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 Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 4:23 pm
 The valley was beautiful and Beo paused for a moment to drink in the site of it. The rains had left everything not only smelling clean and clear, but fully in bloom. The golden maned hyena didn't think he'd ever seen the sky so blue before or the acacia trees so green.
The thick Serengeti grasses were a vibrant, lush, color , dotted with the red blooms of the sisal agave plants, and the smaller yellow and lavender wild flowers that bloomed for so short a time, but oh so brightly.
It was breath taking, and as magnificent as it was to view from his bench above the den's of his home, it was truly glorious this close. It was as if the paws of the Gods had come down to bless the creatures in their domain with such beauty and such life.
He only wished Yenji could see it so, that he could share it with her.
Turning such thoughts aside, the male closed his amber eyes, and took in a deep breath, savoring the peace of the moment, and above all, the life of it.
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Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 5:14 am
At the very least, it was something and the optimistic, if wry, Hyena took this as an encouraging sign. Having been cast out of her former pack for one of the most ridiculous misunderstandings she could possibly imagine, Hilarion and her sibling had then set about exploring. In doing so, they had proceeded to track down a new home and had found one (sort of) - suffice to say her sister had settled quite easily into the new found pack and while Hilarion had found it just as easy, there were occasions when she felt like wandering.
Fortunately for the hyena she was female and as a consequence, permitted to wander here and there as she so pleased so long as she didn't bring disripute to her pack. Admittedly, she wasn't terribly good at the latter but this was often down to her unusual sense of humour. Ah, but so few in this world ever truly appreciated the wit she possessed, not until circumstances were dire and she made one of her renowned and facepaw worthy remarks that cheered everyone up.
A week or so ago she had elected to deviate from her pack's territory, embracing the opportunity to explore the new sights and sounds around her. It would have been an understatement to say that this region was considerably different from her former home and she simply couldn't turn down the chance to explore it. Even the gods favoured her as the seasons had shifted and there had been ample supplies for her journey.
All things considered, the female was making incredibly good progress and it was with a delighted hum that she trotted along, her tail swinging back and forth as she pressed on into the Wilds. Ah but what adventures awaited her today, hm? She cast a quick request to the gods to provide her with something pleasant as she wasn't really in the mood to run for dear life, if they really wanted her to do that, she'd like to think it would be a little later down the line when she was feeling more energetic!
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 8:44 pm
Beo had just settled down under the shade of one of the trees, content for the moment to let his thoughts wander toward his Pride and those dear to his heart he'd left behind for these few short weeks. Perhaps he could bring back some kind of trinkets for the cubs, or maybe a pelt or two for Eva's healer's den. Gods above only knew there was always need of more paws and more supplies.
For a moment, he wondered what it would be like not to have to worry about such things, to simply enjoy life in the moment, like now? Would it be peaceful like this, or have its own set of hurdles to over come?
With his mind on such thoughts, it wasn't until the soft sound he had been hearing unconsciously became the hum of a song that his ears flicked forward and swiveled back to find the source. Lifting his nose to the wind, he searched for a scent, and found it...canine...female...and by the sound of it about to break out of the tall grass just in front of the tree he rested under.
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Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 6:50 am
He rested downwind from her and as such, remained undetected. Unaware of his existence, the female continued on without regard for what she was about to stumble across and, sure enough, in no time at all she had broken through the tallest of the grasses and into his immediate vicinity. It was here that she paused and sucked in a deep breath, revelling in the fact that no seeds or pollen were snorted into her nostrils.
Aha, but it was in these moments that Beo flickered into her peripheral vision and she paused momentarily. Her ears pricked, her tail stilled and slowly she swivelled her head round to examine the stranger. He wasn't too far from her, a little off to the side and comfortably curled up beneath the trees. However, it was clear from the start that he was no wild dog and closer inspection indicated that he was a Hyena.
Fancy that!
Her lips crept up into a mild smile at this revelation and her tail cave a slight wag of recognition. He seemed like the contemplative sort, not nearly energetic enough to turn her in to his next meal - did Hyenas even eat their own? It would be terribly cannibalistic but piqued her interest just a little - it would be something to investigate.
"Good morning!"
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 3:59 pm
Beo had half stood when the other hyena had cleared the tall grass, shaking out his golden mane, a warm smile on his face. In the long days of his traveling she had been the first hyena he had seen and he had almost given up hope that he would find any that were not attached to a pack.
Inclining his head to her politely, he answered her in his earth rich voice, " Good morning Lady."
