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 Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 3:13 pm
The sky was slightly obscured by the many gathering clouds over head today. This wasn't always so common and usually meant a big rain was on the way some time in the near future. Naiya sat in the open field and watched the sky with great curiosity. It was true she was an adult now but the female had not witnessed many rainy seasons. So it was vert interesting to the leopardess to see so many shadows over the far reaches of the savanna.
Far off a rumbling that sounded like an angry leopard roar could be heard. The sky must have been a leopard. Naiya closed her eyes and imagined the clouds churning away to make the rain that would fall. In cased in its white grey fluff many leopards could be seen working away at this. Two of them got in a disagreement and a battle had started. Every claw swipe brought forth a great light. One of the two dueling leopards got slashed to the face and let out a mighty roar that boomed through the land.
Her eyes popped back open to find the clouds were blowing closer this way. Naiya decided that now was not the time for day dreaming but the time to start looking for a good place to stay dry in case the rain came a bit early. That seemed like the sanest of what to do at least. Possibly a good idea to kill something or even scavenge. Now that she thought about it, food probably would be needed if it did rain. So Naiya headed for a grassy field with the intentions of finding a meal or killing one.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 3:29 pm
Tailung was tired.
Many things made Tailung grumpy, and they all seemed to be compounded in this moment. He was exhausted, having been chased from a battle, and then dragged out of a pride. He was injured, badly, his back aching from that soldier's attacks, and the rest of him cut and bruised from battling that rogue lion with the bear marking on his side. It was infuriating to be so treated, to lose two fights, essentially, in so short a time.
He was supposed to be the strongest leopard out there. How he ended up getting stuck on the losing end of two fights was beyond him.
And now it was going to rain. He looked up at the sky, cursing it as he limped his way across the plains, swearing to himself that he would find a way to curse the sky if it decided to open up and dump water on him on top of everything else.
Sighing, he reached the limit his body had to offer for energy and he flopped over where he had been walking abruptly, stretching on the grass and sighing heavily. He hated being injured and weak, and his stomach growled. Another thing to annoy him. He heard something moving nearby, but had no will to go and figure out what it was.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 4:04 pm
Something was close by. Naiya could hear movement that did not sound like it was made by hoof. Curiosity got the better of the leopardess leading her to get lower to the ground and abandon the hunt just for a moment to investigate this sound. Slowly she inched until she was with in a distance she could taste the smell of sweat from what ever it was. Feline? Some how she was not to surprised. There was a shadow of a figure up ahead. From this distance she could tell it was at the very least not a cheetah from size and possibly not a lion from the lack of mane. The scent tasted male. Was this a leopard? Slowly, Naiya rose from her stalking post and took a few carefully thought out steps closer.
"Oi!" She cried out. It was then she noticed something wasn't right. "Are you alright?"
Maybe shouting across a field was a bad idea when she was trying to hunt. Naiya realized her mistake a little to late as some wild prey made a run for it.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 4:22 pm
Tailung lifted his head a bit, watching as the animals ran off. There went dinner. He looked over at the leopardess, since she was much easier to see than he seemed to be now that she had given her position away. he watched her warily.
The last female leopard he had met pledged her life to hunting him down and killing him. Thus his track record was not great. He watched her keenly.
"Do I look alright?" he asked, shifting and grunting with the effort. He flattened out again, head in the grass. He huffed, lacking the energy to threaten her or growl at her. Generally, he was a monster of a leopard, violent and gleeful in attacking others. But at the moment he was just too tired for it.
He grunted.
"I'll heal."
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 4:30 pm
The tone in the males reply sounded a bit sarcastic to Naiya. Her ears twitched a bit unsure if she should retort in a witty comment or if she should just leave this leopard be in the hurt he seemed to be in. Her tail twitched when the male informed her he would heal.
"Well 'course you'll heal but soon enough for the rains?" She took the liberty to take a few steps closer which may have not been the smartest thing to do. Naiya was still a bit on the young side and because of that she also had a naive nature to go along with the age. There was no tragic past that had her growing up sooner then she had to or really anything to eventful in her blissful life aside from small typical things.
