! How I Became the Sea [rita]

[Deleted]

Breathing heavily, a sullen she-wolf pulled herself out of the ocean and onto a nearby bank. There wasn't much sand, and the grass line was only a few inches from the ocean's edge. To her immediate left, a river ran through the country ahead, snaking left in the distance, where hills were beginning to form. The country in front of her and to her right was a seemingly endless meadow of some sort. It really was rather pretty. Confounded, the female dragged herself to the grass line and plopped down. She was exhausted. The swim had been much farther than she'd thought. She had always thought that Madagascar's beach could be seen on the horizon from the edge of Africa. But she hadn't been able to see it. She hadn't been able to see it until she had been far enough away from Africa that the Cape was barely on the horizon. And then she had finally spotted the far-off shore. She was completely exhausted, and so she figured she would just rest herself awhile before she explored this Madagascar. For she had no idea that she had actually landed on the shores of Anikira. She had never even heard of Anikira.

Slowly, after a longer time, the female pulled herself up, and slowly paced to the edges of the Nytyte River. It was a pretty river, but not small by any means. Lowering her head, she took a small drink, letting most of the water drip out of her mouth and down her chin. She did this slowly, and then stood, waiting for the water to be absorbed on her tongue. After a few minutes, she slowly took a small drink, and again waited. She continued this process for a time, until she felt hydrated, and then she sat down on the bank. A yawn escaped her. She was fighting the drowsiness, not wanting to lose consciousness in her first moments upon a new place, with no idea of any threats and no refuge in sight. But she couldn't very well travel with the level of exhaustion that was overwhelming her. And so she tried to distract herself from it. But after an hour, her eyes dropped drowsily and she decided upon a short nap. Laying down, she closed her eyes and drifted off.

words three.nine.four
tags @rita
ooc sorry for the crappiness D: I'm terrible at openers

[Deleted]

One paw in front of the other. The movement hurt, the attempt at normalcy ached and the thought of having to continue on like this forever made her sigh heavily in exhaustion. Just keep moving, you can make it. To where, she was unsure, but she knew she could not simply just sit around in the same spot forever. The sun beat down mercilessly on her red back as she moved, silently thanking the seasons that it was winter and she would not perish beneath the heat of summer. But she was Ethiopian, it should have been her way, an easy adjustment to the sun and the heat. But there were complications. Aren't there always? She thought, huffing softly in frustration as she moved with an awkward lack of grace along the side of the Nytyte River. She would have to cross eventually, find her way to the other side and continue her journey onward. But for now, she could not quite settle her disabilities long enough to feel confident for the task.

Instead she continued to procrastinate, putting off the inevitable for as long as she possibly could. Her brown eyes were narrowed slightly as she glared at the river's waters, watching the white caps as it tripped and stumbled and smashed against he rocks and debris that the riverbed clung so stubbornly to. Her limp was obnoxiously pronounced today, and though it was likely from pure exhaustion as a result of her travels, the tiny female found it annoying and inconvenient all the same. Her ears pinned backwards while she forced herself forward, her thirst still proving to fail to outweigh her fear of the waters beside her. Should she attempt a drink and fall in, she would have no hope - especially in her current condition - of freeing herself from the deadly grasp the river would no doubt close upon her.

After what felt like days, but was likely only an hour or so, she lifted her head, eyes narrowing a bit more in an attempt to see further down the river bank. There was something there, something mixed in with the grass and the dirt, something that she could not quite make out from where she stood. It was not a rock, though if the light had not been the perfect brightness that it currently was, she would have simply assumed that it was. Her pace slowed slightly, more out of caution than anything else, as the creature slowly came into clearer view. It was not a rock, nor a clump of dirt, but a canine, a wolf, to be exact. Unlike her tiny 23 inches of height and pathetic 30 pounds of weight, this wolf was clearly much larger and more capable. However, the scent that blew gently on the breeze in her direction - another environmental aspect that she thanked the earth for pulling in her favor - ensured her that the creature was female.

She kept her distance, carefully watching the other wolf as if it were going to leap up suddenly and devour her without a moment's hesitation or warning. She took a wide circle around her, hoping that if she kept enough space between herself and the unknown wolf that she could get away without waking her or incurring whatever wrath that she might be capable of. With head and tail lowered in habitual submission, the Ethiopian female placed her paws carefully and gently on the grass in front of her, each step carrying her further from the river and in a half circle around the sleeping wolf. Then, just as she thought she would get away without incident, she lifted her head to foolishly check if the wolf was still asleep. In this brief moment, her paw lowered, snapping a small twig in two and sending the sound echoing around her. But that was not all, for because of her tension and anxiety, the sound frightened her as well, making her jump into the air in surprise and even yelp softly in shock. Her landing was less than graceful, the ground easily finding her face and her shoulder as gravity pulled her back down and out of the air. A soft "Umph" left her jaws as she received a helpful mouthful of grass and her ears pinned to her head as she rolled onto her side and spit out the greenery along with the dirt that clung to it.

