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 Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2008 10:38 pm
Yaxha had found himself a relatively peaceful place to rest his paws for the past few moons of his life. Not exactly a trek of a lifetime (no pun intended), but he would hardly consider the place he currently homed himself in, nestled amongst some rocks and trees, his 'home'.
It was more of a shelter that had protected him for longer than it was obligated to.
But not unpleasantly. It gave him a place to drag his kills back to amongst all the hunting of the savannah, the current day alotting him a carcas of some unnamable herdbeast that day which he dragged along by the scruff of the neck, making mental prayers to whatever invisible god it was in charge of the dead beast in his jaws.
It was almost native american in respect.
Outside of the fact he also had a tendancy of mentally uttering thank yous to the rocks, dirt, and trees that sheltered him as well as the rain for not leaking into whatever it was he was sleeping whatever nights it did rain.
Little did Yaxha know that he was to have a visitor in the area that day.
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Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2008 12:15 pm
... And what a curious visitor it would be.
"And I'm bein' followed by a mooooonshadow, moonshadow, moonshadow~"
Funny, one wouldn't usually be singing about moonshadows in the middle of the day, let alone sprawled under a tree in the crunchy savannah grass on their backs with one paw raised up high for counting the stars that weren't even out yet.
"Leapin' and hoppin' on a mooooooonshadow, moooonshadow, moonshadow~"
Eshe was just a special kind of lion like that, having figured that, well, so long as area was clear and peaceful, why shouldn't she be on her back and singing? After all, there were already plenty of clouds out today and they were making all sorts of beautiful forms up there, just for her.
Maybe it she watched them long enough, they'd write out her name?
"And if I e~ver lose my heart, lose my mind, lose my art~ Ooh if I ever lose my heart... I won't have to love no more~"
Well, until then, she could just entertain herself with a lackadaisical tune or two.
It wasn't like waiting a bit longer (or indulging a bit more distraction) would end her.
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Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2008 3:54 pm
Well it seemed it was a day for visitors indeed, Yaxha having taken pause at the odd little tune that filled the air of the savannah outside the 'den' of his current choosing. Naturally, his eyes first went down to the beast clamped in his jaws, checking to make sure that while, yes it was dead, it wasn't singing as well.
...
.....
Okay, odd thought confirmed, dead dinner was not trying to serenade him at the given moment. Which meant there had to be a visitor in the area. Which naturally gave his next pause to glance up into the trees outside of his temporary 'den' to check for birds.
This was also negatory.
Which left him in his final check to duck into his 'den' and tuck his dinner away, while making sure he had no unwanted guests, before coming out of the rocky formation to peek around out into the grasse-
Ohae, that would be a paw... and a leg.. and a body with other limbs attached to it. Always good.
But he didn't immediately approach, just watching the stranger from the mouth of his den for a while, sitting up tall and just.. observing. Seemed to have an odd little tick, that one.
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Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2008 4:16 pm
As for her the fact that her comfortable lounging spot just so happened to be near another lion's homestead, she remained blissfully unaware all the while, still sprawled belly-up and singing to the birds, the air, the sky, and whatever else happened to be listening.
"And if I e~ver lose my paws, all my pads an' all my claws~ Ooh if I ever lose my paws, I won't have to walk no more~"
She was no singing savant (was any lion?),but at least she could hold a decent note without shattering glass-- and she threw her heart and soul into it, which was all that really mattered! Humming the tune a couple of times over while she came up with the next verse, the lioness kept her lifted paw busy tracing the outline of a cloud which, funnily enough, looked exactly like a rabbit leaping over a tree.
"And if I e~ver lose my name, and what I seek I cannot claim~ Ooh I ever lose my name, I won't have to--"
Dead stop. She blinked and dropped the paw back across her chest, crinkling her nose.
"... Maybe that last one needs some reworking."
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Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2008 4:39 pm
Okay, so even he couldn't hold a tune. In fact, from his vast wisdom (see: Not enough), the only lions he'd imagine who would be able to would be the Goddess of Voice and the God of Arts. Certainly ones he'd heard spoken of on the wind.
Or by other lions.
Not this stranger, of course, as he did make a point to finally approach the cloudwatcher, sitting down above where her head was resting in the grasses and leaning over her head to look down at her with a rather puzzled look on his face.
"What sort of tune is that?"
His inquiry was a sort of 'what purpose does it serve' ordeal rather than 'WTFWHYYEWSINGIN'WOMAHN?', but his obvious beliefs in tunes having to have some sort of purpose behind them, rather than just 'lulzlulzsingsing'.
Because even his own actions did have a certain sense of 'reverence' to their goals. He needed to watch his actions less the spirits start trying to KILL HIM DEAD for treating them poorly.
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Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2008 4:57 pm
... Considering the fact that she didn't even notice him until he was hovering right above over her, it was a small (okay, HUGE) miracle that Eshe was even still alive. Really, how could a lion get away with being so relaxed in potentially hostile territory and not get itself mauled? Fool's luck? Chance? Good karma?
All of the above?
