The winter was dying and melding into spring, as the earth warmed and braced herself for the dry season to come. It occured to Kavu that he probably ought to seek greener pastures, as it were, soon, but he was feeling ill-motivated and a bit sour, at that. He sat on a log with his eyes turned up towards the night sky, watching a shower of shooting stars which tore through the blackness. It was a glorious sight.
Kavu couldn't be more bored. Sure, it was a pretty, but it took a lot more than sparkles to impress this hyena. He needed a game to play, but all his toys were gone away, and here he was by himself. Something needed to be done about this, and soon, because boredom was the single most intolerable state of existance. Kavu would sooner fling himself from a cliff and play with his fractures than live with boredom.
Not too far away, a young lion walked with his face upturned, a look of wonder on it as the stars fell from the very sky above in a bright rain. He'd never seen anything like it! This traveling, it really was the best thing he could have done for himself. He saw so many new things in his travels, wonder after wonder, and really, things had just gone swimmingly in his travels with Chambua. Tonight though, he chose to take a little walk by himself and was pleasantly suprised by the show the sky was giving him. Glorious, really... it was wonderful to watch.
He smiled to himself, so distracted that he didn't really watch where he was going. He wasn't going to run into anything, but he probably could have walked past an elephant and not known it. It wasn't much of a stretch then, to understand why Ryuuko didn't even notice the hyena sitting nearby on a log, looking rather gloomy.
Being downwind, Barafukavu had caught the scent and known the young lion was approaching for a long time coming. He sat, though, still and patient, like a spider waiting in its web for prey. The boy would come to him for sure, and Kavu just might have a game to play.
From the looks of him, getting in the boy's head would be easier than getting in and out of the savannah--he was wide open. It was almost a disappointment; Kavu had been hoping for a challenge. One always had to tread carefully with lions, though, when one was a hyena: lions can be dreadful business when misled, even the young ones. He somehow doubted this would come to fighting in the end, though, as the blue-toned lion didn't seem the type.
Clearing his throat, Barafukavu offered the kindest and most honest advice he would give all night: "You best be careful walking around without looking like that; you never know who you'll run into."
Ryuuko started when a voice came to him, suprised out of his wonderings by both the voice and the content. He blushed, as much as a furred creature could and came to a stop, his forepaws placed close together in an unconcious way to cover his embarrassment. If he'd known the male was nearby, he'd have been watching himself better. Having to be pulled out of his thoughts like this was like having someone walk in on him doing something naughty. Not that thinking was naughty, but still...
"Oh! Um.... thank you for the advice... It is good advice and I'll be sure to take it to heart." He tried a friendly smile as he gently flicked his tail, nodding in a way that made the beads hanging from his headdress bounce against his cheeks. "Might I... ask what your name is, um... sir. My name is Ryuuko, if you're curious."
Barafukavu smiled bright and warm at the lion, in contrast to his cold coat. Yeah, this kid was going to be as easy as he thought. Still, it was something to do. A soft chuckle escaped his chest. "No need for the formalities here, Ryuuko," he said, waving off the sir with a flick of his forepaw. "My name is Barafukavu, but you may call me Kavu if you like." He bowed his head low to his unwitting company. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Let the games begin.
First he would have to get a feel for who he was dealing with here. So, upon rising, he skimmed the lion with his eyes and inquired upon the first thing he noticed there: "Might I ask about the fancy business up atop your head?" He pointed up at the headdress which just now swung and jangled about his face and mane. "I don't believe I've ever seen the likes of it before." Honestly, he just wanted to make sure he wasn't messing with any royalty. If the lion was royalty, Kavu would have to see if he could weasel any favors out of him before messing with his head.
Ryuuko smiled brightly at the exchange of names, feeling more at ease now with this new creature. If he were going to attack, he probably wouldn't have bothered with greeting the youngster. "Yes, its a pleasure to meet you too. I've been meeting a lot of people in my travels and its always nice to do so." He nodded eagerly, hoping the other would agree with him. Young as he was and inexpierienced, he longed mostly for acceptance.
Yellow eyes blinked as he looked up at the headress he wore, matching the flowers and beads around his neck. A funny expression and he smiled shyly as he dropped his eyes back to the other. "Oh, these? No, I suppose you wouldn't have seen their like before. I made them myself." He nodded as he smiled brightly. "I just... saw these pretty flowers and decided I wanted to wear them. So, I made this headdress and necklace. Do you... like them?" He said softly, the thought finally occuring that maybe he had made a social blunder and looked like some sort of idiot all decorated like this. His ears layed back as his eyes widened.
