish, and she was fighting hard not to run away in the opposite direction just from the great oaf.

"I - I'm sorry!" she said quietly, her eyes crossed as she stared down at his nose where it touched her own, then shifted back to his. As he pulled away, snatching his tail from under her foot (which she had picked up slightly as soon as he yelled), her eyes wandered over his figure and she couldn't really help the brow crease as she tried to figure out who he was.

Then, as if hit by a figurative frying pan, her eyes widened and her ears perked at the same moment as the previously burrowed brows shot up. "Mundoo!"

Despite being small in frame (Mundoo had bee born last, and where his brother had gotten the bulk, the white male liked to think he'd gotten the brains.... even if he was making a poor show of it), he was used to making up for it by being loud, grumpy and obnoxious at times; sarcasm was something he clung to like a life-line.

A frown covered his already thundering features; the expression scaresely ever left his face, tell truth. Then, after a long pause, the male wrinkled his nose, his strangely eerie eyes looking her up and down.... up and down till it cliked his mind; no, it CAN'T be, he thought to himself, "Aviva...?" it was said almost meekly, reminiscent of the cub he'd been, so long ago.

A wide smile spread over her features at the sound of her own name leaving his maw, joy dancing behind her brilliant orange eyes. It had been so long since she'd seen him or his brother last that she had nearly given up hope of ever seeing either of the pair again! Yet, here he was, in the last place she had ever really thought to find him.

"Mundo it is you," she said with a soft laugh, taking a hesitant step closer and straightening her posture back out from the half-hunched hesitant one she had been displaying before. Rogue life had taught her to be cautious if nothing else, which really didn't help her skittish personality in the slightest.

"It's been so long, I didn't even recognize you at first. You're all.. fluffy!" she laughed, though she was slightly nervous - it was noticeable in the depths of her eyes if no where else. She had always had a slight childhood crush on Mundoo, and the time apart seemed to only bury it - not get rid of it completely.  

[Daffupanda]

He snorted, though a smirk did split his maw, hints of a real smile shinning in his eyes, though he refused to give into them, "Yeah; guess it is.... sorta," it was true; he wasn't the cub she'd once known, and nor was his brother. Hell, Mundoo wasn't even sure where Moo was, but the last he'd heard of his dark brother was that he wished to seek out the strongest lions and beat them senseless. Mundoo just wanted peace and quiet. One'd think that what the lighter of the sibblings was asking for would be easier, but no, it'd proved to be thus far imposible to find.

He commented not on her pose, nor did he comment on the fact she looked so skittish that any other rogue would have probably taken advantage of such a thing; perhaps it was his bond to her that made him less of an a*****e, or perhaps it was his memories of the past. Whatever it was, he chose to follow the train of though. He snorted again, the smirk growing eeriely, making him look almost scary for a moment, "Yeah, tends to happen when one grows up," he motioned towards her with a glint in his eye, "And you... you're so....... bright, all grown up. What brings you to Kizingo'zaa anyhow?"

Her smile wavered slightly at his first words, though she chose not to comment on them. She was sure that his life had changed, that perhaps he too had changed - leaving the pride had been difficult and she knew that she too had developed differently than she would have if their lands had not been scourged by the plague. Instead, she looked around behind him, in the surrounding area, and with a bit of a frown she turned her bright eyes back to his blank ones. Those had never really bothered her, strangely enough. "I guess Moo isn't with you?" It was vaguely disappointed in tone - she would have liked to have at least seen him.

"Yes, I am very bright!" she said with a small laugh, looking down at her own bright fur, tail flickering behind her for emphasis, sending the blue tuft wavering. She tilted her head back up at him, a weak smile on her maw, "guess I just always kept thinking of you as the cub I knew. Strange to see you now."

"Kizingo'zaa?" she said questioningly, her orange eyes flickering to the bit of sky she could see behind him through the trees. She shrugged, turning them back towards him. "I didn't know this was a pride, actually, I just.. heard the ocean. I wanted to see." An innocent smile spread across her maw.

"Moo?" he arched a brow, then rolled his eyes, "Let's just say that out of the two of us, I probably grew up bettter. He ...." he seemed to lack the words to explain and waved a paw uncertainly abou, "Developed really odd tendencies. He got really violent; not with me, of course, but one day he up and told me he was going to seek out stronger lions to fight and... well, he left. Haven't seen the bloke since. Right down demon, he turned into; hardly rational.... don't think he could distinguish right from wrong by the time he left me," he shook his head, for despite this, he missed his brother. If anything, the large black lion had proved time and time again to be extremely loyal to those he loved. Not a creature had dared look Mundoo the wrong why while the other had been around. He'd been restless though, and had left. Mundoo had understood.

