[PRP] New Neighbors [Hewa/Eru/Chache]

[ShinosBee]

New scents were drifting on the winds...Hewa had scoured the pride, and sure enough there were no new members. Still he could smell strangers though. The wind had been a northerly one of late, and he made a point of swinging low on his next turn walking the borders. Full sized now, but still unnamed, he was lingering in a limbo between adolescence and adulthood. He still had free time to spare, and less responsibility...And so when he spotted the distant forms of other large felines milling about across a wide track of rogue land, he gave in to curiosity and stepped off the borders.

"New neighbors?" Innate curiosity and trust left over from childhood days spent wandering overrode his teachings at the hands of the demons. This was part of his job, he convinced himself. To figure out who was near, and if they were anything like what the pride was looking for.

He crept through the grass, by scent knowing the main of the group was still far off, but regardless not wanting to risk too much. Eventually he was only a good hundred yards or so out, on his belly. Alas, his height and size were detriments now, as his head and back were still well above the grass line. Poo. As quietly as he could he curled up. 'You're a rock...just stay still, be quiet.' He could hear voices if he strained his ears just so...

Eru was currently...hopping. He'd nearly managed to catch a frog the other day, and had been startled by the apparent miracle that the small amphibious creature could get away from him. So...he rather thought that if he mimicked one, perhaps he could catch it. Part of him knew it was stupid, the other part was him having far too much fun pretending to be a frog. That and perhaps trying to see what did and did not get on his watcher's nerves. Really, what did mum think he was, a baby still?

"Ribbit...Ribbit..." With another leap, hind-legs propelling him forward, he slightly misjudged his landing, going into a roll to land on the grass and laugh softly. "Didju see that? Huh? I went farther that time!" Even if the landing had been an utter failure, it was still a success in his mind.

Chache could barely remember the last time he was around real children. He supposed the last time would have been before Heri died. Neither him nor Okoa were truly children again after the loss of their little brother, yet Chache must have retained some of his childhood instincts. He trotted along a few paces behind Eru, keeping both ears out for danger. The youngster was larger than him but not as large as the adolesencents of the pride, which made Chache more comfortable around him than the larger members.

He humored the cub’s short jump with a smile. “That’s good, Eru, but do you think you could jump as far as me? I bet I could jump as far as that log from where I’m standing, right here.” He nodded at the log lying across the ground about ten feet in front of them.

Of course Chache made his living off of his ability to jump. For him the act of flying through the air came natural. Eru might enjoy a challenge.  

[ShinosBee]

Hmm…the voices sounded young, or at least small. Hewa knew his voices. His demon was the demon of music after all. Both male…He slowly shifted to face in the direction of the ‘youngsters’. If he raised his head just so he could peer through a gap in the grasses and see them, while likely remaining hidden.

Ah! The one was orange and white, but the other…Black! With outstanding markings too! Maybe this pride was of the demon sort after all. If not, they’d surely have the right colors. Training bid him get closer, watch the juvenile, and if he was the right sort, whisk him away to the Aikanaro’hini to become one of them. He hadn’t seen anyone else around aside from the serval either. It would be easy…

For now though he was content to remain gazing from the grass, slowly sitting up, relaxed, to reveal himself to the careful eye. ‘I’m not a threat. Not a threat. Keep right on playing, kid…’

Eru blinked at his watcher, and then tilted his head to the side, eyeing that log carefully, as though estimating the distance in his head. "I dunno...maybe when I'm bigger, but I could try now, maaaaybe." Drawing out the word, he then scampered over to the log, sniffing it for a moment, and then clambering atop it...and that's when he noticed that they weren't alone anymore. "Uhmmm....hey there, new person! State your business!" That was something he had heard his father say once, and he rather liked it...aaaand standing atop this log made him feel taller...more important.

Chache’s ears arched and his eyes whipped in the direction of the stranger. Afraid of leaving Eru exposed up on the log, Chache bounded to his side and stood tall, his pupils flashing at the large black shape. At that moment his heart leapt into his throat. Suddenly feeling exposed himself, Chache hopped onto one of the branches of the fallen tree, giving him a better view of the lion and his surroundings (thankfully, the black lion was the only outsider in the area). Although the branch wobbled a little under his weight, his long body easily balanced on its perch beside the cub. His prominent ears honed on the stranger.  

