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 Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 2:56 pm
A little blue face with a scruffy yellow mane poked out of an obscure hole in the ground. The rest of the body soon followed, equally blue and yellow. The hyena pup, Zua, shook off her pelt and immediately started exploring. She had been wondering where this tunnel had led ever since the incident with the lions, and she intended to find out.
"Who cares if dad said not to?" She grumbled to herself as she sniffed around, "Not like he's even going to know." her little tail wagged happily at the thought. She always loved sneaking off and getting back without being caught. What she didn't like was when she WAS found out. Those days tended to be rather painful.
Pushing the thought from her mind, young Zua trotted over to what seemed like an abandoned den. There were all kinds of interesting smells, it seemed like the perfect place to explore. After all, though she didn't know it, this partially belonged to her father...
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 3:16 pm
Ophos came back to the den, hopping over his father's ol' trap that seemed to never work and hopped on inside. Sniffing around, it seemed like Zua was here but his eyes told him otherwise. No one was here... Shira was on patrol or with Mafa, same with Yaku... as for the the siblings, who cares. He sighed and sat down and rested his nose to the ground when something wafted around the ground. A scent? Zua's and it led toward the tunnel? ... a grin.
"Oh, you're gonna be in so much trouble..."
-----
"Jamaa, why don't you go back to the pack then if you are worried about your pups?" the cub called as he walked beside the older dog. It seemed rather logical for a father to worry about his pups but why is he out here away from his pack? Zeki was a small Pride Lander, one of two royal lines, luckily, it would be a secret that almost none know of and only those close to him will ever. "Mister Jamaa?"
"Oh... you're right, but I believe they are in capable paws with my son, Kiangazi. However, they are not the ones I am worried about. Don't let me weigh you down, young one," the older wild dog replied, his eyes growing rings from much stress. He needed help... he needed his mate again. "Come, we are almost back at the den. I am sure we can rest there for your father to come and get you."
"Alright, Mister Jamaa." Zeki chuckled as he ran circles around the slow walking wild dog and bounded off toward the den.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 3:32 pm
Zua's ears perked up as a faint noise drifted in from outside. Someone was coming! She squeaked and rushed into a nearby corner, but she knew as well as anyone that it wouldn't help. Her coat stuck out horribly, and she knew it. May as well prepare to defend herself if the need arose. She stood, ready to dash out and snap her jaws at what ever hostile creatures there may be, when something odd caught her eye.
A wall covered from top to bottom with muddy paw prints. She eyed it curiously, almost forgetting that she could be in danger.
"What could this be?" She wondered aloud, looking at each mark individually. None of them overlapped, this could not be an accident. But who would cover a wall in prints? What could be the point of it? She wagged her tail as she discovered the source of the mud at the base of the wall. Since all of these were here anyway, adding her own couldn't hurt, right?
Tentatively she placed her paw into the mud and pressed it against the wall, when she took it away, she noticed that hers was a bit of a different shape from the others. All but one... There must have only been one other hyena that had ever put their mark on this wall...
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 3:49 pm
"You're totally in trouble..." her brother's voice called as he sneered down at her, paws crossed over the edge of the sky roof. He looked at her paw and then to the wall. "... even more in trouble when the owner of this den gets here. Are you sure you are a Graveyard Girl?"
Ophos hopped down and glared at her. Was she stupid? Did she want to get Mafa and their mother crossed? Honestly... he glared with intensitiy that all male hyenas had and growled.
"I'm taking you home and I'm telling mother that you trespassed on Pride Lander's land. Now lets go before I have to make you."
------
Just as Zeki was going down into the den something came up from the darkness below. Suddenly something wet touched his nose and two pair of azure eyes glaring back in his in equal confusion, astonishment, and surprise. They remained like that for a moment. A blink or two and then a wiggle of their nose.
....
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 4:00 pm
Zua jumped as she heard Ophos' voice, "Yeah, well so are you!" She said defensively, wiping the rest of the mud from her paw on the ground. "You're here just as much as I am." She snapped. If there was one that she didn't mind fighting with, it was her brother.
Zua squeaked as she heard the shriek and saw Zeki poke into the den. A lion lived here? They WERE in trouble! What's worse, this one was with it's father last time, and that could only mean trouble.
"Come on Ophos, we gotta get out of here!" She said quickly, backing away from the two of them.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 4:27 pm
Ophos growled loudly and glared. "You!"
Zeki doubled back, confused. "Me?"
"What are you doing here, lion scum? This scent reeks of wild dog, you don't belong here. Go back to your Grave Rock or whatever," Ophos growled as he glared at him more. Why isn't he fighting back? Lions were suppose to fight back if challeneged... unless this whelp's a whimp.
"OPHOS! EZEKIEL! Stop this instant," Jamaa interjected as he moved himself between the two. He growled louder than Ophos and glanced at both of them. Great... what had he gotten himself into. The wild dog looked at Ophos and then to Zua. Both of them were here but where was Yaku? His scent was nowhere to be found. No time to think, his attention returned to the event at paw. "Ophos, what are you and Zua doing here? Did your father not forbid you to come here? Did your mother? What are you two doing here in the Pride Lands?"
The hyena scoffed. "Zua snuck off on her own. I'm just here to take her back to be punished. I am sure Alpha Mafa, or mother, or father will do something about an annoyance wandering off into enemy territory."
"Ophos! Do not speak to you-"
"-your sister that way! It's not nice and it's mean and rude! She's your sister, you shouldn't say that she is annoying. She's nice. I'm trying not to be judgemental so I won't say anything about you," Zeki interjected as he moved around Jamaa's paw. "Some male you are, belittling a female and your very own sister at that! How could you?"
