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 Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 10:57 pm
 Night had settled over the savanna, silence filling the den of leopard and lion hybrids. Risasi was sleeping comfortably, nestled with his siblings, until a sharp gust of wind whistled through the trees outside. He jumped awake, a very light sleeper, eyes wide. He pushed himself up carefully, leaving the den and wandering outside to see what had caused the sound.
It was a gusty night, clouds covering the sky and casting a long shadow over the already darkened earth. There were no stars to provide a small glow of light, and the moon could not pierce the overlay of rumbling clouds. Frowning, his fur bristling, Risasi moved away from his home and out into the quiet plains, finding himself suddenly restless.
He trod along a fairly familiar path. He often roamed on his own now, feeling bolder with each passing day, as if he could feel himself growing bigger and stronger. He was heading for one of his favorite spots, glad to have such keen eyesight despite the depth of the night, in hopes of finding some peace of mind. It might be difficult, considering he did not know why he was troubled.
He had never been out so late before, and wondered what kind of creatures were awake at this hour. Because he was young, he was obligated to keep a schedule only in the daytime: night was for sleeping. He had been warned many times that it was dangerous out at night. Now he was wondering why. It seemed so quiet.
Finding his little getaway, a small cave of rocks near a water hole, he sat down at the bank of the water and sighed, staring down at his reflection thoughtfully.
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 5:07 pm
Huni sat on the ground, blinking up at the tree in front of him. Higher in the branches was a large nest... A bird was living there, but it was off somewhere, probably finding food. Usually this wouldn't interest him too much, but he had noticed earlier that evening that it was carrying a small shiny rock into the nest.
The wild dog had known that the rock was valuable. Why else would the bird take so much trouble to carry it back to their nest? Plus, it was pretty. So Huni was determined to get it, somehow... And now that the bird had left for a while, this was his chance.
However... the wild dog just wasn't very good at climbing. So there he sat, staring up at the tree and wondering how he could safely get the shiny rock.
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 5:22 pm
Risasi's ears perked forward as he heard some movement near by. Standing, drawn from his musing and childishly curious, he padded toward what he thought was the source. Crouching under a bush, he crawled forward as he spotted a dog staring up at a tree. Not knowing what a wild dog, having met one before, might want in a tree, he risked danger by seeking to help.
"What are you looking at?" he asked carefully, keeping his voice low so he didn't startle the larger animal, sitting down just a few feet off and looking up. All he could see where branches and a strange looking blob, which might have been a nest if Risasi had been a bit more familiar with the habits of birds.
"Do you need some help?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 5:35 pm
Huni blinked, his ears fanning to the side before his head followed them. Dark eyes blinked down at the cub, then grinned softly. He was a friendly creature, and not one to attack strangers. Especially children. "Hey there."
He was about to shake his head and wave the kid off, but then he stopped and thought for a moment... Then smirked. Felines were so much better at climbing then he was. Perhaps he could get the kid to help him, since he had offered it...
"Well... Actually, you could." He flicked his head up to the tree. "See that thing up there? There's a rock inside it, a very special rock. I'm trying to get it... Don't suppose you could get up there and get it for me, could ya?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 7:37 pm
Risasi nodded, eager to help. He did not really know how the rock had ended up in the tree, but it seemed reasonable enough that a bird might have taken it from the big dog. After all, he had never talked to a bird before, so for all he knew they were dumb, ruleless creatures that didn't mind stealing things from others.
He had seen them pecking trees and flying off with sticks and leaves in their mouths. Maybe they just stole things for fun. Or to collect them. In any case, Risasi did not know if they deserved the things they took or not, so he had no problem with climbing into the tree for this stranger.
"Sure!" he said, bouncing to his feet and moving to the tree. He wiggled a bit, he leaped at the trunk and, gripping with his sharp claws, scurried up. He wasn't the best climber, but he made it, remembering his lessons with his friend and doing his best to follow that example.
Reaching the nest, he peered inside to spot the rock, very obvious against the other contents of the strange little house. He took it into his mouth and slid down the bark, slowly but surely reaching the ground without hurting himself.
Grinning up at the dog, he presented the rock in his teeth.
"I gof id!"
