|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 3:56 pm
Kizuka'Mchopozi set out away from her base tree again. She hated leaving all those valuables out, but nobody dared come near her tree. Besides, they were all far up high. The only creature that could reach the hole in the tree's top was a babboon, and she always had a good warning to the local babboons to stay away-- a dead member of their troop at the base of the tree. Anyone or anything that got close to that tree's top was killed and left to rot; they weren't even worth the energy it'd take to digest them.
Kizu was confident, therefore, as she continued to stray farther and farther from her territory, that nothing would reach it. There was simply no possibility. The leopardess was highly pleased with herself as she strode away, that she had found such a wonderful spot. Her footfalls were silent, as always. She had learned well her skills.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 4:16 pm
It had been weeks since Banjoko had set out from his home in the Unity Walkers land. He had been wandering alone since running into that weirdo, violent lion with the long name - the juvenile lion shunned company for a while after that unsettling incident. His wounds were healing fine, but he would carry the scars for the rest of his life. Banjoko shivered at the memory of the black lion with the strange eyes. He had just barely escaped the bloody male.
Trying to forget the pain in his shoulder, Banjoko was crouched down beneath the tall grass, stalking a fat hare that was chewing on stems. He was still too small to effectively take down larger prey on his own, so the blue juv had to settle for small meals. He was often hungry, and he was losing the extra weight on his body. But he felt it was making him look like more of a man. His journey was beginning to get harder, but Banjoko had taken this venture onto himself, and was determined to overcome these hardships.
Small, yet substantial prey was hard to come by, and this hare was a godsend that he could not afford to lose.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 4:27 pm
The leopardess spotted the lion before the hare. She was always on the lookout for someone. After all, that's where all the treasures were- all of the fresh kills. Not floating about randomly on the savannah, always around a lion or a cheetah or a leopard or some less worthy creature. Kizu was sure that this lion was no different- certainly he'd have something of value.
She crouched down beneath the grassline, her markings covering her completely. It wasn't long, though, before she discovered what he was hunting. She knew that if he missed it, she would certainly catch the creature. And if that was the case, there'd be no reason to stick around. She waited to see what would happen, cloaked completely by the grassland surrounding her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 4:38 pm
Banjoko waited for the perfect moment with baited breath. He made a split decision and launched the muscles in his hind legs, leaping forward in attack. He covered the few feet between himself and his quarry and swiped at the hare, only to find his paw catching only air. Just as quickly as he had sprung forward, the hare had detectd the movement and taken off. Banjoko chased after it, mentally berating himself for being sloppy while at the same time, trying not to lose his prey.
Banjoko was completely focused on his prospective meal, and had no idea he had company.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 4:43 pm
Kizu had known that the lion was young, but no had no idea how bad of a hunter he was. She rose from the grasses immediately when she heard the sound of a running rabbit- and lion in pursuit. The poor thing didn't even realize she was there. She lifted a paw as it came and slammed it onto the creature when it passed beneath, with amazing elegance, she had caught the now-squealing rodent under her paw.
She had felt it's spine snap, but other than that, it was still alive. She sunk her teeth into it, finishing it off before plopping it back into her paw. It would make a fine meal indeed. She was fully aware of the lion's presence, but had no care. She stared at the kill. "Quite a sloppy attempt," she said as she placed it back on the ground and put her paw on it. She turned finally to meet the lion's eye, a smirk on her face. She'd won. She'd catch his response, and leave. Unless... unless things got interesting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 4:58 pm
Banjoko stopped short as the leopardess appeared seemingly from nowhere. He watched helplessly as she caught and killed his hare, seemingly without effort. Breathless from the short chase, despondent over losing the first substantial meal he'd seen in days, Banjoko stared at her haughty pose with growing agitation.
"Hey!" he said, tired and accusatory. "That was mine!" Banjoko heard her mocking words and saw her smirking face, and the short mane on his neck bristled. Banjoko was a prideful young boy, and this adult leopardess, good hunter she may be, might drive him to defend his honor. He believed the scars he displayed were evidence of his willingness to fight - even though in reality, they stood for his inability to defend himself from attack.
"You give that back," Banjoko ordered, his blood pumping with adrenaline. If the two had met under different circumstances,
Banjoko would have greeted her with cordiality and respect. It just so happened that in only a few moments, this stranger had managed to provoke his easy-stung pride. Hunger also drove him to take stupid chances.
"That was my hare! Give it back! Or - I'll take it back!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 5:05 pm
"You're absolutely right, love," Kizu said, picking it up and tossing it in the air, catching it again, and resting her paw on top of it again. "It was your hare, and now it's my hare." She smiled fakely, picked the rabbit up in her mouth, and started to head off. However, she dropped the kill not to far away, placed her paw on it, and turned to the male again. In all honesty, a hare wasn't much, really... Perhaps he knew of something more valuable. A pretty rock, or a nice feather... something of that nature.
"You can have it back if you trade me something for it. Something nice- and I won't even take a single lick of the hare," she offered. If he wanted it so bad, he'd have to trade. There was a steep tree not far, and nobody could be up and down a tree like Kizu. She watched for his reaction- judging by his last, this would be amusing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 5:20 pm
Banjoko looked at her quizzically. Something more valuable? To him, at that moment, nothing was more valuable than that stupid hare. What could she be talking about? He didn't have anything on him, nothing he knew of. Still, he would rather trade than argue. "That seems fair," Banjoko said, dropping back into his normal reasonable tone.
