Welcome to Gaia! ::

Glowing yellow eyes adorned the graceful beast as she moved across the grass; though her pelt gave her away during the day, when night came, it actually offered great camouflage against the shadows and lights of the moon. After all, when night came... everything was devoid color. It gave her a distinct advantage; for the time being however, she'd wait till the sun went fully down.

Her wish though granted within few hours of it's making, was still not enough for the silent thief found no one worth raiding in the proverbial neighbourhood. She'd spotted some prowling hyenas in the distance, and a group of lioness that had looked a tad too vicious to be worth bothering; aside them, Kinge had found no one daft enough for her to play and trick. Not like she was entirely too bothered; she knew how to hunt, after all, even though she usually referred mocking others' stupidity by stealing their 'well earned meals'. It was, after all, amusing to watch their eyes grow large while she practically stolen the meat from under their noses.

A snort filled the quiet night air, and slowly, the leopardess allowed herself to slink on top of a flat boulder, using it as a perch to wait for a herd to pass by. She lay silently, her tail curling languidly over it's surface, her ears twitching at the sound of teeth crunching bones with-

Wait a minute.

Instantly, the female frowned, her head turned in an attempt to pierce through the darkness. Though the moon offered her little light, the moment she set herself at the task, she was distinctly aware of someone (a singular someone at that! She was sure!) working away at a carcass. The sound of bones being crunched and chewed filled the air, as did the distinct scent of fresh meat. This, should be fun, she decided as she got up and slunk closer to the kill; the crunching had instantly told her that her opponent for the night would be a hyena, or a wild dog. The fact it was alone bothered her, for such beasties were rarely alone, however, she brushed away the notion and went about her business.

All the better for her, and all the worse for the canine, she thought as she slunk closer, "Well, well," she said as she nearer Izulu, "That's a big kill for someone so small as yourself, isn't it?" she paused, raising her head in the air, "Where are your buddies, hyena?"

A nutcase, Kinge decided as she blinked; she'd stumbled upon a total nutcase. Idly, her mind veered away from the current conversation in order to ask itself if it was even all that pleasing to steal from someone that was mental. Not mentally challenged, but really and truthfully insane. Because it was more than apparent that this one was indeed, perfectly insane. No buts about it.

"Huh," the word was breathed softly; her mind had shut itself off in an attempt to digest the information it'd been given after all, and there was little else Kinge found she could offer the hyena, "Okaaaaay... humour me; if you're not a hyena... what exactly are you?" she pause to look up into the sky, wrinkling her nose before deciding that in such a situation it was best to simply play along, "You see, the moon doesn't offer me lotsa of light, and sadly, I'm near blind... so I can not see all too well."

Any other would have questioned such a statement, however, Kinge had the inkling of a notion that the hyena would in fact, not only believe her at face's value, but would also not question her further, "Don't mind if I do?" arching a brow, the leopardess allowed herself to lay down near the kill, lowering her maw with caution towards the carcass. She was almost expecting the hyena to take a hold of it and yank it away just in time to mock and laugh at her for her stupidity... but as the feline sank her teeth to savour the meat and yank a portion off, she found the 'attack' of sorts... never quite came.

Huh...

Munching elegantly on her small portion, Kinge arched a brow at Izulu, trying to figure her out, "You know, there's worse things than the Ivy king out here," tilting her head, she silently added 'like myself', but other than a small smirk, the words never came or showed in her movements, "Specially being all alone and all... someone could come right up and steal your food," she rolled her eyes, taking a second bite. Oh the irony; because lord knows that's what she'd set out to do, "Pride... huh? So, tell me, what're you doing out here all alone? I thought Quests and Missions were done in company, not all alone."

"She's not alone!" the word was growled fiercely, and out of the darkness stepped another hyena; this one however, unlike Izulu, looked angry beyond belief as he approached, "Get away from 'er!" the warning was accompanied by a distinct snapping of his jaws in mid air; he was so angry, he seemed to be radiating it, his pelt on edge, his eyes glowing in a menacing way. The behavior was out of character for Othieno, indeed, but he had his reasons for it; one of few was that this was not the first time he'd met Kinge. In fact, this was the second time he'd met the suave leopardess, and tell truth, the first meeting had not left him willing to encounter her a second time. Enok hadn't really minded it all that much; losing their kill to the female had been annoying, sure, but it wasn't like they couldn't take down another.

Oth on the other hand, had taken it as personal insult, and he slowly stepped towards the leopardess with the obvious intention of hurting her. Lots.

