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Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 5:09 pm
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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."
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Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 8:11 am
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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!"
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Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2013 11:54 am
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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.
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Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2013 2:26 pm
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Vappu gave the dancing trees one more worried glance, but Hila did sound as if he knew what he was talking about. She didn't mind snuggling up close to him for comfort and warmth, but she was mostly thinking about her own safety. In another circumstance she might have felt flustered by the close proximity to a handsome male, but for now she was in survival mode and didn't think along those lines. The lavender female was starting to calm down a little bit, and she felt better when they were talking. It was nice to think about after the storm. She'd love to take Hila to her sleeping place and show him around.
"Most of the dens are up on either of the mountain ridges," she said, taking comfort in talking about familiar things, "Mine is a niche between two larger rocks, but it keeps the weather out quite nicely. But I guess my bedding will get wet..."
She'd spent a fair amount of time gathering soft plant material and bits of fur to line her shelter with. It was open to the sky, but the sides of the two rocks provided ample shelter for her. Well, perhaps not against this kind of rain and wind... She was sure everything would be damp by now.
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Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 10:09 am
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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."
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Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2013 7:14 am
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Vappu nodded. With Hila near she was still frightened, but it didn't seem impossible to stay under this tree and wait out the storm. They could do this together. She was pleased to hear that he planned on staying. Hopefully there would be more chances to watch him dance. Perhaps he could teach her some moves that she could use next year. In the middle of the storm her poor performance from last year's Midsummer Dance didn't feel as embarrassing anymore. Or at least not as important.
"Oh, that's great," she said and beamed at him, "We always welcome new folks here, but if you stick around long enough you'll be expected to help out." Visitors were welcome to stay for the parties, but those that stayed several seasons were soon seen more as pride members and less as guests. A large number of pride members had actually joined that way. They came for the parties, and then stayed for the rest of it.
"We are divided in four clans," Vappu explained, "One for each season. Mine is spring, and during that season I work extra hard to make sure our parties are working smoothly. My main duty is to let everyone know that there is a party, since I'm a Crier."
She had many cheetah friends who also worked as Criers, but anyone who was willing to travel could do the job really. Vappy was a social creature and loved to run around in the rogue lands and talk to new friends so it suited her perfectly.
"There are four rulers, two mated couples," she explained, "One for each season. The king of Mrao and the Queen of Vuli are mated. Oh, that's winter and autumn. And then we have the Kaskazi king and the Demani queen, summer and spring. They're all really nice, and they make sure to keep an extra eye on their season and all the festivities."
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Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2013 5:05 pm
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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!"
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Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2013 7:49 am
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Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2013 1:45 pm
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