[ShinosBee]

Oh, he’d been seen…well that wasn’t strange. Unless he’d had an elephant to hide behind he was bound to have been spotted sooner or later. A shame though, he’d wanted to see the cub make the leap. “Hello!” He called. “Just passing through,” Technically not a lie, “don’t mind me.” He managed a yawn, not hard with the sun beaming down. “I’m sorry, I just woke up.” Alright, that was a lie, but a believable one, yeah? “Did I interrupt anything?”

He stood and shook himself, not bothering to try and look small. That’d have been suspicious—of course he simply hadn’t thought of it. A fly landed on his flank and with a snap his tail had crushed it and flicked it off of him. “I’m Mahewa. Nice to meetcha.”

Oh, well he didn't seem a bad sort. Friendly at least, but his mother had told him not to trust that. This one could be a demon after all. Hopping down from his perch, he padded forward a few steps in order to see this new person. My goodness he was big! With a grin on his face, Eru nodded his head politely. "Nice to meet you. I'm Erunestian...sorry if we woke you...do you live around here?" There wasn't a timid bone in the cub's body, something inherited from his mother.

The stranger’s friendly greeting hardly measured up to what Chache considered demonic. Still, Chache didn’t trust him. “Eru, wait!” Chache hissed, leaping off his perch after the cub.

Determined to keep a close eye on his charge, especially now that Eru had proven himself to be so easily swain, Chache padded up to Mahewa beside Eru.

The lion turned out to be even more enormous in person. Chache steadied himself, deciding then and there that he would not let the stranger’s size intimidate him. In the past he would have ran from a lion this size. There was no more running now. Time to stand and fight, if need be. For the time being he was still unsure what to make of this brute. He arched a brow at the lion. “It seems a little foolish to take a nap just outside the boarder of a pride. You could be attacked,” Chache observed.  

[ShinosBee]

Look at the cub come walking right up! He was brave, if little else. At least it seemed he hadn’t been found out just yet. He’d learned since meeting Buibui before. “It’s fine, I needed to get up any way.” He reassured the cub, stretching and then sitting back on his haunches. He couldn’t just walk off now that he’d gotten a chat going, now could he?

Ah, here came the little serval. A guard, by the way he acted. “The last time I came through this way there was no pride here…But then it’s been a while.” He smiled cheerfully and scratched at an itch. “I’m from north east of here originally. Past the Pridelands.” That was true as well. Never mind that he hadn’t seen the Firekin lands since being a cub. “I sort of just roam here and there, you know?”

Eru cocked his head to the side. "So you travel? Better be careful. There's demons around here. That's why Chache's with me, apparently, so that I dun get lost...and because Momma said so." He explained helpfully, though that last was somewhat rueful. He was, after all, still young and trusting...and the big lion impressed him more than intimidated him. After all, his daddy was a very big lion indeed...and so he'd found that size had absolutely nothing to do with personality. Er...not usually anyway.

Ah, the Pridelands. Chache well remembered the large rock outcropping dominating those lands. “I’ve been up there before. I used to get around myself, before I settled here.”

His ears flicked back at Eru’s irritating tone. He took a deep breath that puffed out his white chest, looking Mahewa in the eyes. “My name is Chache Swiftpaw. Yes, I’m protecting the lad. These are dangerous lands.”  

[ShinosBee]

Ooh that had worked better than he thought. The Pridelanders did have a good reputation…He was too big to claim being from their by blood though, and he determined to tell the truth (that he wasn’t from there) if asked. Unfortunately, hearing them speak so of demons led him to assume they themselves were not demons. Unless they were joking, actually alerting him that they were said beings. That seemed like something Iar would do right before tackling an unknowing opponent, he reflected.

“Well a pleasure to meet the both of you.” He bobbed his head and took a breath. “Now what were you saying about this area being dangerous? I know about the blood-suckers to the far north, if that’s what you mean.” Of course not, but he had to play down his loyalties…


That only confirmed Eru's thought that the other must be new...but at least he knew about the vampires, that was one thing, but the vampires weren't as dangerous in his mind as the demons...not the way his mother talked about them. "Well...there's the vampires..." He agreed carefully, "But back out that way..." Waving a paw in the general direction of the Aikanaro to show what he meant, he continued on, "...there's a whole pride of demons. Some of them are the good kind, some of them are the bad kind, that's what momma says. She says her daddy was the bad kind." A sagely nod from the youngster, who saw no harm in relating the vague tale.

