|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 12:41 pm
Otherwise she'd just try to kill him.
Black paws caked with the brown dirt, her tail swiveled in a circular pattern behind her as she tried to figure out a plan. Be nice? Sweet females could do less work and get away with more, but she had a hunch that it may not work on this stranger. Act threatening? It would be faster, but didn't guarantee his loyalty. She didn't want to have to devote a guard just to keep an eye on the fool. She sighed, figuring that she'd have to come up with a plan when she first saw him.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 1:16 pm
Ibada was, strangely, out and about. He was out farther from his little hideaway than where Chora had found him, he was scavenging- but not for food (though he would have stopped if he found some. He was looking for more interesting treasures to add to his hoard and it was lucky he considered unique bones worth collecting or he might have had to go home disappointed. After looking through a few piles of bones he managed to find the femur of something tall, tall enough to make the bone impressively large.
So he was on his way back home. After he failed to keep his loot off the ground, he decided it would be more efficient to drag it back. He was traveling through the shadows, not paying too much attention to his surroundings. When he overtook Masuko in the race toward the borders there was some distance between them but more than enough open space. He never imagined, even after finally meeting one of the Mava'Bunda hyenas, that he would meet another one so soon.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 1:38 pm
Masuko was too focused on where she thought she needed to go to even take a glance around. It was only when there were too many rattling sounds that she actually thought to pause. Shifts in the pile of bones happened. The ground wasn't always the most stable, and just the movement of one hyena might send some loose bones tumbling down. No one else was supposed to be here right now, anyway. Hunting parties were out looking for food, and the scouts were looking to secure another watering hole. So who...?
She turned around to look behind her, not seeing anything out of the usual. Well...upon closer inspection, she noticed that there seemed to be a slight bit of dust shifting over to the side, one that would alert anyone of movement. And then she saw part of a bone...moving? Her head tilted to the side for a moment, amazed that such a large bone would be wiggling around like nothing odd was occuring.
That was when she decided to approach whoever it was, thief or ally. She trotted over there quickly, not being quiet about her approach.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 1:59 pm
Despite his apparent inattention to anything but his trip back home, Ibada's ears twitched and he stumbled to a stop when it became too obvious that someone else was here. He dropped the bone and stood over it as he looked around for the source-- and was surprised to find it was another hyena, heading directly at him.
What were the odds!
There was no way he could get away fast enough with his prize and he wasn't about to just leave it so he only had one option- defend it. So he crouched defensively and though he didn't growl, he did his best to look intimidating.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 2:27 pm
When Masuko approached him, it was clear that this must be the hyena her sister mentioned. No idiot would dare try to defend something that she, as alpha, owned.
"Well, well, well. I've finally found you, though it seems you're a bit far from what you consider your home," Masuko said with a bit of a toothy grin. She always felt confident, but if another felt mildly threatened by her presence, all the more power to feed her ego. She was alpha, she carried herself as alpha, and it was hard to mistake her for anything else.
Oddly enough, if her father hadn't been killed my that b*****d Mbezi, she may have grown up to be a more compassionate and neutral hyena. Now she was a hardened thing, sharp corners and all. Some could consider her to the lost Mafa, though she didn't carry quite the same savagery.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 2:34 pm
Ibada stayed tense, even when she slowed down, grinned and indicated that she had been looking for him- she was saying too many things, his mind couldn't process it fast enough. Why was a pack hyena looking for him? Had the pale one tattled on his hiding spot? Why was it a problem all of a sudden?
"I was just looking around," he said, making excuses for trespassing and stepping over the bone he was trying to take home like standing in front of it might make it less apparent to her. He didn't doubt someone knew, approximately, where his home was.. and 'finally' could mean she'd known he was there forever and just never actually ran into him. Defending his own actions seemed more important than dissecting her greeting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 2:48 pm
"You aren't looking," Masuko said with a huff, like she couldn't believe he was lying to her. "You're off taking one of my bones. That's theft, you know." She paced a little bit, just trying to show him that she meant business.
She wasn't lying about anything herself, either. She was never pleased to find out that something was going on in the pack she didn't like. Perhaps that had contributed to a bit of a fallout, but she was learning. She would just make him an offer that could please both sides, but also extend her hold on this section of the graveyard. Clearly it had fallen, if this brown hyena had evaded detection for so long.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 2:51 pm
"This isn't your bone," he said, "You're way too small."
He knew what she meant, of course, but he wasn't going to just admit to stealing a bone that was within pack borders- not that the pack seemed particularly active lately, that could be his second excuse. He watched her pace and though his face relaxed, he still looked ready to move if he had to.
