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 Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 4:16 pm
 The grey lioness had no name that she knew of. She had never been named with her brothers and sisters. Instead, her mother had cursed her from the moment she entered the world. If she did recognize anything as a name, it would be something like "Grey One", or "Filthy One", which she had been called when her mother was in a rather forgiving mood.
Right now the grey one was more of a brown one, covered in the parched dust of her travels. She had wandered aimlessly for weeks, maybe months, since her mother had abandoned her. The young grey lioness had never been raised to hunt, subsisting only on the scraps of spoiling food that her mother tossed to her. Her travels hadn't been easy. She had eaten bugs and old, picked-over carcasses. The grey lioness was too timid to chase even vultures from a kill.
The idea that she herself had grown large and powerful enough to capture an animal on her own never occurred to her. She was the grey one, the useless one, and she was entirely without influence on the world around her.
The grey lioness shambled along, muttering to herself idly. As miserable as she had been with her mother, at least she had been in company. The loneliness out here was crushing. The ground beneath her feet was monotous, seemingly endless, and she had decided in her vague way that it was her traveling companion. "What a long walk, yep. Long walk." The ground was silent, but probably it just didn't have anything to say. "Bet you're glad you don't have feet to hurt." That didn't get a response, but such an obvious statement didn't need one, really.
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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 4:28 pm
The miles had gone on forever, it seemed. Sudaj was weary, but he kept pace with the other three hyenas he was in the company of. The sisters, Dikeledi and Bahari, really showed no signs of slowing. It'd been days, maybe longer, since the troupe had seen another passer-by. The landscape blurred into nothingness, but his keen sense of smell kept them on the right track.
The ease with which they brought down prey was the only thing that kept Sudaj going on a day to day basis. His belly was usually full to bursting, and it gave him the energy he needed to keep pace with the others. Even Bekeli showed no signs of slowing; the bare-bones hyena kept close to Bahari ever since they had happened upon Sudaj. It was curious.
Even more curious was the sight of the grimy-looking lioness that aimlessly crossed their path. Sudaj gave a low yip before coming to a quiet stop, waiting for the others to notice the lioness as well.
Bekeli found himself placing his footfalls in harmony with Bahari's. Ever since the female had shown him kindness days past when they'd first happened upon Sudaj he'd been her ever-present shadow, her protector. It was highly unlikely that Bahari would need protection should they run across something, but Bekeli liked to think she relied on him for something. It made the rangy hyena at least a little happier than he would normally be.
Sudaj had taken over the navigation towards the water. It made Bekeli feel useless if he thought about it too long. He just kept his feet moving in sync with Bahari's and kept a wary eye out for anything strange.
Something strange would come along in the dust-coated shape of a young lioness. Bekeli spotted her and slowed his pace. She was a good distance away yet, but he wanted to be sure the others had seen her before going any closer.
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Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2010 10:38 am
Dikeledi was content to let Sudaj lead the way instead of Bekeli. The striped male hadn't offered any objections (at least, not aloud, to her), so she didn't much care about any power struggle between the two males. As long as they were heading towards something.
Today, that something appeared to be a lioness. Dikeledi drew to a halt behind Sudaj, staring at the lioness. She stood still for a moment, tense, waiting for the rest of them ... but no lions came. Dikeledi narrowed her eyes, glaring at the strange beast. Not much more than a cub, really, and filthy and malnourished on top of that. Huh! If this creature was representative of the pride around these parts, she was in a sorry state.
And if she wasn't from a pride ...
Her mind made up, Dikeledi charged towards the lioness, yelling her war cry. Bahari loped along behind her at a more sedate pace, quiet but ready to fight if the situation demanded it.
The grey lioness jerked her head up, startled and horrified. She had just been ambling along, talking to herself, all alone in the world ... and now some screaming banshee was bearing down on her. The grey lioness froze for a heartbeat, wondering what to do. Fighting the monsters bearing down on her didn't even occur to her. She had never fought anything in her life!
Running? She broke out of her paralysis and lurched into a run, but one of the monsters (light grey, like herself) had cut her off. She turned unhappily to face the leader of the pack, a pink-striped hellion with gnashing, flashing teeth.
This, the grey lioness thought woefully, was what happened when you disobeyed and wandered off.
She flopped to the ground, paws spread and claws digging into it as though hugging it for dear life. Her only friend! Maybe it would feel her panic and roll over her like a blanket, cutting her off from these horrible people.
Dikeledi, staring at the lioness apparently trying to squirm her way underground, did not know whether to bite the fool or laugh at her.
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Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2010 11:18 am
Sudaj moved along behind Dikeledi at a slower pace, keeping up with Bahari as she moved after her sister charged the pathetic, sickly looking lioness. Dikeledi was a force to be reckoned with when she approached the lioness who promptly fell to the ground as if she wished the dirt would swallow her up. He drew closer to the ugly gray lioness, not hesitating to lean closer and n** gleefully at the creatures scrawny, ragged pelt.
