Hush (OPEN)

[Ajabu]

JUNGLE PARADISE
the Vinelands
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Ajabu had her small rump seated in the shallow area on the shoreline of the river that was swiftly rushing by, the cold water coming just over her paws. Her deep, blue eyes were locked onto the roaring waters, watching as plenty of colourful fish were swept by in the current. Of course the thought of catching them had surfaced in her mind more than a few times, but she realized that if she dared venture into the deep, rushing water, it would be her life.

After around ten minutes, the cub soon got very bored and irritated, twitching her long tail back and forth in the water to make small ripples.
Her stomach started to grumble in hunger, and she had to hold herself back from screeching as loud as she could to get any lions' attention.

She carefully lowered herself in the water, letting the water come up to her shoulders as she laid down in the cool, shallow area of the river. Ajabu grinned playfully and put her muzzle down in the water to blow little bubbles, not even caring if she appeared childish.

[Imani]

It was oh so hot today. Or was it just the humidity of the jungle? Imani couldn't tell these days. The once comfortable jungle, thick with lush foliage and covered with shade, was now a sweltering sauna. She was glad that her home could boast of a wonderfully cool river hidden within its depths. Today, that river was her destination.

She expected to see many animals making their way towards the most abundant water source they had. Imani could not remember a time when the river had ever been low; however, she had heard stories of the other lands and how their water had been lost with the coming of the dry season. She could not recall ever having a real dry season. The Vinelands was blessed with year round greenery, which would be impossible without the river, the falls, and the many pools and streams that stemmed off from it. But the inhabitants of the jungle could not escape the heat.

Oh, the wretched heat. Since the weather's decision to spice things up, the humidity and heat had risen substantially. It was out of the ordinary, and although the Vinelands pride was resilient, many of them had taken more trips than usual to the water's edge. Imani was one of them. She thought about the blonde stranger she had met months ago. She couldn't imagine how he had managed to travel across the desert terrain of the Drylands to make it to their tropical paradise. She was sure she herself would die if she wandered there. Water was essential for all life; how their distant neighbors could handle it, she would never understand. As she approached the river, she quickened her pace, her throat dry and scratchy.

Seeing that most of the pride was out of sight, she took a running plunge into the refreshing liquid. As refined as she could be, Imani enjoyed swimming and she let it be known, even if it was in a childish manner. She stay submerged for a moment, then resurfaced. Out the corner of her eye, she spotted her young cousin, Ajabu. Grinning, she swam towards her, watching with interest as she blew bubbles. After reaching the golden cub, Imani took a deep drink before speaking in a cheery voice. "Hello cousin."

[Ajabu]

The cub scowled under the water as she watched her cousin swim around leisurely in the cool river, I bet she's dirtying it up! she thought, lifting her head muzzle from the water, streams of it dribbling down her chin and splashing back into the river. Behind her irritated looking grimace, her eyes were bright with the happiness of cubhood, and soon after, a smile broke through and she grinned at her brown furred cousin.

"Hey, Imani! Hot today, huh?" she said rhetorically, tilting her head. The golden cub sat completely up in the shallow water and curled her tail around her paws. "A lot of the little brooks and streams have dried up a bit, but the river looks fantastic as always,"

She closed her eyes tight and tipped her head back to let a huge yawn escape her jaws, still feeling groggy and tired from just waking up from a nap recently. With her body out of the water now, Ajabu was just starting to feel the huge increase of the sticky heat of the jungle, and she groaned.