you belong somewhere free . : open

[MVUA INANYESHA]

The watering-hole was one of Mvua's favorite places to be. This was mostly due to the fact that there was always something so chaotic about it. It wasn't like the animals understood the concept of single-file lines, or patience--they pushed and shoved and competed. She enjoyed watching the gazelles twitch their ears and tails, walking cautiously along the edge of the water. Occasionally one would lurch back, never quite quickly enough, as a crocodile launched itself out of the water. Oh, how Mvua loved to tease the crocs'. The lioness pranced around a smaller reptile, one who had been content sunbathing before the young lioness stalked up in a hunter's crouching position.

Now they were dancing. Mvua was aware of the fact that, if she let the crocodile get a hold of her, she would likely be maimed for life. But she was feeling cocky. With Mvua there was always a but, and it was likely that she would dance with danger until it killed her. Not that she was afraid. The croc lurched at her, snapping its jaws a hairbreadth from her outstretched paw as she jerked backwards. Mvua laughed loudly at the reptile, egging him on, feeling invincible. She ran a quick circle around him, and then another, until he was confused--once that happened, she batted at his tail, and when he whipped around to attempt to bite her, she leaped over his head. "Not fast enough," the lioness informed the crocodile calmly, a cocky smile tipping up her lips.

There were several animals watching at a distance, as the lioness teased and infuriated the reptile. No one said anything, but Mvua figured that the gazelles were probably whispering to one another in whatever language it was that gazelles spoke, and the hippos were probably doing the same, along with the birds and the bees. Not that she cared. She was having a good time. The crocodile, however, was growing increasingly agitated. He lunged at her again, snapping an inch or so away from her nose. Mvua had stumbled backwards just in time. Now, she hissed at the reptile, and pranced several yards away. Now, it wasn't often that a lion actually pranced, but Mvua did a good job at it.

[EREBUS PEITHO]

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[style=font-family:georgia; font-size: 20px; text-transform: lowercase; color: #000000; letter-spacing: -3px;margin-bottom: 10px; ]IT'S FOUR AM I'M WAKING UP TO YOUR PERFUME. There was an unconscious part of his mind that told him to be wary, be alert as he made his way ever-so-slowly toward the watering hole. He was not particularly interested in the mull and dull of the crowds today, but it was extremely hot, and he was extremely thirsty .. but he still could not quite comprehend why his muscles were tensing involuntarily. His long ears tossed, his black nostrils flaring briefly before he exhaled on a huff, inhaling again afterward. Oh, there it was. It was only a faint trickling of her scent, but it was enough for him to detect on it the rush of the river's wind. It was a sweet scent, laced with honeysuckle and lilac, something darker and more gruesome coiling at the very edges of her scent. She was a lion. Perhaps she was bleeding? But, no, the iron and salt scent of a life slowly losing was nowhere to be found, other than Erebus' fresh kill of avian. The scent of avian and feline were quite different, though, he knew that much. His yellow eyes found her immediately when his head began to emerge from the tall grasses, his ears training on her glimmering golden form, his nostrils drinking in her scent time and time again as he wondered vaguely what she was doing here. She was quite entertained by a small crocodile at the moment, almost giving it a free meal out of her stupidity. He refrained from chuckling in amusement. Then she trotted away from it when it seemed to startle her. Oh, not quite as good as she'd thought, hm? Or perhaps her attention was simply floating away? He exhaled very softly through his nostrils, finding himself somewhat entertained as he watched this female entertain herself with the reptile. She was quite beautiful, really, with her long and powerful appendages, lean and curved body. She had a distinctly feminine contor to her body, her haunches wide and round while her limbs were still somewhat dainty and elegant. Her neck was arching in arrogance, her face regal in an odd way. She was fluid in stillness, catching his eye and attention off-the-bat, and she - Quick as a flash, Erebus drew back into the shadows of these grasses as she turned, his instinct making him hide himself as she searched for any sort of intruder. Oh, and those bright eyes of hers' moved directly over his slim form, missing him as the toss and fan of the grass turned his shadowy pelt into nothing more than a piece of landscape. He blended with his surroundings in this moment, but no doubt he would blaze sunlight and darkness the moment he moved into the sun. Which he did a moment later, taking two long strides into the open space between the grass and the water's edge, his strange yellow-gold eyes gleaming with interest as he watched her near the cool liquid. She seemed almost.. euphoric. As though she had not basking in such simple pleasures as a bit of fun in a long while. Maybe she had been running like him, or trudging through the quicksand that made up this life's challenges. He felt for her, only for a moment, his black lined lips pulling down at the corners in something akin to sympathy. He blinked twice and she was standing, lurching to her paws in a smooth move that he found slightly erotic. Testosterone pulsed through his veins, making him unconsciously tighten his muscles as though to show off as he paced down the bank, somewhat distracted by his suddenly dry throat. He lowered his head as he went, the strong arch across his shoulders standing out as he extended his face out to exhale across the surface of the water, whuffling quietly. But then he froze when the ice cold droplets of flung water rained across his pelt, making his skin involuntarily shudder at the contact, his eyes fixed on the surface of the water for a moment before slowly sliding their way up to gaze at the female in slight bewilderment. She had.. shaken herself? And.. gotten water on him? And she only just now appeared to have noticed him. Peculiar. He watched her in that position, his head held close to the water and his body tense as though expecting her attack. His ears slowly drifted backward, pinning into the prickling scruff of his neck as he flared his nostrils and exhaled loudly, as though in reprimand of her wetting him. And then he turned his eyes back to the water, choosing to ignore her for a moment as he lowered his lips into the water and lapped in those deep, striving gulps that only an African feline could achieve, his belly expanding as the ice-cold water sliced his stomach in two. When he was content with his hydration level, he pulled his head up in a motion that had enough force to drop his ears back involuntarily, and he pinned her with such a piercing gaze he wondered if she would burn. And he simply watched her, slowly shifting himself to get a better view of her while also offering a better view of himself, his lips pulling down in a peculiar frown. He stood in silence, aware of the slink and prowl of the remaining individuals of the savanna around them, especially focusing part of himself on the crocodiles who no doubt would love to make a meal of him. But he stood in silence, awaiting this mare's lame introduction, as was expected.[/style] Fallen here: "there are 924 WORDS in this post, which is especially for MERC. All muse and whatnot thanks to HALF ALIVE."