[Border-PRP] Lost, little one? (Svärta, Briac)

[Annchen]

Svärta had decided to risk hunting near the no man’s land between the Mava'Bunda and the lions today. He didn't make it a habit, and he made sure to stay far away from any of the lion scouts. But it did pay off sometimes. In an unspoken agreement both the lions and the hyenas avoided this place, and thanks to that the prey got kind of stupid. Last time he'd been out here he caught a hare that had tried to hold a conversation instead of running away. A fatal mistake.

He moved silently, using ears, nose and eyes to search the area for dangers and possible prey. The area was rocky, with plenty of hiding places. There weren't many bones this far out, only those the bone collectors hadn't yet dragged home to do gods knew what with. Old bones weren't good food, and Svärta felt no need to decorate his body with trinkets. He didn't need anything from them so he just tried not to deal with the bone collectors more than necessary. Being a hunter was enough for him.  

[The Captain Britain]

Annchen

Today was going to be a great day. After Erevu had let him tag along to the border on a scouting patrol, Briac had been itching to go back out. After all, he was going to need all the training he could get in order to be a good scout. But when Erevu turned out to not be around, the black cub had decided to go off on his own. Older pride members knew better than to go so close to the Mava'bunda border. They knew how dangerous it could be, especially for a little cub. But Briac felt he knew differently.

He had been this way before once, with his friend Nkosi. They had wanted to go look for bones and skulls. A hyena had stumbled upon them during that adventure. The cub had thought he and his friend were goners, but instead it the hyena had been quite friendly, and had even shown them a cool skull before leading them back home. So Briac now felt he knew for a fact that hyenas weren't nearly as dangerous as everyone said. They were softies and wimps who wouldn't dare hurt a cute little thing like him.

But what Briac didn't know was that he had actually gone far past the Prideland border a while ago. In his excitement to be out on his first official scouting mission alone, the cub hadn't been paying attention to where the border stopped. He was now in the space between territories, ambling along without a care in the world, not realizing just how much danger he was in.  

[Annchen]

Svärta froze, nostrils wide and with one paw up. The only part of the hyena that still moved were his ears. Lion. But the noises didn't make sense. Whoever it was didn't seem to believe in stealth. He slowly poked his nose around a boulder, only to see a young lion cub prancing along without any care in the world. Svärta pulled his head back and did some thinking. No sane lion would bring a cub here, right? If a pup from the Mava'Bunda was found to have wandered out here they'd be in so much trouble, and despite all their faults he expected the lions to feel the same way about wandering cubs. Common sense dictated that the cub must be alone. Svärta listened and scented the air for a few heartbeats. Yes, the wind was right and he couldn't scent anyone else. He shook his head. Were the lions really spawning at such a rate that they could afford losing a few cubs here and there?

He remembered what had happened last time a few lion cubs ended up in the Elephant Graveyard. Not pretty... Not pretty at all. Perhaps... Perhaps it would be better to n** this one in the bud then... He grinned at the thought.

He used a smaller rock as a starting point to get up on the larger boulder. Ah, yes. He could see the cub clearly now; and there was a reassuring lack of adult lions around. He cackled and the characteristic hyena laughter echoed in the stony wasteland.

The Captain Britain

 

[The Captain Britain]

Annchen

Gah! Sorry for the wait!

Briac froze mid-step. That cackling laughter could only have come from one animal: a hyena. Despite his previous confidence, Briac hadn't actually expected to meet another hyena out here. But maybe it would be friendly, like the other hyena he had met was. Even if it wasn't, Briac could take it on, right? He just had to remember that they were wimpy softies. Wimpy little softies.
The black cub looked up to the hyena peering down at him and gulped. He was having a rather hard time of convincing himself that this male was wimpy softie. Red eyes, sharp teeth, evil grin...Briac shook his head. No! He had to remain confident! That was an important part of being a fighter, right? Confidence. If Briac believed he could take the hyena on, then he could do it!
"W...what do you want, mangy?" He called out. His voice hadn't been as steady and strong than Briac would have liked, but at least he wasn't whispering.  

[Annchen]

The Captain Britain

Sorry, vacation ate me (nice kind of distraction at least)

Mangy? Was that the best insult this tiny thing could manage? Svärta threw his head back and laughed. He looked back down at the cub, still giggling. Mangy? He wondered if he could get away with hurting him a little, but decided that it would be better to scare the crap out of him without leaving visible marks. The little stinker might lie about how far he'd wandered when he got back home. Leaving marks that would suggest hyena-attacks near the border would be bad. Just look at what had happened last time. The blue hyena decided that he'd done as much as he could from his vantage point. No mature lions had appeared despite his loud cackling that had bounced between the rocks. The coast was clear.

Svärta jumped down, out of sight for the cub, but he soon appeared again from behind the boulder. At first he just grinned, but when he stood face to face with the cub he started to cackle again. Oh, he hoped the kid would run.