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 Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 11:36 am
 Muscardini sprang into action, clearing nearly three meters with his initial leap and landing in a run. The adolescent antelope didn't stand a chance. Soon his long, sharp fangs were buried in its throat and they were locked in a brief, desperate struggle. The victor was obvious from the beginning, however, as the lion's jaws were closing inexorably over the antelope's windpipe, crushing it while his claws slashed viciously at its neck and flanks. The antelope had panicked at the first sign of attack and was no longer in any position to fight back.
After a few moments it was all over and the lion's prey gave in to the inevitable. It ceased to struggle and allowed itself to be dragged to the ground. Muscar, the lion, finished him off quickly. He was not one to deliberately prolong another's pain if it was within his power to foreshorten it. His mercy extended to prey animals. Once the antelope was dead and limp, Muscar circled it, trying to decide the best location to place his teeth so that he could drag his kill back to his sister. It would be a long trek, burdened with the antelope's extra weight, but he had managed more difficult tasks.
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 12:51 pm
 Mizo lazily walked threw the rouge land. It was a often task he had to deal with. Not being a pride or anything made him a wanderer of lands. He probably travel back and forth threw the rouges land over a million times. It didn't bother him it was just a bit boarding when seeing the same lands over and over again. He looked around and counted the trees. There were five along this horizon and about seven shrubs. He was often found counting things like this as it was a things he could do. He smiled and look at the shrub. It was full of berries that he could eat. He gently walked over and snack on a few. This was another reason why he counted the trees and shrubs, because something they had tasty treats on them.
Gently taking a few more, he notice a lion dragging a dead antelope. He wonder what he was doing. Wouldn't it just been easier to eat it on the spot. Maybe it was taking it back to someone. Like a mother and her cubs., That could be right. Mzio seen a lot of Lions doing that for there mates. He smiled. It was nice to see a loving father doing that. He gently took another look and saw that the lion was having some trouble. His ears perk up. Maybe he could help him. He munch on a few more and spoke, "Would you like some help?" he said gently eating eating a few more berries.
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 1:15 pm
At the sound of someone's voice, Muscardini looked up sharply, dropping his kill. It was more important to have his mouth - and therefore his teeth - free and unencumbered than it was to have a grip on his prey at this moment. He didn't know who had spoken, but he was always concerned that any stranger might pose a threat. There were only himself and his sister , Gliri, living nearby and she wasn't any sort of fighter, so all defensive things fell to him.
"Who's there?" he asked, looking around for the source of the voice.
Beside a shrub covered in berried, Muscar's blue eyes picked out the hunched, oddly-shaped form of a hyena. They narrowed as he identified the figure. In his experience, hyenas were foul-smelling dangerous scavengers, given to unnecessary acts of brutal savagery. He could recall being chased for a long distance as a cub, his sister running at his side as a small pack of hyenas decided that the unguarded lions might make a decent meal. They'd only escaped because of Gliri's talent for finding hiding places.
"What sort of help do you mean?" he asked suspiciously, sniffing surreptitiously to make sure the blue hyena he saw was the only one in the area. If there were more, he wanted to know about it. He also wanted to know how he had allowed himself to be surrounded. Fortunately, he didn't seem to be in that sort of situation.
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 2:21 pm
Gently taking a few more berries he spoke, "I'm here if that's who you are referring too" he said with a friendly tone. Mzio wasn't like most hyenas, he was nice and soft as a puppy. He would hurt a fly if he didn't have too. He only killed when he was hungry and he stayed far away from a fight. He hoped that he didn't scare the lion, he just wanted to help. He look like he was struggling and it was the only nice thing to do. He caught a glimpse of the lion, it was a lot bigger then him and he seem a bit tense. Mzio worried that he might of cause him to think that he was a treated and shiver. What if the lion would attack him. That would be awful.
"Just to help you with the prey and get it to your family. I already ate so I'm not really hungry. I just saw that you were having some problem and I thought I might offer my help to you" he said with a sweet smile. He hope that the lion would understand. He didn't want to cause any trouble.
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Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 6:52 am
Muscar chanced taking his eyes off the hyena in front of him to cast a sweeping gaze around the area. He had to make sure he hadn't been fooled or surrounded. He hadn't smelled other hyenas, but scents could be concealed by something as simple as the wind. He used that trick, himself, to sneak up on prey animals. It was a relief to see that he was as alone as he'd expected to be, discounting the lone hyena. He could handle a single hyena if it came down to it.
