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 Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 5:52 am
 It had been some time since Hantan'gang had first heard of the existence of hybrids. Lions that mated with cheetah's was at least a plausible concept. They were both pretty weird species of felines. But leopards mating with non-leopards... at the time he had found the concept a bit hard to believe. Since then he had travelled more, but never met any of these fabled creatures, and even if others had since mentioned them he pretty much assumed that they were made up. At least until he met one, and what were the odds for that?
He hadn't met anyone so far, and certainly didn't expect to run into anyone now either. And, quite honestly, he didn't know what they would look like...
No, the last thing he was thinking about at the moment was fairy tales. Instead he tried his best to track what appeared to be an injured hare. The little buggers were usually too fast to bother catching, but if this one was lame and hiding somewhere he might be able to get an easy meal. Unless someone else had also smelled the hare's fear and found the doomed creature before him.
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 3:13 pm
Satomei was enjoying the freedom that her new position in the pride allowed her. Admittedly, she still had to be under the supervision of others for a while, and she was basically a glorified slave to Merchants, but at least she was able to get out of the pride once in a while. It was liberating, being free.
She had scented the injured hare and had wandered away from her group. The lead Merchant was still her boss, but he was distracted, so she was able to slip away unnoticed. If she found the hare, and it had a pretty pelt, then perhaps she could skin it and take it back to her Aunt as a gift? The cheetah had been so busy with the new cubs, Satomei wanted to gift her with something to make her feel pretty.
Nose in the air, she wandered carefully, trying to keep track of the hare's scent. Her limbs were still a little too gangly and awkward for the slender cheetah body she had. She was a little more graceful then she used to be, no longer tripping over everything, which she was grateful for.
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 4:27 pm
Oh, the hare was a goner, he could smell that, but as the wind turned he could also feel another scent. Predator. Feline. He couldn't quite pinpoint exactly what feline from the scent alone and that made him uneasy. He was pretty sure it wasn't lion at least. Hantan'gang had met one really great lioness, but he was well aware that lions might mean trouble. His mother had taught him that, and many other things.
He looked around, seeking with both eyes and nose, to see if he could spot the intruder. The hare wouldn't go anywhere on its own, judging by the faint trail of blood. But was it worth a fight? He needed to know what or who he was up against, and if they would be hostile.
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Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 3:13 am
Satomei had not realised the other scent, which was slightly stronger, was that of a leopard. The scents of the rouge lands were all blending together, and while she was aware some were stronger than others, the only one she was focusing in on was the hare. It was through the scent that she stumbled upon the male though, coming into view with her head low, trying to follow the invisible scented trail.
Something drew her attention up, and her eyes found him, widening in surprise. Her head jerked up and she took a defensive step back. "Oh, I'm sorry," she apologised, although she had not crashed into him or anything of the kind, though she would have if she kept walking. The male was a leopard. She had seen Dysi around the pride enough to recognise the build of leopards, but this one was...stripey.
She tilted her jaw up, not bowing down to the unknown male. She wasn't exactly a fragile cheetah, the leopard half adding some bulk to her figure though she moved with grace from her mother's and other Entertainer's coachings. "Have you seen a hare nearby?" She asked, as if she didn't care if he was after it too. To be honest, if he was after it, she would back down. She didn't want to fight over a hare. She'd find another present for her Aunt.
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Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 6:19 am
Hantan noticed the female before she realised he was there, but he watched in silence, standing stiffly and cautiously. The first glimpse of pale fur made him think 'Fenja', but he knew her scent and this girl hardly looked like the lioness anyway. She wore flowers and jewellery like Fenja did, and had a pale pelt, but that was it. He watched her, trying to figure out what kind of creature she was. She looked a little bit like a leopard, but some things looked wrong somehow. He had been starting a little bit and had to stop himself from flinching when she noticed him and spoke.
"No," he said, "But its scent is all over, it has to be hiding somewhere close."
He didn't introduce himself, or greet her, but then again - she hadn't done so either. Until he knew otherwise Hantan decided that the girl was a long legged leopard, and that made him feel a bit better. He disliked not knowing what was what, but he wasn't prepared to ask her outright.
