Libra peered through the long grass. Her ears alternated, flicking forward to catch the strange sounds that were coming from the equally odd creatures out in the field, and then pinning back. She didn't like the smell of them, whatever they were. And the noise as they'd stampeded in was deafening. They were strange, and new, and she wasn't sure if they were to be feared yet. But if they were, she felt like she ought to know now, and then set up a perimeter to warn others away until they kept migrating. If they were safe...well then, she would be the first to welcome them to the roguelands. So strange though. She'd never seen a creature with no fur on two legs before...
It was a dust cloud, like from a stampede, that had gotten Delphia's attention. She was out hunting, giving her mate time to relax, and had thought that a stampede might possibly result in injured animals, making them easy prey. She had traveled quite a distance to reach the spot, but now wasn't entirely sure she should have after all. The creatures that seemed responsible didn't look like any prey she'd ever hunted, nor any predator she was familiar with. They smelled odd, their scent glands giving off an acrid tang that seemed more functional to drive others away rather than identify or entice. She stayed well out of direct sight, after her first glimpse, and instead circled the place they had stopped. It wasn't long before she spotted another lioness, and crept up next to her. "Do you know what they are?" she whispered softly, a mere breath that barely rustled the grass stalks before their faces.
Libra had been intent on the odd creatures (they seemed to be mainly standing around, making their odd noises, and occasionally scraping at the ground for who knew what) and the other lioness startled her, but she quickly settled back down. She shook her head. "No...I've never seen anything like them before." She took a slow deep breath. "I didn't think I was down wind of them...but they can't smell so strong that I can smell them upwind, can they? They smell bad..." She grimaced. "I take it you don't know what they are either. I was hoping they'd be some kind of prey...There's enough predators around." She eyed one that knelt to work at the ground. "Is it digging for grubs? I can't see from here."
Delphia absorbed the information, or lack thereof, soberly. This wasn't good, if an alien species was infringing on the established territories. No good could come of it. However, she disagreed with the other's assessment. "I don't think they are prey," she said softly, eyes shifting from one to another. "Their muzzles may be as flat as an elephants, but see their eyes? They tell me those are predators." She frowned then in confusion. "Though what they might use to take down their prey, I don't know. Those four legs couldn't keep up with a sprinting gazelle, I'd wager, and most especially if they insist on staying up on their hind ones like that!" She shook her head. It just didn't make sense. "I don't know what they are doing. Perhaps there are hares there?" It was said dubiously though, as there was no hint whatsoever, whether by scent or by further tunneling evidence, that the area was inhabited by a warren. it just made no sense! And the less sense it made, the more concerned she became. "Do you suppose we should take a closer look?"
"Hmm...maybe they eat hares then? Their front legs are pretty thin...maybe they sit up on the back ones so they can stick the front ones down the holes? But they don't look like they have claws, a hare would just bite them." Her tail lashed behind her, whisking through the grass. "Maybe a bit. It doesn't seem like they can smell us. I doubt they could hurt us, but if they're hunters they have to have SOME weapons...I would rather scare them off if I had to from afar than get in a fight. They don't smell like they would taste good." She shared a look with the other female and started to stalk closer through the long grass. Her blue fur wasn't the best for hiding, but the odd things seemed clueless. The closer she got, the uglier she decided they were. "Look! They don't even have tails!"
She trailed the other female, slinking with her belly close to the ground to get a better look. She was right, their forelegs did look withered and scrawny. "They almost resemble giant hairless meercats," she murmured in amazement, "except for their muzzles... oh, and their lack of tail." Again she frowned in confusion. How did they balance without a tail?! She'd have thought it was an injury or perhaps a birth defect, but as she quickly compared all the ones she could see, she had to accept that this was normal for them. Though admittedly, whatever they had draped on their thin bodies might have hidden a tiny tail. "Maybe their tails are tucked?" she hazarded. She just couldn't imagine balancing on hind legs without the benefit of a tail! "And perhaps... perhaps they have poison, like a viper?" she added. "They certainly open their mouths often enough to perhaps be warning each other of their venom." It seemed a valid guess, for they hardly ever seemed to close their mouths. Worse than ravens for that, in fact. Her whiskers twitched, mouth dropping open to inhale more scent, to try and understand them better. "Let's see if we can find one by itself and catch it," she suggested, her spine prickling in warning and excitement. Perhaps if they took a piece of it to others, someone would know what it was, and if it was dangerous or just an infestation. A bit big for a pest, perhaps, but what else could it be?
