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 Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 9:51 pm
Axis thought hard about her question. "I... hunt little scrub creatures. Survive? Mum's sis killed mum and took over the clan. She followed the ways passed down from before the poison came, but she just dumped sis and I and didn't kill. You're the first other I've seen since sis died. Only have the other me to talk to. So... what I do? I guess I'm just here?" He was doing his best to answer, really. He was still just a cub, after all, and try as he might he had only remembered fear, hunger, and an erstwhile mental companion that knew no more than he to try and learn from.
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Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 10:04 pm
That was a lot to take in at once. Lilah nodded slowly, her thoughts drifting. The cub's words didn't make much sense to her, but then, most words didn't. She looked up at the sky. Teeny-tiny black specks floated on the blue. Lilah cast out her thoughts, but she could feel nothing. Too far to sense anything at all, at all. But there might be food.
A slight rumble in her belly jerked her into motion. The cub and Diallo were probably hungry as well. She turned from the males and began to lope slowly away over the dune. Lilah yelped once, tossing her head up to direct their attention to the vultures in the sky, and went on without waiting to see if they had understood.
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Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 10:33 pm
Axis had never been taught about vultures before he'd been expelled, but he knew a summons when he heard one. And if this big female who had no fear of poison bugs was willing to let him tag along for a while, he was more than happy to do so.
He loped along behind the two adults - he was the least in order of dominance, if he was even really on the list with the two right now - and in any case, even though Lilah bore the mangled leg her legs were much longer than his, and Diallo didn't even have that handicap. So lope Axis did, not wanting to risk being left behind.
You don't really think they'll let you join their little misfit clan, do you?
Maybe...
Pff. Don't get your hopes up. That male was apologetic for overreacting to us only because we're a cub. If we get bigger he's going to see us more and more as a threat.
If we get to hang around maybe he'll accept us after a while. Besides... she's the female, so she's the one who decides stuff like that, right?
Don't count on it. She's got a cripple leg, remember?
...At least we can do our best to keep them as allies so they won't run us off later? And... even if they do run us off later, it's better than being on our own. We at least have a better chance of surviving for now.
Sigh. Optimists.
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Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:18 am
Diallo was in no mood to be as happy about things as Lilah was, only managing to give his tail a few thumps to the sand that lacked enthusiasm at her nudges. As the male cub and Lilah had their own form of discussion, Diallo rested his head on his paws and just tried to catch his breath and calm down his panting. He didn't, however, neglect to listen to what was going on. Axis' story about his mother and sister's death vaguely reminded Diallo of his own darker beginnings. Of course, for Diallo, age hadn't brought about the answers to his questions of what had happened. His mother had never come back for them, and his sisters had run off without him. That was more than he needed to know to continue surviving now.
His eyes followed Lilah's quick gesture before scrambling to his feet after her. After being around Lilah since he was young, he had gotten pretty adept at interpreting her movements and broken speech. The downside being that Diallo, like Lilah, didn't use more complex variations in his speech as he had once done as a young pup. He kept his own job close to Lilah's wounded leg - the position that he almost always adopted when they were on the move. He glanced over his shoulder once to see if the pup was keeping up with them before turning his attention back to where they were going. If Lilah tolerated the pup, Diallo would as well. For now, at least, for he wasn't one to think but so far into the future.
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Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:36 am
Run, run run. It wasn't long before Lilah caught the scent of the gathering vultures. Dry, dusty old feathers, they smelled like. There was also blood, dung, animals... hmm. Lilah hung back. Something had been killed nearby, hopefully something edible. Unfortunately, competition was fierce for carcasses.
Diallo didn't seem very happy about recent events. For one thing, he didn't seem to like the cub much. Lilah looked over at her companion, a questioning look in her eyes. He always seemed to be worried about something or other. Usually, his instincts were good. Lilah would wait for his say-so before approaching the kill.
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Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 5:15 pm
It was hard work for little Axis to keep up with the adults, but he managed it. He remained behind the two, as was his place, half-crouched to conceal himself in the scrub as his flicked around wildly, trying to pick up every scrap of sound.
