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 Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 4:44 am
 Jibanza paused.
The prey was right in front of her... just standing there, stationary, still. Waiting to be pulled down and devoured. She licked her lips, and slowly crept closer, pulling her body along the ground.
A klipspringer! And it was alone, without a herd to protect it! Perfect...
Jibanza, although she was just a pup, knew that she could possibly have a chance. How happy she'd make her family... bringing back a yummy klipspringer lunch for everyone to eat. She could even show her brothers that she meant business, and that being a female pup didn't slow her down at all.
Eyeing the klipspringer, Jibanza felt herself drooling a little at the thought of ripping into it's sweet, tender flesh. What a meal!
The Klipspringer bent her head down, oblivious to the wild-dog pup that was now stalking her. Jibanza grinned.
A chance!
She wondered if she should take the leap. Jibanza really needed a hunting instructor, or mentor, or something. In the end, she leapt, jaws wide open, ready to snap at the prey.
She missed. Jibanza's aim was way off, as per usual, and the little wild dog came crashing to the ground. Damn!
The klipspringer looked up, puzzled, then narrowed her brow.
"You weren't trying to... kill me, were you?" the klipspringer asked, edging forward crossly. Jibanza trembled. Now, the prey she was hunting seemed rather... scary. It was twice her size, and was shooting her an irritated glare.
"N...now, there's no reason to get angry..." Jibanza stumbled back. The klipspringer stepped forward. The words had no effect on the hoofed creature... it did look angry.
She looked around desperately, hoping there would be someone nearby that could help her.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 5:06 am
"I do not believe that to be a wise decision." said a cool female voice. A light grey hyena stepped up from behind the klipspringer.
"I understand that you hooved..." the hyena thought to come up with a word. "Things...are powerful creatures, but you are willing to risk your dignity over fighting a little creature?" the hyena sighed. She glanced at the young animal who seemed o be the prey now.
"Leave her alone." she said in a more harsher voice. The hair on her back stood straight up, and she was close to baring her teeth.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 5:36 am
 Chachili felt pretty annoyed.
First, a little brat seemed to have this bright idea about pouncing on her for dinner. And then, she'd been angry about it... and rightfully so! The pup had wanted her for lunch, after all.
And now, this... this thing had come up to her. Chachili hadn't seen one of these creatures before. It looked like a kind of... dog. But with much more hair.
She stepped forward, brow furrowed.
"I will have you know that this young... brat wanted to... ah, what was it again?"
"Kill you?..." the wild-dog suggested.
Chachili glared at it, growling.
"Those are the words. Kill me," she shot a glance at the stranger, "I think I have the right to defend myself, don't you? Or am I just 'prey' to you?..." she stepped forward, menacingly. She wouldn't stand for this.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 5:47 am
The hyena sniffed the air. "You've never seen a hyena?" she ask increduously (sp?) "Wow, you are a lucky one. Good thing I have morals or you might have been a snack by now." the hyena commented.
"Now listen, of course she tried to kill you. It's nature. Put yourself in her shoes, would you not do the same?" the hyena attempted reasoning.
"Please do not make me fight you. I don't like eating hooves." she said with a low almost growlike sound.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 6:08 am
Chachili felt enraged. She hated it when others reffered to her as 'prey'. It always felt so disrespectful, like everyone was talking down upon her, like she was nothing but a 'meal on legs'. She tried to shake it off. Predators were sometimes stupid creatures. They did things like that. They spilt blood.
"Well, I'm sorry I was born, hyena," Chachili growled, stepping forward, "And to you," she shot a glare Jibanza's way, "Apologies that I didn't end up in your stomach. But I have fawns to defend."
Jibanza shrunk, and looked a little guilty. Tail between her legs, she ducked behind Kilima, seeing her as a kind of 'guardian' for now. The stranger seemed strong... and could offer her protection from the scary hoofed thing that was staring her down.
Chachili snorted, lowering her head. If only she had horns! The males of her former herd all possessed them, and they were handy things, especially when making charges. Her fawns, both boys, were also males, and had the little spikes upon their heads. Chachili wished for them. They would come in handy for times like this.
Her fawns were hidden not so far off, and the klipspringer felt very... well, she felt protective... and frightened. She had to attack these intruders, lest they find her little ones.
She lowered her head.
"I'll charge," she hissed, "Unless you get lost."
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 6:26 am
Kilima sighed. "Well, I never said I'd eat you. I dont eat animals like you." she said, and turned around, finding Jibanza there.
She blinked, and sighed.
Kilima looked over her shoulder at Chachili, "Well, if you ever decide to actually be nice and need the services of a hyena, look for Kilima, me. Although, keep threatening people and you should be safe enough." Kilima stated, then she began to walk away, flicking her head at the younger pup in a 'follow me' gesture.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 6:39 am
Jibanza didn't need to be told twice. She yipped, bounced over and followed the hyena, trailing close behind.
