[PRP] To Be, or to Wobble Like an Idiot

[LadyPipen]

Daffupanda

The first thing the lioness was aware of, before even fully waking, was pain. She groaned at the stabbing sensation that split her head, which wasn't much helped the moment she cracked her eyes, sunlight blinding her as she hissed at the sudden barrage of pain and annoyances consciousness bright.

She was simply lucky.... Lucky of what, she wasn't quite sure- the thought had simply teased the edge of her mind and disappeared before she had really even noticed it, and the splitting headache didn't really help when trying to remember, either, though there was little else to distract from the pain of simply existing for... however long she ended up laying there. She wasn't certain how long it was, that she laid there trying to feign death, but she could hardly lay forever.

The moment movement did not immediately inspire a whimper, the bright lioness pushed herself onto four paws, opening her eyes in a tentative squint once more to survey her surroundings- a grim picture, that much was apparent even through a squint. She stood on a narrow ledge, several feet of cliff above her, and below.... below, a great, gaping chasm. The sound of tumbling rock echoed in her ears as she stared over the ledge, the imagined sound and height together more than enough reason for the lioness to carefully back up until her rump lightly tapped the cliff not far behind her.

She jumped, head twisting around to inspect what was to be done about the cliff- the top wasn't... well, it was that far, but just too far to jump. Climbing could do- it'd have to do, since she certainly wasn't jumping. She still had sense enough to realize that route out ended in only one way- and she'd like to avoid that way as long as possible.

There was enough of a path, if one was not adverse to climbing and jumping in most places, which... Given the alternative, straining her sore and aching limbs certainly was not the worst route the lioness could have taken, she decided, though she didn't exactly rush it, either... Still suffering through her headache and her muscle made very sure to leave enough complaint with management to ensure she took the climb slow and steady, even if her unsteady paws and the great fall a slip would lead to wasn't enough to caution her way.

By the time she was pulling her bright bulk over the lip of the cliff, she was well and done. In all honesty, she was well and done before she had so much as opened her pretty pink eyes, but here she was, heaving for breath at the top of the cliff while the world swam below her- the top of a cliff was likely not the best of places to be when you had the grace of a zebra climbing a tree, but... Here she was. She hadn't fallen.... Yet.

In perspective, there was very little to complain about, even as her steps turned out far wobblier than she would have liked. And her path-which was supposed to head straight for the baobab tree's shade was.... well, rather pitiful, as her paws crossed and her supposed-to-be straight path began looking more like a shaky zig-zag... She at least got to the edge of the tree's shade before she gave up, slowly lowering herself to the ground as her tail twitched madly in annoyance- annoyance at the aches, the nasty headache, the inability to walk coherently, and....

And was she actually glaring at someone? The harder she squinted, the more the shape took form of a cheetah, enough so that she at least lifted her head, grimacing at the uncomfortable jarring sensation as her head tilted to the side- her vision was still swim-y, but getting better. Better enough to recognize a cheetah when she saw one.

"What're you slinkin' over there, for?" Oh gosh, that sounded terrible. Not the voice, the voice was normal, but the beginning of the sentence slurred in a way that made her wince and it was hardly an elegant sentence, though it got the point across, she supposed..... Still, she sounded like a b***h.  

[Daffupanda]

He had been... so bored. Or maybe that was entirely the wrong word to use. Perhaps apathetic fit more? Devoid of feeling, unwilling to do much of anything that did not involve feeding, drinking, roaming and sleeping. It was a monotonous drag that seemed to blur days in and out, and in the crevices of his mind, Uovu was going s**t stir crazy at that point. He was long past the grieving stage and well into acceptance of the fact he was just not going to find Annana, and that was well... not fine, per se, but just life, he guessed.

Still, the blur of days had the cheetah practically begging for something, anything to happen. He'd even have taken another lioness like the last one he'd traveled with; he'd helped the girl find her mother and then, well, had just slunk off into the night when he'd realized he had no idea what the ******** he'd even been doing there. That and the big golden lion had kept narrowing his eyes at him, and while Uovu had always been one to flirt with Lady Luck, it'd always been when he'd at least been more or less sure of some iota of success. He hadn't really liked his chances in that scenario though.