Barafukavu stretched and stood upon the log he was perched on, trying to get eye-level with the boy. "It's always wonderful to make new acquaintances, I agree," he said. It was indeed a pleasure for him, because new acquaintances meant new experiences and an aleviation for his relentless boredom.
He grinned as Ryuuko described to him how he had come to acquire his unique headdress, and he chuckled a bit at his bashfulness. "I do," the hyena replied to the question. "It is very individualistic, and it shows your character." That it did. Kavu knew the kid was soft, if he was a boy fond of wearing pretty flowers in strange ways. He probably wasn't especially well socially adjusted yet, from all he'd seen of him. "I bet you've made some excellent first impressions wearing a clever little decoration like that," he said.
Now it was time, hopefully, to learn about the kid's social life.
The agreement that came from the other creature, which he was starting to suspect was a hyena, made him grin rather foolishly, unable to help it. It felt good to know that he wasn't some sort of oddball, that there were others who thought, felt, and appreciated things the way he did. "T-thank you." Ryuuko murmured as he smiled shyly, his tail swaying. "I have to admit though, that I havn't been wearing it that long and havn't met too many others while wearing it. My... companion, Chambua, thinks they're nice too, like you. He likes to encourage me with things I want to do."
He tilted his head as he looked over Kavu. "Are you traveling by yourself, Kavu? You're a lot braver than I am. I wouldn't have been able to without Chambua." His smile was open and trusting, no hint of malice or deceit in his expression. He was truly an innocent soul and this hyena would probably have a field day with him.
The cold-hearted hyena's ears perked right up as the innocent boy spoke. Companion? Wouldn't be able without him? He expertly supressed a smirk. Perfect. Too perfect. Dependancy was a beautiful thing, and so easy to create waves in. "That's awfully nice of him," said Kavu. "What sort of creature is this Chambua?"
He shrugged indifferently at Ryuuko's observation, though. "Not so brave," he said. "Nice as it is to meet others, sometimes it's good to be alone, too." He nodded firmly and with it, planted the seeds which, if properly cultivated, would bloom into doubt.
The young male nodded to the last part. "It is good to be alone occasionally, but its good to also have a person or a place to come back to so you don't have to be alone if you don't want to." He thought for a moment about how to describe his friend. "Well... Chambua likes to wander and he likes to think. He thinks about riddles a lot, things I don't really understand. I try to, but they're just a bit too much for me. Hopefully I can learn to understand them like he does."
Sitting back, now that he was comfortable with the hyena, he smiled winningly. Obviously, the seeds Kavu was trying to plant weren't finding a very fertile soil to take root in, but time would tell if any of them did. "Chambua likes to be alone sometimes and so do I. Its why I was out walking tonight. I just needed some space and some silence."
Barafukavu sat and listened intently, watching, nodding, and for one who was none-the-wiser he made himself look to be a sympathetic listener. He even smiled, an expression which felt unnatural on his face, but he knew was neccessary. "He sounds like a fascinating individual," Kavu declared. "I can see why you would want to travel with him."
He then peered deep into Ryuuko's yellow eyes, searching his head, and asked with great gravity, "But why does he choose to travel with you?" His slippery smile wiped across his lips again. "I mean no offense by asking, of course, I'm merely curious." He sat back and inspected the young lion. He might be a bit simple, but that just meant it wouldn't take much to get inside his head. Kavu would have him entangled by the end of the night, before the shooting stars burned out in all their glory.
A tilt of the head answered Kavu's question, but it didn't seem to bother Ryuuko. "Chambua is very kind. I think he let me follow him around for my own sake, because its better to be out and about than just living alone like I was. And he said that I would give him a new perspective, help him see things he didn't on his own. I help remind him about the beauty of life when he might start to forget." He didn't find the conversation odd and though he picked up something... off about the hyena, he dismissed it. It was his way not judge on appearance and he prided himself on being open minded like Chambua told him to be.
"I know I'm not much of anything, probably not even worth his time, but I'm so very grateful to him for everything he's done for me. I'd probably be back in my little den where I was born, alone and afraid."
