[Private] Initial Rivals

[SnowyCheetah]

Dioxn chuckled warmly and gave Kopa a pat on the shoulder, forgetting his own strength and nearly knocking him over. I'm afraid I haven't an idea of what it's like today. It's been far too long... But perhaps I'll return with you. he said, an awed expression coming across his face. If... I can manage to put the last behind me... he said, referring to his inability to get over the loss of his mate. First we have to find Snowy, though. He's out here somewhere...

[AustralianChaos]

Kopa stumbled under Dixon's pat on the shoulder, but kept himself from falling into the mud as he listened to Dixon, sighing as he got no new information about the Pridelands. But he was quickly distracted by the white lion's mention of a third part to his little group, along with Tanga. "Who's Snowy?"

Tanga answered for him. "He's a cheetah...a 'snowy cheetah' I think he said he was...ah, you'll understand a bit more when you meet him. He's...different from other cheetahs I've seen. But he's gone missing, and right here, someone seems to have had a struggle with him and taken him away." Remembering his friend fully, caused him to look around, before he decided to just try to obvious method of finding his friend, one he probably should have used before waking Dixon. "Snowy!" he called, looking around as he prayed a returning answer would come soon. "Snowy, where are you!?"

[SnowyCheetah]

Snowy heard Tanga yelling his name out, but he was quite busy with a matter which affected Tanga himself. The lion, or rather lioness, who had so unconventionally asked Snowy's help was none other than Kiburi, the lioness whom Tanga had wanted to be with. She had left her Pride not long after Tanga's exile. She was becoming horrbly irked with the stupid tradition of exiling the males and Tanga's exile broke her heart, prompting her to leave in search of him. When she found him, she found herself overwhelmed with emotion and with fear. Perhaps Tanga would not love her. Seeing that Snowy was a friend to the small lion, she quietly took him somewhere they could speak privately. Muddy from having been in the struggle, Snowy forgave the lioness for her rude treatment and agreed to advise her. Why she needed, he wasn't sure, but love is complicated. Reluctantly ignoring Tanga's worried cries, he and Kiburi hurriedly finished their discussion before preparing to reveal Kiburi's presence to the lion in the hopes that he would be happy to see her and be with her. They only hoped that he wouldn't leave before they were finished, lest they have to face the desert alone.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga sighed as Snowy did not respond to his cries, and after several moments, conceeded a temporary defeat.

It was Kopa that came up with a suggestion. "Look, even if we want to go looking for him, it's going to be very hard in the rain and the dark," he said, gesturing around them. "Our best chance is to head to wherever it was you last were together, and see if he comes back by the morning."

Tanga wanted to argue with Kopa, saying the sooner Snowy was found, the better. But Kopa was right, the rain and the nighttime gloom were destroying any chance they had of tracking where Snowy had gone, and until morning, when they could search better, their best bet was to return to the clearing, and wait to see if he came back by the morning. "You're right, Kopa," he said with huge reluctance.

Tanga lead Kopa back to the clearing they had napped in just before, but his head was bowed, and his tail was between his legs. He may not have known Snowy for very long, and they may have gotten off to a bad start, but Tanga considered the cheetah a friend now, and he hated abandoning him to fend for himself like this.

Kopa saw Tanga's sad stance, and quickly turned to Dixon. "You know more about this Snowy character than I do...how do we help cheer Tanga up about this?"

[SnowyCheetah]

Dixon sighed and with a long face, looked at Tanga. I don't think we can, other than reassuring him that Snowy will turn up. He's saved him twice now but this time he's helpless, and I doubt it's much of a pleasant feeling. he said, looking around for a sign of Snowy. Struggling just to keep from slipping in the mud, the huge white lion noticed an odd rumbling sound in the distance. Upon squinting his eyes and looking toward the hill near them, he saw a flash flood barreling toward them. T-t-t-tanga, a flood! he yelled, grabbing Kopa and waiting for Tanga to begin running with them.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga looked up at Dixon's call, before looking back in the direction Dixon was staring. His own eyes widening in shock and horror as he saw the wall of water barrelling towards them. Turning and acting instinctively he shot shot off from the mark, quickly falling into place behind Dixon and Kopa, praying that Dixon's knowledge of the jungle would help them escape this latest problem.