Instantly, Kinge's eyes settled on the other hyena, "Oh, bother... not you again. Thought I'd seen the last of you; what the hell is your genetic disease anyhow?" the leopardess mumbled as she flattened her ears back. She made it a point to remain laying down however, as if the male were no real threat to her, "You're small. And slow. I can outrun you," she said pointedly.

It was all Kinge could do not to burst out laughing then and there; it'd make her look like a hyena and truthfully, the leopardess did not care for the irony of the situation, "Weird thing?" she managed the words without a snicker; a feat she'd later congratulate herself over, her maw for the time being merely curling into a smirk, "Oh how the mighty have fallen..." she muttered under her breath, just loud enough for them to hear her as she dipped her maw to yank another piece of meat off the carcass, "Oh yes, do join in; it's an open feast here. No need to work for your meal! It's like a bloody buffet. It'll give us time to get us to know each other better, isn't that nice?" the sarcasm was evident in her voice was she watched the scene, her form laying regally on the floor. Her pose and air seemed to indicate that the hyenas were, in fact, beneath her, for all to see.

Blinking rapidly, Othieno went from growling, to looking taken back, back to growling, and then to looking horribly confused again. All this in bare few seconds, his maw opening, only to close again, repeatedly, "Friend?" he paused to gulp saliva down, still blinking, as if the motion would clear his mind of whatever red fog he'd been seeing previously. It'd clearly not been letting him think rationally, because there was no other way the hyena could explain the current events otherwise.

"You heard her, Othy, I'm her friend, now sit and gorge yourself, or be on your merry little puppy way, won't you?" licking her maw, the leopardess congratulated herself on being able to adapt so swiftly to such a singularly strange situation, "No one asked for a knight in shinning armour."

The male bristled, his frame stiffening at Kinge's words as his brows knitted. A long pointed growl was aimed at the feline before he turned to look at Izulu uncertainly, "Are you QUITE sure she's not botherin' you?" Glaring at the leopardess, whom made it a show of looking as innocent as she could, the hyena growled again, "'Cause she's god damn botherin' ME alright...." the words were snarled under his breath, barely audible before he sat himself down; he didn't really want to admit it, but Izulu's rubbing against his side had been enough to calm him down. More than he'd thought it possible; more than he really wished to dwell on. She was a hyena, not a lioness. He did NOT find her attractive, after all. Not at all.

Maybe he should keep repeating this to himself as a mental mantra. Maybe then he'd be able to believe it, "Uh..." he looked down at the kill, moving his eyes swiftly towards the feline, narrowing in the darkness before he dipped his maw down and took a bite, "Yeah, yeah... hungry. Much better, don't worry," though the words were aimed at Izulu, his gaze was glued on the feline, never parting from her form, even as he ate.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you that it's rude to stare, boy?" a pause as something seemed to occur to her then, "Where's the big one? That Enok dude? Why isn't he here with you, all out for my blood anyhow?" a pause as she flashed him her bloodied teeth in a smile, "In MY defense, I only gave you a dose of reality; you're naive as they come, flirting away with a total stranger..."

Golden eyes narrowed in the darkness, the growl still rumbling through him, resembling an odd purr, due to the fact he kept his mouth shut. The sound rumbled through his chest as he haunched himself over, "Round and about; he's not all too fussed 'bout you," he snapped his maw mid air suddenly, "But /I/ am."

This time, there was nothing that Kinge could do to hold back the snort of laughter that escaped her maw, "Feast of friends indeed..." she coughed a bit into her paw and raised her head just barely enough to offer the male a distinct smirk, "Yeah, you heard her; I'm her OWN kind, Othy, shove off now will yo-"

"Who were you flirting with Weird Thing? Did she turn you down?"

She stopped mid-sentence, her maw opening into a bark of laughter, which later turned into a full-fledged laughter fit at Oth's look as she licked him. It took her several minutes to collect herself, after which she stared at the couple in front of her, her eyes twinkling with mirth, "She's for real, isn't she? I wasn't all that sure, but no one could pull off that tunt without being completely serious about it," she paused, her voice lowering as a brow arched, "I don't believe it; I've stumbled upon the epitome of innocence..." she muttered under her breath, torn between amusement and feeling almost sorry for her, "And I don't even WANT to steal from her. The hell..."

