"Hmm..." Kisikusiku mumbled worriedly to herself as she stepped out of her temporary home.... Not another soul in sight... That the leopon cub could see. Poor Siku- she'd followed a cricket one afternoon. Followed it blindly until she didn't know which way was home anymore, and from there the concerned little leopon wandered, found this hollow tree, and had called it home. Siku was, though, overly worried about everything. The next meal, who was around the corner... She was even worried about what she was. She'd heard awful things about hybrids, leopons among them. She thought of herself as scum of the earth, but she still struggled to survive. She had eaten mice the night before, and she knew where a little water hole was nearby, she could live the rest of her life safe in her little tree... Unless a spider got in there. Then she'd have to find a new one, there were, afterall, plenty of deadly-poisonous spiders in Africa.
"Da da-da da da... Da da-da da da... Da da-da DAAAAA!" Mzawa sang to himself as he dashed recklessly through the grass, his tail lifted like a silky pennant. He liked to think that the song made he look more heroic as he bounced and slashed at grass that looked like it might be hiding an evil-doer, the sound getting louder when he got particularly excited. Finding no one in the last hiding place other than a particularly freaked out mouse, he bounced on through the grass. Finding a tall rock (or tall for him), the leopard dashed up it, striking a 'heroic' pose at the top. To anyone but himself, he probably looked pretty amusing, but to Mzawa, he was the pinacle, the best... the best of the best! Yes... best of the best... that was a good line. He'd have to remember it. Recalled to his duty, he set his paws firmly to the rock and started to search for someone to save, a paw over his eyes to block out the sun. "Aw, man... there has to be someone here worth saving! The Savannah is a dangerous place!" He said outloud to himself. He'd gotten into the habit of talking to himself, since he was often alone.
Kisikusiku's ears perked forward as she heard someone singing rather loudly in the distance. It wasn't long before he was right nearby, but Siku ducked down, you never know what kind of person a stranger is until you've... well... figured out who they were.
The golden leopon was hidden in the tall grass when the leopard hopped up atop a nearby rock. She peeked out through the grass. He was bigger than her, but could that be because he was on a rock? No, it was because he was bigger. He had no spots, though, which she found odd. She was part lion, if either of them should have no spots, it should be her. At his words, though, she couldn't help but peep up. "You're right," Siku said as she raised herself out of her grassy hiding place, "The savannah is a dangerous place!" She wondered if she'd made a mistake showing herself, though. He really was bigger than her... Too late.
"I'm Kisikusiku," she introduced quietly, waiting to see what the boldly-posed leopard had to say.
Mzawa jumped in a rather embarrassing way when the voice sounded so close to her. He recovered quickly and leaned over the edge of the rock with a scowl. "Who goes there?" He called loudly, puffing up his fur to make himself seem bigger and/or more imposing. "Friend or Foe? If you're a foe, be prepared to meet the wrathful paw of.... MZAWA-EUSI!" He struck another heroic pose, paws planted and chest puffed out, along with his tail which he lifted in a graceful S shape. Oh yes... quite the picture he made. This... Kisi... Kiskiku... whatever they're name was, would surely be impressed and intimidated. It was important that he make a good first impression. If he wanted to make a living as a hero, he needed to build up a good, solid reputation. People needed to know his name acrossed the lands, even places he'd never been.
Siku's ears folded flat against her skull as the larger leopard yelled at her. "I-I'm a friend, I think, I'm certainly not a foe but I've never met you before... So I'm not really a friend," Siku said without making eye contact. "I don't have much food," she said, staring up at the stranger. He did make a powerful picture though. She was still relatively healthy looking, but she hadn't eaten anything substantial in a few days, only mice. While she could live on them... She couldn't live well on them. "You don't have any food, do you Mzawa-Eusi?" She asked, giving a little emphasis to his name.
The young male frowned as he looked down at Siku, his tail flicking gently back and forth. He studied her carefully, deducing that she must be some kind of leopard girl. She looked like a leopard, though her tail was funny shaped. "I guess you're right... Though, if you're not a bad person, then you're a friend. That's the way it works. I'm a hero and I stop evil-doers and rescue people, that sort of thing." He layed his ears back as he lifted his head, tilting it gently. "Food?" That stopped him short and he had to think about it. When was the last time he'd eaten, now that he thought about it? Food was a secondary concern when one was out saving the world... "No, I don't." Suddenly, his face lit up and he pounced down from the rock, bouncing up to Siku with a grin. "I know! I'll get you food. 'Cause I'm a hero and I help people! Yeah, I'll get you the best food ever!" Grinning, he whirled and took off in a random direction, intent on finding -something- he could bring back to the strange leopard girl. He had to fulfill his mission, even if he forgot to admit that he wasn't the best hunter...
