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 Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 8:09 am
"Come on, where are we going? We weren't suppose to leave the tree..." one's voice came up from the rustling tall grass. It's voice was young but rough.
"I said I wanted you to meet someone today, remember?" another voice replied, this one more familiar, young, soft and kind. He two movements in the grass where parallel to one another as they moved in... circles. They were either lost or just passing time as they spoke to one another out of the sight of wandering eyes. "I haven't seen her in a while so... I was wondering what she had been up to is all. How about we just go and say hi and then you can go. Alright?"
"Whatever... as long as the rest of your pride doesn't come chasing after me like most of your kind do." the rough voice replied.
"Don't worry, she won't tell anyone, I trust her enough."
"Zeki, you trust almost everyone... sometimes, I am worried about who your trusting."
"I trust you don't I?"
"So what? I could just turn around and kill you right now, it's my instinct."
"Well, you are one stupid friend then if you are gonna kill me, y'know? Then the pride will come aftah, ya. I thought you were smarter than that." Zeki giggled as the ripples started toward the vegetation's edge.
"Brawn, little lion. You are the Brains here."
"I'm working on the Brawn! I'm just a cub...."
The other voice laughed as they headed toward Pride Rock. Hopefully, no wandering eyes will notice that a species such as this one would be wandering around the Pride Lands. It was dangerous enough to be here, but heading toward Pride Rock, the den of the Pride Landers, was almost suicide. However, Zeki was sure that he could keep his friend safe... even from his own Pride.
"Trust me, everything's gonna be alright. Don't worry your little hyena head, Ophos."
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 10:36 am
Safuma's ears twitched away a fly before flickering side to side as she listened to the sounds of the savannah. Her crimson eyes were mostly hidden by heavy lids, basking in the sun for a brief nap after running about with Mzuza all morning. Any lions that were still around Pride Rock were in deeper a slumber than she, even, but the tendrils of dream-sleep pulled at the edges of her consciousness tantalizingly and her head fell a few inches before snapping back to awareness.
Her eyes snapped open when she heard the low grate and lilt of voices in the grass not far below. She hadn't settled too far up the rock's side, but she was high enough to see two forms moving through the grass. Frowning, her tail swatted the rock a few times before she pulled herself to her feet and approached the ground with her belly low to the ground. Who was trying to sneak up on the pride?
Though she had heard plenty of them, Saf had never scented a hyena before and the strange animal smell that wafted towards her made her nostrils flare and she pulled to a halt suddenly. There was a familiar scent as well; Zeki. What was he doing? A soft, kitten-like growl rumbled in her throat, almost like a wordless question before she called out softly and hunched towards the ground once more, "Zeki?"
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 2:20 pm
"Zeki... I dunno about this, this seems too dangerous-and that's something coming from me." Ophos objected, starting to drag his feet in the soft ground of the Pride Lands, trying to discourage the cub's idea. He was the brave one, the stronger one, the older one, and here he was afraid. What hyena would not be when they have been dragged into the center of their species' enemy's territory? None.
"Oph, I will not mislead you. Trust me, I got everything under contr-" his ears picked up a faint voice, so soft and innocent, it had to hers. In his excitement to turn around, his foot was caught by a protruding stone causing himself to trip over himself, tumbling a bit before falling on his back.
Ophos laughed as he left the hidden shelter of the tall grass. He stood over the lion cub and smirked. "Graceful, you'll catch lots of prey with coordination like that. At least now I can see why you lions have the lionesses hunt for you."
Zeki chuckled briefly before hopping up to his feet, not really inclined to reply to Ophos' sarcastic mockery. He looked around with crimson eyes for the bearer of that voice. His head swayed like a snake, from side to side, looking around.
"Safuma? Is that you?" he called out.