However, it didn't seem that it would be necessary to handle the hyena. The hyena claimed only to be interested in offering assistance. Muscar found it unlikely that the hyena's interests were purely philanthropic, but he wasn't going to be overtly unfriendly until he was given a reason to be. He preferred not to get into confrontations if he could avoid it. The fact that hyenas tended to travel in groups encouraged him to avoid confrontations with them in particular.
"Your offer is generous," Muscardini said hesitantly. "And while you may not be hungry now, I suppose you wouldn't turn down a portion of the kill in thanks."
He was waiting to hear some sort of stipulation or request for recompense. Charity was not a common thing in Muscar's life, and while he didn't mind paying some prices, others were outside of his bounds. Whether he accepted the hyena's offer would depend on what he was asking in exchange. By making his own offer, he felt he might head off some less acceptable bargains.
Accepting the hyena's help would cause other difficulties, but he could figure out how to explain that he didn't want the hyena coming all the way back to the den with him without offending him. There were a number of factors there, but the most important was that Gliri would be terrified by the arrival of a hyena, whether or not Muscardini was with him and able to vouch for him. She was terrified of most things, and Muscar tried not to make her life difficult by exposing her to them.
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Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 4:28 pm
Mzio blinked. The lion was sure confusing. He keep looking around as if someone was hunting him. Mzio wonder what could be the problem. He looked around himself, wondering what was going on. He didn't see anything so he shrug it off.
Mzio nodded as he talked, "Yes, I like to be helpful." he smiled as he talked. He enjoy to help other animal who were trying to help them family. It made him smile in joy. He shook his head, "No I don't want any of it. You caught it yourself and you seem to e bringing back to your family. I wouldn't want to eat food that will be taken away from them. I could just hunt for a meal when I get hungry" he said nodding his head.
He smiled and gently went to berry grazing waiting to see if the lion would accept his help.
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Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 10:33 am
"In that case, thank you," Muscardini said, giving the hyena an odd look. "I'd be happy to accept your help, to a point."
He believed he owed the helpful hyena a bit of an explanation at least, and so he continued, "I mean, you don't have to help me bring it all the way back to my family. My sister would be very distressed if she saw you, I think, or even smelled you nearby, so I think I'll have to make the last part of the trip alone."
He offered a smile which seemed a little unsure. He was always the one who had to greet others and get to know them and such, since Gliri would never have been able to do that, but dealing with hyenas was not part of his usual skill set. Mostly what he did with hyenas was the same thing Gliri did. He avoided them.
"My name's Muscardini. Muscar, in short form," he said, making an effort to be polite. "What's your name?"
He reminded himself that he would also have to ask where he was from and if he lived nearby. If he was a permanent resident, Muscar would probably have to suggest to Gliri that they move on. He couldn't run the risk of her coming across this hyena by mistake and being frightened.
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Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 12:58 pm
Mzio nodded and smile. He was overly joyed that the male was accepting his help. He would of help bad if he didn't. Now he would get to his loves one in half the time.
He blinked and nodded. He was ok with that, he just wish he could have meet his sister because he wanted to show her that not all hyena was like that. He wasn't the typical hyena. He was a lot nicer them the stereotype and he was happy with that. He just shrug it, maybe one day he would meet her and show her what a nice and happy hyena was. Maybe then she would like hyenas. He smiled back and pick a few more berries into his mouth. If it was going to be a long trip he had to eat a few more.
His ear perk up and at the name he nodded once more. It was a nice and long name and started with the same letter. "It's nice to meet you Muscardini. I'm Mzio." he said with a friendly smile. Thinking about the trip he ask, "Is the place where you sister at far away."
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Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 7:02 am
"It's not too far," Muscar said, weighing his words carefully.
Logically he knew that he would have to give the hyena some idea of where the den was if they were actually going to get his kill back there, but it went against every habit he'd developed over the course of his life. He didn't bring people back to the den. Or even part of the way back.
"I'm sorry. It's not really very far. My sister doesn't like me to go too far from home when I'm hunting, in case she needs to find me in a hurry." He didn't mention that if she needed to find him in a hurry, it would probably be because something had frightened her badly. That didn't need to be said. In fact, it would probably be better if the hyena had no idea what a scaredy cat Gliri was.
