[PRP] Do ya think you're 'ard enough? (Haai & Kepo)

[Tanakako]

The blue and cream female smirked to herself as she licked her chops, savouring the recent meal she had wolfed down. It had been a good raid.. the pathetic lioness had barely put up a fight before fleeing the freshly killed carcass, it had been so fresh the thing as still twitching when Haai dug into her prize. Now, belly full and content, dark eyes alight with mischief, she swaggered along lazily. The day was pleasantly warm with a strong breeze, she had fed well and even taken a brief swim in the river as she crossed it on her wanderings, now, all she could wish for to complete her day was a good fight.

"Yessss... I wonder if there is anyone around here.." Pausing, shaggy, scarred head lifted as she scented the air eagerly.
 

[troll toll]

The little brown hyena was probably not the smartest hyena, but he was definitely the smartest of his brothers. In fact, he considered himself the smartest of all of his siblings but his older sister. Unfortunately, being a boy, he was beneath both of his sisters, including the dopey one.

It rankled. Kepo should have been a girl. He looked more like his aunt, the meanest and most wonderful hyena he knew, than either of his parents. He should be her heir, learning how to hunt and kill lions and other important things! Instead he was a boy, and none of the adults really cared what he did as long as he didn't get underfoot.

The brown hyena didn't know what to do to prove himself and gain favor with his aunt. He was too small to kill lions. The only things he could reasonably fight were his siblings, and that was no good. If he beat his sisters up the adults would scold the sisters for losing to him, and he would get no credit. If he beat up his brothers, no one would care. So fighting was out.

Wandering alone, Kepo was looking for something to bring back to the pack. Maybe if he found something useful, they would appreciate him. Distracted by his jealous thoughts, the little hyena didn't even notice the scarred blue female he was walking towards.  

[Tanakako]

"Well now... what do we have here?" A silky, sickeningly sweet voice cooed condescendingly, the sound so close by that it was barely a purr on the wind and yet was still clearly audible and enough to send shivers of discomfort down one's spine.

The pale blue female smirked widely as she tipped her head, peering at the young male from under shaggy bangs who had wandered across her path. Dark eyes glittered dangerously, the smirk upon scared maw widening to bare the tips of sharp fangs. Lifting her head she stared down at the striped male, ears pricking forwards, curious and unhealthily interested in this scrap of meat that had stumbled across her path.

Oh, he was no challenge, far too young and tiny for her, but he existed and thus he could at least provide her with a little entertainment. She might even teach him a little bit of humility.. that would be kind of her wouldn't it? Do a bit of community service for free... no one could be more generous than that. The pup was lucky he had found her, she would be sure he thanked her afterwards.

"And where is such a hansom pup off to I wonder?" She grinned, flashing fangs with that darkly amused smirk.
 

[troll toll]

Uh-oh. Who was that? Kepo looked up, blinking. A big female hyena, one he didn't know. She didn't look like anyone he knew. Well, his dad had a little bit of blue on him, but the idea that his dad might be related to this large and frightening female was so ludicrous it didn't even cross his mind.

A stranger, then.

Somewhere in his little pup mind it occurred to him that he should probably run away, but overriding that was the sudden thought that he could use her. His mom and aunt would probably like another big strong lady hyena, right? They would like her a lot more than they liked him. If he brought her back as a friend they would probably praise his intelligence and initiative. Besides, she thought he was handsome! She couldn't be as scary as she looked ... right?

Kepo's look of alarm was replaced by a grin. "Hi, hyena lady!" He said brightly. "Are you gonna come be my new auntie?"  

[Tanakako]

Both brows rose under her bangs at his chipper and carefree mood. Well.. that was entirely unexpected, how marvellous! He was a simpleton then. Utterly fascinating, she had never come across one before though of course she had heard of them.. supposed to make great sport, do anything you said, so she had been told.

Leaning down to put her face close to his own, she smiled broadly, gazing at him from under her lashes in a scheming grin. "Your new auntie? Are you looking for one, little boy?" She purred sweetly, slowly slinking round behind him, the thick fluff of her tail flicking over his face as she passed.

"I may do... or I may not. What would you do for me if I came with you, hmmmmm?" She purred, that sickly sweet tone coaxing him as she slowly paced round his far side and back to his front, head lifting high so she was looking down at him from under her thick mane, the fake friendly smile curling her lips.
 

[troll toll]

Kepo wasn't sure how strangers generally acted, having never met a stranger before. Although the prospect of recruiting a friend for his mom and auntie was thrilling, something about the behavior of this female was ... sinister. He didn't like the way she was circling around him, or the way she flicked her tail in his face.

