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 Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 6:50 pm
Daybreak came and it went.
The moon rose and the moon fell.
Everything about his life was mundane and unchanging. Just the way he liked it. He was a leopard without a name who saw no reason to take one since for months he had gone without company. And without company, how could someone be expected to socialize? The only living thing he associated himself with was far from garrulous: a small, meek plant.
He wasn't sure what it was about the sorry excuse for a tree that made him pity the thing like he did. Not to accuse him of being heartless - cold, perhaps, but not heartless. Trees were just a peculiar thing to spark empathy in a lithe predator such as himself. None the less, day after day he returned to tend to his adopted progeny. He'd gather water with a leaf and diligently deliver it every morning around the same time.
But one morning, things did not go as planned.
His plant was dead.
The nameless leopard's features twisted until his expression resembled that of disgust. There was no excuse for this travesty. 'His' plant had done no harm to anyone. The thing certainly wasn't edible, either, so any suspicion something had tried to eat it was dust in the wind. As was the scent of the troublemaker responsible.
Aggravated for the first time in a long time, he followed the trail with unremitting attention from that point on, refusing to stop until his pet's executioner was within his sights.
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Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 7:37 am
Linje found himself a little more melancholy than usual in this morning... but for a different reason than normal. His little girl was growing up much quicker than he would have pleased. She was even old enough to be hunting on her own, and before he knew it, Linje feared she'd disappear completely. What would he have left to live for if that happened? Nothing. Linje answered his own disheartening question with a sharp sneer. The leopard's white fur had grown dull and dusted brown-gray over the months of neglect. Scars of all ages decorated his pelt, each one with their own unique and terrifying story. Linje never looked at his reflection in the water anymore, he didn't care enough.
His thoughts kept wandering back to his daughter. He'd left at her request, wandering just far enough to give her time to herself. Linje hated it when she requested time for herself, but he could never refuse. He was so distraught that he didn't even notice the fragile plant easily crushing beneath his mud-stained paw. The precious vegetation didn't even offer a fleeting thought within his heavy mind.
With a sigh the male slid to his haunches. His filthy tail rested among the dry foliage and dirt. A pale ear twitched as the sound of shuffling gravel interrupted his peace. Was it Azkaila coming to retrieve him? Linje's face swelled with happy, only to be popped when he saw the male approaching. The other didn't look too pleased with him. Typical, it seemed like everyone wanted to toss the helpless sad man around... But Linje would allow it as long as his daughter was not involved.
"Hello." Linje addressed the male quietly, barely putting any effort into making eye contact.
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Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 12:20 pm
This particular leopard was in no mood for pleasantries. He took in the stature of this male before him without empathy. The look of fallen grace, the slouching posture of defeat... He noticed it, he just didn't care.
"Di--"
Surprised, he fell silent. That voice of his was raspy and rough. Not how it was supposed to sound, but then again, how long had it been since he'd used it? Talking to yourself was something only madmen did. (Apparently, keeping pet trees was perfectly on the normal side of the insane vs. not insane spectrum.)
The leopard cleared his throat and tried again, "You stepped on my tree, stranger."
With a tone like that you'd have thought he trampled over his wife and children. Maybe even his grandparents.
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Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:55 pm
Linje watched the peculiar leopard through deep purple eyes. He noted the hoarse, scratchy tone. But the leopard's reaction to his own voice was just as bizzare. He appeared unfamiliar with the sound of it. Linje was torn from his thoughts as the stranger continued.
A... tree? Linje didn't recall ever crushing a tree. He must have the wrong feline... But it wouldn't do any good to anger him further to point that out. The male remembered the days he'd tear out the fur of another animal for implying he was a liar. Linje shuddered. He didn't like to remember those days.
"I'm sorry." He said, almost routinely by now. There were plenty of trees scattered about the Savannah. Even saplings were relatively common. Linje held his stare with the stranger, watching his movements and bracing himself for an attack. What would happen next?
Linje's ears flickered, distracting him from this pleasant interaction. Was that his daughter calling out? No... no. Linje spotted the laughing bird. Not Azkaila. So where was she...? Reluctantly, the leopard returned his attention to the male.
"... Plant a new one?" The words were hesitant, even his face expressed apprehension. It was probably the wrong thing to say, but it was too late to take it back now.
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Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2010 9:21 pm
Linje had said the worst thing he could have said, but he hadn't said it to the worst leopard out there. This one was obviously angry - angry at him - but he still wasn't to sink to the level of some bloodthirsty savage that could only solve problems with violence. No, the proper way to approach these issues was to try and talk about it, then solve it with violence.
"Listen, you," he said, "I'm not the type inclined to raise a paw to some sorry looking soul such as yourself, but I hope you at least have an excuse as to why you couldn't just walk around. If you don't, I just might decide I have two personalities from my father cannibalizing my mother or whatever the popular woe is these days."
He scowled. Honestly, the tree was big enough it should have been noticed by this bulldozer. Was it so much to ask to watch where you were going these days? Had no one any respect for anything anymore? All it took was those four little words ("Plant a new one?") and he remembered why he was out here.
Kids these days and their disrespect for botany.
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