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 Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 4:45 pm
Blossoms bloomed everywhere among the green grass. In fact, the flowers were so thick that it was impossible to actually see the grass now. Everything was a thick blanket of pink and white. Bees buzzed from flower to flower, gently kissing the plant to collect the nectar before flying off to some other plant. It was absolute paradise for rabbits, as one gently loped along in the shade of the grass. Occasionally, it would stop to take a hopeful nibble of some grass, in the optimistic hope that it would become palatable. But, for some reason, the taste of grass wasn’t attractive to this particular rabbit, who went off in search of clover instead. Or something. Whatever it was that rabbits ate. Birds in the trees sang merrily of… well… actually, birds were birds and therefore focused on sex. Everywhere, the world was preoccupied with sex: even the flowers were designed for the pure purpose of creating more plants. In particular, the birds were singing things about how they could make their chests big and red and were therefore insanely attractive.
The rabbit ignored it all, blithely oblivious to the messages flittering around. But, it did pay very close attention to when the birdsong suddenly stopped. Its ears stood straight up and the rabbit hunched slightly, listening for anything. All it could hear was the buzzyness of bees, however. Shrugging its shoulders, the rabbit went back to its meal, completely ignoring the black and white terror coming closer.
Kayin kept his body close to the ground as he watched the rabbit hungrily. For the past week, he had been letting others do his hunting for him. And why shouldn’t he? He was injured, after all… occasionally, his muscles still twinged after that beating from those damned lions. Goddamn lions… when the rabbit lifted up its ears again, Kayin stayed perfectly still, his violet eyes fixed on the little delectable creature. Finally, the rabbit went back to eating… Kayin burst into motion, a black and white flash of pure speed.
Unfortunately, he was a black and white flash of pure speed who didn’t stop to think why other cheetahs weren’t hunting in this area. Normally, bees ignored cheetahs, since cheetahs generally didn’t try stealing their honey or anything. But, bees could not ignore being stepped on. Kayin’s eyes opened wide in pain and he let out a loud yowl.
The rabbit, naturally enough, bounded away, just as Kayin rolled into the place previously occupied by a bunny. Kayin scrabbled back to his feet and tried to run after the rabbit, but… well, with a beesting in one’s paw, hunting became a whole lot more difficult. Pouting, Kayin snorted and started to stalk away, limping once more.
Stupid rabbits… stupid bees!
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 5:06 pm
 Stalking away from his family, the male cheetah searched for something to do. With the cubs resting, and Nadifa deserving a rest herself, he had to look for a way to occupy his ever whirling mind. Tail flicking in irritation; he had gone for a fall back, hunting. With cheetahs abound, perhaps he should catch something for someone who is unable to do so. It was worth a try, as head hunter of his family group, he had to be smart, but being the male he was, he also felt that he should look after the others as well.
Sniffing around, he could smell the slightly soothing scent of flowers in the breeze. Prey things like the airy smelling things, so he started towards that direction, constantly looking for anything to grab his attention. The yowl did that better then something coming up and biting his own tail.
Completely tensed, the gray cheetah bolted off, right towards the sound learning a lesson about getting what you ask for. If there was something harming a cheetah in these lands, it had to be dealt with and he was the one to reach it dead on. Imagining all these fierce monsters, lions and hyenas and the like, he searched for the filthy stench as he approached an unknown male cheetah. Tenses more by the proximity with a male, he approached looking for what had hurt the black and white cheetah.
"What happened?" That was the important question, how the cheetah was doing was much less so when his family might be in danger. In his thoughts, going faster than he could run, he realized the down side to a large coalition of cheetah, other males. Females were fine; great even and wonderful to look at, males on the other hand were not as much.
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 5:23 pm
Kayin sat down on his rump under the shade of an umbrella tree and looked forlornly at his pawpad. A bee, its stinger still imbedded in his paw, wriggled around. Ugh… so disgusting. Luckily, shaking his paw like hell seemed to do the trick; now he just had to get the stinger out. Biting it gently between his teeth, he pulled and spat it out, all the while muttering rude things about bees. As the voice of another cheetah floated over to him, Kayin’s ears pressed down against his skull and he hunched his shoulders a little. Bad enough that he couldn’t even catch a measly little rabbit… now he’d have to sit through someone’s mockery.