"I really am grateful for your help. It would take me a while to manage this by myself," Muscar said. He stepped back from the carcass a little, an unspoken invitation to Mzio to come closer. He tried not to breathe too deeply, not much caring for the scent of hyena.
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Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2010 6:50 pm
Mzio smiled. That was good. He didn't have to burn up too much energy on taking food to a unknown family. Thinking about that, he wonder why in the world was he really doing this. He wasn't getting anything out of it but then he thought about the cubs and mother and he smiled. That's why, and it made him feel good inside.
Watching him talk he nodded. That made sense. If he had family he would hunt very far either. It would take to long to get back to the den. This lion was very smart.
He smiled again and watch the lion move the game. He walked over and lifted over his shoulder, showing that he was ready to go.
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Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2010 10:27 am
It occurred to Muscar that seeing a hyena smile was about as reassuring as hearing one laugh. Which is to say that it was a great deal more like unnerving than reassuring. He knew full well that those jaws could crush bones with relative ease, and seeing the teeth bared, even in good humor, felt a little like a vague threat. He had to remind himself that Mzio had offered to assist him and had refused to take any sort of payment, and that altruism probably meant that the hyena meant no harm to either Muscar or his sister.
Or it might mean that Mzio planned to kill them both in the near future and saw no need to take a small portion of the kill when he would soon have the whole thing. Muscar made a chuffing noise as he dismissed these thoughts. He was beginning to think like Gliri. She was usually the one who saw danger in every corner, and he was usually the one who tried to dispel the shadows with good humor and bravado. Now he had to dispel his own shadows, and he with an effort he managed it.
Well. Now was as good a time as any, he supposed. With a very brief prayer to the gods that he wasn't being incredibly foolish, Muscar closed his teeth around part of the dead animal and lifted. At least this way he wouldn't be required to make conversation, and the taste of blood might cancel the smell of hyena. He waited for Mzio before taking his first steps.
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 9:52 am
Mzio smiled again. It seemed that the Lion was ready to go. Grabbing the carcass with his large mouth, he lifted it up and started to walk with the fellow.
It was amazing how two animal could work together and seem that there work was effortless. If Mzio was just working on this by himself, it would of took him ages as so with the lion.
It was going to be a quiet trip and he knew it, but he didn't mind it. He was a loner after all and most of the time he was quite himself. He just guessed that it would be like that the whole time.
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 10:42 am
Dragging a carcass with someone else was an interesting experience, Muscar reflected. Gliri rarely came hunting with him, and on those days when she did he rarely caught anything anyway, so there was little reason for much dragging of corpses to take place. He wondered if it would have been easier had he been working with another lion. Probably. Their legs would have been the same length, or at least closer, and their gaits would have been similar. Even so, it was significantly easier to accomplish the task with Mzio's assistance.
"Thank you," he said when he felt they'd gone as close to the den as he dared bring the hyena. "I can't remember the last time anything like this went so easily. My sister will be surprised to see me back so early, I think."
He didn't plan to tell Gliri that he'd accepted assistance from a hyena in getting his prey most of the way back to the den, and that was why he'd returned so soon. She would probably not take well to that, he thought, given her aversion to hyenas in general.
"Are you sure I can't interest you in a portion in payment?" he offered.
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 12:57 pm
He smiled and nodded his head. "You're welcome. I hope that your sister is glad. I love to help others so I hope she will find this good deed worthy." he said with a friendly
He wondered if this was were they were going to be leaving as he knew that the Lion didn't want him to come to close to the den. Smiling he gently let go of the carcass and shook his head."No thank you. I will just hunt on my own. I think I will go now."he said with a smile. Bowing he took his leave.
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 1:19 pm
"She will be. Unless I manage to startle her, and then she'll scold me." He grinned, thinking of how much fun it would be to surprise Gliri. First he'd have to finish dragging the kill home, of course, but he was close enough that it wouldn't be terrifically difficult to do that.
"If you're sure," Muscar said. "Thank you."
He didn't make much of an effort beyond that to stop Mzio from departing. Their period of cooperation had been beneficial to him, but he remained suspicious of hyenas in general and couldn't really figure out why a hyena would offer to assist him without expecting some sort of return.
Being ill at ease over the whole affair would probably keep him awake for much of the night, but since the kill was big enough to last him and his sister for several days it wouldn't matter if he was too tired to hunt on the morrow.
He bent and got a good grip on the dead beast, which was looking a little worse for the wear, having been dragged some distance, and prepared to drag it further. Home was still a bit away.
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