Bad, bad day.
It hadn't started soo bad, actually. It had been normal. Wake up, go explore to keep yourself busy. And since she wa growing, each time she got to go further and find cooler things. And try not to get lost, like she had the other day. But getting lost the other day had been fine, since she'd met Raiden and he was.. interesting, to say the least. It was afternoon now. Earlier, perhaps a couple hours ago, she'd ran into a wild dog. Now, they weren't very big animals, but.. neither was Ethi. So she was fair game!
Honestly, she'd been lucky Hisa had been flying around and gotten Mapatano to go chase it off. Now, she had a mildly injured paw, she'd managed to hurt while trying to escape herself (though, she didn't remember exactly how she hurt it). Mapatano was busy patroling and making sure that was the only dog, because he was that obsessive over the pride's safety, especially since the "interlopers."
Ethi decided that it was time to give up on her plot to limp home and headed for a small pool water, which was conveniently nearby. Yess, water would be good. She could swim in it. And drink.
--
to the point that he could no longer think straight, or see straight for that matter. And then there was Nguvu, his bonded. The raven was constantly worried about his health; the cub rarely slept and rarely ate. Peke had never really eaten a lot but now, now he was eating even less than when he had first arrived in the Aka'mleli lands. And it worried Nguvu. Greatly.
So when he started to stumble and almost collapse frequently, well the bird had insisted that he lay down and get some sleep. And now here he was, by the edge of a pond sleeping.
Luckily for him, or perhaps not, he was so exhausted, or had been, that he feel asleep easily and without dreams. Dreaming was the reason he hated to sleep. The reason he often avoided it. Dreams usually meant visions, something he never wanted to have.
--
Once the pond came into view, she had tried hurrying to it, because jumping in the water high speed was waay fun, but he paws had stopped her. And.. She also saw something at he edge of said pond. Something rather familiar, and strange at the same time. Familiar, because she knew the person sleeping, but unfamiliar because she'd never actually seen him sleeping before. She tilted her head, padding that way, before deciding she shouldn't risk waking him up and making a bit of a half circle around him, practically tiptoeing.
Of course, as fate would have it, she dripped and faceplanted into the shallow water.
Ooh, today was so not a good day.
--
The splash of water startled the poor child so much that he woke with a start and was on his feet in a flash. His muscles were tense and his eyes wide. He had only been asleep for two hours or so but now he was wide awake. His need to sleep vanished, gone with the wind. His blue eyes danced around his surrounding as he slowly turned to face the water. His breath was caught in his throat as he braced himself to attack or to run when...
When he saw that his 'attacker' had only been Ethiopia. Instantly he let out a sigh of relief and relaxed feeling his exhaustion dance over him. "What are you doing Ethiopia?" Peke asked tiredly as a yawn slipped from his maw. He knew that he should probably try and sleep again but now he wasn't sure he could. No, he was awake now and he probably wouldn't try and sleep until his body demanded it of him. It was just the way he worked.
"Did you lose your balance?"
--
Rather comically, it took a few moments to pick herself up from the water, probably ebcause she had taken a fw moments to actually sit down there and grumble before deciding it was time to breathe, see if she had woken Peke up and apologize if that was the case. "Umm.. I came to drink. " She said, glancing back at Peke, having gotten up in time to hear him. Daamn, she'd woken him up. "Yeah, I uh.. tripped on a rock or something. " Or her injure paw got in the way. Damn you, paw.
"Sorry I woke you up. "
--
He smiled weakly at her as she picked herself up out of the water while still staying in it. "Oh." Duh, of course she came here to get a drink, this was a pond full of water. "I see." He looked at her sleepily scanning her form to make sure she was alright. "Did you hurt yourself?" He was asking a lot of question. Just like when they had first met. How funny. When she apologized he shook his head. "Nah, it's okay. I probably would have woken up soon anyway." He wasn't lying, he felt it was stupid to lie to someone who couldn't actually lie to him. It would be fair. Then again when was life ever fair?
