Lone Hyena
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Post by Croc on Jan 1, 2018 20:27:19 GMT
Rain, rain!
Gray skies and sunny rays!
A ragged-furred hyena strolled in from the south, drops of warm water pelting his spotted hide.
The soil squished beneath his paws as water flooded the fen, splish-splashing through puddles.
Clouds covered much of the sky above, but here and there the midday sun peeked through, golden rays teasing the bristling grasses that rolled in the drizzling wind.
Before long the ground was sloping, and down the hyena slid, legs stumbling over one another until he fell into the shallows of a pond.
Bubbles escaped from his nose before he lifted his head, jaw soaked in mud, tongue lapping at the swirling water, then pulling himself back to his paws and looking around with beady eyes.
Whatever body of water he'd found was more than just a pond--it was a LAKE!
Had to be.
It was big like the sea.
Well...maybe not quite so big.
He could hear moorhens chittering, but he could not see them.
One ear rotated, eyes going the other way.
There was a small herd of waterbuck clustered together on the opposite shore.
A grin tugged at the hyaenid's sagging lips, toes dragging through the mud as he pushed himself around, wading backwards into ankle-deep shallows, following the shore towards the herd.
A loud croak sent him still, nose twitching, and at once the hyena pounced, though it was no frog or toad he caught, only a stick drenched with mud.
The waterbuck lifted their heads, together turning their eyes towards the stumbling hyena as lifted the stick from the ground and began to wave it around in the air.
As he began to wildly swing his head around, the splashes he made with the club-shaped object caused a few to step back, and another to step forward, snorting and shaking its horn-adorned head.
The wind picked up, whistling through low shrubs, and before long the clouds gave a shudder, the last of the light disappeared, and the rain heaved and cloaked the air, sealing away the line of sight between hyena and waterbuck.
He dropped his stick as drizzle became deluge, retreating further along the shore, thick legs dripping wet mud.
Although it was hard to tell what it was, he could see a mass shadow still, and that was where he made his way.
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Lone Hyena
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Post by Nefertari on Jan 2, 2018 18:09:35 GMT
 N efertari trudged southwards, not wanting to be anywhere near that male lion's territory, for surely he'd want to kill her the next time he saw her. She chided herself for being so foolish. Yes, she was starving, but that wasn't why she goaded him so much, was it? She was used to getting away with tormenting the foul brutes, but that was with the backup of others. She'd nearly paid the full price of that mistake, but it was a lesson learned. Her head was spinning. While the blood had finally clotted and dried, she'd already lost a lot from her hefty wound. It'd be sure to scar, but that didn't bother her--if anything, she'd wear it like a trophy. Maybe the mortal enemies' paths would cross again one day, and the scar would only taunt that cretin, for she would live. She had to. Lions had brutish strength, but her kind had wit and numbers. She just needed the latter, then she'd show him. She felt a cold drop on her snout and looked skywards to find that it had darkened, shrouded in heavy clouds that were beginning to fall to the earth. The wounded female was grateful for this; while she was fine with a scar, she wanted the blood washed from her sore body. As if having a wish granted, the dry grass beneath her feet gave way to saturated soil, then mud, then water. A marsh. Gratefully, Nefertari descended into the water until only her head remained above the surface. Small flakes of dried blood floated off, but she could feel the majority of it sticking to her. She doubted she could properly clean this wound on her own, and the thought only made the loneliness creep in again. She wasn't a creature meant to be alone. |
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Lone Hyena
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Post by Croc on Jan 2, 2018 20:23:58 GMT
It was hard to tell exactly where he was going in the deluge.
Mud mixed with rain splashes felt a lot like water soaking up his ankles.
After a few moments he felt distinctly more moist than before, and glanced down to find his nose buried in water.
The hyena lifted his head with a snort, finding that he was now up to his belly in water.
Whoops.
He squinted around, turning circles, but the smudge he'd been following was gone.
Slowly he began to wade through the deeper water, trying to find his way back to shore.
It seemed nigh impossible until the rain eventually let up again, retreating back to a gentle drizzle.
Mist rose off the pond, and a glance around him showed that the waterbuck had moved off a little further, clustered closer together.
He sniffed, lapped at the water next to his chin, then began to make his way back to shore again, walk-paddling towards the herbivores.
Gradually the water level fell and his speed slowly began to increase as his limbs were drawn farther out of the water.
