Post by Isoba on Feb 19, 2007 1:27:32 GMT -5
...in which the Wahamishi juve-dogs leave the graveyard FOREVAR.
Elephant Graveyard - Entrance
The air cools. The fur on the back of your neck bristles. The scent of death hangs in the air which merely compliments the eerily dark ambiance of this gateway. Only those who live beyond knows what lies within. Those who have seen it have never lived to tell the tale.
Upon the ledge overlooking the border with the Pridelands, almost as though itself were a sentry, is an old, massive elephant skull with tusks threateningly aimed toward approaching victims. The occasional sound can be heard though no body can be seen to claim responsibility. You can feel your heart pounding in your chest the further you go, pleading you to turn back.
Characters Involved:
Gondi, barmy escapee.
Athari, sane escapee.
Chukizo, magical(!) escapee.
Gahiji, Don Quixote of mongooses (mongeese?).
Vunda, a stupid coward hyena.
Mazizi, a bone-kicking, Tic-Tac-Toe-playing hyena.
The Roleplay:
Athari comes tumbling over a high wall of tightly compressed bones, sending a couple toppling from their place. He lands on the dusty, rocky ground with a thump, then immediately lifts his nose to the air, his tail erect and his ears perked forward. Something's in the wind today. It's different. There will be no more lazing around and chewing on bones all day. Things will change, like they always do.
The hyenas are... gone? Out poaching perhaps, but the fact that there aren't any slinking about the yard is one of the main reasons Chukizo comes out of her own hiding place in a pile of bones, carrying a femur in her teeth. "A'ree?" she says as she pads slowly up to her brother. "aa'chaa ooo'een?"
Gondi's well aware of the subtle shift in the air, and he lifts his snout and inhales deeply as though all the better to take it in. He paces back and forth, still high on the top of the bone-wall, putting emphasis on the anterior portion of his body as though a great burden was residing there. In truth, he was anxious to be out of there posthaste - all the bones served only to be a sordid physical reminder of the new direction his own thoughts were taking.
Athari glances at Chukizo, then paces about in a full circle, gazing up at Gondi, then back at the border of the Graveyard. Then, without looking at his sister, he replies quietly, "I dunno. I think 'Chenna's coming." Simple as that. And he doesn't like it. It's filling him with apprehension and...fear?
Chukizo's ears immediately splay at the mention of their stepfather. She drops her bone and starts to edge closer to Athari, looking behind her and noticing Gondi for the first time. "Wh-...what are we gonna do?" she asks, her tail already starting to tuck.
Gondi, of course, didn’t need this new fact to raise his level of trepidation; it was already on the brink of spilling over from mere discomfort to something approaching mania. The area around his eyes was puffy and swollen from continuous lack of sleep over the past few uneasy nights, though it was hard to make out in the gloom. He was out of earshot from his two siblings, of course, which was probably just as well.
"Dunno," Athari says again, but it's obvious he's already hard at work formulating a plan. It doesn't take a genius to come up with one. No hyenas about...and he doubts they'd really care anyway. "We go 'way. Again." He points his nose to the west. But not the same way we came.
Chukizo looks away from her brothers to the ground, studying her paws as she heaves a heavy sigh. "I'm tired'uh runnin', Athari... and I'm tired'uh bein' hungry."
Gondi is still unaware that his brother and sister have congregated below, and so continues his frenzied pacing up on the wall of bones. But bones weren’t, after all, built to be all that strong, and most of the ones he was stepping on were already brittle and yellowed from age – a tenuous foothold, indeed. Not that Gondi really notices.
Athari looks to her sharply, splaying his front paws slightly. "Well I /ain't/." He's very averse to meeting his mother and stepfather after all this. Days have built onto weeks have built onto months...and now, in his eyes, the consequences have built up as well. He doesn't want to go back.
Chukizo looks back to Gondi, waiting for him to weigh in.. but he doesn't look like he's paying any attention. "Gondeeee~," she calls to him, perking her ears a bit.
SPKLINKUNK. That was the closest onomatopoeic rendering to what had just happened: Gondi had taken a tumble, of course. The frail bone-wall could only hold up so much weight, and a section of it had shattered completely.
Athari yips in surprise as the wall tumbles, leaping straight into the air and landing with a slight growl. He's kind of edgy right now. His eyes flash to Gondi, and he trots over to where his brother has fallen.
Trot? How about RUN. Chukizo somehow thinks her brother falling is her fault, so she rushes over, her ears and tail up and her mouth going even faster than her paws. "OhmygoshGondiareyouokayIdidn'tmeantomakeyoufall!"
When Gondi had landed, he had landed in a weird position, with his left side crushed beneath the rest of his body (he had tried to land on his feet, like a cat, but it hadn’t really worked). He just sort of lies there wracked in evident pain, though really, he was all right.
Perhaps he's been to abrupt about this. Though he doesn't voice it as loudly as Chuki, he knows the sensitive nature of his brother and wonders if he didn't overhear.
Chukizo whimpers and bounces nervously around her fallen brother. "Gondeeee," she whines, her ears splaying, pinning, then perking.. .and then doing it again. "Get up!"
