Cracked. { KZ }

I figured I should get back involved in RPing Shinlai and try my best to not disappear in the middle of it (it's a bad habit I have and I'm trying to break it, I always forget to check these forums augh OTL). Here are the rules!

-Shinlai and humans are welcome!
-This is a kill zone; violence and death are allowed but not at all mandatory. Just because you're allowed to kill off a character doesn't mean you absolutely have to!
-Don't kill, maim or disable anyone's character without their permission; that's rude! Gouging out eyes, removing limbs and dealing massive scars/wounds (think Harvey Dent/Two Face from Batman) fall under this category too.
-This is a literate RP, which means that everyone has to use decent spelling and grammar(as in, capitalization, not having run-on sentences or fragments, using the correct tense). A few typos are totally fine, but if your reply doesn't make any sense, it just won't be as enjoyable for everyone else. And you might be kicked out. :c
-Have fun!
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Setting: The desert right smack in the middle of Ronnel, a region on the western coast of East Rendali. It's afternoon and the sun has begun to descend, but temperatures are soaring. Relief from the heat can be found near the huge mesas, canyons, plateaus and other rock formations all around the area. Tough plants such as desert candle, brush, some bushes and scrub, cacti, yucca trees and cottonwoods are scattered around. Some animals to be found are jackrabbits, bats, owls, snakes, mule deer, small rodents, coyotes, golden eagles, red-tailed hawks and bighorn sheep. The area shares many characteristics with the Mojave Desert. Many adobe huts and dwellings cut into the sides of cliffs and rock formations of many sizes and in varying states of disrepair offer shade and protection from weather. Their only residents now are insects, snakes and the occasional traveler. Maybe there are some old pieces of furniture, objects, or even trinkets or documents left behind by their previous occupants!
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There seemed to be waves of heat rolling off the ground. Though, really, the Shinlai couldn't tell how exactly the hazy air was warping his surroundings, it just was. He padded along, feet slapping at the dusty ground, so parched that he was treading on a network of little cracks in the surface of the earth. He was sure they didn't run so far into the ground that it would collapse, or so he told himself, and figured that if the packed dirt was going to cave in on itself it would have happened already. He was massive, fully grown male Shinlai after all. Varne stopped to snuffle at a clump of plants, cacti being among them. He swayed on his feet, woozy and somewhat dehydrated, and then lurched into motion again.

He spent another half hour walking towards a series of rock formations and swearing up and down, cursing his dark, heavy fur. In fact, he could practically feel it weighing him down and trapping all his body heat like a furnace. He wondered if he could burn some of it off later without starting a brush fire. Once he reached the welcome shade, Varne clambered onto some flat rocks, plopped down and stretched himself out against the cool sandstone. He could rest until evening and then resume wandering around when it was cooler.

The dark blue-grey female dozed fitfully in the shade of a one of the derelict dwellings carved into the face of one of the miriad stoney outcrops. Mallantha was strecthed out on her belly, legs splayed in a most undignified fashion. She'd been chased into the desert by a certain vengence driven male, escaping not entirely unscathed. Sweat stung the fresh wounds across her left flank.

The heat was too much, even in the shade, and she was starting to fall into a deeper doze when the scitter of rocks sent flying by stumbling steps and the sound of cursing brought her to full, wakefulness. She froze, a small spike of fear shooting through her inards. What if he'de followed her??

She growled at her cowardice, "Grow a backbone Thana." She mentaly reprimanded herself, as she shifted to her feet as quietly as possible. Siddling to the edge of the outcrop, darkening the shadows around so as not to be spotted, she sighed in relief as she saw the unfamiliar lai flop down onto a shaded outcrop bellow her.

'Dropping' the shadow cloak, she flopped down onto the edge of her own perch, and regarded the stranger with ruby eyes.

"Good afternoon."

"Hhhmmm.. eh," Varne sighed inadvertently stirring up a small puff of dust with his breath. He snorted, lifted his head and pawed at his muzzle. He couldn't bear the burning sensation one felt when they inhaled too much of something they shouldn't. He was completely oblivious, as usual, to the female creeping to the edge of another outcrop, practically on top of him.

"Good afternoon."

"Hhhn!" Varne jumped, startled, a smoke cloud escaping his mouth as he temporarily lost some control over his element. He craned his neck to get a look at the gray-blue female, common ruby-red eyes calculating. Her horns curled around and framed her masked face and the bright red Dark symbol between her eyes. Varne guessed that was why he hadn't known she was there. "Oi, hello. I didn't anticipate meeting anyone else out 'ere." He sat up, trying to look as if he wasn't lollygagging around. Unfortunately, more dust and sweat had gathered in all the fur on his stomach and legs than he would have liked.

