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 Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 9:53 am
Natt The savannah was disturbed by the sounds of a chase, a frantic cry and then absolute silence as the dust slowly began to settle in. A blue cheetah stood panting next to the gazelle she’d just taken down, too exhausted to eat. She was anxious, looking around the open area suspiciously. There were few places to hide in this area and the commotion would soon bring draw other predators in so she knew this one of those times when she had to eat as much as quickly as possible. Already could she see a small group of vultures flying closer and if she could see them, others would definitely as well. After taking a few deep breaths, the young cheetah dropped to the ground and started her meal. The cry caught the lioness' attention. She'd been stalking her own game when the cry drove them off. With a disgruntled growl, her eyes narrowed and she stalked off towards the sounds. That meant someone else was hunting in her grounds and she didn't like that one bit. Lipi was protective of what she called her land. She'd raised her kids here, she knew this place like the back of her paw and to have someone just come in here and kill one of her game... However, she paused when she saw it wasn't another lion and it was a small gazelle they'd caught. Rolling her eyes Lipi sighed and slowly approached the cheetah. "Thanks for ruining my hunt."
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Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 10:17 am
Natt Being a cheetah had its perks. Nat enjoyed nothing more than the sense of freedom than she got from a good old-fashioned sprint and she loved the elegance that her body had developed into. Still, there was definitely a bad side to having such a perfectly slim constitution and the worst one had to be how vulnerable she was against other predators. And by predators, she usually meant lions. The ones who unceremoniously took the prey she caught just because… well, they could. Sure, not all were like that but Nat knew she had to be wary of strange felines when she had prey between her paws. “Sorry, I didn’t see you.” The lioness looked annoyed but not overly aggressive and Nat couldn’t read her intentions just yet. She didn’t know if the lioness was telling the truth about Nat ruining her hunt but the cheetah had spooked pretty much every prey beast in the area so if the lioness was planning on hunting, she’d probably have to walk for a while. She looked down at her meal as it were gone already. She’d just started eating it, too! “Uhm… we can share it…?” Funny thing about lions. They’re not just bigger. They eat a lot, too. Share a meal? The lioness tried not to wrinkle her nose at that but she couldn't quite keep that to herself. Sighing again, Lipi shook her head and sat a safe distance away. Cheetahs were fast, they got aggressive easily when a lion was about. This one, however, didn't seem like she wanted a fight, just a meal. The longer Lipi looked at the gazelle the hungrier she got, but she wasn't about to share her meal with a stranger. She had nothing against cheetah's, but for the longest time she didn't even want to share a meal with her mate. "No, but the offer was a kind one," she said, trying not to sound like her usual moody self. It was a natural state for her, moody and sarcastic. Growing up how she did, anyone else would be just like her. Finally, Lipi looked away from the cheetah and her meal like she was scouting again. Honestly, she was, because she was hungry, but she didn't have to find anything. She knew Muscardini would find something. He'd gone the opposite direction of her. There was a possibility that all the game went towards him. Taking something just because she could wasn't Lipi's style. ".... I'm Lipi. Who're you? I've never seen you in these parts before." A list was kept of everyone who came this way and she matched neither her, or her mate's, lists.
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Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 11:15 am
Natt It hadn’t really been a… kind offer. She’d asked more out of duty and self-preservation than anything else so there was a twinge of guilt gnawing at her mind now. She visibly sighed with relief when the lioness sat down. Nat had been readying herself to bolt in case the situation took a turn to the worse but it seemed the lioness had no intentions to start a fight. “I’m Nat. I’m just passing through.” She looked down at her food again, unsure if she was supposed to eat while the lioness was talking to her. While she could drag it to a more suitable location, such actions would probably draw even more attention to the cheetah’s prize and she didn’t think there were many good hiding places around anyway. “Do you live here?” The tension left when Natt's did and the lioness just shrugged a little more. Passing through? She could deal with that. As long as the cheetah wasn't planning on staying for long. Or kept scaring off her game, she could tolerate it. To the question, Lipi's gold eyes moved to look over at the cheetah again before nodding, a half amused expression on her face. "I do. I live here with my mate. A child or two of mine still hangs around from time to time." Lipi seriously wasn't any good at this whole talking thing. Unless it was with family or arguing, she usually kept quiet. "Don't let me stop you from eating. How long do you think you'll be around?" If the cheetah needed to stay over night, Lipi could tell her where an extra den was. The first one she started out in before she got together with Muscardini.
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Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 12:19 pm
Natt Nat had told herself that the area had a strong scent of lions because many rogues passed through. Now she was picturing Lipi surrounded by a few rough adolescents and giant mate –she imagined him as a large dark figure with glowing red eyes who was not fond of trespassers. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know it was your territory!” even if the lioness was encouraging her to eat, Nat felt terribly uncomfortable in doing so. Even if she was aware that a lioness was the perfect guard to keep the scavengers at bay, this was a gazelle she’d taken down in the lioness’ home and she didn’t even look angry. “I’ll be going as soon as I’m done eating.” "If you want, you can stay for the night. It's getting late..." She looked up to the sky and shrugged a little more before looking back at Natt. "There's a den behind that big bolder near the lake. You can stay there..." Licking her muzzle she looked around again, rubbing her face with a paw. She knew she was making the cheetah uncomfortable with eating now that she was here. Shifting, she rose to her paws and cleared her throat. "You can bring that if you want and I can show you where it is.. I'll leave you alone after that, I suppose..."
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Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 2:50 pm
Natt The unexpected offer left the cheetah silent with her mouth open in a very obvious expression of surprise. She stood up, all tension finally leaving her body. “Is that really okay? Won’t your family mind that?” As much as she tried to find hints of hostility in the lioness’ body language, she found no reason to suspect Lipi. Finally, she grabbed the gazelle by the throat and spoke again, finally allowing herself to smile a little. “I haven’t met that many friendly lions.” She said in a slightly muffled voice chuckled quietly. If the den wasn’t too far, it would be the perfect place to eat her meal in peace and then rest. “Okay, lead the way, Lipi.” Friendly? Hardly. Just motherly in some form or other. Sighing a little, Lipi nodded and shrugged, walking on ahead without saying anything. What was there to say at this point? Hunting was pointless, but that was alright. Sighing heavily again, she looked behind her to make sure the cheetah was still following. It wasn't but a couple minutes and they were there so Lipi turned around and faced Natt again. "....Alright, here it is..." She said, shrugging and looking the old den over. There were a lot of memories here, but even more in her new one. "I guess... I'll see you around. You're welcome back any time, just drop a warning." With that, Lipi made no point to dally. She headed out without a goodbye or even waited for one. Natt “Oh, this is nice.” Nat said as they reached their destiny and the cheetah dropped the gazelle to the ground and looked around inquisitively. It was a good den even if it was obvious no one had taken care of it in a while. It would serve perfectly for the night. “It’s not that big but it’s just right. I’ll be well hidden here and no one will disturb my meal. And tomorrow morning…” she was talking more to herself now and it was only when Lipi spoke again that she realized the lioness was already walking away. “Alright, I’ll let you know if I ever come back.” She hesitated, watching the lioness’ back for a few moments words getting trapped in her throat until they finally burst out. “It was nice meeting you, Lipi!”
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