The crashing has caught the attention of a few hyenas, Vunda among them. It's not every day that something busts in the Graveyard, least of all something breaking without a purpose. The shattering of bones could mean the presence of something . . . edible. So a small group of about five hyenas comes galloping to the entrance, giggling and whooping, with Vunda at the fore. However, when they spot the pups, they all stop dead and begin to grumble amongst themselves. Vunda rolls his eyes. "Dumb pup fall down?" he titters in a patronizing tone.
Gondi does get up at the behest of his sister, legs wobbling slightly beneath him. The left side of his body hurt, but that doesn’t stop him from throwing a somewhat frosty look at the hyena who had spoken. Other than that, though, he says nothing, focusing solely on regaining his slighted dignity and balance.
Athari turns his head to glare at Vunda and the other hyenas, a little snarl curling onto his lip. "Nonayer business, Vunda." He's momentarily worried - looks like there might be something here to hinder their escape. But then he remembers that Vunda's probably going to be the least sad to see them go.
Chukizo ignores the hyenas, save for the cowardly tuck of her tail. She steps closer to Gondi and starts to lick at his neck, her whimpers growing softer but not dissapating.
"It is my business," Vunda snorts, taking a few steps closer to the pups, leering down at them. Gahiji's nowhere in sight, which means the hyena gets to play with the younglings as much as he wants. "You run around tearing up our graveyard, we get a little angry."
Gondi winces slightly as he puts weight on his left front paw, testing that and his other limbs gingerly. He pauses to throw another deeply irritated look at Vunda and practically snarls, “Oh, I’m /so/ sorry. Didn’t realize I was tearing up your precious food supply.”
"Place is already torn up as it is," Athari mutters, mostly to himself - though it's possible for Vunda to hear if he strains his ears. He adjusts his stance so that he's next to Gondi, prepared to run or fight if need be. He doesn't like the idea of being all alone in this place with only Vunda and his cronies."
Chukizo turns her head and stares at the hyenas, eyes wide with fury. They're mean, and for once, she isn't going to buckle and just let them *be* mean. Not when her brother was hurt. "That ain't true! This ain't your graveyard! It belongs to the elphanents!"
Oh ho! Feisty little Chuki! A few of the hyena cronies giggle fitfully, licking their chops, eyeing the pups hungrily. They won't attack unless they get an okay, but that doesn't mean they can't think about it. Vunda's lips pull back from his teeth in a malicious grin and he focuses in on Chuki, since she's the one openly challenging him. "It belongs to /us/ now," he snaps. "Don't see many elephants around here, now do ya? 'Cept the dead ones." This gets a few cackles from the peanut gallery. "Better watch that mouth o' yours, or you might wind up gettin' it chewed off." He's certainly tough when there's nothing bigger or badder than him to tell him otherwise.
But the three aren’t pups anymore- although it’s just as fair to say that they were no closer to being adults. Still, even adolescent African Wild Dogs were capable of defending themselves when they were in danger, as Gondi lets Vunda know with a particularly vehement bark. He steps openly up to Chuki’s level, growling quietly: “You leave my sister alone. Y’hear me?”
Athari stands fast, staring down Vunda. He says nothing. He may be young, but he certainly isn't a pup, and he knows that sometimes silence is stronger than words.
Chukizo's ears pin back, but she stands her ground. Hackles raising she tentatively bares her own teeth. "Liar! Tamu comes cause his friend is dead! He comes to be sad here, and he would knock you silly iffin' he heard you say that." She falters for a moment, then adds in a harsh yip, "An' I'm gonna tell 'im!"
"And just what're you gonna do about it, kid?" Vunda snarls, turning his gaze to Gondi. The other four hyenas begin to press in, growling softly, occasionally snickering. When Chukizo speaks, Vunda's head snaps around to glare at her, and he takes a few more steps forward, his mane bristling. "Can't tell him anything if you don't got a face, can ya?" he sneers. Would he actually attack Chuki when he's under strict orders not to? Judging by the look in his eyes, he just might.
Gondi yelps abruptly and loudly in Vunda’s face, a mixture of wanting to startle the hyena and anger and simple fear. He casts his gaze rapidly about him to the four other hyenas pressing closely about them, and at the same time moves backwards into a sort of defensive knot alongside Chukizo and Athari.
Athari sets himself lower against the ground, growling. If Vunda tries anything, he will leap first to protect his siblings - and then urge them to run. The sooner they get out of here, the better.
Chukizo cringes, pressing both of her sides against her brothers as they flank her, but she doesn't stop running her mouth. "Oh yeah? I can too. Cause.. cause..." think, Chuki! "...cause I'm made of magic!"
The yelp only makes Vunda whip his head around to snap his jaws inches away from Gondi's face, emitting a growl. Don't you mess with me, pup! Chuki's declaration gets several cackles from the peanut gallery, and even Vunda chuckles deep in his throat, teeth constantly exposed. "Yeah?" he sneers. "Wonder what magic tastes like." He licks his chops, growling low. "Y'know, what with the scarce eatin' 'n' all, I'll bet Sumu wouldn't miss a few scrawny pups. Whaddaya think?" The question is tossed over his shoulder at his comrades, who giggle in an agreeable fashion.