I smell food, go get some!
No! For one, I have to wait on them, and for another... if something's over there that could turn us into an after dinner snack I'd rather wait for them to find it first.
...Well, for once I'll admit you've got a point. That smells like quite a bit of meat, and I wouldn't want to mess with whatever took it down until I got a good look at where the best biting spots were.
And for a minute I actually thought you were being sensible for once.
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Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 5:34 pm
Diallo slowed and finally stopped completely as they approached, hunkering down a bit in the sand. It didn't offer much protection from view, but it helped to keep his scent from being swept away from him. It also gave them all a chance to rest, and Diallo used the opportunity to glance back towards the pup. He kept his ears pricked forward, drawing in long, deep breaths. After three or so of these breaths, he shut his eyes and concentrated on hearing. Most of the time, he relied on Lilah's senses, and perhaps it was this reason that the talent he had seemingly been born with had dwindled. Or perhaps that talent was little more than puppy-luck. Now, Diallo relied on experience.
He could hear the vultures' wings in the air above them, their occasional flaps loud compared to other birds that had to hunt for their own food. Their smell alone was pungent from their habit of urinating on themselves to cool down. He was waiting for a tell-tale sign that either the vultures were on the ground and it was safe enough to chase them off, or that there was some other large predator around feasting on whatever it was down there. Time crawled by, and finally he heard what he was waiting for. Scritch-scritch-scritch. The vultures were on the ground.
Diallo raised himself into a crouch, giving a small throat-centered growl as he looked over at Lilah. A handfull of vultures were easy to disperse by a single hyena, but if there were more than that they could still be chased off.
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Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 6:52 pm
Time to go? Lilah grinned at Diallo and nodded. Fighting real opponents was no fun, but Lilah got a kick out of buzzard-bowling. The cub had kept up well, too. Hopefully it had the sense to stay out of the way while she and Diallo took care of the birds. Small as it was, the birds would have no trouble picking it off.
Lilah shook herself, stretching out stiffened muscles. She settled into a light trot, keeping her head low to the ground and eyes half-shut. There. There. The birds had congregated some distance away, covering up some fallen beast. Seeing no nearby predators, Lilah thought that the animal had probably dropped dead on its own. Easy! She picked up speed and barreled into the midst of the buzzards, yowling and cackling eerily through bared fangs. The birds rose heavily, beating their huge wings angrily. The horns of the dead beast poked up behind a veil of feasting buzzards. A kudu! Good eating, that.
Shoving her way through a pack of the stinking buzzards, Lilah settled down at the kudu's flank and waited for her companions to join her.
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Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 7:07 pm
Axis waited, startled by the sudden movement as the two adults rushed forward. He continued to hang back... better to see what was going on before he went in and got his head snapped off. He did creep forward to see what was happening. The buzzards slowly lifted off and drifted away from the carcass, but no farther than they absolutely had to. A couple drifted a bit too close to him and he darted toward the kudu and the waiting Lilah, hackles raised in alarm until he got close enough to the adults to feel relatively safe. Once there, however, he waited as if for some sort of cue. He'd been fed by his mother before he and his sister got dumped, and he'd always just let her eat first because she bit him if he didn't. He wasn't sure if that method applied here with this ample food supply or not.
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Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 7:54 pm
Diallo raced after Lilah, weaving to her side a bit in order to give himself a clear shot at the offensive birds. He didn't vocalize as much as Lilah, only uttering a few growls and barks on the odd occasion. He leapt into the air a few times, jaws always closing shy of grabbing one of the things. He'd prefer to not try and eat one - they smelled bad enough to deter that attempt when there was good meat right near them. As they cleared the carcass, he gave a great yip of excitement - it was much bigger than he had expected.
Diallo remained standing, watching the young pup approach the carcass. Instead of chasing him off or preventing him from feeding, Diallo took a step back and the other through, sending a few pointed barks at some vultures that had swooped in a bit too low. Diallo hadn't been raised with a clan, and he certainly didn't know anything about proper respect and order. If another growled at him, he knew it was time to move out of the way.