When the world had started to shift (quite literally) around him, he'd almost smacked himself, because of course this was what happened the moment he begged for s**t to happen.

Of course.

After all these years, he should have known better than to lift his head, wish into the god damn ether and not expect some twisted soul to be listening. The earth shifted, earthquakes shook the land, and Uovu could have sworn that at one point or another a piece of the sky had actually fallen just few millimeters away from crushing his tail. Granted, he'd been running at the time, and had probably been too preoccupied to really assess the general direction the debris that was falling on him was actually coming from, but still.

He had not slept that night. Adrenaline had kept him awake, as if he expected a round two to begin at any given moment. By the time the sun adorned the sky, the cheetah had come to realize the earth would not be calling for encore, and had gone out to inspect large scar on the ground. He wasn't entirely sure what he'd expected to come crawling out of it, but the bright green form of a feline in the distance sure wasn't it. It wasn't until he'd slunk close enough that he'd realized said feline was a lioness, and his mind had screeched to a halt with a string of swears he thankfully did not voice. He was so startled he almost started to run on instinct, except... something in the back of his mind held him back. A primal instinct that told him that something about the scenario was wrong.

The cheetah held himself still for a second or two, muscles trembling with anticipation until suddenly... the lioness woobled on her feet and that's when he knew what had been nagging at him; she was weak, an easy target. He watched her from a short distance as she pulled herself out of the crevice and slowly stumbled towards a baobab tree, and still Uovu could not figure out what to do, because while yes, the girl was weak... what on earth was he going to even do?

The female didn't lower herself to the ground so much as she just allowed herself to flop down, really, as if strength had left her entirely, and it was right around then that Uovu made up his mind to approach; girl wouldn't have been able to strike a zebra if it was in front of her, limped and tied down anyways. In fact, it was almost amusing how despite his bold approach, the lioness only lifted her head and squinted at him when he was but a foot away from her, "Eesh..." he said as he lowered his head down to sniff at her, "You look even worse from up close, kitten," and yes, kettle pot black, he knew, but still, she looked like death warmed over.

His head lowered even further when he realized she couldn't have aimed worth s**t anyways, and his reflexes were likely many times better than hers at that point, "Less slinkin'," he murmured as he inspected her, "More normal skulkin' really, but yah know... I guess it's all the same - and what the ******** happened to you anyways? Saw you crawlin' out that hole over there," a grin broke out slightly as he lifted his head away from the inspection of her pelt; she seemed fine. Bruised and knocked around for sure... probably confused as ******** all, but it was rather obvious she'd live anyways, "What, didja fancy a nice rough an' tumble? Cause let me tell you, you look like you wrestled a Rhino into a mating dance and lost really badly, sugar. What's your name, anyways?"

He wasn't even sure why he cared other than... this was the first soul he'd stumble across in a good moon, he was tired, he was lonely and this was better than just flopping on the ground feeling sorry for himself.

LadyPipen

Dunno what he's doin' but he's doin' somethin'

 

[LadyPipen]

Alright, perhaps she was a tad rude- but she had just crawled out of a chasm of death and fully felt it. What was his excuse?

"My, aren't you the charmer," the lioness remarked dryly- besides, he was one to talk. Her sight was coming back steadily, and getting surer all the while, and this close even she couldn't miss the great monstrosity that was the cheetah's face.... But she, at least, had the decency not to mention it.... Well, directly. "But if you're what wins beauty contests in these parts, I'm not sure how insulted I should be."

She felt like maybe, just maybe, there might have been a time she would have smacked the cheetah for impeding her personal bubble so rudely, but now? Now she was just sore and still regaining her senses, and there was little reason to smack him. What did she care about some witty words? They might not even be untrue- she couldn't really remember trying to wrestle a rhino into mating- and she certainly doubted such could be counted among her kinks- but truth be told... Now that she was trying to recall what had happened, she couldn't.