One of those comrades has the nerve to answer. She's just wandered in at the sound of a conflict, which is a tasty thing in itself. And what she's overheard is intriguing, too. "Did I hear someone say they were made of magic?" asks Mazizi loudly. "If that's so, I gotta know how's they can stay standing. That'd more likely fall to pieces." She snortles, which is too a real hyena word.
Gondi doesn’t to bother to answer, though a hundred fitting retorts crop up within his brain – he didn’t trust himself to speak and still somehow manage to keep his calm. He moves a tiny bit to the side, as though to protectively conceal his sister, Chukizo. If conflict arose, he knew what he would do – attack. ‘Run’ was not an option for him while his siblings were around.
Athari narrows his eyes at Vunda's retort, and growls a little louder as some other hyena, a female, chimes in from nearby. He doubts she'll help. Hyenas are generally untrustworthy when it comes to taking sides. He watches Vunda, preparing himself for the first move. Come on, then...
"I..." Chukizo falters again, her ears splaying to either side of her head. She whimpers softly and glances sidelong to her brothers. Sumu had given them her protection, but Vunda did not appear to care what his matriarch had ordered or prohibited him to do.
But Vunda's stopped from attacking when Mazizi speaks up. He shoots the bone-kicking hyena a glower. He's never been too fond of Mazizi--but then again, who /is/ he fond of? "Doesn't matter," he growls at her, "they're /all/ gonna be in pieces when I'm through with 'em." Who cares about Sumu's orders when there's food to be had?
Don't worry--no one's ever been that fond of Mazizi, so it's no surprise not to be getting kisses and hugs. Her kind are used to being a bit more lonely. "Just lookin' for food," she queries, jaunting closer, "or got some sort of gripe? Cuz I'd join you in the grubbing, 'cept I think her Sumu-ness said these guys are off-limits. Dunno why, though. Unless she was talking about a different bunch of puppies." She blows steam, hoping that's the case.
Mazizi’s comment makes an idea occur to Gondi – one that probably wouldn’t work, but was probably worth bringing up anyway. “You wouldn’t want to offend Sumu, would you?” he remarks casually, drawing on the female hyena’s statement. “Naught like disobeying a matriarch to make her angry.” He pauses to let the words sink in. “And where would a hyena be without a clan, hm? Homeless and preyless, that’s where.”
Athari snorts derisively. "Yeah, an' then you'd be even more pathetic than you are now." He seriously doubts this will work, but hey! Vunda's a stupid coward, maybe he'll wimp out at the last minute.
One thing that the creatures here seem to forget is that wherever the pups are, Gahiji is nearby. The mongoose has made it a point to keep near the pups ever since he encountered Vunda, and now, he walks right in on what else, but his pups (he's come to think of them as his, anyway) being menaced by, that's right, hyenas! Without even pausing to take in the situation, he grabs up a tibula and breaks in with his usual belligerence. "Wot in tha' blue blazes are ya' doin' with ma' puppies, ya' bajin, caramel lickin', howlin' smeekit snotters?!" he roars, totally on the offensive. "Jus' one more twitch at 'im, an'll ah'll ram this bone so far up yer arse ye'll need ta' /hilda/ ta' get it oot!"
Vunda grunts softly, glancing at Mazizi apathetically. "Sumu'd be glad to get rid of 'em," he rumbles, quite obviously caring more about his empty stomach than the fact that he could be facing Sumu's unholy wrath. "A few less mouths t' feed. And you /shut up/!" The last sentence is directed with a snap at the pups. Hyena business, thanks! He's about to explain his case further when Gahiji's brogue busts in on all the action, causing Vunda's mane to bristle angrily. His compadres shift uneasily as the mongoose makes his appearance, but they don't scatter. It's just one mongoose . . . right?
Mazizi is nonchalant. She's not so indifferent about Sumu's wrath, since she knows how easy it is to slide down the totum pole of status, and how hard to claw back up. She's glad to use the odd creature's arrival as an excuse not to stake out a position. "Did someone forget to teach you t'use actual words?" she jeers irately at Gahiji. "Cuz contrary to what you may believe, it actually +does+ matter which sounds you make when you open your mouth!" She's ready for a fight if she has to have one, but hardly spoiling.
“/Sumu/ wants what she wants, and if she had wanted otherwise, she would have said so,” Gondi continues calmly. He pauses to look down with evident relief at Gahiji’s outburst, grateful for even this limited bit of support. “I’ll have you know the reason for the matriarch’s support, because you’re obviously too uninformed to know it yourself – we belong to a clan too, of sorts. You’ll make dangerous enemies if you do anything with us.” Truth, that.
Athari's ears perk up at the sound of a familiar voice. Gahiji to the rescue, indeed! He feels quite a bit more confident now, but doesn't really have anything witty to add in. He silently ruminates over the fact that this will make leaving a bit more difficult. Oh, well. At least they have less of a chance of getting eaten.
