Lucia:
Lucia loped her way forward, bright pink eyes narrowed against the sunrise. The rest of the troupe would still be asleep. It had taken some work to shift the small lion cub -who now declared her his mother- to lay against Fubar without stirring him from his sleep. She didn't expect to be out long. No doubt Taban had noticed her leaving but he'd know well enough to let her have her way. She didn't leave the troupe lightly, nor would it be for very long- if she could help it.
It wasn't until she found a small puddle of water that she stopped to rest. She glanced around sharply before dipping her head down towards the water to drink.
It had been years since she'd lost her pack... she'd been the betta then, and any male she had wanted would have been waiting for her when she was ready. Now...not so much.Now it was a chore. Damn it all.
Angaza:
Angaza plodded through the area silently, limping as he dragged a half-eaten carcass. He'd stolen it fair and square, and had intended to take it home.
He normally didn't steal large game-- in fact he hadn't had large game since the zoo.... Since his mother. He longed for those days-- his easy puphood while his mother ruled the pack until the wild hyenas had come and set things wrong. Now....
Well, he was in the Graveyard, and a lowly scout. It had been so long... At this point, he'd almost forgotten. But he was grateful for his food, and those he cared for... Even if others didn't seem to be.
Lucia:
It wouldn't be long until the female's drink was interrupted by the smell of blood. A kill nearby? Her hackled lifted slightly as she glanced up from her drink and began sniffing at the air. Where there was a kill, there was a preditor of some sort.
She ran her tongue along her chops and slowly loped forward. Thankfully, she was down wind. The kill wasn't completely fresh... perhaps a few hours old. The preditor... she couldn't quite smell him yet.
Angaza:
Angaza continued to move, unmindful of the female approaching. He finally settled to rest his weaker, crippled leg, looking around. He was by no means large and intimidating, but he WAS vicious. A dull warning 'wuff' in case of any competition, and he settled to resting, looking about.
He himself was still proud. His first large theft... Even for his age, it was an achievement, to him.
Lucia:
She moved quietly through the grass, body kept low and ears pulled back to rest against her dark mantle. She paused just as the tip of her snout emerged from the grass. Another hyena. Perhaps she was in luck...he was kind of small though...But he had a kill. A large kill. She smirked a bit. The wounds weren't dealt by a hyena's fangs...he was a scavanger.
Perfect.
The female stood herself up slowly and pulled away from the grass and began down towards him. He'd want to defend the kill. Good...she liked a challenge.
Angaza:
Angaza's ears flicked, and he looked as he sighted another hyena. She was dark.... Interesting. He thought aside one or two, most hyenas were in the Graveyard.
Was she after his prize? He frowned, getting up and standing territorially. The fur on his neck rose a bit, and he frowned.
"Hullo, there." He said, calmly. "May I help you?"
His tail switched a bit, and he was tense. He had plans for his prize, and none of it involved having it stolen from HIM.
Lucia:
"You're not from around here." She mused as she approached. It would become apparent that the female was hardly intimidated by his stance. Her chocolate pelt was littered with scars by fangs and a strange one that had been delt by man's 'thunder stick'.
She licked her chops once more and glanced between the kill and the smaller male. "And that's quite a kill for someone your size... is your pack nearby?"
Angaza:
"...Not unless you consider the graveyard."
Angaza kept it short, eyes never wavering. She was confident-- too confident. And definaitely didn't look the sort to back down easily. His tail switched again as he noted the scars, including the strange one.
She was definaitely... Strange.
Lucia:
"So far away." She chuckled and began circling around the male and his kill. Small...kind of skinny. He obviously wasn't a pack officer otherwise they'd have sent someone along with him. Nor was he marked as one of the alpha's mates- not that she could tell anyway.
"Boardering along the pride lands? You're trying to impress them." She eyed the prey then glanced up to him. "Dangerous territory... you might just run into trouble out here."
Angaza:
Angaza stood as square as he could, raising his head cooly.
"I impress noone." He frowned. "I hunt for those in my care, that is all."
He snorted slightly. He wasn't afraid, but he kept his eyes on her at all times. She was definaitely a rogue, and not a friendly looking one.
Lucia:
"A good goal I suppose." She sighed casually.
Quite suddenly the female turned her body around and snapped her jaws down on the leg of the kill. A sick snapping sound indicated that the bone had been crushed. It was often a trick she'd do to get the other memebers in her troupe to flinch. Taban insisted it was barbaric behavior.
However, she didn't seem too interested in actually dragging the corpse off. Her eyes lifted up towards the male and narrowed, she was gauging his reaction.
Angaza:
Angaza was used to the snapping of bones. Sometimes when small game was not to be found, he'd eaten the marrow himself, and he narrowed his eyes. For a breif, flashing moment, he felt as the son of an Alpha again, although he was not, and he straightened as tall as he could, narrowing his pale green eyes slightly.
Lucia:
This reaction seemed to amuse her. The kill was released and the leg- now snapped in two- dropped to the ground. "Nice.. and here I half expected you to run." She licked at her chops again, "What's your name, boy?"
Angaza:
"Angaza." The male remained standing, but flicked one ear, watching the leg fall, remembering his own hind leg being snapped similiarly.
"Bones break. That is what they do-- and the marrow makes an adequete meal, anyhow."
