[PRP] The arrival of a friend (Topas/Yakuti/Omoa)

[Atheare]

It was midday, Yakuti had only just returned from a successful hunt, in which he caught two rather fat hares. Well, fat by graveyard standards, to everyone else they looked average sized. Yakuti carried them into his den and began to eat one of them, they were very satisfying, if not the tastiest of meals.

The adolescent hyena's mind began to wander back to Topas, he wondered if he was alright, Goma had threatened him after all... But he also promised to keep him safe, if Topas needed help, all he needed to do was tell him, that jackal wouldn't hurt Topas, his mate, or his pups if he had anything to say about it.

He glanced over to the hole in the side of his den, he was getting increasingly lonely and was hoping to find himself a companion soon. Mafa would call it a slave, but Yakuti would deffinately call it a friend, he had no desire to force it to do anything at all, just to keep him company.

Right now that was exactly what he needed.  

[PhiferWolf]

The tunnel was dark as ever. He could hear his daughter behind him bumping into unseen things as he can see them since he made it and knew where everything was. Would Jini hurt him if she knew what he was doing? It was for the best for the family...and the girl did want to do things on her own. The way she acted when she was born made it evident. It was time to pay back Yakuti.

Approaching the den, he paused when the light touched teh darkness. However that was not the reason, there was something different. He smelt something strange and so halted.

"Onoa, stay 'ere will ya?"

He whispered to his daughter before wandering up a bit more into the den, poking his head out a bit, pulled it back, and pushed it out again. He saw the hyena in the den and luckily no one else.

"Yakuti....is there someone else where? I can smell them. Is it safe?"

He smelt another scent, an older and stronger scent. It wasn't Yakuti's it made him cautious. Topas pulled his head back again so that only his eyes remained on the hyena.  

[Atheare]

"Yah dad" Omoa whispered to her dad, this whole thing was so exiting she could barely stand it, but she knew she was supposed to be quiet, at least for now, but the effort of keeping quiet was making her fidget.

"Topas!" Yakuti said happily, dropping his lunch, "Good to see you, come on in." He said with a smile. "Yeah, someone shares this den with me, but she's not bad." He said with a shrug, "And besides, I think she's out somewhere, you can come out." He said happily, not even thinking to smell the air. If he had, perhaps he would have smelled Omoa.

"What've you been up to? Is you're mate okay? Has Goma tried anything?" He asked, snarling slightly as he said the jackal's name.  

[PhiferWolf]

"You share this den with a female? Oh? Who is she, what does she look like, is she nice? Could I meet her? Would she try to eat me?"

Topas smiled with his own barrage of questions. He chuckled again and stepped out into Yakuti's den. The dirt was still firm as he had remembered from the time he was there making the tunnel. It took some work but it was all worth it.

"Been working hard to support a family, you know? Jini is fine now, the birthing was quick I even missed it. ANd luckily, that monster hasn't been heard from for some time. Hopefully, he is gone from theses lands."

"Yakuti, I hope ya 'ave been keepin' the tunnel's secret to yerself, even from that female. Oh! And before I forget. Honey, come on in. Meet your new friend."

The dark ratel smiled back into the den.  

[Atheare]

"Um, her name is Shira, she is yellow, and she's kind of nice I guess..." He said with a shrug, "She's not too bad, but she isn't the friendliest hyena, ya know?" He said with a little laugh. "Um, I dunno, if you did I'd need to be there or she may end up trying to take a bite out of you, food is kind of scarce around here."

"Good to hear, I'm glad you're all alright" Yakuti said, grinning widely. "Yeah, Shira doesn't know about it." He said, after all, she had only been living with him for a little while, and he was careful not to let her see the hole, but she would surely find it eventually...

"Yaaaay!" Omoa said, bounding out of the hole and into the den, "Friend!" She squeaked, running to right between Yakuti and her father. "Friend!" She repeated, her vocabulary quite limited at the moment.

"What? Friend?" Yakuti asked in a confused tone, recoiling slightly from the fluffy thing that now stood before him. "Um... Hi. I'm Yakuti, nice to meet you." He said with a nervous smile before looking back at Topas.