Chachili, on the other hand, was finding it hard to control her pounding heart. It was beating furiously... fast, like she had never felt it beat before. She'd been scared, really, and afraid for her fawns. Her heart-beat slowed as the hyena and the wild-dog pulled away. And then, the hyena said something
A name.
Chachili's ears flicked. There was something she could trust about those who told her their names. It was a strange habbit of hers, one she couldn't shake off, and she found it strange that she didn't have to ask this... 'Kilima' for her name. Walking forward, she called to the hyena.
"Then, we can meet again. I'll show you a real klipspringer, then! One that isn't weighed down by fawns," she grinned, then reared on her hind legs, "Remember the name 'Chachili', alright? We'll settle our argument then..."
Though, she didn't say this spitefully. Instead, she chuckled, and drew back to the hidden place where her fawns lay, sleeping. At least the hyena was leading the brat away from her babies... and Chachili was thankful for that.
Jibanza, on the other hand, was shaken. She followed Kilima, shivering a little, and shocked from the encounter with the scary ugulate. Hoofed mammals sure were... frightening!
"T-t-thankyou... Ms Kilima," she stammered, remembering the name from when Kilima had been speaking to Chachili, "Sorry for bothering you..."
She looked to the floor, ashamed.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 6:59 am
Kilima raised an eyebrow. If hyenas had eyebrows. "It's just Kilima." she said.
"And you didn't bother me, if you had been bothering me, I wouldn't have stepped in in the first place." she explained. Kilima was still mulling over the last words of the klipspringer.
"And don't fear them, ignore them, unless you absolutely have to, then try and head for the sick or old, not he healthy vibrant ones." Kilima advised, giving the pup a half smile.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 9:48 pm
Jibanza nodded, taking in Kilima's words. She seemed like a strong, wise animal... a hyena?
She realised, startled, that she had seen Kilima's type before. Her first ever friend, who she'd met just days before, had been a hyena pup... 'X'. Realising this, she smiled, and using her 'puppy logic', she reasoned that all hyenas might be just as nice as X and Kilima were. Which was a foolish thing to think, as Jibanza had no knowledge that some hyena's could be rather... well, nasty, to say the least.
"But, Ms... uh, I mean, Kilima," Jibanza shuffled along, trying to catch up to the hyena's pace, "Was it right to... y'know, bring down prey like that. I mean, we have to eat, don't we?"
She sighed, and nodded again as Kilima spoke. Bring down the sick, the weak, the young. Chachili had been healthy, and guarding fawns made her even more formidable and aggressive than before.
Gratitude welled up inside the young pup. If Chachili had gotten to her before Kilima had come in, she would have come out of the fight with a black eye.
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Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 2:55 am
Kilima gave the pup a wolfish grin. "Don't worry about her now, worry about what's ahead." she said, following her own advice and looking up. "Your not gone today, so worry about tomorow." she said, squinting in the sunlight. She prefered dark dormains than broad daylight on the plains. It made her stick out, a silver hyena?
"Let's just hope we don't run into anything else. Where are, were you headed?" she asked.
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 11:41 pm
Jibanza sulked, but nodded. She still felt a little ashamed of herself... not as much for causing Kilima for going out of her way to save her, no, Kilima had already said that that was okay.
But the fact that she couldn't hunt a mere prey animal? Shame. The feeling seeped through her like water through fur. What would her brothers think, had they seen her first hunting attempt? Oh, the humanity!
Kilima's voice suddenly sliced through Jibanza's thoughts, and she was alerted once more.
"Ah... where am I... headed?" she looked around, struggling to find something to say, "Ah... nowhere, in particular. If I wander too far, Mummy will worry about me. But someday, I dream of going to the jungle with X!"
Jibanza didn't even stop to think if Kilima knew who X was. She assumed she'd be familiar with her pal, as On X was a hyena, too. They'd have to know eachother, right?
She paused, then her ears twitched. A sound, riding the wind. A howl. A call, bidding her to come home.
"Kilima," Jibanza whirled around, then looked the hyena in the eye, "Uh... thankyou for today. I could've become klipspringer meat. Really, I apprechiate your help, I really do."
She looked up to the hyena, and saw an animal that was... well, a friend. Hyenas, Jibanza decided, were good animals. Naive as that was to think (as not all animals of one species are to be trusted), that is what Jibanza thought.
"I gotta' be off," the calls for her were getting louder, stronger, "Otherwise my share of dinner will be eaten up quickly! Thankyou, again! I hope we meet again, sometime. I'll prove to you that I can hunt."
And with that, Jibanza turned tail and ran off into the distance.
Home.
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