[Essence]

{Aryana & Bubba the Spider}
{Liala}


"Come on, Livi!" A mysterious Kuhna urged. Her fur was black, and she was adorned in Halloween stripes. A small spider hung down from her tail, clinging for dear life as the Kuhna swished her tails about madly. "My dear Aryana," came a squeak from the small spider, "Aryana will you please stop flinging your tails around like a mad Kuhna?" The spider crawled back up along string of web, and buried himself in her striped tail. "Stop complaining, Bubba. I'm trying to get Livi out." The Kuhna, whose name was Aryana, hissed playfully before giving her tail one last swish, Bubba was not amused. "Come on now, Liala." Aryana spoke softly, and padded back through the forests rough grass towards another Kuhna.

This Kuhna bared a celestial pattern, and her pelt sparkled in the light that managed to trickle down from the canopy above their heads. "No need to be shy, there's no one here." Aryana mewed again, purring as Liala strode up to her side. Without a word, the Dusk Kuhna sent her a glance, and Aryana couldn't help but frown. Liala's deep gray eyes seemed so sad, but she quickly shook off the thought. "How about we go find a brook or something, and talk there?" The Haunted Kuhna queried the silent Liala opposite her. Liala glanced up, worried in expression. With her favorite Shakespear book, "A Midsummer Nights Dream," held tightly in her jaws, she nodded ever so slightly, but stood from her place on the grass. Satisfied, Aryana purred and started walking to the right, and looked back over her shoulder. "Come on then." Liala just lowered her ears, and slowly padded behind.  

The two Kuhna's weaved through the forests thick roots, the sun neatly trickling down from the sky like the brook they were going to, but Aryana inhaled the misty forest air. "Smells nice, doesn't it?" She spoke half to herself, quite convinced Liala wouldn't respond at all, so Aryana didn't bother asking what she thought. Bubba was fiddling with his small web that was entangled with the Kuhna's fur, and he was muttering crossly to himself. "Dang web, curse my small legs!" And much more left unsaid. Liala couldn't help but smile, the spider blended in well with Aryana's fur, but she could just make his tiny body wrestling with the webbing. Turns out it got tangled in a mat of fur, and Liala quickly padded up to Bubba, and unsheathed one claw. "Hold on, Aryana dear." Bubba announced, as loud as his lungs would allow. Liala smiled again, and gently cut the web around the mat, and it came lose. "Thank you, Liala." Bubba said, now building another web around the tail busily. "What's goin' on?" Aryan asked, turning her head. Frowning that no one would answer, she trudged onward. Liala, suddenly feeling a tad more social, padded directly next to Aryana, but her eyes were firmly on their path infront of them, as it was easy to trip over a small root. Not to mention this was Liala's brand new copy of "A Midsummer Nights Dream" and she didn't want to get it dirty. Aryana had grown used to her silence, but she wished the Dusk Kuhna would speak, because frankly, Aryana loved the sound of Lialas voice, so sweet and elegant. "Almost there..." Aryana announced blandly as she glided up onto a rather large rock in front of her. "Wow." baffled Aryana said, and glanced at Liala. "Come up here, it's amazing!"

Liala looked doubtful, but placed her front paws carefully on the boulder, and bolted up, scrambling at the top to get a foothold.

[1/1]

[Essence]

After hoisting herself up, the Dusk Kuhna blinked from the sun, and ever so carefully placed her book onto the rock. Aryana urged her to look forward, amazed at the discovery the made. Liala sighed, and peered onward, and Aryana was right. Her jaw dropped, and her gray eyes stared ahead. Liala laid her tails around her paws as she settled on her haunches, still baffled by the beauty of their view. She blinked her eyes, the rock was high, much higher then expected, and it proudly stood next to a tree, this tree, it was old, and small ivy had entangled itself in it's chocolate brown branches. The leaves were not their regular emerald green color, it was fall, and they were the softest shade of orange, with that hint of red. Opposite the tree, small flowers grew through the roots, small, pink flowers with oval leaves and a yellow center. Bees hummed their working song as they flew from each delicate flower to the next, and a grin consumed Liala's face. Dirty stone lead a path to what sounded like a brook, babbling it's way down the riverbed, sparkling gloriously from the gentle light wafting down from the sun.