Within moments he was trotting at a happy pace through the shallows once more, lowering his head with a slow whoop, staring forward at the crowd of waterbuck.
Each sight of them reminded him that he was hungry, and the hyena twisted his tail around, nosing the air for any hint of food.
The rain of course washed away many scents.
He couldn't even smell the other hyena until he was practically walking right on top of her.
And at the same moment he was promptly tripping over something he couldn't see--a rock perhaps, buried in the mud.
He fell face-first into the water with a great splash, water flooding into the canal of his broken ear.
Swiftly he pulled back with a soft grunt-laugh, shaking his head vigorously and shoving a foreleg across his ear.
A trickle of water swirled inside and let him hear the ocean for a few seconds, wobbling away with a sense of missed balance, wheeling backwards until he was pacing on the shore.
Another hyena!
He sounded a second low whoop, which transitioned into a soft squeal as he turned to face the stranger, mouth hanging.
"Hhi...hih," he mumbled, gazing dumbly at the fellow spotted beast.
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Lone Hyena
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Post by Nefertari on Jan 3, 2018 1:23:45 GMT
S he had let her eyes slip closed, absorbing the sound of heavy sheets of rain blanketing the world around her. It soon let up to a pleasant drizzle, and Nefertari finally found herself at peace. But it didn't last long, as she felt something knock against her skull, startling her and causing her eyes to shoot open. Something large splashed right in front of her face, soaking it and sending water up her nose. Snorting to rid her nose of the burning sensation, she glared daggers into whatever had disturbed her peace, but her expression morphed into one of surprise when she recognized it as a hyena. Now that she thought about it, she thought she heard a whoop in the distance but had disregarded it in her meditative state. Dumbfounded, she watched him backpedal onto land. The other hyena whooped and squealed excitedly before stuttering out a greeting. She managed to contain her own excitement far better. He seemed a little strange, but Nefertari was just grateful that he was a hyena. "... Hello," She greeted back, eyes still wide from her gawking. Slowly, she pulled herself out of the water's depths. She went to shake herself but abruptly stopped from the sharp pain stabbing her chest. Nefertari winced heavily but looked back to the other hyena with an uncharacteristically soft gaze. "I am Nefertari. Who are you?" She asked kindly and with genuine curiosity. |
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Lone Hyena
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Post by Croc on Jan 3, 2018 6:58:17 GMT
After catching the initial glare, he was getting ready to cower or flee, his back already forming a semi-circle as his muscles tensed.
Instead he saw a change in the other hyena's expression, and slowly loosed his spine once more.
He rotated an ear forward, lowering his head as the stranger stared forward at him, slowly pulling herself up from the water's surface.
He blinked as she seemed to start to shake drops from her coat, only to stop short with a strong wince.
His nose twitched, catching the slightest whiff of blood--or perhaps that was just soaked rocks.
He grunted at the returned greeting.
"Croc," he answered, almost seeming to croak as he said it.
He flicked his tail, pawing at the water's edge, then lifted his head briefly to gaze once more at his surroundings.
Clumps of short sedges clung to the shoreline, and although they shivered, he saw nothing coming out of them.
The herd of waterbuck were as calm as ever, casually maintaining an even distance from the hyenas, unperturbed in demeanor.
His eyes swiveled back around to meet the stranger, Nef...Nefer--Nefarious?
His mouth moved in a soft mumble as he tried to repeat the name, carefully trying to pronounce what he could remember.
As he focused on the attempts, the question settled in the back of his mind bubbled up and slipped out from his jaws without his realizing.
"Ish Nift alewn?"
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Lone Hyena
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Post by Nefertari on Jan 3, 2018 19:16:51 GMT
C roc's manner of speaking was odd and difficult to understand, but she managed. He honestly seemed quite cub-like, despite appearing to be around her age and quite large. She didn't mind this, though. When he glanced away at their surroundings, she followed his gaze, taking notice of the waterbuck for the first time. She would have loved to try hunting one of them with him but was unfortunately in no shape to do so at the moment. When he asked her a question, she looked back to him and nodded before thoughtfully adding, "Well, not anymore."She cracked a warm smile at Croc, but it was quickly replaced by a frown. "You could say I wasn't alone before, but my company wasn't pleasant. That brutish lion marred my chest," She gruffly explained with eyes downcast at the injury. Exhausted, she took a seat and tensely slid into a lying position. The pain from her wounds had transformed into a dull ache, which was better than before but still unpleasant. Nefertari huffed, eyeing the prey in the distance longingly. |
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Post by Croc on Jan 3, 2018 22:16:35 GMT
Croc's gaze returned to Nef as she spoke again, his good ear twitching, a crooked smile growing on his lips to return the one that the stranger offered, even if only briefly.