Gahiji waves a dismissive paw at Mazizi, completely unconcerned with the five... six... opponents he's likely to face. He very aggressively continues to advance, putting himself between the hyenas and the pups, the bone laying over one shoulder, ready for action. If these hyenas are spoiling for a fight, they're in for the best one they've ever had! And if the pups get harmed in the process... the last. "Ya' heard the wee one," he says, referring to Gondi. "Awa' an' beil yer heids! Ah'm Gahiji the Braw, an' ah say naow, ahament the least bit shoogly! Ya' want these pups, ye'll 'ave ta' go through me! Is this 'ow the terror of the savannah handles fisty cuffs? Pickin' on wee pups? Off with ya', afore ya' embarrass yerselves!" He whips the bone down and draws a line in the dirt, eyes flashing. Every passing moment makes him more stoked for combat. The hyenas may find *themselves* under attack, soon. "First one ta' cross this line afore the pups're awa', will be goin' ta' the stars above blind, deaf, an' dumb!"
Chukizo's eyes widen at Gahiji's bravery, her heart swelling. Yay! But as soon as he makes his proclamation, the girlpup starts to wiggle away from her brothers, turning her head to nip at their necks. Let's go!
The hyenas mutter and grumble amongst themselves, unsure if they should really go after the pups now. Vunda, however, stands on his side of the 'line' and glares over at the mongoose. He says nothing, and he doesn't take a single step. Maybe he's lost the desire to munch some pup-flesh.
Mazizi, on the other paw, listens to the boisterous mongoose with wide ears and even wider eyes. She sets her jaw at a bemused angle, and then calmly picks up another bone similar to Gahiji's tibula. She moves to his line, looking him in the eyes with almost maternal pity. She looks down and draws another line in the dirt, parallel to Gahiji's. She looks up for his reaction. Then she quickly draws two lines crossing them at right angles, in the shape of a tic-tac-toe board, and marks an X in the corner. And smiles crookedly.
Gondi sucks in his breath at Mazizi’s reaction to Gahiji’s threat, wary of a boiling tension about to be ruptured. And then, he feels Chukizo’s teeth nipping his neck – yes, maybe it /was/ time to go, though that was the last thing he felt like doing. So he backs off still facing the hyenas with a blood-curling viciousness, snarling fit to burst.
Athari watches in wonder as Mazizi draws a strange diagram in the dust, his intellectual side completely ignoring the present danger. He absently begins to back away, though his eyes are still focused on the little grid.
Gahiji takes a few steps back and readies his bone for some severe smack-down-ing, when Mazizi seems to watch him with a very odd expression and... draws in the dirt? He looks down at the tic-tac-toe game, then up at Mazizi. He peers over her shoulder at the other hyenas, giving them a glare that says 'Ah'm watchin' ya!' He then, very calmly, cracks his knuckles, and plops an O in the middle square. Oh yeah... what poise. He's got this one in the bag.
Chukizo scoots back and bites at Athari's tail, whimpering softly. Come *on* you too! Let's beat it while we can!
Mazizi chuckles at the idea that she's managed to distract the fiery viverrid. She glances at the foursome as well, and then, smiling perversely, leans over and scratches an X on the corner diagonally opposite from her first one. Let them wonder what their fate is. That's almost better than eating them...aside from the meat, of course.
Athari is suddenly reluctant to leave without bidding any of his friends - namely Gahiji and Tamu - a proper farewell. Ironic, that he hasn't really made friends with any actual hyenas - the cubs weren't so bad, actually, if a bit slobbery. But, hey, the first apathetic Chuki is now siding with him, so he might as well take advantage of it. He growls a bit and snaps back a bit testily as she nips at his tail, but it's more of a distracted instinct. He's already loping away at a pretty good pace, half turning his back to the hyena. Let her draw her weird diagram thing. He's off.
Gondi’s feelings aren’t far from what Athari’s are, but that’s no impediment to his suddenly intensified desire to leave that cursed place. He finally turns tail to the hyenas and bolts, yip-howling with that strange, terrified glee that comes from escaping an unseen enemy.
Gahiji hmphs at Mazizi's maneuver. Well that just messed up his whole strategy right there. He quickly shifts gears and drops another O across the board from one of the hyena's X's. He watches Athari and Gondi beat a hasty retreat, and turns back to nod at Chukizo. "G'wan, lass. Ah'll catch oop," he promises. No way he's sticking around here with all these smelly layabouts. Those pups will need him out there, he's fairly certain...
Chukizo spins and runs, following Gondi. Athari is also quick to follow as the pups make a break out of the graveyard and to greener pastures.
Mazizi notices the pups making their way away, and frowns. She grits her teeth and looks at the other hyenas, and at Vunda, to see if they're going to react. Then, hastily, she draws an X in the fourth corner to block Gahiji's line, and tosses the bone to Vunda. "Take over for me," she says. Then she crosses the recontextualized lines inadvertently as she heads after the pups at a concerned lope, without apparent malice, calling, "Hey pups...are you sure you have to go? I hardly got to meetcha."
Vunda growls softly to himself as he watches the pups retreat. His cronies huddle about behind him, not sure what they should do and trying to take their cues from him. He has no interest in the game of dirt-scratching, so he simply drops onto his haunches and mutters something very foul under his breath. It's then that Mazizi's bone clatters at his forefeet. He glowers at it, then glowers at her retreating back, then at Gahiji. With a disdainful snort, he lifts a forepaw and knocks the bone away, sending it skittering across the lines, likely fouling up the game.
