Velveteen Angel:Dysini’mbus was quite used to large, rambunctious families and he loved it when it was loud and crazy – his old and dear friend Sukanya was not the same. Her first litter, a little of one, had been almost too much for her to handle and now, older and more worn, she had a litter of 6, though some had thankfully gone with their father and not her. Dysi had taken to checking in on her often, and today it had been clear that she had needed a break.
And so Dysi took the only girl, IShara, out with him as he went for a walk. The boys were fairly good at playing by themselves but Ishara clung to her mother often, trying the leopardess.
“Are you exciting for an adventure, Isha?” Dysi asked, trying to encourage her.
The small leopon looked disgruntled as she padded along next to him. “Where’s mama? Why didn’t the boys come with us? It’s hot, where are we going?” As a cub, all of her questions seemed extremely important, and she was not above pelting Dysi with all of them at once.
Dysi smiled. “It’s an adventure!” He encouraged, but the look he received from the young girl was a less than impressed one.
Painted Moose:
Gaige was used to padding around the grasslands by himself. The smell of fresh herbs and plants shocked him, as they weren't as rotten as the ones he was accustomed to. For what had seemed like hours the emaciated cub had sat by himself in a shrub, awaiting his mother's return, but when the next day passed he had decided to explore. He walked, bones showing throgh his matted coat, but his amber eyes brighter than ever. There was a sharpness there, even in his youth. Finally a scent caught his attention, causing him to brighten considerably. When he rushed to find out the cause, he found a vulture carcass, worn down to bones and eagerly set about tearing off what bits of meat he could. What a find!
Velveteen Angel:
Dysini’mbus, having the added advantage of height, could see a fair distance along the grasslands, no high boulders or scrubs blocking his view too badly, and so he saw the carcass in the distance. He wasn’t hungry or anything, but perhaps Ishara would like to see how to find food in the wild? She was still quite young.
“Look, there’s a carcass over there. Lets go and take a look!” Maybe they’d find something interesting?
Ishara looked unimpressed with the idea but padded after him. She had known Dysi since practically the day she was born, but she still found him strange. He was too cheerful and too loud, and he was too bright as well. All white and pink and it hurt her eyes in the sunlight. The leopon was a quieter version of her mother, and truly, her mother wasn’t all that talkative to begin with.
As she approached the carcass, moving ahead of Dysi mostly to get his bright form out of her eyes, she spotted the worn figure chewing on the bones. She crinkled her nose. “Ew, that meat must be days old,” she couldn’t help but remark, unknowingly drawing attention to herself.
Painted Moose:
Gaige snapped his head up, wild eyes widening as he took in the form of the young fat girl and her keeper. There hadn't been enough blood to get on his fur, but there were remnants of old kills and old wounds that had left their stain. He had the look of a feral, rabid dog with her snarled at Ishara. Charging her without getting too far away from HIS meal. She could afford to miss some, anyway! "Go! Not yours, mine!" He puffed up, doing his best to look large and in charge.
Velveteen Angel:
Ishara fell back a step or two, her brows furrowing almost immediately but she didn’t react too badly. Mostly because she knew that he was so scrawny, and due to her parentage, she was kind of a chunkier stature than he was, and she could probably take him on. She was, after all, the only girl in a litter of boys, so she was pretty confident.
“I don’t want that meal, it looks icky,” she pointed out huffily. “Don’t jump to conclusions.”
Dysi had approached and hesitated, lingering back from them and watching them interact. That cub was badly malnourished, he realised, his heart aching as he saw the bones showing through the fur. Was he abandoned? Oh no, what should he do?
Painted Moose:
Gaige snorted. "Yeah right, chubby." He dug his little ragged claws in the dirt and stood his ground. There was no way he was going to allow her to so much as even look at his meal. Even though he was small, his mother had taught him a lot about defending himself, though mostly from her. He'd rip her to shreds! That other thing wasn't much better - Gaige didn't know what breeds they were, but they needed to back off. So, naturally, he rushed her and reached out to bite her ear.
Velveteen Angel:
She yowled loudly as the teeth connected with her ear and she immediately clawed at him, attempting to dig her claws into his fur and drag him off her. “You JERK, LET GO! I DON’T WANT YOUR FOOD.” She kicked her back paws out, hoping to dislodge his tiny form, a growl building up in her chest.
“AND I AM NOT CHUBBY.”
Dysi panicked as he saw the young boy rush at Ishara. Oh god, Sukanya would kill him if anything happened to Ishara! Oh Mkodi! He rushed forward, gasping at the scruff of the male’s neck, hoping to drag him off, though he could do nothing unless the male released the leopon’s ear.
Painted Moose:
Little fangs clamped shut and gnawed on her flesh while his claws fought for a good hold. Her struggles barely even registered with him. Was she playing? She would need to try harder than this to wrestle him off! "UR URBY N OO 'OUD". He tried kicking at her as best he could, until he was grabbed by the older male. Panicking, Gaige let go of Ishara, only to squirm in Dysi's grasp, going for his face.
Velveteen Angel:
Dysi blinked as the cubs attempted to go at him, and frowned, fastening his grip on the boy’s scruff and keeping him semi-still. Thankfully, thanks to the position it would be hard to claw at the male’s face, though he could attack other area.
“Why are you so mean?” Ishara demanded, a little bit of blood dripping from her now sore ear. She sniffled, but there were no tears in her eyes, too determined to be angry than to be upset. “Why, you jerk!”