"Let's go find the brook, we can read and stuff there." Aryana suggested, knowing Liala wouldn't refuse. A smile swept across the Dusk Kuhna's face and she gently grabbed the book in-between her pearly teeth and leaped down from rock, blinking blissfully in the joy of the forest. Aryana joined her, and a mischievous smile appeared as she heard Liala sound a purr, an elegant rumble from deep within her throat. "Coming then, Liala?" This suprised Aryana, as she stalked onward through the fall leaves, she heard a voice behind her.

"Yes, let's go." It was soft and gentle, almost a whisper, as if not to be heard at all. Then with a flick of her tail Liala turned her attention to a butterfly - toodling around the air, with pollen covering it's tiny feet.

It was Liala that spoke, who was standing on her hind paws, sneezing as a butterfly landed on her nose, and let the polled tickle her as it wafted into her nostrils. By now, Aryana was smiling from whisker to whisker. "Come on then!" Racing now, she bounded along their bath, and Liala bounced along after her. It made her happy she heard Liala spoke. "Maybe we should come here more often Bubba." Aryana said, swaying as she leaped over roots and weaved behind tree's, glancing behind her to make sure Liala was following. "Yes, I suppose." Bubba announced, clinging to his friends fur, scared as if he would fall off any moment now and never be found again. "Can't you slow down, just a bit?" Bubba groaned, and Aryana giggled. "Not when we're almost there."

[2/2]

[Essence]

Aryana and Liala slowed their pace. The two Kuhnas had been racing for awhile now, and Aryana was immensely worn out by the time they reached the sparkling brook that made the trickling noises. Liala, on the other hand, seemed incredibly happy and not at all tired, and the water reflected in her gray eyes, making them sparkle too. "I'm going to go lay down for awhile..." Aryana yawned, revealing tiny white teeth. She padded over to the riverbed, and slowly lapped the cold water up. It was chilling, but refreshing. After she was satisfied with her drink, Aryana twitched her whiskers, sending one stray droplet of water to the dirty ground. Lazily, she glanced up Liala, who had laid herself down on the sandy riverbed, and was reading her book intently. The gentle flow of the stream ruffled Liala's fur as it rolled happily by, going on it's merry way. Aryana's curiosity died down quickly, before she glared happily up at another chocolate colored tree, and pressed her fur against it's bark, taking in the scents of the forest. After circling a few times, she slumped down into a nook two roots had formed, then sighed. Her tails were neatly folded over her two paws, and she buried her nose into her fur, then like a Japanese bullet train a wave a tired swept over her, and Aryana fell into a fragile slumber.

"Ah-da-ha-ah" Came Liala's singsong voice, and it danced around her area of the forest, then she closed her eyes and swayed with the wind. "Isn't this wonderful?" She whispered. Her quiet self was roused by nature, by all it was made up of, then she thought of something. "All it was made up of." Grinning, Liala unsheathed her claw and drew a circle in the sand. "The 6 characteristics of living things... cells..." Liala continued drawing in the sand. Yes, she thought, that's something all this was made of, cells~ Content with her discoveries, she bent over and lapped some of the icy water up herself, she too found it refreshing. An interesting thought came to mind though, and she shot a glance at sleeping Aryana. You could just make out her quiet snores, and the small rise of fall of her flanks. "Maybe a swim would be nice...." The thought entered Liala's head again, and she rose to her paws. As the dusk Kuhna stepped into the sparkling water, she found it wasn't very deep, perfect for walking in, so she did. Carefully wading into the water, and as it tugged against her sides Liala drew in a sharp breath. Shaking, she walked along the shoreline silently, but stopped as she passed Aryana. Would she want to come? The Kuhna bit her lip, and padded carefully out of the water, then flicked droplets off her tails before prodding Aryana in the shoulder. Lazily, the half awake Kuhna looked up, her eyelids where half closed. Noticing Liala's wet feet, she figured she went for a walk in the water. Aryana didn't blame her, it was getting hotter as the sun rose into the sky. Guessing her thoughts, "I guess you want me to come too huh?" But Liala was already off into the water again, swiping her paw over the surface and showering the shore with a small rain of water. She shook her fur, and carefully waded in after the excited Dusk Kuhna.