Elephant Graveyard - Entrance
The air cools. The fur on the back of your neck bristles. The scent of death hangs in the air which merely compliments the eerily dark ambiance of this gateway. Only those who live beyond knows what lies within. Those who have seen it have never lived to tell the tale.
Upon the ledge overlooking the border with the Pridelands, almost as though itself were a sentry, is an old, massive elephant skull with tusks threateningly aimed toward approaching victims. The occasional sound can be heard though no body can be seen to claim responsibility. You can feel your heart pounding in your chest the further you go, pleading you to turn back.
Characters Involved:
Gondi, barmy escapee.
Athari, sane escapee.
Chukizo, magical(!) escapee.
Gahiji, Don Quixote of mongooses (mongeese?).
Vunda, a stupid coward hyena.
Mazizi, a bone-kicking, Tic-Tac-Toe-playing hyena.
The Roleplay:
Athari comes tumbling over a high wall of tightly compressed bones, sending a couple toppling from their place. He lands on the dusty, rocky ground with a thump, then immediately lifts his nose to the air, his tail erect and his ears perked forward. Something's in the wind today. It's different. There will be no more lazing around and chewing on bones all day. Things will change, like they always do.
The hyenas are... gone? Out poaching perhaps, but the fact that there aren't any slinking about the yard is one of the main reasons Chukizo comes out of her own hiding place in a pile of bones, carrying a femur in her teeth. "A'ree?" she says as she pads slowly up to her brother. "aa'chaa ooo'een?"
Gondi's well aware of the subtle shift in the air, and he lifts his snout and inhales deeply as though all the better to take it in. He paces back and forth, still high on the top of the bone-wall, putting emphasis on the anterior portion of his body as though a great burden was residing there. In truth, he was anxious to be out of there posthaste - all the bones served only to be a sordid physical reminder of the new direction his own thoughts were taking.
Athari glances at Chukizo, then paces about in a full circle, gazing up at Gondi, then back at the border of the Graveyard. Then, without looking at his sister, he replies quietly, "I dunno. I think 'Chenna's coming." Simple as that. And he doesn't like it. It's filling him with apprehension and...fear?
Chukizo's ears immediately splay at the mention of their stepfather. She drops her bone and starts to edge closer to Athari, looking behind her and noticing Gondi for the first time. "Wh-...what are we gonna do?" she asks, her tail already starting to tuck.
Gondi, of course, didn’t need this new fact to raise his level of trepidation; it was already on the brink of spilling over from mere discomfort to something approaching mania. The area around his eyes was puffy and swollen from continuous lack of sleep over the past few uneasy nights, though it was hard to make out in the gloom. He was out of earshot from his two siblings, of course, which was probably just as well.
"Dunno," Athari says again, but it's obvious he's already hard at work formulating a plan. It doesn't take a genius to come up with one. No hyenas about...and he doubts they'd really care anyway. "We go 'way. Again." He points his nose to the west. But not the same way we came.
Chukizo looks away from her brothers to the ground, studying her paws as she heaves a heavy sigh. "I'm tired'uh runnin', Athari... and I'm tired'uh bein' hungry."
Gondi is still unaware that his brother and sister have congregated below, and so continues his frenzied pacing up on the wall of bones. But bones weren’t, after all, built to be all that strong, and most of the ones he was stepping on were already brittle and yellowed from age – a tenuous foothold, indeed. Not that Gondi really notices.
Athari looks to her sharply, splaying his front paws slightly. "Well I /ain't/." He's very averse to meeting his mother and stepfather after all this. Days have built onto weeks have built onto months...and now, in his eyes, the consequences have built up as well. He doesn't want to go back.
Chukizo looks back to Gondi, waiting for him to weigh in.. but he doesn't look like he's paying any attention. "Gondeeee~," she calls to him, perking her ears a bit.
SPKLINKUNK. That was the closest onomatopoeic rendering to what had just happened: Gondi had taken a tumble, of course. The frail bone-wall could only hold up so much weight, and a section of it had shattered completely.
Athari yips in surprise as the wall tumbles, leaping straight into the air and landing with a slight growl. He's kind of edgy right now. His eyes flash to Gondi, and he trots over to where his brother has fallen.
Trot? How about RUN. Chukizo somehow thinks her brother falling is her fault, so she rushes over, her ears and tail up and her mouth going even faster than her paws. "OhmygoshGondiareyouokayIdidn'tmeantomakeyoufall!"
When Gondi had landed, he had landed in a weird position, with his left side crushed beneath the rest of his body (he had tried to land on his feet, like a cat, but it hadn’t really worked). He just sort of lies there wracked in evident pain, though really, he was all right.
Perhaps he's been to abrupt about this. Though he doesn't voice it as loudly as Chuki, he knows the sensitive nature of his brother and wonders if he didn't overhear.
Chukizo whimpers and bounces nervously around her fallen brother. "Gondeeee," she whines, her ears splaying, pinning, then perking.. .and then doing it again. "Get up!"
