Jiska, Kow'bakari & Fajra
Jiska yawned.
It’s rather uncharacteristic for him to be feeling like a bored pup, but today was some sort of exception, it seems. He glanced back at his little troupe, hiding from the heat under a tree, one or two still gnawing on bones from a recent meal. Yes, a very strange little group he’d roped up. Especially with those hyenas thrown in the mix. Speaking of… “Kow, Fajra. Here. “ He called, though not very loudly. He noticed one of hyenas, Tibuka, twitch. Yes, that Tibuka was a clever one, wasn’t he? Dominant, too. He figured if he ever had a trouble with these hyenas, it would come from him. Shady past… Well, he supposed he wasn’t much different himself.
The two dogs he called were on their feet, quickly trotting over and perking their ears, expecting some orders. “With me, “ Yes, boss them around, like the good trained dogs that they are. The pair complied quickly as he walked away, and remained mostly silent, until finally Kow spoke up. “What’s up, boss? “
The other male was actually kind of smart, Jiska would give him that. He seemed like he knew what was going on, and had waited til he was out of ear shot to speak up. Then again, he also had been with Jiska the longest, been roped in to this as a pup. Jiska quietly suspected Kow’s heritage; the similarity was uncanny. He wouldn’t doubt the rest of the pack did too. But he never spoke of it.
“The new ones, what have you gathered from them? “ Fajra, the female, looked momentarily confused. Yep, she was a new one. She opened her mouth, probably to ask some sort of question, but Kow was prompt. “Nothing much. They got together a while ago, mostly just hunting partners. Tibuka’s their boss. But that’s stuff you already knew. “ He shrugged nonchalantly. One thing Jiska didn’t like about Kow was that, maybe he’d just been around so long, he didn’t quite have the same sort of ‘respect’ as the others.
“So nothing else that’s interesting? “ He huffed in annoyance. Perhaps he had been hoping for some drama. Jiska was still rather bored.
Kow shook his head. “Nope. “ He shrugged, and Fajra glanced back at the group. Tibuka, Leith and that female.. uh, Fido. She was definitely the odd one out. Rather submissive, which was strange for females of their kind, as far as Fajra knew. Small, too. Like she hadn’t been raised on the right stuff. “I think they just want the same stuff as us, “ She said distractedly, shrugging. She glanced back at Jiska, new leader boss-guy. He was rather neat, really. Well, kind of a bully, but something about him was… impressive. Like she should respect him.
“Do you really think they will be any trouble? “ Kow asked this for her, like somehow he knew that’s what she wanted to know, but didn’t want to ask about, because Jiska was her boss and she didn’t feel on good terms to question him just yet.
Jiska wrinkled his nose. He really didn’t like it when Kow acted like this. All relaxed and… ugh. “No, I guess not. “ He huffed, and to Fajra’s amusement, he seemed disappointed. Hah, this guy was quite a piece of work, wasn’t he? The larger male twitched his torn ears, frowning. Hmph, no drama or anything. Nothing for him to deal with. Damn, he could use some trouble from time to time.
“Come on, we’re hunting. “
Now this startled Fajra. “What? “ She blinked, confused, though Kow was already on his feet again and obediently trotting after Jiska, who had somehow gotten up and moved along. “But.. we just ate not long ago! “ She exclaimed, forgetting for a moment who Jiska was. Which ultimately ended badly for her, because now the boss was turning around and trotting over. And getting closer. Oh crap. He was right in her face now.
“We’re going hunting, because I said so. “ And with that tone, she really couldn’t argue. But of course, he’d ask. “Do you have a problem with that, Fajra? “ She stuttered, which was weird because she didn’t have anything to say, but she was Fajra. Of course she’d manage to do that.
Thankfully, Kow would come to the rescue. “Er, Jiska, would you like the others to come? “ He motioned to the ‘pack’, still under the tree, but most looking over curiously. Sadly, Jiska continued to glare at Fajra, who looked just about ready to run away, but instead just cowered close to the ground. “Well? “ The boss demanded.
“N-n-nooosir. “ She squeaked out, ears flat against her skull. “Good! “ Jiska now seemed pleased, and looked to Kow, as if just registering the question. “Ah. That may not be a bad idea. “ Yes, put everyone on the move. So the larger male trotted back to the tree, while Fajra hurried over next to Kow, almost as if to hide behind him.
“Whoaa, thanks for that. “
Kow shrugged. “It didn’t really make a difference. “ He frowned. Jiska could be so tight up sometimes! Hmph. Right now he’d say something along the lines of ‘don’t take him too seriously… ‘ but, she should. Because Jiska was a serious dog. He didn’t kid around, though Kow would have liked it.
Fajra frowned, glancing down, then back up at Jiska, who had just reached the pack again, and seemed to be talking, because everyone was watching him. “He’s… Uh, quite the guy, huh? “ She said, nervously.
The other spotted male glanced at her, almost curiously. He’d never thought of it that way. “I guess. But… he has his qualities. “ Kow wasn’t totally sure why he was compelled to defend Jiska, but he did feel an enormous amount of respect for the male, and really, Jiska did have his qualities. It was Jiska who had got them all together, had been working and keeping them alive for the past few weeks. At least they were all part of something now, even though it wasn’t exactly the most beautiful something ever. It was life.
And at least Fajra seemed to agree. “Yeah! “ She said loudly, agreeing quickly. “It’s just… he’s kinda scary. “ The red and black female frowned now, more at herself. She remembered her puphood. She would have never admitted to being scared back then. Oh, how times a-change!
And now Kow was laughing at her. Whaat? “Hey, it’s not funny! “ She growled, allowing some of her old-self to surface. And this seemed to surprise and... kind of amuse Kow. “Alright, alright. “ He smiled. “Whatever you say. “
She scowled. He wasn’t convinced. Oooh, well, she’d convince him. Just now, she’d say—
“He’s coming. “ She blinked, having forgotten why Jiska had left them in the first place. But sure enough, here the boss came, rest of the pack in tow. Some didn’t seem quite pleased with the idea of hunting again, and some seemed alright with it. Hunting for sport, not quite a good sort of hunt, but they were bored, too. The hyenas were coming too. She watched them as they trotted along, Tibuka ahead. In fact, Tibuka was next to Jiska, which no one else ever did.
Kow wasn’t so sure about how he felt on the hyenas, either. Maybe he had just been with Jiska too long, but… though they were rather convenient, this… Tibuka guy, really wasn’t to be messed with. He didn’t bow down to Jiska like the rest would. And the others would favor him as well.
Hopefully, they’d keep on seeing eye-to-eye.
“Lets go now, “ Kow said, getting to his feet and joining the pack as it walked by, Fajra following behind.