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 10:40 pm
He didn't seem aggressive, she realised, and relaxed slightly, watching him. She nodded at his words, and glanced around, as if hoping to post it. The scent was all over, but her nose was not adept at tracking - she was spoiled for choice in the pridal lands. She hadn't had to hunt much, if ever, since food was usually supplied by others - mostly her Uncle since he hunted for his own family.
She sighed a little, not really that interested in finding it now. She'd find another prey beast to take down for her Aunt's present, later. "I suppose you were after it for food?" She asked. That was probably why he was nearby, or at least why he knew that it was nearby. She wasn't going to compete with someone for food, since she wasn't hungry and was only after it's pelt.
"You're a rogue, yes?" She queried after a moment, peering at him. It was a little abrupt, and she flushed a little. Well, she wasn't exactly diplomatic. She'd have to get better, she decided.
Oh, though, maybe he was part of a pride? If there was another leopard pride nearby, she knew her Aunt and Uncle would be eager to hear about it.
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Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2011 8:05 am
Hantan cocked his head at her question. Why else would one hunt a hare if not for food? He didn't enjoy killing just for fun, and the mere thought that she might think he did made him feel insulted. Killing something he didn't need was just wrong, even if he had heard of those slaughtering just for fun. The leopard in front of him didn't look like a blood thirsty monster, even if something felt a little bit wrong about her...
"Of course," he said stiffly, tail fluffing up slightly in annoyance, "Why else would someone hunt a rabbit?"
Hantan had encountered some creatures decked out in pelts and other "trophies", but he had always assumed they'd eaten the last wearer of the pelt before donning it. The thought that some might hunt just for unusual pelts to wear was a foreign concept to him, and he didn't even consider the possibility. Rogue? He had heard the term before even if he rarely used it. Those who did were usually members of a pride or larger group. To him it was stranger to belong to a pride than to wander the free lands so he didn't like to call himself 'rogue'. He was...
"I'm a wanderer," he said, using his preferred way to describe his own lifestyle, "I have yet to claim a territory of my own. The best ones I've found so far have been taken by creatures I didn't care to fight. You belong to some kind of group then?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2011 12:38 am
Satomei peered at him when he seemed to fluff up in irritation at her question and frowned. What had she said wrong? She was merely being curious! At his question, she shrugged her shoulders, a graceful movement that was only slightly awkward.
"The pelt," she explained. "Many wear them as decorations, though the meat is still left for others to eat if wanted I suppose." Well, Satomei had always left the meat. If she wasn't going to eat it, there was no point ruining meat after you'd skinned the beast.
She was curious over his words though. She rarely met rogues and, well, her own desire to wander was strong and sometimes she wondered what the life of a rogue was like. She nodded as he spoke, keeping her gaze on him - politely. His last question made her uncomfortable. The rules of secrecy in the pride were strict and Satomei didn't want to break them - even if her Uncle would probably be able to get her out of any punishment.
"Yes," she admitted, but expanded no more. "Have you always wandered?" She prompted, hoping to keep him talking and not ask questions of her.
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 10:49 am
Oh. Leaving perfectly good meat seemed wasteful to him, but there would always be some creature around to clean up the leftovers. This white... leopard? Tall and skinny for a leopard... Her group must have skilled hunters if they could afford to take the pelt and leave the remains. But then why would she be skinny? He tilted his head slightly and looked at her a bit too intensely. His ear twitched as if an invisible fly had just landed on it.
"Yes," he said, grateful to have a question to focus on, "Well since I left my mother's tree at least. Her new boyfriend started to look at me funny so I took the hint and left. Are you a leopard?"
That last part escaped his mouth without taking the trip through his conscious mind first, and Hantan grimaced at his own lack of tact and self control. 'What species are you' was probably one of those questions best left unasked. Much like 'are you a male or a female' and 'are you expecting cubs or are you just fat?'
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 4:25 pm
Satomei listened, curious. Rogue lives were so odd, she thought, if he was so prone to leaving that even odd looks from his mother's new boyfriend was enough to send him off on his own. Perhaps that was just odd to her because she knew her mother would likely beat up anyone - even a boyfriend - who tried to get her cubs to leave or stay away from her. She smiled slightly, but her eyes widened at his question.
