Manyara hacked loudly as she spat bone shards out on to the ground. Kele had shown her to a place to sleep for the night, and after a little not so subtle convincing had gotten him to leave her be. It was cute, in a sick little way, how he doted on her. There were ways she could use it to her advantage, as she had in obtaining this bit of shelter and food. He had told her of the others, but she had had little time after arriving before she put up her guard and went to sleep, the newer carcass pinned tight beneath her chest. Now she merely wanted to clean the bones and look around, but she found herself a little annoyed that her little noise maker had not returned.
Bahari had been busy. She hadn't been paying much attention to the pups, but that was excusable. She and Manyara-the-slave had been guarding their borders, fighting off vicious rogue lionesses all on their own. It wasn't an easy job! The male hyenas, as inept as they were, should be taking care of the pups.
The grey hyena had no idea that her nephew Kele had been wandering around alone. She certainly had no idea that Kele had brought a strange hyena home. She was trudging towards the dens, satisfied that she and Manyara had soundly beaten the intruding lioness, when she was startled by the sound of someone coughing. The hyena was very familiar with the sounds (and smells - poor Bekeli) of her family, and the cough sounded unfamiliar to her. Her hackles rose.
"MANYARA!" Bahari shouted, calling for her loyal slave lioness. The unlikely team had beaten one threat, and they would surely crush this new one. She stalked towards the source of the sound, ready to strike if she saw that damn nosy rogue lioness again.
"WHAAAT?!" Maynara shouted, a growl breaking into her voice. The little noise maker had equally loud family, it seemed. She didn't get to her feet, figuring the one that was breaking her peace would show themselves. It sounded female, hopefully less daft than the little male. "I'm not deaf you know!" she added in a shriek, "Whatever the little Kelele has told you!" She shifted, propping herself up on her elbows with the bone pinned between her paws.
The answering shout was loud, but it wasn't the bellow of an enraged lioness. It sounded like ... a hyena. A female one, yelling as though she knew Bahari. For a strange, dizzying moment Bahari thought that it was her sister, the only adult female hyena around. But ... no. Of course it wasn't her sister. It must be a strange female hyena.
A strange female hyena that sounded as though she had every right to be there. Bahari hastened her approach and stopped when she saw the stranger. She was still prepared to fight if this intruder was aggressive, but was this female really an intruder? The pups had been ranging about all over the savannah, it seemed, trying to find appropriate mates. Perhaps this female had been invited. If so, whoever had invited her (one of the boys, it must have been) would get a good thrashing. Strangers couldn't just wander around doing as they pleased without being introduced to the queens.
Still, on the slim chance that Dikeledi knew of this female, Bahari decided to remain calm. "Kelele hasn't told me anything," Bahari said, her voice a good deal lower than it had been just moments before. She was still cautious, ready to yell for Manyara again if the situation got ugly, but she was beginning to relax. "One of the boy pups? I can't keep track of their names, either." She eyed the stranger. "Who are you? I am Bahari. My sister Dikeledi and I are the queens of this clan." This was said very calmly, with no pride or haughtiness, a simple statement of fact.
"Manyara," she said with a nod, a crooked smile coming over her face. She tilted her head so that the other female remained steadily in the line of her good eye, the other heavily scarred and hidden behind her mane. "So you're one of the ones he mentioned," she said calmly, getting to her feet for an awkward shallow bow, "A little pup with pink fur over his back, little noisy thing, brought me here last night. If I'd known he hadn't mentioned me I'd have clopped him for you." She might yet, if she saw the pup again later on. She didn't like being put on the spot for other's mistakes.
Pink fur. That was Dikeledi's boy, then. She supposed Kelele was as good a name as any. His actual name was just another Ke-something, like most of the rest of the boys. It was a relief to know that it wasn't one of her pups. Dikeledi could take care of the pup's punishment, and Bahari wouldn't have to have anything to do with it.
Too taken aback by the name 'Manyara' to comment, Bahari didn't do anything but nod until the other hyena had finished speaking. Was that a joke ...? How could it be? This hyena was a stranger, she didn't know them or their slave. It wasn't as though there were unlimited names in the world, after all. Relaxing further at Manyara-the-hyena's comment about clopping Kelele, Bahari cracked a lazy smile. The grey hyena laughed. Yes, she liked this female. She was polite to Bahari, and seemed to have the proper temperament.