“Shh!” Chache narrowed his eyes at the cub, whispering, “We have to be careful. He could still be one of them.”

He turned back to Mahewa with what was possibly the least sincere smile he had ever made. It was nothing personal, of course. If they met under different circumstances Chache would have thought Mahewa seemed like a nice fellow, something he wasn’t about to admit to the lion, since it obviously presented a flaw in his thinking.

In situations like this Chache always looked to his morals for guidance. First and foremost he had to uphold his promise to protect Eru, so his paranoia was justified. “We’re sorry, but until we can be sure of your intentions we can’t really trust you. That’s just the way things are here.”  

[ShinosBee]

Hewa nodded along with the juvenile’s words. Of course he’d be very careful from now on…Hmm. The serval was still unsure. Well that wouldn’t do. By now he was sure they weren’t demons. The cub might show promise (though it was tempered with the astounding amount of trust he had in strangers) but he was also aware of the demons. That meant his pride had likely warned him. Not a good sign then, he’d have to mention the new neighbors to Iar, or perhaps Verge later.

He put on a slightly surprised face when the serval addressed him, but soon replaced it with one of understanding and acceptance. “As well you should, from the sounds of things. Living near demons must be hard. A pity you picked such a poor neighborhood to settle in. If your pride was interested, there is space to the south of here I know of, a nice lake with fish too.” Perhaps he could divert their attention. Hmm…

Eru glanced at Chache, and then back at the other. In his opinion, it could do no harm either way. If this fellow was a demon, then he already knew that the demons were here, right? Well of course. He didn't see what the serval was being so twitchy about. "It's all right...even if he is what're we supposed to do?" He whispered back, ears flattening for just a moment. His babysitter was making him look silly. "We're supposed to be near the demons...I think." Again another glance at Chache. He didn't want to be scolded for telling the other what their pride did...and if this fellow was a demon, he might attack them if he knew they were demon hunters...or something like that. Not that he thought the other was. Were demons supposed to be this nice?

“We’re allied with another pride close by,” Chache explained. “Naturally to maintain our alliance it is best that we live close together. Though these lands hold many dangers the food and water are plentiful, so we believe it is worth the risk.”

He gave Eru a look telling him to play along and warning him not to say too much. While Chache was unfamiliar with pride politics, he assumed his story would hold water. After all, they were allied with Antianeria, but Mahewa did not need to know that much.  

[ShinosBee]

Supposed to be…? Ah. The serval’s words made sense enough. “It seems a steep price to pay for an alliance, but then it’s likely worth it, as you say. I’m afraid I’m no good with politicking.” He chuckled. “Thus my…dis-allegiance. Still, I’m glad to hear food’s plentiful.” A stroke of luck blessed him then, and his stomach rumbled fiercely. “Heh…my friend agrees.”

Despite his good front, he could tell the serval was nervous. Best move on then. He’d have to head more east than north on the way home too, which wasn’t entirely a bad thing. He couldn’t let them see him return to the Aikanaro. “Another growl from his gut got him on his feet. “Well thank you for alerting me. To the north you say? I’ll steer clear best I can.” He paused, standing and looking around. “Any chance either of you might know where a small herd is? If it’s alright that I hunt in the area, that is.” Best get while getting was good.

"Uhm...I don't hunt yet, not anything bigger than rabbits anyway." Well, if this one was leaving, then he couldn't be a demon, right? A demon would have tried to attack them or eat them or steal them away or something...unless he was one of the good demons...something he shouldn't at all rule out so hastily. He'd have to talk to his mother about all of this later. Nodding his head pleasantly, he gave the much larger lion a smile. "It was a pleasure to meet you, though." And it had been...he didn't get to meet new people very often, seeing as how they were so close to dangerous territory.

Chache wondered the same. Either this lion was no demon, or he was a demon clever enough to make himself appear normal. Just to be safe, he would have to report his presence to the pride. At any rate, Chache felt proud that he had carried out his duty and kept Eru from revealing too much about their pride, though he hoped they kept enough to themselves. Chache nodded in agreement. “May the winds lead you to good fortune, and hunting.”