[JRP] Spitfire (Kestven x Tarafa)

[Excited Apathy]

Somewhere between here and there, a blue cub was hungry. This was nothing new to the cub, and hadn't been for what felt like a very long time. There were some dim memories of a large blue form, and of being not-hungry, but they were rapidly fading. Any memories of not-hungry after that were short. Of course, this meant that his days were fairly predictable in goal. Look for food, sleep. Look for food again.

Pausing to scratch at an ear, he glanced around before padding forward again.  

[mouselet]

There were times when one just needed to get out. Tarafa loved her family dearly, but it was hard to care for three young cubs, one of whom was heavily diseased, and to not remember their mother who was gone. It still hurt, that her daughter was dead.

Most of the blue lioness' time was spent caring for her grandchildren, but she was having a hard time finding any interest in her duties as a Bard. So here she was, out by the border where she seldom came. She knew that Mittere wasn't out here for the moment, having passed the Master Warrior and her trainees on her way out.

Well, hello here, there was something blue moving out there! Tarafa advanced towards the creature, curious.  

[Excited Apathy]

The cub's eyes widened at the sight of the lioness. She was blue, like him, but she was also big, unlike him. A few unpleasant encounters with predators still guarding their meals had left him wary of the 'big ones.' After a tense moment his eyes narrowed in suspicion and he hunkered down, flattening into the grass with his ears slicked back. Maybe she hadn't seen him yet...and then maybe he could follow her until she found food.  

[mouselet]

The lioness frowned as the blue vanished into the grass. From the color, she'd already figured it was a creature of some kind, but she hadn't gotten a good enough look to even be certain what kind it was. It was small though. Perhaps the size of her grandchildren.

"Hello? Who's out there?" Tarafa called out in a friendly tone, trying to avoid scaring whatever was out there.  

[Excited Apathy]

Well, that was weird. She didn't sound mean or angry like the other 'big ones' had. Maybe she wouldn't chase him off. Still, he only half-rose from his crouch, an uncertain growl escaping him. How was he supposed to know that growl was more likely to be amusing than threatening?  

[mouselet]

The back of the creature became visible as it rose somewhat higher on its legs. A small growl came from the same general area and Tarafa revised her estimate of what she had found from an adult ratel or serval to a young feline.

What was a child doing out here alone?

"I'm not going to hurt you," she called out, encouragingly. "It's okay."  

[Excited Apathy]

The cub was still leery, but at least he seemed to be growing more convinced that she meant no ill will. Slinking foward revealed a lean frame, and one ear tilted curiously forward despite himself. Sea green eyes looked her up and down in a measuring fashion, and he held himself tense, as if ready to bolt.  

[mouselet]

Long seasons of dealing with cubs had taught Tarafa better than to try and approach the cub that revealed himself? - yes, himself - in the grass. His build was lean, but she had a feeling that was more from hunger than genetics. Though...he didn't seem to look the way a young lion should.

In fact...he looked about as much like a cheetah as he did a lion. She hadn't seen a cheeton in ages, and never one that young, but the mixture of features was fairly distinctive.

"See? No one's going to hurt you," she told the youngster with a smile, not moving towards him in the least.  

[Excited Apathy]

The other ear didn't come forward, but after a long moment, some of the tension leaked out of the cub's stance. Another breath or two passed before he paced forward again. Stopping at the lioness' feet, the other ear finally flicked forward as he gave her a surprisingly bold-looking expression that seemed to say, 'well, what now?'  

[mouselet]

Well, this was promising. He hadn't run off yet. Tarafa kept a serene smile on her face as she continued talking to him gently.

"My name's Tarafa...what about you?" Perhaps if she could get him to talk back...she didn't want to seem like she was luring him somewhere with the promise of food. She did want to feed him, but she wanted to win his trust first.  

[Excited Apathy]

Well that was a new tone of voice. The downside of this was that he had no idea what it meant, as he'd been working off of her tone thus far--his exposure to speech being limited at best. Making a quizzical sound, the puzzled cub poked at her paw in a quick, darting jab before snatching his paw back and eyeing her for her reaction.  

[mouselet]

This was...interesting. Most cubs would respond in a more conclusive manner at this point. But...this boy hadn't spoken a single word thus far. She was fairly certain he could hear her...

...was he mute? But no, he seemed confused. She thought a mute person would be more...frustrated with her. Or teasing. But not confused. In fact it was almost like...

...like he didn't understand a word she was saying. Blue eyes widened. Could that be it? Was this cub so deprived of contact with other people that he didn't even know how to speak, or understand what people said? Words were her tools, as a Bard, and the very concept of someone even as old as this young cheeton was being unable to understand words as language was totally foreign.

So she held out a paw and smiled at him. "Would you like to come with me?" Forget about names, she'd worry about that later. Right now she wanted to tame this poor feral cub.  

[Excited Apathy]

Still no hostility. This was a good thing, the cub decided. He wasn't entirely sure about that paw held out in front of him, but she hadn't done anything bad to him yet...and he was hungry. And the few big ones he'd found had been near food, which meant big ones meant food, sooner or later. And he hadn't chased him off yet. And he was hungry. Very hungry.

An audible growl rattled from his abdomen as he headbutted the lioness' paw.  

[mouselet]

Tarafa continued smiling as the boy pushed his head against her outstretched paw. It wasn't quite what she'd hoped for, but it was a promising sign, this willing contact.

The lioness had to laugh though, at the cub's growling stomach. Then her face contorted in embarrassment as her stomach echoed the cheeton's complaint. But...louder.

"Oops. I guess it's dinner time. Want to come with me to get some food?" she offered cheerfully.  

[Excited Apathy]

The cub wasn't sure about most of it, but he thought he recognized the word 'food.' Maybe. Enough that he perked up and wound through the lioness' forelegs before giving her an expectant look.