The fact that it was another male made things even worse. Kayin had no desires to impress females. Well, maybe a few… but, that was only in the course of normal male egotism. Impressing males was more important to him, a fact that he had yet to discuss with Angel. It would come up eventually, he figured, when it needed to be discussed. What with Aailyah’s whole ‘cheetahs must breed’ thing, he worried that she might suddenly try and throw him out of the coalition once she discovered his… ah… preferences. Needless to say, Kayin did not want to talk to anyone about how he had missed a rabbit because he stepped on a bee.
There was no way around it though, not without lying out of his a**. And he was trying to be on his best behavior. With all of this in mind, he finally said, “I stepped on a bee.” His tail lashed angrily behind him, showing his annoyance clean and clear. Honestly, stepping on a bee?! How embarrassing was that! That was something a cub might do on their first hunt! Admittedly, it had been a good long while since Kayin had actually hunted for himself… it wasn’t easy to hunt when you were black and white. Sure, the effect was very striking, but… well… everyone could see him easily.
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 5:52 pm
Fortunately for the both of them, Kolo had no idea what Kayin was thinking. His own thought was that the cheetah could be a threat. Of course, the reason behind the yowl dismissed that idea. Laughter was restrained through the sounds made through his nose, the mix between a snort and a strangled laugh. Who steps on bees? "Try to watch your step from now on." There was an edge of something resembling concern, the alarm raised by the black and white cheetah could get the whole coalition to stir and it did no one any good to get upset over nothing.
Having a poorer view of the cheetah, he also was much more relaxed, two sides of the coin. Completely relaxed, he started to continue his stroll, seeing no need to keep a conversation with the male; he wasn't female nor a threat. Though it gave him something to do for a moment, Kayin provided nothing to soothe the tornado in his mind, just proved a moment of amusment.
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 6:06 pm
Kayin let out a soft snarl when Kolo started laughing. It wasn’t that funny! It hurt, damnit! And there was nothing funny in the pain of others! Except when it actually happened to those who weren’t Kayin, of course. Then it was hilarious. “Oh, come on! It’s not that funny to step on bees! I was more focused on catching something to eat than looking at the damn insects!” he glared at Kolo, as if those violet eyes of his could do horribly violent things.
But, of course, they couldn’t do much besides look really pretty. And, occasionally, charm people. Kayin even tried to make a little moue of discontent, but the best he could do was a pout, which looked more juvenile than anything else. Waitaminute… a few little words popped up in his mind, a stuttering voice from not-so-long-ago. Nadifa had mentioned a gray cheetah, right? At some point? Probably… he had encountered the brown female again not long after the fish incident, and the conversation had turned towards Kolo. Ah… well, Nadifa had good taste, Kayin had to grudgingly admit. Sort of.
“You’re the lovely Nadifa’s mate, aren’t you? Koko or something?” he asked, deliberately getting the name wrong. And, yes, he was trying to bait Kolo a little; after being laughed at like that, Kayin felt a tad vindictive.
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 6:45 pm
Kolo responded to the outburst from the other cheetah by coolly saying, "It is random, Cheetah are normally far more graceful then to fall into something a hyena would do." He felt like living proof, every step was light and on purpose, he held himself like a graceful creature. Sleek and well groomed, he was an example of a cheetah, he felt.
The eyes scared him as much as a gerbil, scratch that, the gerbil was scarier and sometimes neat to look at. Not interested in further conversation, he paused when he heard Nadifa's name. One paw elegantly raised in the air in mid-step, he turned to look to the cheetah closer. What had happen when the cheetahs met.
Either this cheetah had poor memory, or was mocking him. Suspecting the latter, he pointedly chose to fight back with his own manner, "No, Ko-lo" The syllables of his name were emphasized like one might teach a cub how to pronounce a word, but then moved on as if he had done nothing out of the ordinary, "You were fortunate to meet Nadifa, she is a wonderful a wonderful cheetah." Of course he was curious, wondering why Nadie didn't tell him about meeting this male cheetah, though he figured she didn't think it was important.
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 6:57 pm
Kayin snorted at that. Alright, so he admitted it. He wasn’t the… the best hunter in the world. In fact, he wasn’t very good at it at all. He placed most of the blame on his striking pelt, but he knew that practice would have helped that. He was simply too lazy to bother. Besides… it was far more rewarding to fool others into hunting for him. Ohh! He had touched a nerve there, hadn’t he? Kayin’s eyes narrowed and he smirked slightly. Apparently, the oh-so-high-and-mighty-Kolo wasn’t as confident as he liked to pretend. If he was so easily bothered by the idea of a male hanging around Nadifa---Nadie? Really?---then he had some sort of weakness.