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 4:35 pm
Ha! Well she was certainly a female that hadn't completely dedicated herself to a pack yet. Her sister was determined to do so, but Hilarion had never really been sold on the idea. She couldn't quite put her paw on it but she was fairly certain that her sibling needed the company whereas Hilarion was suitably more self sufficient, hell, it might have been safe to assume that the hyena was capable of keeping herself perfectly occupied while isolated and alone - not that this was her preference, but she could do it.
Alas, as Beo responded with the name, or was it 'title', of Lady, she couldn't help but release a hearty laugh. It was perhaps a touch raucous as she had always possessed a rather throaty chuckle, but it certainly held no malice. She was an individual of good humour despite what the stereotype of her species might be and as a consequence, the implications that she was any sort of 'noble' was of amusement to her.
"Gads no, I'm no lady," she announced with a dramatic snort and a shake of her head. "Call me Hilarion if you must be polite," she remarked and tilted her head to the side. "Or Illi, if you're feeling more casual," she added with a wave of her paw. "Let's go with Illi, I'm really not feeling the whole superiority complex thing this morning."
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 4:50 pm
Beo chuckled, his own laugh warm and rich. It was a good sound, made for its purpose, like it should be used often in joy. It spoke of a gentle nature with a wicked wit and enjoyable humor. Yet somehow behind its easy tone, there was a lingering sadness that could not be erased, and as the handsome male sat down on his hunches it lingered there, haunting it and his beautiful amber eyes.
" I am Buliwyf, but if we are being informal, it is just Beo. It is a pleasure to met you Illi. I thought for a moment that I might be the last hyena on the savaana."
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 5:03 pm
"Ha!" Her laughter came across as a touch raucous again and she waved her paw dismissively. It would become quickly apparent that the female was not one for such sentiments, nor did she appear to be overly concerned by whatever appeared to be haunting him. Suffice to say that Illi was not a hyena who excelled at the more complex emotions in the animal psyche, she could certainly cheer folks up, but she had never really sought to understand the full depths of the issue.
Too much work - way too much drama.
"Sweetie if we were the last on the savanah then I would be able to get to sleep at night without having to listen to the constant croonings near the slopes," she pointed out. It was at this point that she sat herself down and coiled her tail around her paws. She arched a brow, canted her head to the side and regarded him for a few moments before speaking again. "Gotta say, the whole 'drunk and tone deaf' thing really doesn't fly with me..."
"Startin' to think all you males are special around here, little cuckoo and possibly dropped off a ledge as pups -" she mused and released a sigh. "Unless that's supposed to work around here and I missed the memo - I've missed a lotta those lately," she conceded.
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 5:17 pm
Beo gave a slight frown, not understanding, " Drunk and tone deaf? I am afraid I am not sure I am getting your reference. I do not indulge in fermented fruits, and when I do sing, I assure you it is on key." He got a very puzzled look on his muzzle, " and why would you imply that I am stupid or that my parents would be so careless as to damage me as a child?"
While she may be a rather lovely female, he wasn't entirely sure that she herself had not been left out in the sun as a pup and had her own development stunted somehow.
" I am not from here, but from the mountains far to the north."
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 5:29 pm
Oh dear, it appeared she had encountered another hyena who just didn't get her humour. It seemed there were a lot of 'em around here, if it wasn't blatantly obvious then they never got the reference. For a brief moment, an expression of disappointment flickered onto her features and her ears flattened against her neck - well, she really shouldn't have expected miracles, now should she? She gave herself a brief second to chastise her optimism and then shook her head, the moment dismissed as being 'just one of those things'.
"You know what," she murmured after a few moments and shook her head. "Doesn't matter, jokes not funny if ye gotta explain it," she conceded. She then rolled her shoulders and as she relaxed and recovered a certain amount of her usual composure, her ears perked up again. However, given his inability to understand her humour this did make things a little awkward from a social perspective - it wasn't that she couldn't chatter his ear off, just that she was fairly certain he wouldn't get the reference and the gods only knew that awkward silences sucked.
"From around here or not, ye really aren't all that different from the rest of 'em," she said finally and pursed her lips. "'Cept for not bein' tone deaf, 'parently yer excluded from that part of the category..."
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 5:46 pm
Beo had lived all his life among lions and others who sometimes could only express themselves by para-language and it was clear by her's that he'd upset her by not understanding her since of humor, and for some reason he could not really explain, it bothered him greatly.
He lifted his paw and set it down over hers, " I am sorry I didn't understand the joke. Where I am from there is very little to joke about and I am out of practice. I think I could use some laughter, and some humor . Just bare with me if I am slow to it."
Beo sighed, thinking that perhaps what he had chosen to do was impossible. " If you want the shade, you can have it. I should be on my was as it is. I am looking for a female who might want to spend some time with me. My Pride is dying, and I need pups to take back. You see, hyenas are immune to the disease. We are the ones who help take care of the sick, we bury the dead...but we are being overwhelmed by it all. There are to many, and to few of us."
