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Jamal gave a choked snort, idly wiping some blood from his hands onto the pockets of his jeans, and gave Pyroth a dark, narrowed stare. "I ain't so sure anymo'. Normally I could jus' set ma'self off inta a fit 'n' peeps be runnin' off like I was the devil himself...but I kin't even get out a good yell no mo'. Don't matta if da ********' tiger...if dat's what it is...wants ta get mad too. Somethin's stoppin' me. It's bad 'nough I kin't control what I'm turnin' inta...but I kin't even get MAD about it."

He grumbled and kicked the rodent body off into the brush, disinterested in it now that it was dead and wasn't giving him the sick satisfaction of screaming and struggling any longer. "I been out herr awhile...dat's all I've managed ta catch. Anythin' bigger gets away. I ain't good 'nough ta get anythin' worth braggin' 'bout."

The black man had heard the "hungry" comment and looked slightly thrown off at that; he hadn't expected the man to actually EAT what he caught. Jamal had neatly surpressed that urge and the tiger had been contented enough with blood. Perhaps it was the fact he wasn't all that transformed yet...who knew.

"Ya...look diff'rent," said Jamal lamely, finally touching on the fact that he did see Pyroth's change. "How long...?"

"It's drivin' me ********' nuts...ever since they locked me up in da labs, I ain't been right," he snapped bitterly. "I know they did somethin' ta me but what, I ain't got a clue. They ain't against doin' whateva' they want ta us..." Jamal sighed and ran a blood-crusted hand through his cornrows before flopping down on the fallen log he had been crouching behind earlier, giving Pyroth an appraising look over. He certainly looked more advanced than Antony, he decided, but then a sour expression passed over his broad features. No. He wasn't going to dwell on that, dammit!

Jamal rocked back on the fallen log, his eyes half-lidding as he forced his thoughts in another direction. He was certain if he could just get pissed about something, he would feel so much better. The topics of transformation was the last thing he wanted to think about right now though; he was always wondering when he'd be the next 'victim'. Perhaps talking about hunting would divert his thoughts for now.

"I bet you kin catch big s**t. Man, if I could get ma hands on somethin' big, maybe da tiger would shut da ******** up fo' awhile. Or maybe it'd keep me from whinin' 'bout s**t. What I wouldn't give ta sink ma claws back in da Aubrey b***h..."

Jamal's eyes acquired a very constricted, predator gleam to them as he considered Pyroth's words and stared at the blood streaks on his hands momentarily. Was he suggesting....?

"I've seen them boar things out be'fo...they get real pissed off if ya bother 'em, so I kin only guess how hard it'd be ta kill one...not dat I wouldn't mind tryin'..."

His gaze snapped upward to Pyroth, a challenging air to his expression now as he gave the coyote man a fangy grin and a lifted brow. The tiger was interested...but was the coyote?

Jamal's lips curled into a sneer, whiskers fanning against his cheeks as his focus shifted to the possiblity of fueling his foolish male ideals by asserting dominance over a stupid boar.

"I'm up fo' it," he said after a pause as he pressed his fingertip together as his hands lay draped in his lap. No one else had to know that he'd decided to go off on a bloodthirsty romp through the jungle with Pyroth. Maybe it'd help shake off the weird funk he'd fall into lately. Perhaps the animalistic hunt would bring out that anger he had come to rely so heavily on.

"I kin be da claws 'n' muscles 'n' you kin be da nose 'n' brains...I kin't smell nuthin' dat great yet unless it's right in front of me."

Jamal nodded in agreement.
"I kin't keep track of what is what sumtimes," he commented, his attention shifting as he took a deep breath, confirming his statement when his brain buzzed anxiously with all the inputs. He wondered if he'd ever get used to that. The claws had taken some time to learn how to manipulate harmlessly and he still caught his own lip or tongue on his longer fangs...but there was so much involved with scent that he hadn't ever considered before. There was more to be learned from a smell than whether or not something was edible.

Pyroth's words were noted and filed away at the forefront of his thoughts before he let the tiger have a bit more reign. The beast was already calculating a great number of variables as Jamal picked up pace behind Pyroth. Tiny noises that Jamal wouldn't have ever paid any mind to were being analyzed quickly and dismissed as unimportant or potentially worth looking into faster than a normal human Jamal might have done, even if his life might have been on the line. All in all, it might have been interesting to the black man if Jamal had the slightest inkling of pleasure in what was happening to him.

He automatically grew more cautious in where his steps fell on the jungle floor, careful of fallen twigs that might snap or piles of leaves that would rustle should he tread on them.

Jamal followed behind Pyroth as quietly as he was physically able. He was barefoot, so that helped some, but he lacked the pads on them that acted like natural silencers. He would have wryly told himself they would come in time, but now wasn't the time. No, there were more important things to do. He kept his gaze locked on Pyroth as he pushed through the foliage so when he did slow, Jamal became more alert immediately and scanned the immediate jungle. When he saw nothing, he glanced back at the coyote man in silent question.

The nod only confirmed what he had fleetingly inquired...had he found something worth their time? The black man strained to pick out a particular scent amongst those that flooded his nose, but the creature was too far away for him to distinguish. Again they started to move and Jamal followed willingly, this time continually processing the scents as they went and slowly finding one stood out among the other (the tiger was focusing on it intensely now).

The tiger knew what to do now. Wordlessly, Jamal broke rank from Pyroth and started a wide circle around where the boar's scent radiated the strongest, careful to choose the path that kept him downwind. This was what Jamal had never cared to worry about...but he'd never let the tiger take this much control during a hunt either. He kept low, almost literally crawling as he went to avoid low-hanging branches, eyes focused towards the center of the 'circle' as he looked for signs that the boar was moving closer prematurely.

It never occurred to Jamal that if he was the brute force to stop the animal once it charged in his direction that he would take the brunt of injury should the boar dish it out. The tiger was confident that it could take the beast down, but neglected to realize it's vessel lacked a great deal of the natural strength and size it's true body ought to have.

Regardless, Jamal continued to circle around until he was more or less directly behind the boar and slowly got into a crouch, hands placed on the earth in front of him but his legs coiled underneath to allow him the ability to lunge or move quickly when the time was right.

He had just barely taken up position when he heard Pyroth's snarl cut the silence and the crashing sounds of two body hurdling towards him.

The tiger viciously snapped to attention, yanking fiercely on Jamal's remaining control. Adrenaline flooded the black man's body and he tensed, the very minimal fur he had standing on end as he waited. The tiger's focus couldn't be broken now.

Within seconds, the scent of fear, boar, and Pyroth struck him so forcefully that he would have been literally blindsided if the tiger hadn't know how to react. A flash of brown ahead was the cat's only cue to act...the ambush was sprung.

Jamal found himself lunging forward with a snarl almost as vicious as the one that the coyote had given, claws bared and lips pulled wide. He moved to cut the boar off and attempted to bowl the animal over, hands clumsily raking forward to sink the claws into the creature's flesh. The human in Jamal was vaguely left in disbelief as everything seemed to move in slow motion.