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 Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 2:43 pm
She splayed the toes of a forepaw and took a moment to groom between them, snuffing with irritation at the brambles tangled in the fur there.
Orenda had spent the last few days skulking in the strip of scrub land that had shielded her from potential troublemakers whilst the last of her wounds closed up. There was a gash in her shoulder which was healing nicely now and some scratches on her chest. In time the fur would grow back and none would be the wiser to the fight she had fought and won. In other circumstances, earning a 'trophy-scar' would have been considered something to wear with pride. These scars, however, could not fade away soon enough. They shamed her and she cursed herself - even now - for her lack of control. Cursed her dominant streak that did not allow for her to back down from a challenge.
Spitting out the extracted burrs, she rose onto all fours, shook herself vigorously and padded out across the hard-compacted ground. By the feel of it the rains had yet to come and even the tough grass was showing signs of wilt. Her stomach growled impatiently. A lack of grass meant no herds. No herds meant no lions to hunt them. No hunts meant no food to scavenge. Her stomach would thus remain empty.
She was a large hyena, bulky and tough with stark and intimidating markings scrawled across her face. Her dusty pelt was otherwise unblemished, blending well with her dry and bland surroundings.
Well, if she could not find food she would try to find water instead. Even the muddy remains in a watering hole would suit her. To get some moisture in her parched mouth would give her the strength to continue her travels to a much more fruitful land than this barren, horrible place.
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 2:57 pm
Despite the harsh landscape, Kepo felt fairly cheerful. He had met many interesting people during his time out in the roguelands. He hadn't managed to convince anyone to come home with him, which was kind of a downer, but he had planted seeds. The young adult was quite convinced that all of the females he had met and impressed with his greatness would show up at the clan sooner or later, won over by his charm.
The land was barren, dull and inhospitable. Kepo didn't mind, even though he was hungry and his throat felt dry as dust. Home was far away, but he knew the way there. Soon he would be back with his clan. He thought briefly of his brothers and sisters, mostly adults themselves by now, and wondered if they had ever had adventures like him. Probably not. And certainly his horrible, vile cousin Kele had never gone on an adventure.
Distracting himself from the journey through the barren land with his thoughts of home, Kepo didn't notice the strange female immediately. When he did he raised his head, his ears perked up. He hadn't thought he would meet anyone else on his way home, but he was in luck! Maybe this hyena would join him and impress all the clan. Kepo changed course and began trotting towards her, quite delighted.
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 3:11 pm
Sadly, it was highly unlikely that Orenda would be happy to see him.
She failed to notice him until it was too late. Unable to divert her course or make for the undergrowth to hide, she turned instead to face him. Drawing her ears forward and lifting her tail in typical dominance stance, she bared her teeth at him, growling deep in her throat.
He was a young male with a pelt that was also well-suited to the dry, golden-brown terrain. Most would think that meeting another of their species would please Orenda.
It did not.
However, at least the hyena was a male. Orenda tended to be calmer around males, purely because she didn't view them as a threat to her authority. And though she was not part of a pack, she viewed herself as a queen whether she travelled alone or not. Another female would have riled her and in the bad mood she was in, an attack would surely have followed. And, as he drew closer still, she wondered whether he might prove useful after all. If he was a local he might be able to point her in the direction of water or perhaps a passing herd. She was not so proud that she'd forgo an easy meal or drink.
She exhaled sharply through her nostrils and lifted her head a little higher. "You're either brave or stupid to approach so brashly."
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 3:22 pm
Kepo drew up short when the female growled at him. Obviously this female wasn't like some of the bland, unnaturally pleasant females he had met in his wanderings. Her face was a little strange looking, but the rest of her was a nice neutral clannish color that Kepo automatically thought of as Right. The way she was growling was Right, too.
Kepo might be in the middle of a parched land, confronting a stranger, but he felt right at home.