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 6:09 pm
"Hey no!" she waved her paw again and chuckled. It was clear that this female was one who recovered quickly and she certainly didn't take offence. There were no hard feelings, he might not have gotten her humour but this didn't offend her in the slightest. She'd dealt with bigger issues in her life and if she got upset over this, then people would wonder how she'd managed not to implode at the rest! It was with this in mind that an easy smile formed on her lips.
"Ye think that not getting someone's humour is somethin' to apologise over?" she enquired and rolled her eyes. "Sweetie ye got that all backwards - if ye don't get the joke, then that means the stand up has gotta work on her routine," she explained and motioned to herself. "Stand-up bein' me, ye follow?" she clarified. She hadn't been cracking another joke, but it seemed necessary to explain certain elements of her vocabulary to the male.
Still, it seemed that he was a tender soul and he had taken it more quickly to heart than she had anticipated. He hadn't even given her a chance to be offended before he had become sheepish, withdrawn and deadset on making a quick exit. Oof, but if that didn't hurt a girl's pride, especially with what he he said next. It should have come at no surprise that her eyebrows both raised and her cheeks puffed out in the fashion of a hamster.
"Clearly yer definition of time is mighty specific, ain't it?" she observed at last, wandering passed the male to hop up onto the more sheltered ledge. "Gotta say, don't envy yer position and I don't reckon they pay ye much either," she mused, flicking her tail off to the side before it came to rest on the top of her right, hind paw. "How come it ain't cheetahs and leopards too - or are ye tellin' me it's a full blown kitty plague?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 6:24 pm
He laughed, the sound a little sardonic, " No the pay is not very good at all, and the hours are very long." He watched her as she jumped onto a higher ledge, admiring the graceful why she moved, even if she wasn't aware of it.
" Yes, I guess it is. The definition of time. I never really thought about it that way. I suppose it is because it is day by day for us. I tend to care for the little ones, the cubs. My time is gauged by their young lives, how short they are and what life I can show them in the time they are allowed."
He sat back down, looking up at her through the fall of his golden mane, the bangs having fallen over his amber eyes in a rather pupish fashion, " There are other felines, but only a handful. The plague scares most of them, and we keep our borders closed as tight as we can. If we are not vigilant the disease could very well escape and the devastation would be catastrophic, worse if it mutated somehow.
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 6:36 pm
"No worse than a famine when the waters don't come," Illi remarked with a small 'hup' sound. She then lay down, fidgeting until she was in a more comfortable spot and shook her head. She'd never heard of this 'disease' pride, nor did she completely understand how it could possibly be healthy or right to deliberately bring children into it. The logical side of her and the decent part of her did have to question if there wasn't a massive moral question in there somewhere. This plague-thingy was contagious and yet they brought their kittens into the world and then ultimately, killed them with it.
"I dunno," she murmured after a few moments. "Gotta say, a pride of cannibalism is probably more decent than that lot. Least they wouldn't torture their offspring before killin' 'em," she pointed out. It was perhaps a remark that Beo would not appreciate, but it was likely to be one he would encounter throughout these lands. Illi may not have been a mother and nor had she experienced any maternal urges, but she was fairly certain that most sane parents didn't subject their children to that sort of thing.
In fact, wasn't there something to do with defying your duty as a parent in there somewhere? To protect your pups from harm and all that jazz?
"Can't say I blame 'em if they stay away then," she mused and lifted her brow, her expression just a touch scathing. "I mean, even I would avoid a pride that deliberately tortures it's own young," she continued. "So why is it that you even let it happen, eh? Is their free food involved or something, that's usually why hyenas sell 'emselves out to that kinda thing..."
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 6:53 pm
Beo gave her that same wane smile he had given her before, knowing that there was no way to explain hope to someone who had never needed it. Oh there were those who thought they did, who thought that they needed that rain to come, or that herd to have that one sick or wounded animal to be able to bring down, and he supposed in a way that was a form of hope...but it was not the hope that his Pride needed.
No their's was a hope that from the ashes their was still life, that life could still be found, that love could still create, that there was still...faith in something that did not condemn everything to death and horror. Why did the Pride struggle to survive? The same reason that every living thing did, because life was worth the moments you were given, perhaps his Pride understood it better then most.
It was useless to explain, and from the arrogant expression she wore and the haughty tone she spoke with, he could guess she never had truly known loss or hardship, or the soul wrenching pain he and his had known and he offered a prayer to the god's she never had to.
" My meals are provided for me, for I am a ...speaker for the dead." It was the best way he could explain his position among the Kitwana'antara.
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