Thana couldn't help smirking as the male just about lept out of his hide, a puff of smoke escaping his maw.

"Oi, hello. I didn't anticipate meeting anyone else out 'ere."

"Not surprising, I doubt all but the madest of individuals would come here willingly." She replied, with a slight grin.
The wind gusted suddenly, raising a whirlwind of dust causing her to flinch. Tensing, she searched for golden fur and a white mask, cursing herself when she realised the gust was not shinlai caused, but entirely natural.

"Great," she muttered. "I'm going paranoid."

Silas had never been comfortable in the heat. How he ended up here was beyond him. He never liked traveling in the desert and yet here he was. He had needed some time to himself to consider the events that had transpired what seemed like days ago, though it had already been several months. Now, with the sun scorching his fur, Silas was regretting taking this time to reflect. What he wouldn't give to feel soft cool grass below his paws. To feel his claws dipping ever so slightly into the soft soil of the earth. That seemed like a pipe dream at the moment considering he had no idea where he was. He was in a desert. Obviously. But this was not his home. Not his comfortable cool cave in the mountain side where he longed to be. Ahead he could see what looked to be the forms of two Shinlai. How could he be sure this was not a mirage? After all he'd already seen his brother at least twice, only to approach and discover it was a rock.

Silas approached the figures with as much grace as he could muster. The closer he got, the more real the forms were, no hidden behind the haze of the heat. He was not looking for a fight, did not have an aggressive stance. He appeared how he was, tired.

"Hello." He said simply, voice strong though there was a rasp. He didn't realize how thirsty he was until he'd opened his mouth to speak. Help would be appreciated at this point.

"Not surprising, I doubt all but the maddest of individuals would come here willingly." She replied, with a slight grin.

"Ahah! That's very true." Varne grinned back, fully able to acknowledge that he probably wasn't in the best state of mind for choosing to simply plow right through the desert instead of taking the longer journey skirting around it and navigating the coastal side of Ronnel. Oh, well. Maybe he had a traveling companion now. The most detailed way to describe his destination was 'through Ronnel.' He turned his head, trying to relish the feeling of the sudden gust of wind through his fur. There wasn't much to relish. Instead of a lovely, cool breeze, he was barraged with eroded sand grans and small pebbles. And the breeze wasn't cool either, it was dry and hot and threatened to steal the rest of the moisture from his mouth.

The dark female didn't seem to enjoy it either, in fact, Varne was perplexed to see her flinch and look around in all directions as if searching for something. The big male shook his head and hissed at the dust that had gotten in all three pairs of his eyes as the other Shinlai cussed under her breath and muttered something. He squinted and gave the newcomer a hard look. "What's going on?"

He then noticed the third Shinlai plodding towards them. Even from a distance, the purple form simply radiated tired. Just like they did.

"Hello." he said simply.

" 'Ello. Get out of the sun and sit, wouldya?"

I'm rolling Viva, here's her ref!: http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/106/1/7/viva_the_shinlai__official_reference_sheet_by_holyfrap-d4utw3n.png

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The very moment Viva had set off from her white, mountainesc home East of Rendali she knew she would regret it. Her heavy fur hung on her beefy body like steel wire and moved just as stiffly as she marched forward. The heat scrambled her brain like they often did to the eggs in her region, and she was beginning to forget why she had come this far at all.

Her head began to lower, her back hunched by the weight of her mask and antlers. In times like this, she wished she would have carved back her rack throughout her childhood, like many lai had done to avoid a cumbersome load like hers.
"Buut noooo," her mind's eye chimed," You had to be the biggest scariest lai!"

"Oh, shut up!" she roared, huffing once she realized how crazy she must have sounded. Her growl echoed across the sand to nowhere she assumed. After all, she felt as if she had been walking for far too long. Maybe she would soon fall off the edge of Edifir?

Viva began to feel her old temper rise. She hadn't felt it in a long while, not since she had left the following of the Darkblood's. Screaming in unexplainable anger she slammed her head into the dry ground. She was so thirsty! So tired! And she couldn't even remember why.

