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 Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 7:24 pm
 Mfuto wandered down the river, away from the jungle. He walked with his head down, shaggy mane hanging in his face. He needed away from home again.
Just a few short days ago, he had forged away from the den, into the jungle, driven off by discomfort over Uten's sadness. But events in the borders of the jungle, particularly the meeting of his new friend Narcissus, had convinced him to return to his makeshift family and support them. He had done so with great enthusiasm.
That was then. It was one thing when just Uten was sullen. It had taken longer to notice Alana, for she was a quiet thing, and birth had exhausted her. But now even she seemed downcast, and Mfuto couldn't comprehend why. He always thought new babies were supposed to make everyone happy! Why wasn't everyone happy?
Mag had started spending more and more time away from the gang's den, and now so had Mfuto. He couldn't stand all the misery. It was infectious, and it got to him. So now he traveled down river, hoping to run into someone who might be a good distraction, a new friend...
Of course, in Mfuto's world, everyone he met was a potential new friend.
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Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 10:19 pm
Another figure prowled the outer jungle, a sinister figure clad in white pelt, her head adorned with a massive ram skull bearing dark horns that curved menacingly. Massive paws armed with dark talons scared the earth with each step. She was a large lion, her massive size inherited from her immortal father, the adolescent had already grown larger than the average lion. Her form was sleek and powerful, muscles rippling with deadly grace at every movement. She was indeed the true image of a warrior, the bloody general.
Blood red eyes narrowed as Mahakali stalked through the jungle, tail flicking in irritation, hear ears pinned backward. While her ram skull helmet had all but become a part of her, her own skull and neck accustomed to the added weight, her eyes achieving their full range of motion through large sockets; she was not accustomed to the jungle or the dense foliage that limited her vision and made her steps more difficult. And then there was the noise, chattering, chirping, and squawking assaulted her senses and put the already dark lioness in a dangerous mood.
The lioness snarled as she lifted one paw to smack away a large jungle leaf that foolishly placed itself in her path. What a wretched place, she much preferred the harsh desert terrain, the barren landscape to the far north, she could feel the pain and blood of wars past through her paws and it exhilarated her. But here it was just noise everywhere, and as soon as she remembered why she'd come her in the first place she'd be leaving, never to return.
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 8:08 am
Mfuto hadn't got far when he got to thinking that maybe he should head back home. Every time he forged out into new territory, guilt eventually struck him. It was an odd feeling, one he was not generally accustomed to. He didn't know quite what it meant, either... all he knew was that something about leaving Uten, Alana, and Heu behind made him feel bad in a different way from how staying with them made him feel bad.
Utterly confused by this, Mfuto paused at the jungle's edge, where the trees were thinnest, and he sat by the riverside. Here, he stared at the water, briefly hypnotized by it's movements.
He was alerted to the sound of a snarl nearby. He looked up and scanned the area with bright green eyes. Not far away he spied the form of a large lioness stalking through the foliage. Hm. She didn't seem terribly happy either. Mfuto thought that, perhaps, there was something in the air making everyone in the world unhappy. That certainly would explain an awful lot.
But Mfuto himself brightened, with a smile. Perhaps, he thought, perhaps he could cheer this lioness up... then he could have another new friend, and that could make everything better. Picking himself up, Mfuto called out cheerfully, "Heyas miss! Is yous otay!?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2007 6:09 pm
Her ears flicked, eyes narrowing behind bleached sockets as her head turned toward the naive voice, a deadly snarl forming at the edge of her maw, talons flexing from large paws. There was no pleasure in her expression, her gaze held none of her usual sadistic glee. Today she was irritated, angry, volatile as an explosive set to unleash her fury on whatever unfortunate soul dared wander into her path.
She was every bit a predator, her body falling into a stalking crouch, her head slung low as she glared at the adolescent lion through burning red eyes, the ram skull she wore giving her the appearance of a true demon. Dark talons sliced through the leafy earth with a sickening crunch with each step she drew closer.
"I am far more so than you will be."
Her voice was a cold snarl, words spoken through menacing fangs, tail flicking as a serpent with each accent.
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Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2007 9:49 pm
The calico lion regarded the wicked female with confusion, head cocked to the side like a curious dog. Her stance, her expression were something unfamiliar to him. Sometimes he'd seen Mag wear an expression somewhat similar, but never quite so extreme. He didn't quite comprehend it... though he was sure it was some form of unhappiness.
And after a moment of dark looks, she addressed him. That was an odd voice. "Whatcha mean by thats?" he inquired. Mfuto thought he felt perfectly okay. Did she know something he didn't? His brow furrowed in perplexion as he considered it, and he proceded to give himself a rather serious headache trying to reason it out. In the world of joy and sunshine Mfuto perceived, there was no such thing as rage. It was something he had yet to experience.
Not much longer now...
