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 Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 11:21 pm
1.] At the Beginning with You... || Incomplete
Daimyn's tufted tail lashed every so often in agitation as he walked. The path before them was an endless one made of safannah in the foreground, mountains in the far-off distance, and the smell of water somewhere distant, perhaps to the east?
He shifted direction, heading toward the source of water. He could use a drink, and he'd bet Ausi'Juu was probably thirsty aswith luck there would be a herd of zebras or something to prey upon.
He glanced back toward the lioness. They hadn't said much for a long while. When traveling in a group it had been bearable; now it was simply a long stretch of uncomfortable silence.
Ausi'Juu, meanwhile, didn't make eye contact unless she was making it clear that she was expressing barely restrained annoyance. What an idiot, first leading them out here, not even having the common sense to get trustworthy lackies-- for goodness sake.
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 11:47 pm
2.] First there were two, and then there were four.
Daimyn's tufted tail lashed every so often in agitation as he walked. The path before them was an endless one made of savannah in the foreground, mountains in the far-off distance, and the smell of water somewhere distant, perhaps to the east?
The hot desert had long passed by; tonight Daimyn managed to find an outcropping of rock against a backdrop of grassy plains. It would serve as a decent shelter tonight, and he was in no particular hurry.
He shifted direction, heading toward the source of water. He could use a drink, and he'd bet Ausi was probably thirsty aswith luck there would be a herd of zebras or something to prey upon.
He glanced back toward the lioness. They hadn't said much for a long while. When traveling in a group it had been bearable; now it was simply a long stretch of uncomfortable silence.
"Let's stop here today."
He lifted his nose to test the air, breathing in whatever scent he could. A cheetah mother and two cubs; those he could see with his eyes. A pair of lions; he made a brief note to avoid them, but they didn't concern him much. A small herd of giraffes, and -- there, that was what he was looking for. The thick musk of zebra and wildebeest. They weren't far by any means; they could take down their kill, eat their fill and leave it for the scavengers to pick at.
He eyed the black lioness, his ears perked. "Fancy a hunt?" Traditionally it was the lionesses who shared the job of hunting, but in a two-lion pride it certainly wasn't feasable.
Ausi followed alongside the male silently. Though she no longer carried any anger since a few days ago, things were still rather tense between them. It wasn't for sure if things were better or not, but they were certainly more akward. She'd become stoic and quiet in the passing days, consumed by her own thoughts of nostalgia and such. She didn't have much to say to Daimyn to start with, really...
When the male asked if she was up for a hunt, Ausi simply nodded quietly, feeling hunger as well, and more strongly than usual with the new life growing inside of her. It wouldn't be much longer that she'd begin showing, and hunting would become more difficult. She needed to be more cautious now already, so large game while they could was a good idea.
One thing could be said for them, Ausi was depending on Daim for protection, and she did show some level of trust by letting her guard down-- intentional or not.
He started at a trot toward the mingled scents of zebra and wildebeest, finding the familiar scent of water. All the easier, then. A large group of preybeasts made finding the weak or young relatively easy -- but it would be more difficult leading them away from the protection of their herd.
He glanced back at Ausi'Juu, for no more than an instant -- he was avoiding her gaze more often, though trying to keep his tone light and friendly. She was sullen most of the time, offering no more than a simple nod or monosyllabic answer. Well, it was really no wonder. If their places were reversed, he doubted he'd be wanting to have tea and crumpets with her, either.
Still. He was truly sorry for what he'd done; he'd realized and come to terms with that fact by now. There was nothing he could do for her but stick by her, help her, and take care of her.
They reached the waterhole easily enough, and he huddled in the tall grass near the edge of the clearing.
"Heh. What's this? Two strangers, intruding onto our lands?"
Daimyn whirled, startled, and cursing himself for not paying more attention to scents. Before them stood two male lions, evidently the two he'd scented earlier. "What do you want?"
Ausi'Juu followed seemingly completely loyal-- if not dazed, behind the male, coming up along side him to settle in the grasses. She didn't even have a chance to survey the scene before a predatorial growl sounded. Two sea green eyes stared piercingly back at her as she looked up.
