Adventure. Mud. Fun. All things that didn't really interest Nyamana as much as they should interest a young wild dog puppy. The female had her yellow nose to the ground, twitching it every now and again to pick up the scent she was following, and alter her direction to lead her towards it.

It was dead, whatever it was. That she was sure of. And that was exactly what interested her so much. She just had to find out how it had died, and why. Was it young, or old? What was it in the first place? Her white ears twitched in the wind, tail held high in the air as she ventured away from the safety of her den, where her mother currently resided with her siblings. They were all asleep. The sky was red, as the sun just crept up over the horizon, tainting the savannah. It was twilight - her favourite time of day. But that was to be expected, with her name meaning exactly that.

She soon came across what she was searching for - a hare carcass, partially buried by sand. A few thin tendrils of meat still clung to the bones, but otherwise they'd been plucked dry, most likely by other predators and the vultures. The skull was where the young wild dog headed first, poking her nose in through the eye socket, sniffing curiously. What exactly she was looking for...well, she didn't quite know. She really had to met a healer some time, to learn all of this.


Durion's stomach growled painfully. He could almost swear he felt the skin on his belly rippling along with the rumble. Shaking his head to better ignore the feeling, he shifted his blue eyes ahead and scanned his surroundings.

There was no. Food. Anywhere.

What the hell had he done to have so much bad luck? Couldn't one thing go his way for once? He used to be on top; the one standing on the mountain, laughing at those below. But nooo, fate had twisted him inside out and now he was all screwed up. No luck, no chance...Just a whole lot o' nothin'.

And Durion was tired of it.

The lion dragged his paws lazily as he walked, irritated at the twilight sky. It was then that a familiar scent caught his nose. Ears perking up and a smirk lighting his face, Durion looked up.

A hare.

He sprinted in the direction of the smell, stomach growl urging him on. He imagined juicy, tender flesh filling his mouth and easing his hunger pains...The hare would be--THERE IT WAS! IT WAS--

...Why the hell was a wild dog pup--? Oh, damn it.


Nyamana had just stuck her nose right into the eye socket when she heard the sound of pawprints behind her. Fast pawprints. Spooked, thinking she was about to become a meal, the puppy yelped fairly loudly, attempting to pull her nose from the skull. However, it seemed to be a little stuck, and so the assistance of her two front paws was required, to push hard against the skull and dislodge her nose.

It took a fair bit of pushing, but eventually she managed, squeaking lightly as she jerked her nose out of the skull, the momentum sending her tumbling backwards, rolling...well. Right towards Durion. She slowed in her rolling just as she approached the much larger lion, finally landing on her back to look up into the hungry lion's face, her ears tucked behind her quivering face in fear.

Her quivering subsided after a few moments, however, when she noticed he wasn't bending down to eat her. There was no ripping of flesh, and no death. Amber eyes blinked, head cocking to the right inquisitively as she stared up into Durion's eyes. "...Who're you?"


Uh-oh. She had gotten her nose stuck. Then she yelped. Then she somersaulted backward like a cute, innocent puppy.

Durion didn't do so well with cute, innocent puppies.

Attempting a forced smile, which looked more like a half-sneer, he answered, "I'm...Durion." There, he'd introduced himself. Now he could just turn around and walk away. If there was a wild dog puppy here, then there was certainly an ENORMOUS wild dog family nearby. And if Durion didn't do so well with one cute, innocent puppy, one could imagine how he would be around...Well, however many there were. But then, there was a chance--a small chance-- the pup was alone.

"Are you, uh...By yourself out here?" he asked, trying out a gentle voice.

MAN, he was bad with kids.


Nyamana scrambled to her feet quickly, and even then she still fit underneath the HUGE lion. Or maybe she was just small? ..That was more likely? Padding carefully out from underneath Durion, she turned around once out, so she was now standing in front of him, facing him. A small smile lit up her features as he gave his name - Durion? A strange name, but maybe all lions had strange names. It suddenly came to Nya that this was the first lion she'd come across.

They didn't seem too bad. Her mother had told her to avoid them while she was so young, but this one didn't seem too threatening. "I'm Nyamana," she offered back, ears erect and curious, waiting for his next question. He seemed as if he had one to ask.

By herself? A small frown crossed the femme's face as she cocked her head once more, watching Durion carefully for several moments before answering. Why did he want to know that? "My mamma and siblings are all in the den, back over there somewhere. I'm out here alone though, yes." She pointed in the direction she'd just come from, smiling.


Oooh, Mama and siblings...

...Yeah...

Durion did not want to go there.

Wild dogs had large, tall ears. They could hear pretty much...Anything? Yeah, that was about right. The best thing for Durion to do was politely excuse himself from the conversation and leave. Immediately. Without hesitation.

...