He lifted his head as she spoke the tale of a lion, following her eyes to see a splash of red on her chest.
All at once the hyena was hopping on his toes, whooping excitedly.
"Whuuhw!" he said.
"Yi beat lion?"
She certainly looked strong--why, she'd soon have the scar to prove it, now wouldn't she?
He watched her lie back down in the shallows, slowly positioning himself into his own seat, butt plopping down in the mud as the rain continued to patter around them.
His ear briefly folded back as the stranger gazed towards the waterbuck.
Didn't seem like either of them were going to get lucky with food this day.
Lowering himself to his stomach, he slowly began to pull himself forward back into the pond, jaw held just short of the surface as he stared forward at the other with wide eyes.
He was happy to see another hyena after so long a time, but now...he wasn't quite sure what to do, really.
He'd stop crawling forward if the stranger happened to glance his way, but anytime she wasn't looking, as long as she didn't say anything, he'd continue on his belly until he was only an arm's length or so away.
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Post by Nefertari on Jan 5, 2018 16:50:09 GMT
C When Croc asked if she beat the lion, she scoffed. "No, unfortunately. But he will pay dearly. I can wait..." She disclosed. Having another hyena around made her one step closer to a clan. As soon as she could form one, that lion was history. Taking in a deep inhale, she closed her eyes, and the red-hot rage was again cooled by the rain and the water. Her mind cleared of all its thoughts. This place did wonders for her. The sound of a strange scraping sound made her crack an eye open, but Croc merely appeared to be lying on his stomach. So the eye eagerly closed again, and the sound returned. Opening both eyes now, she looked to him with apparent confusion. Now he was closer to her. Chuckling, she asked him, "What are you doing?" Amusement was heavy in her tone. What a strange individual, she mused. |
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Post by Croc on Jan 6, 2018 6:03:38 GMT
Aw...his amazement drifted away as the other hyena admitted the truth about the lion, although a good amount of awe still remained on his features in those moments--she'd still come away from it alive, after all.
--Shuffle, pause, shuffle.
Nef's eyes turned on him and the hyena froze dead in his tracks with only the ripples to tell of his movements.
His head lowered as she spoke.
"Ubl...," was his answer, for now his mouth was halfway in the water.
He squinted, curled an ear forward, toes tensing against the mud.
He could feel twigs and weeds.
He was feeling mighty...something.
He wasn't sure.
Oh!
So he was UNSURE.
After a heartbeat of hesitation, which consisted of him mostly seeming to stare through the stranger, the hyena dunked his own head beneath the waves, the water viciously pouring into his canals as he started to writhe in the shallows, sending splashes all across the air.
Silt further clouded already soiled water as his jaws gnashed and dug about in the ground, finally closing around something solid.
Whatever it was he ripped from the ground, bursting at last from the water in a leap.
He turned around in the air, hopping away back to shore.
His legs were stiff the second his paws hit solid enough ground, bouncing up-and-down in wavy semicircles as though in imitation of a stotting springbok, waving some sort of drenched plant around in the rain.
After a few moments he would slow, mostly because he'd tripped and nearly fell on his face, and returned to a normal trot, although he was lifting his legs higher than was typical.
Now he paced side-to-side, gradually distancing himself from the other hyena and gaining ground on the huddled herd.
Even so, he didn't completely forget about the female, and kept tossing his head around to glance back and see what she was doing.
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Lone Hyena
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Post by Nefertari on Jan 6, 2018 17:38:08 GMT
N efertari chuckled at his ridiculously silly response. Then, he sunk under the water, sending it splashing as if he were... Well, a crocodile with a creature in its jaws. How fitting. When he resurfaced, he had some sort of aquatic plant clamped in his jaws. She merely watched in silence as he dragged it ashore and thrashed his head about. After nearly face-planting, he trotted off towards the waterbuck. She shook her head but kept a watchful eye on him. Would he try to hunt them alone? With how absolutely clumsy he was, she wasn't sure he'd be up to the task. Now that she thought about it, with Croc being an overgrown cub as far as she could tell, she doubted he would make for a good soldier. Oh well. It was still pleasant to be around her own kind. Perhaps she was feeling some sort of maternal pull towards him in the combination of her loneliness and his cub-like behavior, but she wanted him to stay safe, and she wanted to stick around. For now, Nefertari stayed where she was, but if he got himself into danger she'd come to his aid, despite this not being a good idea in her current state. |
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Post by Croc on Jan 7, 2018 21:58:06 GMT
Croc had Plans.
