Chapa'rangi was hungry. He'd finally moved into a more forested area, hoping the added cover might give him better luck in hunting (although he remained close to where it bordered more open plains).
The young leopard grimaced, wishing his colorful pelt blended in with the terrain better - even hunting at night was proving more difficult than he may have hoped.
Slinking through lush greenery, his footfalls were almost silent, every sense alert. Even something small like a rabbit would be a success in his eyes.
A pale cheetah, covered in similarly bright markings, was laying down nearby, although he was not asleep. He was, instead, enjoying the evening. He'd had a successful hunt that afternoon - thankfully, his speed helped make up for his lack of natural camouflage, so he was now taking advantage of the natural cover to help keep him out of sight of other, larger predators. He'd even managed to hide the remainders of his kill, so tomorrow he'd have an easy meal, as well.
Flicking his tail idly, he didn't even flinch when his tail stirred up the leaf litter covering the sandy ground, rustling it carelessly.
Chapa'rangi froze, ears swivelling toward the sound. At this point, he'd try to take on almost anything, even something he might usually have considered too risky. Slinking forward, sloooowly, every inch of him was tense as he tried to be as silent as possible. And...there it was. It looked like...a tail? He didn't hesitate long enough to properly identify what it was, even, before rushing out of the underbrush, a menacing snarl twisting his face, and his claws outstretched.
Raha's eyes widened in panic, the pale cheetah scrambling to his feet, wondering what had prompted the leopard's unprovoked attack. Quickly narrowing them, he thought quickly, feeling the sandy dirt beneath his paws. Moving fast, he scooped up a large paw full, then flung it into the leopard's eyes, a snarl of his own tearing from his throat. "What the ******** is your problem?!" he hissed, stepping out of reach.
Chapa'rangi had frozen when he realized that his "prey" was, in fact a cheetah. Unfortunately for him, it was too late to avoid the initial pounce, or the eyeful of sand and dirt that temporarily blinded him. Yowling for a whole different reason now, he shook his head angrily - most of his ire self-directed. "S-sorry." He finally gritted out, resenting his wasted energy...and now painful, watering eyes. His stomach grumbled its own refrain, an agonizing reminder of just how bad this latest failure was...since it was now unlikely that he'd find anything within a mile of here, after all the noise the pair of them had made.
"I caught a glimpse of your tail moving, and was hungry enough that I didn't stop to see what, exactly, my prey was."
He blinked rapidly, still trying to get the sand out of his eyes.
Raha's snarl lost some of it's menace, and he relaxed...slightly. The leopard didn't seem to be lying, and his posture wasn't one that seemed likely to become a threat, either.
Looking more closely, he could see that the leopard was...visibly struggling, which made his story more believable still...as he looked more closely at the other feline's pelt, he realized he might understand a little better why that was, also. The leopard sported bright, rainbow colored markings on his pelt, very similar to Raha's own, in fact...but leopards didn't have his speed to make up for the difficulty in camouflage.
Sighing aloud, he mentally castigated himself for what he was about to do, although he knew he wouldn't have felt right not doing so. Besides, he could find someting else the next day - he might prefer being lazy, but looking at the leopard in front of him, he wasn't sure how much longer he was going to make it, if he didn't catch something soon. "s**t." He muttered under his breath, barely audible.
Hm. Although, it might be easier for both of them, if the two of them paired up, at least....
With a self-directed nod, he tilted his head slightly, eyeing the dark leopard thoughtfully. "I have some of a kill left over from earlier today, if you'd like." He spoke slowly, as if still considering his options.
"And if you're on your own like I am, it might make things easier for both of us, if we considered travelling together..
At least for awhile." The leopard had been polite and unagressive with a face full of sand, after all...and having a larger cat with him would mean that he might be able to rest a little easier, knowing that they stood a slightly better chance if he ran across someone particularly unfriendly.
And if things didn't work out, he'd be no worse (or better) off than he already was.
Red-rimmed eyes stared back at the cheetah, his shoulders hunching slightly, as if he suspected that this was some sort of cruel joke. "W...why would you share that with me?" His tone was suspicious, and when paired with his rather pitiful state, he would have been embarrassed, if he'd realized what a pathetic sight he made.
Now Raha did roll his eyes. "Probably because you look like you're about to keel over? I may not have been thrilled by your introduction, but I already ate well today, and loners, especially with shitty camouflage like ours, have no one else to watch our backs."
He then raised an eyebrow, expression vaguely (if somewhat sympathetically) mocking.
Chapa'rangi's eyes widened (to somewhat horrifying effect). He'd been so intent on everything else, he hadn't even noticed the cheetah's rainbow markings, so similar to his own. As he really digested what had been said, he looked embarrassed that his sad state was so blatantly obvious...but he also had hit a point where hunger outweighed his pride.
"If you're...sure you don't mind..." he began awkwardly.
Motioning with his head, Raha turned to lead the other young male toward his kill. "I offered, right? And anyway, if we stick together, we'll probably both have an easier time of it, y'know?"
He stumbled in his haste to follow, then stopped short. "Thanks. I'm Chapa'rangi, by the way..."
Raha stopped when he heard the footfalls behind him cease, turning to look back in puzzlement. When Chapa'rangi spoke, however, his expression morphed into an easy grin. "I'm Raha." He replied, motioning the leopard forward, and then continuing to speak when he began moving forward again. "If you don't mind, I think I'll call you Rangi, then - too much of a mouthful, otherwise."
Something eased inside him, and for the first time in what felt like ages, Chapa'rangi felt...hope for the days to come - that things might finally be picking up.
.FIN. (1,122 words)