"In'it mighty considerate of him, askin' what we want before he even knows a thing about us? Well then, mate," He smirked. "Since you did ask.... we'll take the female in exchange for your life. Sound like a fair deal?"
"...." Instinct urged her to take shelter behind Daimyn, but pride kept her rooted... or perhaps fear...
Daimyn emitted a snarl, not used to being treated in such a manner. The fact that they did seem to be intruding never even crossed his mind.
"I've a better offer," he growled. "How about you leave and I let you keep both your hides?"
Not a chance. But Daimyn wasn't a lion to step down from an obvious challenge.
Ausi was, again, thankful for Daimyn's protection, especially now. She was much more frightened than she cared to let on, after what she'd already been put through. Two of them? God no!
"You plan to start a fight with us?" The second male smirked, rising to his paws with deadly grace.
"If I have to. It's your decision." Daimyn's own claws flexed in response, his golden eyes narrowed. "Which will it be, lads?"
The first male snorted. "You better not be expecting help from Pipsqueak. She doesn't look like she could harm a fieldmouse. Tough odds, there, mate. Better to just hand her over and run."
Ausi'Juu would've certainly kept her mouth shut, but at the "pipsqueak" insult her blood boiled a bit. With a snarl she stepped forward at Daimyn's side, stance making it clear. Daimyn wasn't going to fight alone.
"Who are you calling pipsqueak, a*****e?!"
The rogue male wasn't fazed. If anything, his amused smirk grew wider. He stepped up to her, his pace a shifty slink, until he was directly in her face. "I'm callin' YOU pipsqueak. Gorgeous."
Damyn let a loose snarl tear its way out of his throat, stalking up closer to Ausi'Juu and facing the rogue, still keeping an eye on the other. A staredown, of sorts -- until someone did something.
Ausi'Juu didn't step down, eyes narrowing dangerously instead. If Daimyn hadn't stepped in it was doubtful that she wouldn't have torn into him one way or another.
The other rogue, meanwhile, approached the group as well with a rattling growl in his throat. He stopped on Daimyn's other side.
Ausi finally did resign to sidestepping a little closer to Daimyn, but made no sign that she was going to back down or turn tail and run. If they wanted a fight then they'd get one, and they'd find out the hard way that they weren't just dealing with some passive homemaker.
The first rogue grinned at his cohort. "Awww, lookitem...! So cute and --"
Daimyn roared, drowning out whatever else the scrawny lion had to say and leaping towards the other's chest with his claws outstretched. He'd had enough of their fun and games -- he and Ausi didn't have time for this.
The other rogue seemed surprised by Daimyn's loss in patience, and twitched in response to the roar. He was about to step in to help his friend when the female spoke up again--
Ausi had let her gears begin to turn at that moment. Stupid males and their stupid predictable territorial issues, always thinking with their crotch first and their morals second. Hey, wait-- that might work!
"Daimyn! Wait!" She yelled, eyes flickering with realization.
Uh -- NOT the greatest time to strike up a conversation!
Daimyn managed to back off and wheel around, keeping his eyes on both of them. "What?" His tone relayed impatience, irritance -- he was eager to beat these two to a pulp and get on with their journey.
The first rogue would have taken advantage of this momentary distraction, had he not been taken up by it as well.
~Well, here goes nothing....~
"Maybe they're right..."
"......." HUH?
Ausi began padding forward, kings-above only knew how inwardly aware of the flaws in this plan she was. Despite knowing it was likely to work she also knew there to be a chance it wouldn't, for something to go wrong. Daimyn was bound to be confused, angry and probably convinced she wasn't worth all this trouble by the time she was done weaving the complicated distraction.
She approached the first rogue, glancing over her shoulder to Daimyn and winking discreetly while saying-- "You shouldn't get hurt over me."
At this point the female turned her jade-colored eyes to the male before her, closing the distance slowly and with a pleading look.
"If I go with you, will you promise to let him be?"
Twitch. ~I'm still here you know.~ Thought the other rogue.
The rogue smirked, with barely a glance at his "friend". "I may be a rogue... but my word is gold." His voice was dark and husky, his eyes slanted dangerously. What game was this female playing, if any?
