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 Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2012 5:03 pm
Rakuree had been racing again. Not another big cat this time, but just some antelope - who didn't seem to enjoy his favorite game very much, and were unfortunately beating him. Though they usually beat him anyway, as when they didn't, they oft became his dinner. Today though he had gone hungry, which was more or less alright with him, because he had gotten to run, and he loved to run. So much so that his mother had often told him he should have been born a cheetah, and had sometimes wondered aloud if his father hadn't in fact been partly cheetah himself, what with her son's strange tendencies.
His running this day however had taken him - unknown to the green leopard - right into the territory of the Pridelands. There he sat, catching his breath as the seemingly inexhaustible herd of antelope continued to flee from the large predator, less exhausted than he, since to lose this race meant death for them, while for Rakuree it only meant missing dinner. His stomach growled as he caught his wind finally, reminding him that he'd lost today, and so must win tomorrow if he wanted to eat.
"Oh well... that was a good run, and felt wonderful~! I'll be able to find a rabbit, maybe, a bit later, so I'm not too hungry tonight..." He checked the position of the sun in the sky and realized that it was well into the afternoon. "Wow! I was running longer than I thought I had been I guess! Come to think of it..." he paused in his pointless speaking to the open air "I don't recognize this place... hmmm... oh well~!" He flopped down to rest briefly, hoping maybe an unwary antelope might wander by and he could yet have himself a good meal.
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2012 5:26 pm
 Though he was currently in the process of becoming a scout, for the time being, Kialio was still simply a hunter. And he was understandably unhappy when he found something had already riled up all the antelope by the time he arrived! How strange, he didn't see any other lions about. But the antelope were clearly on edge, which made them so much harder to catch.
Deciding he best just wait for them to calm down a bit, the dark lion began to wander about the grounds, a nice enough distance away from the antelope, while still keeping an eye on them. It was then that he noticed a leopard lying in the grass.
Since it was a leopard, Kialio found there was no real need for concern. Leopards weren't very large (at least when compared to lions), and, not to mention, it wasn't unusual for them not to respect lion territorial borders. Often, such things only mattered to other lions and hyenas. But he was a curious creature, and didn't often see them about anyways.
So he trotted over, keeping his posture relaxed so as to not display any aggression. "Hey!" He greeted, with the typical pridelander friendly tone of voice. "Were you hunting antelope?" He was really just curious! Even if it seemed a silly thing to ask, maybe Kialio was just in the mood for silly questions.
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2012 6:13 pm
Rakuree immediately lifted his head at the sound of another cat, blinking blue eyes in surprise at the sight that greeted him. A lion! My it seemed like he ran into alot of them lately... he couldn't remember the last time he had come across another leopard though..
"Hello~!" he beamed back at the lion, always happy for company, and rarely wary of other bit cats, even when they were bigger than him. He stood to meet the approaching lion, not worried, as he didn't seem agressive. "I was racing them, well... more or less. It would have been nice to catch one, but it's alright that I didn't. Anyway, how lucky it is to see you! I was just wondering where I was, and along comes someone who might be able to tell me!!"
His tail swished back and forth happily and the corner of a fang showed as his muzzle split with a ready smile, the faint creases in his face evidencing that he likely made the expression often and without hesitation. At least some of his luck was with him today! Even if he wasn't able to win against the antelope - there was always next time! - he had come across some company! And in his opinion, companionship was always welcome.
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 2:31 am
Having never really talked to a leopard before, Kialio found this rather nice and refreshing, and sat down. It was good to know you could be friendly with non-lions! If only that went with hyena, too. "You were racing them? How odd!" He said, amused. Racing antelope! Well, at least that explained why they were so edgy. "You're right, I suppose you could always catch one later." After they calmed down, and were easier to get close to.
Kialio was a friendly guy, and as such immediately decided he liked this leopard because he, himself, was rather friendly. "Oh, you're in the pridelands." The black and blue male said with a nod. If the green creature were a lion, he'd probably feel the need to point out trespassing, but this wasn't a lion. Or a hyena.
"I'm Kialio, by the way. What's your name?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 11:59 am
"Yeah, I could probably ambush them, that's usually most effective... but chasing them is much more fun~!" He grinned again, happier still as the lion sat down to talk to him. "Oh? The Pridelands? I've never been to the Pridelands before... is it nice here?" He tipped his head to the side in curiousity.
"I hope no one will get upset that I'm here, I know some lion prides get upset when others cross their borders, but most don't seem to care much when I've come across them because I'm a leopard. I do like seeing lions though, even though you're not as much fun to race as cheetahs are..." the last bit he said thoughtfully, and while a more irritable cat could easily take offense, it was said in such a way that anyone listening could tell that Rakuree didn't mean it as intentionally insulting, but more of a passing observation. "Only because cheetahs are so much faster than everyone, of course." Rakuree quickly offered the lion a smile, worried he might have upset him by accident, and that would be terrible because this was his own home! You should never insult someone in their own home, that was just horrible manners, and Rakuree liked to think he had good manners.
"My name is Rakuree~" Ack! He had almost forgotten to answer the lion with his name! Bad bad Rakuree, he was completely forgetting his manners, his father would be so disappointed in him!
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 12:12 pm
He nodded. Yes, ambushing was usually the best way to catch food. And he had once seen a leopard actually jump off a tree, onto a wildebeest below! It hadn't actually made the catch, sadly, but still, was impressive. "The Pridelands are very nice! but I guess you can probably tell." He said, not exactly modest about his homelands. The pridelands were awesome.
