Tuli:
Tuli hadn't been out on his own for very long, but he knew one thing:
He sucked at hunting.
Every gazelle he attempted to snare was always much faster than him, and also seemed...even smarter than him. It was frustrating, it was stupid, and above all made him feel completely useless.
What good was he as a living creature if he couldn't even sustain his own existence? Why was he on the earth? Why was he even born if he couldn't do the one simple thing all leopards were supposed to know how to do?
Tuli let out a deep, long sigh. "Gods..." he murmured. He had paused for a moment of rest beneath an acacia tree, but he didn't deserve it. It really wasn't like him to get so built-up over something like that--over anything, really. Maybe it was hormones...
Rising to his feet, the leopard skulked back into the tall grasses for one more try at a kill.
Kayin:
Unfortunately, the leopard was fated to meet his match.
Another stomach had begun growling, another unhappy owner woke from what had been a pleasant nap, and another hunter loped out in hopes of soothing the hungry aches in his gut.
Utomo was out again- likely hunting for them but for once- for once Kayin wanted to bring something home. The older lion was an experienced hunter but even then, Utomo only returned from his hunts with a meal on occassion. Most of the time, the two brothers would share a few hares, a young gazelle, or a scavaged kill.
Kayin practically stomped through the grass, breaking sticks under his paws, and shifted through the dry grass without restraint. He was breathing far too hard, and even humming on occassion. Despite all of that- he was certain that it was his turn to bring back dinner. Today would be the day!
Tuli:
Completely unaware of the competition for a kill, Tuli continued to build up concentration.
He knew he was fully capable of mastering the art of the hunt, he just didn't know...how to yet. But he would. He was good at a lot of things. He used to, uhh...well, he was good at sitting quietly when all his other siblings were fighting.
Stopping in his tracks, the leopard lidded his eyes and sighed again. He was thinking like a cub. He was an adult now, and not even just over the border of adolescence, either. He had stuck around with his family for maybe longer than what was necessary for a leopard, and he'd never thought to regret it--he wouldn't have traded it.
But now...looking back, maybe being sheltered had prevented him from learning all he needed to know? Sure, he knew how to hunt, of course. Just...not all that well on his own.
Already feeling defeated, the leopard huddled down in a thick patch of savanna grass and let his eyes wander over the herd of gazelles before him. He was still quite far away. Now he would inch closer...and closer...well, at least...he thought that was what he should do...
Kayin:
Kayin lifted his head over the grass and narrowed his eyes. An entirely different scene played through his mind. Against the brilliant orange of the falling sun, the mighty hunter parted the grass against his body, his claws sharp and ready for the kill. There!
He turned his head, scenting something. "Frood strufs."
He dropped to his belly, dragging it along the ground as his elevated rear slowly pushed him forward. His paws dusting the ground.
The gazelles froze, their watcher turning his head and his ears rolling forward. They could hear him a good distance off- but he continued forward, mouth watering. The food-things looked...so different alive. Maybe they knew where the eatable ones were.
Tuli:
As Tuli neared the herd, carefully creeping, something entirely unexpected happened.
A lion appeared directly in the grasses in front of Tuli, jowls dripping saliva and eyes hungry for prey. Tuli's jaw grew slack in surprise, but also something like distaste. He could hardly believe what he was seeing. He was also shocked at himself for not being able to sense the lion earlier. Had Tuli been that focused on the hunt? Or was he just careless?
Or maybe he was just useless as a leopard? Oh, gods, now the pessimism was back...
"Hey," Tuli hissed as quietly as possible, not wanting to startle the herd, but desperately trying to stop the lion from scattering them.
And Tuli was sure he would scatter them. Not that he was an expert hunter himself or anything...
Kayin:
The lion looked straight ahead, his ears not so much as twitching at the unfamilar voice.
Maybe these things were like the pigs... he had to catch them. It was too bad there wasn't a dead one he could drag back- in that case all he'd have to do was chaise off the vultures. Of course, there was no bragging rights in taking someone else's kill.
No, he was going to do it right this time.
He bolted forward, his movements sleek but his steps far too heavy. He let loose what might have been an attempt at a roar, but what came out was something closer to a slurred yell. The gazelle scattered the moment he broke out, crying out their warnings to their comrades and throwing their hooves out behind them as they raised their tails in alarm.
"NO!!! NO PREASE! I... Come on!"
Tuli:
The horrifying events unfolded before Tuli's eyes in rapid succession--the lion ignored him, made mistakes, and of course...scattered the entire herd.
Jolting to his full height, the leopard flicked his ears back and sneered. His chest rose and fell in heavy breaths as he watched the herd scamper far and away, trying to find a single daisy in the pit of weeds that was his life.
