A single set of paw prints made their way through the snow, one paw leaving an extra long trail behind it. The prints would pause from time to time and change direction, as if following something unseen in the snow. The cheetah that had left the strange prints was doing just that, though, his limp easy to pick out once one caught up to him. He heavily favored his right hind leg where a deep scar hinted at a recently healed wound. Sharp eyes were trained on the sky where a little streak would dart back and forth, calling out when their direction had to change. and the cheetah would follow without question. After a while of this, though, his expression turned into a scowl."Cyne, we're going in circles," he called up to his familiar, staring at his own staggered paw prints. "You're sure you found something?"
"Yes," the bird said as she circled to land on Fili's back. The cheetah looked over his shoulder at the bird, raising a brow in obvious irritation. "Gods, don't give me that look," Cyne said, ruffling her feathers just a bit. "It's hard to tell what's a rock and what's a dead animal when I've got you snarling at me."
"Oh, enough of that," Fili said with a huff, turning to set off in a new direction. He limped along slowly, pausing now and then to sniff the air. There had been a recent snow storm a bit further down the mountains than was normal, and quite a few critters had gotten caught in its path. Fili and Cyne had decided to go out to find and collect the pelts from those that had perished so they wouldn't go to waste.
"Look, here's one right here," he said as his paws bumped against something fuzzy under the snow. Cyne huffed on his back and flew away, off to find her own prize. Fili dug in the snow and was quite surprised to find a rather large hyena, frozen and quite obviously dead. Her pelt was fantastic, though, and he wasted no time in skinning the corpse. He wasn't terribly hungry, nor did he have a taste for frozen meat, so he left what was under the skin behind. There were others that would appreciate the meal in this seemingly barren land. He had those in his pride that would hunt for the masses, so he never went hungry.
"Fili!"
The cheetah looked up at the sky where his friend circled above him. "What is it? Find something?"
"Yes, not far!" Cyne called out, circling once more before zooming off. Fili fixed the pelt on his back before following the small dot in the sky. The bird wheeled around, doubling back so she wouldn't lose her companion. She knew it hurt his leg to walk too quickly or too far, so when she had spotted the dead jackal just a short jaunt away she knew she had to bring him to it. Cyne would be glad to carry smaller things to him, but a jackal was larger than her. She wouldn't be much help in getting the pelt off, either. Her beak would rip it to shreds.
Finding the jackal again, she swooped down and landed beside it while waiting for Fili to join her. Once he arrived she fluffed her feathers a bit, proud of her find. "Well?" she asked, looking up at Fili with a grin.
"Ah...yes, this is a good one. A bit small, but there are cubs," Fili reasoned, reaching down to dig the small creature out of the snow. He set to work skinning it, taking his time since there were some delicate parts. Skinny legs and small ears were hard to skin properly. Having a bird literally hovering around him didn't help matters.
"Careful...don't rip the tail!" Cyne chirped, swatting Fili's head with her wings before pulling up drastically, avoiding Fili's snarling mouth.
"If you hover around me like that I'll be sure to rip it right off," he growled, which earned him an annoyed peck on the rump. He growled just a bit before returning to his work. Finally the jackal pelt joined the hyena pelt on his back. The weight was starting to bother his leg, so he turned back in the direction of home.
"Turning back?" Cyne asked from a safe distance above the cheetah.
"Yes. I think it's time to drop them off. I wasn't anticipating a hyena pelt," he said, nearly tripping over another dead hyena as he spoke. "Gods above," he muttered, looking down at the male. Perhaps the two had been traveling together and had gotten separated in the storm.
"Well don't just stand there," Cyne said, landing beside the dead hyena, fluffing her feathers. "I'll try to carry the jackal pelt if that will help."
Fili paused in his digging up of the hyena, looking at his familiar with a slightly fond expression. Fili was a generally grumpy guy, but the bird could wring a bit of a smile from him time to time. She had been with him since he was an adolescent and had picked his profession in the pride, which meant she had come to know his mate and understood why he was the way he was.
"Thank you, Cyne. I'll take you up on that offer."
A few minutes later and the two were heading back to the pride, Fili with the two hyena pelts and Cyne carrying the jackal pelt in her claws. They made a rather funny sight, a twelve-limbed limping monster and a jackal with wings. They were in high spirits despite their awkward journey back, teasing one another as they were wont to do. Cyne was really the only living thing Fili could stand to be around for any extended period of time, and the bird was very proud of that fact. She cared for her companion and wouldn't let anything bring him down, not even a jackal pelt. She was the only one allowed to rag on him, and anyone that did otherwise would feel the wrath of her talons and beak.
FIN
WC: 1024