"Yes you are!" he seemed vaguely amused, the eeri smirk still aparent, edged upon his white pelted maw, "Very bright, ain't yah. Nothing like me, huh," he looked down at his glaringly white paws and the brushed at his pitchblack mane. As she spoke again, he flickered his attention about them motioning towards the jungle, "Yeah. S'what the King told us these lands were called," he paused, then some of the cub she'd once known peeked through the dark haze as he stepped forward and nudged her, "I'll show you," and this said, he guided her where the plants split to reveal the beach.

The gentle ocean lapped at the sandy shores, tha vegetation behind them greeting them with chirps and the songs of multiple birds, "Welcome to Kizingo'zaa..." he said as he stepped out of the jungle and onto the beach.

She just nodded, eyes somber and sad as she tried to picture Moo as someone other than the cub she had remembered him as. Violent? She never would have thought that of him. With a sigh, she shook her head and pushed the thoughts away. No, itd be better to remember him as she once knew him - it wasn't like she'd ever see him again now.

"Well, your monochrome fur is just as nice. Besides, we kind of compliment each other, don't you think?" she grinned, flipping her bright blue and green tail against his white fur - showing just how much they made one another stand out. At his nudge, she grinned, leaping to follow him quickly.

"Ou," her eyes widened with her words, shifting over the beach and then the ocean, mouth slightly agape. It was just as beautiful as she had been imagining, if not more! "Oh, this pride is very beautiful," she whispered, paws pushing at the sand beneath her feet.

Likely not; as far as Mundoo was concerned... Moo had been eatten alive by hell itself, and was like standing on top of the highest peak undergrown, laughing himself silly over the carnage he'd made. He too shook his head mildly; he hoped, deep down, that his brother would find what it was he was seeking. It was hard looking back upon the days when they'd all been cubs together.

As she spoke of his pelt, he snorted, "Hardly," that one word was so bitter.... so sour, it almost dripped hatred, "It's given me nothing but trouble," his eerie eyes narrowed down as he looked down at the sand, his ears hidding amongst the black mane. He didn't go further into it however, but rather, looked back at her, offering her a grim smile, nodding towards the sea, "Usualy quite peaceful 'round her, less brats are around. They make a racket," he followed her to the water, his head lowering till his nose almost touched it, and then, his expression softened a tad, "Beautiful," he echoed, though he was looking inside the water, and not at her, as if he were recalling something.

That something, in fact, the object of Mundoo's thoughts, came strolling out from behind some rocky cove to the side; Nyoni didn't stand out against the scenery as much as the other two lions did, but the bells attatched to her body made her imposible to be missed, "Mundoo!" she called as she padded over, taking the moment to lean in, taking his ear in her mouth, tugging at it playfully, "There you are! I'd been looking for you! Were you hidding in the jungles again?" then and only then did Nyoni notice the other lioness and her smile widened, "Whose your friend?"

After a huff, the male placed a large white paw against Nyoni's chest and shoved her off almost irritably, though the movement was lacking effort on his part, "Lay off, woman... and that's Aviva, a good friend," unaware of the fact the brightly colored girl thought more of him.  

[Daffupanda]

Aviva simply dismissed his sourness over his pelt. She never really placed a lot of merit on the physical aspect of things, though she also didn't know what the problems with his coat truly were. She hadn't been around for all the times that he had issues with it. She only remember the cub, secure in their own pride, and the old days when they were all happy - at least as cubs were. Staring down into the washing waves, the clear salty water dampening her paws, she nodded at his words - but seemed to be thinking on something.

The female's voice drew her attention immediately, a slight pang in her chest as the other tugged at Mundoo's ear. She didn't show it outwardly, but knowing there was another female that Mundoo spent time with was certainly upsetting. The way he treated her was even worse - they were playful, he could see it. She wanted to bury her head in the sand.

However, being ever-cheerful Aviva, she pulled her smile wider. "It's very nice to meet you," she said with a dip of her head, tail flickering back and forth behind her.

Indeed; the male had developed a rather sour personality, mostly due to the fact he'd been cast aside and persecuted out of many pridal territories in his day. No doubt he'd had bad luck in his search, and no doubt the prides had been just a tad supersticious... something they couldn't be entirely blames for, as the plague was still freshly edged in their minds. Alas, it'd been enough to change a mild, cheerful boy, into a grumpy, sour, sarcastic adult that wished to have little to do with others.

Oblivious to what Aviva felt, he stepped out of the water and sat on the sand, shaking himself free of the wetness, "As I was telling you before I was so RUDELY interrupted," the last was aimed at Nyoni whom merely amsiled innocently, "This is Kizingo'zaa... the rulers are rather laid back and happy, and don't mind travellers. It's a small pride, a family, really. The rules, their cubs and a couple of rogue cubs that joined the lands, seeking for shelter," he motioned down the shore, towards the distance, "There's another pride, up that-a-way, but there's more peeps there, and.... anyhow. Whatever."