He backed away a bit, not wanting to seem rude to this female. He did raise his head though, feeling a bit proud (as always) when invited to talk about himself. "I'm smart," he said confidently. "You're beautiful. It would have been stupid not to approach you." This was said a simple statement of fact. Females had always been in charge throughout Kepo's life, but he had never learned to simper and fawn. His father was a cringing whiner. Kepo knew his place, but he was also quite confident that he was the best male hyena around.
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 3:28 pm
Orenda expected a lot of things from random encounters such as these. She expected snarky comments. Anger. Irritation. The snapping of teeth and the lifting of hackles. What she didn't expect, however, was the blunt flattery that was thrown her way. Her snarl faded for the briefest of moments, accompanied with the slight widening of her eyes. Then a second later and she was back to herself; snarl firmly planted and paws set evenly on the ground to give her a good bracing position should he think to attack her.
"Oh. I see. Like that is it." She eyed him critically, snorting. "Well, maybe come find me when you're a little older, kid."
She drew her head up higher still, setting her jaw. "But since you insisted on being 'smart' and approaching me, perhaps you can be of some little use. Do you know the area?" She wasn't sure whether she wanted to admit that she did not know the lay of the land here in case it left her vulnerable.
But again...the need for sustenance overcame any worries she might have had about being lured into a trap. Even still, despite his rather blunt words, he did at least seem to be respectful. A good sign, at least.
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 3:50 pm
Being flirted with by Kepo was generally about as smooth and subtle as being hit by a hammer. It tended to work for him, though. He liked ladies that were a bit on the nasty side, and his blunt flattery usually startled them enough to make them take notice of him. He smiled at her rather critical comeback, not at all put off. He liked older ladies.
Kepo was happy that the female liked him enough to ask for his help, but unfortunately he had little help to give. He frowned thoughtfully.
"My home is far from here, but I've been this way before," Kepo said finally. He glanced around them. "I didn't stay here long. I'm passing through as fast as I can, on my way back home." Would it be too soon to ask her to come with him? Probably.
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 3:58 pm
She curled a lip, furrowing her long, square snout. "Should a hyena wander so far from his pack? In my experience they'll turn on you the moment you step back into the territory. Traitorous behaviour, or so I was taught." She shook her head, growling anew. "But that matters little to me. If you're foolish enough to wander freely across the unclaimed lands than you certainly won't be of any use to me."
She turned her head a little to gaze out past his shoulder. "Answer me this, male: the direction you just came from. Was the land...greener?"
Grass would mean herds and hunting and scavenging. She smiled to think of it; stealing a lion's kill out from under its nose. Yes, lions could be strong, but hyena's were strong, too. Short, stocky but tough, with incredibly strong jaws. Even a lion would hesitate at fighting with a hyena one on one. If there were others...well, that wouldn't be so easy, but hopefully she'd strike lucky. After all, luck had generally been on her side, why should it leave her now?
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 4:09 pm
Kepo was fairly well flabbergasted at her accusation of treachery. His jaw dropped open. For one of a very few times in his life, he was momentarily speechless. Him? Betray his clan? And the idea of his beloved clan turning on him when he returned was equally incomprehensible. It was nightmarish!
He shook his head to clear it, unable to process her first remarks right now. "No. It's not green. It's worse than this. Nothing but old bones."
Through his shock, Kepo was beginning to grow somewhat irritated. The accusation of treachery was stunning, but it was also ... infuriating. Yes, infuriating. Even though this female was beautiful, strong, and aggressive, Kepo still found himself growing angry. "And I'm not a traitor," Kepo said stiffly. "I'm looking for strong females to join our clan. It is a very important job!"
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 4:26 pm
Brilliant. Just brilliant.
Her growl increased in its intensity at his description of the land that lay beyond and, not wanting to look to distraught, turned her head to glance across in another direction instead. She would head east instead, then, and see if that faired better.
