[PRP] A Regular Picasso (Ndoto x Nantale)

[SilverLutz]

A few days passed since Ndoto's vision. He had kept to himself, which wasn't normal for the bubbly, outgoing lion, to contemplate what this new development might mean. He had tried to induce more visions, but it had failed. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing...some seers only ever had one vision in their life, after all. Perhaps he was one of those one hit wonders. Still, his vision plagued him so much that he found himself pacing around in his den with a frown on his face.

"Come on, Ndoto...get your mind off this," he murmured to himself, heading out into the pride. He had a mission from Nantale after all, and that was to figure out how to make paint. He'd asked around and a few of the pride members had some suggestions, although he wasn't sure if many of them would work. The ones that seemed the most sound consisted of digging up various clay and picking berries to mix together with water. Ndoto wasn't sure how many colors he could get, but there were red, blue, and black berries to work with, so hopefully he'd be inspired while he experimented.

Thankful for the distraction, Ndoto brought his tools to a secluded area near the water to work. He sat down with his objects in front of him: a rock, a hollowed out gourde, pawfuls of different berries, more gourds full of wet clay, and some yellow flowers he'd found. Letting out a slow breath through his nose, he scooped some of the clay out of one gourd and put it into the empty one. Taking some red berries, he put a good number in before taking the rock in his paws, rather awkwardly, and began to crush the berries into the clay. It took a while, and it was a game of 'more water more berries more clay', but finally he achieved something that was wet enough to spread but thick enough to stay, and the color was vibrant.

"Hm...not bad," he murmured to himself, dipping his toes into the paint. He smeared it on a nearby rock, interested to see how it would hold up once it dried in the sun.

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

SilverLutz

Busywork didn't suit Nantale, but at the same time, it seemed downright foolish to wish for anything else. Having nothing but trivial, day-to-day chores to attend to was proof the pride was in a time of prosperity. They had food, water, and peace. All good things.

She just worried if there was nothing to do, it would appear she was doing nothing. The mark of a bad leader, that. Nantale wanted so much to be the great malenga her mother was, and Kitambi had never stood idle. Then or now.

Her parents had gone to hunt and after seeing them off, Nantale's new goal became finding Ndoto. She need not search long; he was right where she expected.

As she approached, she called to him. "Ndoto."

 

[SilverLutz]

While he waited for the first mixture to dry, Ndoto began working on the blue berries. The color was a bit harder to obtain and he found he needed more berries and less clay than the red had required. He mixed the dye carefully, watching the berries slowly dissolve into the watery clay.

His experiment was put on hold, however, when he heard a familiar voice call his name. He lifted his head and squinted against the bright sun to see Nantale making her way towards him. For the first time in a few days a genuine smile graced his lips and he gave a little wave with a red, blue, and slightly purple paw.

"Hello!" he returned, setting aside his mixtures for the time being. In that moment he remembered that it was his vision that had caused her and her parents so much distress, and he quickly lost the grin, his ears drooping just a bit. Hopefully they'd worked out just what the vision had meant, or they decided to ignore it.

"Ah...how are you? Haven't seen you in a few days," he said, trying to make light conversation even though he knew she wasn't really one for that.

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

SilverLutz

Ndoto's assumption would have been accurate three out of four times. But this was the fourth day her parents had actually spoke to each other and as a result she was feeling unusually cheerful. That excess energy had to disperse somehow. Besides, even she could embrace socializing every now and then... "I'm fine, thank you," she offered. Her eyes kept to his stained paw and she cracked half a smile. "Careful you don't get that on your mane. I'm not sure we'd ever get it out."  

[SilverLutz]

The warning made Ndoto glance down at his colorful paws, and he gave a little chuckle. "Very true...I'll probably have dyed paws for a while. But!" He stood and motioned for Nantale to come closer before nodding to his assortment of colors and paints. "I've got the paints just about ready to go. There's quite a few shades and colors, and what I couldn't find naturally I mixed."

He pushed a rather lovely shade of violet forward, most proud of that particular hue. He looked up, a happy smile on his face. It seemed the whole vision thing wasn't going to be brought up. If she wasn't going to talk about it, he wasn't going to think about it. "I've been testing them on rocks and plants and things. It sticks very well to rock, but living things it tends to dry and crack. Oh, and it stains fur pretty well, so anyone that might want to paint should be warned of before hand."

He turned to wipe his paw on the grass. "The good part is, once it's dry, it won't rub off on other things or parts of the body. So it will just fade naturally...we'll be a colorful lot for a while, but that's hardly a downside!"