"He likes solitude. He likes being a grumpy butt about everything, and going to the other pride makes it imposible for him to be a hermit," came the girl's explanation; oh, she was female, and she'd seen the flash of pain that had appeared in Aviva's eyes. What she didn't know was just why it'd appeared. Friend of old, huh? "Nice to meet you too," the gypsy padded nearer and used her paw to lift Aviva's face, a soft, fond smile coming over her maw, "Oh honey, you don't need to dip your head to me... I'm just a modest story teller; what of you? You're as bright.... as the stars at night. Your colors would make you invisible in the jungle, and a joy to be seen dancing on the beach, wouldn't you agree, Mundoo?"

The male tilted his head to one side, then frowned, "I'm not a grumpy butt..." a pause, "What kinna an expression is THAT anyhow?"

".... live in the now, love; I was asking you something else," the brown female let out a sigh then returned her gaze to Aviva.

Aviva turned her head in each direction Mundoo pointed out, storing the information he dribbled on about in her head for future reference. She liked to know things about where she was - and she had a surprisingly adept memory. "Well, I think the smaller pride sounds more interesting. Bet it's easier to know others there instead of in the big one." She grinned weakly, turning her attention back to Mundoo. She shrugged slightly, "I don't really mind cubs so much anyway."

However, as Nyoni explained Mundoo's personality as-of-late, she gave him quite the frown. "Maybe you have changed," she said, not unkind, just in a matter-of-fact tone. "I don't remember you trying to hide from others before," she said with a shrug, her brows furrowing in the manner that suggested she really was trying to think back. No, she was pretty sure he'd never done that.

"I.." she began as Nyoni moved closer, taking a hesitant step backward. Skittish and untrusting - she didn't think the girl meant her any harm, is was just her nature to grow surprised when others moved too quickly into her personal space. "I was just being polite," she said finally, moving back forward slowly. "What do you mean, what of me?" she asked with a quirk of her eyebrow. She wasn't entirely sure what the other girl wanted her to say.

"Oh I don't.. dance," she said quietly, growing even quieter as the female asked Mundoo the silly question. It could have just been taken as her further discomfort at being too close to the other female, however. She glanced away down the beach, curling her tail around a hind leg. "Mundoo probably isn't much for dancing himself, doesn't surprise me if he didn't want to talk about it. Hermits don't dance, do they?" She quirked an eyebrow, trying to bring back up a joking, playful edge to her voice.

Having finally shook his head, Mundoo sneered, "Whatever; regardless, you'll find the place adept for a good rest. They don't seem to mind anyone, so long they're not violent and don't mean them any harm," he seemed to pause and look to the sky briefly, "Strange folks, these are..." he'd not been run out, nor had he been outcast due to his eerie looks. Mundoo had come to like the pride members, as much as he claimed otherwise; he could have probably sworn he hated them, Nyoni and the whole wide world over his own rotting corpse... even if all the stated was a complete and utter lie. They'd all grown on him. In more ways than one; even if he wasn't exactly willing or ready to admit this.

"Oh?" Nyoni raised her brows at the brighter female, her head tilting, "You knew Mundoo before this?" she took just a moment to stare at the white pelted male, frowning, "He was worse when I found him... to the point of paranoia, and near-aggresive. He's much better now," he smiled slightly at Aviva then let out a sigh as Mundoo frowned at them, wrinkled his nose and padded a few steps away to observe the tide; a fish was swimming near the shore and was more interesting than the female talk about him.

After chuckling slowly, Nyoni took a step back, "Don't worry honey, no ofense taken; as I said, Mundoo was worse when I found him. Wouldn't let me near him... and I mean, what is it you are? Who are you, love? And what do you seek?" her eyes shifted slowly to the male, only briefly, before the slid back to the frog-pelted girl, Nyoni's eyes becoming heavy lidded if only briefly, "This pride loves dances.... stories, songs. They thrive off of them. Mundoo sticks out like sorthumb, but..." after a moment she lifted her gaze back to the clouds, "I think he'll fit in, sooner or later. I think he likes it here," a pause as she seemed to ponder something then stood and began to pad away from the duo, "I'll be going now; you two probably have a lot to catch up on," and this said, she left them alone on the beach front.

Aviva couldn't help the small smile that spread over her mug at the the grumpy, almost sulky manner that Mundoo meandered away with. He might have changed, but that reminded her of a pouty cub, and that was amusing. She still couldn't picture him any worse than this - it was hard, coming to terms with such things.

"I, yes, I did," she said, blinking and turning her attention back up to the other lioness. "We were in the same pride when we were younger, before.. the plague," she nodded, offering a weak smile, her tail coiling around a hindleg as her attention shifted back to Mundoo in the distance for a moment. Was it really so long ago? She'd not thought about it in ages, not dared to remember. She'd moved on, but seeing him brought it back somewhat.