Satisfied that the vultures were far enough away to turn his back, he moved to lay down beside Lilah, looking up at her to wait to eat.
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Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 8:15 pm
Diallo wasn't the only one ignorant of clan etiquette. As long as no one was getting between Lilah's teeth and Lilah's food, she didn't much care when the others ate. She passed a paw over the kudu's grubby hide, fastidiously rubbing away clots of dirt and grime before digging in. Ahh. What a stroke of luck. The beast wasn't the fattest she'd ever seen, but neither was it a bag of bones. Maybe it had succumbed to dehydration or an old injury. With the way the vultures had ripped up its hide, Lilah couldn't tell much about the animal's condition before death.
She thumped her tail amiably against the ground, hoping that the other hyenas would feast beside her. The vultures were no match for even a crippled hyena, but she would still feel better with companions at her side. And on the subject of companions, that wretched scorpion had been left in the dust far behind. Talk about luck! Lilah grinned cheerfully, licking her chops in satisfaction as she ate.
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Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 8:51 pm
Having been allowed to approach the carcass, and also given no real indication that he should not eat yet, Axis sidled up on the opposite side of Lilah from Diallo. He didn't drift too close, however. He was opposite the other male because Diallo made him nervous, and Diallo seemed rather possessive of Lilah and Axis surely didn't want to upset him by getting too close to her!
Settling into a cubby sort of between the kudu's back legs, the cub stuck his nose in past the outer hide to investigate the area that usually held much softer, tastier insides. Luck was with him; it seemed the vultures hadn't had time enough to strip the kudu of all its entrails. However, he wanted to stay on Lilah and Diallo's good side, so he tugged what he could through the opening he'd stuck his head in and set the hunk next to the female before retreating back to his cubby and finding something to chew on himself.
Coward!
Rattle-brained idiot.
Diplomat.
...Why thank you!
You're welcome, weirdo.
Not any weirder than you.
...True. Keep eating. A full belly would be nice for once.
For once... I agree with you.
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Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:11 pm
Diallo kept out of Lilah and Axis' space while they ate, turning to look over at the other two as he peeled away some slices across the breast bone. The meat was thinner, but what he was really after were the ribs. He could pry those out and get at some of the better meat inside, and the ribs were easily carried if they broke short enough. He licked his muzzle of blood, using his paws and jaws for leverage as his teeth scraped against bone. It would take some time to get through the flesh and muscle to get at what he wanted, especially considering that he hadn't had much practice at this. It was simple instinct for Diallo.
For now, he wasn't concerned about rationing meat between his other two companions and himself. There wasn't a need when they could all gorge themselves and leave some still for the vultures.
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Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:29 pm
Food, food, food. Lilah stuffed herself, casting occasional glances at the other hyenas. The cub seemed a little... preoccupied. Perhaps it was arguing with that phantom other again. Lilah wrinkled her nose in distaste. If the cub meant to hang around them, they would have to do something about that. Wrong-minded cubs were one thing, but when they got big... well, then they could be dangerous. Lilah's thoughts returned to her food. Between the three of them, the hyenas had partitioned the carcass off quite nicely. The cautiously-returning buzzards had plenty of space to n** at the downed kudu without getting in the larger carnivores' way.
Diallo's determined crunching made Lilah smile. He had a good idea, there. Maybe she would carry off a rib bone herself. She licked herself clean and backed up a few feet. Quite full, the female turned her attention to the gathering birds and the surrounding area. She would keep watch while the others finished. Wasn't much else for her to do, as she was too full and slow to chase buzzards.
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Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:50 pm
Axis ate for all he was worth, mostly gorging himself on the chewy entrails. Instinct told him that those held the most nutrition, and he would need it to grow strong. Taste told him he liked them better than the rest of the meat.
Finally full the cub watched Diallo work curiously and then immitated his attempts to remove the ribs by latching onto the exposed end of one of the ribs nearer to the hips and tugging on it. He didn't quite have the strength to do it, though he managed to make it bend a bit more. Finally he gave up, panting slightly, and sat down to wait for the older male to finish his business, ears flicking around warily once more.
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