"I'd suggest something," he said in a panicky voice. "But I have no idea what I'm dealing with!" Tanga looked towards Kopa, and saw that the older lion was just as confused and scared as he he was. "Dixon, what do we do?" he said, seeing the floodwaters closing in behind them...fast.

[SnowyCheetah]

Dixon huffed and puffed as he hurried his huge self away from the floodwaters. He'd been in this situation before and escaped, but couldn't remember how. There was no way he, Tanga and Kopa would outrun the waters racing toward them, but... If they could get out of the way... That was it! Dixon grabbed onto a huge tree with his claws and held on tight, holding out a paw for Tanga or Kopa to grab. Up here, quick! he yelled, intending to throw the two lions up to higher branches on the sturdy tree.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga ran with Dixon and Kopa, but his smaller size meant he was nowhere near as fast as the other two. Just as he was about to lose hope, almost feeling the floodwaters racing after him, he saw Dixon climb a large, strong-looking tree, and put on a new burst of speed as Kopa was hoisted up into the tree, lowering his own paw to help Dixon. "Come on, Tanga, run!"

Tanga put every effort he could into making his legs move faster than they ever had before, as he heard the floodwaters rapidly closing in on him...he did not dare look back. In the end, he gave a mighty leap, grabbed both Dixon and Kopa paws, and was swung up and onto the branch they shared...just as the floodwaters crashed into the tree, which swayed, but seemed to hold under the strain.

Both Tanga and Kopa gripped the branch hard, the adrenaline rush beginning to subside now that they appeared to be safe. But while Kopa was simply coming to terms with what had just happened, Tanga was in shock, hyperventilating and staring at the rushing floodwaters below, scarely able to believe he had made it out of that alive, quite literally by the fur on his back. "That...was way too close!"

[SnowyCheetah]

Dixon sighed in relief as he saw that Kopa and Tanga were both same with him from the floodwaters rushing by below. His fur soaked from the rain, he looked around and saw only gloom among the trio. Hearing Tanga say that was too close a call, he thought of Snowy. He hoped dearly that the waters hadn't drowned the snow cheetah, and wasn't about to bring it up to make Tanga even more worried.

Within a half an hour the waters receded to the point where one could stand ankle-deep in the water. Dixon slowly climbed down and sighed as his legs were able to relax from clinging to the tree.

Meanwhile Snowy and Kiburi were safe on a hilltop, but they were also stranded. They'd taken refuge in the middle of a dried-up lakebed and, of course, the water had filled it. Where the rest of the group was, they had no idea, and Kiburi was worried she wouldn't see Tanga again. Either Tanga had drowned, she and snowy would die n the hill, or both. Snowy offered to swim across, but it was way too far to swim - for any animal.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga waited for a brief moment, ensuring that Dixon had found the water shallow enough, before jumping down after him. Tanga's smaller frame meant the water almost came to his knees, but he was not complaining...anything was better than drowning.

The thought did, however, remind Tanga of Snowy. "Oh, Great Kings..." he breathed, "Snowy was out in the middle of that!"

Kopa, who had just jumped down next to Tanga, put a quick paw on the golden-furred lion's shoulder. "Easy, Tanga...if we made it through that, then he did, too." Inwardly, Kopa was less-than certain, particularly since they had made such a close call, and he could see that several of the weaker trees nearby had given in to the water's irrepressible rush and collapsed.

Seeing Tanga' thoughts were too focused on Snowy for him to say anything more than he had, Kopa turned to Dixon. "You've stayed here for a time, Dixon...is there anywhere around here Snowy could have sought refuge from the floods? Any sort of high ground, like a hill or clifftop...anything at all?"

Kopa did not know much about Snowy, and therefore was not doing this for him...he was doing it for Tanga. When Kopa had first found Tanga's birth pride, he had thought he might be able to carve out a life for himself there. But he had been severely turned off by the rigid, almost barbaric traditions the pride held onto, and would have left instantly if it weren't for making a friend in Tanga. The young lion, back then just an adolescent, had defied his pride, and risked his life, just so he could have a friend who was not steeped in ancient tradition, and Kopa liked that kind of loyalty and ideaology.