By this point, the raven was used to flying through gusty winds and unfriendly weather, much unlike his companion who grumbled and groaned below him. Despite the wind roaring in his ears and the height that he had flown himself to, he practically still hear the cheetah's whining. A feat that made him roll his eyes as he pitched himself downwards in a dive.
They were scouting today, this time actually together because Eadger had basically pounced on Poe the minute he stepped outside his den, but he had to admit that it probably wasn't worth it. No one would be foolish enough to wander into their territory in this weather, so why the need to go out to the border?
Of course, he thought that and then was proven otherwise. It figured.
Poe, meanwhile, was huffing and grumbling the entire way. He briefly debated whether he could slip away from Eadger, but the raven was persistent today. He probably wouldn't make it five steps.
But even that bird-brain would have to concede that they should find shelter before the storm really hit! It was just windy now, but that wouldn't last, he could tell. They wouldn't be finding anything interesting today.... or so he thought.
With a glare up above him, the black cheetah meandered forward, trying not to slip in the loose rocks below him.
Coincidentally, another black and white cheetah was struggling to keep himself upright in the wind. Roku squinted past the frigid air in an attempt to locate some kind of shelter, but out here in these plains, there really wasn't much.
He had been preoccupied with his thoughts, as of late, after a particularly unnerving, recurring dream he was having. It always started out happy, with warm fur and motherly kisses and other playful cubs around him. It left him wistful and yearning... and questioning why it felt so familiar. But then it always changed. Flashes of red and black and yowls of pain. Falling, falling, falling - before taking a chilling plunge into icy water.
.... He had been told that things would start to return to him someday. Was he beginning to remember? Oh, it was so frustrating!
Of course, in his musing, he hadn't realized where his paws were taking him, nor did he notice the change in weather until it was far too late. On the subject of why: why did this keep happening to him? Bad weather seemed to follow him, and he was getting sick of it.
When Eadger first spotted the black and white form, he had mistaken it for Poe.... before realizing that there were two Poe's. That wasn't right. He could barely handle one.
His next thought was alarm. If there were two forms down there, then there really was a stranger in their midst. Though they could probably be excused for wandering so far in. They looked as though they were hunched in on themselves to try and block the wind. Some unlucky soul then. Why had they come so far out into the plains?
Eyeing the form - another cheetah, to Eadger's relief, cheetahs could be trusted - the raven tilted his tail feathers down to allow himself to fall back down to Poe. And this one was actually Poe, he'd made sure of that.
As he floated closer, he flapped his wings to catch himself before perching on Poe's head. Ignoring the whining that immediately cropped up at his arrival, Eadger chirped, "Poe, there's someone over there!" He gestured with a wing, "I think they're caught in the wind and need help."
Poe would deny his so-called "whining" later, but at the mention of someone in aid, he perked up. Well, this certainly made things more interesting. He began his trek in the direction Eadger mentioned, more sure of this land since he lived here, and then paused as the other creature came into view.
For a minute, he wondered if he was looking at some long-lost sibling, but no, their - his - markings were different than his own. But the poor thing was hunched over in a miserable slump, frantic eyes looking out in front of him as if in some vague hope that he would find shelter.
Poe hurried over then, calling out as he got close, "Ho! What are you doing out here?"
Roku was broken out of his thoughts by someone yelling near him. Swiveling around, he stared through squinted eyes at the other cheetah with a bird huddled over their head. He hadn't even heard them approaching.
But a friendly face was very much welcome right now. Or he hoped they were friendly.
Cringing as a strong gust almost knocked him over, Roku yelled back, "I'm trying to find shelter. Do-" he was knocked off his paws all of a sudden, falling over onto his stomach with an "omph!".
Poe winced as he saw him go down. That looked like it had hurt. Jerking his head up to catch Eadger's attention, he muttered, "I think we should find somewhere for the three of us to talk in peace. Can you find a place?"
As the bird took off on strong wings, Poe turned back to the other cheetah and rushed forward. He helped him back up to his paws with a nudge, "Are you alright?"
"Y-yeah," Roku swallowed, "Yeah, I'm okay."
"Then we should get out of this wind." He looked up, scanning the terrain for somewhere to go.
As luck would have it, Eadger was returning at that point. Gliding back to his partner, he yelled out over the wind, "There's a cave nearby that we can hide out in! And we should hurry, it's beginning to rain!" Sure enough, water droplets were already pattering against his feathers, an unfortunate thing as it would make him unable to fly well.
He would need to get going while he could. Checking to make sure of Poe's nod of acquiesce, he turned and began flying in the direction he'd found it.
Nudging the other cheetah once more, Poe began walking, making sure to stay by the other's side to keep them both more grounded. He trusted Eadger's judgment. If there was a cave, then it would work as their shelter.
Roku was lamenting his situation by now, but at least he had help. This would have been so much worse if not for these strangers. They could introduce themselves later. Right now, their main focus was on finding this cave.
Paws moving as quickly as they could manage, the two cheetahs sped after the raven.
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The cave wasn't the most remarkable thing in the world - in fact, it was more of a hole in the ground than anything - but it would work for what they needed.
Roku collapsed on the dirt floor after they had escaped the wind and rain, his fur partially soaked and dripping beneath him. Great, he'd be laying in mud soon, but he could always move after he dried a bit.
With a shy glance over at his two saviors, the cheetah nodded, "Thank you. I'm not sure what I would have done if you guys hadn't shown up."
Disgruntled over his wet fur as he was, Poe was already in the middle of trying to clean off his back. At Roku's words, he smirked and waved a paw. "No problem. I could never turn down a cheetah in need." Though he could have done without the rain. That would have made things nicer. And more heroic.
Eadger, meanwhile, had fluffed out his feathers and was waiting for Poe to finish so he could cuddle up to his warmth. He nodded as well at Poe's words, before turning a scolding eye at Roku, "What were you thinking, traveling in this weather? You would have been in big trouble if we hadn't been coming by!"
Startled, Roku stuttered back, "I, er, uhm..." But Poe responded with a chortle before he could say anything else.
"Ah now, Ead, what's done is done. Perhaps fate brought him here." He looked back at the newcomer, "You were lucky, friend, to have entered the Dumanne. We're a cheetah coalition, and we would happily help other cheetahs in need."
"Now that we're out of the wind though," He puffed his chest out, "The name's Poe, and this is my partner, Eadger."
"A cheetah coalition?" Roku had never heard of something like that before. Prides, sure, there were a lot, but they were usually lion-centered. Interesting... but he probably still wouldn't stick around. He was close to remembering things, he could tell, and he didn't want to break that streak quite yet.
At the mention of their names, he perked up, "Oh, mine's Rokusasu, but you can just call me Roku." He cast a glance outside and then sighed forlornly, "I think we're going to be stuck here for a while."
Poe gave a hum of agreement. Yes, they likely wouldn't be moving for quite some time. Finally satisfied with the state of his fur, the male laid down and stretched himself across the ground, "Well, best to get comfortable then."
Beside him, Eadger gave a huff at their introductions, but otherwise ignored them. He was more concerned with curling up next to Poe's warm fur. So it was with a content chirp that he shuffled himself next to his stomach and closed his eyes to take a nap.