Meanwhile, Othieno wasn't all THAT aware of what the feline was saying; he was too busy dealing with his mind, the thoughts that poured through it, and the warm body pressed against his side, "I uh...?" the word was squeaked, making him sound like a mouse, more than a hyena before he shook his head and mane, an obvious attempt to sort out his thought, enough to answer at least, "I... she didn't turn me down," he managed as he glared at the still smirking feline, "She stole my supper..." his voice was bitter, the words hissed, however, the hiss died and turned into something akin to a murr, his eyes semi-closing as the female pressed herself against him.

Again.

With a vengeance, nuzzling under his chin to boot. He opened his maw, only to close it, gulping and swallowing loudly, however, no rational thought entered his mind. It was all about the warmth at the pit of his stomach and the pressure of the female against him. It was in that moment of desperation that his eyes seeked out Kinge of all creatures.

And amusingly enough, it was at that point that Kinge smiled good-naturedly, for the first time since Othieno had met her, days ago, "Poor, poor, weird lil thing indeed, huh? Finally got what he wanted, except not as he expected it," she wrinkled her nose, amused to no end before she nosed the female hyena softly, "Love, his name is Othieno, not Weird Thing. Like mine is Kinge. And I thought you were a lioness? I'm a leopard. I'm not a lioness... though I'm related to them, in a way," she paused before nodding at the still gaping male, "Remember I mentioned hyenas earlier, love? He's a hyena. Not a weird thing. They're quite common around these parts, so he's not ALL that weird.... though he IS rather unique."

Othieno was meanwhile, much too busy trying to keep himself from acting to really offer much in the means of conversation. He was, after all, having a hard enough time just trying to keep himself from returning the nuzzles; there was little he could do to keep his tail from wagging up a storm, but at least he was managing to remain a perfect gentleman. Though if she continued, he had no idea how long he'd last, "I... yeah?" he said eloquently, gulping again, his paws trembling.

"She's for real," Kinge answered her own question, her both brows shooting up as she did her best to keep herself from laughing. She really didn't want to hurt their feelings. No, wait, she didn't CARE, now did she? And thus the feline chuckled again, however, this time with unadulterated mirth; it was evident she was no longer being acidic, or even sarcastic in nature, and was instead, honest to go amused, "Yeah, that's what a hyena looks like, love," she had to refrain from telling the girl to go look herself in a pond, almost having to bite her tongue to keep herself from doing so, "Special lioness indeed; where'd you meet this one, Oth? Just so I know and I NEVER go there to breed or anything."

Othieno opened his maw to protest, but then closed it rapidly when instead a moan came out. Instantly he sat on his hind paws, both front paws coming to cover his maw almost comically, eyes wide with fear. Oh gods, no, he thought as he twitched, PLEASE no. The gods, however, were obviously not listening to him at all. Or perhaps they were; perhaps they were getting their jollies out of his goddamned situation... which was a clear possibility, what with the fact Oth had long since decided that his existence was, no doubt, a great, big, cosmic joke.

"No, sweetie, I'm a LEOPARD, not a lioness. Not even a special lioness," Kinge smirked at the on-goings, waving a paw slightly, her regal position long gone, instead replaced by a languid one, allowing herself to recline her frame partially against the kill as she talked, "Uhm, sweetie-pie? I don't think you're helping the poor boy..." she considered what to say; on one paw, she was literally having a blast at the male's expense... a few well chosen words and she could very well give the hyena a night to remember. On the other hand, she could see how much he was suffering and didn't want to add to it.

...Except she did. Because ooooooh, Kinge was a bad, BAD girl, and was so, SO enjoying this. Way too much for her own good, "Enough," she finished her earlier sentence with a smile, "I think he needs a hug. And he probably needs someone to curl up with him tonight, you know, for psychological help and all. The drama and the trauma are just EATTING away at his heart. I know so," watching the way Othieno's eyes grew even wider was worth it in Kinge's mind.

Even though he DID take the bone, it fell out of his open maw as soon as the leopardess started to talk. The worst thing was that he was torn between saying 'oh god YES' and 'oh god NO'. For now he decided on the later, however, where his mind had decided on the 'no', his body seemed unwilling to comply; it'd long decided 'yes'.

A pause, followed by a smirk that edged itself slowly upon the leopard's maw, "Oh no, honey; he's all yours. I've got this terrible ache in my front paw, and a bit of a bad back today. Any hugging might be notorious for my well being. Heaven knows I need to be at my best tomorrow, and that means that today I should rest with as little physical contact and strain as possible," she made a show of wincing, moving her body to lay down regally on the floor, "So I'm afraid that you'll have to do the hugging for the both of us. It's okay though; I'm pretty sure he won't mind all that much. He seems to have lost the ability to talk coherent words by now; he's THAT happy."