“Ishara,” Dysi mumbled around the scruff, frowning. “Beeeh iffe.” The scold to be nice did not seem to do much against Ishara’s dark looks at the boy.
Painted Moose:
"I'll kill you!" Gaige shrieked, clawing and snarling for any piece of flesh he could. He barely understood the words, or their intent, but he knew they meant making the others go away forever, which was something he REALLY wanted. "Let me go and leave!" He kicked back against Dysi's neck as best he could. The only thing his body was running on was pure passion since his energy had long run out. Even now he was panting more heavily than he should have been. "I'll eat you like a fat hare!"
Velveteen Angel:
“Calm down,” Dysi tried to say around the scruff but only was rewarded with a kick to the neck. He winced, and his grip loosened slightly on the cub, causing him to drop a little, but Dysi renewed his grasp, trying to keep him (and Ishara) safe from the little ball of rage.
“I am NOT FAT,” Ishara snapped, only taking in the ‘fat hare’ comment, sulking. “Why are you attacking Uncle Dysi? You’re so mean, he’s just trying to stop you biting me! Stop being so dramatic! We’re not going to take your food, or attack you or anything. We’re being NICE to you, you JERK.” She was getting rather concerned for Dysi, as the male was rather furious in his attacks and didn’t seem to realise that Dysi wasn’t being mean. Why was this boy so WEIRD?
Dysi didn’t know what to do, should he try and help the cub (who obviously did not want their help) or should he just let him go and let him go rogue and wild again? The poor thing would likely die on his own, but Dysi wasn’t sure how to get through to him when he was so busy trying to gouge his throat.
Painted Moose:
Gaige ran out of steam before agression. He was still growling as much as a cub of his age could, but his struggles had ended on a strength of wheezing inhales. His starved body couldn't keep up the fight on his limited resources. "I'm not mean!" He snapped. Why was she so stupid? She was saying everything like his mother did, but she was calling him wrong? She was the one that was wrong! All of the words were right, but he wasn't a jerk if he was fighting back! "You're weak and fat and if you don't die, then I will! It's called life." He kicked back against Dysi one last time, but it was half-assed. Gaige mostly swung like a furry pendulum.
Velveteen Angel:
“Why do I have to die for you to live?” She demanded in frustration. “Why is it down to you and me, why not that bird over there, or a hare? Life has nothing to do with you and me, it is MUCH bigger than that.” It took her a moment of silence to realise that he had, again, called her overweight. “I AM NOT FAT. It’s not my fault that your standards are skewed by the fact that a stiff breeze could knock you flat on your skinny butt.” She saw the disapproving look that Dysi shot her, but she was grumpy and she didn’t care. She stuck her tongue out at her guardian in an act of defiance.
Dysi was endlessly glad that the cub had run out of energy, but the wheezing was concerning to him. What was he going to do? The cub would die, but his anger was far greater than his need to survive with assistance, and Dysi honestly feared taking the cub around the other leopons, but he couldn’t leave it alone.
“Did you want better food?” Dysi tried to ask, it came out muffled but slightly audible. “We have too much food. You can have it.” They didn’t have ‘too much’ but they had enough that the cub could eat his fill without hassle.
Painted Moose:
"Because if you live then I CAN'T EAT YOU STUPID." Gaige snarled, spitting a little in his aggrivation. Why wasn't she understanding what was universal to him? It was like her mother hadn't taught her half of what his had! "Share some of your blubber and we'll be even." Gaige huffed. This was getting him no closer to returning to his meal than ever. He couldn't fight his way out, and they weren't going to let him down, so now what? He cocked a brow and tried to turn his eye to look at Dysi. "...I'll eat it if you got it." He was beyond pride when it came to food. There was a reason he fought over scraps, but he would never shrink from hand outs. Though, if it had come from her, he would have pissed on it and walked away.
Velveteen Angel:
Dysi almost dropped the cub when he said that he wouldn’t be able to eat Ishara if she was alive. No, he couldn’t have been serious, could he??? That was so disturbing to Dysi, now he knew he had to try and help the boy. Something to try and save him from the world he thought he was in. He nodded, unable to do so without shaking the cub slightly. “All of it if you want it,” he offered again, and glanced at Ishara. His eyes begged her to be nice, but he doubted she would obey.
“I’ll take you to it,” Dysi said, determined not to put the cub down until there was food to distract him, least Ishara become his meal again.
Ishara was growling, tiny pathetic growls because she was only a cub but she meant them with every fibre of her being. “Not unless I kill you first,” she sulked, just low enough for him to hear it but thankfully not Dysi. Dysi had started to walk towards the foods (she wasn’t sure if Dysi even had food, but she supposed he’d find a bigger carcass and let the feral boy loose on it) and so Ishara began to follow as well, her ear throbbing in pain.
Painted Moose:
Gaige wasn't sure about leaving the area. His eyes darted around, trying to spot his mother somewhere in the bushes or on the grasses, but she was gone. It hurt more with each day to think that she had left him, more so than when his father and sister would leave to go back to their homes. Did that mean he had to find his own home, too? He wanted Mpenzi's home; at least she wasn't alone. She was fatter too, and a lot nicer than this bratty girl. He curled his nose at her, swaying with every step Dysi took. It was weird, to be held without feeling fangs piercing his skin. Despite his empty stomach, his exertions earlier and the gentle swaying were having a rhythmic effect on him. Gaige was beginning to nod off.
-fin-