"Who.. am I?" she said with a frown, her eyes starind down at her feet for a moment, directing that questioning look down at the sand squished beneath them. She had no way to answer that, not at this time at least. The fact that the pride danced and sang lifted her heart slightly, but the previous question still troubled her. She stood there for a long time as she watched Nyoni drift off into the distance, then, with a small shake of her head, she trotted back towards Mundoo.  

[Daffupanda]

It was fascinating how others and the enviroment itself could change individuals to a point beyond recognition; granted, Mundoo was still himself. Deep down... he was still similarly to what he'd used to be; no doubt bearing rather large self-confident issues and fears of rejection, but that aside, he still had that spark in his eyes that signaled he wished to lived. It signalled there was hope yet, and that things weren't always what they seemed to be.

The male had been watching the idle conversation out the corner of an eyes, his gaze softening whilst he thought he wasn't being watched. There was something about the way he watched that perhaps, hinted at the feelings the male held, but whatever it was, it was gone swiftly, almost as soon as it'd come as a particularly large wave soaked his maw that had still been hovering over the water. Gasping somewhat, the white lion took a few steps back, wrinkling his nose in distaste as he sat down, rubbing at his maw, "You don't need to know who you are, really," it was said softly at his childhood friend as he turned away from Nyoni's retreating body, "The folks around here have... stories though; they like knowing whom they are, where they come from."

If anything, it was clear he'd ACTUALLY paid attention to what Misae and Hadithi had told them, "They believe that each lions comes from somewhere; it's soul. The king of this pride believes he came from the ocean, and when he dies, his soul will return to it. The queen believes it is the wind she came from," he allowed the sea breeze to shake his black mane as he turned to gaze at Aviva, "Nyoni, I think, comes from the birds. She's a free soul. Me... I don't know."

Aviva could see the changes in him, feel them just by being around him, and even though she knew that she herself had changed at least a little, she never really expected him to. As she had told him earlier, she had always thought of him as the cub she knew when they were young. She didn't think her developed skittishness was quite so bad as his changes, but she did realize, now, that they had been apart for a very, very long time. So long that she was afraid, now, she might not know him any longer. Her feelings might have been one-sided, but she still wanted to know him regardless.

She didn't want to see the feelings written across his face - it made her stomach crawl, put a sinking feeling in her chest. She wanted to pout, like a child - but what was she to do? Nyoni didn't seem to return the vague feelings Aviva could see in Mundoo's eyes, but that really meant nothing. He could fawn over Nyoni just like she did over him, and it would be a sad little circle. She simply forced herself to smile at his silliness, shaking her head, "you better be careful, or you'll get that up your nose."

She moved to sit down close to him, listening as he explained the way the lions of this pride worked. It put a smile on her face, and she took a deep breath of the salty ocean air. "It is nice to have something to believe, and I suppose believing your soul comes from some part of nature is just as good as anything else. We are born of nature, a part of it, why can't our soul be a part of it to?" She looked at the waves splashing up on shore, pulling her tail closer to her, just out of reach of their touch. "I don't know where I would come from. Though, I think you could maybe be clouds, yeah? You're all white and fluffy like they are." She couldn't help the small laugh, wrinkling her nose up as she did so.

A soft snort was her answer; he'd been apart from others for so long... he'd resigned himself to a life of solitude, abandoned, when Nyoni came along. Granted, she'd been the one to tug him out of that self dug hole of his, and he was only just begining to peek over it's border, however, was it love?

He'd come to the conclusion that, yes, it was love. He loved her. He loved her for the free spirit she was, and he loved the way she moved and the way she smiled, however, from someone else's point of view, perhaps it wasn't so much love as it was worship, and gratitude towards the one... the only one that had bothered to offer him a paw when he'd been down.

"No," it was said as he wrinkled his brow, mostly in thought, "Not the clouds; there are lots of clouds, always together, always happy. They don't seem to me like they feel like I do," no, not the clouds, and certainly not the stars either... something else, that crawled at the back of his mind before he turned and smirked at her, "How about we look for our Muses together? Like old times," it was said almost cheerfuly; bordering that line that seperated past and present, "Come," it was not an order, by any means as he nudged her with his maw in an almost brotherly fashion as he padded along the shore, in an entirely oposite direction Nyoni had gone towards.

She smiled at his words, unable to control a small laugh that trickled out of her maw, "that sounds like a good idea." If he was in love with Nyoni, the next best thing she could be for him was a friend. A friend was better than nothing, even if her heart ached. She watched him walk along for a couple of seconds, then pushed herself up with a nod and caught up with him. She had no idea what her muse would be, or what his could possibly be either - but this was better than moping about lost love and sore hearts.