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2007 6:44 pm
"Allow me to show you."
Her maw parted, lips curled around demonic fangs. There would be no more words from now on, only pain and terror inflicted on a pitiful creature that would never dare cross her path again. And if he survived he would think twice next time about who he spoke to, the bloody general would see to that.
It happened in a flash. Large paws splayed, talons born like obsidian daggers, a fierce roar falling from her jaws to echo ominously through the jungle, piercing the eerie silence that suddenly consumed the forest like a hellish fog. There may have been time to react, but she had already charged, powerful form surging toward her target, talons slashing, jaws snapping.
She did not hold back, there was no game. Her intent was vicious and hellish, she intended to destroy this lion. Using her weight and skill to her advantage she attacked with her full fury, talons slashing at a vulnerable flank, jaws searching for the neck.
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Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2007 9:00 am
Mfuto was only allowed a second further to be confused before Kali launched herself at him. The innocent adolescent stared wide-eyed and frozen at the general, uncertain of what to do, unable to move. What is she doing? he wondered, but only for a moment before her claws struck his side, digging crimson grooves. He yelped and tried to leap away, but her teeth dug into the scruff of his neck.
The chaos of it all resurrected some bare flashes of memory in the back of his mind. He recalled the echoing sound of gunfire and his father falling at his mother's feet, lions scattering everywhere as shots rang out, and himself caught in the middle of it. They had fired at him too, but his mother... she had stood before him and taken the shot for him.
No. His parents had sacrificed themselves to save him, and he would not be lost now. Briefly Mfuto had thought himself well locked into Kali's grasp, but the male was skinnier and a good bit smaller than the general, and in a snake-like maneuver, he managed to wriggle out of her grip with only minimal tearing to his neck and bolted, instinct taking over for lacking intelligence.
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Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2007 8:28 pm
As talons met flesh, the massive paw curled, driving the infernal blades into hide, tearing cruelly at the flesh beneath rending that precious life-giving fluid from the hapless creature. Jaws were vicious and cruel, fangs seeking hide through mane, lusting for the metallic tasted of innocent blood. With a powerful bite, the lioness' head shook viciously, neck tensing with each ripple of muscle.
But the young male was fast and agile, and shaken from her grip, the lioness was left with her paws on the jungle earth once again with nothing but a mouth full of fur and a tinge of metal. But that would not be the end of it, her fury would not be quelled so easily, and an instant later she was in motion again, charging after the male with a vicious snarl biting at his heals.
She was like a raging bull, breaking through low branches and shrubs head first, the ram skull taking the brunt of the force, talons slicing whatever else lay between her and her intended target. She was slow in this terrain, out of her element, but she was powerful and her strides were long; she would not be kept from her prize.
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:51 am
Mfuto bounded along, weaving back and forth between trees like a frightened gazelle, in the hopes that perhaps the multiple directional changes might lose his assailant. Of course, he wasn't exactly thinking of the trail of scent and drops of blood he was leaving in his wake. He couldn't remember having been so scared since he was a cub. "Uten!" he cried out. "Alana!" But his friends were not anywhere near, and could not save him.
He panted hard as he ran. His side was sore and bleeding, and his legs and lungs hurt from exertion. Aside from his bird hunting, he hadn't had to run this hard in a rather long time. He needed an escape, a way out, but he didn't see anything, and he had no ideas. Dumb, dumb, DUMB! he scolded himself in the back of his mind. He wanted to cry. He didn't know what to do.
Distracted by his own distress, Mfuto tripped over a protruding tree root and hit the ground, hard. Dirt got into his wounds, and he hissed in pain. Knowing the stakes, he scrambled to get back on all fours and running again before the terrible female pursuing him got a hold of him again.
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 5:55 pm
The massive skull would prove to be as much of a hindrance as it was an advantage. For while it allowed the murderous demon to snap through branches without harm, the curved horns were also easily tangled in the dense brush. The lioness had to twist her neck more than once to break free of ensnaring vines and branches, each time falling further behind, and each time her fury growing until it blinded her.
But she did not stop, and though she fell further behind, her snarls only grew louder, a vicious cry that broke through the jungle as if hades itself had opened under her. She was relentless, determined that he prey would not escape, even if she had to tear down every tree in the jungle to get to him, and her echoing growls made sure he knew it.
Even so the young one might have escape, with each stride carrying him further from the pursuing demon. But then he fell, and Mahakali, the bloody general, seized on the opportunity. With hellish fury she charged through the trees, lunging the last distance between them. She lept with talons unsheathed and fangs bared, a dark and terrifying creature intent on death and destruction.
