The thunder of the waterfall was growing familiar to the leopardess, who hoarded most of her time to the jungle areas of the continent. Initially the sound had been deafening and distracting, but nowadays it tapered off into a familiar and unremarkable hum of white noise to set the tone for her visits to the waters it guarded. Its splendor was not enough to keep her appreciative eye on its magnificence for long, and she instead focused on her task at paw, which was to lean over the rippling waters with her belly hungering for fish. Ears fell back against her skull and her rounded face was measured and focused, her tail twitching every so often in manifestation of her intense focus on the hunt. Her back was to the trees, trusting her affinity with the forest to alert her to any malevolent company.

@Reed

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The past few days had been so overwhelming. Reed, as much as she adored her family, needed a break. She needed a breather. So she wandered. After kissing Mirielle goodbye, and telling Finn to behave herself, she set off. The path she set out for herself was one crafted simply by a need to move. It was almost aimless, just a step at a time. Yet the woman reveled in it.

The rumble of a waterfall vibrated in her sensitive pads, reminding Reed of the thirst that had been gently nagging at the back of her throat. It didn't take much thought for her to change her direction towards the rumble. She moved closer almost absent mindedly, really only moving to focus when a strange, yet almost familiar smell hit her nares.

Reed froze, face scrunched up in contemplation. It smelt so familair. She moved forward, frowning and sniffing. When the sight of the leopard filled her gaze, Reed was hit with a sudden, overwhelming joy.

Bes!

She didnt even stop to consider if the creature before her was her friend. She didnt even stop to consider that the creature before her smelt like a female, not a male. The sheer joy she felt made it almost impossible to question. She leapt forward, whooping like a giddy child. All she wanted to do was embrace her friend. And thats what she attempted. She wrapped her paws around the spotted feline, her momentum throwing both ginger and dark woman into the water.

Mischief Managed

code by corvus

Even with her attention divided as it was currently, the leopardess did not need much intuition to alert her to the approach of the bronze lioness. It was the whoops of delight that finally drew her from her concentration, and faceted eyes of orange and amethyst shifted to the woman just long enough to catch the evident happiness written across her expression before they were both knocked headlong into the rippling waters, the waterfall an unbothered roar to muffle their splashes.

Sparrow was submerged for only a few heartbeats before her head broke the surface, spluttering and coughing for a moment as she gathered herself – finding a presence in the water easily enough. Wildly she looked around for the lioness who had brought her here as she waded towards the shore. What in the spirits! She exclaimed, her cherubic expression perplexed and confused; she did not feel as though she was attacked per se (for what lion would tackle a leopard into the water, not to mention the joy that was offered in the expression and touch from the other), but the shadowcat was still uncertain exactly who this company was.

@Reed

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Reed hadnt actually considered the presence of the water when she tackled the leopard. The coolness shocked her, causing her to choke in some water. She came up spluttering, paddling awkwardly to the shore. She stood there wheezing for a moment, before remembering why she was there

BES!

She spun on her heels, grinning widely like a child on their birthday. She pranced closer, purring brightly, almost singing the gutteral word "Bezzzzzzzzz". But when she closer, she froze. Frowning. The face wasnt right. That wasnt Bes. There was an uncomfortable hum that came from her lips. "Bes?" She questioned, quiet and unsure. And sad.

Mischief Managed

code by corvus

Sparrow managed her way to shore just behind the bronze lioness, keeping a healthy distance as best she could manage given the circumstances, a wary eye focused on the other woman the entire way. Water dripped from her coat as she climbed back onto the bank, and in another circumstance the leopardess may have taken the time to shake the worst of the liquid from herself before engaging in conversation. As it was, she was tempted to bolt – sodden wet coat and all. But the lioness had turned and had hummed a name that – for a moment – sounded familiar only by coincidence, but it was enough to give the woman pause.

Sparrow stared at the other, puzzled as she pranced closer, and then a dawning of understanding seemed to happen across both the women simultaneously. Oh, she answered, her mouth forming the syllable as her expression wrinkled into soft, apologetic lines, feeling oddly sorry to not be the presence this other woman had expected of her. No, Bes is my father. She explained then, not yet knowing that this woman was Reed, a family friend she knew to be deaf. He lives across the sea now. I’m Sparrow. She continued, gesturing vaguely towards the south – where the land bridge connected this continent with the rest, before bringing her paw to her chest. Who are you?

@Reed

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The longer Reed looked the the lioness, the more the image of Bes faded. Her expression grew more melancholic, and uncomfortable. She had grown accustomed to being surrounded by those who understood her. Her wife's family (whom they had spent years living with), had taken great effort to accommodate her quirks, her flaws, and her ways of communication. Everything felt foreign in the land she had once called home. Even the faces of those she thought she knew seemed warped.

The spotted woman spoke, but Reed couldn't focus enough to lip read (in truth she was never particularly good at it anyway). She suddenly felt like she had as a little girl. Like she had misunderstood the entire scenario but she couldn't figure out how or why. Like the awnsers were just out of her reach, and she had no hope of reaching them.

She slumped into a sit when Sparrow stopped talking. She saw the gesture of bringing the paw to the chest, and she posed the question again. "Bes?" Maybe if she asked enough times it would become true. All she wanted was her friend. She wanted to tell him if her wife. Of her child. Of how she wished he had been there at her wedding. How she wanted him to be an uncle to her daughter.

Mischief Managed

code by corvus

In her earliest memories, Sparrow recalled her parents speaking of the friends they had made throughout their lives- those stories between the interspecies friendships somehow especially poignant to the young leopardess. Maybe it was due to them living as leopards in a world dominated by lions; the relationships forged during those times demonstrating that love can exist in any space. Or perhaps it was simply the uniqueness of it all. Or perhaps it was nothing extraordinary at all, beyond the preciousness of friendship, something the young witch had always unknowingly admired.

But in this moment, she did not recognize Reed for who she was – an old friend and pupil of her father. What she saw instead was a woman who had known her dad and was disappointed to discover his daughter instead. There was at least no sign of aggression, and the leopardess felt comfortable enough to begin an attempt to dry off – beginning by shaking her paws, politely away from where the other woman had slumped to, although her faceted eyes never wandered. No, She repeated again, sadly and with a soft shake of her muzzle.

Not Bes. She brought her paw to her chest once more. Just Sparrow. She repeated, eyes narrowing in curiosity. Did this woman not understand her?

@Reed

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