How totally strange. "Maybe they're tucked, but...Doesn't look like it." Hmm. Venom was worrisome. "They don't seem to have fangs, maybe they spray it? We'll have to be careful. They're acting more like a herd than they're about to fight. See? They're play fighting. Oh. Oh my." A terrible thought struck her as she noted the two shoving each other and...was that laughter? They laughed like baboons. "What if these are just CUBS?" She shook her head. "They could be as tall as giraffes...but I don't see bigger ones. They must be alone." She slowed her stalk and lay low, watching them mill about. Eventually one split away from the others. "What about that one?"
She flattened her ears at the strange laughter, a strange cross between the hoots of the primates and the hysterical giggles of a hyena. But that made her stop and think. Primates? Could they be relations to the baboons and smaller monkeys that roamed pockets of the region? "I don't know," she said in response to the idea that they were a species' young. "They act juvenile, but they aren't all acting like cubs." She huffed gently, inhaling more scent. "See? That one over there is female, and in heat," she pointed out, tipping her head towards one digging in the dirt. She kept her concept of their being primates to herself for now, though. She swiveled her head to spot the one her companion indicated. It looked like all the others, but was further from the rest. It would do, for at least examining closer. "Alright, but slowly. Let's show ourselves to it first and see what happens." It could be that it was not afraid of them. Or it could be threatened. They wouldn't know until they tried, though.
Libra wrinkled her nose at the strange things the closer they crept. Ugh. They STANK. Maybe they'd just found something rotten to eat and rolled in it? The stink alone made her not want to eat hem. It could be a method of defense. "Agreed. Better to not startle it, just in case it does spit venom or something." Together with the other female she crept closer, closer...they were nearly in range to break from the cover, if they'd been hunting, when she slowed and stopped. "This looks good. Let's see..." She tensed, slowly, ever so slowly raising up from her stalking position, peeking over the grass, making herself visible to any creature with any amount of awareness.
Delphia did one better, padding slowly forward, out of the cover of the grasses. She kept her head down, ears relaxed, and tail loose, all the signs of a lioness who was not only not hunting, but perhaps was approaching a family member or cub. She chuffed ever so softly, a low sound, and then stopped in plain sight. It was not the appearance of either lioness that got the strange creature's attention, it was the sound of the chuff. She waited curiously as it raised its head in mild confusion, then turned to look straight at her. When it did, she chuffed again, very lightly, a soft greeting of stranger to stranger. She was not at all prepared for its reaction. With an ear-piercing shriek to rival the scream of an eagle, the thing turned and ran like a prey animal! Delphia had to curb her instinct to chase it down and shut it up, but shortly she was glad she had. More of the animals appeared, with long, straight branches in their forepaws. With bafflement, she turned to her companion with a questioning look, enduring the approaching herd's mewling attempts at roars and their unmusical hootings. What were they doing?
Libra had also been unprepared for the scream of the strange monkey-thing. It hurt her ears, but more, it startled her. She bounded forward a step, putting herself even with her companion, and shrugged at her questioning look. She had no clue what they were doing...but soon enough she found out, when one of the stiks went zipping past her head, making her leap back with an alarmed snarl. She was not angry or scared, just alarmed, but that seemed to only drive the creatures into a greater frenzy. More sticks came, and now moving as a group they came forward, waving their sticks and yelling. She looked to there friend, at a loss. "Should we run?" A third stick nearly struck her, deciding for her. With a last hiss of confused displeasure she wheeled and darted back into the grass. Hoping her friend was right behind her.
She was not at all abashed to turn and flee, though her mind churned in confusion. Could their cubs be the same size as the adults? Or perhaps their kind had some that never fought at all, while the warriors did all the defending? But how hard could it be for a monkey to throw a stick? The whole thing was a puzzle, but one she deemed too dangerous for any but the most experienced explorers and warriors to deal with. "I think we should mark this area with a warning to those with young or the timid," she called to the other lioness. "These things are too unpredictable for just anyone to approach. I'll circle this way," with a toss of her head to the right, "and mark as I go, then head for my family. I think I'd like to get them away from here immediately." Something about those creatures gave her the shivers, an icy cold drip down her spine despite the heat of the sun. "Good hunting to you, and defense to your tail!" She called this final farewell before loping off to the right, pausing to immediately mark her warning upon the nearest tree before again moving off into the distance.
