Flash! She danced upon the ground in fury. Racing and running as fast as her solid, climbing legs allowed. Mud clung like weights to her fur and paws as she sped about, chasing her tail and darting from one tree to another. Her breath were shallow as she moved quickly, and yet another spark of light would sound and hum to her to switch directions.
Damu liked the rain. It was nice. What she loved even more, were storms. A boom sounded overhead and she did not flinch, as if to reinsure this.
The rain was pelted across her warm body, and Damu embraced the icy sting with a laugh and twist of her ankle in the mud. Her joy was drowned from the sound of crashing and booming above her, and the leopardess cared not. She was simply pleased to be within the rain.
The other she was about to meet had followed this storm like a hawk. He had walked under the darkened clouds, trademark of his delight, yelling and screaming with a murderous rage that told everyone to steer clear. Lynned was simply having fun, he enjoyed storms and was preparing himselves for the arrival of the newest one. He hadn't expected that during the downfall while he allowed the rain to ease against his face like so, that he would meet someone dancing through the storm like they owned it.
Lynned was stunned. Never had he encountered a creatures who like him, enjoyed the rain and it's lively attitude that accompanied it. That is, not as much as he did.
"HELLO!" He boomed. Appearing like a flash of lightning, his pelt designed to aid him with that.
Damu was startled, but turned with a widen expression of glee regardless. This lion looked to be the cause of the thunder itself! Little did she know that Lynned was simply following it. He charted storms with a passion on his quest to find the "stormborn" Vikings he desperately wanted to join.
Damu had not heard of them, but nevertheless was a little intimidated by the sheer size of the other. He was massive, even for a lion. To a tiny leopardess like herself the red colored female felt on edge. Regardless of her tense nature she called in a friendly manner "Good evening!" Her tone harmonious with a flash and spark that signaled behind her.
She delayed all feelings of unease with the idea of being in the presence of another and allowed her guard to drop. Approaching Lynnedslag he was once again charmed by the nature that was the fire burning in her eyes. "You love storms too?" He offered conversation. His eyes were electric, ecstatic and loud like his natural manner in which he spoke. No subtlety. No regret.
Damu was much the same, only her passion lied in adventure and danger, not particularly storms. "I find it thrilling." She told the other, her expression cold and serious. What a shame that the grin underneath did not reach her face.
Lynned was used to frowns. He was commonly referred to as an idiot. To see Damu frown at him fazed him not in the slightest. "Good, good!" He cheered. "Your pretty, small lion. My name is Lynnedslag."
"Damu." The leopard cracked her faint smile, that to her own personal delight twisted more upwards then usual. "Damu Chui, and I happen to be a leopard not a lion." She laughed. A delightful yellow painted the sky for a moment. The hum of the rumbles around her made the leopardess believe that storms were paving songs. The thought was dismissed as Lynneslag spoke again.
"Oh, my mistake!" Lynned apologized with a rumbling laughter. He hadn't paid much attention to what species Damu was, in fact Lynned rarely paid much attention to anything at all. "Aren't you cold, leopard-miss?" He asked.
"No." Damu replied with a shrug. "Storms don't bother me, and I just finished climbing a snowy mountain so..." She wasn't trying to brag but Damu was more or less getting the point across that she was unfazed with the temperature of weather. Lynned took this another way.
"Oh! Impressive leopard-miss!" He didn't think leopards had it in them to climb so far. "It must have been difficult!"
"Yes, it was!" Damu told the stranger. "But worth it I suppose."
"Indeed, indeed." Lynnedslag nodded. "My name is Lynnedslag, did I mention that?"
Lynned intelligence caused Damu to chuckle, and relax all the same. "Yes, you have." She cracked an even wider smile.
"Oh good!" He hollered over a particularly loud thundercrash. It made him shudder with delight. Damu's hairs pricked at her rush of excitement from the danger looming overhead.
"Lynnedslag, it's a pleasure to meet you." She told him.
"Pleasure's all mine miss leopard!" He grinned cheekily.
"I'm heading this way". She informed Lynnedslag. He seemed intent to follow and tailed after her.
"Wait up!" He called, almost alarmed by the suddenness that was her leaving. "Don't go! Let's chat for a while."
She had to giggle at his silliness. "Of course. Where are you from, Lynneslag?" She asked curiously.
"Everywhere." He told her with a tone of lust and delight. "Anywhere storms come from." He added.
"Interesting." She laughed. The word interesting made her think of Renzi, she had not seen or heard sight of that lioness for a very long while. It hurt to think that Renzi abandon her or was injured along her journey, but Damu had to accept to truth that her friend was gone.
Time to make new friends, she thought. "I'm from the jungle, or so." She informed him.
Finally she asked him another question. "What is it you do?"
"Do?" Lynned was confused.
"Yeah, you know, your hobby." She pried.
"I don't have hobbies, but I'm searching for this one pride. Ever heard of it? It's called the stormborn."
"Can't say I have." Damu informed him.
"Alright then, what about you? What do you do?"
"Me?" The leopardess paused. "I'm an adventurer!"