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 Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:21 am
Njeve-Umhlabathi was hunting once again. She had to hunt often to find prey small enough for her to sustain herself on. She couldn't take down full grown prey, or even baby prey, and forget about scarring off the scavengers for their meal, she was far too small for that. Sometimes Njeve even wondered how she was still alive, having been abandoned some months ago, a pup, surviving on her own.
The little icy hearted hyena crouched down to the ground, spotting a hare in the distance. It's borrow was not far from it, and Njeve did not want it to go back in, she would have to somehow outrun it and get between the borrow and the hare. Another hard meal for the pup.
Njeve began to make her way towards the hare, paws so light on the ground it didn't make sound. She would feed today, she had to feed today.
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Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:46 am
Resting not too far off was a much larger grey hyena, his fur disheveled from constant neglect. A few flakes of dry blood speckled his muzzle. A litter of cubs had died of the plague today. They were only a few weeks old when the disease claimed them. For the mother it was certainly a tragedy, but after the funeral ceremony the bodies needed to be disposed of. Timur was only too happy to fulfill his duties.
Of course, only the queen and the other secret keepers knew about this. Mothers could be fiercely protective of their cubs even in death and Timur understood the need for secrecy in these matters. That was why he secluded himself from the pride to sleep off his meal.
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Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 12:04 pm
As Njeve readied herself to go after the hare, she smelled him, and her fur went on end. She had not smelled Timur himself, but the smell of death and blood on him. In her innocence of the world she quickly mistook the smell lingering on Timur as a carcass someone had left behind; she heard no feeding noises, or vultures and decided the kill had been abandoned.
"An easy meal..." She said to herself quietly, and with a small sigh.
She felt good today now that she knew an easy meal was upon her. Nose in the air, taking a whiff of the smell, she quickly let her nose lead the way and found herself starring down the large male hyena. This was not what she was expecting.
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Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 12:23 pm
Timur grumbled and opened an eye. His voice was deep and raspy. "Hm? What's this? Some pup?" he growled.
Large ears swiveled forward and back. Where there were pups, their parents must be close by. Timur scowled fearlessly. In the past his own kind had shunned and attacked him. Would they dare try that now when his coat smelled not just of death but of lions? The queen's pride was weak with disease, but lions were lions and not all of them were cripples. His shoulders bobbed as he chuckled to himself. "Well, well! It has been some time since I had a visitor. Where is your family, young pup? Are they watching?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 12:35 pm
Njeve could not help but let a slight scowl form on her face. She was not 'some pup', she had a name and she was proud of that name. She went to open her little muzzle to chide him and introduce herself, only for him to ask her about her family, causing the poor little pup to look away solemnly.
"I have no family...They are gone." She said coldly, a slight growl at the end of her sentence.
She had not wanted to be reminded of the fact she had been discarded so carelessly by the family who was supposed to love her. And she would never admit that she missed them, especially her loud and obnoxious sisters.
"I fend for myself."
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Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 12:46 pm
"Ah, then we have something in common. My family also abandoned me." He snorted loudly, spitting at their memory. "Traitorous bastards! It was not my fault of course. Not my fault they chased me away like a common vulture. Why they did it... well, I cannot say, but certainly they are bastards. You are wise to fend for yourself."
He could not tell her about the demon spirits. Whenever he mentioned them by name, they always returned to torment him by possessing the creatures around him. Why the demon spirits never seemed to possess him was a mystery.
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Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 1:01 pm
Njeve had never met someone else abandoned as she was. The others she had met either had large families, always near by if they were ever needed. Not her's though. They were gone now and she may never see them again. They had not chased her off though, it made her wonder what exactly he had done to deserve being chased off. Perhaps it had something to do with the way he smelled.
"Njeve-Umhlabathi," She said simply, pointing to herself, "You?"
This grown-up was interesting, interesting in a possibly dangerous way, but interesting nonetheless. She had nothing to do and nowhere to be since she was alone, so for once she decided she wanted to get to know someone she encountered. Even if they were a little weird to her. At least they didn't talk to rocks or stare at clouds all day.