Shaking the thoughts from his head he stretched his limbs and shook himself. "I don't sleep much." He admitted, which was probably obvious with the deep bags that had settled under his eyes, looking like bruises. His habit of not sleeping was going to catch up with him in the end.
--
She tilted her head it him, then glanced down at her paw which gingerly touched the floor beneath the water. "Um.. yeah, but not right now. " Deciding to get out of the pond (and she'd already drunk, despite perhaps involuntarily) she hopped out, hopefully splashing around enough to get the attention off her paw before she sat on the bank, her tail still dippd in. Subject change to sleep, good.
"Really? I don't much either. Well, I do but I.. wake up a lot. " Nightmare-less sleep had been coming a lot easier, but this was a gradual process. "Why not? " Back to Peke, yes.
--
When she answered his question he tilted his head watching as she glanced down at her paw. "What happened?" He wasn't just asking to ask another question, he was actually concerned, even if it didn't really sound like that. Then she mentioned that she didn't sleep that much either. He shrugged. "I don't like to sleep." Lies. He liked to sleep, what he didn't like were the dreams that could come with them. Dreams that could give him insight into the future. A future he wasn't sure he wanted to see. "It's not that I don't sleep much, it's that I don't let myself sleep." He stated plainly as though it was the most obvious thing in the world to everyone.
"I'm not afraid of nightmares, I'm afraid of simply dreaming."
--
Daamn, direct question. And she couldn't make up some dumb story with him. "Um.. I ran into a dog and Mapatano had to save me. " She shrugged, trying to give the best image that this was certainly not a bit deal. Honestly, it wasn't! Sure, she'd been terrified for a while there, but now all was fiine. At his explanations to his lack of sleep, however, she was more than happy to just pay attention to that. "Oh. " Why didn't he like dreaming? .. Right, seer. He didn't like his ability to see through lies. Maybe he didn't like the idea of having visions.
"You have visions? " Or maybe he was just avoiding having them in the first place.
--
"A wild dog? That can't be good." Peke replied his brow furrowing as he thought about it. "Did you trip then as you ran as Mapatano probably told you to?" He asked finding himself looking back down at her injured paw. From what he could tell it didn't look too bad, if she didn't put much pressure on it, well then it should be fine in a couple of days. "Don't put too much pressure on it, after a few days if you're careful it should heal fine."
Then the topic swam back to dreams and why he didn't like to sleep. He yawned. "I try not to. I can't distinguish them. I don't know if it's a dream or something that's going to happen in the future." He hated being able to see things. He just wanted to be normal.
Then again, had he ever been normal?
--
"I ran before Mapatano showed up. I.. don't exactly remember how I hurt it. " What was left unsaid is she hardly remembered running because she'd been.. pretty freaked out. "Then he showed up and chased it off before it got me, and went to make sure it was just a rogue dog. I think. He doesn't really say much. " Because apparently wild dogs usually came in packs. Ugh, she could only imagine running in to more than one.
"Oh. " She pondered, tapping her chin. It couldn't be good to have visions and not know what was vision and hat was dream. But, on the upside, he could always just assume everything was a dream. Then he'd only know it'd been a vision when something actually happened and then.. he'd probably feel guilty not having done anything about it. "Do seers always have to be sleeping to see things? " Here she was jsut thinking aloud. If Peke was really supposed to see something, would he not see it simply because he'd be awake at the time? Or perhaps the vision would just.. come regardless.
--
More than one wild dog would be...very deadly. He hoped that Mapatano had confirmed that it was only one, they had enough casualities in the last month or so. "I see." His mind drifted to shadowy images of a pack. He shook his head. He would have seen it coming, no that was a lie. He probably wouldn't have seen anything. He never let himself. Ubele would have though.
"I do." He stated knowing at least that much when it came to his seer abilities. He knew that most people needed to be sleeping but from what he had heard, Ubele didn't. "Ubele doesn't. She sees things that are happening and where they are happening at any given time. I think. Sometimes she has to be sleeping though...Not really sure."