She'd stressed the word out as an innuendo, her eyes gleaming in the darkness before she silently got up, took a last bite from the carcass and began to walk away, "I'll be around and about; I'm going to find a nice lil tree to climb up on and rest, hmmm? Bad back and all; I need a good night's sleep up on the heights, don't you think?" it was a rhetorical question, however, before parting, Kinge turned to glance at the pair over her shoulder, "Damn amusing pleasure to meet you again, Ozzie," she called out, then winked at Izulu, "And loved meeting you too; I'll see you around then. Try not to kill the poor boy before the night's over, will you?" as she walked through the grass, vanishing from view, her voice could still be heard, however just barely, "He looks just about ready to explode..." still, the words dripped innuendo, and still she knew the female hyena would have no idea what the hell she was talking about.

It'd been a damn amusing night. It even made up for not having stolen their meal; with such entertainment, she could easily get used to not stealing.

No, nononononono, noooooo; Kinge was NOT right. In fact, Kinge was a damned b***h (fact she was a feline, and not a canine, aside), or at least, that's what Othieno thought as he watched her leave, his mouth doing his best to work out words, yet merely managing to open and close in time. This was NOT the way things were meant to go and he needed HELP. Now. Please. Someone?

...anyone?

"No, NO sleeping together in a 'wiggly pile'," his voice was a squeak as he squirmed on the ground; in fact, it was a damned miracle he'd managed the words alone, "No 'wiggly' anything. At all, ENOOOOOOOOOOOK!" the word was howled with such despair that it almost sounded as if he were being tortured. Which right about described his situation well enough, really. Sweet, sweet torture. He wanted out.

"I'm coming! HANG ON!" a brown form came crashing through the grass, his teeth bared, eyes glowing in anger as the lion made his way towards them, intending to save his buddy from whatever torment he was enduring by the hands of whatever villain might be daring to do it.

However, no sooner had Enok crashed into the clearing, that he stopped; his bulky body coming to a skidding halt, his brows knitting into a frown, "What the bloody hell?"

Othieno, still being hugged, whimpered lightly, his ears having fallen to flop against his head, "Ohgodpleasehelpme..." the words were weaved together into a squeak, his front paws trembling.

"NO wiggle pile! NO WIGGLE PILE!!" his voice was desperate, eyes growing large at the realisation he really wasn't going to last THAT long at all. In fact... "ENOK! SAY SOMETHING! DO SOMETHING. NOW!!" half screeching, half squirming (which wasn't really aiding his situation either), half squeaking, the hyena attempted to push the girl away from him. With little success, "You BETTER get your god damned a** here and HELP me now, or I SWEAR, Enok, I'll eat your unborn babies in the middle of the bloody NIGHT! GET HER OFF!"

Enok, however, was too busy blinking at the scene to really do anything of worth to help out. Sad fact was, that the brown lion's brain wasn't all that big, and assimilating the facts occurring around him was taking it's merry little time, "What the bloody hell?" the question was repeated again, however it was clear he wasn't really expecting an answer. In fact, it was obvious he was merely buying himself a bit of time.

It was only after Othieno's second howl of despair that something in the lion's mind seem to go 'click' and fall back into place, "You mean that Kinge-leopard chick?" a pause as he turned to face Oth, "Were you playing with her again? I told you to stay away from her, Oth! Bad news, she is. Not worth the trouble at all..." upon the hyena's thrid howl, after which he trembled and looked about ready to launch himself at something, Enok seemed to finally get just how intricate the situation had become, "OHHHH!" a pause, "OoooOOoooooh...." a second pause, "Dude..." arching a brow, he stared just for a second longer before stepping in, separating the two bodies with easy (he was, after all, much bigger), "Dude. Izulu? Of all creatures?" turning to look away from the shaking male, he addressed the female hyena he was still holding away from Oth, "And what exactly were you willing to achieve with that lil... er.. game? Oth's just fine, don't worry about him. Actually, something tells me he's damn happy to see you."

"SCREW you TOO, Enok!" the words were barked with rage before the canine shook himself free from his friend's grasp and made a mad dash for the grass. He needed a nice, cool, coooooold swim. He also needed to rip a certain leopard's throat open. But he'd content himself with the swimming in the nearby waterhole, "Don't you DARE let her follow; I'll be back soon!" and this said, he vanished, leaving the male lion with Izulu.

Arching a brow, Enok finally let go of Izulu, looking down at her, "Good to see you too. No hug for me?" he seemed amused, actually, "Whose idea was this?"