So, for lack of better things to do... Until the cheetah started trying to chew her limbs off, or something similar of the sort, he at least provided a welcome distraction. Besides- the only thing she really could do if he suddenly changed his mind on his friendly stance would be to promptly throw both of them off the cliff she just climbed up, and really, that sounded terribly unpleasant. She'd rather not. She let him snark at her until he was well and done and asking civilized questions, for civilized company.

Nevermind that she didn't have an answer for his civilized questions, for civilized company. The lioness' maw opened, snapped shut, and opened again before she gathered any semblance of an answer. "Well, I was looking for another rhino."

The moment she said it, she regretted it, but there wasn't much to be done about it after it was said- congratulations, self, you now apparently have a thing for rhinos. That's one thing she knew, now. One useless fact. "Kitten is as good as any name, I suppose. Isn't that how it works, gotta be all dark and mysterious if you're a rogue.... And lemme guess, they call you 'Scar'?" She was biding time saying the first thing that came to mind, sure, but so far it beat focusing on the aching pains that lingered and the growing realization and concern over the fact that.... before she woke up, she remembered absolutely nothing.

Daffupanda

He's doing his best, Daffu, shush.

 

[Daffupanda]

The miffed look as she stared up almost cross eyed for a moment was something Uovu was used to. Granted, it hadn't usually come from lionesses but it was at least something familiar in such an unfamiliar situation that he could grasp onto, "You don't know the half of it, Kitten," he watched as the lioness struggled to see straight and even chuckled when the change in her facial features seemed to indicated she'd finally managed to get an actual, good look at him, "Sassy little thing, ain't cha," well, if anything, chit snarking up at him probably meant that whatever had rattled inside her skull in that tumble down the pit of hell wasn't entirely busted, which he figured was a good thing? "Good news, sweetcheeks," he said as he lowered down his face to smirk at her, "I think you'll live. Good on yah. Tell me, did'ja say Hi to the boss downstairs while you were there? Or like... nah."

He should have tried something, anything on her. A weak lioness was one he could maim or easily dispose of; one less predator to keep an eye on tomorrow... one less threat to look out for.

His heart wasn't in it though; he was faster anyways. If the chit got her bearings and it turned out he'd overstayed his welcome, he'd leave, and besides, something about his last encounter with a lioness had made him realize that 'lo and behold, perhaps the whole Savannah wasn't out for his blood. The anger he'd felt in youth had more or less dried up anyways so why hold onto the grudge out of habit? It was more fun when they fought back anyways, he'd realized. Her words filtered through his thoughts then, and the cheetah blinked at her for a moment, then his head lifted and he barked out a sharp, loud laugh, "Were you now? How'd that go for yah? Does that mean you're up for round two? Already?" a snort followed his words as he looked at her, "Only into rhinos then? No chance for any of us fellow felines?"

It was then and there that Uovu settled on a rather new, peculiar concept; he liked this one. Along with that realization came another; if he liked this one, it was likely a good idea to help out and make sure she didn't actually die, flopped here against a baobab in the middle of Mkodi knew where.

He saw confusion among other emotions flit through her eyes, and for a moment, he squinted his eyes down at her. Something was still wrong with her, though what, he wasn't sure. He'd never been a healer, really, though if memory served correctly, he had heard of instances were a good fall could cause problems not really associated with broken bones of bruises, "Kitten it is, then," a pause as he tilted his head down and then looked up and around, judging distances. There was a little stream down north; he remembered taking a drink there at night. Before all the chaos and commotion anyways.

Brown eyes settled back down on her, and a scarred brow arched up as he regarded her, "Dark and mysterious huh? I'm about as mysterious as a smack to the head. Think you can get up without help there?" he nudged her side with his maw, pushing at her, "Imma guess you tumbled down the crack to crawled out of during all the hullabaloo last night, which probably means to slept down there... I ain't no doctor hon, but that sounds like a terrible plan and if I were you, I'd get up and try to find some water, how's about that?" after another nudge, he paused and his eyes slithered back to meet hers, "Name's Uovu, but heck, if you're into the cliches, I guess Scar's fine too, oh lord o' snark. Now get yer a** off the ground, chit. We're gonna get you water least you die - I've realized you're kinda endearing and you're kinda broadcasting the fact you're weak and in trouble by flopping there. So c'mon, let's get you straightened up. World needs more of you anyways."