"Oh, hello." And her 'reaction' to the newcomer was astonishingly unastonished, just smiling dreamily and waving a paw up at the disembodied mane-haloed face.
"Just that, actually," she mused, plunging right into conversation without even asking for his name, contemplating his intention, or bothering to roll off of her back into a less lazy (not to mention VULNERABLE) position. "It's a tune-- I'm not sure what sort, exactly. Makes for good verses to pass the time. The birds like it too."
O... kay, so she was stargazing in broad daylight, tracing cloud shapes, singing without a reason she could bother to think up... and talking to birds.
... How special.
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Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2008 5:22 pm
.... Yes, actually, that was rather special from where he was sitting. Yaxha, though the expression couldn't be seen due to the lack of light on his face, actually grimaced slightly at her answer.
What?
That made absolutely no sense to him from his own logical standpoint. On one end of the spectrum it wasn't rediculous that she was doing something just for the hell of it, but then there was the 'Yaxha' point in said spectrum. That very one where it said "HERE IS MR. SPIRIT AND PURPOSE MAN".
Perhaps it would be the first 'DIFFERENCE IN STUFF!' wrench tossed into the odd friendship that would be forming.
But differences were fun. Better than the two of them running off into the sunset with one another when they'd known each other for a grand total offf.... three or four sentances.
Not enough to be wooed with, frankly.
"I pass time in other ways. Such as hunting.." Oh yes, he'd have to remember to go back to his den to FEED HIMSELF sooner or later.. as if he left raw meat in there for too long it'd lure visitors.
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Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2008 6:29 pm
It was inevitable that the chance 'meeting' would turn out... er, interestingly, what with Mr. Spirit And Purpose Man getting to stare down at Little Miss Hippie Cloud Watcher and all-- but hey, no harm in it, right?
So long as Yaxha didn't try to rip her throat out (as if the thought had crossed either of their minds), Eshe was perfectly content to entertain a conversation. It had been some time since she'd seen (up close enough to chat with) another lion, after all.
"Hunting?" The curious female quirked a brow (... well, a brow ridge) slightly at this, tilting her head a little against the grass to contemplate. "Hmm, seems appropriate here and there. One must eat, after all..."
On that note, how long had it been since she'd gone off and caught something, again? There'd been a couple of rabbits over the past few days, a few hopping mouse-ish type things...
..................
Okay, so she'd been feeding off of little morsels and not really being the epic huntress she could've been and her stomach had just let out a particularly obnoxious gurgling sound as she thought it over, but it was easily ignored.
"But you don't seem to be hunting now," she added curiously, "... unless I happen to be the prey in mind-- though I doubt I'm particularly tasty..."
Then again, she'd never tried herself either, so who was she to judge?
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Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2008 7:10 pm
The gargling noise had prompted him to let out a sort of groan that hinted at a 'I knew it' with her lackadasial sort of personality. Hippies had a tendancy of not doing well in terms of ability to hunt.
Or hunting at all. No, they simply went and scavenged for other things.
Which of course, in turn, he answered with a turn-tail as he wandered back to his den and dug out his own kill. Certainly he himself wouldn't he eating the entire thing alone. He'd simply eat his fill and then be returning the carcas out to the middle of nowhere for scavengers to tear away at the remains.
So perhaps a bit early for him to be dragging out the herdbeast, but nnnngh. He'd been planning on eating it anyways, he'd just gotten sidetracked by his unexpected visitor.
But once he'd dragged it far enough away from his den for comfort, he released it's neck, the head of the animal making a noticable 'thud' against the ground.
"I've already hunted for my week..." he offered, giving the female a momentary look before pressing one paw against the neck of the creature and digging into the fleshy appendage with his teeth and tearing the first bite of it away.
Bleeding began immediately. In several minutes, vultures and other beasts smelling blood would be looming to take over whatever leftovers they could.
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 11:20 am
Well that groan seemed a little peculiar even to Eshe (which was saying something), and the lioness's dreamy smile dissolved to a more perplexed look as her new friend the disembodied head suddenly vanished from sight, perhaps to go wander about his own way as others tended to do...
... Except that he didn't wander about his own way, finally rolling over onto her stomach and glancing over as she heard a curious dragging sound and smelled something that got stomach warbling a whole new tune.
Blood? Meat? And all related freshly killed deliciousness that was practically singing in her ear? Oh that did look good to a ravenous she-lion-- and even better, Mr. Spirit and Purpose was willing to share! Of course turning him down would've been rude, and she didn't waste any time (... well okay, wasted a little yawning first) to idle on around to the carcass's rear and seat herself.
"Oh, thank you; I do appreciate the hospitality."
That said, it was time to get her teeth around the haunch and start ripping off some nice fat chunks of muscle to down-- because even a hippie knew better than to take her time and risk losing free food to buzzards.
Still though... oooh, how nice it felt to get ahold of something substantial again! Perhaps she should've sacrificed some of her cloud watching time to hunt properly...
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 4:23 pm
Well it was better to feed a stranger than just continue the pattern of attracting scavengers. As he knew well enough that he would have to leave his current den to go off and find a new place to live within a few days.