--
That was good and bad, then. If Peke didn't have to be sleeping, he'd probably figure that it didn't matter if he was sleeping or awake, and just.. sleep anyway. Technically, it'd be better for him, but at the same time he'd be miserable because he'd be seeing anyway and he didn't want to see. She frowned, Peke really didn't have it easy.
"Ubele? I don't know her. Who's that? " Ooh, more folks to meet. Maybe. Or, mostly just know about. Ethiopia was too shy to leap foy joy at the prospect of possible friends.
--
He knew that soon he'd have to come to terms with the fact that he had to accept his visions. They were a part of who he was now even if he didn't want to admit it. Eventually he'd accept it, he just wasn't sure as to when he would. He just knew that he would. He didn't need seer powers to see that coming.
"She's Ufunuo's sister, a fellow seer along with this other boy I don't know." Peke replied thinking about the two. He had seen the map seer but had never actually met him. He only really spoke to Nguvu, Ubele and Ethiopia. That was his little circle and he was content to keep it that way.
--
So there were three seers here? That was interesting. She was admittedly a bit curious about this other cub (Peke could see thorugh lies, Ubele had that weird.. vision thing), did this other cub have anything else 'special'? Or did he just dream and have random visions? "Aah, got it. " Ufunuo had a sister! She didn't know that. Ethiopia was silent for a few more moments.
Then she squeaked in surprise and jumped, scrambling away from the water, then stopping and glancing back at her tail. There was a fish. Biting it. "Today doesn't like me. " She said allowed, glancing down at the fish who'd let go, that was now flopping about on the ground, with a sort of bemused expression. Couldn't it tell the difference between tail and food?
--
"She's his twin but much more likeable. At least to me." It was true, he got along very well with the dark female. She never tried to push him into acting like someone he obviously wasn't. Like how he always felt around 'peacekeeper' Ufunuo. Just thinking about the other male he shuddered and could feel his fur bristling.
Calm. He needed to remain calm.
When she squeaked he arched a brow and tried not to laugh. He followed her gaze to see the fish and shook his head, soft laughter spilling from his lips. "Obviously not but I do." He was trying to make her feel better. He actually found himself doing that a lot recently and it didn't bother him, in any way shape or form.
--
She took note of that, though wasn't too sure. Peke obviously disliked Ufunuo but Ethiopia had found him pretty nice. Then again, like she'd told herself before; Peke probably had his reasons. And, did it matter? If Ufunuo's sister was nice, that was fine.
Ethiopia smiled at Peke, he had indeed succeeded in making her feel a bit better, but then she glanced back at the fish who'd stopped moving. Maybe it had.. died. Frowning a bit, she prodded it with a paw, only to get quite literally slapped. Well.. It was obviously still alive. "I should.. put it back now. " She poked it again, but more roughly so that it could slip back into the water. There!
Oh, wait. ".. Did you wanna eat that? "
--
He watched with amusement as the fish smacked her was she poked it. "I don't think he wants you to get in the way of his meal." He teased with a smile as she roughly shoved the fish into the water. Well roughly to a fish at least. His blue-eyed gaze was trained upon the fish as it seemed to glare at her before continuing on it's business. Maybe to chomp on another lion's tail.
When she asked him the question he blinked surprised. Slowly he shook his head. "Nah, if I tried he might try to wiggle free or bite me." Being around Ethi made things easy, fun. He felt almost...normal.
--
"I can't blame it, my tail is absolutely delicious. " Ethiopia deadpanned, flicking the offended tail. She watched the fish, returning the glare (though, somehow Ethiopia glaring was even less intimidating that a fish glaring) then turning her attention back to Peke, laughing a bit. "You wouldn't stand a chance. Those fish are vicious! " She joked, then glanced back at the water to see if there were any other fish in view. Maybe that was just some.. loner fish.
--
"Is it now? I don't think I believe that." He replied still smiling. "Just in case you might want to get away from that water. Never know when he'll strike again." He teased before she teased him. "I dunno I'm pretty fiesty, I might be able to win against one, but anymore than that and I'm finished!" He emphasized this by falling over and clutching his chest.