“Yes, she is remarkable,” Kayin said coolly, as if there was absolutely nothing strange about two cheetahs of the opposite sex meeting together without the knowledge of one of the cheetah’s mates. And, yes, he was deliberately putting emphasis on certain words, trying to see just how far he could push Kolo. It was a stupid and spiteful thing to do, but… well… he was annoyed. Also, he was pretty sure he could run faster than Kolo, no matter how much his paws hurt. “How did you meet her, out of curiosity? I never did ask her that. We were too busy discussing other things.”
“Of course, if you don’t want to answer that, I suppose I can ask her the next time I see her. We meet occasionally. I enjoy her company and she enjoys mine.”
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 8:14 pm
At first, he was not bothered, yes, she was remarkable. The statement wasn't something particularly bothersome. The ice Kayin was treading then became much thinner by every word. The warning growl began when it was indicated that he would meet up with his mate. Nadie was virtuous, he was sure, but this Kayin was a bumbling oaf cursing for a bruising. The hair on the back on his neck and back started to stand up as he became near violently irritated.
Not letting a chance go by that his fangs were not clearly seen, he answered, "We met during a hunt, she instantly took a liking to me as I took a shine to her, even before the cubs, we were inseparable besides solo hunts." The tornado in his mind crackled now, focused to the point of stricking and warming the blood. If he wasn't so ticked, to put it midely, this might have been fun.
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 10:40 pm
Every single neuron in Kayin’s brain told him to stop baiting Kolo. The gray cheetah was bigger than he was and, most likely, stronger too. And probably a much better fighter, since Kayin wasn’t one for fights. He found that it was much more… satisfying to win without getting his paws dirty. It was far more interesting to manipulate others into doing the fighting for him. His instincts, however, told him that his honor had been impugned and this was the best way to defend it. How he reached this conclusion was a mystery, but such things often were. “Inseparable,” he repeated, as if he had never heard the word before. The growls didn’t seem to bother him much. He made a show of looking around, as if searching for Nadifa. “Indeed, I can see just how inseparable you two are.”
Then again… then again, for the first time, he realized that it wasn’t Kolo who would be harmed here. Nadifa could easily be hurt too. And Kayin honestly was trying to behave… he simply wasn’t very good at it. Besides, driving a wedge between mates---cheetahs, at that---was a cheap blow, even for him. No matter how pissed he was at Kolo. Besides, a far more fun idea popped into Kayin’s brain at that moment. “You’re very lucky to have her. She has very good taste…” and with that, he made a show of looking Kolo up and down in his very best lascivious way. And, yes, he was good at that.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 1:27 pm
As the fur on his back stuck up, he glared deeper, hating being mocked. What he had said was a turn of phrase so to speak. Cheetahs were normally solitary, so to have her choose to stay with him even before the cubs is what he considered inseparable. She wouldn't leave him, he was sure of it, and this cheetah was mocking it! The only thing holding him back was a very thin thread of ice that the black and white devil was tap dancing on.
That look he got, made his skin crawl, and in his mind a shattering sound blasted through the whirling din. Having had enough he harshly let out, "I'll show you one of the three things I am good at." Being a lover and a hunter were two, the former he wouldn't waste on this cheetah, or any male. He'd rather mate with a hyena. Bolting forward, he went for the kill, teeth out and claws ready. Unlike Nadifa's attack on the black devil, Kolo was an experienced fighter and had a much easier opponent, no mane between soft neck nor huge bulks of muscle.
Rash as he was, the consequences were not factored in. It never crossed his mind of what would happen to his family if he was lamed or otherwise unable to even run. How his mate would feel about his attacking her 'friend' or the overall effect to the cheetah species if one of them was removed. Now, even Nadifa would be extremely hard pressed to calm him, even though normally having her around would because he didn't want her to see this side of him. Right now, if he had the chance, he’d kill the other cheetah, though he’d also settle for leaving painful reminders and doing as much damage as possible.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 2:17 pm
Ask any expert, and they’ll probably tell you that cheetahs can’t climb trees. A cheetah’s claws, intractable, were most unsuited to just about anything beyond running and fighting. Kayin’s claws were even more useless than most cheetah claws, since he couldn’t fight worth a damn. Luckily, his brain had never heard that cheetahs can’t climb trees. Admittedly, he couldn’t dig his claws into the bark, but he was an expert at jumping. It was one of the three things he was good at, the others including loving and tricking others, and the one that seemed most wise right about now. Jumping up at the lowest branch, he managed to hook his front paws over it, leaving his hindquarters sagging slightly. That was an easy target, especially for someone like Kolo.