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 7:50 pm
The cub slid to the dusty plain just beneath the rock before making her quiet way toward the grasses, keeping her belly low as she neared the high foliage that shielded the new comers from her view. At last, some distance from the rock's climbing side, she saw the familiar little cub come rolling out from the grass in a little graceless heap. She grinned broadly, standing to her full (short) height and starting towards him with a little laugh, "Zeki, what're y-"
Cut off by the appearance of this new creature, Safuma dropped to her belly again as her tail swatted the ground violently. It was that smell! She didn't know what this being was, but he was laughing and talking to her friend. Brow furrowed, she had some sense of mind that this creature was not welcome typically amongst her kind - though he was no prey beast. "What're you?"
Still some distance away, she had to raise her voice to be heard, but she was hardly comfortable with approaching the two without finding out what this animal was. He was not a lion, though his voice confirmed he was most decidedly a he. Zeki seemed at ease, but her ears swivelled backwards in suspiscion while she waited for an answer.
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 8:19 pm
"Safuma!" he called as he climbed up from his fall, dusting himself off as he smiled bright between the slightly taller pup and to his female friend. "Safuma, this is my good friend, Ophos. Ophos, this is the girl I wanted you to meet, Safuma. She's really nice and she said she likes to go on adventures."
Ophos looked down at his friend and then back to her. "Hi... I'm Ophos," he paused for a moment and looked down at his feet. He was obviously the older of the bunch but he felt so out of place here, naturally. "I'm a... hyena."
Zeki stepped forward and took the intiative. "Safuma, could you keep this a secret, just between the three of us? Please? Ophos is a really good friend of mine and you are too. If I didn't trust you, I would not be asking you this..."
Ophos scoffed. "You trust almost everyone, Zeki." he laughed, nudging him a little.
Zeki nudged back, laughing just the same. "I trust only those that I would put my life in the paws in," he smiled and looked back at Safuma softly and kindly. "Safuma..."
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 8:40 pm
Her tail tuft hit the ground so violently that a small dust cloud rose from where it lay, eyes narrowing at the final naming of the stranger's species. This was a hyena? He was bigger than her, for sure, but he didn't seem too threatening. Not nearly as menacing as the stories the nannies had told, but she was still wary. A kitten growl rumbled in her chest as she contemplated the situation. As Zeki's friend, she trusted the other cub, but this Ophos? How did she know he wasn't abusing Zeki's trust?
After a few moments she sighed and her eyes returned to their wide, brightness. She couldn't allow herself to abuse Zeki's trust either, no matter what she thought this pup capable of. A soft smile tugged at the corner of her lips and she grudgingly responded, "Nice t'meet you, Ophos. I'm a lion." Grinning awkwardly, she looked to Zeki then, "Alright. It's a secret, but you better not doing anything stupid." The last was directed towards the hyena, her scarlet eyes glancing over him.
Exhaling in a puff, she rose from her belly and trotted the short distance towards the two of them, "What are you doing here, anyway? Bringing a hyena this close to the pride..." She eyed Ophos almost pityingly as if to wonder what Zeki was getting the two of them into.
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 8:52 pm
"Since when had I ever done anything stupid?" Zeki laughed as he smiled more genuinely, the usual sort that he gave to Safuma. Soft, caring, kind, and innocent. He truely did believe he had never done anything stupid.
"Lets see... that time you fell into my family's den. That time you tripped and landed on an ant colony. That one time you fell into that abandoned den by the tunnel. That one time you tripped over yourself and landed on Mkaragaro. That-"
"Alright, alright, I get it! Jeez..." he puffed a little as he glared over at Ophos and moved himself over to Safuma to save her a few steps to get from where she was to get to over to them. He had a feeling that his friend would point out his flaws when he had the chance to. "And for the record, Mr. Mkarag is a snake so he's long. I could not just move around him in the air..."
Ophos chuckled as he laid down onto his belly, smiling and tail wagging slightly. "Well, we hyena are dangerous. We are suppose to be enemies, but that doesn't mean we have to be right? We are both living things and we both hunt to survive too. We are a lot alike so why fight? That is what Zeki had told me. The only real dangerous hyenas are my parents and the alpha of my pack. But I am harmless, at least for the most part."
