Ulozi was stretched out in a tree, very much enjoying the height and the shelter from the hot sun. She felt like she had been padding through open savannah for weeks. Which was likely accurate, as it had been some time since she last saw a completely shaded or tree laden area. Even this one was a bit sparse, though the trees looked old and sturdy. Sturdy enough to support an adult lioness laying across a few of them, at the very least. That was all she needed of it, yawning and letting her paws dangle toward the floor.
She opened her eyes when she heard something snap underneath her, wondering why someone had the audacity to interrupt her sleep. She looked down to see a leopardess staring up at her. What was this about? She frowned at the creature, scowling with an angry enough expression that usually got the point that she was not a friendly lioness across rather quickly. The leopardess, mottled and orange in color, faded at her paws and stronger on her back and face, continued to stare at her with a completely unaffected expression.
Why is it Ulozi always ran into these kinds of creatures? The weird ones.
“You are in my spot,” Bandua said, flicking her tail behind her in irritation. Ulozi arched an eyebrow at that. So that was why she was staring at the lioness so intently? It almost made sense: Ulozi had thought the branches were rather perfect for laying in. That might have been, if the leopard was telling the truth, because she had broken them in already and perfected the bed by laying in it quite a lot. The leopard pressed on. “You are sleeping in my home. You should get down from there.”
“Or what?” Ulozi dared, never intimidated. Especially not by a leopard.
“I did not indicate that there would be an or. It is not an option. You must get down from my tree.”
The way she spoke was very level. Even. Without much inflection or emotion, though her eyes were blazing. It was clear from her gaze that she was furious and would, in fact, try to drag the lioness down from the tree if she had to. But she held herself calmly, did not let her body betray her, and her tone was unsettlingly calm. Ulozi sat up a bit, looking down at her with a much more interested and critical gaze now. Just who was this creature, and why was she so… confident?
Was she a good fighter?
To Ulozi, confidence was born of strength. If someone knew they could win, then they acted like it. This leopardess was acting like she knew she could get the lion out of her tree, which made Ulozi just a bit edgy. Not intimidated, though, Never intimidated. She just needed to know if she was, in fact, stepping into dangerous territory by testing this creature’s patience. She eyed Bandua, scowling, and the leopardess just stared back at her with her blazing eyes.
“Well, I’m not getting down.”
Alas, Ulozi was plagued by stubbornness.
Bandua, on the other hand, had a wealth of patience and understanding on good days. It was very difficult to make her angry, but Ulozi had happened to press one of her few, strange buttons. That was her tree. No one else had the right to lay in it. That fat lioness was going to weigh the branches wrong, ruin the strength of the setting. She would destroy all the nights of forming that bed perfectly to her own body by invading it as she was. That was not fair. That was not something Bandua would stand for. This was her home, her tree, her branches, and everyone around here knew better than to try and sleep there.
Except for this trespasser.
“Get out of my tree. You are pushing me on purpose. Do you wish to be hurt? You need only ask.”
That made Ulozi angry. She did not like being so effectively threatened: effectively because she felt a shudder move down her spine. One that she did not want to feel, and was furious that she had been made to do so. She did not fear anything or anyone, damn it, and if she had to prove that fact to herself then she would do it. No leopard was going to make her change her mind. No leopard was going to make her back down. No one made her feel any kind of doubt or fear and got away with it.
She, unfortunately, also suffered from a lot of pride.
“I’ll kill you first!” She growled, getting up and standing on the branches. Something snapped under her, and through that something snapped in Bandua’s mind. In a flash she was leaping up at the tree, claws racked forward. Ulozi lashed down, trying to bite at the leopard’s head, but the other managed to get her claws into Ulozi’s front legs and tug her with surprising strength. It was because Bandua had gotten her back legs on the tree, latching on with her well toned back claws, perfectly shaped for climbing. With that brace, she was able to tug Ulozi out of the tree.
Just like she had said she would. Or had she said it? Ulozi could not remember.
She was a bit busy being dizzy and laying on the floor, her front legs bleeding. She shook her head, pushing herself up. The injuries were not severe, but certainly embarrassing and painful. She looked up the tree to see the leopardess was standing in her bed, nuzzling the branches, trying to fix them. She settled down, tail hanging down languidly, eyes settling on Ulozi now that their positions had been switched. She seemed much calmer now, as well, like once Ulozi had been taken from the tree all her rage had gone with it.
Ulozi left without another word. She was not happy. Not happy at all. She was not going to stick around and let the leopard mock her with that smug, silence stuff she was pulling. Ulozi knew what she was really doing. She was being condescending, basking in getting the lioness out of the tree. Whatever: what did she care? She would come back, then show that leopard what for. Once her legs healed, of course. And… once enough time had gone by so the leopard was not expecting it.
Yeah, then she would totally get the stupid orange leopard back for that cheap shot.
(Word Count in Word: 1,087)