The crashing has caught the attention of a few hyenas, Vunda among them. It's not every day that something busts in the Graveyard, least of all something breaking without a purpose. The shattering of bones could mean the presence of something . . . edible. So a small group of about five hyenas comes galloping to the entrance, giggling and whooping, with Vunda at the fore. However, when they spot the pups, they all stop dead and begin to grumble amongst themselves. Vunda rolls his eyes. "Dumb pup fall down?" he titters in a patronizing tone.
Gondi does get up at the behest of his sister, legs wobbling slightly beneath him. The left side of his body hurt, but that doesn’t stop him from throwing a somewhat frosty look at the hyena who had spoken. Other than that, though, he says nothing, focusing solely on regaining his slighted dignity and balance.
Athari turns his head to glare at Vunda and the other hyenas, a little snarl curling onto his lip. "Nonayer business, Vunda." He's momentarily worried - looks like there might be something here to hinder their escape. But then he remembers that Vunda's probably going to be the least sad to see them go.
Chukizo ignores the hyenas, save for the cowardly tuck of her tail. She steps closer to Gondi and starts to lick at his neck, her whimpers growing softer but not dissapating.
"It is my business," Vunda snorts, taking a few steps closer to the pups, leering down at them. Gahiji's nowhere in sight, which means the hyena gets to play with the younglings as much as he wants. "You run around tearing up our graveyard, we get a little angry."
Gondi winces slightly as he puts weight on his left front paw, testing that and his other limbs gingerly. He pauses to throw another deeply irritated look at Vunda and practically snarls, “Oh, I’m /so/ sorry. Didn’t realize I was tearing up your precious food supply.”
"Place is already torn up as it is," Athari mutters, mostly to himself - though it's possible for Vunda to hear if he strains his ears. He adjusts his stance so that he's next to Gondi, prepared to run or fight if need be. He doesn't like the idea of being all alone in this place with only Vunda and his cronies."
Chukizo turns her head and stares at the hyenas, eyes wide with fury. They're mean, and for once, she isn't going to buckle and just let them *be* mean. Not when her brother was hurt. "That ain't true! This ain't your graveyard! It belongs to the elphanents!"
Oh ho! Feisty little Chuki! A few of the hyena cronies giggle fitfully, licking their chops, eyeing the pups hungrily. They won't attack unless they get an okay, but that doesn't mean they can't think about it. Vunda's lips pull back from his teeth in a malicious grin and he focuses in on Chuki, since she's the one openly challenging him. "It belongs to /us/ now," he snaps. "Don't see many elephants around here, now do ya? 'Cept the dead ones." This gets a few cackles from the peanut gallery. "Better watch that mouth o' yours, or you might wind up gettin' it chewed off." He's certainly tough when there's nothing bigger or badder than him to tell him otherwise.
But the three aren’t pups anymore- although it’s just as fair to say that they were no closer to being adults. Still, even adolescent African Wild Dogs were capable of defending themselves when they were in danger, as Gondi lets Vunda know with a particularly vehement bark. He steps openly up to Chuki’s level, growling quietly: “You leave my sister alone. Y’hear me?”
Athari stands fast, staring down Vunda. He says nothing. He may be young, but he certainly isn't a pup, and he knows that sometimes silence is stronger than words.
Chukizo's ears pin back, but she stands her ground. Hackles raising she tentatively bares her own teeth. "Liar! Tamu comes cause his friend is dead! He comes to be sad here, and he would knock you silly iffin' he heard you say that." She falters for a moment, then adds in a harsh yip, "An' I'm gonna tell 'im!"
"And just what're you gonna do about it, kid?" Vunda snarls, turning his gaze to Gondi. The other four hyenas begin to press in, growling softly, occasionally snickering. When Chukizo speaks, Vunda's head snaps around to glare at her, and he takes a few more steps forward, his mane bristling. "Can't tell him anything if you don't got a face, can ya?" he sneers. Would he actually attack Chuki when he's under strict orders not to? Judging by the look in his eyes, he just might.
Gondi yelps abruptly and loudly in Vunda’s face, a mixture of wanting to startle the hyena and anger and simple fear. He casts his gaze rapidly about him to the four other hyenas pressing closely about them, and at the same time moves backwards into a sort of defensive knot alongside Chukizo and Athari.
Athari sets himself lower against the ground, growling. If Vunda tries anything, he will leap first to protect his siblings - and then urge them to run. The sooner they get out of here, the better.
Chukizo cringes, pressing both of her sides against her brothers as they flank her, but she doesn't stop running her mouth. "Oh yeah? I can too. Cause.. cause..." think, Chuki! "...cause I'm made of magic!"
The yelp only makes Vunda whip his head around to snap his jaws inches away from Gondi's face, emitting a growl. Don't you mess with me, pup! Chuki's declaration gets several cackles from the peanut gallery, and even Vunda chuckles deep in his throat, teeth constantly exposed. "Yeah?" he sneers. "Wonder what magic tastes like." He licks his chops, growling low. "Y'know, what with the scarce eatin' 'n' all, I'll bet Sumu wouldn't miss a few scrawny pups. Whaddaya think?" The question is tossed over his shoulder at his comrades, who giggle in an agreeable fashion.