Using her large claws, Viva began to dig a hole where her mask had misshapen the sand. It was painful how hot the sand was, and yet suddenly it wasn't. Just beneath the surface the sand was suddenly deliciously cold! The large lai dug hole after hole, rolling her massive body into each one, until eventually she began to see shapes of what appeared to be overhangs. Ultimately she chose to ignore these and she continued close by, digging her holes, rolling in them until they were hot, moving on.

She had seen way to many illusions like this before in the desert, to be fooled this time! Not even the faint voices could deter her!

((I WANNA POST SO BAD BUT ITS SILVEERA'S TURN >A< ))

(D: Sorry guys, last time I checked the thread no one had replied yet xD)

"What's going on?"

Her head spun to the red male, who was giving her a hard, slightly suspicious look. "Oh, nothing.... nothing." She shifted, uneasy with the scrutiny, and that her nervousness was so transparent.

"Hello."

A strong, but undoubtably tired voice interupte before the male good ask anymore questions. She turned to the new comer, and stared at the youngest Kordeth son emerging from the heat haze. She shook herself out of her shock as the first male told Silas to get out of the sun. Now that she wasn't completely by herself, she began to relax. That psyco male wouldn't be stupid enough to attack her now... if he'd even followed her. "Evening," She finaly managed to reply to Silas' greeting.

She turned back to the unknown male."I seem to have forgotten to introduce myself. I'm Mallantha."

(Its fine! I AM SO EXCITED TO RP AGAIN I AM ALL KLSH AFLK>ASH NFLD<KH NSF:K J So don't mind me xD )

Silas's weary gaze moved over the both of them, responding with a tired grunt he curled up in the shade, head resting on his paws. His attention was drawn to another shinlai who seemed to be talking to themselves and digging holes. His eyes narrowed and then shut. Finally the noise irritated him too much and he lifted his head,

"What /are/ you /doing/?" His voice boomed then he coughed and huffed. He was not enjoying this heat.

[ Oh mai goodness Silas! You're so excited!!!!]

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Her recent hole having become scolding beneath her, Viva began to dig a bit deeper, and deeper still until almost her whole body fit within the crevis she had created. Tired and fed up she rested her head a top the whole edge and huffed.

She wondered what it would be like to be picked clean by buzzards, and as she did she heard a raspy voice tear across the dry air.

"What /are/ you /doing/?"

Her head too heavy to perk, her eyes rolled towards the sound, giving her a very confused puppy sort of expression beneath her expressionless mask. All she saw were rocks and darker rocks in every direction. Though, she noticed as she tilted her head, that the illusion from earlier seemed to be a lot more solid then before.

Squinting, Viva shook the dust from her fur,"I'm digging holes... holes are fun." she grumbled. She raised her head to sniff the air still deciding whether or not she was still talking to her self.

Selousi surveyed her surroundings as she walked, she was looking for something extremely specific. Desert cactus flowers. The kind that she loved to weave throughout her mane. They were a light, rosy, pink and flaunted their many petals amongst the spiny cactus; challenging her to 'come at get them'. Nonetheless, she used to grow them in her tunnels along with many other flowers as well. She had a wide array of them. Hibiscus, roses, daisies, you name it. With her she carried a large pouch, sewn by Laila to fit on the top of her back. It had a pouch of water, a blanket and several sacks to carry sand, seeds and flowers.
She yawned. It was getting awfully late. She couldn't sleep, as the evening was the best time to look for the flowers but she knew it would majorly cool down soon. Unlike other shinlai, who were more tolerant of the heat and cold, her small stature made her all the more vulnerable. She sighed. She was getting awfully hungry, it was too bad she didn't pack food. She would have to hunt instead.
She stood a little taller, getting up on her back legs and opening her mouth slightly, trying to smell for anything that was edible and nearby. Something bothered her though. She smelled other shinlai. And this far into the desert too. What could they possibly be doing in a place like this? As she climbed the dunes she could make out several figures. One looked awfully obnoxious, rolling around in the sand. The others appeared to be having a conversation and it didn't look like they had anything packed for the trip. She sighed, perhaps she could spare them some water?

"Hello!" She yelled over to them. "You look thirsty!"

(Dooo it! Dooo it! 8D )

Varne was watching the purple male curl up in the sand, inquisitive. The newcomer's attention was drawn to another noise off in the distance. The large form of another Shinlai was visible, sand flying out around it. They seemed to be digging holes and muttering some barely audible things to themselves. Maybe they had heat stroke or something and were out of their mind. The dark red male became caught up in his own worries, thinking about water and dehydration and the bleached white bones laying scattered around in the dust.

"I seem to have forgotten to introduce myself. I'm Mallantha."

