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Kepo felt like he was getting pretty experienced with the ladies, but he still hadn't managed to bring home any girlfriends. Or any pups, although he wasn't really concerned about pups. Right now he was moping around at the edge of the pack's territory, brooding over his failures. How had his stupid BABY of a cousin managed to find a girl?! It was horrible. Of course she wasn't the dumb brat's girlfriend, but he still had the credit for finding her.

Even finding a new male for the pack would be a good thing at this point. Kepo needed some recognition, dammit! He kicked at the ground dispiritedly. It seemed unlikely that any new hyenas would wander up while he was out here on guard, but he had needed the time to himself to brood.

Domeka had been lingering in the area for a few days, the scent of the clan had drawn her there. Her mother had thrown her out of their den, making roomn for a new litter of pups. Unlike her siblings Domeka had never grown up, had never moved out on her own. She wasn't as young as would be expected, but she viewed the world with a certain degree of wonder. This striped young male, she had seen him a few times before, but she hadn't had the guts to approach him. Now her hunger overwhelmed her guts. She hadn't eaten in a few days, and she knew the clan had much better huntresses than she would ever be. Perhaps if she could talk her way past the little male. She had heard rumors they were weak anyway. "Excuse me?" she called softly, remaining all but hidden behind her rock, her little tuft of bangs sticking out.

What? What was that? Kepo wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings, so it was no surprise that someone had managed to sneak up on him, but it was entirely unacceptable! If people could just sneak up on him willy nilly he would never become a seeker! He sprang up onto all four feet from his seated position, his fur puffed out like an angry cat's. Kepo whipped his head from side to side wildly, trying to find the intruder.

"Who are you! Where are you!" Kepo screamed, entirely missing the bangs poking out from behind a rock. He didn't immediately threaten to kill the outsider, on the slight chance that they might be someone that was authorized to be there.

The female retreated behind the rock again, shivering. Toughen up Domeka, she told herself angrily, this is no way to get accepted around here. Puffing herself up as best she could she stepped out from the rock, her chest held out in front of her. "I'm Domeka," she shouted with feigned confidence, putting her front feet together toward him, "Who are you to ask me anything?" Stupid stupid girl, this was his home not hers. She mentally slapped herself, feeling one of her legs start to shake.

Still nothing! Who was it? Who could it be?! Kepo was on the verge of running screaming back home for help when a female hyena stepped out from behind a rock. He calmed down slightly, staring at her. She wasn't a female he recognized, at all. She sounded confident and bossy, like one of the females of the clan, but if that was true why had she been hiding?

Kepo was tempted to beg her pardon immediately and allow her entrance, but he was suspicious of this strange female. "I don't know you," Kepo shouted back, staring at her. "I'm on the lookout for intruders." He wasn't outright calling her an intruder, but neither was he being completely polite. If she was someone who had joined in his absence, he was surely going to get in trouble for this. "Why were you hiding behind a rock?"

"Maybe I like the rock," she huffed, her lungs beginning to burn as she tried to hold her chest out. Finally she let it go, feeling like as if her whole body was deflating. "Who do I talk to about staying here?" she added, still trying to make herself look much bigger than she was. Her toes hurt as she rolled up on them, rocking a bit to keep her balance. Obviously it wasn't him, they wouldn't put a male in charge of something that important, especially one that wasn't even grown yet.

She talked the talk and she walked the walk ... a bit awkwardly ... but Kepo wasn't convinced she was as cool and bossy as she made herself out to be. Still, he had no good reason to keep her away. Hmm. "My mom and aunt are the queens here," Kepo said, still eyeballing the strange female. It seemed weird to have some hyena pop out from behind a rock and ask to join, but thankfully Kepo wasn't in charge of people joining. If there was something wrong with her, the queens could sort it out.

And if she was a good female ... then they would praise KEPO. HA! His self-confidence returned and Kepo puffed himself up again, swaggering a bit. "My mom and aunt are the queens," he repeated, his voice smug now. "And I'm the smartest and best son. And the most handsome." He struck a pose. If she was staying, she might as well become acquainted with the best male in the harem, right?!

His comments caught her off guard and she stumbled, tripping over her own toes so that she landed face first in the dirt. In seconds she had managed to right herself again, sitting now as she looked at him with a mixture of fear and anger. Had he been testing her? That was rather clever, to say something so ridiculous. Her mother had taught her that there were no "best" sons, only those that were slightly less unfortunate. For he son of a queen he really should have known that. "You're kidding right?" she asked, cocking her head to the side as she examined him. He was cute, sure, but if he was the best the clan had to offer maybe she ought to reconsider.

The female tripping over herself was a bit funny, but Kepo had the good sense not to laugh. He waited, still posing as sexily as possible, while she climbed back to her feet. Kepo wasn't really sure how to react to her sass when she spoke next. Was she insulting his looks? His intelligence? Of course she hadn't met his stupid brothers (one brain dead, and one convinced that his mother was a lioness) or his terrible cousin yet. She couldn't know just how awful they were. "Of course I'm not kidding," Kepo said, fighting back a scowl, keeping his tone as polite as possible. "I'm just letting you know, so you don't waste your valuable time looking at any of the others." He sniffed, disgusted by the very idea of any female choosing to spend time with his horrid relatives. "My name's Kepo, by the way."

She paused, deciding whether it was time to turn and leave. Her stomach growled, reminding her why she had first come. If she turned and left she'd find herself back alone in the roguelands with no real skills of her own. She's have to play along. "Domeka," she said finally, flashing him a smile, "So there must be something special about you then?" Hopefully, something she couldn't already see. If she had to be a little sweet to him to fill her belly then that's what she'd do. From what she had heard about the clan the females weren't likely to be upset with her conduct.

Kepo had no idea that he was acting intimidating. If the female told him to shut up and take him to someone important, he would have done as she said. The idea of a female actually thinking she had to butter him up for some reason was ... well, it was an idea that would never occur to Kepo. It was foolish.

Kepo thought she was honestly stroking his ego, and that made him feel quite proud. He had never actually said there was anything SPECIAL about him, other than his extreme handsomeness (a throwback to his amazing auntie Dikeledi) and his extreme intelligence. Compared to other males, of course. But it was still nice to think that there might be something special about him. He couldn't think what that special thing might be, but if he put his mind to it he was sure he would think of it eventually. For now, though ... Kepo shrugged. "I'm very good-looking," he said. "I look like my auntie Dikeledi." He squinted at the grey female. "You're good-looking too. Grey is a good color. And you have stripes. Stripes are very good." He nodded, pleased that this female had the right look. He was getting fairly well absorbed into conversation with her, and forgetting about taking her to see the queens.

Domeka started to tire of the cyclical pattern of his speech. Her stomach was empty, that was what she knew, and something needed to be done about it. "Kepo," she said, adding a little sugar to the name, "Are you a fine hunter too? I've been traveling and I'm tired, I need a meal." It might have been easier than that for the females of the clan, but she hadn't figured out all aspects of the conversation yet. It was better to be cautious and safe than bold and in a fight.

Kepo would have been happy to stand around and talk about each other's looks for a while. Domeka didn't seem to be responding well to his charm, though. She seemed a little ... bored. But that was easily explained if she was hungry and tired. Kepo blinked, feeling a bit abashed that he had kept her waiting.

"Sure," he said. "I'm a great hunter. I'll get you something." He would make a very bad impression on her if he was a bad host! Oh, dear. Kepo turned and began trotting in towards the clan's lands. "Come on, I'll take you to one of the queens. And then I'll go get you something to eat while you settle in."