[PRP] The SKULL (Los x Tesak)

[SilverLutz]

Los had never thought about being a father. It wasn't that he didn't want to be one, the thought had literally never crossed his mind. Sure, he knew where pups came from and how they were made, but his mind was always on other things. More interesting things. Like the pride he was a part of and what he could do to further their power.

The first pups he had were a surprise. The second litter, a bit younger than the first, had been planned. Still, he had to be reminded daily that he had pups to look after. They were odd little things, and he swore he'd never been so helpless in his life. Thankfully they were starting to grow and mature, and he didn't have to keep an eye on them every second of the day. It allowed him to take care of his own business, like finding slaves that were ducking their duties and teach them a lesson. Ah...it was his favorite part of this pride. He got to bite and tear and scratch and snarl and it was his job.

Today, though, everyone seemed to be on their best behavior. Los was incredibly bored and wished for something to happen. Perhaps he'd check in on his pups...he did need to raise them with the proper mindset, after all. They were to be proud and strong but still take orders, and some of them, he noticed, were getting a bit unruly. That wouldn't do. His mind made up, he set off to try to find at least one of his offspring. They were slippery little hyenas, his pups.

mouselet

 

[mouselet]

Tesak was idly scratching at the dirt of a low hummock with his claws. He was bored bored bored bored bored bored BORED. There was nothing to do! Oh sure, he could find his sibs and do...something...but he saw them every single day and he was BORED of them too.

Not that the landscape around was helping matters. It was the most BORING thing of all, and he lived here all the time! The young hyena was so consumed by his BOREDOM that he didn't notice someone walking up behind him.  

[SilverLutz]

Thankfully Los didn't need to walk for too long before he spotted one of his pups from his first litter. It had been a massive bunch of pups, but he'd left most of them with their mother. Only a select few that he felt would grow to be the proper Nergui hyena were taken with him. Watching Tesak scratch in the dirt, he snorted softly while approaching. He was just a pup still, but with senses like that he'd be snapped up for a meal in no time were he in the rouge lands.

Once he was behind him, Los watched for a while before leaning down to press his nose under Tesak's rump. He jerked his head up roughly, hopefully with enough power to toss the pup head over paws in a somersault. It might be called a bit too rough by some, but for him it was playful. He wanted his pups to enjoy their time growing up, but he wanted them to end up tough like him.

"Bury something, Tesak?" he asked, his voice an amused growl. "Or are you trying to dig to the Firekin's lands?"  

[mouselet]

The pup in question got the idea that something wasn't quite right...but not until a moment before he felt his father's nose make contact with his behind. The boy's shout of surprise quickly turned into something much more giggly as he fell and picked himself back up. That wasn't boring at all! His dad was always good at not being boring.

"Do it again!" he begged, ignoring the questions he'd been asked. He'd only been digging in the dirt because he'd been BORED, after all, but now that Furchtlos was here, that was a thing of the past! Past was boring and dusty, like the dirt, and Tesak needed no part of it.  

[SilverLutz]

The reaction Los got made him roll his eyes slightly. He was glad Tesak didn't whimper from the light toss, but the fact that he thought it was something Los intended on repeating made him wonder if he should be a bit less playful and more serious.

...nah...he was a ferocious Nohoi when he was on the job, but he could play with his pups while they were still young. "If you get back on your paws I'll do it again," he said, sitting down before the young pup. "Go on. Face away from me," he said, motioning in the direction of a skeleton not far off from them. "Look at that and close your eyes so it will be more of a surprise."  

[mouselet]

"Okay!" the pup agreed eagerly as he got back on his feet. He turned around excitedly, squinching his eyes shut as tightly as possible. The only problem was his tail. In his excitement, Tesak kept wagging it back and forth so quickly it looked almost as if he had a peacock's fan behind him.

Except made out of fur, not feathers. And black, instead of multicolored. And okay, it didn't really look much like a peacock's tail, but someone had described the birds to Tesak once as part of a story and now that was what he thought about when he saw someone's tail moving that fast. Even if it was his own.  

[SilverLutz]

The frantic tail made Los snort softly, shaking his head. He certainly was an excitable pup, wasn't he? He waited, giving some time for the tension to build, before lowering his head again. He got his snout under Tesak's rump again and gave a larger thrust, this time hoping to send him tumbling a few times forward rather than once. He was expecting it now, after all...he could take a bit more energy behind the push!  

[mouselet]

"Wheeeeeeeeee!" This was so much fun! He wasn't really flying through the air, but he was moving at a high speed! Far faster than he could run! It was the most wonderful sensation ever, tumbling over the ground so quickly he barely felt the angular rocks he passed over!

The young hyena wasn't keeping his body tucked in and was beginning to slow down in his tumbling roll when something unexpected happened. Tesak rolled right into the skeleton his father had noticed earlier. All the kid knew was that suddenly he was moving with other things, and he was kind of dizzy, and he was kind of falling, and there were bones on him and under him and all around him.