LadyPipen

I dunno if 'best' is what I'd call it, but it's something alright XD

 

[LadyPipen]

Hi to the boss downstairs.... The lioness was back to squinting, if only for a moment before it clicked together. Oh.

Too slow on the pick-up, though, he was already rambling on before her mind caught up with his terribly vulgar mouth. She may not remember her mother at this particular moment, but the lioness was quite sure she'd be scandalized anyway. Had she ever met any cheetahs before? Was this a cheetah thing, or a ******** thing?

... She couldn't really judge him for it though, now, could she? Because apparently it was also a lioness-who-just-crawled-out-of-a-hole-to-hell thing, too. "Well, I suppose that depends," she replied, lucky- or perhaps, unlucky- that her mind caught up from her momentary confusion of misplaced histories, "On if you think you can work a lady over like a rhino can." Yup, if there was any hope that she was a proper lioness, there it went... flying out into oblivion... Any proper manners she might have had surely must have been knocked out of her head with everything else. Oh well!

The good thing about no memories, this particular lioness was quickly learning, was that there wasn't really any shame left to be found, either.

"That leaves us about the same, then, I'd think," Dark and mysterious as a smack to the head... ha. At least, she was pretty sure it was a smack to the head that she had- the head hurt worse than anything else, so it was a relatively safe bet. Still the other parts were rather sensitive, and she found herself pack to the gracing as the pesky cheetah poked and prodded...

The he did have a point, she supposed. She wasn't dead- that was check number one on the list, but there were several things needed to keep that not-dead status going. Water was one of them, and in all honesty, the moment he mentioned it, she noticed how thirsty she actually was. "Lord 'o Snark?" She huffed, finally rising to her achy paws- at least the world had stopped swimming by now- perhaps she needed to be conscious for a while before moving, or perhaps the game of nonexistent wit was exactly what the doctor ordered. "Does that make you my dear Lady?" she snorted- The idea. he looked about as much of a lady as she was acting.

"Well, I hope I won't die of thirst- I had it on pretty good authority that I was, in fact, going to live. Now, ah... this way, did you say?" She actually couldn't remember if he had said- still, she could prove she could move on her own now, surely, was not a pretty little damsel waiting for something to come pick her off, no matter the truth of the impression. She even let her tail wave high as she went... very much following the chasm south, but hey- she only tripped over her own paws twice!

"Oh," She paused suddenly, turning over her shoulder with, for once, a smile, "It's Mishenka. So I suppose you won't have to worry about your cliches- apt or not, sweet Scar. How'd you get that, anyway?" There had to be someway to pass the time while walking- and it didn't occur to her that it might be an inappropriate question. There had already been quite enough inappropriate-ness in the encounter already, what was a little more? Besides... He already knew her story. Fall down a hole, bust a head, it wasn't exactly long.

.... Hell, she wasn't even sure 'Mishenka' was right, but it was the only thing to surface so far and besides, it was nice. Though, knowing her luck, tomorrow she'd remember it was the name of some b***h who tried to push her off a cliff...

Daffupanda

Whelp this was NOT how this character was supposed to work out but you go Mishenka. You go flirt with that cheetah, you ho.

 

[Daffupanda]

Her squinting up at him made it clear that she wasn't all there upstairs yet. She followed but only at times, and Uovu was sure that had she had her wits about her, she would have been a veritable force to behold. He'd never actually thought about what he found attractive in females but suddenly it smacked him in the face; this was it. This was what he apparently found attractive. A lioness bantering with him over how she may have or may have not ******** a rhino.

Well if he hadn't thought he wasn't going to go to Hell, he figured this conversation settled it quite neatly, as far as he was concerned. While he was mildly busy pondering the state of his withered, tattered soul, the lioness finally seemed to recover herself somewhat and spoke up, grabbing his attention with her first few words. It wasn't until she hit the punchline that Uovu blinked though, entirely taken aback with the response.