"I'm Varne Ardor. Nice to meet you." He bobbed his head at Mallantha and grinned under his mask.

The purple male suddenly yelled out at the crazy stranger rolling around in the sand, "What /are/ you /doing?" Varne squinted out and mumbled, "Maybe they've gotten dehydrated and lost it." He could just hear an indignant voice reply, "I'm digging holes... holes are fun." Holes? What? He had never heard of a Shinlai just digging holes before. Planting and gardening were different, of course, but this was the desert. Sand. Nothing was grown easily here. Why put so much effort into digging if it was hot out?

"Have you ever heard of a Shinlai rolling around digging holes in the sand?" He shrugged his giant shoulders and looked at Mallantha. He grunted and started to groom chunks of his fur, running his claws through them and picking out grains of sand.

Another voice called out, different from that of everyone else around him. "Hello!" another female called, "You look thirsty!" At the mention of the word thirst, Varne perked up. Yes, he was thirsty. Very, very thirsty. He might as well call back.

"Pretty much, yes!"

Silas watched the Shinlai in the sand and spoke,

"Come into the shade, you'll end up digging your own grave otherwise."
At the mention of water his head snapped to the direction of the new lai. He got up and moved toward them.

"Extremely." he rasped, inspecting her for the water. His bottom jaw lowered, almost panting in anticipation.

How could anyone, in their right mind (or wrongmind) call digging holes in this heat fun

"Have you ever heard of a Shinlai rolling around digging holes in the sand?"
The shinlais crazy antics were begining to wear on Thana's already frayed temper. Standing to her full hieght she shook, spraying grains of sand about. At first she planned to knock some sense into the crazy lai, but then yet another shinlai arrived. She imeaditaely smelt the water, even as the small newcomer asked if they were thirsty.

"Unbelievably." Mallantha answered almost in tandem with Silas' rasped "Extremely."

The crazy one could wait. She dropped gracefuly down to Varne's ledge, then onto the hot sand, and trotted over to the newcomer

((Permission to join with a Pipsqueak? I've been wanting to get back into Rping after all e3e ))

[I don't think anyone would mind!]

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Viva nearly squealed as a foggy shaped materialized nearby. Yet it wasn't the sudden realization that she was acting like a deranged fool in front of REAL lai, it was the mention of water.

Shifting her hefty weight forward Viva sprung towards the other lai, giving no notice to the threat of digging her own grave, nor the stink eye a pale lai had been giving her. She didn't care for none of that, she was just so thirsty!

"Yes!" All 11 feet of her bounded onto her back legs, rising above the tired and cranky shinlai near her. Her front paws spread open as she stretched towards her newest little saviour. The bringer of water!

She had many lai and humans a like save her hide, as she often got into jams like this one... Phlorian always mentioned it was sheer dumb luck, and maybe he was right. But Viva didn't care now. She was just happy to finally get some water!

( I don't mind if you join!)

Selousi took a few steps back, feeling crowded. How could all of them be so careless as to not bring water into a desert. She sighed, reaching back into her pouch and getting one of the sacks of water.

"P-Please try to conserve the water! It's all I have for my trip. I'm looking for cactus flowers." She said, trying to make small talk to distract her from her own claustrophobia. The Lai surrounding her were so tall and... she felt so tiny at a mere Six feet. She shrank back a bit. Going back into her bag and pulling out a jar filled with delicate, pink flowers.

"They look like this," She prompted. Following up with a nervous chuckle. "What are you all doing out here anyways?"

She glanced around a bit. Nothing but sand. And the black male. He seemed awfully farmiliar. What was it that she was told about by Hallow about a Black shinlai with a red tag? She couldn't quite remember. But he seemed kind enough so She smiled and handed over the water.

"If It's not enough I have some more."

((BTW, Pip is now purple and blue, as opposed to purple and red. Her horns are changing too but I have no idea what I’m gonna do with them *flail* ))


The wind whipped by as she ran, her fur and long mane streaming out behind her as her small paws thudded across the hard baked ground in a repetitive tune. A wide grin spread across her face as she ran, eyes wide open and enjoying every moment. The land around her was dry and arid, only the smallest of shrubs and plants grew there, pushing through the cracks in the earth. While it may have bothered some, she was in a state of not caring, she was only occupied with running as fast as she could. Which was fast.

