Traveling in the Light of the Moon

[Haptic~]

Heavy pawsteps traveled in the light of the moon, making the coat of a certain snow leopard seem to glow. Moonlight, was the best to travel by, and with the moon as half lit, this was a pretty good night to travel. Jaali hadn't been to this area before, and now was a perfect time to do so. The leopard swung his tail and let out a growling purr of satisfaction. It wasn't that he didn't have confidance in himself, but he didn't hold confidence in other creatures. Other animals that he wasn't too sure of. The one thing that his father didn't go over with him was the different kinds of animals. Sure, Jaali had seen the norm for where he lived; cheetahs, lions, leopards... he was a minor rarity really. He and his father were the only snow leopards that he had actually seen around here.

So maybe the unrecognizable smell was something that he hadn't seen. He had never been up close with a tiger before, and canines were still a mystery to him. Hyenas were the only ones that he had seen up close, and from what he could tell the wretched animals weren't pleasant in the least. A bit lost in thought, Jaali kept his head low and ears perked, enjoying the feeling of traveling during the night.

[shhdawn]

Running through the cold night air was like heaven. No other creatures out, the wind blowing against her big ears. Her tongue dropped out of her mouth, panting very quietly and quickly.She slowed to a trot, her tail was not exactley as high it could go, but high enough to show she had some dignity. It was wagging slightly, excitedly. She closed her eyes and sat down, the sky was gorgeous tonight, and it was perfect weather. She remembered those hot nights, cuddling with her mother... no she couldn't go back to the past. She was better than that. She was now in a different place, a new world to her, and she had decided to start her life over. For she was good enough for that..

[Haptic~]

The leopard curled his tail, that strange scent that intruded his senses earlier making itself known again. He glanced to the side, his right, where the scent seemed to be strongest, and getting stronger. Jaali had to clamp his jaw to keep from hissing, feeling threatened by the stranger before they even made themselves known. Still, as he froze in place, eyes wide and ears perked in curiosity, as well as expectance. The young male was anxious, nervous, but more curious than he should be. He was out on this moonlit night to catch some of the moon's rays, but also to explore. If this strange animal was something that called this area home, he would see what it was. Jaali approached the scent both because he was curious, but also because he refused to be afraid of the unknown. Unless it gives me a reason...

Hopefully the animal wouldn't be too much larger than he himself. Now prowling as close to thr ground as possible, the snow leopard barely made a sound as he snuck up on the stranger. Grass russtled when the feline peeked his head through the grass to get a better look. It looked kind of like a coyote, yet completely different. It smelled completely different too. What is it? This was one of the few moments that he wished that his father was around to explain what was what. Stupid old tom got lazy with showing him what the heck he was gonna run into.

[shhdawn]

Her left ear heard a rustle in the grass behind her it turned lopsided on her head. She was full of curiousity, she could sniff a small new scent. She lifted her head with her nose in the air and she closed her eyes trying to make out the creature that was in her presence. She didn't turn her head, but her eyes looked in that direction... to see a large white male cat. She jumped. Her legs falling down and collapsing under her. She couldn't stand up to a male cat. Look at her...she was a scarwng little dog.

[Haptic~]

Jaali jumped when the canine jumped, making a screechy meow like noise before jumping back into the grass. He wasn't his full size yet, being less than two, but he was still bigger than the animal that he just saw. The leopard took a moment to calm his pounding heart before he slipped back out to the brush, eyes slightly narrowed at the strange animal. He detested canines, but it was hard to truly hate something that was afraid of you as well. With closer inspection, the animal was spotted, in a messy, splotched kind of way. It was interesting really, he'd never seen anything like it. Does it stay camoflauged that way? He wondered, there certainly had to be a reasoning behind it's multicolored coat.

"Calm down, I'm not gonna hurt you." Jaali said quietly, but with an uncharacteristic snarkiness. "But what... are you?" Tilted head and curious amber eyes made the snow leopard look suddenly young, his teeth were no longer bared, but he was ready to run or even attack if need be. He hadn't fought a canine, or a feline really... so the upper hand in a fight could go to either one of them/

[shhdawn]

Dayten cocked her head to the side, looking at this strange feline. Had he just spoken to her? Was she going to speak bvack, probably not... she backed up. Tail between legs, her ears laid flat against her head. She looked like a small child who had just had their toy taken away from them. Her large eyes stared at the male who had spoken. What kind of world was she in? Where felines and canines chatted...weird...strange...

[Haptic~]

Jaali kept his eyes on the dog infront of him, tail curling and uncurling at the tip as he waited for them to answer. The leopard stood frozen for a few moments before realizing that this canine wasn't going to answer him... and it wasn't because they were haughty or rude, but because they were honestly afraid of him. The snow cat was honestly confused, but on the other hand he shouldn't have been. Who says that the rivalry and fear between felines and canines was one sided?

He frowned as the splotchy wild dog went into a panic, their eyes widening and her ears going flat against their head. "That doesn't answer my question." Jaali said, trying to be civil, but he was a bit... was that dissapointment? He expected dogs to be mean, short tempered, scary not scared of him. Maybe this one was just new, like he was... maybe this was a mistake. "Last I checked dog isn't part of my menu." He tried a joke, proving that he wasn't a threat. He would get this dog to speak with him, even though his instincts were firmly against the action.

