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 Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 2:47 pm
It really wasn't fair, though potentially it had been worth it. She had been such a sweet little thing, and so willing! They'd curled up for the night together, with him just as content as could be for the time being... come morning he'd have moved on anyway. But come morning, he woke to find her no longer beside him. Not much troubled, he'd gotten up, yawned, stretched, and gone about to hunt himself up some breakfast. He had just finished gulping down a nice little clumsy gazelle when sounds had reached his ears. Curious, he'd made his slow way towards the voices.
"But daddy, I swear he was here!" He caught the voice of the young thing he'd enjoyed dalliance with the night before. He was, however, warned by the petulant tone of her voice, as well as the mention of her father. Oh no, what had he gotten himself into?! There was a rumbling growl and the sound of many paws shifting as he crept closer. The female's voice rose again, strident and accusing. "But DADDY, he got me pregnant! You can't let him get away with that!"
Why... why the little minx! There was no doubt he could have gotten her pregnant, but she most certainly would not have known that already! Confrontation or no, he had to set the record straight!
"Now look here, missy," he said, stepping out of cover, "you most certailnly cannot accuse me of...," and there he stopped mid-sentence. Easily ten or fifteen large and musclar lions turned angry gazes upon him. There was the girl, giving him a triumphant look and leaning to speak not-so-quietly to the largest male of them.
"Look daddy! There he is! Get him!"
So he had fled just as fast as his legs could carry him. Thankfully all that bulk of bone and muscle meant they were slower than he, but there was still tracking that could be done! He'd spent the rest of the day backtracking and curling back to cross his own trail, crisscrossing the plains with his scent and pawprints. Now as the sun sank towards the horizon, he was desperately searching for somewhere to hide from sight completely, in hopes that when they didn't find him, they'd give up the hunt.
Unfortunately, as tired as he was, and in the dusky evening, he wasn't walking very straight or seeing very straight. If he didn't find a place to hole up soon, he'd simply fall where he was and not care if they found him out in the open. There was only so much a lion could take in one day!
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Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 1:27 am
 Tu had stayed in this area for a while now, and the heavy scent of maned wolf had settled in the area too. Wild dogs had probably dug his den originally, but since then several animals of different species seemed to have called it home. There was a large spacious den close to the main entrance, but smaller tunnels leading to other smaller dens branched off from it. Tu much preferred the larger den, but the small openings came in handy if he had to evacuate for any reason. He was pretty a hare had set up camp in one of the tiny hollows connected to the main den, but he had not been able to catch them so they lived in an uneasy truce. It was understood that he would eat the hare if it did something stupid, but he was not going to tear down the tunnel system just to get to it. There were plenty of prey animals and vegetables around and he didn't have to go hungry.
The maned wolf appeared to be resting, but one ear moved at sudden noises, and his good eye was only half shut and facing the den opening. Tu enjoyed the privacy of his own company, but that also meant that he had to stay alert. Keeping another creature there just for safety and a second set of ears and eyes did not appeal to him at all. He could manage just fine on his own, thank you.
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Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 9:21 am
In the murky light, he thought he could make out a dark opening into a rise in the ground up ahead. Could it be... a den? His nose told him it would belong to maned wolves, though how many could not be said. As a pack they might or might not have been a challenge to him, even in his current state. A single one would be of no threat whatsoever, but he did not live on the principle of taking whatever he could take. Thus he stumbled over to the entrance and only stuck his head in, no further.
"Hello?" he called, weariness slurring his voice. "Can a creature seek shelter here?" For all he knew, the den might even be empty, which would simplify things exponentially. He also might very well get chased out again, leaving him as bad off as he already was. He leaned heavily on one side of the entrance, awaiting either a reply or steady continued silence, though his eyes were sliding closed as he waited. With an effort he shook himself awake and stood back on his own four paws. Wits! He needed to keep his wits if he wanted to bargain for a hiding place!
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Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 2:39 pm
Tu had already heard the heavy steps outside and both ears were turned towards the opening to his den as it was suddenly filled with the head of an adult lion. His head was still turned just enough to hide his weakness and the brown eye that met Vigo was bright and alert. Shelter? The lion sounded absolutely exhausted, and he must be pretty desperate for even asking. Possibly weakened too, if he couldn't take what he wanted with force.
"This den is taken," Tu said, calm in the knowledge that he could always slip out that side tunnel if this turned nasty, "Didn't you notice the scent marks?"
He knew some lions slept in dens to get some shelter from the elements, but the weather was not bad at the moment, and he wondered why this lion couldn't just rest in the thick grass outside. He'd seen plenty of lions just lying around wherever they pleased, since they usually didn't have to worry about larger predators. His den was large enough for the lion to fit in comfortably if he just managed to squeeze through the opening, but Tu wasn't just going to invite a random lion in without a very good cause. Not that he could do much to stop him if he really wanted in. He could manage one or two good bites in the lions face perhaps, but it was likely he was going to end up as the one with his face chewed off if he tried.
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Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 7:34 pm
He gave a great, deep sigh, puffing up a cloud of dust from the entrance floor at his paws. It seemed he was going to be required to recount his tale so that the smaller creature would understand his need. "Okay, here's what happened," he began, setting his hind end gingerly down, muscles screaming at him that he'd been too hard on them and should stop soon or they'd stop working entirely. "A girl I spent the night with tried to pin her pregnancy on me the very next morning, and sic'd her daddy on me, who just happened to be the leader of their pride. Daddy of course was completely insensible and set his entire warband after me, and I've been fleeing for my life all day, and if they catch me out in the open, I'm a dead lion."