This hyena had grown up honing his art, and had learned to pick up on any trigger phrase in anyone's conversation. To Kavu's ears, 'probably not even worth his time' meant everything, and he took it in with not a sign on his face that he'd thought much of it. "It's always good to have someone you can depend on," said the hyena. "I used to have someone I thought I could count on, but..." he dropped his eyes to his paws. "Well... let's not dwell on that, shall we." When he once again lifted his head, he'd replaced the smile on his face. expertly covering for nothing at all.
He stood again and leapt from his perch on the log, rounding the lion to grab a sip from a nearby puddle, a lucky remnant from one of the last few rains of the wet season. As he hydrated himself, he idly observed, "But your Chambua sounds to be a right upstanding fellow. Very kind of him to take you in like that, for your own good. If only everyone in the world were that self-sacrificing." He shrugged and rolled his head on his neck, straightening out his spine and relaxing himself now that he was easing into his element. "Most folks wouldn't be so willing to compromise their own needs for someone else like that. You're lucky."
Ryuuko watched Kavu with a smile as he moved, going to the water for his little drink. He was glad the hyena felt comfortable around him, completely oblivious to the thoughts running through his mind. The smile slipped at the mention that Kavu might have had someone and lost then, just as the young lion had lost his mother. Perhaps the same thing had happened to him!
"I know how it feels. I was so alone before I met Chambua." He let it go at that, respecting that he might not want to talk about something so painful. The mention though of Chambua being 'self-sacrificing' brought a frown to his face. He might not be the best companion, but... he didn't make Chambua do anything he didn't normally do. Its not like he had to catch food for him and they didn't travel any slower than he did before. At least... Ryuuko didn't think so. He let the frown ease as he nodded along. "Yeah, I'm really lucky. I try to do my best though, you know. I don't want to be a burden."
Kavu sat and wrapped his tail around his hind legs, watching the flying stars reflected in the puddle at his feet. He caught the glimmer of them even in his eyes, and he felt it too--he should've taken this as quite the sign. The sky was burning... when the sky is burning you can be sure there are devils at play. And Kavu wasn't fooling himself; he knew he was such a devil.
"It's not so bad," he said as he turned back to the lion. "I do fine on my own. I think it's easier sometimes, being on my own. I get to do my own thing my own way, all the time, and if I want company I'll just go find someone to talk to. It's easy." He shook his head. "But it's not for everyone I suppose.
The little frown which lingered on Ryuuko's face was not for a second lost on the hyena, and he soaked it in with a perfectly straight face. It was of great ease to him to conceal his emotions; his delight was his to have, and he felt no compulsion to share it. All that mattered now was keeping up appearances to keep playing the game. "You're a good soul, Ryuuko," the hyena said with a saccharine smile. "Very considerate. I just..." He glanced aside and dug his feet awkwardly into the drying dirt. "I know I shouldn't, and I realize it's not my place, but... I worry about you. A little." His head still turned away, he glanced at the lion out of the corner of his eye, watching him.
The blue and purple male watched the hyena with a bemused expression. He was a little confused, a little sad, and very much unsure of himself now.
"Worried?" He said as he laid his ears back, tilting his head to the side. "Why... why would you be worried about me?" He was surprised by this, obviously, and confused. He didn't know much about this hyena, but he must be quite a caring one, to worry about someone he barely knew. The young male's face cleared as he smiled reassuringly. "There's really nothing to worry about. I'm doing good and I'm happy." He said with a chuckle, trying to reassure his new 'friend'.
"Oh no!" he laughed good naturedly and waved his paws. "It's not like that. I'm sure you're really happy now, you seem to have everything going for you. But I just... want you to be careful." He hunched up a bit now to make himself look vulnerable, troubled. The boy needed to believe he was genuinely upset. Performance was everything. He stared at his paws.
"See, this friend I used to have, he... he was always there to look out for me, help me. We didn't have an awful lot in common, but I didn't figure that mattered much since we had this... co-dependancy of sorts, I guess." He sighed as he turned his eyes to the falling stars. "He said he wanted to look out for me. But... everything really hinged on his desires. We stuck it out for a long time, but we were just too... different. His sense of humor was lost on me, and he said I was too quiet, and too needy. He... he eventually got fed up enough that he took off one night, left me behind, sick of trying to make everything work out just for _my_ benefit." He drooped like a wilting flower, but a sad smile danced around his maw. "I suppose it's for the best. I learned to be independant after that. And I... never wanted to be a bother to him. Little did I know I'd been a bother all along, eh?" In a display of rare talent, Kavu willed a blush onto his cheeks, standing out beneath his white fur, just by reminding himself how sappy he was being right now and how shameful that was. He displayed his embarassment for Ryuuko to see. "Oh, I'm sorry. Here I am, dumping all my worries onto you. You don't need this."