One of those comrades has the nerve to answer. She's just wandered in at the sound of a conflict, which is a tasty thing in itself. And what she's overheard is intriguing, too. "Did I hear someone say they were made of magic?" asks Mazizi loudly. "If that's so, I gotta know how's they can stay standing. That'd more likely fall to pieces." She snortles, which is too a real hyena word.
Gondi doesn’t to bother to answer, though a hundred fitting retorts crop up within his brain – he didn’t trust himself to speak and still somehow manage to keep his calm. He moves a tiny bit to the side, as though to protectively conceal his sister, Chukizo. If conflict arose, he knew what he would do – attack. ‘Run’ was not an option for him while his siblings were around.
Athari narrows his eyes at Vunda's retort, and growls a little louder as some other hyena, a female, chimes in from nearby. He doubts she'll help. Hyenas are generally untrustworthy when it comes to taking sides. He watches Vunda, preparing himself for the first move. Come on, then...
"I..." Chukizo falters again, her ears splaying to either side of her head. She whimpers softly and glances sidelong to her brothers. Sumu had given them her protection, but Vunda did not appear to care what his matriarch had ordered or prohibited him to do.
But Vunda's stopped from attacking when Mazizi speaks up. He shoots the bone-kicking hyena a glower. He's never been too fond of Mazizi--but then again, who /is/ he fond of? "Doesn't matter," he growls at her, "they're /all/ gonna be in pieces when I'm through with 'em." Who cares about Sumu's orders when there's food to be had?
Don't worry--no one's ever been that fond of Mazizi, so it's no surprise not to be getting kisses and hugs. Her kind are used to being a bit more lonely. "Just lookin' for food," she queries, jaunting closer, "or got some sort of gripe? Cuz I'd join you in the grubbing, 'cept I think her Sumu-ness said these guys are off-limits. Dunno why, though. Unless she was talking about a different bunch of puppies." She blows steam, hoping that's the case.
Mazizi’s comment makes an idea occur to Gondi – one that probably wouldn’t work, but was probably worth bringing up anyway. “You wouldn’t want to offend Sumu, would you?” he remarks casually, drawing on the female hyena’s statement. “Naught like disobeying a matriarch to make her angry.” He pauses to let the words sink in. “And where would a hyena be without a clan, hm? Homeless and preyless, that’s where.”
Athari snorts derisively. "Yeah, an' then you'd be even more pathetic than you are now." He seriously doubts this will work, but hey! Vunda's a stupid coward, maybe he'll wimp out at the last minute.
One thing that the creatures here seem to forget is that wherever the pups are, Gahiji is nearby. The mongoose has made it a point to keep near the pups ever since he encountered Vunda, and now, he walks right in on what else, but his pups (he's come to think of them as his, anyway) being menaced by, that's right, hyenas! Without even pausing to take in the situation, he grabs up a tibula and breaks in with his usual belligerence. "Wot in tha' blue blazes are ya' doin' with ma' puppies, ya' bajin, caramel lickin', howlin' smeekit snotters?!" he roars, totally on the offensive. "Jus' one more twitch at 'im, an'll ah'll ram this bone so far up yer arse ye'll need ta' /hilda/ ta' get it oot!"
Vunda grunts softly, glancing at Mazizi apathetically. "Sumu'd be glad to get rid of 'em," he rumbles, quite obviously caring more about his empty stomach than the fact that he could be facing Sumu's unholy wrath. "A few less mouths t' feed. And you /shut up/!" The last sentence is directed with a snap at the pups. Hyena business, thanks! He's about to explain his case further when Gahiji's brogue busts in on all the action, causing Vunda's mane to bristle angrily. His compadres shift uneasily as the mongoose makes his appearance, but they don't scatter. It's just one mongoose . . . right?
Mazizi is nonchalant. She's not so indifferent about Sumu's wrath, since she knows how easy it is to slide down the totum pole of status, and how hard to claw back up. She's glad to use the odd creature's arrival as an excuse not to stake out a position. "Did someone forget to teach you t'use actual words?" she jeers irately at Gahiji. "Cuz contrary to what you may believe, it actually +does+ matter which sounds you make when you open your mouth!" She's ready for a fight if she has to have one, but hardly spoiling.
“/Sumu/ wants what she wants, and if she had wanted otherwise, she would have said so,” Gondi continues calmly. He pauses to look down with evident relief at Gahiji’s outburst, grateful for even this limited bit of support. “I’ll have you know the reason for the matriarch’s support, because you’re obviously too uninformed to know it yourself – we belong to a clan too, of sorts. You’ll make dangerous enemies if you do anything with us.” Truth, that.
Athari's ears perk up at the sound of a familiar voice. Gahiji to the rescue, indeed! He feels quite a bit more confident now, but doesn't really have anything witty to add in. He silently ruminates over the fact that this will make leaving a bit more difficult. Oh, well. At least they have less of a chance of getting eaten.