But wild dogs stored food sometimes...NO. He wouldn't manipulate a mere puppy just for a bite to eat. That was cruel and stupid. He wasn't that kind of a con artist. Sure, he cheated people out of their mates sometimes, out of their collections and jewelry...But...Conning a puppy for food? That was just plain wrong. He wasn't gonna do that. No matter how his stomach roared, no matter how--

"Hey, are there anymore hares around here, kid?" he asked bluntly.


Nyamana watched Durion curiously, expecting something else to come from his mouth. A small frown crossed her face as the internal struggle he seemed to be having, an awkward expression on his face. She didn't say anything, waiting patiently for him to speak. After all, he clearly had something to say...

Oh, food? A bright smile lit up the puppy's face, her tail beginning to wag in a steady rhythm as she looked up to Durion. Another hare? Hmm... She lowered her head to the ground, sniffing carefully with her nose. Anymore scents? A large mixture of scents hit her like a ton of bricks, and her frown deepened as she attempted to distinguish between them all.

"I think...I think there's another one that way," she spoke after several moments of silence, indicating to the west with her nose. She wasn't entirely sure, but it smelled meaty, and he figured he didn't really care whether it was hare or some other prey animal, "It's already. But it smells meaty, so the vultures haven't gotten there yet."


Durion watched the pup with a curious gleam in his eyes. Wild dogs were strange creatures, sniffing along the ground and wagging their fluffy tails. Puppies were especially strange since their ears always appeared too large for their triangular heads. To anyone else, such traits would be considered cute. But Durion was too much of a "tough male" to ever, EVER call anything cute.

...Except maybe that puppy. A LITTLE BIT. Just a little.

Letting out a short growl of frustration at his stupid thoughts, he focused his attention back on the pup.

Ah, so there was food nearby? YES. Finally, things were going his way! Now, they just had to keep going his way. Maybe lady luck had forgiven him for whatever misdeed he had...Deeded...In the past. In a perfect world, maybe. But Durion had doubts. It was likely that he'd get to where the food was and the pup's family would wake up and attack him. Then again, it was also likely that by the time he got to the food, something else had gotten there first. But he'd see once he got there.

Tail flicking with satisfaction, the lion walked passed the puppy and headed in the direction she had pointed. He took a whiff of the air and didn't smell much. There was too much wild dog scent in the air. But he wouldn't EVER ask a mere puppy to GUIDE him or something. That'd be just horribly wrong. She was just a kid. He'd be putting her in danger. He--

"Hey, wanna lead me to it?" he asked. "...Might be fun." he added, knowing that most kids liked fun, exciting things.

...Didn't they?


Why was he growling? She backed away a little, ears beginning to flatten against her skull. Had she done something wrong? He soon seemed to cheer up, however, and his happiness brought a curious expression to Nya's face. Happiness was such a strange emotion. They all were. Happiness, Sadness, Jealousy, Curiosity, Guilt...all emotions. All different. What made you feel an emotion? And how was it they could all be wiped out with a mere bark when you died. Didn't they go somewhere?

She looked back up to Durion just in time to catch him looking at her, eyes shining a little as he asked her a question. Lead him to it? Surely he could find it himself? And fun? She snorted a little, looking to the left. Fun wasn't what she'd describe it as. Nyamana didn't find much fun, but she was fairly certain that leading this large lion across the savannah didn't come under the fun category. Her gaze turned to the sun, which was quickly ascending in the sky, twilight disappearing as daylight flooded the land.

"Can't you find it yourself?" she asked. Mother would be expecting her back soon - she'd get worried if she awoke and Nya was gone. It was quite common for her to be out at twilight, chasing hares or inspecting skeletons. But she was always sure to be back before her mother woke up. "Mamma'll be awake soon, and I have to get back."


Well THAT was unexpected.

A pup who was disinterested at the prospect of fun? How odd. Then again, Durion himself had been kind of an odd cub back in the day. Woah, "back in the day" made him sound old. He was a young guy. Shaking his head, he glanced down at the pup, thinking about what she said.

"Uhh, yeah, I sure can." he said, agreeing in a mumble. Oh, crap. Her mom would be awake soon. If that was the case, Durion had to split anyways. And fast. The pup had done her job anyway.

Wait, her job? Man, Durion thought to himself, he was just a cruel manipulator.

He smirked.

"See ya 'round, kid." he said coolly as he turned. The sun danced off his dark coat and he glared at it. He'd always disliked the sun...
With that, the male trotted off across the savanna, not bothering to glance back. His stomach growled and he grinned.

FOOD WAS ON THE WAY!


Nyamana smiled sweetly as she watched Durion, curious as to what he would do. If he really couldnl't find it, she supposed to she take him... she'd just have a bit of explaining to do when she got back. Hopefully her mother wouldn't be too angry. His reponse caused her to smile once again, lifting her hind off of the ground into a standing position.

He smirked, and she frowned, but he gave a closing statement and she smiled once more, tail giving a small wag. "Bye! Maybe see you again soon, Durion?" she spoke, watching as he began to leave, before turning herself, bounding back in the direction of her den. She was going to be sleepy later!