Ian and Kibo: The Connection
Written by seiv.writes
/----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------/
Note: this is a preview!
----------------Chapter 2: The Walk--------------
One brisk Monday morning, the routine shift took place. It was 6:30 AM. Ian's hand slapped against the nightstand before his eyes were fully open, fingers finding the phone. His phone glowed, displaying an alarm screen. His mind was already spinning, not quite awake, yet fully engaged; his morning routine accurately optimized. Later after fortifying himself with caffeine and breakfast, Ian changed his clothes, pulled on his sneakers, and grabbed the leash.
"Ready for the park, buddy?" Ian asked.
The big cat let out a soft chuff sound—a friendly greeting that Ian had come to recognize as his way of saying 'I'm in.' "Wait, we're coming with you!" Shayne chimed in, grabbing his camera. "This is elite material dude."
They all stepped out into the air; the neighborhood was serene, the sun just barely rising over the rooftops. Ian attached the leash, a gesture that was more for the comfort of others than for Kibo's restraint. They began their walk, a majestic sight: a young man and his friends, walking a leopard that moved with confidence, poised to face whatever challenges lied ahead.
As they reached the local park, a few early risers were already out, jogging or walking their dogs. Ian prudently watched the reactions; he was prepared for the worst—critics and accusations of him being irresponsible. A woman walking a golden retriever stopped dead in her tracks. But Kibo just gave a polite, curious chuff, and the dog gave a confused but friendly tail wag.
"Don't worry," Ian called out, his voice steady and inviting. "He's very chill. He's had his breakfast, he's all cleaned up, and he's just here for the scenery."
The woman looked from Ian to the leopard. Kibo had sat down, his tail curled neatly around his paws, his gaze curious but calm. The woman paused, and then stepped forward. "Is it…is it really a leopard?"
"Yeah," Ian smiled, standing beside Kibo and placing a hand on the leopard's shoulder. "His name is Kibo; he's very gentle."
The woman reached out, her hand trembling slightly, and stroked the leopard's flank. Kibo leaned into her touch, his whiskers twitching. The woman's face broke into a shocked, delighted grin. "He's so warm! And his fur is… it's like silk."
Ian felt pride in his chest, an emotion that hyped his sentiments. This was what he had hoped for; he wanted to bridge the gap between the wild and the domestic. As they walked further, more people stopped. A group of high school kids from a local school, likely freshmen, sophomores, and seniors, on their way to their classes, hovered at a distance before Ian waved them over. Not only they were shocked; they were delighted. Kibo, acting as if he'd been doing this his whole life, allowed them to pat his head, his purring audible even over the distant hum of traffic.
"See?" Ian whispered to himself, watching the children's laughter. "It's not about control; it's about understanding."
~~~
"You know," Courtney said, walking backward to film the group, "if you told me recently that I’d be walking through downtown LA with a leopard and my best friends, I’d have said 'you were insane.'"
"We are insane," Ian said, grinning. "That’s why this works."
“Yeah, and people are very calm about this, so there is no problem.” Anthony said, recording the whole thing.
~~~
Now, back in the quiet of the Smosh headquarters, the adrenaline dwindled. The crew collapsed onto beanbags and sofas. Kibo was lounging on the rug, his breathing steady and rhythmic. A few minutes later, the team gathered around the computers to look at the footage from the morning's antics.
"We have to upload this," Anthony said, his fingers hovering over the keyboard. "But we have to do it so well. No clickbait, no fake drama, none of that nonsense. Just us and Kibo."
As the upload bar clicked to 100%, the office was tremendously serene. They had thousands of videos under their belts, millions of views, and 2 decades of great history. But this felt different. It felt like a new chapter.
"We're going to be okay," Anthony whispered, more to himself than to anyone else.
Ian looked at his friend, then at the leopard, and finally at the screen where their latest video was beginning to climb the charts at breakneck speed and started to spread like wildfire in a few hours.
~~~
"Holy crap! Look at the analytics!" Courtney exclaimed as she looked at the video statistics carefully—12 million views, 530k likes, and 11k comments; the video started to spread on social media.
"And that's all thanks to Kibo here." Angela chimed in as she patted Kibo's head.
"Yeah, now thanks to him, we are now famous again!" Anthony said in ecitement.
