Days were getting shorter and shorter by the minute it seemed. The young hyena was getting older and older. Her brothers and sisters were going off on their own these days, leaving Kolade to fend for herself, not that she liked her siblings in the first place. Except for Raziki. He was okay. However, little Kolade had grown a fascination with lions. She loved them and wanted to be one. Her friend Gouta had told her about lions. The dark ball of fur played with the bugs that burrowed deep within the ground. It was about the only thing to play with.
The dark colored cheetah made her way through the savanna. The day was just beginning, and she wanted to meet someone new. Hopefully someone semi-normal for a change. She noticed a brown spot nearby, but paid no mind to it, thinking it was just dirt. However as she looked closer she noticed it was a hyena pup. Sitting all alone in the wild. What was wrong with it? She wondered. It's not like she could show much compassion, she just didn't want it to die from that leopard she had met earlier.
"Hello...pup." She said, walking closer to it.
Kolade looked up excitedly, thinking it might be a lion. Oh no. It wasn't...but another cat instead. Or maybe it was a female lion. "Uh...hello." She said, her bright pink eyes staring up at the large cat. "Who are you?"
The cat looked leaner than Gouta did, and slightly smaller even. Maybe it wasn't a female lion after all. But she had to ask.
"Are you a lion?" She asked in her sweet voice.
"Me...My name's Saiha. And no. I'm not a lion. Just a cheetah." She said, brushing off Kolade's facination. "Listen, your parents are around aren't they? It's quite dangerous to be out here all by yourself." It was hard to tell if Saiha was actually being truly caring or not. She was so unpredictable.
The little hyena gave a small sigh. Another person trying to tell her it was unsafe to play outside. She knew that, but she was very aware of her environment to know what was going on around her. "Yeah I know...you're a cheetah?! That's cool. I met a lion before and he was cool. Do cheetah's have manes?!" She said, grinning from ear to ear and wiggling her bottom like a puppy.
"Uh...well I guess males have manes. But they aren't like a lion's mane. Only a ridge on their back really. You have a mane...it's bigger than any male cheetah's I've ever seen." She said, pointing at the white fur on top her head. "How cute is that." She said insincerely.
Kolade's eyes widened even bigger. She had a mane? How come she never knew this before?! But when Saiha pointed it out, she grumbled. "Oh that...that's not a mane, that's just my fur. It's not as cool as a lion's mane. That's the coolest type of mane."
The pup continued to dig around in the earth for buts. This cheetah wasn't half as interesting as Gouta was.
Saiha raised a brow at the young pup and shrugged. "Well I'd call it a mane if I were you." Rolling her amber eyes she began to walk on, wanting to walk away from this annoying little girl. She had wanted to meet someone normal, not a little creature that would talk her ear off without even thinking twice about shutting up for once.
"Well little...brownie. Those little bugs aren't going to serve much purpose when it comes to food. Want me to catch you something for dinner?"
Kolade was pretty annoyed that the cheetah asked if she wanted some food. Normally she would say yes, but she kept getting this odd vibe about her. Her parents were going to be wanting her to eat their dinner anyways...so she had to decline. Yes, that was her excuse.
"Nah...I'm not hungry. My parents will question me if I'm not hungry at dinner time!" She said with a giggle. "What would you catch if I said yes?" She asked, just wanting to know the answer.
"Oh I don't know....maybe one of those zebras over there?" The cheetah said, motioning towards the small herd of striped horses. "Or maybe a boar...those are pretty hard to kill. Even for me! But they're pretty tasty once you kill 'em." The cheetah sighed, kind of relieved that the pup didn't want her to hunt for her. She wasn't quite sure why she always offered herself up for hunting. She didn't usually like the creatures she offered to anyway.
"Oooh...wow. I've never even tasted either of those! Normally we just eat old dead things that we don't even know what are!" Kolade continued to grin widely, all her little teeth showing. "I wish I could be a cat for a day, that would be awesome! To be able to hunt and all...and not scavenge."
Suddenly Kolade's ears perked, and she turned her head to her den. Mom and Dad must be home. "Well...I guess I gotta go, I think my parents are home now! I'll talk to you later!" She said, prancing off the few hundred yards to the den.
Saiha rolled her eyes. "No...you won't talk to me later." She whispered and parted ways, hoping to never see that little rascal ever again. Or else she might have to get a hearing aid.