Females were bossy and all, but this one was starting to scare him a bit.

The brown pup forced himself to stay still as she stalked around him. If he was scared she wouldn't come home with him and make everyone like him. "What would I do for you?" Kepo repeated, momentarily confused. He didn't know what an adult female could possibly want from a little male like him. "Uhh ... I'm little right now, but when I'm bigger I'll do stuff an' help you out an' stuff," Kepo said in a rush.  

[Tanakako]

A low, sensual snicker slipped from the female as if he had said something amusing. "Hmmmmmm.. when your bigger eh?" She tilted her head on one side, lifting one front paw and tipping his head up with a well-placed claw under the soft part of his muzzle. Forcing him to meet her dark, dangerous gaze.

"Tell you what, runt.... since I'm not about to wait around until I'm dead for you to grow... why don't you go find me something pretty I car wear... a kind of.. welcome gift shall we say?" Lowering her head till her nose almost touched his, she stared into his wide eyes. Her own amused as she gazed along her muzzle at him from under her lashes.

"You can do that much at least, can't you? Despite your puny size." She smiled broadly, removing her claw from his throat and patting him on the head lightly, ruffling his scruffy fuzz of a mane in a mock-affectionate gesture.

"You would please me very much if you did." She added sweetly, smiling down at him.
 

[troll toll]

Gulp. Kepo couldn't help whining at the touch of her claw. He wanted to break and run, hollering at the top of his little lungs for his mama, but he realized with sudden terrible certainty that he was too far from home for anyone to hear him. Not even the dumb lioness that served them was nearby, not that she'd be much help!

Kepo winced at the mane-ruffle. The 'affection' felt fake, especially after she poked him with her claw. That wasn't nice at all.

He thought hard about the request for something pretty. Did ladies like that? If they did ... maybe this scary female had been helpful after all. He could practice on her, and then bring gifts to his worshipped auntie. He brightened up a little despite his fright, although his ears were drooping flat against his skull. "Okay ... I can find a pretty thing," Kepo said slowly. He wondered what kind of pretty thing she might like ... but decided it would be better not to ask her.

The little brown hyena turned and trotted off. Something pretty, something pretty ... he didn't want to keep her waiting! After a little searching, Kepo spotted a feather. It was brown, like himself. A little plain maybe but a lovely color. He picked it up carefully and scampered back to the blue female. "Here!" Kepo said, dropping the feather at her feet. " 'S brown. Like me."  

[Tanakako]

Curling her tail neatly under her she sat down, watching with amusement as he cycled through a variety of emotions, all of them so very obvious in his face that she had to bite back a smirk. Poor baby, he really was in need of a good mentor.. sadly, she didn't have the time for it, but he was an amusing distraction for a little while any way.

Eventually she saw him talk himself into agreeing to her words and this time, she did smile, a wide, pleased expression that still left her dark eyes cold and aloof. "Very good.. don't be too long now." She purred as he turned and trotted way from her. Chuckling to herself she slid her front paws along the ground until she dropped lazily to her belly, crossing one slender, scared foreleg over the other, claws flexing casually.

She was busy combing her claws through her heavy bangs when he returned, causing her to drop her paws and lift her head, watching him causally from her place on the ground. Once he deposited the feather at her feet she studied it a long moment, humming softly under her breath. Eventually she looked up at him and smiled warmly. "Very good little one. It is a good start. But, I get the feeling you want to impress someone, am I right? Why not try and find something really special, something that will make you stand out above your siblings... make more of an impact." She gave him an encouraging smile. See, she could be kind! The feather was nice enough, but brown was brown... she wanted something more interesting and anyway, this was a good lesson for the kid. She had guessed he had someone he was thinking about from the look on his face a bit ago, it wasn't overly hard to guess why he was still here despite his fear earlier.
 

[troll toll]

The female had cleverly seen to the heart of his problem: his desire to outshine all of his horrible siblings. He wasn't so sure he liked her judgment of his feather though. Something better? Kepo frowned, staring at the feather. He liked it. It was a good color. Brown was the best color! The same color as him and his incredible, wonderful aunt Dikeledi. Hmph. Maybe this big scary female wasn't so smart. Maybe she was related to his stupid blue dad after all.

Kepo still had to be nice to her though. She was a female for one thing, and more importantly, she was a lot bigger than him. He fidgeted, trying to think if what to do.

"I wanna go home now," he burst out abruptly. "I bring you something nice another day, okay blue lady?" The little hyena's tone was almost patronizing. He was tired of this game for now.