--
"Of course it is! Tastes like.. something fish like to eat. " What did fish eat, anyway? "I know, right? I was lucky the first time. I might not be lucky again. " She gasped, scowling at the water and inching away for emphasis. She laughed, crouching to the floor.
"Maybe it wa sjust a scout-fish, and its bringing a whole pack of fish to attack us. " Conspiracy theories about fish. How fun!
--
"What do fish eat?" He asked scrunching his face up in confusion before laughing. "You never know they could eat you alive!" Of course it'd have to be one big fish or a bunch of little once. As she sprung away from the water he too crouched down ready to strike if a school of fish came to 'attack'.
"A scout-fish? Oh no! He could be coming back with a swarm!" He exclaimed with a loud gasp. He placed a paw over his maw to silence the laughter that tried to break free. "We should get out weapons ready to fight back!"
--
"Lions, apparently. " She glanced accusingly at the water, flicking her tail. Of course, it all made sense now! .. No, not really, but who cares. She laughed at the idea of being eaten alive by such tiny fish, looking away as if it would stop the laughing.
"We need to protect the pride! " She nodded, mocking some sort of 'business' like expression and glancing around. "Aha! rocks! We can chuck them in the water to let them know not to mess with us. "
--
"Yes! Who better to protect them but us?" He asked excitment rippling through his body. Of course the idea of the two of them defending the pride was rather laughable. They were so small, if this was a real threat, well he wasn't sure how well they would really fair.
When she mentioned the rocks he followed her gaze and nodded. "Yes! We'll show those lion-eating fish who's boss!"
--
"No one! " She nodded certainly, hurrying over to the rocks with the best battle-determination she could muste up, whacking a few rocks to roll into the water. Like this rain of pebbles were actually a very intimidating thing.
"They'll think twice before messing with us again. "
--
Peke followed Ethiopia as she scrambled over before grabbing a rock and almost weighing it before chucking it into the pond. A nice splash resulted and he threw yet another one, the one more each time putting more into each throw.
"Yes! No longer will they bite innocent tails!" He exclaimed with another throw. "We are a force to be reckoned with.
--
Ethiopia kept on with the smaller rocks that actually fit in her paw, until she finally caught sight of a somewhat larger rock. Ooh, she could just roll that one into the water. "Now its time for the heavy artillery! " She made her way over to said rock, though it was somewhat.. stuck on the floor. It took a bit of pushing but, eventually, she got it to roll down towards the pond, where it gained speed and hit the water with a satisfying splash.
Victory was so theirs.
--
Peke chuckled as she pushed the rock and watched as it rolled into the water. "Bombs away!" He stated rolling a similar rock after hers. Stepping back he pretended to observe their work. Then he skipped forward towards the water's edge and peered in. Not a fish in sight! They had been successful.
"Victory successfully obtained!"
--
She laughed, watching the last rock hit the water with similar interest as Peke, then leaned slightly forward as he approached the water, as if on edge to see the status of the battlefield. "Yes! We saved the pride! " She cheered, scampering over to the water as if to observe the victory too. She smirked, sitting at the water's edge and glancing smugly into it.
"Poor fishies, never stood a chance against us. "
--
"Of course we did. We are that amazing." Peke replied smugly as he grinned and puffed his chest out. He glanced over at his companion as she came to stand beside him. At her next sentence he shook his head. "No, not at all." It was rather sad really, one stupid mistake and they were doomed. The fishes that was.
"We won't be so kind next time though."
--
She laughed at that. Yes, amazing, they were the bravest cubs ever. Who else would dare to throw rocks in the water and spook fish? .. Oh yeah, just about anyone. "No, we won't. There won't be any survivors next time. " She nodded, trying to seem solemn and serious, but she couldn't keep a grin off her face.
"Hear that, fish? No messing with us again! "
--
He nodded to her words and proudly called out, "This is a warning fish! No survivors next time!" He looked solemn for a moment after he spoke before the smile spread across his lips again. He always had fun with Ethiopia even if things always started out solemn and serious.
"You know, you're the only person I ever feel like a child around. Like I can act my age."