"Well, I guess you're okay. Some lions are crankier than others. I don't mind." At the comment about him not being as much fun to race, he shrugged. Kialio wasn't much of a racer, he'd admit. He'd always lost as a cub, so had decided he didn't like them much anyways. "Cheetah are pretty fast! I like watching them hunt sometimes." He was a curious lion, and when there wasn't much to do, watching others was good enough.
"My name is Kialio! Nice to meet you, Rakuree."
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:20 pm
"Ohhhh... are there alot of Cheetahs in the Pridelands then?" his ears perked forward at attention at this tid-bit of information. Oh man, did he love cheetahs... they were so awesome! All that speed! He decided to share this with the other lion, since he seemed amiable to talking about it. "I've gotta admit, cheetahs are pretty impressive. Leopards and lions, we're way stronger of course, no contest there, but you just can't beat a cheetah for speed! It's nice that you don't mind me being here, some lions I've come across just run me off, which I always think is kind of a jerk thing to do, but you seem friendly!"
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:25 pm
Kialio shrugged. "I suppose about as many as there are leopards, so you only see them sometimes, too. Once or twice I saw a family, actually." He wouldn't mind seeing them more often, but maybe such a large pride had a tendency of scaring away other predators. It even got on his nerves every now and then, and he'd hang out further by the borders!
"Yes! sometimes I wish I could be fast like a cheetah. In many ways it beats being strong." Since he was hardly much of a fighter, and didn't even have much interest in being a great hunter, the ability to run really fast and survive on smaller game was very appealing to him! Alas, Kialio was but a lion. "Hey, I figure we just can't own the savannah. It's not like you seem like you're causing trouble! I'd only chase you away if you were doing harm." Or were a rogue lion, or hyena. Because those really did need to respect territorial borders! Well, even then, he was usually just an all around friendly guy.
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:36 pm
Rakuree nodded at this information with wide bright eager eyes. He always liked to know where he could find certain kinds of big cats, because hey, he mind get the urge to race a Cheetah, and one had to know where to find them if one wanted to race! This was important and completely relevant information to him, as much as knowing where a waterhole was, or where the best trees to sleep in and climb could be found. "Ahhhh, I see, I see..."
"Yes yes I agree completely!!! There are alot of times that I'd very happily give up some of my strength to be that much faster!!" He practically beamed at the lion in delight. This guy understood his feelings exactly!! What a rare treat!! His tail swished with delight.
"Oh, yes, that's true, well the borders of a prideland aren't exactly defined, as well, I mean I didn't notice any scent markings as I was running... he paused, realizing what he had said. While he was running... Oops. "Though, well, of course I wouldn't scent anything but the antelope while I was running I guess, so I could have run by the markings and not known it very easily I suppose..." He grinned abashedly. "And no no of course I'm not here to cause any harm! I mean the worst I would do would be to take down maybe an antelope or two, and there seem to be plenty... your pridelands look very nice, from what I can see of them." This lion was being very hospitible, what a joy!
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:52 pm
He quite liked the enthusiasm of the leopard, it was rather funny! He supposed he wouldn't mind being around this kind of people much, even if he might not see the leopard again after this encounter. Cheerful people were just nice to be around. Beat the gloomy, cranky sort any day!
"Ah, that's normal enough, I guess. I don't notice much of anything else when I'm hunting! And I can hardly imagine you as harmful." Speaking of hunting... he chanced a glance towards the antelope, now farther away. But some of them were grazing... looked like they had relaxed, which was good.
"I guess they've calmed down. I should probably go catch some food for the pride. Would you like to come?" He asked, indicating the antelope with his head. He had never hunted with a leopard before, but he figured it was no big deal.
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 1:27 pm
"Well, I can be dangerous if I was in a bad mood, I suppose, but I'm rarely in a bad mood, and you don't have anything to worry about right now!" He beamed at the lion happily again, seeminly full of an endless amount of good cheer.
"Hmm, it does look like they've calmed down, doesn't it. I guess I scared them up really well when I was racing them... bet they're kind of tired by now...." Rakuree lifted his head a bit more than he'd had it to face the lion and address the sudden proposition. Once again a toothy happy smile broke across his face. "I'd love to! I never mind helping. As long as I can get a bellyful for myself, I wouldn't mind at all, it would be fun! I've hunted with lions before, so it shouldn't be too hard." The leopard lept up in anticipation, but kept low to the ground at the same time, knowing if they were going to hunt that it wouldn't do to frighten the animals they were about to attempt to taken down, nor alert them of their change in attitude.
"Would you like to take the lead, or do you want me to? I could lie in wait and you could chase them by me, I'd say we should be able to take one or two down easily." A new type of playfulness came to his face at the discussion of the hunt as he waited for the other's reply.
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 1:42 pm
He laughed, because he supposed anyone could be quite troublesome when in a bad mood. And somehow he doubted Rakuree could ever be in a bad mood, though he had only just met the leopard.
He pondered the course of action. "You probably run faster than I do, so I think you should chase them towards me." He said, because Kialio really wasn't the fastest of hunters. He just had never really gotten good at it, which seemed like a silly thing to not get good at.
As for taking the lead, he was good with that. "Alright, come on. I think you're right, if we get two, that's be excellent." They have to time it well, though. Antelope were easier to kill than wildebeest, but he would have to be quick to get one down before moving on to another. Or maybe Rakuree could get the other...
They could figure it out once the chase started. He turned, and led Rakuree towards the prey for what would hopefully be a very successful hunt.
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