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 11:03 pm
Huni smiled victoriously. He was surprised that the cub had done it so willingly, and without question... He'd have to use children to help him more often.
"Thanks little guy!" He raised a paw and ruffled the fur on the top of his head, laughing softly. "You did a great job, getting that from that silly selfish bird." His tail thumped against the ground excitedly.
"Here, go ahead and give it to me, ya? We'll have to team up again sometime, you're a really good climber!"
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 8:53 am
Risasi dropped the stone into his paw, looking down at it curiously. It was rather pretty. He could see why someone might want it back, if it had gotten away from them. It was a bit of a mystery to the young, innocent cub how it had managed to get into that tree in the first place.
"You're welcome!" he said eagerly, closing his eyes tightly as the wild dog ruffled his paw into the blue cub's fur, "my friend taught me how to climb, and I'm glad I could do it! But you said a selfish bird had this little rock? Did he steal it from you?"
He placed the rock on the floor, keeping his paw over it as he considered. It wasn't an action to keep the stone from his knew associate, however, but more a distracted move that he made in thought.
"Stealing is wrong..."
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 4:16 pm
(AIM LOG)
The wild dog eyed the cub, anxious to get the rock then get the hell out of dodge, as some might say. He cleared his throat and held out his paw, tail twitching nervously. Surely the kid wouldn't back out of it now...
"Uh... Yeah, sure. The stupid bird stole it from me... Ya mind giving it back, now? I mean, you wanna do the right thing, right?" Huni felt a slight twinge of guilt in the pit of his stomach. He was used to stealing for the thrill of it, but he was not used to manipulating and lieing... Still, he wanted that rock badly. And his stubbornness prohibited him from backing out now.
"Yeah. Yeah... stealing is wrong. Why the bird should be punished and I should get it back, right?"
Risasi frowned, his thoughtfulness melting into wary attention. There was something in the dog’s tone of voice that made the justice-inclined leopon bristle cautiously. Tilting his head, the cub considered Huni’s words. Yes. He did want to do the right thing, but without knowing the back story here, how could he do that? He’d have to trust this dog’s version of the story, because he didn’t have any other one to go on.
After all, keeping the rock from him would make Risasi the thief.
“Yeah, it is wrong. I don’t know about punished, I guess. It’s a strong word. But, yeah. That makes sense. Here,” he nudged the rock toward the wild dog, a small smile appearing faintly on his blue muzzle. Even if he was uncertain, it felt good to do the right thing.
Above, an angry bird’s shriek drew Risasi’s eye to the sky.
Victoriously, Huni snatched up the rock in his mouth, lips curling up in a wide grin. His guilt faded then, just happy to have his prize. Besides... The bird had stolen it too! He'd taken it from the earth! This wild dog believed in the 'finders keepers' rule, and if the bird wasn't around to protect it, than that was it's own fault. He grunted in reply to the cub, speaking with the rock still clamped in his mouth.
"Shanks kid." With that he turned to trot away merrily, though paused when the bird squawked and flew back into the nest... Which was now empty.
Not good...He thought, eying the bird, then the kid.
Risasi, startled, hopped when it seemed the wild dog was going to leave, wanting to keep close with him. Not having any experience with birds, Risasi did not know if the one that was now circling closer to them was a friend or enemy. Either way, it certainly did not look happy.
Having witnessed the exchange of the rock from the blue thing to the bigger dog, the bird targeted the much smaller animal first, swooping down with its talons raked forward. Letting out a cry, Risasi darted for cover, yelping as the bird managed to claw him in passing before having to swoop back into the sky.
“What is wrong with it?!” Risasi cried, his voice thick with urgency and helplessness, “is it mad that you took it back?!”
Huni's eyes widened when the bird attacked. He had not expected it to go this far, let alone that the cub would get hurt instead of him. He was used to getting hurt by the people he stole from, but the cub... He was just a kid. The dog growled lowly, fur on his back bristling. Of course, it'd all end if he just gave back the rock... But... he didn't want to give it back!
So instead he dropped it at his feet and stepped over it, prohibiting the bird from reaching it. When it made another pass at them he snapped his jaws at it with a loud howl, trying to frighten it away. It worked, for the moment anyway. He glanced at Risasi, the skin above his nose wrinkled. "Of course he wants it back, the dumb buzzard."