She would probably have just moved on if he hadn't decided to vent his anger at that particular moment. His tone halted her movement and she turned to glance over her shoulder at him, hiking a brow. "An important job for a male, I suppose." She snapped. "And if you were hoping to recruit me, you will find yourself leaving empty-pawed. Me and authority don't mix, otherwise I'd be back with the pack I grew up in." She shut her jaws tightly together and flattened her ears. "Better off without them. Better off without anyone, in fact. Out here, I'm my own master. But I wouldn't expect a lowly male to understand that."
And hungry and tired and...well, pretty miserable, but she wasn't about to say that.
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 4:33 pm
The strange female's withering scorn for his gender did not phase Kepo one bit. He had grown up with females that were equally brash and ... well, obnoxious was a fair way of putting it. In Kepo's mind, that was simply the way females acted.
He was still feeling irritated over her assumptions, though. He scowled, unable to stop himself. "No, I don't understand that." He wouldn't outright call a female foolish, even if she had crazy ideas, but being alone was just awful. "Being without anyone is terrible. It's hard to hunt. And there's no one around." Kepo glanced around them wistfully, as though his ten brothers and sisters, mother, father, aunt, uncle, cousins and the rest of his clan might pop up out of hiding.
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Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 11:32 am
The snarl instantly snapped back into place at his tone. "You don't understand it because you've never tried it." Her hackles lifted and she turned back to glare at him, taking a step forwards. "Alone, I answer to know one. I'm tired of fighting for dominance."
She snapped her jaws closed, annoyed for revealing that snip of information in her anger. She drew her head up and growled louder, leaning forwards on her forepaws. "I know what it's like to live in a pack, kid. It's pointless to feed me that garbage. Pack life is just as hard. I'd rather take my chances out here."
She snorted angrily but seemed determined not to back down now, almost as if trying to bait him into a fight.
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Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 5:49 am
It really went against the grain for Kepo to argue with a female, but this female was insulting his whole way of life! His whole clan! He had to defend their honor! Shaking with righteous indignation, his fur puffed up, Kepo glared at the ornery female.
Pack life might have seemed hard to an outsider, but life with his constantly squabbling family was all Kepo had ever known. His family might be a pack of jerks and crazies, but he fit in with them just fine, thankyouverymuch. And their company was infinitely better than the dull loneliness of life on the outside. Fighting with your relatives over status or food or the best den was a lot better than fighting with the big nasty lions that roamed freely through the outside world. Ugh.
"You just never lived in my clan," Kepo said haughtily. "It's the best clan there is. And I'd rather fight for dominance with my stupid brothers and cousins than ... than some strangers!" He shook his head. "What if some disgusting lion takes your food? My clan could beat them off, but all alone..." He shook his head again. Kepo loathed the feeling of vulnerability that came from being outside the clan.
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Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 1:14 pm
Well, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that particular point." Orenda snarled, drawing up her head and taking another half-step forwards, not quite setting down a fore-paw. She was deciding quite quickly that this male was one to be wary of. He was pleasant enough, apparently, when you went along with his plans. But, fight against them and he seemed to anger quite quickly.
"A lion who steals my food is a dead lion." She snapped, spittle gathering on her teeth and gums. "Just as a male hyena who mocks my way of life." She snapped her jaws together viciously and with a warning growl, she bore her teeth.
"Take my advice, kid. If you want to bring any females back to your clan, I'd change tactic. Now. Get out of my face." She growled low and loud at him before turning and stalking away, moving slowly but not glancing over her shoulder at him - despite the fact that she wanted to.
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 7:24 am
Mocking her way of life? Kepo felt wounded. He hadn't meant to mock this female or insult her, but she was basically insulting his whole clan and all of the females in it! They would likely never know or care about him defending them to a rogue, but he couldn't just go along with her and agree that clan life was terrible.
He stared as the unreasonable, irritable rogue female turned and stomped away. Suggesting that he change tactics hurt his pride a bit. How else could he convince her to join his clan, if not by telling her about how great it was? "You already made up your mind about clans before I even told you about it!" Kepo called weakly.
"You should be more open-minded!" There. There it was. Possibly the most hypocritical statement ever made, but of course Kepo didn't notice the irony.
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