[prp] Sneaking out shenanigans (Astrea/Kaali x Badru)

[KasaiLoki]

It was getting late. Astrea had not done anything all day except try to pester Tawi into sneaking off. When he brushed the thought away, the young female cub turned to her next best option.

"Oh Kaali!" She started excitedly, her voice high pitched, and a bit squeaky. "Let's go." The star-skinned snake lifted her head, her tongue tasting the air as she shook her head.

"Annnd wheeerreee do you thiiinnkk we sssssshould gooo?" The reptile asked, elongated her words as she slithered to the young cub.

Astrea shrugged in response. "ANYWHERE!" She wanted to shout, but instead it became a loud whisper. She wanted to sneak away from her parents and do something fun! Her mom and dad were getting the others ready for bed, it was the perfect time. "Quickly!" she hurried. The snake once again shook her head, but slithered out when the female cub made a dash for it.

"Theeeyy willl geeetttt you...youuu knooooow?" Kaali said once out of ear range of the adults. "aaaand theeey wiiiiilll blaaaammmeee meeee." The snake said with a sigh.

"No they won't. I got a plan." Astrea didn't, but she would think of one if it called for it. "Let's go to the water hole! There may be others there!"
 

[SilverLutz]

It had been another great night for Badru. He had wrestled with his siblings, had a few naps, got some dinner, and was just about ready to get some good shuteye as the moon went to bed for the night as well. The sky was still dark but the birds were singing their promise of a sunrise in the near future. His father - a rogue who had joined the Mwezi a while ago - had told him that he and his siblings reminded him of a sunrise. Sunsets were different, he proclaimed, much more vivid and intense in their colors. But sunrises were gentle, soft, and welcoming. Most of the pride operated on a night schedule so they could go about their business under the watchful eye of the Great Lion, but that meant Badru had yet to see a sunrise. He wanted to know what his father was talking about!

So he decided he'd slip out just for a bit. His mother was busy with his more rambunctious siblings and, while he was generally well-behaved, he did have that curiosity most cubs possessed. He wanted to see the sun rise today.

So off he went, scampering through the underbrush and bushes, trying to remain unseen. He was heading for the watering hole where he was sure he'd get a better view of the sky since there were less trees to block his view. He was so intent on getting there that he didn't notice the other cub as he burst out from under a bush and ran right into her, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Whoa! Sorry!" Badru said as he lifted his head from the ground, the world spinning just a bit from his tumble. "I didn't see you there...are you okay?"

KasaiLoki

 

[KasaiLoki]

SilverLutz

Before the snake companion could even hiss a look out, the blue lioness had collided with the other male.

Astrea made a 'omfph' noise as landed on the ground, all four paws sprawled to the side. "Oww.." she murmured, getting up shakily at the other did. Gray eyes were slow to focus on the assailant, but when they did she nodded her head. "I think so..." she shook her head as she rose to her feet.

"Yooouuuu beeetterrr beeee." Kaali scowled. "Yooouurr mooother wiiilll beee angrrrry fooor sssssneaking out." The snake replied with a rolled eyes, making her way on the female cub to assess the damage. "aaand yooou," her tongue slipped out of her mouth as beady eyes stared at the male, "shooould beee mooore carefuuul."

"Shh you won't tell, right Kaali. It was an accident. Right...?" Gray eyes shifted quickly from the snake to the male cub. She had not met him before, but he looked to be around her age. "I'm Astrea," she introduced. "And this is Kaali." The snake was silent. In her mind, both cubs should not be out.  

[SilverLutz]

Badru rubbed his leg with his paw, a bit sheepish that he had flat-out ran into someone and tossed her to the ground in the process. He was about to apologize again when a snake hissed at him, admonishing him for being so careless. His hears pinned back against his head and he shrunk down a bit out of shame, his tail curling around his legs as well.

"Yeah, I didn't mean to," he said as the cub glanced his way again. She didn't seem hurt which was nice and she didn't seem too put-out by the snake telling her off, either. He lifted his head, a hesitant smile on his face as she introduced herself and her companion.

"I'm Badru," he said, tail uncurling from around him as he got a bit of his confidence back. "Nice to meet you both. I was just going off to see the sunrise."

KasaiLoki

 

[KasaiLoki]

"Oh!" Astrea's eyes widened as her ears perked forward. "I never thought about watching the sunrise!" She just thought she could find some new friends at different hours of the day (or night, in this case). She had never caught sight of the moon starting her rest, and the sun beginning the day. "Can I join you?" Astrea asked.

Kaali did not like this idea, but she held her tongue for now. If the young cub's parents ever asked, she could lie. She was bonded to Astrea, not the older lions anyways. Her gaze shifted between the two cubs, almost debating to leave them here by themselves. She shook her head against that thought. Although the pride lands were pretty safe, all it took was a few moments before something bad could happen.

"Have you ever seen the sunrise before? Do you know a good spot for it?" The little cub had so many questions. Badru seemed like he was one that would know the answers.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Now that he seemed to have Astrea on his side and Kaali was quiet - or at least not protesting their adventure - Badru was once again brimming with excitement. His tail bobbed from side to side as he nodded eagerly, a grin spreading over his face.