It was likely the first time during the conversation where the cheetah had actually looked gobsmacked and for a moment, he could only stare at her with his mouth hanging open because holy s**t, this chit had flirted back! He was used to hitting on others - this was just a bit of what made him... well, him, really. It was a constant, like the sun up in the sky and the sea having waves. He didn't really mean it, or rather... he did mean it, but the words were always hollow. No one had taken him up on the offer before; no one had even given more than a vaguely disgruntled or disgusted look before. The realization that she was actually taking the bait and either calling him out on his bluff or otherwise simply pushing back was exquisite, and he couldn't help the second, genuine bark of laughter in the morning, "See!" he chirped almost jovially at her, "I knew there was a reason I was helpin' keep you alive," as she tried to stand up, he pushed against her, giving her leverage to get on her feet, and he watched as she stumbled forward a few steps, "I like you - yer fire and spice. Lovely, really. And also a first 'round 'ere, not gonna lie. Most everyone I run into has a bit of a temper... no time for shenanigans."

Then again, to Uovu's own credit, he was still alive despite the many shenanigans he'd pulled in the past. That must've counted for something anyways.

He watched as she walked, and the two times she stumbled, the lithe cheetah did, in fact, push against her side to keep her righted. He wasn't sure he could have kept her from crashing to the ground with his frame, but his body moved on both occasions before he could stop himself, really, and given it both times gave him a nice, long brush of body against body, he wasn't exactly complaining. After all, he was almost sure that the moment the chit got her wit about her, she'd take one look at him, roll her eyes and saunter off into the horizon, as most lions were wont to do, "I mean... that kinda depends - d'you plan on showin' me a good time? I feel like if I'm the lady, you should treat me to dinner. Or is it the other way 'round for you lot?" he'd never understood why male lions seemed to wave their manes like they were hot s**t - it was technically usually the ladies out doing the actual work.

That was why it was the she lions that tended to send him running. The males were usually too slow and too stupid anyways. It was the ladies of the species that were the real danger, "You'll be fine, chit. We'll just get you to the stream an' get you sorted out. I didn't see much damage on you from where I stood, but might wanna look under all the bright colored hair, sweetheart. Wounds on the noggin' tend to be bad - specially since you can't quire reach to groom there, eh?"

For all he'd claimed to not be a healer, he had actually raised one daughter to adulthood, and had over seen a litter of hers too, when she'd had it. Cheetah kits tended to be rambunctious, or maybe it was just his blood that made them so... the ******** if he knew.

"Sweetie... that'a way," he made a motion with his paw and set her back to walking in the right direction before falling back beside her after a stumble. His head tilted a bit up to look at her as she finally offered her name, and he grinned, "No idea what the ******** that means. But it suits, I'm sure," he made another motion to signal the small, rather pitiful stream up ahead, "And this, princess, if your kingdom for the day, I guess," he was mid lick, about to scoop water up when her question rang up and he paused, turned towards her, this time offering her a smile that was somewhere between sad and bitter, "I guess you could say I dance with lady luck a lil bit too much and got burned for my effort," that wasn't the truth; not really.

That night had been hell, but it wasn't something he particularly wanted to relive now anyways, "Pretty sure yer ordeal won't leave you with as much a reminder as mine," he seemed to pause, for the first time actually unsure. Something danced in his eye, and after a moment, he seemed to come to a decision; given it was Uovu... he decided to push his luck, because well, why not, "You can't reach your head, Kitten. And I, on the other hand, can, so..." he made a gesture as if welcoming her to use the information however she would and waited with a tilted head.

He was going to miss this come the following day, he was sure of it.

LadyPipen

Uovu is very confused, but also very into this. So like idk at this point

 

[LadyPipen]

The lioness Mishenka officially had no idea what the ever-loving ******** she was doing. She had a cheetah with a face that looked like it was dipped in a bed of coals, they were flirting, she had no idea where or who she was, but hey.

The cheetah liked her. That had to count for something, right?