As she bolted along she became faintly aware of a shadow trailing her, glancing up briefly she realised a large eagle was following her movements, presumably thinking she was some prey, fit to collapse. She giggled out loud, darting to one side, testing its reactions and seeing if she could lead it in circles. There was a loud, if distant scream from the bird, and she glanced up to see it drop towards her, talons out stretched. She laughed loudly and ducked, darting to one side and feeling the bird shoot past, wings almost hitting her. Still laughing she darted back and forth, before leaping, paws outstretched like she was pouncing on the bird, the eagle screeched in alarm and flapped away, wings taking it higher and further away.

Pipistella dug her claws in, skidding to a stop in a large arch, staring up at the bird as it began soaring away, towards an outcropping of rock. She grinned and began chasing the bird, starting to hum, before singing cheerfully. “Tides will turn and trees shall fall, and yet I run all day. Wings still flap and birds still soar, take a moment and you shall see.” She sung cheerfully, eyes on the bird and not bothered by the heat, so long as she kept moving she was able to cope.

And then she fell over, tripping and rolling down the side of a large hole in the ground, eventually stopping, laying on her back, eyes wide and blinking, wondering what the heck just happened. She was in a hole, and there were distinct claw marks and a familiar smell. “Viva?” She asked herself, rolling onto her belly and scratching about, her little claws doing nothing compared to the marks left by the large female. She poked her head out of the hole, looking around trying to spot the familiar Shinlai, now she had stopped singing and running she could actually hear things, faint voices? Moving shapes by the outcropping of rocks? It would have made sense for Viva to take cover over where there was the possibility of shade. She hauled herself out of the hole and slunk over to the next one, as though expecting Viva to be in it.

“Vivaaaa?” She tried. “Veeeee?” She called, rearing up onto her back legs, hoping the height would help her to see further. She couldn’t see Viva specifically, but she could make out shapes and movements of others. She thudded back onto all fours and slunk over, checking holes as she went. “Vee?” She again, her voice closer to a squeak than anything else, hoping to find her friend before running into strangers on the rocks.


((Apparently I don't do small intro posts :I Sorry about that))

Silas took the water as soon as it was offered up, taking in two huge mouthfuls, savoring the second before he forced himself to stop and let someone else drink. "Thank you little one." he gave her a quick nuzzle then turned away to go lay down again. He paused glancing over at the holes, watching what looked like a pup jumping from hole to hole. He called out,

"You won't find anything interesting over there. Come into the shade." He started to wonder if everyone here was mad. The desert did funny things to lai who were accustomed to it.

Viva thudded her fluffy butt into the burning sand, wiggling with anticipation as she watched a dark lai step forward and take a couple gulps. The short attention span that Viva had always sported didn't allow her to see the red tag aside the male's face until she was already rushing for a drink.

She stopped mid stride planting her large paws into the ground; completely taken aback. In all her long years of serving under the Darkblood's, she had never actually seen any of the higher ranks... until now.

She watched mesmerized as he slumped back down, calling out to someone in the distance. His deep voice echoed in her head, bringing her attention to a tiny form far off. Hints of purple and blue shimmered against the sun; snapping Viva out of her stunned silence.

With a booming bark she heaved herself forward, pounding sand backwards in her excitement. She forgot how aggressive her massive size and quick movements could make her appear, though she knew Pip well enough, and Pip her, for the young pup not to be afraid when she saw her barrel chest pounding towards her. She let loose an excited roar as she forgot what the lai behind her might think.

As she bounded closer, she heard Pip's distinct squeak of a voice,

“Vivaaaa? Veeeee?”

"Peep!" Viva roared back, as she just then decided that Peep would be an adorable replacement for Pip. She chuckled as she ran, watching the tiny lai bound in and out of her large holes.

What was she doing out here?

Walking over to the petite female, Thana hissed as the deep claw wounds across her flanks pulled, splitting the newly formed scabs.
She tried to ignore the slow trickle of blood from the now infected wounds, as she waited for Silas to take a drink before taking a quick pull of water and limping back into the shade. Nestling down into the cooler sand, and tucking her front paws under her chest.

She couldn't help the low whinethat escaped her, as the wounds and her head throbbed, the heat adding to her discomfort. Her fur stood on end as she grew more and more irritated, and the high pitch voice of the approaching pup and the large females roars, turned her pained whine into a low growl.

((I wasn't going to include the bit about Thana's butt, but Toad double-dog dared me. So there was no going back. Toad, are you happy now?))