But he was still cautious, especially after his last encounter with the crazy lion. He didn't know what things a leopardess would consider valuable. "What sort of trade aryou looking for?" He wanted that hare - he only wished he knew off the bat what he could give her for it. But he didn't show it outwardly; his face was calm and interested, albeit a little bit too interested in the body of the meal he wanted so much.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 5:30 pm
She pondered his question. She could push it, and ask for something rediculous, but probably end up with just the rabbit... That's not what she wanted.
"How about something... shiny. A shiny rock, or maybe a nice shaped bone." She pondered. "A feather, anything you deem worthy of the hare." She said, happy to be on the verge of getting a nice addition to her collection of stuff.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 5:55 pm
A pretty rock or feather? Banjoko scoffed inwardly. Girls. He would much rather have a good solid meal and continue on his journey than collect meaningless trinkets. But he had to be diplomatic if he was going to eat today.
"Well, ma'am, to be honest I don't carry anything like that with me. But because I think I want that hare more than you do, I'm willing to go look for something pretty you might like instead. If you would give me just a few minutes, I'll go look for something and bring it back, and we can trade. Hows does that sound?"
Interesting enough for her, Banjoko hoped, his mind racing and making up this plan on the spot. He really had no clue where he could find something pretty in just a few minutes - he had no eye for such a thing - but the more he stood and just watched his lunch being dangled in front of him, the more he was willing to give it a good try.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 3:47 pm
"Go quickly, then," Kizu said happily, keeping the leverage held under her paw as if it was still struggling to get away. She would wait until the lion bounded off to take a look around- for an even more spectacular plan had found its way into her head. She would wait for the male to get back, take the trinket and the rabbit, and head for a tree. Yes, the idea was perfect. She spent the next few moments pondering how the heck she was going to fit whatever the lion brought back and the rabbit in her mouth. Maybe she'd stuff it between her toes, like she did often, if it was small enough.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:30 pm
((I just now realized I called her a lioness at least twice. *headdesk* xD;; silly me.))
"Yes, indeed, I'll be back quickly," Banjoko said eagerly, happy his suggestion had been accepted. Without another word he scampered off, his yellow eyes frantically searching the ground for anything interesting. It was all just brown dirt and yellow grass; here and there a bug or two. The boy began to realize that he may have made a promise upon which he could not deliver. No, I just have to keep searching, he told himself. I can't give up.
Banjoko could nearly hear time ticking away. How long would the leopardess wait for him before escaping with his kill? (Technically, it was her kill, but he considered the hare to be his property regardless.) Heart pounding with adrenaline and racing against the clock, Banjoko continued scanning the ground with insistent eyes. The more empty patches of land he saw, the more he began to panic, ever so slightly. What if he didn't find anything? What would the leopardess do? At best, run off with his prize. At worst...? Banjo's last encounter with his own kind had left him scarred. Would this predator feel the need to bat him around, as well?
But then, at last, salvation. A glitter of sunlight caught his eye and he nearly leapt onto the small rock. It was jet black, and full of little chips, shaped into a point. It was in fact a discarded spear-head from an old tribe of humans that had long since gone, but Banjoko did not know this. He only knew that it was a rock, it was shiny, and the dents and scrapes in its surface caught the light and reflected it in a way he hoped was pleasing to the leopardess. "Please, please let this be good enough," he muttered, snatching it in his jaws and running back towards where he thought he left the leopardess. He had wandered far in search of a trinket.
When he finally arrived back to her, he breathlessly dropped the stone into his paw, making sure to keep it protected in his claws - he did not want her to steal it from him. "Here," he said, panting. "Will this do?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:27 am
While the boy was gone, Kizu had almost ripped the hare in two, making it so half of it could fall to the ground rather easily, making it look like a mistake while she climbed.
When he returned, she stared at the piece and "Contemplated it," The arrowhead certainly was very interesting, she rather liked it. She picked it up in the toes of the paw not sitting on top of the hare to "examine" it.
"Very nice," she said, slowly pushing it further between her toes. And with that, she quickly picked up the hare and dashed up the nearest tree. From the branches she yelled, "Here you go!" and dropped the whole thing, yes, on purpose.
She'd had a change of mind as she climbed the tree, after seeing how beat up the poor thing looked. "I'm not this giving with things often, so scamper off with it before I change my mind!" She yelled from the treetop, pulling the arrowhead out of her toes to examine it for real.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 4:05 pm
Banjoko didn't care why the leopardess wanted such a useless rock - the hare was his and she had escaped into a tree with her prize, so all was well according to him.
He was no fool, and took the advice of the leopardess immediately. Quickly, he snapped up the hare into his jaws - it was so small that the limp body nearly fit into his mouth entirely - and ran off with his meager meal. Today was not bad at all: he would eat, and he didn't have to pay for it with his own blood.
Still, just in case, Banjoko did not stop running until the tree and the leopardess were completely out of sight.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