Big plans.
Even as he pranced around it didn't seem to be enough to coax the other hyena from her spot.
She musta really liked that pond!
No matter!
He proceeded on without her, edging closer and closer to the herd as he trotted back-and-forth, the weed flip-flopping all across his nose, dragging across the ground at his feet, its taste turning ever more sour the longer he held it.
But he wouldn't give up!
Soon enough he was within a range where at least half of the herd now had their eyes on him, turning and snorting, stamping hooves and shaking horns.
At this distance not even the rain could wash away the stench each individual put off.
The hyena paused when he saw that he was being taken good note of, then he continued his usual tiptoeing, swinging to-and-fro in long, wavy lines that brought him slowly to close the distance.
He knew exactly what he was doing.
He just wasn't sure what effect it was going to have.
Some of the buck grunted and moved away, others held their ground.
Drool pooled in the hyena's mouth, dribbling out, the sight of food so close quickly becoming too much for him to bear.
At last one of the males, further out from the herd than the rest, grew agitated enough that he lowered his head and charged, kicking out with his front hooves.
Croc instantly dropped the plant he'd been carrying, wheeling about with a loud giggle as he turned to flee.
But apparently the buck had something to prove, for he did not stop after a rough headbutt sent the offending predator's way, and in fact continued to chase after the spotted fiend who, like the gentleman he was, raced straight for the larger female resting in the shallows.
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Post by Nefertari on Jan 8, 2018 0:57:56 GMT
S he blinked as she watched Croc weave about towards the waterbuck, plant in tow. What was he planning? Was he perhaps more clever than he let on? Whatever it was, the waterbuck were becoming quite agitated. Finally, one took the bait and charged at him. She was expecting some great plan to come to fruition, but instead Croc dropped the plant and turned tail in a mad dash towards her. Nefertari gawked at him, yelling, "No, don't lure it over here!" But it was no use. However, she blinked a few times as an idea came to her. She tensed her muscles and kept her intense stare glued to the waterbuck as they neared. First, Croc passed by her. When the waterbuck unknowingly did the same, she leapt out of the water like a crocodile, latching onto the beast's flank. The jerking of her body sent waves of pain into her chest, but there wasn't much she could do about that right now. The waterbuck recoiled in pain, trying to shake the large hyena from itself. Normally, Nefertari would be able to hold on with ease, but her own pain was just too much and she let go, dodging an incoming hoof. "You could've picked a smaller one to piss off," She griped, though her eyes didn't leave the waterbuck. She'd had enough of getting battered today. |
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Post by Croc on Jan 8, 2018 22:11:30 GMT
What was that?
Croc couldn't quite hear Nef through his mad cackling, the storming of hooves behind him, and the rain and the wind in his ear...s.
Yes, DO drive the angry bull towards her?
After passing the other hyena he immediately began to turn in a wide arc, ready to return to shore.
Catching the sight of Nef lunging towards the waterbuck, however, he spun on his heels and proceeded to do the same, dashing forward with jaws open wide as he kicked hard against the waterlogged mud.
Almost as soon as Nef could no longer hold on, the male had taken his turn on getting a grip on the beast.
It didn't last long.
He heard the distinct crunch of bone as his teeth closed around an ankle, but even this wasn't enough to bring the beast to heel, much to Croc's chagrin.
With ease the buck threw off the attacking hyena, and he had to roll just to dodge its incoming hooves, water spinning into his eyes, a shallow wound cut just beneath his broken ear.
He giggled again, curling away and baring his teeth, but fortunately the waterbuck seemed ready to hold off on another attack, withdrawing hastily to deeper water where half of the herd had retreated, too.
Croc, sides heaving, sniffed the water's surface, licking at a thin trail of blood that was quickly being washed away in the waves, then cocked his head backwards to see what the other hyena was doing.
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