"That's not what you said when we were playing... you stepped on my tail!"
"That is because you stepped on my foot!"
The two growled at one another, almost butting heads until the cub smacked him playfully across the muzzle. "Hah, I win." Zeki just grinned happily.
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2007 9:41 am
The cub's ears flickered from side to side as she listened to the two talking. Judging by the cadence and tone of their conversation, as well as the list that Ophos presented, she easily came to the conclusion that the two had known one another for some time. Tilting her head, she sighed in that typical 'see what I mean?' fashion that her nannies or mother often used with her.
Now that the two of them were closer, her hind legs folded so that her rump flopped to the ground in cub fashion. This Ophos seemed a good deal gruffer around the edges then Zeki, but she supposed she couldn't grudge him that due to his upbringing (was that 'specism' from our little princess? I do believe so). He still didn't seem to be much of a threat, besides that she was confident she and Zeki could take him down if need be, whether he was bigger than them or not.
"Well, then I guess we'll just have to keep out of sight from all grown-ups, then." She murmured before arching her brows at the following bickering between the two that ended in Zeki's swat. Laughing brightly, she rose to her feet with a broad smile and looked from one to the other, "So what are you two doing here anyway?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2007 9:56 am
Ophos and Zeki had been rough-housing for a moment with the two ending as Zeki on the ground, his paws kicked up against his stomach and a paw against his chin. Ophos was on top, his paw against Zeki's and head pushed up by the cub's paw. It was one of those moments where a fight just suddenly stops and ends up as a comedic moment. Ophos' brown eyes fell down as Zeki's crimson ones returned the glance.
"Well, Zeki wanted to show me the girl he liked-" Ophos started before Zeki pushed harder with his paw to shut the other's maw from finishing the sentence.
"-to play with and hang out with," Zeki finished with a rather nervious chuckle. "You are the only girl that has actually ever played with me, you know. And you are tons of fun too!"
Ophos gave a coy smile. "Zeki likes a girl~ Just like the snake said."
"Safuma, could I give you permission to hurt him?" he grinned up at the female Pride Lander with a innocent and playful feel. He did like Safuma, just like any other female he had ever met. His mother, his aunt, His Aunt Kami, Sen, Mwokoti, they were all the females he had known and cared for but Safuma was the only one that had actually played with him on more than one occassion. Wonder if talking with Sarakiva would count...
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2007 10:13 am
A bright giggle slipped past her lips as she watched the two of them, bubbling forth again when Ophos spoke and Zeki promptly silenced him. Giving a knowing nod, she grinned to fight down any silly blushing as she reached out to thwap Ophos gently over the head. The touch mildly surprised her, but she moved on quickly enough that she didn't draw attention to the fact she had moved without thinking. That was good, though, wasn't it? She was easing into comfort around this hyena.
"I like to play and hang out with you, too." She echoed, laughing once more before crouching when the sudden sound of rocks sliding down the winding natural staircase reached her ears. Looking back at the two boys, she inclined her head toward the tall grasses, "Let's go find someplace not to close to all the grown ups. Don't need a nanny sending you off."
Slinking into the pale grasses, Safuma all but disappeared as she slipped through the blades. She knew her friends would as well and quietly blessed the fact that they'd each been born with natural hued coats. They'd be hard to pick out from Pride Rock. After not too long, she burst into a small clearing beneath a juvenile acacia tree. Sliding to a halt, she spun around to pounce whoever came through the grass opening first.
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2007 10:25 am
Zeki and Ophos followed shortly after, but more of a slower pace than Safuma had taken. The two conversed in low voices about what just happened between the two of them. One denies it the other thinks otherwise, the two had their moments other times it was mock and be mocked. Zeki could feel a slight blood rush through his cheeks as Ophos poked fun at him and Safuma sayings things about their relationships as friends. He trusted Ophos with his secrets as did Ophos with him, but it felt strange that he had used his own secret against him. Sort of underhanded, but he was still a hyena after all. However that would be sterotyping their general dark nature.
