[PRP] Pelts Pelts Pelts (Filibert x Junius)

[SilverLutz]

Fili snorted softly as he lifted his nose from a pile of snow, lifting a paw to swat at the stuff that remained. He and Cyne had done well so far in looking for pelts for the pride and, should he get a nice haul this time, he'd probably call it a day. Licking his lips to rid his fur of the remaining snow, he pressed on down towards the plains. He limped along slowly, glancing to the sky now and then to make sure his familiar was still within sight. Cyne had been doing very well for herself, finding a few jackal pelts and even carrying them for him so he wouldn't be weighed down under too much fur.

"See anything?" he called up to Cyne, who circled back to fly in front of Fili before landing on the thinning snow.

"Not yet, but hopefully we'll find something soon. I could catch something," she offered, ruffling her feathers. Perhaps there would be a mouse or another small critter she could grab. Their pelts were very tiny, but they could be used to keep the bigger pelts together, or patching up holes. The meat would be good for her to have, too, since her tiny belly was starting to rumble. All this searching had made her pretty hungry.

[5 - Small, torn and barely useable. Worth 1 point.
4 - A large, luxurious pelt from a hyena. Worth 3 points.
4 - A large, luxurious pelt from a hyena. Worth 3 points.
1 + 3 + 3 = 7 points]  

[Tanakako]

Junius scowled down at the pelt before her. She had no idea what it was, or rather, what it had been in life... it was so torn up and of such a small size she assumed it had been a cub of one species or another. Ordinarily she wouldn't have paid it any attention but she had heard the Queen had sent out a call for them.

Sighing heavily, expression set into an attitude of distaste, the High Priestess dipped her head and gingerly picked the scrap of fur up in her teeth.

Well.... now what..? She supposed she should take it back to the dens, or where ever they were being stored. No way did she want to carry is a moment longer than necessary... It tasted like last week's kill!

SilverLut

Oops! I forgot to quote you.. XD;;

Quote:

5, 2, 4
5: Small, torn and barely useable. Worth 1 point.
2: A fair quality jackal pelt. Worth 2 points.
4: A large, luxurious pelt from a hyena. Worth 3 points.
Total = 6

 

[SilverLutz]

Cyne wheeled in the air above Fili before diving down to the ground. She scooped up a mouse and let her hunger get the best of her, tearing into the meal to get to the meat as she flew. When she got back to Fili, the mouse pelt was in tatters, but off the body. The body...well. It was gone.

"Sorry. Couldn't help myself," she said just a bit sheepishly, although there was no regret in her voice. Fili just sighed and took the pelt, tossing it onto his back. It was a mess, but he was sure it could be used for something.

"Next time show a bit of restraint, if you please," he muttered before a brightly colored leopard caught his eye. He glanced at her before realizing he knew who she was. He preferred to keep to himself, but there were some in the pride that you knew on sight, and he knew better than to be rude.

"Out searching for pelts as well, Junius?" he asked with a little bob of his head out of respect. High Priestesses were rare to come by and he was always a little spooked around them with they had their visions, but they were the voice of Shan Furen and commanded his respect.

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

Had Junius been privy to his thought she would have been offended he thought there was more than one of her. She may hate her job and loath those idiots who wanted to take it from her, but dammit, at least she was the only one currently holding the position. And would be until either her visions stopped, or she died. Which was part of why she was so damn grumpy all the time but that ship had long sailed. She would never be able to go back to being a guard, and that promotion to Captain of the Guard? Forget it.

Sighing heavily again she turned, planning on heading back to the colony when a voice called out to her. Rolling her eyes she grit her teeth, puncturing further holes in the scrap of skin she held. Feeling her ire ratchet up another notch she struggled against the desire to grind her teeth in irritation. Now what?

Snapping her amber gaze to the intruder she frowned faintly. Ahh.. it was that scholar, Filibert and his overly-cheerful companion Cyneburg. Swallowing her anger, a rare thing for the High Priestess to bother doing, she turned fully and set the scrap back down, pulling a face at its rancid taste. "Sadly yes..." She offered in a surprisingly civil tone. But she knew this particular cat, as her den was right near the one the scholars shared and of all the general colony occupants, he and his fellows seemed less inclined to bother her about her visions or talk about her behind her back. Maybe because they tended to be insular and constantly distracted by their own thoughts. But whatever the reason, she liked them generally more than she did the rest of the colony.

"Found this thing and figured if Elisheba wants them, she can use something this bad. Though what for I have no idea." Shrugging she eyed his own collection. He was doing well, good for him. "I'm considering giving up and hunting.. I'm hungry."

SilverLutz

Sorry I dropped the ball on this. I've been really ill and probably should have been in the hospital at one point. But Im on the mend so going to try and get back onto this.

 

[SilverLutz]

Cyne spotted the leopardess as well and, knowing she wasn't the most friendly of sorts, took off into the sky to resume the hunt. There had to be more than just little scraps lying around! She headed off in the direction they had been going in originally, keen eyes scanning the ground.

Fili nodded just a bit, motioning to the barely usable scrap on his back that Cyne had demolished. "Little luck for us as well recently. We were lucky and came across a group of frozen jackals earlier, but after that, nothing. Hopefully whatever Cyne finds next will be too big for her to eat." He rolled his eyes just a bit. He cared for his companion above all else, but there were times her leap before you look personality clashed with his own. Still, she meant well, and a mouse or whatever the sorry creature had been certainly was hardly worth the effort.

Almost as soon as he had spoken Cyne was back, a smug expression on her face. "I've found another dead group of travelers," she said, fluffing up her feathers in delight. "Hyenas at that. There's a nice little group about one hundred paces to the east."

Fili graced Cyne with a rare smile before looking up at Junius. "Well...I certainly won't be able to get them all myself. Care to join us? Their meat might still be edible too, to help with your hunger."