"Silence, Pride Lander! You can't tell what us hyena what to do!?"
"Ophos! Ezekiel! Enough. Both of you calm down this instant," he reached down and picked up Ophos and pulled him off into the Owner's Chambers, Zeki following close behind. After putting him down, his paw gripped the pup's head and made him look at the wall. "See this, Ophos. Look there, that belongs to your father. He owns this den. That means he lived here. He was once a Pride Lander, not a member of the pride but an inhabitant of the territory. So never, never mock this territory or you will be just like all of those hyena at the graveyard. Nothing but cold-hearted fiends... don't be like your mother or what your father became that day... do you understand me?"
"Yeah, I wouldn't purposely judge you, Ophos. I try my best not to but it happens, y'know? Come on, you don't have to be-"
" I don't care. And let go of me, grandpa, I can take care of myself."
"Can you find a girl?" Jamaa looked down at him
"A-a what? What are you talking about?"
"A female, a friend, a soul-mate, a mate. You know, a girl." Zeki interjected again. Jamaa cocked a brow... how did he know that?
"I c-can if I w-wanted to. B-but I don't want t-to."
Jamaa looked at the wall and noted a freshly new mark on the wall. His eyes narrowed and glanced down at Ophos. His paws were clean. Could not have been Zeki since he was with him. Looking back at Zua, he noticed her paw had a smudge of brown on it. Did she?.... With a sigh, he put his paw on her's and wiped it clean from the owner's wall.
".... Zua... you... can't mark this wall until your father has given it to you. You can't just mark it freely. It's been a tradition since I was a pup like you three. Do you understand, Zua?"
"So I can inherit this den too? I mean, it could be mine too?" Ophos questioned.
"And me?" Zeki spoke up.
"Yes... anyone can as long as my son allows it. The son I gave this den too." a soft smile, remembering back to those days. A lot has changed since then. "Yaku..."
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 4:38 pm
Zua backed away from the three who were arguing, watching them intently.
"Hey, I'm not annoying!" Zua barked, bristling, "see, even this lion knows better than to call a girl something when you don't understand. Look at mom and Mafa! They're the strongest hyenas I know and they're both girls." She said proudly.
"Wait, Grandpa?" She asked, eyeing Jamaa, "You're not a hyena. Are you Jamaa? I've heard of you, but I never knew you were a wild dog."
"Sorry, I didn't know..." She said quietly, "But it's okay, I like the den we have at home. I don't need this one." She looked at Ophos, "You could ask dad if you can have it."
She shrugged, all this was very confusing, and she wasn't too happy about it. Zua looked longingly at the exit, all this was a bit too strange for her liking.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 4:56 pm
Jamaa sighed and shook his head. Cubs will be cubs. There was nothing that he could. Zua, Ophos, and Zeki, they were their own persons. Ophos was a strong male, but clueless about things outside the Graveyard's rules. Zeki was a good male, kind, caring, and polite. Zua... she was just in the middle of their cross fire. He sighed and looked at the two and smiled a bit, letting go of Ophos.
"I don't want Dad to just give it to me, I want to earn it! That way, I can rub it in your face while you still live with Mom and Dad when you are older," he stuck his tongue out. It was then that he was hit with a paw and then pounced by the lion cub. Soon enough they were rolling around and growling and crying and snarling. Soon enough, Zeki was on top.
"Hah! I win," Ophos could not take this, he wasn't going to lose to a lion cub laying down. With another scuffle, he was on bottom again! "I win again."
"Get off of me! You're not suppose to beat me!"
"But I did. So that means, I'm strong and the training my Uncles have been giving me was not for naught afterall. And here I thought fighting wasn't fun."
"It is Ezekiel. When you fight for the wrong reasons, then it is wrong." Jamaa smiled and nuzzled the two. "Ophos, Zua, I believe it's time for you two to go back home. Zeki's father's will be coming shortly. Come on, off with you two before your own parents find out that you two have been in the Pride Lands." he chuckled as he nuzzled Ophos toward the exit with Zeki close to heel.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 2:29 pm
"Hey!" Zua snapped, "I thought you'd still want to live in the graveyard? You wanna be a pridelander now?" She teased, "Besides, I can find my own den. You watch, mine will be better than yours and I'll make it myself, not just get one that's already there." She growled defensively, smiling as Ophos was pinned to the ground a couple times.
"Grandpa is right, we'd better go." She said hastily, rushing out of the den. She didn't want to deal with Zeki's father again. "Last one home gets to take the blame." She called back, dashing down the tunnel as quickly as she could without a second glance.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 2:37 pm
Ophos paused at the rock mound and looked at the two of them and shook his head with a smile and disappeared below.
"Another time... Pride Lander, I will win."
Zeki smiled and looked up at Jamaa. "It's time for you to go back to your pack too, isn't it, Mister Jamaa?"
"Correct, I best be getting back. I should look after the cubs, Kiangazi has better things to do I suppose. You say hello to your father for me and be a good cub, alright? If your father has to come to me and complain, I am gonna bite you good. You hear?" Zeki nodded. Jamaa licked his head and nuzzled him before leaving him alone.
Zeki yawned. As soon as he closed his maw, he was snatched up and planted onto the back of a larger lion. He smiled back at him and he did the same.
"Hope you had some fun today, kid."
"Yeah, I did!"
... one could hear the roars of anger in the distance. It seems like Zeki could not keep his maw shut.
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