Ryu layed his ears back as he listed to the made-up sob story, taking every word to heart. Doubts rose inside him as he compaired what happened to Kavu with what was going on with him and Chambua. What... what if he was a burden to his friend? What if he got fed up with Ryuuko, just like Kavu's friend had with him? The thought made him feel sick inside, worry plain on his face as his own shoulder's hunched.
"I'm... I'm sorry, Kavu. And don't worry about it. Everyone needs someone to talk to, now and again. Share their worries and thoughts and stuff like that. Its what friends are for." His voice was low when he spoke, soft with the turmoil inside him. He pushed it back as he shook his head, struggling to get his earlier serenity back. Everything had been fine before, there was no outward reason why what happened to Kavu would happen to him. Chambua wasn't the same person as that friend of Kavu's. "If it makes you feel better, then I'm happy to listen to whatever you want to say." He smiled, the expression genuine.
Kavu let his dancing smile settle a little more solidly on his face as he picked up his head again. "Well, I'm glad to hear you're willing to accept me as a friend, even after such a short time," he said. "Trust and an open heart are hard to come by these days... you should hang onto those." He could see the lines of worry being etched onto the lion's face. These were his trophy, but he wasn't done with the kid yet, not by a long shot. He had merely set him up. He still had to sell it. "I'm grateful to have you hear me out."
The wind picked up then, and Kavu sniffed at it. "How long did you walk to get here, anyway?" he asked. "It feels a bit like the middle of nowhere out here, even if it is in the wide open, doesn't it?" The meteor shower was now starting to die down, and as it did, the night slowly grew more dark. Honestly, the more the inky blackness wrapped around them, the more comfortable Barafukavu felt.
Ryuuko smiled, happy that Kavu seemed to think so highly of him. He just was how he was, there was no pretending, no hiding. To know that someone liked him for who he was, was truly gratifying. "You're very welcome, Kavu. I'm happy I can help." He looked quite pleased, though the epression faded a bit as he turned to look around him, seeming to really take in where he was now.
He'd come farther than he'd realized, his ears laying back. "Um... I don't know, I guess. I was just walking, watching the sky and the things around me. I guess... I guess I went farther than I knew while I was distracted." Yellow eyes glanced to the hyena before looking around again, his worried expression easing as his natural good nature came up again. "I'm sure its okay though. I'll be able to find my way back. I found that I have a pretty good sense of direction."
At the kid's thanks and warm expression, Kavu almost felt a little sick in his gut. It was dreadfully repulsive, all this saccharine. He probably would've been retching reflexively if he were capable of strong emotions. Instead, he just made a slippery smile and nodded his head. "They don't make kids like you much anymore. I hope that friend of yours sees that."
He couldn't help but smirk a little when the young lion admitted to him that he wasn't sure how far he'd wandered, but he played it off as gentle amusement. "Now now, boy like you should watch where he's going. It's a rough savannah. You never know who's watching." He glanced up at the sky and watched the last few meteors flash and die, then sighed. "Well, if you have too much trouble finding your way, I'm sure that loyal friend of yours will come looking for you."
The young lion wasn't aware of the sickness his simple words caused the other, as oblivious as ever. He was just happy he wasn't completely alone right now and had someone he could talk to. It took his mind off the bad situation he might have put himself in. His optimism was having to struggle against Kavu's insinuation that things might not be as happy-fun-time as Ryuu would like to believe. With his past... it was all that kept him moving sometimes.
"I know I should." He said as he smiled at himself. "Everything is just so new and strange to me, I can't help getting lost in it. I guess, if someone wants to hurt me, there wouldn't be much I could do about it even if I was paying attention." Rounded ears perked as he thought about Chambua. Surely, if Ryuuko were gone too long, the male would wonder and come to check on him, just to make sure he was ok. Wouldn't he? He was a good guy and if he didn't care, why would he have wanted Ryuuko to travel with him?
Barafukavu kept seeing little sparks of doubt and concern pop up in Ryuuko's eyes, as much as he tried to supress it with a smile, and it made the hyena's mouth water. The little cracks around the edges before the whole thing crumbled... that was the fun part. Like the suspense in a good story. And the best stories, Kavu felt, are the ones you make yourself. Leaning in and scrutinizing his new "friend's" face, Kavu murmured, "I'm worried about you, though. You don't pay attention, creatures could take advantage of you, hurt you, when you least expect it. There are some sneaky folks out there." They were double-edged words, of course, meant to cut into Ryuu's resolve from two sides... if they could seep deep enough into his thick skull to have an effect. Honestly, Kavu wondered if the kid's dullness was a blessing or an obsticle...