As those claws contacted his hide, Kayin winced and very nearly lost his grip on the branch. His back legs scrabbled desperately at the bark of the tree, offering him just the bit of purchase he needed to fully climb into the branches. At least he had one advantage over Kolo; Kayin was smaller than the gray cheetah, and more lightly-built; it was the work of a moment for the smaller black-and-white cheetah to climb into the higher branches, the ones that just barely held up his weight. The only thing that made him stop climbing was the fact that the slender branches boughed under his weight.
“You maniac! I was giving you a compliment!” Alright, so it wasn’t exactly a compliment… he had been deliberately baiting Kolo. He just hadn’t expected an attack. Glaring down at the gray cheetah, Kayin revised his opinion of Kolo’s appearance. That gray wasn’t really lovely after all. It was more dusty than anything else, like something that had spent decades underground. Probably had bat guano for brains too.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 2:47 pm
It was satisfying to have his claws into the hide of the cheetah, but not enough. Snarling, the gray Kolo attempted to climb up after him, but was heavier and couldn't quite get up there. Seeing red, he circled the tree growling unable to do anything about it besides wait for Kayin to fall to him. Cheetah is the best animal in the world, but he'd give almost anything to be a leopard right now, to steal the climbing power.
"Sand flea!" growling his name for the other cheetah, it fit both his attitude and brain capacity. "Bite, bite, bite, you are the most irritating creature on this earth, stupid biting fly." The biting he was snarling about was not physical, else the sand flea would already be dead, no it was irritation that had him too worked up.
Eyes peer up as he continues to circle and find a way up that tree. More blood would be spilt, the roaring of his blood and mind would allow no less.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 3:01 pm
Kayin watched carefully, to guage whether or not the tree was a safe place to stay for the time being. Eventually, he was satisfied that Kolo couldn’t get up. Smirking slightly, he sauntered---yes, it took real talent to saunter across a slender branch, but the king cheetah managed---and relaxed closer to the trunk, where the branches were just a little thicker. Oh, yes, he could out-wait Kolo… well, at least, he could so long as he didn’t get too bored. For the time being, he would just clean out his wounds. Damn, but those claws hurt…
“See, I should feel insulted, but I don’t. Not much. We both know that you’re just letting off esteem,” he shouted back down to Kolo, as if hoping that horrible puns would kill the other cheetah. “Honestly, was that your best attempt to kill me? I was three feet away! That was absolutely the worst attempt at killing anything I’ve ever seen! And I’ve seen many attempts, including my own!” Now that he was safe, he had absolutely no problem with shouting insults down at Kolo. Hmm… he was probably faster than Kolo. But, his paw still ached from that damn bee sting.
Eyeing the distance from the branch to the ground, he idly wondered if he could launch himself safely and start running. Nah… best to stay up here. Where it was boring. And safe.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 3:24 pm
"I'll starve you down, witless gnat!" Tense and angry, he circled the tree, snarling and growling. Not famous for patience, he was willing the peasant cheetah dead. Great, now he was doing bad plays on words, at least he wasn't saying his aloud. Betting his speed against the Sand flea's the gray cheetah was confident that should the stupid thing try to run, he'd be able to catch him easily, it was just getting up the tree that was the problem.
It was understandable, cheetahs were not meant to climb, and this one was a freak to be able to. He needed to get rid of him for all cheetah good.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 4:23 pm
Unfortunately for Kolo, Kayin rarely listened to anyone’s wishes, except for his own. Completely ignoring the other cheetah’s death wish for him, Kayin merely continued cleaning himself, feeling oddly pleased with himself. Sure, he hadn’t eaten yet, he had been stung on the paw, had been hurt by another cheetah… but, he was still the winner, since he kept his cool while Kolo was reduced to a snarling lump of fur and muscle. “Actually, that would be a pretty dire threat, I suppose,” Kayin said, just loudly enough to be heard. “I’m all skin and bones. Meanwhile, you could probably rival a small hippo in terms of pure weight.”
Now that he thought about it, it could be a real danger. He was a small cheetah with the metabolism of a meerkat; he simply couldn’t keep any weight for very long and he hadn’t eaten that day anyway. Kolo, on the other hand, would have free access to prey, and could hunt whenever he got bored of watching Kayin. Still, all the black-and-white cheetah had to do was outlast Kolo for just a little while. Kolo was the one with a family to watch. Surely, he wouldn’t leave Nadifa to do all the hunting for herself?
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