“Agreed. Fans like this content anyway; that just takes the cake.” Shayne nodded in agreement.
~~~
Kibo, who was resting in the center of the room, let out a slow, rhythmic breath. The sun was setting onto the horizon, painting a shade of violet and orange in the immaculate sky. Anthony, Ian, and Kibo were left in the room, while the rest of the crew drifted themselves to their own stuff.
"Okay, so," Anthony started, "today we learned that leopards are basically just giant house cats, provided they are well-fed and don't have a schedule. But in reality, they are just locked in predators in the wild."
"Yeah, you're right," Ian nodded in agreement as he pats Kibo on the cheek, and the leopard purrs in a receptive way.
The two of them spent half an hour nuzzling a very calm and cuddly leopard once again. After Kibo was being subjected to a lot of nuzzles and cuddling, Anthony had a little bit of stuff to do in his room.
"Hey Ian, I'll hit you up tomorrow," Anthony said as he stood up and walked towards his room. "Goodnight, Ian."
"See you tomorrow." Ian said back as he stood up too.
~~~
The California sun began setting, painting a shade of violet and orange in the sky; the neighborhood slowly went serene. The room was only Ian and Kibo left; Ian looked directly with those piercing amber eyes, clearly seeking attention.
"Hey buddy, I say let's make up for lost time." Ian said huskily to the leopard as he scratched the back of the big cat's ears, poised to spend some quality time with him. The majestic cat chuffed in a sympathetic response in his way of saying 'I'm on.'
The two of them wordlessly went into Ian's room; Kibo’s eyes gleaming with anticipation. When they arrive, no one is there; just pure silence, a lamp, a camera, and a ball of yarn on Ian's nightstand. Ian thought to himself: 'What if I just record this and send it to Anthony?' He gripped the camera and then placed it at a different angle so that the two would show in the video and started recording. Ian placed the camera onto the nightstand, still at the angle he wanted, and went on his bed. Kibo then climbed up onto the bed with Ian.
"I’m gonna snuggle you so much." Ian said lightly to Kibo. Very gently, he started petting Kibo's shoulder. His fur was soft and almost fluffy; it reminded him of touching a very thin layer of cotton. Kibo's reaction was instantaneous; he purred peacefully and closed his eyes as he adored the delightful sensation. Kibo then brushes his cheek along Ian's for more affection; his whiskers lightly twitching.
"Oh you little cutie." Ian said soothingly while he stroked the leopard's fur. Ian pulled him closer, but gentle, and swept his hand gently through Kibo's shoulder; feeling the softness and warmth of the big cat's fur made Ian smile contently; burying his face in the majestic leopard’s soft fur.
Ian's touch was quickly becoming one of Kibo's favorite sensations. A few minutes had passed; Ian and Kibo were still on the bed, continuing to cuddle. Ian was lost in his closeness and euphoria with Kibo and essentially had his hand on autopilot. Ian ran his hands through Kibo’s fluffy head as the leopard chuffed contently; the leopard nuzzled into him.
"Aww, Kibo..." Ian cooed as he snuggled Kibo's head... "I got you..."
A few minutes later, Kibo's activity trails off into a sluggish pace as he slowly becomes docile; his grip on Ian weakens--turns out that Kibo drifted to sleep already. A few seconds had passed and Ian already smiled over at the leopard. He cannot miss how endearing Kibo looks as he sleeps. Ian prudently got out of bed, grabbed the camera, and stopped recording.
"I should just edit this quick," Ian mumbles as he then walked over to his desk, where his laptop was, and sat on his chair. He then fired up the laptop; the screen flaring to life. He then inserts the SD card from the camera to his laptop, and edits the footage for 10 minutes. After that, he exported the video file and he thought to himself: "What if I send this to Anthony?" He then opened up AirDrop, and then without thinking ahead, he sent the video file to the company file drive, he brushed it off and thought he sent it to Anthony.
"Okay, that's enough for today." Ian said lightly as he then shuts down the laptop and stands up. He walked towards the bed, climbed up onto his bed, reached out for the covers, and then drifted to sleep. It was an ordinary day, Kibo and Ian looking forward to their delightful adventures and journeys together. They were deeply trustful and connected than ever before, now that the two and the rest of the Smosh crew would cherish.
--
To be continued…