"Come on, admit it. You. Like. Her."
"Maybe a little, just a little over friend but... would you quite it!" Zeki murred.
"Quit what? I'm not doing anything this time. Do you want me to fetch Leji and Pam, they are much worse than I am at teasing you. They don't hold back, y'know."
"I know, but..."
"Just get out there!" Ophos demanded as he pushed the cub out of the grass and into the clearing rather forcibly. He knew Zeki would not go out by himself while he had someone to partner around to be buddy-buddy with. Zeki isn't as brave as he would like to be, but that is why Ophos was there to... push him in the right direction. The cub tumbled a bit and deterred on a paw before regaining his balance.
"Thanks a lot, Ophos!" he called back.
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2007 10:43 am
Safuma waited patiently, crouched to one side with her rear slightly elevated and tail swaying in the wind. Her claws kneaded the dirt gently, ears pressed forward as she tried to hear the exact time when whoever would pass by her nose. A gravely voice reached her ears, telling whoever to just 'get out there' and then, quite suddenly, Zeki was just before her paws calling back to his friend.
Not losing an instant, the cub propelled herself forward and properly pounced after her friend with gentle fervor as her teeth sought out an ear. Any teasing from Ophos would easily be countered when she leapt after him, but until then she had current prey to deal with and gave a delighted, playful growl.
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2007 10:50 am
Zeki squeaked and squirmed as the other mass of fur pressed down on him. He could not see as his eyes were closed, his paws and legs were out under this other being, flailing in all directions. Something sharpe but wet had grabbed his ear and sharp points pricked at his chest. What was going on!? In his panic, he let out a cry of help.
"OPH! SAFUMA! SOMETHING'S GONNA EAT ME!" he shouted out, failing and wiggling and squirming for his life under the pressure of this other entity that had got a hold of his ear.
Ophos shook his head and sat just outside the edge of the tall grass, his nose told him who it was. He knew what was going on and he had no intention of interrupting. Thinking about it now, this was more teasing fun for him than anything he could do himself. He'll just remain quiet and just listen to what is going on.
"OPH! SAFUMA! HELP!"
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2007 11:20 am
The little cub rolled off her friend in a fit of giggles, releasing his ear gently as she did so so as not to cause any further unneccessary harm. Her crimson eyes were creased with mirth as she lay on her side in the dust, ears flickering occasionally to toss away gnats and flies as her tail whipped the air. Speaking between giggles, she rubbed the side of her cheek against the ground while speaking, "I wouldn't eat you, Zeki. You're not a prey beast, duh."
Lifting her head, her ears swivelled toward the grass as she reached out to swat at Zeki's ear. "Where's Ophos?" A gentle purring rumbled in her ribs, incredibly alert as she took in their surroundings and wondered where the hyena had disappeared to.
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2007 3:09 pm
Zeki still squirmed when the mass moved off of him, still flailing about on the ground and eyes closed. It was when he heard Safuma's voice did he stop. Looking up at the clear blue sky, he was foolish... Carefully rising up, he looked around and saw the venerable female from the Pride Land's higher branch of the family. Though she was royalty, she seemed just like any other cub to him. Strange.
"Well, you may not but it felt like it..." he murred, rubbing his ear. "And anything can be a prey beast, just got to work at killing it.... um, don't kill me, please." Zex's ears perked when he noticed that Ophos wasn't around. Strange, he wasn't even there when he was 'attacked'. Safuma had an excuse not to answer; she had her maw full. It was unorthodox for a feline to sniff, an action more commonly seen among canines, he reached a paw into the grass and gripped the scruff of his friend, pulling him out. "He's right here."
Ophos was giggling as he entered the clearing. His tail wagged insanely and his paws were on his chest. Apparently, he laughed hard enough to actually hurt. Zeki cocked a brow and moved over to Safuma and shook his head. "Sometimes I think he's crazy."
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