"I mean.. You don't look well at all sir. I could help if you'll let me maybe? Not an herb expert but.." She got a better look at his wounds now that she was a little closer and cringed. Her expression froze in concern.
Far off the sound of thunder drew closer.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 4:38 pm
Oh right. The rain.
Tailung rolled his eyes skyward and watched the dark clouds moving slowly overhead, as if gathering over him because he was just so special. He frowned at the very thought, not wanting to get soaked through his fur on top of everything else. He would catch a cold and die, or his wounds would get infected. He was not at his healthiest, following his fights, so he had to be careful.
But he was still exhausted.
"There's not much I can do about it," he grunted at length, tilting his head toward her now without lifting it up. He watched her almost passively. The last person who had offered to help him ended up being his slave, under threat of pain or death to his family, and that had gotten Tailung even more injured and thrown out. So maybe he needed a new tactic.
He had bite marks on the back of his neck and his back, and they were bruised as well. He had other scratches and bites as well. He had been in a vicious fight, it seemed, but it had been a couple days ago now so the wounds were scabbing at least. He growled at the thunder.
"Maybe... if you help me to the trees..."
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 4:48 pm
Naiya watched this strange male as he seemed to be thinking things over. She had no idea of what kind of back ground he had come from or where and why he had such injuries. Some times felines just didn't get along and with a males testosterone the female could image things could get hairy pretty fast. At least she assumed this.
"Alright," She gave him a grin and happily padded closer to the male. Slowly, she lowered her self to the ground and leveled her body with his making a make shift carrier out of her self to carry the male.
"I'm ... gonna need a little help from you. Can you kick you self up a little and roll on to my back. I promise I'll catch you," She gave him a grin, "I'll try not to drop you on the way over to the trees though." The last comment was half joke half true. She wasn't the strongest leopard out there. Still the female was pretty sure she could get over to the trees before the rains came.
Then it occurred to her she'd yet to introduce her self.
"Naiya .. by the way. If your wondering. I'm Naiya."
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 5:02 pm
He watched her as she came closer and noticed she was pretty.
Tailung might have been a cruel warrior, betrayed by the people he loved and hunted like a beast, but he could still take a moment to appreciate a pretty leopard when he saw one. If there was one kind of creature he did not particularly enjoy targeting for slaughter or mayhem, it was his own kind. He at least had enough respect for them to not treat them like the rest.
He thought that was very generous of him.
He grunted and got his feet under him, watching her suspiciously as he leaned on her.
"How are you going to carry me?" he asked, thinking she was far too small to accomplish it. He was not particularly large, average for a leopard perhaps, but he was still muscular. Still, he knew females could be strong despite the fact that they were female, so he didn't push the question too much.
"I wasn't wondering, if I'm honest," he grumbled as he let her carry most of his weight, helping her as he could, "but I am Tailung. Fair trade."
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 5:14 pm
The moment he flopped on to her back Naiya let out a small surprised exhale. Slowly, Verly slowly, she pushed her and his weight up to a more comfortable walking level. She managed about half her normal height with Tailung on her back. He wasn't the heaviest thing in the world but he was still a load. Carrying him was a better option then dragging considering his wounds. So, she took in a breath, and took one painful step after another. He'd given his name but Naiya was to busy focusing on getting from point A to point B. Every step felt heavier then the last but Naiya persisted. The moment she was safely with in the trees the female let her body give way and collapse. She was alright but now the leopardess was warn out.
"We're here," The leopardess took a few earned breaths. "Let... me catch.. my breath.."
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 5:28 pm
Tailung tried to walk as best he could, at least with his back feet, though most of his weight was on her and she would have to suffer it. He was exhausted and really feeling it now that he had come to a stop. He had not stopped walking since being thrown out of a pride.
Not that he was scared, or that he much liked listening to orders, but he knew when he could not push his luck.
When they tumbled under the trees he grunted in pain, rolling off of her and looking to see her laying nearby. She had strained herself, he knew she would, but he did not feel pity rise up in him. Or at least it was not something he could recognize very easily. Still, he sighed and scooted a bit closer.