"This one of the pups? She looks just like you."  

[PhiferWolf]

Topas smiled proudly.

"Onoa, this is a good friend of mine, Yakuti. Would you like to stay with him? Ya can always come visit yer mother 'n I. Just ask him to take you."

He spoke, nuzzling his daughter lovingly. It was sort of important that she come visit. She may be young but Yakuti could take care of her. She was a good girl.

Topas smiled up at Yakuti.

"I said I would repay you for protecting my family, laddie. Maybe Onoa can stay with you for a while, you know? I think it would be a good experience for her. You think you can take care of her? It is a lot of responsibility, and Jamaa told me that you had much of it."

Topas had to be sure that the adolescent was able to care for something as young as a pup, especially one from his own flesh and blood. Onoa was the only daughter and well...she was an out there type of gal. With the visits, Jini will know that she was safe with him.

"Oh, and be warned, a single scar or cry from my little girl, I'll make sure you'll regret it. Got it?"  

[Atheare]

"Yay! 'Kuti!" Omoa said happily, "Stay friend 'Kuti? play?" She asked curiously, half to her father and half to Yakuti.

She wagged her stubby tail frantically before starting to run circles around Yakuti, "Play! Play!"

Well this was different, a ratel pup staying with him? That would be alright with him, in fact, he would love the company. He only hoped he could get her to calm down enough to be quiet around Mafa so she wouldn't kill her, and to not annoy Shira too much. He'd also have to make sure she didn't mind being called a slave by pretty much all of the pack...

"That would be great, Topas." He said with a smile, watching the black and white girl, Omoa, run in circles around him. The thing sure did have a lot of energy...

"Okay Topas, I promise, no harm will come to her." He said, after all, he wouldn't want his friend getting hurt. He just hoped the other pack members wouldn't hurt her, though the other slave, Kelello, didn't have any scars to speak of.

"Hey Omoa, you wanna stay with me?"

"Yah!" She said, screeching to a halt after about her third circle around him. "'Kuti fun!" She said, bouncing. Though the hyena really hadn't done anything at all, he was blue, and that was fun in itself.  

[PhiferWolf]

Topas chuckled and nuzzled his daughter again.

"It is about time the boys need their food and Jamaa pays his fortday visit. I should get home. I'm entrustin' her with you, Yakuti. Don't let me down."

He said, licking his daughter quickly before disappearing into the darkness of the tunnel. He was glad he had Yakuti as a friend. Jamaa had enough problems with the pack and his own issues. Yakuti had the Graveyard to guard. ....that Shira is a mystery. Yakuti better take care of her.

~

Shira was returning now from her quick hunt. Small game this time when she happened to run into a familiar face. She was only able to get an entire gazelle until she ran into...him. She growled just thinking about it. The prey beast was probably leaving a trail of blood but she didn't care if the head came off. She just wanted to get home, eat, and rest for a bit before her next protrol with Yakuti.

However, as she was approaching the den, her nose flared. Who had invaded the den? There was two new scents, well one of them was faded, but there was one still around. SHe growled, she wasn't planning on sharing the den with anyone else but the adolescent boy. She placed down the catch and stood there, tall and strong.

"Yakuti? Come here. Right. Now."  

[Atheare]

"See you Topas, I'll take good care of her." He said as his friend left, before turning to Omoa. "Hey Omoa, can you do me a favor? I need you to calm down around all the other hyenas, alright? They can get kind of angry." He said quietly.

"Yah, yah!" She said with a nod, she knew how to be quiet, but she didn't like it as much as being loud. "Play 'Kuti?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure, play." Yakuti said with a laugh before he heard Shira. Uh oh, this could be bad if he wasn't careful. "Listen Omoa, we'll play later, for now you need to just be calm and quiet, okay?" He whispered to her before heading outside to meet Shira.

"Hey Shira, I see you got food." He said, "I got a little bit, its inside." He said, not wanting to mention Omoa until he had to.  

[PhiferWolf]

Shira scowled.

"Hold it right there, mister. Who is in there, I can smell them from a mile away. What are you hiding in there? A highly respected pack guard like you shouldn't be taking in stragglers. Why does someone as capable as you need someone else to do things for you?"

