The watering hole was always packed, crammed with all kinds trying to get in to take a safe drink. Chausiku had managed to find a piece of shore that wasn't as crowded and taken her drink. She lingered a little longer in the water, standing up to her knees in the muddy liquid. Her mood was spiraling lower and lower at the conditions she was being forced to be in at the time.
Someone was having the time of their lives, splashing around and getting the water murkey with churned up mud. With an irate sigh she sloshed back towards shore. The overcrowding really wasn't worth it.
It was strange for Uziwa to watch that creature splashing around the watering hole. Not that long ago, that would've been him. He grinned at the thought before leaning down to get a quick drink. And once he was sure he wouldn't collapse from thirst, he turned and trotted off, only to nearly collide with the hyena in front of him.
Chau reared back a little bit, surprised at the sudden close encounter. She blinked down at the other hyena before giving a frown of annoyance. “Watch where you're going!” She was sorely tested to keep herself from giving him a cuff of annoyance. “What would you have done if you'd run into me, hn?”
"I'm sorry, miss! It was an accident," Uziwa yelped, shrinking back and tucking his tail against his leg nervously. "I don't know... I would have apologized more?"
She looked down at him before giving a sigh and shaking her head, trotting closer to him and giving him a little bit of a push. “Apology accepted, I guess. Just watch your step next time. It's crowded enough around the watering hole as it is without someone clumsy running into everyone. Were you daydreaming or something?”
"Sort of. I was just thinking about how much fun he must be having," Uziwa said, pointing towards the one playing in the watering hole with his muzzle. Of course, that hadn't been the only thing he'd been thinking about, but the hyena in front of him didn't need to know that.
She looked over at the splashing creature, then back at the other hyena with an expression of 'are you stupid?' “Yeah, sure. Fun for him but he's kicking up all the mud from the bottom and making the water murky for everyone else. If you ask me it's pretty irresponsible to let your kid act up like that and cause trouble for everyone else.”
She huffed a little bit, sitting down and blowing a few strands of fur out of her eyes.
"Drinking a little murky water won't kill anyone," Uziwa said lightly, shrugging his shoulders and sitting down next to the hyena. Really, she seemed like such a grouch.
“Hnh... maybe not but it's still not pleasant...” She knew she was just fishing for reasons to grump about now. With a sigh she gave a shrug and a disgruntled sound. “Mmh. Sorry, I didn't really have any reason to snap at you.” She leaned down, hind leg lifting to scratch at an annoying itch at her front shoulder. “Guess I'm just annoyed because of the crowd...”
"Well, you could always go somewhere a bit less crowded? There's a river not far from here that most don't go near because they think it's infested with crocodiles," Uziwa suggested absently, canting his head to one side and flicking his tail.
Chausiku looked over at the stranger once again with a 'you're stupid' glance. “So why would I go over there if others think it's got crocodiles? I can stand a little crowding if it means I'll live for sure rather than have more room and maybe die.” Seriously... had he really asked her that? Who in their right mind would tempt fate by stepping foot in a place like that?
"I said they think it is. But it isn't. Someone must've just seen a log and thought it was a crocodile," Uziwa said lightly, his fur bristling with indignation. He really wasn't as stupid as she seemed to think he was.
“I'm saying even if someone THINKS that someplace is crawling with crocs I'm not going to go over there. Why risk it when you know someplace else is safe for sure?” She sighed, ears flicking back in annoyance. This wasn't really the most entertaining company she'd ever had. She glanced over at the male. He was handsome, sure, but he seemed too la-de-da about things. You couldn't be so carefree. “Whatever... we're going to argue ourselves into a circle.”
"Fair enough. But you do whatever you want. I need to get moving if I'm going to get back to my den by nightfall," Uziwa said absently, getting to his paws and moving to head away from the watering hole. "I'm Uziwa-mzao, by the way."
She tilted her head a little bit, standing up as well. She watched him as he headed off in his direction, giving a half grin as he actually bothered with giving his name. Who knows... maybe they'd run into each other again. “I'm Chausiku. Stay alive.” She called over her shoulder as she too turned to head away back towards her own makeshift den and away from the crowd.