"Besides, you still got all yours," he added, nodding to her legs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 3:07 pm
She growled and snapper her jaws at the stupid male threateningly. Most males were stupid, why did she keep having to run into that fact over and over again?
"I am stronger than you," she growled, her tail's playful movements shifting to a more threatening tone. "This is my pack, and my bones. I could easily have you chased out of here, but I have an offer to make. One that you should take, you fool."
She paced around him for a moment, snapping her jaws towards the bone that this idiot oh so treasured. To be honesty, she wasn't the type to gravitate towards bones, but she could see their usefulness. Besides, much of the pack was attracted to them, and who was she to judge them if they otherwise did their jobs in a satisfying manner?
"You join my pack. You offer what you can to all in the pack, not just me, and in return you will gain protection from any risks being out here alone." She wasn't going to cover up the fact that yes, this area rarely got guards or scouts in it, but she could easily change that with one order.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 3:22 pm
Ibada wasn't put off by her pointing out that she was stronger than him. Not only was she larger than him, as females tended to be, she was younger and more experienced. He was a recluse, he hadn't fought off much more the occasional vulture trying to share in his finds.. but that was different and even then he still didn't fight so much as yell at them until he ran off to protect his eyes from sharp talons. Masuko's physical superiority didn't need stating.
Her invitation, however, surprised him and earned a pause before he responded.
"Your pack has been quiet lately," he said carefully, looking her over almost suspiciously, "I was starting to think you'd disappeared entirely.. until that pale one happened by."
He didn't ask directly but he was clearly expecting her to deny the pack's apparently poor state. Wouldn't be worth considering any offer, even a threatening one, if there wasn't much of a pack to back it up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 3:54 pm
Masuko waved her paw around. She hadn't lied to him yet, and she wasn't going to start. Especially when he was clearly more observational than she first suspected. Avoiding a direct accusation like that would be foolish, and damage her reputation more than the fact that pack had nearly dissolved.
"Yes. Perhaps you hadn't noticed, but we've been recovering from quite the skirmish with the Prideland lions," she said with venom in her voice, though her face remained fairly neutral. "Regathering your troops after some of their family and packmates died is no easy task, but they have bent under my paw and realized that being part of a pack is safer than facing a Prideland lion on their own. They've tasted blood. There is no telling what they will do now that they crave it."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 4:06 pm
As Masuko did her best to paint an intimidating picture with vicious words and a straight, indifferent face, Ibada couldn't only raise a brow as he thought through what exactly her tactic was, telling him this. He was obviously in for trouble if he refused her offer and it didn't sound like she would work her way up to a violent eviction, she was prepared to start there. And if she tried right now, she'd probably win.
He wasn't exactly failing on his own but the older he got the harder it became to keep himself safe and fed.. he wasn't very good at sharing but he wouldn't hate being shared with.
His head swayed from side to side, visualizing the back and forth going on in his head. He wasn't interested in a fight and his rationalization outside of 'don't provoke the angry alpha' wasn't so bad.. he'd have to agree to join the pack. Give what he could, take what he needed. She made no mention of loyalty, and that would be much harder to earn.
"OK, I've decided to accept your offer," he said, relaxing and standing up straight and confident- almost cheerful, even. He didn't move away from the bone he had been stealing, though.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 4:19 pm
Masuko sniffed. "Good." She paused, eyeing him up this time. He seemed well enough, if a bit slow and crazy. Not worth trying to make him a fighter, but she would find a good place for him. He'd come around to being loyal to her once she made sure that he was content enough.
"Take your bone with you," she waved again, dismissing him. "I'll send someone to check up on you, but be aware that more hyenas will be moving into this area, sooner rather than later." He wasn't going to have the run of this little area, no matter what he might be thinking.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 4:40 pm
Ibada gave her a crooked smile and she looked him over. He took a step back when she dismissed him, allowing him to keep the bone, resting a paw on it while she explained that someone would be sent to check on him and that he would not be so alone around here anymore. That meant he still could go back to his collection now but .. he'd have to formulate a plan to keep it safe now that there would be more bodies around here.
"Alright," he said, hopping back a bit more before picking the bone back up and starting back on his way.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 4:51 pm
Masuko turned and left, not bothering to look back at him. She'd see him again. Masuko did her best to try and at least speak to everyone in the pack now and then. It was the best way to prove that she cared about them (to a point), and was an easier way to demand loyalty than merely yelling at them all the time.
With a puff of her chest, she went to find someone else to check on, determined to make the pack a serious threat to the savanna.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