[3/3]

[Essence]

The chilly water made Aryana draw in a curt breath, as it did Liala. She felt around the bottom of the riverbed with her paws, slipping on the slick stones that covered the bottom. A soft breeze rippled the surface, and Bubba started muttering as his Kuhnas tail came a bit to close to the water. "Careful, Aryana." He warned, stern and blunt. As if on cue Aryana flicked her tail up, and turned her head, "What?" Her eyes blinked, "Nothing...never mind." Bubba sighed, crawling back up Aryana's back, to the top of her head. Assured he would be safer up here, he once more buried himself in her fur.

A small splash echoed through their river, both Kuhna looked up. It splashed again, until a small tail fin poked through the water. "Fish!" Aryana yowled in delight, and lunged, splashing into the water, then giggling as she sat back up. Poor Bubba was hanging onto her ear, shaking nervously as the waters spray washed overhead. "I'm no good in water, Aryana." He mentioned, scrabbling around her ear. "Calm down." Aryana purred, and padded back to Liala, who was crouched deep in the water, with her celestial fur just poking out. Standing puzzled for a moment, the Haunted Kuhna sat on her haunches, and tilted her head to the side. Liala rose from the watery depths, with a gleeming silver fish laying in between her jaws. She took no notice of Aryana as she waded back through the river, and slugged herself ashore before resting the fish down between two roots. Aryana smiled, and bent her head into the water herself -careful not to get hers ears wet- and picked up a water smoothed stone in her mouth, and trotted ashore herself. Bubba squeaked in delight, and crawled off her body, which was matted and stuck together from the water. "Land~ Sweet land~" He murmured, and crawled elsewhere up a tree. Liala lay sprawled out on the forest floor, flicking water droplets of her tails and gazing intently into her book. Aryana grinned happily, and made her way towards the fish. It was large, and silver. It's body was covered in prismatic rainbow of colors. Trout? She though, and poked it with one unsheathed claw. It wiggled a bit between the roots, so she left it alone. Instead, she groomed herself. Licking down her chest fur, pulling mats out of her fur, then maybe sending her paw over her ear a few times. Liala didn't look like she'd be done reading anytime soon, but she walked over anyway.

"Liala, would you like to share the fish?" She queried, nudging her friend toward the silvery body on the tree. Liala blinked, and rose to her paws, shaking as she stood. Hopping over a few roots, she punted the fish with her paw towards Aryana, and it flopped over the ground and rolled toward her. It was slick, and now a bit dirty, and Aryana hesitated before taking a bite. It was fresh and juicy in her mouth, and she let out a satisfied purr before taking another. Liala carefully placed a bookmark in her book -carefully like it fall to pieces at any moment- before closing it shut and padding across the small clearing toward Aryana. She hesitated too, then took a bite. Liala and Aryana ate in silence for a while, before they heard paw-steps coming toward them, and they shot up from their place in alert.

[4/4]

[Tori]

Winona padded through the grass, ignoring the slight sting of the blades whipping against her legs. And apparently ignoring where she was going, too. Whack. She flopped awkwardly to the ground, landing flat on her back and giving a high-pitched squeak in surprise. "Ow..." She rubbed her nose, kicking the tree she had so carelessly ran into. She sat up on her smooth grey haunches and glared evilly at the it as her whiskers flicked to and fro in agitation.

"Stupid tree, I oughta..." Her voice trailed off, as she heard someone talking on the other side. She peeked around the gnarled trunk to see two Kuhna leaning over a silver trout. She blinked. Who are they? She took a curious step over a root and tripped, landing right on the Haunted Kuhna. She scrabbled off as fast as possible, leaping away a few feet and seamlessly morphed into her anthro form in a swirl of black mist. She had slid backwards a little, caching herself from hitting the dirt with her hands, and in a moment, the mist had gone. She stood up, still a bit startled. "Um...uh...," she stuttered, unsure of how to react to physical contact. "Uh...sorry."