He had said it all in one long rushed tumble and now gasped for breath and swayed where he sat. Pretty soon this maned wolf was gonna have a lion for a door. He blinked blearily, eyes not focusing hardly at all any longer. "So once more, I ask... may I come in and take shelter here with you?" His tongue was feeling a little thick, rather odd. He rolled it about his mouth for a moment and then let it be. Someday he'd have to learn to not fall for a pretty face. One of these days.
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Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 2:16 pm
Tu tilted his head and blinked a few times as he processed this new information. The lion did not look like a threat in his current condition, but the lions tracking him might become a problem later. Only, they must have been on the hunt just as long as this lion had been running. It was probably more exhausting to be followed, and this male might not be as in shape as the pride of lions he talked about. Hm. Ah, but he knew the network of tunnels better than they did, and he was far smaller. Tu rose and moved slowly along the edge of the den, still with his weakness hidden and his strong side showing. A dead lion outside his den would be a nuisance, and this one wouldn't move far today if he couldn't get in here. Possible carcass that would draw those blasted hyenas too close. A dead lion inside... Also bad. But no, that was unlikely; he looked exhausted but not ready to drop yet. Dead lion at his main entrance – very, very big problem. Tu blew air through his nose in annoyance.
"Will they be a problem if I let you in," he asked, and settled in a new position along the curved wall that left most of the den free, and gave him easy access to two escape routes. He eyed the lion in silence for a while, and then apparently made up his mind. He motioned at the open space with his head in an unspoken invitation. It was large enough to accommodate the male with some space to spare between them.
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 9:52 am
As weary-blurred as his senses were, it did not take more than one indication for him to scramble in. It was a bit of a tight fight right at first, getting his shoudlers in the entrance fully, but after that he slid in easily enough. He curled himself into as small a space as he could, giving his host as much room as he could manage. "Thank you," he said quietly, keeping his voice low. There was no need to shout, being so close together, and the less noise he made the less likely the warband would find him.
"I doubt they'll think to look for me here," he added. "They didn't strike me as the clever kind, and likely wouldn't dream of a lion asking one such as you for help." Power and strength seemed the only things they'd prided themselves on. He gave a faint smirk at his silent pun. "You and your den should be safe, and I am in your debt." His eyes started to drift closed, but he pulled them open again. "Before I leave, let me know if I can do anything for you, hmm?" He supressed the urge to yawn widely. Somehow, in the den of a smaller creature, guested in time of need, showing off his teeth, no matter how innocently, seemed in very bad form. "My name is Vigo, friend. What is yours?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 4:48 am
Tu acknowledged the lion's thank you with a nod. It was strangely satisfying to him that a lion would be in his debt; even if he didn't need anyone’s help to get by. Might come in handy some day, however unlikely it was. The maned wolf took pride in his independence and he could understand that it was even more unlikely for a lion to ask for help among those smaller or weaker than them. This might just be the perfect hiding place.
"Tu," he said, "Name's Tu. I'll just go check the perimeter one last time, just in case."
He slipped out the entrance and made a quick run to renew a few scent marks and roll in the most obvious lion tracks to obscure them. It might not fool an experienced tracker for a longer period of time since no lion tracks went away from the den area, but if Vigo hadn't underestimated his followers this should do.
"Done," he said as he entered the den again, his red coat covered by a fine layer of dust.
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 8:34 am
Vigo jerked awake with a start at the voice of the returning maned wolf. "What?" he said dully, having trouble remembering what needed doing that had been accomplished now. He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them wider. "Ah, yes, thank you," he said with a little more presence of mind. Apparently he'd dozed off already while his host had gone to check his den's perimeters. "Forgive me, but I think I'll just nod off now." He stifled another jaw-cracking yawn, burying his maw in his paw to prevent the show of teeth.
"Thank you once more... I wish there was something I could do for you," he murmured, clearly fading back into sleep swiftly. "Such a nice wolf," he murmured softer. "Decent guy... helping... time of... need," he trailed off, eyes closed, not aware he spoke aloud. Tu really was a decent guy, after all. This was a lot to ask of the smaller carnivore. With these last kindly thoughts, Vigo fell into a deep and restful sleep.
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Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 5:47 am
"You do that," he said, fully aware that the lion would probably fall asleep no matter what he said about it. And sure enough, the lion's eyes soon started to drift close again. Tu sat down and watched the lion in silence, keeping his injured side turned away out of habit. The sleeping lion couldn't very well notice his eye while sleeping, but to hide the weakness was second nature to the maned wolf. He cocked his head at the sleepy ramblings.
Nice wolf. He smiled slightly. Now, that was not something he didn't hear every day. Nice wasn't part of his self image, but he didn't take offence. Independent - yep. Strong - you bet. Self sufficient - every day. But 'nice' was not too bad. He could live with 'nice' as long as no one started to think he was a pushover. Helping others when he could would probably not ruin his image, and he figured he might do it again if he got the opportunity. He lowered his head and rested it on his paws, blind eye towards the wall of the den and both ears erect and alert. He too would rest now, but he would make a point of keeping an ear out for trouble. Tu could sleep later, when the lion had rested and moved on. Yes, he'd be a nice wolf a little while longer.-fin-
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