He couldn't find anything nice, anything happy, or anything to remedy the current situation. The gazelles were gone, and he would either be eating elephant dung or nothing at that point. And he sure as heck was not going to be eating elephant dung.
All because of a great, big lummox of a lion.
Tuli bounded out into the open to confront the lion, but kept several feet between them (as a precaution--it was only logical).
"YOU BLUNDERING IDIOT!" Tuli shouted, hair bristling the spots on his back. "Do you know what it feels like to go hungry three nights in a row?!"
Kayin:
The lion, again, didn't aknowlege him. With his back turned and his attention on the bouncing white dots that were the tails of the retreating gazelles, his chest heaving, he was fully distracted. His ears drooped and he fell back onto his rear for a long scratch at his shaggy mane. He was dirty, his fur a terrible mess, and his mane thin and shedding. His ribs showed clearly through a dull coat, indicating that he too had gone for quite a while without a full belly of food.
"....STLUPID....FOOD." He sighed, turned, and let out a high-pitched scream as he came face-to-face with....what looked like a lion.
Falling back, he kicked at the ground to scoot himself backwards until his back hit the trunk of a tree. He screamed again, whirled around- oh it was just a tree -then turned back to the leopard to scream for a third time.
Tuli:
Soon the savanna was filled with more than one scream as Tuli, too, let out a shriek of his own. And again when the lion turned on him a second time.
Stumbling backwards, nearly tripping over his own skirting rear end, the leopard swatted the ground with his paw and hissed violently. He was ready to lay on the beef if things got nasty--but he wasn't going to leave his back exposed. Yeah, swat the ground as a threat, look big, show your buff--that's what he was taught. He was a big male leopard, he could take a lion...he...
After a few moments of heaving gasps and observing, Tuli began to calm himself. "Gods, you almost gave me a HEART attack..." he whined, trying desperately to steady his breathing. "I didn't mean to scare you."
Kayin:
Kayin stared, his eyes wide and round as saucers and his chest heaving through his thin mane.
His eyes pinned onto the leopard's mouth as he...she? Yeah it had to be a she- started speaking.
Gods. He didn't know that word. Heart attack? He was attacking his heart? He didn't mean to make him sad...
"S.....slorry...l-lady.... I... not mean make....heart sad. I not attack- rery!"
Tuli:
A chorus of gasping still sounding in the air, Tuli listened carefully to the words the other male spoke. His eyes wavered as he tried to comprehend what the fearful thing was saying.
But nothing in him was ever going to be able to comprehend why...or how...or what...had just come out of the other rogue's mouth.
Jaw twisting and pulling shut, then open, then shut, Tuli gaped openly.
At first, he couldn't speak. Then, when he felt he could form some kind of accusation, his voice caught in his throat.
Pride, ego, self-worth--Tuli felt entirely insulted and crushed.
"It's--..." he started, still gaping. "It's...fine..." he found himself saying. "Don't worry about it."
Somehow he felt that prolonging the discussion or adjusting mistakes was only going to make matters worse.
"I'd better get back to business," he said, standing properly. "I really need to eat. Good, uh..." he paused, staring, still a bit bewildered. "Good luck."
Kayin:
The lady-thing looked just as startled as he was. For whatever reason, that made him feel a little bit better. Maybe he was scary! Maybe... but still, he didn't mean to attack the other creature's heart.
Kayin slowly rolled himself to sit on his bum, paws meeting the ground and pushing himself up to a stand. "I slory...." He called at the- Oh. It was a male.
...wait. Boys had manes.
"....slorry baldy."
Tuli:
...Tuli had lost all will to form any kind of witty come-back. He had been defeated in every way, not just because of the lion. He had failed to hunt three times in a row, he missed his family, he couldn't hunt well, he met a stupid lion, the stupid lion scared the heck out of him, not he was insulting him, and--
Tuli began laughing very hard. He laughed so hard his ribs began to ache and he almost crumpled to the dirt. His ears began ringing from the force of his own laughter, and so consumed by it that it became silent for several moments.
When the leopard finally recovered, he let out a sigh and relaxed his gaze--his usually tranquil face was back.
"Don't worry about it," Tuli said.
Really, why worry about anything? Sure, the hunt had been a failure...a few times in a row, but even so, he had learned from it. What was the point in worrying? He'd get food eventually. Bad moods caused mistakes, and that wasn't like Tuli at all. He'd get it right soon. For now, he just had to keep at it and not let things get to him.
"We'll both be fine. Maybe I'll see you again once I catch up to the herd."
Giving a polite nod of his head, the leopard bounded off in the direction of the gazelles, eager to catch up, and ready to try again.
