He was utterly and completely lost.
Not only that, but he had someone following him.
This was a recipe for disaster. Nyeusi had but one simple desire when the day had started. He'd wanted to pay a long-overdue visit to the Shrines nearby so that he could pay respects to the spirits that called the place home. He could've sworn that he was going in the right direction but it turned out he'd been going in the... not right direction. Half-way through his fruitless journey, Nye had picked up a follower. Whoever it was stank something fierce and Nye would bet that it had to be a hyena. Hyena's had a funky smell about them, one that distinguished them from the other types of animals he passed by.
Just his luck. A hyena stalker. Could the day get any worse? Nye didn't want to even think about it. Maybe if he picked up the pace he would lose his unwanted follower, but with the sun glaring down on his dark pelt, Nye just didn't have it in him. "Guess I'll just see what happens," he mumbled to himself, shooting a glance behind him in disgust. The beast was still there, still following him.
Great.
Bekeli had picked up the scent of a leopard hours ago. With hope filling his little heart, the hyena had given chase. Well, it couldn't really be called a chase. The leopard was moseying along taking his sweet time going wherever he was going. Bek whined softly to himself. He was hungry and he hoped that either the leopard he followed would drop dead in the dirt, or the leopard would kill something and Bekeli would be left to eat whatever remained after the leopard was done.
But the leopard wasn't moving along at a swift pace, and Bekeli was starting to think that the dark feline was actually lost. Bekeli sighed softly, the sound giving way to a soft nasally whine. Thankfully Bekeli couldn't get lost. He didn't really have a place to call home. Resolutely Bekeli moved faster. Maybe he'd just approach the leopard and ask if the stupid feline was lost, and out of great gratitude the leopard would run off and gallantly kill something for Bekeli to eat. The rangy hyena liked the sound of that, and deciding that he'd come up with a brilliant idea, Bekeli took off in a full-fledged run.
Fantastic. They hyena was running faster now, catching up to Nye at a swift pace. Nervously the leopard smacked his lips together. His throat was dry. He should've just stayed at home. There would always be another day to visit the Shrines. He'd get better directions the next time around. Nyeusi swallowed nervously before shooting a look over his shoulder at the hyena that drew closer and closer. The stinky creature was close enough that Nyeusi could see the hopeful almost happy expression that was smeared across the hyena's features. He looked almost smarmy in the way he carried himself, as if he knew something fantastic that Nyeusi himself didn't know.
Bekeli had finally caught up to the stupid leopard. Grunting as he came to a stop, the hyena grinned his hyena-grin and peered at the obviously lost leopard. He canted his head to the side and his tongue lolled out just slightly as he waited for the leopard to greet him. After long moments stretched out between the two strangers, Bekeli rolled his eyes before speaking.
"You're lost," he squealed gleefully, relishing in the fact. "You're lost and I bet I can help you find where you need to be." Well, he wasn't too sure of that but he was relatively certain he could lie his way through it if it was necessary. He actually wasn't really familiar with the area -- after a while it all looked the same to the hyena. Bek came and went, and since he didn't really have a place to call home, he just moved when he got bored.
Nyeusi frowned the slightest, waiting for the hyena to share the information he apparently had. Again, long moments stretched between the two and this time it was Nyeusi who broke the silence out of exasperation. "I'm looking for the Shine-keepers pride. I would be very grateful if you could point me in the right direction." He dipped his head gracefully but kept his eyes locked on the hyena. Couldn't trust the damn things as far as you could throw them. He'd learned that the hard way.
Bekeli knew of that pride. The leopard was actually rather close to his destination. Another long stretch of silence yawned between the two of them as Bekeli slowly smacked his lips together and looked around with a yearning expression. "I sure am hungry," he said in the most pathetic voice he could muster (he didn't have to try hard, some things just came naturally to the scrawny hyena). He looked sorrowfully at the leopard before speaking again, "I bet I could think better if I had something in my stomach. It's been.. hours since I ate." When the leopard frowned, Bekeli backpedaled slightly. "Ehh, I mean days. Maybe even a week or three. Long time."
Nyeusi couldn't believe he was getting swindled by a stinky, stupid hyena. It was demeaning, to say the least, and Nyeusi had to squelch the anger that rose in his throat. It'd been a while since he'd eaten, himself. "You don't sound sure. I know when I'm starving I remember the last time I ate." He scowled, the motion showing his teeth. "I think you're trying to pull one over on me, but I'm not as stupid as you look, stinky."
Bekeli frowned slightly. His brilliant plan obviously wasn't going to work. That wasn't good, now the leopard was obviously mad at him. He had big teeth, too. Bekeli swallowed visibly. Real big teeth. "Fine, fine," the hyena groused, "You're close." He whined and jerked his head in the direction that the pride was. "That way." Disgruntled now, he swished his tail in agitation as he watched the leopard bare his teeth once more before moving in the direction that Bekeli had indicated. If he wasn't so afraid of retribution, he'd have told the stupid leopard to go a completely different way.
Life just wasn't fair.
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