[Xinn]

_{ooc; Sorry to interrupt, but shhdawn your posts need to be longer. Please watch that. The minimum post requirement is 150 words. You are very far from that. So please fix that or else I will need to take action. Now you may continue your lovely thread}

[shhdawn]

Dayten looked at the cat wideyed. He was still speaking to her...what a freak... She looked like a small child about to get a spakin'. He had just told her canine wasn't on his menu? What was a menu? She didn't understand. She cocked her head, curious at this remark. She took a step forward, looking into his amber eyes...wow she never knew a cats eyes were so different from hers. They weren't round and black, but narrow and snake-like with a hint of different colors. Jealously ran through her, how could a male cat have such gorgeous eyes? It wasn't fair... Her body straightened and her tail came out of her legs to a slight wag. She was getting a little excited, appparently the cat didn't want to kill her, so there was no harm? Her small muzzle curved into a crooked smile. It wasn't exactley the prettiest thing, but she had never spoken or done anything with a feline, so she wasn't exactley sure how to communicate with it. She yipped, a little nervously but excitedly. Her ears came up, to a point and you could see how funny she looked. maybe I can make something out of this...

[Haptic~]

Jaali grinned when the dog decided that he wasn't going to try and eat it for his next meal. They seemed curious in him now, interested in a similiar way that he was them. Their eyes locked, and something clicked in the leopard's head. This animal was a female. And it wasn't that simple a thought either. Thinking of the canine as an 'it' was over, she was her own personality, her own being. She was alive, and she was a canine.

He still didn't like her... but the revalation meant that he couldn't think of canines as mere things anymore like a mouse or a tree. Huh, you learn something every day... The snow leopard thought, purring in a low growling tone as he paced slowly around the female before him. His amber eyes trailed over her short fur and large, now raised ears. Her tail was wagging a bit, she no longer looked afraid of him anymore... whatever she was specifically was rather... narrow, wasn't it? Jaali stopped once he had gone full circle and blinked, swinging his long tail as he tried communicating with the canine again. "Maybe instead of telling me what you are, I can get a name?" It seemed more appropriate this way, and it seemed more simple as well. Win/win, because he wasn't sure if the canine was capable of speaking with him as he did her.

[shhdawn]

Dayten's eyes watched as he circled her and then spoke to her again. How could she communicate? It seemed as if the words just rolled right off his tongue. She licked her chops thinking to herself...she took a breath of the cold air and it spilled back out in a cold puff. "it's Dayten..." She looked at her scrawny paws. She was a little mutt talking to a gorgeous snowleopard..this day just got weirder and weirder. Her tail went a little higher, maybe he wanted to get to know her? No one had ever really spoken to her, because her appearance wasn't the most graceful. But when she spoke she sounded like an angel from heaven.She hadn't realized it until she had just spoken to him...maybe she could come out of her turtle shell and show the real her.

[Haptic~]

Jaali's eyes widened a bit, surprised at the lovely voice that this strange looking canine had. She didn't seem like much of a talker, but that was surprising now that the leopard heard her voice! Tilting his head, the big cat purred in pleasant surprise. "Well then Dayten, I'm Jaali." He answered, his own voice wasn't nearly as lovely, verging on the end of his adolescent state. It was almost like a teenager hitting puberty, not quite a growl, but no longer a meow anymore. "I'm not from around here." He stated, it was almost obvious that he was telling the truth just by looking at him. His gentle white pelt with hues of dark blue/black spots would have completely clashed with his surrounding if the sun was up.

"I asked what kind of dog you were before. I've never seen a canine like you before." He didn't mean to be rude, but Jaali was still curious as to what the female was.

[shhdawn]

Dayten smiled Jaali...what a pretty name "Oh uhhmm..." She stuttered, he wondered what kind of dog she was. "Well I'm actually a Mbwa mwitu, but it's also known as an African wild dog." She blushed, what a scrawny name for a scrawny creature. But what could she do? It's not like she could change the animal she was. And she should be proud of it, but sometimes it was hard to be proud of it when theres a gorgeous animal who seemed like they had no floss talking to her. She trotted towards the creature and stuck her nose in the air, taking big wiffs of the creature. He smelt different, different than anything she had smelt before. She took a nice "hmff" after the sniff, and her tongue came out in a quick pant. She got on the floor, her butt in the air and her tail wagging like crazy. She yipped playfully and her eyes were like a long lost puppy waiting to play with a new squeaky toy.

[Haptic~]

"Well, I've never seen or heard about a Mbwa Mwitu, so you're the first." He smiled, his tail waving a bit. If all canines were like Dayten, then they were definently tolerable and his instincts were extremely misleading. Jaali watched with a bit of caution and curiosity as the female wild dog came closer and stuck her nose in the air. Was that how canines smelled? The feline tilted his head a bit, but kept his mouth shut about it. When he wanted to see what something smelled like, he simply opened his mouth and let the smells come to him.

Then, when she seemed to be satisfied with his scent, she fell onto her front paws and barked. Did he do something wrong? Jaali's eyes widened and the leopard jumped back. But after a moment it clicked that Dayten wanted... to play. He grinned, a screech-like roar was his way of showing that he was playing. He curled around the canine and jumped beside her from behind her, pushing against her hard enough to make her stumble but not nearly enough to hurt the wiry canine. He wasn't all that much bigger, but he had more mass to him for sure.

[shhdawn]

Dayten was shocked how the leopard came at her so rough. And she loved it! She loved to play rough. Jaali bumped into her, making her stumble and look like a complete fool. But she started to laugh, her tail was wagging as friendly as she could make it. She jumped back into the scene. Playfully nipping his ear, then running away a few steps and looking back. Then she would go back to him and do the same thing. Her little body was so light in the air, and her big ears made her aware of almost every move the cat could make. Her tongue flapped around as she ran back and forth. Like she was on the sidelines of a football game getting ready to go in. Her heart skipped a beat, was this how most animals were? So kind, and interesting. She would have never known that such a magnificent creature could have such a great personality. She had misjudged him. What was this? Were they now friends? She didn't really know what a friend was like. But by the looks of it now, she kinda liked it.