Words: 736
Tags: @celosia
Muse: high
Notes: We'll have this take place before the thread with Rita and Lex because I'm assuming he'd be travelling with her after it. O.o

| Made by Rita |

[Deleted]

Toto, wake up.
Small tendrils of grass floated behind closed eyes. Something nudged her cheek.
Toto!
The whisper was urgent. Sleepy eyes peeked open.
What, Bozi? I'm tired...
Something shoved her to the side.
Get up! Hurry!
Scrambling to her paws, the little pup followed the older male, positioning herself so that she was almost invisible behind his stocky build. Hovering there, she watched as the male stood just inside their den, so that he could see clearly without being seen. It scared the young pup, but she kept her mouth shut. Bozi hated it when she interrupted his train of thought. And now was a desperate time: she could tell by the way that he acted. He was high-strung. Peering out very slightly, the pup observed one wolf run by, and her ears picked up a wild snarl. Someone called out a name, one that Celosia didn't yet recognize, as she only knew the wolf by the nickname that she had given him: Bozi. Bozi was short for mkombozi, the Swahili word for "savior". In return, he called her Toto, short for mtoto--the Swahili word for "baby". No one else in the pack knew of these little pet names, for Bozi refused to more than simply acknowledge her around the rest of the pack. He had grown rather affectionate of his little castaway, but could never let his packmates know of this affection, neither could Celosia know about it--not the full extent of it--or she would be cast out. Baremus would never suffer him to feel any affection for anything whatsoever, because it would diminish his abilities. He was the Kuwinda (lead warrior) afterall, and nothing could keep him from giving his all to his pack, even to the death. And suddenly, he was gone. The pup was left with a cold feeling all around her. She automatically shrunk into the very darkest crevice that the den provided. Bozi... she whispered almost silently, be safe.

SNAP! CRASH. Umph.

Pale eyes flew open immediately, and a warning growl automatically issued from her throat. She was on her feet in an instant, even before her eyes had clearly focused. After a few moments, she observed a small, Ethiopian wolf spitting out a mouthful of grass and dirt. In a single moment, her warning growl had turned into a loud, barking laugh filled with mirth. She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed with genuine humor, only that it had been Bozi that had gotten it out of her. She laughed for a good bit of time. Everytime she was able to slightly stifle the laughter, her pale eyes would capture the little body on the ground, and it would set her off again. Somehow, she just couldn't stop laughing. Eventually, however, she was able to stifle the laughter to a mere chuckle here and there, and thought to introduce herself as a way to make up for her rudeness.

Sorry, dear. I didn't mean to be so rude. It was just a funny thing to wake up from a dream to. I do apologize. My name's Celosia, and I actually just arrived only hours ago.

She paused for a minute, to give the female a chance to stand and hear her words.

Tell me, if you will, why is the terrain on Madagascar so....diverse?

She sincerely hoped that the little female would answer this question, for she was utterly confused by the terrain. She had heard such different tales of the little island of Madagascar.

words five.nine.six
tags @rita
ooc sorry for the wait. My replies won't take so long in the future<3 I'm slowly getting caught up (:

[Deleted]

The horrid taste of dirt and grass was not nearly cleared from her mouth and the debris still clung to her teeth and gums as a growl sounded from the once-sleeping wolf by the water. This sound sent the little disability-ridden Ethiopian into a crouch on her belly, ears flattened to the sides and tail tucked in habitual submission. She knew she stood little chance against a wolf her own size, let along a much larger one like the female that now stood before her. But, before she could back away and turn tail to run, a confusing laughter made her jump in shock and surprise. The flinching movement sent her backwards a few paces, eyes wide and ears still flattened in fear and submission as the other wolf looked down at her every few moments to only begin laughing all over again. She took a few steps away each time the other wolf's eyes would close, though before she knew it, the laughter had stopped and apology was coming out of the larger female.

Rita simply stared, eyes blinking slowly every once in a while as she just looked back at the other wolf with absolutely no idea what was happening. Finally, when the voice stopped for a moment in order to move onto a question about some place called Madagascar, the tiny Ethiopian swallowed and lifted her head slightly. It was the question that gained her the tiniest amount of confidence, for even though she knew little of this place herself, it was clear she could at least navigate her way around much easier than the stranger in front of her. "This island is called Anikira, not Madagascar." She said, finally lifting her posture enough to bring herself into a slightly hunched half-submissive sitting position. Her muscles were tense, though she could not hide the twitch that made her tilted head shift further to the right every once in a while. It was the fear and anxiety that brought on her long-lasting symptoms, though when she was feeling confident they usually bothered her less.

Did she introduce herself? What was the name she gave, again? The little female frowned slightly, eyes narrowing ever so slightly in thought as she looked up at the stranger that stood before her. Cel-Celosia? It had been voiced only moments ago, she had just needed to force through her surprise and fear in order to properly grasp the words that had been spoken. "I'm Rita." She said, introducing herself for fear that by being rude she would incur the other female's aggressive side once more. Perhaps the growl had simply been an automatic reaction to being woken by her foolish clumsiness, but she could never be too careful, especially in her condition.

Words: 459
Tags: @celosia
Muse: low
Notes: Sorry this took me so long!

| Made by Rita |