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((Hope you guys don't mind this hyena migration to here xD))

The black paw of a young hyena lightly stepped out of the darkness that was the elephant graveyard. Mafa was her name. Not a well known pup and not one to favor lions either. Her aqua eyes immediately squeezed shut, the sun was so bright. Definitely something she wasn't used too. Slowly she peered out, her eyes were small narrowed slits. She thought she'd go blind if she opened then even more. She peered back into the darkness to see Sauda. She gesutred for her to follow out. Mafa's small eyes quivered at the sight of the graveyard. Was she really leaving it? It was the only place she had ever known, the thing she was named after, the place that held all of her most sorrowful memories. She sighed and took a few more steps into the sunlight. The sun illuminated her dull and dusty gray coat. She obviously wasn't getting the best nutrition or living in the best conditions, but that was the life of a hyena; maybe the pup would grow better in these conditions. Her nose twitched as she sniffed around, the smell of lions drifted to her nose. A quiet growl rose from her young throat.

"We'll have to watch our backs here Sauda, these lion beasts are killers"

[[Sankyuu! heart ]]


A fly absently buzzed for a moment or two around the dark pelted leopard cub's ear, and when a few pointed flicks wouldn't deter it, she finally lifted her little head and shook it, glad to get that pesky buzzing out of her ear. Damasi yawned, stretching out her little claws before sitting up. Ah, a nice bright new day! Greenish yellow eyes looked around from her leafy perch several feet off the ground with curious wonder. "Hey Kima! Come see come see!" she called to a green bird who was currently preening himself on a branch just above hers, and she was already looking for the fastest way to climb down for a closer look.


"Hu hu, whatsit?" the bird stopped what he was doing almost irritatedly. Blast it, that cub never had a lick of sense about some things! She always leapt in first without thinking, and THEN called to him to see what she was up to. If he were some other sort of animal, a snort of indignation would be in order.

"What are you doing down there, stop that!" Troublemaker of a cub.

Of course, not that Damasi listened. Nope, now she was just crouched in the darker spots of shade under the tree branches, watching a most interesting display. She usually didn't get too close to lions, but this one was little like her. That had to be alright, surely!

Binti suddenly froze, her ears focusing in on something. Snorting, she changed directions, and Mwindaji could only wonder what had her muttering "Stupid Essi...doesn't he know any better than to shout in the middle of the savannah...?", even as her body language changed--she was moving far more quietly, every movement controlled, down to the slight flick of the tip of her tail. A barely contained purr caught in her throat as she stopped behind a particularly large clump of grass, her eyes twinkling.

Mwindaji blinked, somehow knowing that interference on his part was neither needed nor desired. With a mental shrug, he landed a couple of feet behind Binti, careful to not make a sound as he watched to see what she'd do next. He could already hear sounds being made by....another lion cub? behind the clump of grass, and wondered if that meant she knew him...?

Muscles bunching and releasing fluidly, Binti catapaulted at Essien, teeth bared in a mock-snarl, and claws extended menacingly, although she'd withdraw them a split-second before hitting, since she really DIDN'T want to kill him.

Rolling her eyes, Binti rolled off him. Sometimes, she wondered if he'd EVER learn. "I am, indeed. But, you can't go yelling like that, especially if you're not paying attention to your surroundings--what if I'd been a full-grown lion, just waiting for a cub-sized meal...or better yet, a hyena, hmmm?" she asked, temporarily forgetting about Mwindaji, until he waddled into view. "Oh, and now Mwindaji's decided he wants to travel with us, for awhile." she said, shrugging. "Personally, I think he'll get bored soon, but you never know..." she said, eyes twinkling as she skipped from subject to subject. It would seem that she smiled a lot more lately. "Anyway, you're a mess...what'd you do, fall asleep in the dirt?" she asked innocently.

Mwindaji squawked indignantly at the suggestion. Both of them are...so rude... he despaired, although he'd never dare say that aloud--after all, this lioness cub seemed far too aggressive to chance saying something like that. "I believe your companion told me I could travel with you....she never mentioned that I'd be travelling in an edible capacity!" he retorted, tapping Essi's nose with one powerful wing.

Sighing, but realizing that yelling at Essi wouldn't help, Binti batted firmly at his tail. "No, you can't eat it, you silly thing. For one thing, as a bird of prey, he'd be less tasty than his plant-eating relatives...and besides, maybe he can teach you a thing or two about being quieter so as not to get yourself killed." she finished, trailing off as her stomach rumbled demandingly. "However, we do need to find something to eat soon." she said, lifting her head to sniff at the air. "And it's not going to be easy, with so many other lions and...I think I catch a whiff of hyena as well--that means all of the prey animals'll be on their guard, so we're going to have to work that much harder to catch them by surprise."

Binti giggled at the look on Essien's face as Mwindaji bapped him on the nose. "We're not eating the bird...end of story." she said, struggling a bit to look suitably serious as she said it. "Now...as for getting something to eat...you think you can remember enough of what I've told you to actually do something other than scare the prey away?" she asked, a saccharine smile playing about her maw...

Nodding, Binti eyed him with more than a little suspicion, but decided that there was no better test than to actually watch him try it...again. And this time, she'd find a land-animal, so that she could wait in front of it, in case he botched it...again. "Fine. But remember, if you don't learn...there will be some point at which I won't share kills, unless you're able to pull your own weight." she said, lifting her lip in a grin.

Ignoring the fact that her heart was beating just a little bit faster at the thought of Essi becoming a successful hunter, Binti turned away, padding quietly off into the grass. "Oh..and don't fall too far behind, either of you." she said, practically sashaying, although she motioned for Mwindaji to precede her.

Mwindaji stuck close to Binti, not liking the way this other cub looked at him. I don't think I'd be hanging around long if he were the one making decisions... he thought, flapping his wings slowly, moving just fast enough to keep up with Binti's almost leisurely pace.

Binti turned back around to face him, her eyes glowing oddly, as if she was enjoying making him sweat. "Maybe...then again, maybe not." she said, deciding that a little worry might jog his memory, even if only a little bit. There was no need to re-iterate that she didn't expect him to be perfect at it...yet, but rather that he needed to make an effort to become a proficient hunter.