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

Glancing at the sad scrap of skin sat up on the cheetah's back, Junius nodded as she licked her chops, trying to get rid of the rancid flavour of her own useless scrap. “Well, I wish you both luck in the hunt.” She paused, suddenly realising she had no idea what lse to say in regards to his words. He seemed a nice enough male and strangely she didn’t really want to piss him off, as she usually did. Had it really been so long since she had held a civil conversation with someone other than the Queen? She supposed it must have been… at least since the news of her visions had swept the colony like a disease and everyone she had once called friend had turned their back on her.

Swallowing a sigh she pushed those memories away. That anger, while a close friend to her these days, was not going to aid her in this situation. At that moment, just as the silence was getting a little awkward, the bird returned. Lifting her gaze she wondered what it would be like to have a familiar.. a friend who would be on your side no matter what. It was enough to raise a sense of longing in the hard-hearted female but she ignored it. Such things never happened to her…

“I….” His sudden offer shocked her and she could only stare helplessly at him for a moment, struggling to come up with any kind of reaction, so deeply had he surprised her. Finally she offered the tiniest of hesitant smiles, barely a quirk of lips but it was the first soft expression the maligned female had made in a long time.

“I would… “ Padding forwards after picking up her scrap without even a grimace at its taste she turned to the bird, Cyneburg, expectantly. “Thank you..” She added in a softer tone, a self-depreciating smile curling her maw. She knew she wasn’t exactly a very polite leopard, not any more, she just hoped he didn’t take her querulous temper personally.

SilverLutz

Damnit I am so sorry. I didnt get the notification for this.

 

[SilverLutz]

Both cheetah and bird waited for a response quietly, giving Junius some time to process the request. The Mlima were generally a giving group, especially among one another, but there were a few sour grapes in the group that could spoil it for everyone. While Fili was grumpy and didn't enjoy company all the time, there were moments when his old self shone through. He could relate to other scowling members of the pride and that unspoken kinship was usually what it took to melt his heart just enough to show a big of kindness.

Cyne gave a delighted chirp as the leopardess agreed and she fluttered off once again to lead the way. "Good! There's lots of them and I don't think Fili is strong enough to carry them all back on his own."

"Hey," Fili said sharply as his friend circled away, laughing above them.

"You know it's true!" the bird called down from on high. And it was. Ever since the avalanche and his wound he could barely walk, let alone run to do heavy lifting. He hadn't been the strongest of cheetahs before hand, but at least he could pull his own weight. Cyne knew it was a sore subject with her friend, but she also knew he'd never get over it if he didn't build up a bit of a tough skin to the teasing.

"This way," she said, circling once more before heading off in the direction of the find.

Fili shook his head just a bit and turned to follow her, trying not to limp. It was his natural gait to do so now but he disliked showing weakness in front of others, so when around company he tried to hide it as best he could.

"She is right, though, as much as I'm loathe to admit it," he muttered quietly to Junius.

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

Junius chuckled at the bird’s cheeky calls. Glancing sideways at her unexpected companion she cocked a brow as they moved off. Certainly his lamness was noticeable, but she did not think any less of him for it. After all, to have survived the catastrophe was remarkable all on its own. So many of their number had not.

His comment softened her expression and she looked at him briefly as they walked, relying on him to follow his bird-friend’s directions so they didn’t stray. “I think it shows strength of character.” She mused, only partly to him. “To possess an injury and yet refuse to let it define your life.” A tiny hint of admiration touched her tone, along with a wistfulness that was unlike her. Her own ’injury’ was not something she could over come by sheer will, or deny. Not when that same wound had left such a gaping hole in her life. The loss of her happiness and freedom in return for an ability she had neither wanted nor asked for.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Tanakako

Guuuuuuh I'm sorry! DX I didn't get notified of this quote ;; WE WERE SO CLOSE XD;;;; This is last post from me.

Fili felt the fur on the back of his neck and down his spine prickle a bit as Junius spoke of his injury. He knew she didn't mean anything rude by it - in fact, if the admiration in her voice was anything to go by, it was the exact opposite - but the loss of his pregnant mate and his ability to run were still too fresh in his mind to see anything more than what the wound was: a reminder of what he had lost.

"Perhaps," was all he said on the matter as they approached Cyne and her find. The bird sat on the head of one of the dead hyenas, preening proudly. It was quite a haul that she had discovered and she had every right to look for praise.

"See?" she said with a happy chirp. "More than enough to go around between the two of you!" She wheeled away after that to let the cheetah and leopard figure out who would get what and how they'd get it back to the pride. That wasn't her concern, she was more interested in finding another snack. All this hunting made her hungry! It was a good thing little mice and rodents were easy to spot in the snow. They left such lovely tracks that it was hard not to catch one.  

[Tanakako]

Spotting his discomfiture at her comment the priestess shut her jaw swiftly, turning her eyes ahead as she did so. This was why she stayed away from others, why she kept her own company and generally chased off anyone who tried to be friendly to her. She simply wasn't social, not any more. Maybe it was a skill like hunting, that if left for too long, atrophied and died, never to be regained. Mentally scolding herself for having forgotten her self-imposed isolations, Januis was glad when the bird and the dead hyenas came into view, offering a distraction from her downward spiralling thoughts.

"Thank you." She said, addressing the bird and including her cheetah companion in the sentiment, though her voice had lost the faint hint of warmth it had gained so very briefly. Striding forwards Janius set her claws to work. There was no point in dragging the whole lot back up to their pride, they only needed the skins. At this point she was willing to skin the lot and give them to Fili, or even carry them up for him and then leave. She needed away, needed to be alone as the darkness that was constantly a part of her now started to creep forwards.