Risasi crawled out from the bush he had hidden in, rather ashamed. Tail between his legs, ear flat against his skull and his head down, he looked up at the wild dog in wonder.
“Thank you for scaring it off! I thought it was going to hurt you. I’m sorry I didn’t do anything… I got scared and ran away instead of fighting. My friend told me we have to fight for what we think is right, and I didn’t think that bird attacking us from something it stole was right… but I didn’t stop him…”
Whimpering, he tried to paw at his back where the bird had just managed to clip him, but could not reach it. He thought it was something he had earned, anyway, for his cowardice.
“But at least you get to keep your rock, right?”
Now the dog felt horrible. Ashamed, he hung his head a little and glanced away. This had never happened before... His ears tilting back while his tail tucked between his legs. "..Well... Uh... Yeah, I guess so..." He cleared his throat and looked back at him miserably. Poor kid...
He walked over and bent his head down to lick at the small wound and sniff at it. "Should be alright... Don't worry about it. You were brave to help me anyway."
Risasi ducked a little when the wild dog drew closer, but was happy to have him lick at the wound. It relieved the painful itching a bit. Rubbing the dog’s leg in thanks, he looked up at the other male’s face as best he could from that position, not thinking to move himself to get a better angle.
“How did that bird get your rock, anyway? Do birds come down from the sky all that often? I’ve never seen one that close before, but it really didn’t seem all that nice, so if I never see one again I don’t think I’d care. I hope it doesn’t come back.”
"Eh.. well, if it does come back I'll chase it away." Frowned, the rock laying beside his paw while he curled himself around the smaller male. "Well..." Huni looked away again, clearing his throat. Why did this have to blow up so much? He sighed, eyes closing shamefully. "Yah see... well... thing is... he might not have stolen it from me, kid..."
Risasi looked bewildered, but curled against the wild dog just the same. Curious instead of suspicious, he tilted his head and, big eyes watching the old creature’s face intently, blinked.
“He might not have?” he echoed, innocently considering what that phrase could mean. He remembered that he had not trusted the wild dog at the get go, but it did not occur to him to question that now. Hadn’t they just seen the bird attack them for taking it back? It seemed justified enough that the bird was attacking because it was a sore loser, and not because it was being stolen from.
Why would this stranger use Risasi to steal something? That seemed mean.
“You’re not mean,” Risasi said, his thoughts finding their way to his tongue. Shaking his head, he explained, “I don’t think so, anyway. If it wasn’t that bird, then was it another one that lives at that tree?
"Uhh... well..." He recoiled slightly, ears still pressed back against his head, maw pointed to the ground. "See... I uh... I kinda have this thing... If I see something that looks nice, I just... I gotta take it. Not sure why. But I just gotta. I saw the bird taking the rock back to his nest and I wanted it, so..." The dog cleared his throat and stood, tail tucked down.
"Eh.. I guess I'll give it back..." It was obvious that it was quite hard for him to do so. He wanted it badly, and had to rip his gaze from it forcefully in the end. "You should get home kid. Parents be worrying, I'm sure."
Risasi bounced to his feet, stumbling back before sitting heavily on his butt a little more than a foot away. Mouth hanging open miserably, he realized that he had been the one to take the rock from the next, where it belonged. That made him a thief, and that made him bad. Tears in his eyes at the very idea of being that which he wanted to grow up to defend against, he shook his head slowly.
“You made me steal it?” He asked, his voice moving from stunned quiet to an angry yell, “then you are mean! You keep it, if it means so much to you! I don’t care!”
He turned and made to run, jerking himself around as he realized his home was in the opposite direction.
The older male just stood there, mouth hanging open. Then he sat, back hunched. He'd never felt so horrible in his life. His dark eyes focused down at the rock again... but now it wasn't pretty to him. It might as well have been poisoned.
He didn't follow the kid. He doubted he could ever talk his way out of this... After all, he had tricked him into stealing, and he had gotten him hurt. Was he really a mean person? Huni had never considered himself mean or bad, really... But right now, he sure felt like it. Letting out a whine he slapped at the rock, sending it flying back towards the wretched tree. Then he stood and slowly trotted away, eyes downcast.
END
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