[Essence]

The two Kuhna's flicked their eyes, and exchanged a small glance. Bubba crawled back over, and scrambled up Aryana's fur. She looked at him, he was quickly spinning a small web on her tail. "Where were you?" She gave him a sarcastic expression, and the small spider looked up at her. "Getting some food, like you are." He continued spinning his web hastily. Liala sat expressionless, staring with her light gray eyes through the forest's plants and roots. Her tails rested on feet, and it looked like she was about to say something, before Aryana interrupted. "What's goin on Lia-" bam. A slick ball of Slikey barreled into her, and she stammered back. Liala was instantly overcome by a fit of giggles, her previous frown was replaced now, with a big smile. As the Slikey retreated, Aryana stood, blinking. "'Scuse you." The Kuhna moaned, before snapping to realization. "Bubba!" She spun on her paws, "If you squished him....!" Aryana glared furiously, and kneaded her paws into the soft ground.

"Heavens, woman!" The spider had made his swift escape, but was now placed indigently on the Slikey's head. "How many times to I have to remake that web?" Walking, or more sliding, Bubba shimmied across the rough forest floor, and crawled up Aryana's paw. She let out a sigh of relief, and by now Liala was dying from laughter. "Oh yeah..." She glanced up at the Slikey, "Sorry I snapped at you... uh." She looked at her paws, and Liala recovered from her fit of giggles. "I'm Aryana, you met Bubba the Spider, he's my best friend, and that's Liala, she doesn't say much." Liala nodded slightly toward the Slikey, and snickered as she went to retrieve her book. Aryana watched as she padded off, then returned her attention to the Slikey. "And you are...?"

[5/5]

[Tori]

What was that on her head? Oh dear. "Spider!" She jumped back a little, but the spider had already climbed down.

She swallowed. "Uh..I'm Winona.. just.. call me Winnie.." She was still tremblng a little in shock. Nodding in the direction of Bubba, she stuttered a bit more, "Sorry I.. uh.. almost squished your friend there.."

[2] {{OOC: D: Sorry. Crap post.}}

[Essence]

Liala bit back another giggle, before walking over from her book towards the two pets. "Don't worry about Aryana, she's all talk and no bite." Liala flicked her tail to the other Kuhna's ear, then circled two or three times before laying down in a shady spot under a tree opposite her company. Aryana blinked, "Liala doesn't say much, usually at least." Letting out a playful sigh, she sat on her haunches. "Really, there is no need to be nervous an-" She began, before her interruption. "And don't worry about almost squishing me dear, it happens a lot." Bubba chimed in, taking a break from his -once more- hasty try to rebuild his web. "Yeah, anyway, so what bring you out here, Winnie?" Aryana asked, flicking her tails about the dusty ground.

Liala scanned the newcomer. Winona was slick, looking more like a pet that would belong in some sort of swamp, not a forest. She shrugged at this, rising to her paws again to retrieve her book, perhaps move to a more comfy spot. Not taking her eye off the nervous creature, she edged her way down next to the stream, where her book was. She seized it in her jaws after letting out a yawn, and drug herself over next to a few bushes, and nestle herself under their leaves.

{6/6} (Crap post too, sorry. D:)

[Tori]

Winnie settled down a bit, returning to her beastial form and sitting back on her haunches. "I was out here because I needed some quiet. Guess that idea's down the drain," she said with a nervous laugh. She fiddled with her whiskers, still eyeing the two kuhna and their little spider friend.

[3] ((OOC: D: Writer's block. -shot for excuses-))

[Essence]

Aryana flicked her tails. "Quiet huh? Sorry about that. I've been trying to make Liala," she nodded off to the Dusk Kuhna reading opposite them, "More social. She's the quiet one of the bunch." Aryana's gaze moved about the Forest, looking a bugs on flowers, leaves flowing about in the wind... "So, um, what are you doing out here?" The Kuhna, determined to break the silence, asked, standing again and circling a few times before laying in a more comfortable postion. As comfortable as you can get on the forest floor, of course. Liala acknowledged her with a nod, and carefully flipped a page in her book. "We're not sure where she learned to read." Aryana mentioned, looking at Liala. The dusk Kuhna noticed the stare, and tilted her head, Aryana returned her attention to Winona.

<6><6>
((DD:))

[Tori]

"Ah, I was just out for a walk. The pen can get a little frustrating at times, what with all the crazies in there," she said, smiling slightly. She nodded at Liala. "A couple of lads down by Wonderland taught themselves to read. It seems too hard to me. How'd  you do it?" she asked, trying to make herself stop being so paranoid and start a conversation. This was an odd experience for her- she never really associated well with anyone. But these two seemed okay, and she was determined to change her ways.

[4]