She couldn't help the wide smile that cracked her face at the cheetah, even if it ended as a sheepish shrug when he corrected the direction- whoops. "Don't bet on it- Lions are all hair, no brains, which I suppose makes me fits right in," she chuckled, "I'm afraid we lionesses aren't as shrimpy and delicate as your cheetah ladies. Of course, for the moment, you'll have to take my word on it, but I swear usually we walk on four legs, not eight."

He was a fun one, though. Not that she had any basis for a comparison, but she liked him. If one had to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with one creature for company and no memory to speak of, well, she supposed he was one of the better to get stuck with.

The stream he led her to wasn't too terrible, either- whether that was because she didn't know any better or because she was terribly thirsty, but either way, it was the best drink she'd had in her very short memory. That counted for the best drink of her life, then, didn't it? If you could not remember the thing, did the thing ever count for happening?

"I think you have terrible taste in women," Mishenka remarked playfully- that wasn't really an answer, though, and she knew it. Touchy subject, then, duly noted, before blinking at his offer. She hadn't honestly expected care- taking her to water was a kind turn, and the banter was nice, but nothing was really required of him. The curiosity had her bending her head closer.

She meant to stop when close, really, to keep the fire going- well, the smolder. Dying embers, really, but she couldn't really manage even that, snorting a laugh when she misjudged the distance and accidentally bumped his nose, "I'm sorry. I suppose I can't get enough of your pretty face- I can't promise I'll share with lady luck, though. But don't worry, I'm a better dancer. Much gentler," she rambled, blinking at the cheetah as she waited.  

[Daffupanda]

"Yah don't say?" he looked her up and down, "T'be fair... never said I thought the lionesses were the shrimpy delicate ones, hon. Yer the ones out huntin'. Yer the ones I usually end up skulking away from. Today's a bit of an exception, not the rule, let me tell you, now scoot the ******** on over and let me get a good look at that noggin'," she had, amusingly enough, scooted closer and even seemed to misjudge the distance between them, as suddenly, he found himself nose to nose with her.

Somewhere to the side of his mind, there came the fleeting thought of 'This is nice', and something along the lines of 'Could get used to this' followed before he reacted out of instinct and pulled his head back away from her. A small sniff and a snort was given before he refocused his attention on her, "I dunno. You look just fine t'me, so not sure where my judgement's all that wrong," there was a hint of a spark in his eyes because well... he could, and for some god damn reason, she was into it so at that point, Uovu figured he'd just milk it for all he was worth. Wasn't like she wouldn't scadoodle in the morning anyways, and if she did, they'd never meet again; the Savannah was bast enough. It wasn't like any embarrassment the situation caused would linger after they parted away anyways. He grinned slightly before it melted away and he drew nearer again, using a paw to lift her hair flop off of her features.

He was inspecting her features, his brown gaze landing on the rather nasty cut that had previously been hidden by the bright hair and receded into her hairline nastily when she spoke up again. That was around the moment he realized perhaps the lioness was actually serious and he couldn't help but squint into her eyes, "Sweetheart... if you still want to dance in the morning when the concussion's all gone, I'm game. No one's asked me to dance before," not even Annana's mother - that had been more or less forced or expected of them at the time, and the chit had fled the moment she'd weaned the child anyways.

His eyes went back to the cut and after a moment he leaned in to groom it, his tongue passing over the wound to remove filth and dried up blood. It took him just a few minutes before he pulled back, "Got a rather nasty cut there - it's gonna scar, but it's gonna look badass as all ********. You can even probably get away with saying to wrestled one o' those firetruck red lions up in the desert and got away with just that," a pause and a grin, "Or, you know... might wanna actually go with the rhino story. That one works too. Might wanna rest tho - from what I can see, you're just sore, as I ain't seen any other good cuts anywhere."

Honestly, given the fact he'd peeked down the hole she'd crawled out of on their way here, Uovu thought she was extremely lucky to be alive, "You've clearly got someone up there lookin' out for yah if you crawled outta that hell hole with just that scar for show, love. Must've knocked your head on the way down - how's the nogging goin' anyway? Anythin' scrambled up there?" To be fair, he was expecting a yes, given the way she kept flirting back, but still.