Bekeli yipped in excitement, a show of emotion that was rare for the otherwise whiny male. His hackles rose as he drew closer, yipping again when Sudaj leaned forward to bite at the disgusting creature. He danced around the gray lioness, gleefully knowing that they as a group held the advantage over the ragtag piece of filth that sprawled pathetically in the dirt before them. He didn't speak, instead waiting for one of the females to do so first, and merely went from dancing to his usual pacing while he waited for Dikeledi or Bahari to make a move.
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Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 1:33 pm
The grey lioness let out a squeal when the horrid beast nipped at her. Ow! There was no call for that! But then, she had never really done anything to deserve the abuse heaped on her by her long-lost mother, either, so it didn't surprise her. The grey one's paws quit their miserable scrabbling at the ground and she clamped them firmly over her eyes. Maybe if these monsters saw that she clearly wasn't interested in their nasty game, they would leave her be.
To Dikeledi, still staring at the creature, it looked as though she was playing ostrich. The lioness obviously wasn't too bright. The pink-maned hyena was tempted to put a bite in, but she didn't want to dirty her mouth in this creature's ragged hide. Dikeledi blew out a sigh, some of her righteous wrath at seeing a lion defused by the lion's total patheticness.
Bahari had been watching all of this, silent, not prancing like the two males or bewildered like her sister. Well, the lion didn't look like it was about to do anything any time soon, and her sister obviously didn't quite know what to do with it. Bahari would save her the trouble of having to whip the obviously already much-whipped beast. She moved forward, sidling between the three other hyenas milling around the lions, and planted her paw squarely on the grey lioness' head. "Hey. What you got in that big empty head? What's wrong with you?" She walloped the lioness for emphasis, making her flinch and scramble up into a cringing crouch.
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Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 1:47 pm
Why wasn't the lion fighting back? This wasn't how this was supposed to work. Though the lioness was outnumbered, she could have easily lashed out with her paw to deliver a strike to any one of the hyenas that surrounded her. Instead, she just huddled into herself, looking terrified and utterly submissive.
This confused Sudaj, and instead of further harming the lioness he merely waited for Dikeledi or Bahari to make a move. What a stupid lion. Sudaj let out a primal yelp when Bahari walloped the filthy female, excited by the show of aggression towards the wimpy lion.
"Answer her!" Bekeli yowled excitedly, his tail flicking between his legs in supreme excitement. His voice was high pitched, even more so after Bahari used physical force to frighten some sort of reaction out of the stupid lion.
"Maybe she's too stupid!!" Oh, Bekeli was just loving this. It excited him, made his blood pound through his veins. To have the upper hand on a lion.. well, it was a fantastic feeling, even if he wasn't the one beating on it.
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Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 2:34 pm
Bahari liked Bekeli, a little bit at least. He was kind of pathetic, but she didn't mind the scrawny male hyena tagging along after her. Kind of like a dopey little pet. She hadn't yet seen Bekeli acting fierce. Bahari didn't much care if the grey lioness was bullied, but she didn't think Bekeli's yelping would get anything more out of the strange beast than another bout of whining and groveling. Still, she didn't want to crush his little moment of bravery by reprimanding him, so she simply ignored him.
Dikeledi, not wanting to appear as boggled as she felt, stomped forward and bared her teeth in the lioness' face. "Where's your pride?" She paused, amended this: "Where're the rest of you lions?" The grey lion looked like a miserable scavenger, not a smug pride lion, but she could easily be some kind of idiot, tolerated but unloved. There definitely seemed to be something wrong with her brain.
"I don't know if she's got any family," Bahari said mildly, poking at the lioness, who only winced. "If I was a lion, I wouldn't take her on." Raggedy Bekeli had been bad enough when the sisters had invited him to join them, but compared to this mess he seemed like quite an upstanding specimen.
The grey lioness' head whirled as she listened to this creatures bickering and snapping at her. What could they possibly want with her? She had known why her mother was angry at her, furious at her for simply existing, but she had no idea why these hyenas wanted anything to do with her. She had a dim idea that lions and hyenas didn't like each other much, but lions had never liked HER much either, so as far as she was concerned there was nothing especially threatening about hyenas as a species. "I don't have a family," she said unhappily. She could have lied, of course, sent them off away from her, but she wasn't clever enough to do that.
"One time I had a pet plant, but then I forgot which one it was." The pink-maned hyena let out a disgusted sigh, which had the lioness cowering all over again.
"We'll kill her her. One less lion," Dikeledi said, steadily growing irritated with the stupid lion. Useless thing couldn't lead them to more lions, couldn't lead them to water, and would be worse than worthless as some kind of hostage or bargaining chip when they did meet lions. "Maybe when the rest of those cats see the vultures circling, they'll come."
"Nooo!" the grey lioness wailed suddenly. She might be pathetic, she knew that these strangers thought so, but she liked her life just fine. Her mother had frequently told her such things, and as a tiny cub, all she had been able to do was cower. But now, a thought occurred to her, one so blindingly brilliant she was almost too dazzled to make use of it.
She was bigger than them.
Feebly, uncertainly, the grey lioness aimed a swat at the hyenas, letting out a hiss fit for a fussy cub.