As Mallantha leapt down onto his ledge, Varne noticed the wounds across her flanks being ripped open again as she moved. He also noticed that she had a wonderful bum. Personally, he felt that staring at Mallantha's butt made wallowing around in the desert without water more than worth it. He rose to his own feet and followed her over to the small, green and brown 'lai. From a distance, Varne had imagined them to be a pup because of their size. Upon closer inspection, this was, in fact, a fully grown Shinlai.

He and the others gathered around the petite newcomer in a semicircle, all yearning for water. Varne did feel a pang of regret taking someone else's resources, but hey, she was offering it.

"P-Please try to conserve the water! It's all I have for my trip. I'm looking for cactus flowers." The 'lai was half his height at around a mere six feet, and she shrank back just a bit as the larger travelers moved quite close to her.

"Cactus flowers?" The red male watched, intrigued, as she removed a glass jar full of pink blossoms from her bag. "Ohhh. Pretty."

"They look like this," She prompted. Following up with a nervous chuckle. "What are you all doing out here anyways?"

"I've never met anyone else here before, but I'm traveling to the nearest town or city to perform. I do tricks with my element and use it to service people for coin." He watched as the purple male and Mallantha each drank in turn before he accepted it himself. Never before had something without much of a flavor tasted so good to him. "Mmm, thanks." He remained by the small 'lai, until the one who had been digging holes suddenly roared and charged off into the distance at the sound of a high squeak. A pup's voice, calling out from where the holes had been dug. Varne barked in surprise as a spray of sand hit him, though the large female probably couldn't hear it over her excited roars. Mallantha had limped back to the lee of the outcrop, where she appeared to be in considerable discomfort. Whatever had happened to her had left her in bad shape.

"Hmmmrr. So, do you collect flowers?" he asked the short female.

Silas was the first to drink the water, thanking her and nuzzling her he walked off, Selousi gave a nod and a shy smile in return. She was always glad to help any shinlai or human. The next to drink was Viva, whom she already thought was rather obnoxious from her actions before. She took a violent gulp of water and selo flinched from the sudden movements, relaxing a moment later. Viva seemed almost mesmerized by something? She hadn't a clue what, though. She carried on, watching the wounded, dark shinlai walk up hissing and taking a drink. Needless to say, she was incredibly intimidated by this one. She frowned a bit when she walked off so abruptly. Next was the handsome red shinlai.She gave an odd look at Varne as he stared at Mallantha's rear. But quickly, she shook it off and breathed, taking a few more steps back as Viva roared loudly out into the open desert. The heat had already given her enough of a migrane so she whined a bit in pain, throwing her head to face the sand.
Once the water had revolved around the crowd, she took it back and drank a bit herself. The pouch was big. She had prepared it for at least a week long trip and it would take up most of the room in the sack that lay on her back. She replaced the sack she was holding with a blanket, preparing for the harsh cold that the night would bring.

"Mmm, thanks." Varne said, obviously relieved. She nodded her head as a thank you again, all of a sudden taking a blow of sand to the face while her mouth was open and she was about to talk. Instead of making more conversation, she started hacking the dreadful stuff up. Not too appealing if she was trying to make friends. She Cleared her throat and attempted to carry on normally.

"Hmmmrr. So, do you collect flowers?" He asked.

"Ah! Yes, I do," She replied. "I collect them for my home. It's more out towards northern Rendali, though. I've only come out here for them. I've never quite been able to grow them, however. To use my element I have to be completely calm or full of adrenaline. And the spines on them don't help much with that. I mostly cultivate mushrooms of all kind. Fungi intrigues me beyond imagination. It comes in so many shapes and forms and colors!" She stated happily.

"You won't find anything interesting over there. Come into the shade." A voice called over to her, making her stop and look up. There was a group of four or five Shinlai, clustered around a small green Shinlai, she cocked her head to one side, watching as the purple one drank the little one’s water before retreating to the shade.

Then there was a booming bark, and Viva came hurtling towards her. "Peep!" She yelled between roars, kicking up dust with her charge towards her.

“Viva!” She yelled back, taking off and running straight towards the female, bouncing over the holes like a gazelle on steroids. She run full pelt into Viva’s chest, hooking her front legs around her neck and picking up her back feet, hanging from her like a strange necklace.

“What are you doing out here?” She asked, dropping back onto the floor and head butting her shoulder. “It’s much too hot for a fluffy thing like you.” She chided, starting to sound like her mum. “Get in the shade, get in the shade.” She ordered, sitting up and pushing at her with her little paws. Rather a fruitless endeavour, considering she was less than half Viva’s size. Didn’t stop her from trying though.