Ladypipen

 

[LadyPipen]

Dancing... She hadn't rightly expected him to jump on that joke, and yet here they were. Did she even know how to dance? They'd find out tomorrow, she was sure, though if her current coordination was any indication, she'd be terrible at it. She wasn't entirely sure he'd make it out of that dance without another injury, but hey. She was, apparently, an adrenaline junkie. She could hardly begrudge him his own cheap thrills, even if said cheep thrills were.... Well, she herself. It was safer than jumping off a cliff, at least.

On the other hand, she was a bit jarred, with the sudden seriousness that seeped into the encounter. Well, not complete seriousness, but enough to bring on the uncomfortable questions. Would she be back to normal tomorrow? She had enough sense left in her to know that the sudden lack of memory wasn't exactly normal- after all, she remembered basics. She remembered the world- she knew enough to know she was a pretty, strong, capable lioness and that lions were, for the most part, idiots with too much muscle and cheetahs were fast, crafty and solitary-

That's right, cheetahs were solitary. Did they even band together with mates? Of course mothers would rear cubs, that would be natural, but if this was turning into a 'caring for a cub' relationship, Mishenka had questions. Questions, and many, many more concerns. First and foremost- she was not a cub. She also knew that for certain... It was a distracting line of thought up until the moment he stuck his tongue in her wound.

"YOW!" She snarled- to her credit, not yanking her face away, though her claws dug into the earth to force herself to stay into place, "You have the delicacy of a ********' rhino!" She snapped- she didn't really mean it, he was being gentler than she gave credit for, but it still hurt! Hopefully, any bite her words held were offset by the pitiful, kicked-puppy look that graced her face, devoid of any real anger, which only grew worse the longer she sat. A scar- a scar and a lotta pain and no memories. She should apologize for snapping- it wasn't his fault she was in this predicament, and he was trying to help, more than was really necessary.

"I'm sorry- who are these firetruck red lions?" She assumed that was a compliment- and it was easier to latch onto and focus on than the immediate sting of her face. She wasn't aware enough of the prides to really appreciate it, if it was a compliment, though. At least not aware enough anymore- she figured if a Cheetah was referring to a pride, they should probably be big s**t- and she was more the lesser for forgetting, really. "Are they pretty as we are?" She the grin she gave was only half-forced... Oh, later, when she gathered the courage to really examine her face in the stream or any other reflective surface, she was sure she'd mourn for her looks.... Let that be a lesson to any wooed by rhinos, what you gain in experience you lose in looks.

Oh. Oh no- do not ask how she is! She appreciated the sentiment of the concern, but she could only stare at him blankly for a moment. She wasn't terribly sure how to answer him- she wasn't entirely sure how okay sue was up there herself yet, and so far, she was too intimidated to really focus on it. She was certain the panic of the situation would seep in the moment she paused to dwell on it, so simply not dwelling on it was the easiest answer, for now. "The only thing scrambled is my face, apparently. What is it they say- take a lickin', keep on tickin'? Though I wouldn't recommend trying it, there's better licking to take part in, trust me."

Daffupanda

 

[Daffupanda]

Uovu's mind was honestly still stuck somewhere in the 'this is NEW' category and to be fair, most of what was going on was really making him feel like he'd somehow managed to breach the Twilight zone on accident. This was, adamantly NOT how lionesses had ever reacted to his presence before. In fact, no, scratch all that; this was not how any sort of female reacted to his presence at all, be them cheetah, leopard or lioness. It was surreal and there were moments in time when he felt the lioness was not paying him much mind that he indulged in head tilting severely at her, or squinting, as if the moment would somehow help him make sense of the situation at hand.

"Oh, for ******** sake, you pansy, stop squirmin'! S'not like a few licks are gonna range much high on the pain o' meter," he only just managed to roll his eyes barely at her, and then arched a brow before motioning at himself with a paw while he still held the other under her chin from his inspection of her face and head, "Yeah?" the single word was suggestively drawled, almost with a leer, and the girl did not recoil away, and would wonders EVER cease, "Well, t'be fair, I do have it from good source you seem t'like those beasties, aye? M'free tonight, what 'bout you, kitten?" he angled his paw under her chin slightly, turning her head again and his eyes fell away from hers and back to the injury on her head, "Then again... not sure yer up for much movement tonight. Or tomorrow," he dropped his paw finally, arching a brow, "Yah clumsy butt."