Gahiji waves a dismissive paw at Mazizi, completely unconcerned with the five... six... opponents he's likely to face. He very aggressively continues to advance, putting himself between the hyenas and the pups, the bone laying over one shoulder, ready for action. If these hyenas are spoiling for a fight, they're in for the best one they've ever had! And if the pups get harmed in the process... the last. "Ya' heard the wee one," he says, referring to Gondi. "Awa' an' beil yer heids! Ah'm Gahiji the Braw, an' ah say naow, ahament the least bit shoogly! Ya' want these pups, ye'll 'ave ta' go through me! Is this 'ow the terror of the savannah handles fisty cuffs? Pickin' on wee pups? Off with ya', afore ya' embarrass yerselves!" He whips the bone down and draws a line in the dirt, eyes flashing. Every passing moment makes him more stoked for combat. The hyenas may find *themselves* under attack, soon. "First one ta' cross this line afore the pups're awa', will be goin' ta' the stars above blind, deaf, an' dumb!"
Chukizo's eyes widen at Gahiji's bravery, her heart swelling. Yay! But as soon as he makes his proclamation, the girlpup starts to wiggle away from her brothers, turning her head to nip at their necks. Let's go!
The hyenas mutter and grumble amongst themselves, unsure if they should really go after the pups now. Vunda, however, stands on his side of the 'line' and glares over at the mongoose. He says nothing, and he doesn't take a single step. Maybe he's lost the desire to munch some pup-flesh.
Mazizi, on the other paw, listens to the boisterous mongoose with wide ears and even wider eyes. She sets her jaw at a bemused angle, and then calmly picks up another bone similar to Gahiji's tibula. She moves to his line, looking him in the eyes with almost maternal pity. She looks down and draws another line in the dirt, parallel to Gahiji's. She looks up for his reaction. Then she quickly draws two lines crossing them at right angles, in the shape of a tic-tac-toe board, and marks an X in the corner. And smiles crookedly.
Gondi sucks in his breath at Mazizi’s reaction to Gahiji’s threat, wary of a boiling tension about to be ruptured. And then, he feels Chukizo’s teeth nipping his neck – yes, maybe it /was/ time to go, though that was the last thing he felt like doing. So he backs off still facing the hyenas with a blood-curling viciousness, snarling fit to burst.
Athari watches in wonder as Mazizi draws a strange diagram in the dust, his intellectual side completely ignoring the present danger. He absently begins to back away, though his eyes are still focused on the little grid.
Gahiji takes a few steps back and readies his bone for some severe smack-down-ing, when Mazizi seems to watch him with a very odd expression and... draws in the dirt? He looks down at the tic-tac-toe game, then up at Mazizi. He peers over her shoulder at the other hyenas, giving them a glare that says 'Ah'm watchin' ya!' He then, very calmly, cracks his knuckles, and plops an O in the middle square. Oh yeah... what poise. He's got this one in the bag.
Chukizo scoots back and bites at Athari's tail, whimpering softly. Come *on* you too! Let's beat it while we can!
Mazizi chuckles at the idea that she's managed to distract the fiery viverrid. She glances at the foursome as well, and then, smiling perversely, leans over and scratches an X on the corner diagonally opposite from her first one. Let them wonder what their fate is. That's almost better than eating them...aside from the meat, of course.
Athari is suddenly reluctant to leave without bidding any of his friends - namely Gahiji and Tamu - a proper farewell. Ironic, that he hasn't really made friends with any actual hyenas - the cubs weren't so bad, actually, if a bit slobbery. But, hey, the first apathetic Chuki is now siding with him, so he might as well take advantage of it. He growls a bit and snaps back a bit testily as she nips at his tail, but it's more of a distracted instinct. He's already loping away at a pretty good pace, half turning his back to the hyena. Let her draw her weird diagram thing. He's off.
Gondi’s feelings aren’t far from what Athari’s are, but that’s no impediment to his suddenly intensified desire to leave that cursed place. He finally turns tail to the hyenas and bolts, yip-howling with that strange, terrified glee that comes from escaping an unseen enemy.
Gahiji hmphs at Mazizi's maneuver. Well that just messed up his whole strategy right there. He quickly shifts gears and drops another O across the board from one of the hyena's X's. He watches Athari and Gondi beat a hasty retreat, and turns back to nod at Chukizo. "G'wan, lass. Ah'll catch oop," he promises. No way he's sticking around here with all these smelly layabouts. Those pups will need him out there, he's fairly certain...
Chukizo spins and runs, following Gondi. Athari is also quick to follow as the pups make a break out of the graveyard and to greener pastures.
Mazizi notices the pups making their way away, and frowns. She grits her teeth and looks at the other hyenas, and at Vunda, to see if they're going to react. Then, hastily, she draws an X in the fourth corner to block Gahiji's line, and tosses the bone to Vunda. "Take over for me," she says. Then she crosses the recontextualized lines inadvertently as she heads after the pups at a concerned lope, without apparent malice, calling, "Hey pups...are you sure you have to go? I hardly got to meetcha."
Vunda growls softly to himself as he watches the pups retreat. His cronies huddle about behind him, not sure what they should do and trying to take their cues from him. He has no interest in the game of dirt-scratching, so he simply drops onto his haunches and mutters something very foul under his breath. It's then that Mazizi's bone clatters at his forefeet. He glowers at it, then glowers at her retreating back, then at Gahiji. With a disdainful snort, he lifts a forepaw and knocks the bone away, sending it skittering across the lines, likely fouling up the game.