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Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 3:29 pm
Sudaj didn't get offended when the lion swatted a paw out towards the collective group of hyenas. It was just such a pathetic, pitiful move. It wasn't like the raggedy little thing could take on the four of them, and it was a laughable move to even attempt such a thing.
He couldn't stop the laugh that rumbled up his throat. "She's dim," he muttered to the others with a short cackle. "Stupid and disgusting. We should kill her, that's my vote!" It would be a mercy killing, in his mind. The wretched thing was barely surviving as it was!
Bekeli didn't take the lion's half-hearted swat laying down. With blinding swiftness the lean hyena lurched forward and bit the lioness on the ear. How dare she make a threatening move towards them?! Didn't she realize she was utterly outnumbered? And foolish Sudaj, merely sitting on the sidelines and laughing about the whole situation. He didn't realize that it was their duty to protect the Queens until more apt and strong females joined their group!
"I will kill her where she sits if she tries to make another move like that," Bekeli spat, fire in his eyes.
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Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 4:59 pm
He bit her! Ouch! Yowch! Yipe! The grey lioness let out a squeal of pain. Her poor, sensitive ear! She had been bitten on the ear before, but it had been blessedly long since anyone had hurt her. The grey one's eyes teared up in pain and self-pity. Her new-found courage was draining out of her quickly. She wanted to swipe at that horrible mean hyena again, but she believed him when he said he would kill her. The grey lioness might be bigger than him, than all of them, but she was no match for these mean creatures and she knew it. But the brown hyena wanted to kill her just for doing nothing, so what was she to do? There was no way out!
"Please don't kill me! What do I do to make you stoooop?" The last word was drawled out into another cub-like wail, her voice thick with misery. She whipped her head around, gazing intently at all of the horrible things that had her surrounded. All of them wanted to kill her, the only one that hadn't threatened her was -
The grey one!
Knowing full well that the grey one that had swatted her probably wanted to kill her just as much of the rest of them, but having no choice, the grey lioness threw herself onto the ground at Bahari's feet. The lioness' paws clutched at the hyena's. "Don't kill me!"
Bahari stared down at the lion at her feet, ready to shoo off the males if they tried to bounce in and defend her. She didn't like lions one bit, nope, but something about the utter decrepitude of this beast ... amused her? Startling herself, Bahari laughed. She tugged her paw away from the lioness' and prodded gently at her. The grey lioness squeaked in terror but did not make another move.
"Why don't we keep her?"
"Why WOULD we keep her?" Dikeledi sputtered in astonishment.
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Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 11:30 am
Bekeli didn't understand why Bahari wanted to keep the gross little scrawny lion, but he tried. In his brain he mulled over all the reasons and options for keeping the lioness around, but he couldn't think of a good enough reason. So he forced himself to think even harder, and ..oh, there it was. "She can be our toy, our slave!" Excited now, he spun in a quick circle before yipping happily at Bahari. Oh, she was ever-so-smart, wasn't she? He figured this must be the reason he wanted to keep the unlucky lioness around, and it was a good enough reason for Bekeli. He liked the thought of having a slave to boss around, to do all the awful things he didn't want to have to take care of.
Sudaj grumbled softly to himself as he watched the wheels in Bekeli's feeble little brain turn. When he mentioned that they could mold the lioness into a little pet-slave, Sudaj couldn't actually find any reason to disagree. The lioness was dense enough that she'd take what was given to her and appreciate it, that was certain. Even if they were mean to her, Sudaj got the feeling that she wouldn't fight or even try to run. The stupid thing needed someone to look after her, even if it was being done with the most dishonorable of intentions.
"I say we keep her, then. Bekeli has made a good point."
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Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 4:22 pm
A slave? The thought really hadn't occurred to Dikeledi. She loathed lions, and would certainly rather kill than enslave one ... however, the idea had a certain appeal. She cocked her head thoughtfully, bright eyes narrowing. Keep the raggedy grey lioness around permanently? On the one paw, YECH, and on the other ... Dikeledi smirked. Yes, the grey lioness might be useful. She would keep that anxious, irritating grey male occupied, for one thing. He seemed absolutely delighted. And, how grand it would be to have a lioness as a slave! It would clearly show other beasts of the savannah how marvelously superior hyenas were, Dikeledi's little band in particular.
"All right. We'll keep her." She prodded at the lioness. "What do we call you?"
The grey lioness hadn't entirely followed this conversation, but it seemed that they weren't going to kill her. She peered up at the pink hyena nervously. "I... uh ... my mam called me Grey One."
The pink hyena just snorted and rolled her eyes to her sister, stomping away without looking back. The grey lioness stared after her nervously, before being urged to her feet by a poke from the grey hyena.
"We'll call you Manyara," Bahari said, eyeing her. Dikeledi was already moving, her decision made. Well, the lioness would just have to keep up. "We're going to look for water. Good thing, too, 'cause you're pretty dirty." Bahari moved to follow her sister, ignoring the young lioness now. If the lioness didn't follow, the two males could deal with her.
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