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Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 1:23 pm
Was she asking for his name? How strange. He had been wise not to mention the spirits to her, for she was clearly not infected with them. Perhaps he should not even think about the spirits. He did not know if evil spirits could be called by his thinking about them - it seemed they could not - but it was better to be safe. He nodded in understanding and said his own name, "Timur."
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Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 1:50 pm
"Why do you smell like death, Timur?" Njeve asked, giving him a small sniff.
She had followed that scent here hoping for food, and finding a male hyena, so she wanted to know exactly why he smelled like death. Living things were not meant to smell like death, otherwise they wouldn't be living.
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Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 2:32 pm
"Like death?" Timur cocked his head. He sniffed himself curiously and wrinkled his nose. He had collected quite a lot of smells, since he only cleaned himself when his discomfort became unbearable, but death was not something he expected to cling to him. It unnerved him a little, until he realized where it came from. "Eh... that is a secret. A very important secret. I promised my queen I would never tell and I am extremely loyal to my queen. You see, if I told anyone my secret, it could upset a lot of people in my pride."
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Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 3:14 pm
"What's a pride?" Njeve asked, tilting her head to the side inquisitively. She was not quite sure what it was he was talking about in regards to why it was a secret, but if it was a secret she probably did not want to know anyway. If there was one thing she knew in her brief existence is that secrets never tended to be good. At least the one's she heard were never good.
Njeve got bored of simply sitting there and decided she needed to move around some, taking to circling around Timur to get a good look at him. He was very gray, and had some spots, but the most interesting point was his one leg. It was pristine white patch, like he stepped in white on accident. It was kinda neat to her.
"How'd you get the white paw?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 3:28 pm
"So many questions!" Timur exclaimed. He wasn't used to pups. The last time he saw a pup up close was in his pack, years and years ago. He remembered that pups were precious and to be protected at all times. Anyone who struck a pup would be severely beaten by the alpha female, perhaps even run out of the pack, if the pup was severely injured. Males in his pack were of a lower rank than females, so female pups like Njeve were special treasures.
As Njeve started to circle him he sat on his haunches to better observe her. Having been alone for so long, the idea of being touched, even gently, was alien and uncomfortable. He flinched when she came near but dared not do anything to push her away.
He stared at his white foot as if seeing it for the first time. Although it might have looked pristine when contrasted with the rest of his body, if Njeve looked closely she could see that even the white was tainted by dirt and mud. Distracted, he forgot about her first question. "Uhm... I don't remember. That white has always been there, I think." Did she know something he did not? "How did you get so blue?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 6:40 pm
"Mom gave me my blue," Njeve answered, inspecting the tips of her paws a bit, "She was blue too."
She decide to circle around Timur one last time before settling back in front of him. She had noticed his flinching reaction and tilted her head to the side for a moment. Was he afraid of her? Was he trained not to touch pups? He was too interesting.
Njeve held up a paw quietly and slowly moved it towards one of Timur's legs. She was being a little mean at the moment, wanting to see how badly he'd flinch if she actually tried to touch him. He didn't seem to like it.
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Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 8:14 pm
Timur could not remember his own parents. Maybe his mother had a little patch of white on her. Perhaps if he thought about it for a while he could remember what his family looked like, maybe even their different names, but he did not care to try.
When Njeve lifted her paw Timur quickly scooted away from her and gave her a look complete with a stern growl. She did not have permission to touch him! Why was she trying to touch him? Was she trying to infect him with an evil spirit? His fur stood on end as his body shook with a low rumble. He would not hurt a pup, but he did not want her to put an evil spirit inside him.
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Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 8:28 pm
Njeve's ears perked up when he scooted away from her and growled. He acted so strange, like he was never touched before in his life. Or maybe the people who abandoned him hurt him real bad and so he thought everyone would hurt him. Or something...
"Why don't you like being touched?" Njeve asked coldly, putting her paw back down. She looked away from him and pawed at the ground for a bit. She couldn't help but feel it was a tad annoying. She had been so disconnected from others for the last few months she practically wanted to cling to him and not let go. Except....he'd need to bathe first.
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