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

SilverLutz

Nantale waited for his cue to move closer. Old habits. When she did approach, her haunches weren't drawn up and her teeth weren't pressing together. That would all change if she allowed herself to start another round of Vision Talk. She considered asking if he'd had any others, assuring herself it was just for curiosity's sake, but fortunately Ndoto had plenty to say and derailed it.

The violet was worth the effort and worthy of his pride. A lovely color and her favorite. She smiled at it a bit longer than the others, but gave no other indication of her affinity for it. She obviously approved of every hue. "They're lovely, Ndoto," and as she said it she was theorizing which members would most enjoy having their coats stained new colors. They... really could use some little ones around. "How hard is it to find the ingredients? I think we'll need more than this."  

[SilverLutz]

Ndoto chewed his lip anxiously as Nantale looked over his work, but when he saw her smile a bit he relaxed instantly. It was hard to get her to crack even just a tiny hint of one, so to see her so pleased with his paints made his day. No, his whole week! Month, even!

The question brought him back to reality and he nodded just a bit. "Oh yes, very easy. It's mostly water and clay, and then it's just a matter of getting enough berry juice. There's blue and red berries everywhere, so blue, red, and purple will be easy enough to make. There' aren't many yellow ones, though...so that will have to be used sparingly."

He pushed one of the gourds towards her - the violet one, since she had looked at it the longest - and then a flat stone he had found for the purpose of testing out the paints. "Want to give a try?" he asked, offering her a little smile. "It's a lot of fun. And the stream right here will get most of it out if you wash it off right after."

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

SilverLutz

Would a light color even be visible on the stone walls once it dried out? Eyes on the gourds, mulling it over, Nantale nodded in Ndoto's direction. Meant to be an appreciative gesture, it may have seemed more dismissive since she hadn't thought to look up at him.

Instead of violet, she reached for the yellow, claws extended to keep her paws mostly unstained. They brushed against the stone, smearing the paint in one misshapen blob. "Keep watch on this one overnight — please. We'll get rid of the yellows all together if the color doesn't set and just use the others." She made for the water and stuck her paw in, shaking it enough to splash the grass abutting the water. "Good job. We'll see if everything is ready tomorrow and go from there."  

[SilverLutz]

Ndoto tugged the violet back once Natale selected a different paint, not at all put off by her nod. He had gotten used to her mannerisms and knew not to take offense at things unless she had an angry look on her face. He waited patiently for her verdict, and nodded when it came. The praise made his heart beat a bit faster and his tail flick with delight, nearly knocking over one of the failed attempts.

"I'll keep an eye on it," he promised as she gave him instructions to watch the yellow sample. He stood as she moved back from the stream, her paws a bit wet but otherwise unsoiled. Good to know...he'd probably be multi-colored for a few days, but there was no harm done. He'd be careful once he was done mixing up paints to be sure he didn't keep the dyes on for longer than was necessary.

"Have you decided what we'll use them for?" he asked, tilting his head. He had been asked to make them to possibly have a new ceremony take place with them, but things seemed to be ready to change in more ways than one for the pride. Perhaps that idea had been scrapped and a new one was in place.

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

SilverLutz

Nantale's breath caught in her throat and she gave the slightest twitch forward to stop the paint from suffering an ill-timed, tail-related doom. The gourd settled on its own, though. "I appreciate it," she said. "We'll just be using it for the walls." At the time, this was the extent of her plan. She wouldn't consider the rest until later when she brainstorming made for a good excuse to keep from sleeping. "I'll go tell the baboons to get word we should gather tomorrow."  

[SilverLutz]

"Ah, wonderful," Ndoto said with obvious relief. He'd been practicing on stones, after all, so the texture and substance wouldn't change. He had toyed with the thickness of the paints to make sure they wouldn't drip on vertical surfaces, so unless there were any overhanging areas, he knew that the colors would stick very well.

"Very good," he said with a nod before moving to the river once again. He'd watch the yellow, but for now he needed to mix up more paint. Lots more if the whole pride was going to use it. "I'll get back to work, then. Thanks for coming to check on my progress," he added, sincerity in his voice. "And I'll make sure that yellow works. Or if it doesn't, I'll toy around with other things and see if I can get something that holds the color well."

A bit of fiddling later, Ndoto had what he thought might work. He spoke with Nantale as he worked, glad to have someone to talk with as he figured out the little problem. He left some paint on the stones to dry as they headed back to the pride, the lion feeling rather pleased with himself.

FIN