Despite having settled himself by her side, almost pressed against her, he turned his head away, as if needing time to reorganize his thought, and only turned back when she mentioned the red lions, at which point he squinted openly at her, "Y'don't know the kin o' fire? Girl, the ******** you been livin' all this time? Not in that crack, I hope!" He made motion with his head, vaguely North East, "Well, if I were you, I'd go nowhere near the desert down that'away, 'cause that's where they live. Actually, might wanna stay away from the coast down that'away too; those born of the storm live there, and they're mighty keen on taking in slaves. Passed near the territory one day - never again."

Uovu was prone to making mistakes, true; he lacked common sense, and his first reaction to anything was vaguely akin to 'imma poke it with a sharp stick and watch it squeal' before realizing he might've bitten more than he could handle. However, it was fair to say he never made the same mistake twice. Once was enough.

"Sugar, ain't nothin' prettier than you in this whole savannah. Me on the other hand... well, let's just say I have other qualities, and beauty ain't one o' 'em," the words were honest enough, and he pushed his nose briefly against hers. Despite the flirting, he did not miss the slight panic that flitted through her features and back out, and distantly, he couldn't help but think 'Ah', because of course there would be something wrong with her. Chit seemed to not want to focus on whatever it was at the moment though, so he figured it was not his place to push, when he'd only just stumbled across her a while ago; it was not his place or right, no matter how strangely endearing she was.

If she wanted a distracted, he'd give her a distraction.

And thus, that' in mind, his lip lifted over his fangs in something akin to a suggestive smirk, his tongue coming to lap at his maw and nose, "Oh, I don't know - can think of of a few fun things to do whit some good ol' lickin' we could try, and know a cave near by too. No holes or rhinos though, so I ain't sure how much up your alley it'd be."

At that point, he figured... in for a penny, in for a pound.

LadyPipen

 

[LadyPipen]

Where had she been livin'... Hells if she knew, but all she could answer the cheetah with was a sheepish smile and shrugging shoulders. "I suppose that's where your learned your gentle, tender touch, eh?" she snipped. No, she wasn't up for much tumbling that night or for a few nights more, more than likely, but luckily- or perhaps unluckily- her jaw was working just fine.

Had she more sense than what she could gather at that particular moment, though, she might have blushed and flustered like a schoolgirl- Hell, if she had any idea of the rather gruesome wound that split her face, she'd likely weep for her lost beauty and curse him for a liar, but luckily enough for everyone involved, neither were quite down the road her mind wandered down now...

Though that road might have made her mother blush at the scandal, for certain.

"I wouldn't suppose those qualities are how you figured I had run off lookin' for rhinos," she teased, arching a brow as the easy air came back- yup, no problems here, totally normal lioness flirting with a ******** cheetah, nothing to see here, move along- The attention wasn't exactly unpleasant, regardless, despite the gut reaction of 'what are you doing?' That Mishenka thoroughly shoved down and smothered with a pillow each time it tried to rear it's ugly head. She was having fun, conscious, what were you doing?

At least, that was the general idea, until the male actually propositioned her- Mishenka blinked once, twice, maw slightly agape as she put it all together. Alright, yes, there had been flirting- but she was mostly along for the right, she had no doubt about that fact, and the little time she'd spent in the company of Uovu, it had just seemed his way, rather than any true or serious interest. That, and she just crawled out of a hole with a sizable bump and about as much sense as the rhino she was supposed to have been after, so that was also... something. What it was, she did not know, but it was.... Something.

Was it unwelcome? Well, now, that she wasn't sure. She'd have to check again tomorrow morning once she had already done the ill-advised thing. "Well," Mishenka answered, blinking, "I suppose we'd never know unless I try, would we? I'm sure you have plenty to keep me busy, rhino or no." After all... Who was she to turn down a proposition she had all but made, herself?