[PRP] Where are you From? (Kani and Wei)

[Kimaria]

For once he wasn't practising his drumming. Instead, he'd left his treasured instrument at home and was crossing the pridelands towards the open land where the herds would graze the day away. He fancied trying his paw at hunting today, more for the exercise than anythign else really. He never had caught anything much before now, and never by himself, so he didn't have much hopes for succeeding. In either case, he was glad to be out in the sun and away from the stuffy den he called his own.

And, a few minutes later, the herd came into view. The cream-coloured hybrid paused and cast his gaze over them, crowded together, occasionally their heads to make sure nothing was sneaking up on them.

He smiled and dug his claws into the earth. He wouldn't catch one, but he'd sure have them in chaos if he charged in as he planned to do.  

[Polette]

This was the first time Wei had traveled to the edge of her pridal lands; she usually wandered around with her siblings, but today, she felt like going alone. Rounding the cliffs that led into their sweet little encove, Wei's sense of direction became completely thrown off.

The sun bore down on her fur, and Wei climbed foreign rocks to get into some shade. She had no idea where she was at this point; she smelled the air of the water's edge, but she recognized nothing.

 

[Kimaria]

Drawing breath, Kani'noe paused a moment to gether himself, then using his hind legs, propelled himself at the herd. They saw him a second later and guessed his intent. To rush them, to kill them, to stop them from feeding on the lucious grass. The small herd - of maybe ten or fifteen antelope - kicked up their heels and swerved out of the way, moving as one. Their bleats of fear rattled in the hybrid's ears and he drew closer.

The smell of their dusty hides, their sweat, their fear, it was intoxicating. Yet try as he might he could not catch up and eventually he was standing alone in the meadow, panting from his exertion.

Excitement flowed through him and he threw back his head and roared.  

[Polette]

Wei had heard the sound of hoofs hitting the ground-- it had snapped her out of her daze.

She looked around frantically, unsure of where the sound was coming from. Her heart almost stopped when she heard the echo of a roar. Wei stumbled down from her perch, reluctantly searching for the sounds she had heard. It fascinated her; she never realized there were more lions this far out.

The fact that there was another lion out there also enticed her. Some excitement for her otherwise boring life. To meet someone out there, away from the pride she called home.

 

[Kimaria]

"What do you think of that, huh?" He called after them, his body filled with the buzz of the hunt. "Maybe next time you won't be so lucky!" And with a proud sweep of his leopard-like tail, he turned back the way he had come, heading towards where Wei waited.

He was humming quietly now, a rhythm he had been teaching himself on the drum. He tried to match his steps to it, but ended up tangling his paws and staggering slightly.

"Oops..." But he shook it off and moved onwards, still humming but walking in a stride that wouldn't send him flat on his face.  

[Polette]

Wei flatened her ears as more sound echoed through the air. She sat, this time a little more anxious than fearful. She could hear the heavy beat of her heart in her head, and her stomach felt like it was twisting. Taking deep breaths, she moved her claws in and out, trying to loosen herself for whatever may come.


Then she saw him.

 

[Kimaria]

And the looked up and saw her too.

It was so unexpected that the shock had him stumbling back, ending up landing hard on his rump. His eyes widened and as he tried to gather his wits about him, he realised how stupid he must have looked. Embarrassment came crashing down all around him and when he tried to speak, his words were stuttered and inaudible.

Ugh...

"Um...um...hello? Sorry I...uh...didn't...see you there." His ears fell back, half-buried in his mane. "Are you...alright?"  

[Polette]

Wei felt her heart flutter; she was so overly relieved that it wasn't anything bad coming around the corner. Watching him stumble over himself, she couldn't help but laugh a little. "Okay? You haven't done anything to me!" her smile spread across her face, and she scooted a little closer towards him. She was excited about this new encounter-- this male, he looked......different. Not a bad different, but different. She had never seen something like him, although he was unmistakably feline.

 

[Kimaria]

"Oh! Oh...uh...I thought maybe you were...lost or something." He lowered his head slightly and drew his ears forward curiously. "I'm Kani'noe. Do you live here, too? I haven't seen you...around or anything. Then again...I don't really meet many people." He gave an awkward little smile and sat. "Probably my own fault really."  

[Polette]

Swishing her tail, Wei neared him. "Lost?" she glanced around briefly, puckering her lips to the side. "On slightly." she let out a small laugh. "I'm Wei. And I'm not from this area, but I come from just over there." Wei turned her head and motioned to the land beyond the large rocks. "It's not too far."

Walking over to the side, she shook her head in a small breeze, trying to get any dirt out of it. "Your fault?" Wei moved in closer and lifted her paw gently. "Who wouldn't want to meet a nice guy like you?" she turned around so she no longer faced him, smiling widely.

 

[Kimaria]

"Oh? A neighbouring pride, right? Well I guess that's okay,so long as it's not too far away. Your parents might be worried about you." He dipped his ears, surprised at how brave this little one was, wandering around by herself. He wouldn't even do that now!

"Nice guy? Well...um, I do try to be nice. I mean, it's only proper, right? I mean, being mean doesn't get anyone anywhere. It's good to be...helpful..." He smiled bashfully.

"I'm atleast helpful in this way. Not so helpful with others...like...uh, hunting, for instance." He laughed sheepishly. "So, Wei, how comes you're here? You have friends here?"  

[Polette]

Twirling her tail around her leg, Wei thought for a moment. "I don't really know why I'm here. I don't have many friends in my own pride, so I got bored and wanted to see what was over this way." she smiled. "So you're from around here?" she pawed at the earth in front of her, feeling its soft grains. "Maybe you could show me around." she let out a laugh; maybe this would be more fun than she thought.

 

[Kimaria]

"I am. This is the Nchi'mahadhi pride. A place of music. I normally have my drum with me but I left it at home today in case it got damaged during my run." He grinned sheepishly and then nodded. "I don't have anything else to do, so why not! If your pride is close by it'd be nice for you to get to know this place, too."

He blinked. "Your parents won't be worried about where you've run off to, will they?"  

[Polette]

"Oh? You have a drum?" Wei's eyes grew wide with excitement; there was nothing of the sort in her own pride. "Where I'm from, we don't have things like that." her eyes gazed out behind him, and she wondered about this new pride.

Her mind wandered back to her parents, briefly. "I don't think they'll mind." a smirk grew on her face, and her eyes slid to the side. "Besides, I'm learning something new! I'm sure they'd be happy with that." she trotted past the larger male and stopped, looking back at him. "So are we going?"

 

[Kimaria]

"Yep! My prized possession." He beamed, clearly enjoying talking about the musical instrument he had crafted from a gourd the day he had started his drum quest. "You don't have music or instruments? You must! Music is...well it's everything! I'll show you sometime."

He blinked, nodding slightly. "Yes, yes, let's go!" And he started off. "I wonder where we should go first. I could show you the lake if you like. It's very pretty, especially if you like listening to insects and frogs. The mud there is black, too. Apparently that's unusual. What do you say?"