<div class="floatleft">(http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/daniellex28/alizee-011_zps1zstvina.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Julie Lancaster (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=250173.msg12381790er#msg12381790)<br/><strong>City | Date | Time:</strong>Animal rehabilitation centre near Kruger National Park | March 17 2015 | 10:35 PM<br/><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong>Elena/Nicole<br/><strong>Content:</strong>Nighttime<br/><hr/><br/>Were other people usually this forward with her? If so, then it was in a far more vulgar way, and not in this inherently sweet manner, so void of ulterior motives. It reminded Julianne of the animal world more than a little; none of that false modesty or silly pretense, using a thousand words to say what you don't mean for fear of being considered odd or too forward. Julie could appreciate the disarming bluntness of Nicole, found it endearing in a way although it still managed to catch her off-guard, causing the girl to quietly gaze at the way she held her hand captive between her own two palms. It felt wonderfully warm even if heat wasn't something Africa was particularly short on, especially with the summer season flaring up one last time before seeping slowly into autumn (which, admittedly, was still warm enough). Her fingers flinched a little, found themselves curving around Nicole's without meaning to. Julie's eyes darted back up and she shrugged without knowing what the gesture really entailed. "Why not?" she said simply, an answer that lacked the many layers that hid behind the words but that somehow would have to suffice. Leaning up a bit further on her elbow she shifted into a more accommodating spot, all the while aware of the fact that she was wearing a shirt... and Nicole really, really<em>wasn't.</em><br/><br/>It was impossible to ignore the very obvious nudity, especially when it - quite literally - was up in her face like this. It was something Julie found she should be able to ignore, although Nicole's forwardness and sincerity were confusing, and Julie wasn't entirely sure how to interpret the signals. Had it been someone she knew better then likely she would have assumed this was an invitation that went beyond a mutual desire for comfort, and had they bee playing the more traditional roles of boy and girl, then it would have been quite obvious what was going on. But they weren't, and Julie was struggling. Even as she gestured for Nicole to curl up instead of remaining in her seated position her mind was at odds; not so much because out of uncertainty over what Nicole had suggested, but more because the answer was a decisive<em>yes</em>regardless.<br/><br/>"On one condition though," she said, and to this Julie somewhat reluctantly pulled back her hand, the sweet sensation of Nicole's finger drawing tiny shapes upon the back of her hand abandoning her. "I get to be the big spoon. I want to know what that feels like." A grin accompanied the words and without any of the initial hesitation she followed Nicole in fully lying down, molding herself to the shape of the girl's body as she curled up against her. Perhaps it was a bit of an excuse, a way to keep from being all too directly confronted with the fact that Nicole was naked and julie, well... she wasn't quite ready to be so carefree just yet. Which didn't stop her from wrapping her arm around the girl's waist and pulling her closer, the gesture so logical that she didn't even question it. Perhaps it wasn't what Nicole had envisioned but with her inhibitions no longer posing an issue Julie gladly surrendered to the moment, her fingers tracing lazily along the softness of Nicole's tummy before ultimately coming to rest against the curve of her hip. She found her face gently resting against soft, golden hair and the very scent of it reminded her of Africa, of freedom and in a way of<em>home</em>- of actually feeling at home. She even picked up on a whiff of jasmine, although perhaps that was merely wishful thinking after what Nicole had told her before.<br/><br/>A wistful sigh escaped her, and although Julie had been ready to apologize for it, before she had parted her lips she already changed her mind, deciding that she really didn't have anything to be sorry for. Instead she found herself snuggling up closer and closing her eyes, surrendering to the warm beckon of sleep. "I think I could get used to this," she murmured, leaning her head in close until she could feel the warmth that radiated off Nicole's skin against her cheek. "Definitely could get used to this..."<br/><br/><br/><hr/><br/><strong>Name:</strong>Julie Lancaster (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=250173.msg12381790er#msg12381790)<br/><strong>City | Date | Time:</strong>Animal rehabilitation centre near Kruger National Park | March 30 2015 | 04:35 PM<br/><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong>Elena/Nicole<br/><strong>Content:</strong>Rainy days<br/><br/>The river was a place of relaxation that the occasional presence of crocodiles - and rarely a hippo - really didn't alter in the slightest. It ran along the westmost side of the game reserve, forming a natural border that separated the centre from the untamed wilderness. Near the lodges a few picnic-like tables had been built, along with a large wooden parasol that perhaps seemed a bit redundant, considering the amount of trees that overshadowed the little area. On a day like this its true purpose became very clear though, as the skies had decided to release their downpour upon the grateful savanna, dousing the world in endless rains. Like whirling grey curtains they isolated the area under the massive square umbrella from the rest of the world, confining the two girls who had taken refuge underneath to the fifteen square feet of space. Rain season was definitely making a name for itself today.<br/><br/>While the change of weather caused the temperature to drop significantly everywhere else, the dry little area at the picnic tables seemed much like a bubble in which the residual warmth was contained. Julianne sat perched upon the table rather than the seat itself, her feet placed casually upon the bench instead. A little vervet monkey was crawling up her back to perch itself upon her shoulder; another such creature was lazily exploring the table itself. There were seven in total; a group of all female monkeys that had grown into adolescence here at the rehabilitation centre. Ordinarily taking so many out of their enclosure at once would be out of the question, but Julie had learned all too quickly that animals had a way of following the lead of the newest addition to the animal care team that made her have no concerns whatsoever that these little creatures would stray. Even now they had a way of swarming around Nicole or at least padding over every once in a while to check if she was all right... or that's how it looked to someone like Julie, at least. It was an enigma to the girl and she would have envied it if she didn't find it so marvellous instead. Of course, there was a little sense of - perhaps misplaced - pride that her gut instinct had been so spot on in thinking this place would fit Nicole like a glove. But that would have been pretentious and Julie was anything but; she just felt strangely<em>happy</em>. About this place, about Nicole, about everything.<br/><br/>Strangely enough, not quite so much about leaving for once.<br/><br/>"You know, I really can't imagine it's been nearly two weeks since you got here. If I hadn't been here when you arrived I could have sworn you came riding in here with Petronel a few decades ago." Julie absently brushed a monkey's tail out of her face; the animal screeched in protest, hopping from one shoulder to the other. Making no further effort to get it to move, she leaned back, using the flat of her palms for support. "Weird to think I'll be leaving in two days though. Are you sure you'll be all right?" She laughed breathlessly. "That's a silly question, I know. I just can't help but feel responsible, I'm the one who dragged you in here, after all."<br/><br/>Of course there was more to it than mere concern about Nicole's wellbeing, unfounded as she knew it to be. If anything, Julie expected that when she returned,<em>she</em>would be the outsider visiting the reserve and Nicole would be the one in on which animals had arrived, which ones had been released and probably have stolen the hearts of each and every being present at the reserve, be they animal or human. No, Julie's reasons for somewhat dreading her two months long return to the ranger station were far more personal and far more selfish; the long and the short of it was that she was going to miss her friend.<br/><br/>"Will you be sticking around?" she asked, and the question was a little sudden, perhaps betraying that fragile uncertainty that was creeping up on Julie. She turned her head, eyeing Nicole inquisitively. It was a seemingly unfounded question though; Nicole had not given her any reason to think that she would just up and leave and yet, she<em>had</em>up and left the day she decided to come here. What if she grew bored of this place in Julie's absence, unlikely as that may seem? The very thought that in two months she would return to the reserve and find that the girl had moved on made her feel surprisingly nervous, all the more so because she wouldn't even know how to trace her.<em>Hell, she didn't even know her last name.</em><br/>