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As the last rays of sunlight faded from existence, the strip of savannah that bordered the jungle was still, save for the quiet rustle of long grasses, interrupted periodically by a soft snort, or the occasional stomp of some nearby hoofed mammal. It that period in which bustle of the day has ended, and there is a small respite before those that walk in the night take over.

Silently, a brown-and-black shadow detached itself from the treetops, emerging from the darkened forest with a lazy sort of grace--a grace that he had only recently grown into.

As he'd grown from cubhood to first adolescence, then adulthood in the safety of the jungle, the dark-pointed leopard had found himself antsy, and so had taken to exploring the surrounding savannah under the cover of darkness, after a run-in with a young cheetah had convinced him that he was far too visible during daytime hours...terrain he hadn't set foot upon since cubhood was again becoming familiar beneath his paws.

Raising his head slightly, he sniffed the air, wanting to avoid an encounter with a lion pride whose territory he may well be invading, if at all possible.

Okoth had managed to survive alone- getting lucky finding remains here and there or just nabbing a smaller animal that wasn't... very smart. He was roaming through the grass as the light from the sun flickered out of sight and darkness threw it's blanket across the sky. He lifted his head, ears flicking forward through the half-mane that decorated his neck and fell across his eyes. He could hear something moving around. He stalked to the side, sniffing the air. He had no wish to run into a group of anything tonight.

Athari's baby-blue eyes narrowed slightly, as the faintest of scents reached his sensitive nostrils--lion. At least one, although whether it was really alone or not...exploration would tell.

Shifting to a low crouch, Athari crept forward slowly, soot-black paws almost caressing the ground as he moved to investigate--he was reluctant to give up the night's explorations without first seeing if there was even reason for him to hightail it back to the safety of his treetops.

Okoth was poking around the grassy spot he'd sat in, smacking a large beetle he discovered. His ears lifted again, hearing the shift in the grass that was far to close to the sound of the wind through the blades that someTHING. He left the bug, head lifting again. "... is someone there?"

The leopard hesitated a moment, freezing in place. Reluctantly, he took another two steps forward, allowing himself to come into view, although his lean body remained poised for flight, should the need arise. "Just me, I hope." he said simply, tail lashing to and fro as he tilted his head to the side, examining the adolescent lion in front of him with no small degree of curiosity.

"Oh, in that case-" Okoth returned his attention to the beetle, frowning when he found it long gone. "Well.. it's gone now."

Blinking, Athari's tail stilled slowly. "...what's gone, if you don't mind my asking?" he queried, taking another tentative step forward. There was something odd about this one...>.>;; >D

Okoth tilted his head at the ground, still scanning for signs of the bug. He looked for several long moments before his ears raised and he slid to the ground, tail lashing about behind him. "Oh wait... I think I've found it." The beetle was sitting directly infront of Athari, fluttering it's wings beneath the hard back of it's shell. Okoth's eyes narrowed, zeroing in on the bug before he leapt forward at it.

Athari's eyes widened slowly as he noted the narrowing eyes, the sudden focus on the ground...directly in front of him. When Okoth came barrelling directly at him, the leopard barely contained a yowl of surprise, scrambling backwards, nearly tripping over his own paws in his haste. What on earth was he up to?!

Okoth scree'd as he came to a skidding halt, paws cupped around the beetle. He pressed his nose into the gathering of grass, dirt, and hopefully beetle.. sniffing for activity. His tail was still darting around behind him... he glanced up, nose covered in dirt- as if realizing that the other animal was there for the first time. "Oh.. hello. I've got a beetle." ;D

"Well, it's a beetle... have you ever seen one this big?!" Okoth wiggled his tail, paws tightening around the mound... his eyes snapped back down, watching as the beetle ever-so carefully climbed out between his toes and fluttered into the air.