"Really? You're a hero? That's so cool!" Siku said, very much eased by his "job." A hero can't possibly be bad. She perked up considerably- when Siku felt safe, she was much more open. And this leopard, Mzawa-Eusi, he seemed pretty nice!
And then he bounded off in a random direction- Siku had been hoping maybe she could watch. She ran after him keeping up as best as her shorter legs could. "Hey Mzawa, you don't mind if I call you that, do you? Can you wait up? I'd like to see if I can learn something from ya!" He was older, so she assumed he was a better hunter than she was, perhaps she could get some "tips" just by watching. "I'll stay out of your way and everything!"
Mzawa was pulled up by the voice calling out behind him, falling into a trot as he rolled his eyes where she couldn't see them. Geez... why did the... rescue-ed always insist on 'distracting' him? They were always 'oh, no, I don't need help!', or 'thank you, but I can do it' and wanting to watch him do the incredible things he could do. It was... distracting! He frowned as he looked back, coming to a halt to let Siku catch up. "Geez, its a good thing I came along when I did. You're kinda useless, aren't you? Can't keep up and you need help on learning how to hunt? How come you're not with your family, if you need so much help? People like me don't come around often, you know. You're super lucky I found you when I did, you know." When she was close enough, he turned and started trotting, keeping his pace slow so she wouldn't fall behind again. Sometimes he'd forget though and end up running back at his old pace. He really had no concept of 'courtesy', as such.
Siku kept up as well as she could, falling behind when he picked up the pace just a little bit, but she mostly needed to catch up from his headstart. "Yeah, I guess I am a little useless, but I've been living in that tree back there for a while, I found my own shelter. That's got to count for something right?" Maybe not, maybe he was right and she was useless. She was a hybrid, after all. When he changed the topic, her tone changed right with it. "Oh... my family...." She said as she followed him. "I got lost from my family a while ago, I have no idea where they are! They wander too, so it's unlikely I'll ever find them again. I have no idea where I am, no idea where they are... I didn't run away or anything, I just got lost one day..." Her voice trailed off. She couldn't talk about it anymore, she'd survive and maybe, one day, she'd see her mother or a brother. Maybe someday.
Mzawa rolled his eyes as he bounded through the grass, feeling it harmlessly brushing over his sides. "Siku, was it? How do you just 'get lost' from your family? Man, you -are- helpless. I'm suprised you managed to do what you have... Any bug can crawl under a rock or into a tree for shelter." A soft chirping nearby caught his ears and he swerved, slowling down to a trot then a walk. His head lowered as he tried to figure out where the sound was coming from. Sounded like some kind of ground fowl... stupid things, shouldn't be too hard to catch, for which he was thankful. He wasn't all that confident of his abilities, despite what he told Siku. "Shush now... don't make any noise!" He hissed back at the girl, his tail twitching eagerly as he focused on creeping as soundlessly as he could through the grass, whinching whenever it rustled.
Siku's ears folded against her skull again. Yeah, she was useless, he was right in every way. Her face contorted into a slightly distressed look, the kind a child gets when they are being yelled at for something they themselves don't fully understand "I dunno, I was just following after a cricket..." Her voice trailed off and she heard the chirp. She didn't make any sound after that, just sat and hid in the grass. She watched him, only half of her mind paying attention to what he was doing.
The other half focused on what he'd said. He was right about all of it, too. You almost had to try to just lose a family as big as her own. Still, she remembered calling for them and getting no response, heading to where she thought they were, but finding just more empty grassland ahead of her. If she'd have just taken a brother or sister with her to chase the cricket, she wouldn't be in this predicament. She tried to pull her mind out of those thoughts as best as she could to watch and try to learn how to hunt.
The dark leopard crept forward as he kept his head low, unconciously raising his tail at the same time till it nearly peaked over the grass. Not a good thing, but the bird in the grass was too buisy gobbling up seeds to pay any attention. A bit plus for Mzawa, though, because it lent his ineffectual hunter's skill that little bit more he needed. A satisfyingly terrifying war cry erupted from the small body as it launched through the air, disappearing into the grass with Lady Luck to guide it. His extended claws managed to catch in the wings of the bird when it took off in an explosion of feathers, dragging it down. The impact with the ground and the leopard on top of it broke it's neck and the hunt was over before it properly started. A grin lit his face, feeling his chest swell with pride at his catch. He hadn't caught anything this big... ever! "Hey, Siku! I caught it! Come see! Its... huge!" He called back, wanting to show off his prize.