Lucia:
"I know that." She chuckled, "It was a demonstration. You're dangerously close to my troupe's territory... and dragging a large kill. Too vaunerable. Had I been an angry lion I might have had two meals today."
She tossed some of the mane from her face and watched the male with a wide smirk. "...I am Lucia."
Angaza:
"A pleasure."
He only said it to be polite, but the lion comment DID make him flinch a bit.
"How large?" He eyed her a bit.
More large lions?
Lucia:
"Doesn't really matter." she shrugged, "My troupe is resting on the boarder of a pride's lands. Thankfully, we've earned our right to their trust. A rogue around here, however... the size of the lions matter little...it's the size of the pride you should worry about."
Angaza:
Hnnn."
Angaza shifted.
"I'll keep it in mind."
He finally broke his gaze, sniffing faintly at the air, looking around. WERE others about..?
Lucia:
"Too timid." She rolled her eyes and walked over towards the front of the kill. "You'd be better off breaking it in half, buring one side, and coming back for it later... if you're too tired to save yourself you're no good to your pack."
Angaza:
Angaza suddenly snorted.
"My pack? I'm replaceable. The only ones I prefer are a total of three."
He sneered.
Lucia:
"Sad to hear." She shook her head, "But you discount them if you feel that returning to only three isn't worth it. Tell me, if you're displeased sith your pack, why do you stay?"
Angaza:
"Because I made a promise to someone."
He glanced toward the graveyard. Fritt trusted him, and he wouldn't betray that. And Sabola... No, he couldn't leave them.
He'd promised to be there.
Lucia:
"Ah I see. Well I suppose that's reason enough." She pawed at the kill a bit. "Still. You should make sure you keep that promise and return to them alive. Bury your kill and come back for the rest later. It'll take less energy and it won't grab nearly as much attention."
Angaza:
"....Hnn."
The female seemed to mean well enough, and he moved to dig.
Really, the thought had never occured to him, because he'd never had need to hide food before. The male tore into the ground, but balancing on two hind legs-- he toppled. He limped as it was-- a crippled leg made digging difficult, and the male snarled at himself angrily. There had to be someplace...
He looked around, before spying a hole, likely a serval or rabbit hole. Well, it would do. And any occupants would be a welcome meal addition
Lucia:
"You're wounded." The female raised a brow at his attempt to dig. He must not have been a well-liked member of the pack if they'd send him out alone. That or stubborn.
"Hold on." She loped herself over to where he'd started to dig and began clawing at the ground. "Just keep an eye out while I get this dug out... You want to make sure no one can smell it."
Angaza:
Angaza moved back.
"It's old. It healed as best it would. And that's all."
Still, he helped where he could with a paw. She wasn't THAT bad. She knew how things worked. And she seemed decent.
Lucia:
"Ah..." Well that explained quite a bit. It was in pack nature to send the weaker membrs out on dangerous missions. Not that she had ever approved of such things. "You shouldn't be going out alone then."
Angaza:
"Tell Mafa that." He grunted. "Not that she's aware."
No, he dared not tell many he was crippled by a lion.
"Weakness is looked down upon. I prefer invisibility."
Lucia:
"Feh... I would not hesitate to in a heartbeat." she pulled away from the hole and took a seat. He should take it from there. "That is not a weakness, it's an injury. You should have been given a softer task. Looking after pups or keeping an eye on the boarders."
Angaza:
Angaza gave a cold laugh, moving to store some of the kill.
"Softer? Those jobs don't fall on my shoulders."
No, he was definaitely not favored, simply... There. Nothing, nobody.
"I have a charge. And that's lucky enough. Otherwise I suspect Mafa'd expect me to hunt lions anyway."
Lucia:
"Your alpha sounds like an idiot." She said simply. "Pups these days...don't know a lick of sense from a bite of idiocy..." She shook her head, "Then I'm to assume you've not been allowed to take a mate for yourself then."
Angaza:
"Never tried." He smirked a bit. "Not around Mafa. But Mafa doesn't know what I do when I leave the Graveyard. Nor does she seem to notice."
He laughed a bit.
"So I agree. She IS an idiot."
Lucia:
She raised an eyebrow. "So you had other intentions for your little hunting trip did you?" Perhaps she could use that to her advantage. He seemed decent enough.
Angaza:
"Gets away from the Queen b***h a bit."
Angaza chortled darkly.
"She can't watch everyone, all the time... She's only one hyena. Besides, I have my ways of getting out."
Oh, he'd made sure to have escape routes. He'd made sure of it.
Lucia:
"Well at least you made it this far." she glanced to the kill and smirked. "Why don't we make a deal then? You return to your pack with half of your kill. If you survive to come back for the other half we can talk a bit more." She had a coy tone to her voice. If the male had a brainstem at all she might not have to spit anything out directly.
Angaza:
"....Fair deal." Angaza smirked, moving to lift the kill carefully.
"You had best expect me, then."
He smirked a bit.
This could prove... Interesting.
Very slowly, the male resumed his journey to the Graveyard.
Oh, he'd return.... Definaitely, if but to prove he could do it.
Lucia:
"Don't keep me waiting." Was her only response. She turned herself around and began loping back towards the troupe. The cub would wake shortly... she'd never hear the end of it if she wasn't there when he did.