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 4:19 pm
He could hear her right behind him all along, as he was running. Yet still, when he turned to look behind him after he had fallen, he was shocked to see Mahakali looming over him, mid-lunge, like a swooping bird of prey, and he was the fish. He leapt quickly and nimbly to his feet, sliding out from under her like water and losing but a mouthful of hair from his tail to her snapping jaws. His side hurt so greatly that he didn't even feel the hair pulled out.
He drove himself hard to get away from her, to put more distance between them, pouring all his energy into it. His paws hit the ground so hard with each bound that they very nearly shook his body. His legs grew quite sore from the effort. Tears welled up in his eyes. Why was she doing this to him? What had he done to anger her so, to make her want to hurt him? Nobody Mfuto had ever met had ever attacked him in this way. He sniffled as he ran, between exhausted gasps. He didn't want to be eaten.
He wearied as he ran, began to slow though he forced himself on. He knew he wasn't going to be able to keep this up. He began looking about himself for an easy escape.
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 10:03 pm
The lioness snarled in frustration, a defining roar echoing through the jungle as she shook her head in anger, spitting the tuft of fur on the ground. Infuriating creature, he would not escape her!
And then she was charging again, barely missing a step in pursuit of her frightened prey. He gait was long, limbs stretching to their furthest extent with each stride, talons reaching for the prey that had thus far evaded her grasp.
Trained as a vicious warrior, endurance was on the demon's side, and as the male grew tired, Mahakali seemed to grow stronger, powerful paws carrying her closer to her prey once again. But the jungle was not her element, and here she was awkward, at odds with the terrain that threatened to ensnare her.
Perhaps the jungle favored the innocent, for it struck with a vengeance, a large thorny vine catching the horns of the demon's skull, trapping her as talons struck viciously to free herself from the wretched plant. It would not hold her long, the vine shredded at the mercy of her hellish claws, but it was precious moments lost, and again the creature seemed to escape from the tips of her claws, if only for a brief moment.
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Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2007 8:14 am
As Mfuto forced himself along, he felt the breeze of the swipe of a paw, and the graze of cold talons against his hindquarters, and this motivated him to push himself just a little harder to get out of her grasp. He sprung forward, away from her, and he thought he heard a crash, rattle, and roar as she snagged herself in a tangle of branches, but he dare not look back to make sure. He knew that if he stopped to look back he would only give her a chance to catch up to him.
He thought of it like a game of tag, except that the stakes were his life. Kali was "it". He'd played enough tag over his life, his innocence and playful spirit promoted by virtually everyone he met, to have developed a rather strong tag strategy. It was one of the few fields in which a glimmer of intelligence still shone in Mfuto, a glimpse of what he once had been before the brain damage. He knew he couldn't outrun her forever--he was spry, but she was bigger, stronger, and had more endurance. What he needed was an escape route.
An image came to mind of the way old friends like Uten and Yua and Eupe had wondered at him and the way he drank--with his head completely underwater. He had always wondered why that was so strange to them, but now he thought he understood... others couldn't hold their breath quite so well as him. In the distance he heard the sound of running water... the river, the river which he had been traveling away from. It was now his only hope. Gritting his teeth, he skidded to a stop, dove into some nearby bushes to distract, then reversed direction and ran back towards the water, running low to keep hidden by the bushes and praying that she didn't catch him as he passed her.
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Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2007 8:35 pm
An unholy snarl, rent from the lowest plane of the abyss, fury and burning rage surging from the white lioness to flow through the jungle like a serpent or a malignant plague. Talons slashed maliciously, shredding the vine that held her until it was nothing but dust and flecks of green littering the jungle floor.
Paws on the earth again, the infernal vine dealt a punishing fate, blood red eyes narrowed as she searched for her prey. The male lion could not have escaped in the short time the vine had held her, he was fast, but not that fast. No, he had to be hiding.
Her posture instantly changed, falling into the stance of a hunter, her senses alert, searching for any scent or sound that would betray the creature's location. The snap of a twig, ears flicked, her head swung around, she had him again.
With a snarl and a ferocious charge, the demon broke through the bushes, red eyes catching the movement of a tufted tail as the creature fled. She was on him again, relentlessly chasing after the male, breaking through whatever foliage lay in her path without mercy.
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Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 6:30 pm
When he heard Kali snarling, and felt a burst of foliage hit his back as she cut through the brush, Mfuto reflexively broke into tears. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. He had never known before what it was like to be hated, to be the object of bloodlust. He couldn't take it anymore.
Soon, though, he came to the side of the river and stumbled to a stop there. He didn't have long to stop, she was close behind. He had to act. He was short of breath, and his chest hurt, so he could only pray this worked. He sucked in as deep a breath as he could manage, then sprung into the water, disappearing under it's surface.
He swam near the bottom of the riverbed so he was well underwater, and he swam upstream seeing a passing school of fish, he stirred them up and sent them fleeing downstream in the hopes to misdirect his assailant.
Beyond that, he could only hope that she couldn't swim as well as him.
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