--
At Peke's warning, Ethi snickered, covering he muzzle with a paw and looking away as if it would help the laughter stop. When she finally managed to stop (though the dumb grin was still there), Peke was sppeaking again, and she looked back at him. That was somewhat unexpected to hear, but she nodded slightly, not completely sure what to say. The only time she'd thought of Peke as really serious was when they met, but then, if he got to act his age around her, thats how she knew him. Like a kid acting his age.
"Glad I can help? " At least, he seemed to have fun!
--
"Thank you." He told her seriousness decorating his features as he mulled over the fact. He loved being around Ubele but his relationship with her was much different than with the girl he was with right now. He fought with Ufunuo whenever they were around each other, especially when he tired to push him to to someone he wasn't. And he never really said anything with his brother.
Yes it was nice to have someone that he 'fit in' with. "I appreciate it." He smiled
--
"Me too. " She liked hanging aroud Peke, it was just so silly and easy. It was like with Tanz, but at the same time very different. Having someone to just hang out with was great. She looked out at the pond, watching the faint rippled of fish towards the deeper end, twitching her recently-assaulted tail. "Battling it out with fish wouldn't be the same without you. "
Or having mud-battles. Which reminded her, she had to be prepared for the next time it rained.
--
"Nor would it be the same for me." He agreed with a simple nod. "Or having mud wars, or racing to caves to wait out the rain once we're covered in mud." He continued with a soft chuckle. He was sure that if they had never met, as rather comically as it was, that he wouldn't ever really have fun. Not in the way he often did.
--
"Yeah, " She agreed, smiling. "All in all, I'm happy I met you. " She really was. Peke was greta company, they could have fun and then have.. insightful-ish conversations! He was shaping up to be, if he wasn't already, a great friend for her.
--
"I am to." He replied thoughtfully before pausing and staring almost dreamily at the water's surface before looking at her. "Promise me that we'll always be friends no matter what happens okay?" He knew that they were friends, perhaps best friends even, at least to him. But he wanted to be sure that they would always be friends no matter what happened. If he couldn't visit her often or if something just happened.
--
She blinked, at first somewhat confused at his request, mostly because she couldn't immediately think of why they'd stop being friends. "I promise. " She nodded, she didn't want anything to happen to their friendship just as much as Peke did. In its own ironic way, the hell she'd been through since her parents death wasn't so unbearable anymore. She had a good friend with Peke, she had Mapatano and Hisa and she had Tanz. Things were looking up again. Lets just hope they stayed that way.
--
"Good." He replied happy that he could feel no lies from her. Of course if that promise was ever broken, well she at least believed she was being truthful and that was all he could ever ask for. He glanced up at the now darkening sky. How long had he been asleep? How long had the been playing? Time passed much faster that he would have liked. The days of innocence could be coming to an end. "I should go, I still have to make rounds..." He didn't want to leave but he couldn't exactly let outsiders waltz into the pride after all.
--
She nodded, quietly remembering that Peke had a "job" of sorts, not so much that he'd told her explicitly, but because Mapatano had said so after she mentioned her firs trun in with him. "Right. " She got up from her spot next to the water, noticing quietly that fish were starting to drift about more freely now that the rain of rocks had quieted down. "I have to go too. " Go thank Mapatano and Hisa for saving her little gray behind earlier today. They'd hurried off before she could properly thank them. And tell Tanz about it.
"See you later, then. "
--
"I'll see you around," He paused as he stood and started to walk in the opposite direction. "I look forward to our next game." He told her with a soft smile as he looked back before turning away and trotting off to find Nguvu and make his rounds before it was too dark to be out. That was when things were the most dangerous. "Be careful and don't strain your paw too much."
--
"Me too. " She grinned, then glancing at her paw as he mentioned it. Right, she'd almost forgotten about that. .. Well, she had forgotten about it. Frowning to herself at the idea of straining her paw and being stuck with it bad for longer, she made note to be careful, yes. No more time limping than needed. "I will. " Ethiopia smiled once more in Peke's direction before turning away from him to start her way home.
Today was a good day.