Less the scavenging beasts pick up on his hunting habits and start lingering around to wait for his return. Which for any hunter was an undesirable thing. Even the worst of prides knew to drag out any remaining fleshiness off of their lands and off to where the scavengers would be allowed to it.
He paused after a few bites of the beast to look over at the hippie-esque female who was oh so too pleased with having found herself a dinner benefactor, a slight frown greeting his lips before he ripped another chunk of muscle off of the kill's shoulder and lower neck.
Nnn, he needed to get this thing open so he could get to the goooood stuff. Or rather, he was checking to see if she was territorial of 'her' end, slowly reaching over with a paw to rest it on the beast's belly before digging his claws into it to wrench it open.
Mmmm, fluid-y. But that let him at the liver he wanted so badly, picking it up rather protectively, as it was his kill and setting the organ, bloodied and covered with the organ juices, down on the neck he'd been biting at before.
Nom nom.
"You're free to any of the other organs.." AKA I HAS WHAT I WANT.
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 6:29 pm
In Eshe's opinion 'her' end hadn't really been hers at all to begin with, seeing as she'd only been granted a meal at his charity, and even if it hadn't been that way, so long as he didn't try and steal the meat right out of her mouth before she swallowed it, she couldn't have been any less concerned!
She did, however, pause briefly in her vaguely restrained gorging of delicious critter rear to watch the peculiar (not to mention messy) disemboweling ritual curiously and, upon giving the freshly exposed innards a more studying look, crinkling her nose up with something akin to...
Well not quite displeasure, but definitely not the face of someone about to plunge in and devour the liverless remains.
"Bigger things have funny tasting insides," she noted logically, but was back to the dreamy smile almost immediately and, of course, back to chewing down much more muscle tissue. She'd probably wind up eating both the legs down to nothing if he let her. "Though the limbs don't have any strange matter in them..."
Like, y'know, half-eaten stomach grass or mostly digested INTESTINAL stomach grass... Ick. Hence why (in times of plenty anyway) she opted out of picking the cavities clean. That mess was better for buzzard chow.
"... Is that part special to you?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 8:36 pm
Nnn, so not all creatures of the African wilderness had a fondness for the parts of a beast containing the most nutrition. It wasn't like he'd even taken the best tasting part (that was reserved for the spleen. Nom nom). But if she insisted on simply eating to fill her belly, he wouldn't press the offer any further.
"It simply is a preference I've had since..." he said vaguely... like.. trailed off and stopped talking in an oddly tongue twisted manner. Okay, so it seemed that the given topic he'd just trailed off on was... er.. taboo.
But it was with that silence he finished off the organ before sitting back and waiting as the other female went on to start devouring as much of the kill as she needed to last until another meal could be found on her part.
It wasn't as though he'd be having any problems just going and picking up something else to eat within a couple of days.
Oh the lack of human problems in the form of having to feed himself. Ah ha ha.
No really. All he had to do was go and find himself a gimp animal and tear it down, drag it to whatever den it was he'd be moving to, and eat.
Though really, he wasn't sure if he should be expecting conversation or not as soon as she was fed. In fact, he was almost tempted to just up and return to his den.
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 9:14 pm
Well not every lion could brave the taste of predigested grass and dirt for the sake of 'nutrition' or-- ... okay, well Eshe could and had been forced to do so on occasion before, but she really didn't enjoy it in the slightest. Best to try and avoid repeats.
"Ah." Where most lions would have just tilted their heads and prodded further at such a strange hanging sentence, she just gave him a briefly curious look and shrugged her shoulders, smiling even with flecks of blood lining her muzzle. "A secret, then? I'd say I enjoyed hearing them, but then it wouldn't be a secret anymore, I suppose..."
Yep, that was all she said about it before going right back to happy gorging-- and for a relatively small female (as far as females went, anyway) she could pack it away in a hurry, down to the bones already and, when those felt rather pleasant grinding against her teeth, actually ripped the femur out of its socket to chew on a la canine style.
Because bone marrow was pretty damn tasty stuff.
Mmm, though, how wonderful it was to have a full belly at last! She'd almost forgotten what it felt like being completely stuffed.
... It made her want to go find a nice spot to lay on her back and watch the clouds some more, actually.
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 9:21 pm
He'd actually never watched anybody CHEW on the bones of a dead beast before that wasnt' either canine or scavenging the body for the leftovers.
Which, she didn't really seem to be a Wild Dog or Maned wolf as he knew them, so he knew better than to think that the case, and she certainly hadn't been forced to scavenge for her meal, though her stomach had pleaded rather loudly when the topic had come up.
So it was more of a freeloaded meal for her and a normal bite to eat for him.
Though the sound of ever so familiar squawking and ruffling feathers had bid him to glance up into the trees and the dried patches of grass that were already starting to house his unwanted dinner guests.
Rrrrr.
It wasn't a very angry growl, but it was enough to warn the vultures who had started to eye the only partially evicerated meal that they were still there and if they tried to snatch it yet he might smack 'em upside the head.
"Nnnn, we may be wise to move from this particular meal in the next thirty seconds..."
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