He nosed her head, as if poking her.
"You should not have offered to carry me," he said pointedly, but he sounded appreciative. "But at least we are safe from the rain." He looked back the way they had come, seeing the water starting to fall. It was still light, but it would get heavier as these rolling storms always did. He was very glad to be sheltered, and no rain seemed to be coming in.
"Th..." he paused, frowning. He was not very good at this word. "Th... thank you."
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 5:37 pm
The sound of pouring rain began to wash over the land. Naiya laid there for a long moment and listened to it and her companion as she caught her breath. She was worn out but at least she was dry. But now she was almost completely useless for now.
"If I didn't offer you'd get stuck in the rain," She lifted her head and gave him a disapproving frown, "I'm fine. Just..." She blinked as he thanked her and shook her head, "Its fine, really. Any leopard would have done it I'm sure," There was a naive smile again. Naiya wasn't experienced enough in the world to know that not everyone shared her optimistic point of view. The female was still fresh to the world and had yet to begin to be shaped in any sort of jaded way. Everything was new and bright.
"We're stuck together til you get better," There was a playful stern look given.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 5:50 pm
Tailung looked at the lioness in wonder.
"You will regret being near me that long. Perhaps the duration of the rain, but not until I heal. I can tell you that. I am not..." he thought about it, nose wrinkling a bit. "A very nice leopard."
That was an understatement.
Ever since his betrayal he had been a creature of vengeance and rage. He was going to fight. And kill. Murder, that was the term, since he did not often do it with reason or justification. He did it because he was angry, and liked seeing people suffering under his strength. At the moment, though, he wasn't feeling angry.
It was a strange, very unfamiliar state for him.
"You are going to get yourself hurt, being so kind to strangers," he said distractedly, wondering if he was actually concerned. He told himself he was supposed to sound threatening, and it had just come out wrong. Yeah. That was it.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 6:03 pm
The female flicked her ears. He was declaring him self not to be a nice leopard? She wasn't sure if he was joking or not but the leopardess let out a weak chuckle.
"If you wanted to you could probably kill me now," It was true as she had strained her body a little to far for its limits. She was quiet now just listening to the rain.
"Maybe if you were a lion or a cheetah or a wild dog or a hyena I wouldn't have thought to stop by and helped. I watched you from the grass for a while to make sure you were a leopard." There was a small smirk, "I guess I'm not the kindest for thinking of walking away if you were different."
There was a quiet again with the soft pounding of water on the leaves of the trees. Naiya watched as each drop dropped ultimately to its doom when it crashed on to the earth. Each raindrop was destined to share a fate like that as were each living thing. It was a strange thought to have.
"I'll hunt when I'm able to walk," She gave the male a smile.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 7:33 pm
"That is true, I probably could," he said thoughtfully, as if weighing the thought legitimately. He had no reason to kill her, but then, that wasn't necessary. Still, he had more reason to keep her alive, as she was assisting him without him needing to threaten her.
That was new.
He sighed at her explanation though, and thought she was naive to be going around thinking the world was great and good and she was in no danger from it. He wondered if he should prove her wrong, or maybe just let her learn it the hard way. For now, though, he was almost thankful for her company. Everything was aching.
"I will hunt when I am able to do the same. If you catch me anything... I will return the favor." He looked at her, then yawned. "But... I think I will sleep." If she wanted to stay, she was more than welcome. He found it strange, having someone near him and he wondered if she would stay when he told her all the things he had done. Would do. But that was for another time.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 7:58 pm
Naiya curled in to a ball. The sound of rain drops pouring down was enough to make the leopardess fall asleep. The cool dampness of the air wasn't really helping. The feline curled in to a bit of a tighter ball. It hurt her back to do so but it was warmer.
"Course I'll catch you something," His yawn shifted over to her causing the leopardesses maw to open in a soundless yawn. She buried her muzzle close to her paws and closed her eyes.
"Sleep yeah." She mumbled, "I will too then." Her eyelids had minds of their own. In no time she'd drifted off to bliss.
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