"I'll leave that to his mom," Bahari said, grinning. "I wasn't shouting for you earlier, I was calling for our slave. She's got the same name. Didn't mean to startle you."
"Yes, the noisy one told me about the slave," she said with a sigh, "Do all the little males shout so much?" It was nice to know at least that she hadn't been called for in such a way. It wouldn't be a good start to her time here by being punished. It seemed though that she needn't even worry about the punishment of Kelele, which would bode well for the future. The less discipling she needed to do the more appealing she could make herself seems. "You've got quite the place," she continued, "I saw plenty of gangly little pups running about on our way here."
Amused at the other female's observations, Bahari shrugged. "I try to stay away from 'em as much as possible, myself," she said cheerfully. "We usually have the males or the lioness trying to take care of the boys. They know their place, but they can be very ... yappy. And stupid." That was not said unkindly. Most of the boys - all of them, if you wanted to be exact - were a bit ... off. It was no fault of their own, really, just their gender. Poor benighted little things.
"It's not a bad place. Good hunting, plenty of room for pups. There are too many of 'em to count these days, seems like." Bahari smiled at the strange hyena. It was difficult to think of her as a Manyara, she seemed so strong and intelligent. "We could use some more strong females," Bahari said mildly, watching for Manyara's reaction. Had the other hyena decided to stay, or had she just followed Kelele for a free meal?
"So I heard," she said with a nod of her head, settling down on her haunches, "The little Kelele had the impression he had claimed me as his mate. I don't think he'll foster any such delusions for a while again." She hadn't been crass about it, she simply hadn't let him take the things he seemed to think he had earned. It was about control after all, and she had learned not to relinquish it. It didn't help his case that he annoyed her. "I'd planned to leave, but I haven't decided again yet, there might be more here than I'd bargained for. What sort of jobs can a girl find under you two?"
Bahari couldn't help herself. The idea of little Kele claiming anyone, let alone a strong female like Manyara, as his mate ... it was hilarious. Ludicrous. She let out a burst of laughter, delighted. That would be another thing for Dikeledi to talk to the pup about. "Both of those brown pups are too cocky for their own good," she said, highly amused. "Dikeledi will talk to them." Even if this new female chose to leave, Bahari was happy that she had visited for a time. It had been a while since she'd heard such a hilarious story. She shrugged, thinking over Manyara's question. "We need more females to help us keep control of this land. Lions ... well, we need to be able to beat them back if they try to take our territory. We need hunters, as well." She grinned. "Hunters, warriors ... any female with a brave heart would be welcome. Even if you just wanted to keep the males and the slaves in line."
Warriors, her jaws curled into a warped smile, showing teeth marred with gouges. She had been raised in the life, and had been craving an outlet since. It was frowned upon for her to pick a fight whenever the urge struck, it made rogue life much too difficult to create so many enemies. But within a pack, with his sisters to defend her actions, it was different. "Bahari then, I believe you'll be pleased to know you've stumbled upon someone with a certain... Taste, for violence." It was also unfortunately how her eye had become so damaged.
An enemy would surely have quailed at the sight of those battered teeth bared, those scars that spoke of a life spent fighting. Bahari was pleased. This other female was fierce indeed. But she didn't seem to be uncontrolled or unintelligent, a brute. No, she was a sister with a warrior's heart. Silly little Kele had done them a favor by finding Manyara. "Nothing is more important than protecting ourselves," Bahari said, grinning at Manyara. "As long as you can stand the little yappers, I think you'll like it here. Welcome, sister."
"I think I'll find some entertainment in them, should they all be as untempered as Kelele," he said with a laugh, gripping the bone between her paws once more, "Sister, I could get used to that. I'll be at you call then, Queen Bahari." It seemed this pack was unlike others she had seen before, it celebrated the superiority her fellow females held in most areas. A convenient place to live out her days, perhaps she'd even find one of the little yappers worthy of giving her cubs.