...though he was having fun finding out.
The smile drifted back to his face. "But it's nice that you're able to accept the world as it is like that. And at least you've got your friend to look out for you." His teeth glinted in the starlight. "As long as you're actually with him, of course."
Never before had Ryuuko's new view on life been so tested as this night. In less than an hour, he was wondering if leaving his den had been the good idea it seemed, if he was nothing more than a burden for his very good friend, and if he was really suited to this sort of life. He felt like he needed to do some serious thinking, but now probably wasn't the best to time to let his mind wander... again.
"I'll be careful, Kavu..." He said softly as he nodded, trying to reassure both his new friend, and himself. "I'm sure Chambua is already looking for me, so he can't be far off. I'll find him soon enough, and then I'll be safe."
Barafukavu nodded sagely, noting the spreading worry on the boy's face. He was winning. In fact, if he could drive it home just a little further, he could even do lasting damage, which could be fun to exploit if he ever ran into the kid again down the road. Scratching at the fur atop his head, Kavu casually agreed, "Oh, I'm sure of it too. If he's the way you describe him to be, he wouldn't let a kid like you get too far from him. At least, I wouldn't." He chuckled deep in his throat. "And if I didn't have things to take care of on my own, I'd have half a mind to keep an eye on you too." Smirking, he reached out and ruffled the lion's mane in what he assumed was a playful manner. He'd never really felt playful before so he just had to take a stab at it.
The ruffling took Ryuuko by suprise and he ducked his head as he smiled shyly. "Um... thanks, Kavu. That... means a lot to me." He said softly. "We've only just met and you hardly know me... to be willing to help me out like that." The young lion shook his head as he gently flicked his tail.
"I know I'm pretty useless and stuff, but I feel... I dunno, blessed, to have gotten friends like you and Chambua." It might not have been the exact effect that Kavu had intended, but his words had added weight to the belief the young lion held that it was his fault his mother had left him, that he had no family and precious few friends because he wasn't worthy of them. It would most likely shape his entire personality for his lifetime and take something extraordinary to overcome.
Kavu shrugged and shuffled his paws in the dirt. Honestly, he wasn't sure he knew how to be casual either. "Well, let's just say you remind me a little of me, when I was younger," he said. God, that had to be the biggest lie of the day... and Kavu seldom did anything but lie. Still, he forced himself to smile warmly, and hoped the lie would at least push the kid further into connecting Kavu's previous story to himself.
If only Barafukavu had known Ryuuko's real worries... that would've been enough to sate him for tragedies for a while, the delicious knowledge that he'd aided a poor boy's abandonment issues. Well, for what he knew he was getting his kicks enough. "Well, some folks really like taking care of others," he said. He looked the young lion up and down. "I guess you kind of attract that sort, huh? I wouldn't worry about it. No one who really thought you were useless would stick around you too long. For the rest of us, it's a privilege to help."
Ryu was feeling more and more depressed with Kavu's words, though he didn't blame the hyena for it. He couldn't help how he was, or how he might make Ryuuko feel with what he said.
"I guess I should geet back... its pretty late. I'm glad you cared to talk to me for a while." He said softly as he smiled, wanting nothing more than to be alone for a while to think. "I, um... hope to see you again. You'll take care of yourself, won't you?" Small paws shifted on the cool dirt, brusthing it restlessly.
And... there it was. He melted in Kavu's hands like ice. He'd been right all along; the kid was easy. Kavu knew he really ought never to doubt himself. He could break anyone, if he really wanted to. It was all in figuring them out well enough to find out where they're weakest, then strike. Not much different from hunting, really.
He bowed low to the lion as he prepared to take his leave. "Indeed. I was glad for the company. And perhaps you'll run into that friend of yours out looking for you on your way back." When he rose again, he was beaming--his first really earnest smile of the night. Game over. He won. "I shall. And you take care of yourself too. You never know what kinds of creatures are waiting in the dark." Creatures like Kavu.
The hyena left the kid to himself and strode off into the night, and he was well sure not to let himself cackle until the kid was far out of earshot.
He didn't understand why so many hyenas hated lions. They could be so entertaining.
