It had taken a very long time to get near the ocean, but Mng and Ripuki had gone the whole journey together. It hadn't helped that they'd stopped whenever they could, whether it was to try a weird food that didn't grow around their respective homes or to chat with other travelers. Mng found traveling with Ripuki to be a very joyful experience. The lioness was somewhat childish, but also very refreshing.
She tossed the cream colored bangs out of her face, racing along the shore where the sand was wet but easier to tread on than the dry, loose stuff in her opinion. The water would climb up onto the land with a shhhhhccsshhh noise that was very pleasant to listen to and then danced back again. So as Mng ran along the shore she moved up and down in a zig-zagging manner. "Ripuki! It's great! it's beautiful!"
Ripuki was moving along much slower than her new found friend, already used to the ocean. She laughed gleefully as she watched Mng'kari though, thinking she looked magnificent as she played. "Don't get swallowed up by the ocean!" She called, remembering that when she was very small her mother used to say just the same to her. It was weird… she could barely recall her mother's face but she knew her words so well!
When Mng complimented the lands, though these weren't the same she'd grown up in she didn't think, Ripuki could only nod along. "Beautiful, but it can be dangerous too!" She knew it was wise to always keep that in mind when you were near the ocean, especially if you weren't a strong swimmer. Mng had admitted she liked swimming but didn't do much of it. Ripuki, on the other paw, loved to swim and tried to do so at least once every couple of days if not more.
Mng tripped a little as she looked back to better hear Ripuki as the distance between them grew and grew. She laughed joyously when she stumbled though, thinking it probably looked very funny. She slowed her pace and splashed about a bit, waiting for the other lioness to catch up with her. "Dangerous?" She questioned, head tilted as she seemed to consider this. She twisted to peer out at the large body of water. Hmm, maybe because it was so big? She wondered how far it went out… was it deeper than the watering holes she'd swam in, in the past? "Does it end?" She asked more softly because Ripuki had finally made it to beside Mng's side.
Ripuki giggled a little and bumped her head into Mng's shoulder. "The ocean? I'm not sure… I mean, there are definitely more lands out in it… a few were close enough to my home lands that you could swim to them if you were very good at it." She glanced at the sky. "But only when there was no threat of a storm." She gestured with her paw into the distance, where storm clouds were gathering in. They looked dark and beastly, slightly scary but mostly enthralling. Ripuki loved storms and wondered if the storm brewing out there would come all the way to meet them on the shore. "But if you waited until a storm came and then swam out the next day there was usually great treasures to be found!" She said excitedly, thinking about it. "Maybe if the timing is right we could swim out a ways?" Although Ripuki saw no hints of land out in this part of the ocean. "But first we should climb up somewhere high, to look out."
She eyed her friend though and frowned slightly. "Although… good stuff washes up on this side too, so maybe we could find treasures here and go for a small swim after." She certainly didn't want to lose her new found friend to the sea.
The coffee pelted lioness looked out at the dark skies, eyes widening as she looked on in awe. "Oh!" She breathed out, a slow smile tugging at her maw. She too thought storms were good, and it was great to see one after the Kusini lands had been void of them for so long. She wondered what sort of treasures a storm could bring besides growth of all the plants? And fresh water for watering holes. It seemed like Ripuki had meant something different from the natural stuff that happened after a storm.
But swimming sounded great… and finding out what those treasures were sounded great too! "Well, alright. It's not like we have anywhere particular to be, right?" Although soon Mng would have to tell Ripuki that she needed to get back home to the Kusini lands, and to her children. Sure they were all adults… but even adults needed their mothers. The thought dimmed her smile a little as she thought of her mother and shook her head a little. Then she shook it harder, shaking away the sadness. "It will be good to have something to remember this trip by!" She laughed and nudged her friend. "And also nice to watch the storm with my new friend." She winked at Ripuki.
Ripuki was constantly amazed at how many emotions seemed to flicker across her friend's face at any given moment. Ripuki thought that maybe it had a little something to do with being a mother… a secret feeling that Ripuki didn't know now but maybe one day would know in the future. She beamed at the other and chuckled at the wink, nodding enthusiastically. "Yes it will be great to watch as friends! It's nice… it feels like I haven't had a friend in a very long time, Mng. You came into my life at a good moment." She leaned against the other, both just staring out at the clouds as they grew larger and larger, every minute becoming more massive.
When they were even overhead Ripuki found herself looking around for a while. It wasn't far from the tree line. The winds had picked up, fiercely howling as they moved across the ocean. Some of the tall beach trees were bent very far as they let the wind do as it would. "Maybe we should move to the trees, this storm feels like it will be big!"
"What?" Mng shouted out, because even sitting close together as they were it'd become hard to hear the other female. She waited for Ripuki to shout even louder at her and then nodded, getting up. Ripuki and she padded to the trees and both females started to laugh as the rain seemed to just dump all at once from the fat, heavy, dark clouds. It pelted down in sheets, the sound roaring around them. Mng shook off a ways away from Ripuki as they got into the tree line, panting a little because they'd been running as fast as they could in the end.
They found a spot a little ways in, but so they could still see the beach and the sky. "Oh!" Mng exclaimed, jumping a little at the first crash of thunder and gesturing to the first streak of lightening that painted the sky with light. "Oh, it's gorgeous Ripuki." She breathed out, glad that they were doing this together.
It was a little chilly, but it felt good after so many heavy days of heat. Ripuki was content by Mng's side, and soon would ask about her plans for the future. Ripuki didn't want to be constantly alone anymore… a friend was nice. Maybe when Mng returned home Ripuki could too! She would ask Mng tomorrow, after they had their fun. Ripuki wouldn't want to run a perfectly good day if Mng didn't want her to come along, after all. "It is! It's a good storm, already!" She laughed, the females content in each other's compant.
Word count: 1309