Was she mocking him or complimenting him? Honestly, the way she was speaking made it hard to define the line between the two. But Yakuti knew full well that she disliked the idea of "slaves", or even the idea of it, made her throw a fit.

She puffed her chest and started into the den. She didn't care right now, she wanted to know what exactly what Yakuti was hiding from her. What she found was something she was not expecting. There was a small black and silver ratel pup inside, sitting there, staring back at her. She was dumbfounded. Was this the "little bit" inside he was talking about?

"Y-Yakuti?"  

[Atheare]

"Oh, thats my... My slave." Yakuti said embarassedly. He knew she hated slaves, but he did have a bit of a defense up his sleve. "Mafa said I could find one, as a reward for recruiting members and fighting a lion, I was only a pup back then." He said with more confidance, stepping inside.

"Shira, this is Omoa, the new pack slave." He said, standing in an almost defensive pose between the two.

"...Shi-ra?" Omoa asked quietly, peeking her head around Yakuti's legs. "...Friend?" She asked, trying to be quiet. She did hear Shira outside, and she didn't sound as nice as Yakuti. "Mean?" She asked before shrinking back behind Yakuti.  

[PhiferWolf]

Shira scowled again. It was easy to fight with a scowl, but it was hard to with friends. She let out a sigh and sat herself down.

"Yakuti, you got some explaining to do. If you lie to me, I will be sure that Mafa finds out about her and I will make sure she is worked to her limits if you insist on a slave."

What was she trying to say? Did she just twist her words again? If Yaku cared about this rodent, he would tell the truth, right? Did he have anything to hide from her. Okay, maybe there is some things.

"Yakuti, you can trust me. Anything you tell me will stick between us....and her."

She spoke, glaring down at the honey badger. Maybe the time she spent with Yaku was not enough to get him to trust the female. Oh well, time could only tell when he would.

"Yaku?"  

[Atheare]

"Mafa wants to find out about her" Yakuti said, "She told me to bring her my slave when I found one, she knows I've been looking for one." He said, scowling right back at her.

"Okay..." He said, debating about telling her about Topas... Not yet, he didn't know how she would react to him being friends with a bunch of ratels. Plus, that would lead to the tunnel and that would lead to eventually finding Jamaa, and he knew she thought wild dogs were scum.

"Fine, if I'm honest with you, you have to be honest with me, if I tell you everything, you have to tell me everything, deal?"

Omoa squeaked and cowered from Shira, she did seem mean from where she was standing. "Mean." She said to herself, confirming it out loud, if only at a whisper.  

[PhiferWolf]

Shira took a breath and exhaled. She carefully laid herself down and stared directly at him.

"Deal. I'll be honest with you if you are honest with me. However....you said "I tell you everything, you have to tell me everything." So I guess that means you are going first."

She said.

"I promise what transpires here is between the three of us."

The inclusion of Onoa was subtle, she didn't even mean to say 'three' it just slipped. Word Vomit. This would close a large gap that the two have built up during their first encounter. She wanted to get closer to someone here in the graveyard, but there was no one suitable. Tibuka was head-gaurd and it seemed Mafa fancied him and some others. She would've gotten closer to Mafa if she didn't have a slave and the alpha of the pack. Yakuti seemed the best suitable. Beside, he was the first she met.  

[Atheare]

Yakuti would have smacked himself in the head if Shira hadn't been there. He should have worded that differently... Oh well, it couldn't be helped. "Fine, I'll go first." He said with a sigh, laying down as well.

"I wasn't born here in the graveyard, I was born in the southlands. My father left before I was born and my mother was killed by some zebras stampeding while she hunted." He said emotionlessly. He hadn't known his parents for more than a week, so he didn't miss them.

"At first I met a hyena named Pagao, he was going to take care of me, but eventually we got separated, then I met someone else." He said, REALLY not wanting to mention Jamaa.

"He took care of me for quite a while, but eventually we both decided I should go to the graveyard so I could be with other hyenas."

"As for Omoa, I got her from a friend, just before you got here." He concluded, hoping his explination would suffice.

"Now its your turn."