"Yeah! It'll be a lot more fun with two. Er. Three," he said, smiling sheepishly down at the snake. He'd never had a conversation with a serpent before so he had to keep reminding himself that they weren't the only two.

"Nope! Never. But I figured a good spot would be at the watering hole where there's no trees for a bit. I think that'll be a good spot," he added, wiggling his bum. "Let's go!"

KasaiLoki

 

[KasaiLoki]

SilverLutz

So sorry for the delay!

Astrea grinned, and could not help but laugh out loud at Badru's correction of having three in their party. Her light eyes shifted to the quiet snake, who looked unhappy at the thought. Astrea knew Kaali was being a good sport going along with them, so she was not going to argue.

"Oh, that's a good idea! We should have a clear view from there!" She stated. "I'll race you!" and without waiting another moment, the female took off. Astrea did not know if the male was following her or not, she did not dare look back to number one: lose the race, and number two: risk tripping as she had previously done during her playtime with Ilkay.

Kaali shook her head from the ground as the cub took off. "Beetteeerr goo catcch herrrr." She said, slithering behind the male.  

[SilverLutz]

A race! Badru barely had time to react before Astrea was gone, rushing off through the underbrush. He scrambled to get going, the snake slithering off ahead of him first. He caught up quickly to the serpent but had a harder time reaching the other cub, although he did draw within a tail's length or so. They burst through the bushes one after the other, although Astrea was the clear winner.

He flopped down by the edge of the water hole, a grin on his face even as he panted. "You're fast!" he said with a little laugh. "Wow...I don't think I could ever catch you." He rolled onto his back and looked up at the sky which was starting to lighten a bit. Sunrise wasn't far off.

"What do you think?" he asked, slowly rolling back to his stomach as he glanced up. The trees were definitely thinner here and gave a wide view of the sky. Although they couldn't see the horizon it was probably the best place to watch the sunrise from.

KasaiLoki

No worries!

 

[KasaiLoki]

SilverLutz

If she had not had a head's start, the two probably would have been evenly matched.

After Badru had caught up, Kaali slithered in right behind. Although the water hole was pretty clear foliage wise, there was a small bush near the water the galaxy-scaled snake decided to watch the two youngsters from a branch, instead of at their feet.

"You think so! You were right behind me so you were really fast too!" Astrea commented, laying down next to Badru. Instead of being on her back, she watched from her belly. There were few strands of brighter light trying to peak past the silver moon glows.

"I think this spot is perfect!" She was excited. "It's so peaceful out here when the sun isn't out. I wonder why more don't come out here this early." Probably because they were still sleeping, like her and Badru should be doing.  

[SilverLutz]

Badru giggled softly as Astrea spoke and he reached over with a paw to lightly bat at her arm. "Because it's late! My dad says we are awake at night because the Great Lion can watch us then," he said, pointing up at the moon that was still just barely visible. "And that when the sun is out, we should sleep. Night is better."

He gazed up at the sky again as it slowly started to brighten, turning to a very dark purple that began to fade into a violet. The clouds were adding pink and yellow hues to the sky as well, making for a beautiful sight.

"Wow," he said softly.

KasaiLoki

 

[KasaiLoki]

SilverLutz

Astrea watched as the colors of the sky began to change. The darkness, almost matching the color of her own pelt, was illuminating to a light shade of purple, then pink with strands of orange and yellow peeking through. The sun was quickly making its appearance. Astrea had thought this would take longer than it actually did.

"I can't believe how pretty this is..." the cub stated in aww, a paw reaching to shield her eyes from the incoming brightness. "I wanna do this every morning!" She said excitedly, turning towards Badru. "Do you want to meet me out here again tomorrow? It can be our little secret." The female said quietly, hearing a little snort from her snake companion in the bush.

"Well...all three of our little secret, right Kaali?" Astrea giggled, gray sight turning towards the serpant.

Kaali shook her head. "Doon't beeee draaaagging meeee into thisssss" she hissed, shaking her head.
 

[SilverLutz]

The question pulled Badru's gaze away from the sky where the tone of the sky itself was close to the hue of his own pelt, a pastel-y purply blue. It really was quite pretty, especially with the warm colors in the clouds.

"Yes! Oh, that would be great," he said with a grin, eager to see more sunrises. "Let's meet here this time every day!" Until he got caught, that was. Or until one of them got bored with meeting every morning. He wasn't sure he'd get bored of this soon, though.

"Unless it's bad weather," he said after a moment. "Clouds make sunsets boring when you can't see."

KasaiLoki

Last post from me if you wanna wrap it up in the next one!

 

[KasaiLoki]

SilverLutz

fin!

Astrea grinned, "Sounds like a plan!!!" She rose to her feet, stretching.

It was getting late (early?). The young cub tilted her head as her snake friend slithered down the bush, giving her a knowing look.

"Weee sssssshould get home." Kaali murmured quietly, snaking her way up and around Astrea's neck, hanging there loosely. Her head was resting on the top of the lion's, her tongue occasionally tasting the air.

Giving a nod, Astrea turned to wave goodbye to Badru. "See ya this time tomorrow!" she announced, trotting away from her new friend. She couldn't wait to tell her brothers and sister about the sunrise!