Leopard! Ugh, why couldn't he have guessed at a cheetah? Satomei didn't mind being part leopard, even though the pride saw them as little more than glorified pets sometimes, but it wasnt that part of herself that she associated with. She was a cheetah more, like her mother, and uncles and aunts.
"No," she denied, remembering to answer his question belatedly. "I'm not a 'leopard'. I'm a leotah - half leopard, and half cheetah." Well, she was fairly sure her dad was a leopard. Afterall, her brothers hadn't sprouted manes, so that must have meant they were leotahs...right? Her mother had never been quite sure of their paternity but it sounded logical to Satomei at least.
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Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 3:29 pm
She didn't look too pleased about his question, but at least she didn't try to maul his face off. And... Leotah? A hybrid. A cheetah and leopard hybrid. Hantan tilted his head as he watched her, and he forgot to say anything at all for a while. Now when she said it he could see the cheetah traits mixed with leopard traits. How odd. Fenja had told him about hybrids once, but he had almost disregarded it as a fairytale since he'd never heard about it since. And while the tale of a leopard and a cheetah getting it on was somewhat more plausible to him, this was rocking his world.
"I thought only lions and cheetahs did that," he said, and he probably didn't make much sense. "Uh... I mean... I've only heard about cheetah-lions before."
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 4:50 am
Satomei blinked at his somewhat absurd statement. Only lions and cheetahs mating together to form hybrids? That was just...bizzare. Satomei had been raised around fellow hybrids, though they were usually a much lower rank then her own Royal status, but she had always been taught of their existance, so to have someone seem surprised at her leotah heritage was...odd.
"No, all feline species do it," Satomei informed him, tilting her head at him in return, peering at him somewhat pensively. "I know of a lion - cheetah as well, as well as lion-cheetahs, and, of course, cheetah - leopards." She couldn't resist her question. "Haven't you ever seen a hybrid before?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 3:54 pm
Hantan wasn't sure if he stared or not. He probably stared and that was not polite. Ah, paws. The young leopard studied his paws as if they were the most fascinating appendages in existence. One toe slightly lighter in coloration that the other, even if the dust of the savannah usually evened that out when he was on the move. And... Answering questions would be the polite thing to do, wouldn't it?
"Um..." he said, "Err... No? I haven't. I always thought it was rare, if it even existed."
Now some of Fenjas other stories had to be made up, but the existence of a living breeding cheetah-leopard made him wonder. If this was true some other stories might be... But this might just have been a fluke too.
"I was told about hybrids more like a sort of fairy tale," he said, still not looking directly at her, "I know we talked about winged lions at some point too, and that's just silly."
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Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 5:19 pm
Rather confused by the fact the leopard was no longer looking at her, she peered at his paws too, but found them rather plain and there was nothing of great interest about them, so she glanced back at his face, even though he wasn't looking.
"Well, we're certainly real," she said, a little amused by the thought that they were imaginary. "My siblings and I are proof of that, but I guess you can say we're rare. Not many creatures mate with other creatures, that I've seen at least." She wasn't particularly well travelled though, so it wasn't that surprising that it was rare to her. Other than Royal Dysi's cubs, she'd never really met many hybrids other than her family.
"Winged lions?" She blinked, her eyes slightly wide. "I don't know about winged lions normally, but I used to be told about Gods and such, I think they're winged lion-like creatures..." She'd never met one, but her Uncle had told her about their existence once or twice. Now that she thought about it, she didn't know if he'd ever met one either, but he'd sounded so sure of their existence, he must have been telling the truth.
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 5:01 am
It was a lot to take in for sure, but Hantan had to reconsider everything Fenja had ever told him. He'd always figured she was just messing with his head at times. Well, she probably was, but he had never suspected that she messed with his head by telling him stories about real things.
"Huh," he exclaimed, "Maybe they do exist. The winged God things... This lion, see, she did tell me she'd met one."
He paused and tried to remember what else Fenja had told him about the God she met, but didn't come up with much. Had she said that she got a ride on his back, or just that she had wanted to ask about it? He'd have to ask her to tell that story again, it might be a good one to retell some day.
"There should be leopard Gods too," Hantan mused, "It would only be fair."
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