Daimyn's eyes widened, stared a moment. She surely wouldn't just give herself over to him... for his sake? Then he caught her wink, and the pieces fell into place. This was a ploy. What exactly her brain had thought up, he wasn't sure -- but for the moment, he'd play along. He gave a minute nod before giving a snarl, displaying his dislike over this apparent turn of events.
She visibly faultered at the tone used, but tried to keep her strong front up. She refused to think about where this was going. "Then give me your word that you'll leave him alone, and I'll p.... pledge myself to you."
... A lie, of course. Just because the rogue claimed his word was gold, didn't mean that as a former princess hers had to be.
"Now wait a minute. You mean you'll pledge yourself to us!"
The first rogue ignored his companion's outburst. HE ran the brains of this outfit, not the scumbag who called himself a lion. He searched her eyes for a moment before snapping "Done!" He lifted his gaze to the white male before him, who was clearly not happy with this. "Leave. Your girl here has just bought your freedom. Don't let it go to waste."
Daimyn didn't move. He watched the three closely, waiting for some kind of signal from Ausi. He still had no idea what she was up to, and he wasn't leaving without her.
Ausi averted her eyes after the rogue seem satisfied by what he found there, and slunk to his side, out of the other male's line of view. Once she was hidden from the other, and at the leader's side, she looked to Daimyn with an apologetic expression for anyone that was looking her way.
Well, the first rogue's "second in command" didn't much like the way that this was going. With a growl he stalked away from Daimyn and towards the other two, eyes squared on Ausi with no regard for his comrade. He siddled up beside her and gave her shoulder a rough buffet, signaling that they were leaving.
"Let's go. Your ours now."
Ausi flinched away from the touch and conicidentally bumped into the other male, herding closer to him as if for shelter. She didn't go as far as to verbally provoke either just yet, but the message her body language gave was clear. Her deal was with the boss, not the lackey.
The second rogue growled again in agitation, and glared from her to the other, and akwardly at Daimyn, then back again. He was being made to look like a fool here!
"Who said anything about 'ours'?" growled the first. He strolled forward, his body language authoritative and dominant. "She's mine. Back off." The last few words were backed by a snarl, displaying his teeth.
Daimyn could have kissed Ausi. He understood what she was doing -- turning the two idiots against each other. With any luck, they'd either get too caught up in their own arguement, or take each other out without he or Ausi lifting a paw.
Ausi, at first, didn't move, only ducking down submissively to stay out of the males' way. Only when the second rogue seemed furious enough to meet the challenge did she pull herself out of harms way.
The second bared his fangs and gave a rattled roar of protest, of challenge. "You always pull this crap! You think you'd be so bad if you didn't have me backing you up, you arrogant b*****d? Well I'm not taking your crap anymore, if you won't share her then I'll just TAKE her from you!"
"Back me up?" The first sneered. "Try me saving your a**. You really think you can take me?" By now he was circling the other, his head low. The threat was voiced in a roar. "Bring it on."
He didn't really think his long-time comrade would fight him. His claws out and fangs bared, he made an intimidating sight -- and as far as he was concerned, the second had never been much for courage or brains.
Unbeknownst to the first, Ausi was behind his back and sent the second a tempting look from where she now stood, as if waiting for the outcome of the battle to see which male would win the right to claim her. One does stupid and crazy things when in lust. With this in mind it wasn't so surprising when the smaller male belted out a return roar to accept his travel-partner's challenge, and lunged full on with all the arrogant confidence that adrenaline brought to the narrow minded.
Ausi'Juu took her chance, while the second was distracted and the first had his back to her, she slipped off further out of the way and around to Daimyn's side. The two were blinded by their own urges to beat out the other, it was the perfect opprotunity to slip off undetected while the heat of battle had their minds clouded in testosterone.
The first met the second's lunge with outstretched paws, trying to knock the other over. This fight had been long in the making as he had bossed the other around for quite a while -- taking the larger and better share than everything, with any excuse he could think of.
This wasn't Daimyn's fight anymore. He saw Ausi'Juu's discreet approach, and with an eye on the fighting pair, led her away to safer ground. The two rogues never even noticed, and they would be long gone before the fight was over, whatever the outcome.
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