And his two back paws had gotten stuck in something.  

[SilverLutz]

Los lifted his head after the toss, watching Tesak tumble forward. He trotted after him after a moment, wondering when he'd stop. He'd certainly given him a lot more oomph than last time, but some of it had to be the pup tucking and rolling along with the momentum. His ears flicked up as Tesak suddenly rolled right into the skeleton, sending bones and dirt flying everywhere. He pulled up beside the pup once he stopped rolling, observing him for a few seconds.

The pup was piled in bones and it looked as though his feet were stuck in the eye sockets of the skull. He snorted in amusement and reached down with a paw to brush off some of the rib bones that were coverin Tesak's face. "Well, that was certainly something," he said quietly, eyes carefully skimming the dark body to make sure there were no serious injures. While he himself didn't care if he was hurt, he didn't want his pups to be exposed to serious injury at this young an age.  

[mouselet]

Tesak was attempting to stand up when his dad interrupted by moving things around and making the young pup lose his balance just when he'd almost gotten it! Well, he knew better than the blame his father (even though it was clearly all Furtchlos' fault) for Tesak ending up on his back with the skull sticking into the ground and holding his back legs up.

The young hyena frowned, his father all but forgotten in the face of this very serious problem. It was one thing to lay on your back with your back paws in the air. It was quite another thing to have them held up by some stupid skull that you had the misfortune to step into whilst at play.

Tesak clenched his stomach muscles and sat up slightly, so that his back was no longer lying on the ground, though his butt was still quite firmly rooted. He could see - and feel! - the skull move slightly with him, and he lay down quickly as he felt it almost overbalance and pull him the opposite way.

Hmmm...this was a problem indeed...  

[SilverLutz]

As the pup tried to get out of the bones, Los decided to sit back and see if he could do it on his own. So far he seemed to be doing fine, but then when he tried to get up, his paws didn't come out of the skull. He had to smirk just a bit at the sight. Tesak looked hilarious and helpless all at the same time.

"Come on now," he murmured quietly. "Don't let a silly little skull get the best of you." He sat down to watch, an interested look on his face. What were the chances of his paws sliding into the empty sockets like that? He looked at the skull a bit closer, trying to figure out what animal it had been. There were no horns...but there seemed to be some long teeth? A canine? Perhaps an unfortunate wild dog, or even hyena that had crossed the Nergui and had paid the ultimate price for it.  

[mouselet]

The boy made a face as his father murmured encouraging words. He didn't need any help at all with this! Tesak was perfectly capable of doing this all by himself, thank you very much! Besides, he'd almost figured it out...

The pup began to rock forward and back, lifting his back a little further off the ground with each forward motion. The skull began wobbling alarmingly with his movements. Tesak gave a sharp bark of victory and levered himself forward with a bit more force, sending himself and the skull end over tail over nose.

Once more the pup went rolling around, but this time he managed to separate from the skull as he went. Later he would claim it had been entirely on purpose, but the truth was that Tesak had no idea how he'd managed that trick.

Finally free of his inanimate captor's embrace, the cub spat at the skull as it lay on the ground, empty and forsaken.

"Serves you right!" he informed the object.  

[SilverLutz]

Los smirked just a bit as the pup insisted he could do it on his own. Good. Independence was something he prided himself on, and now his pups. He wasn't a female, after all. He had no maternal instinct to coddle or nuzzle when there were injuries or setbacks. He wanted to sit aside and watch his children struggle, but succeed. Learning life lessons at this age was good. Those that didn't...well. They were slaves now.

Once Tesak broke free from his prison and snarled at the skull, Los gave an eerie cackle that only hyenas could do. "Good job," he praised, shifting to stand and move to the pup's side, giving his shoulder a shove with his paw. "You've defeated your first challenger, Tesak. I think you'll be able to use a living opponent next time," he added, the teasing tone clear in his voice.  

[mouselet]

Tesak glared up at his father and bared his tiny fangs. His dad was making fun of him! How rude! And after he'd just done so much work all by himself! There had to be a way to fix this!

The pup looked around for something to help him show his father that this was no laughing matter. One yellow eye fell on the skull. True, it was a bit beaten up, somewhat cracked, and quite dirty. But he'd defeated it solidly, living or not.

"Fine then! I'll take this as my trophy!" the younger hyena exclaimed, setting one paw possessively on the object. "It's my SKULL now!" He glared up at his dad some more, daring the older male to object.  

[SilverLutz]

Los' tail waved slowly behind him in amusement, both pleased and tickled that the pup was so spunky. He'd be a good Nohoi when he was older, one that would listen to the lions and do as he was told with as much viciousness as was required.

The claiming of the skull surprised the hyena, but he nodded just a bit. "As is your right," he said simply. "But don't let anyone take it from you. That's your prize, and once you start to covet it, others will want it too." He arched a brow and lowered his head. "And what do you do if someone tries to take it?' he asked, bearing his teeth in a vicious grin.