Crying cub

[daystar]

Rayen smiled, relieved that Rath seemed ok, but she wasn't going to let her off that easy. She was still watching her. In the adrenaline of a fight sometimes serious wounds don't hurt as much as they should. She tried to wash the concern from her features and she laughed. She could just see her and Rath guarding the borders, both of them rather small and nonthreatening. 'Small and unthreathening...until we attack.' she thought happily. She really hadn't thought they would do so well against the family of hyenas.

Rath's statistics were correct though, hyenas zero. She stretched slowly, the mother hyena hadn't made a lot of slashes into Rayen's pelt but she'd definitely made Rayen's muscles ache. She groaned slightly then laid down. She smiled as Rath cleared most of the blood from her nose. "I thought, if we are going to fight we might as well eat." she laughed, that hadn't been the thought but it was much nicer then what she'd been thinking at the time.

Rayen hadn't wanted to kill the hyena pup just let him know that he couldn't go around attacking lions. Though she had quickly decided the mother was fair game. If she'd been a little bit stronger she'd had every intention of ripping the creatures throat out. She imagined the creature would have a nasty scar but Rayen knew she'd missed the vital vein that runs through the neck. It didn't matter, because they were safe anyway. It wasn't a fatal fight and that was just fine with Rayen. No lions were lost and that was a win in itself.

"You are quite the fighter, Rath." she said "By the time I finished with Mommy Devil, I thought you'd be pretty bad off. I was fighting one to one and it was pretty intense. Three to one, and you still won. I don't know if I'm going to take care of you, or if you are going to take care of me." the words were said with a hint of friendly teasing. Though truthfully Rayen was quite proud of her new family. If Rath could take care of herself like that, she was going to be a pleasure to have around.

[hawksong]

Rath smirked at the female, giggling a bit at her joke. She sighed heavily, finally regaining her breath. I guess we'll be an even match then? Those pups were sugar-high crazy on hyena milk. I guess that's why hyenas are the way they are. Brought up that way, hunting so early for their enemy. I don't like their taste. Bitter. She made a face like she'd just scented rotting meat. The little female looked quite comical. Rath smirked and made at a small butterfly that had floated in to the dawn, jumping as it reached higher. She turned on Rayen, snarling and trying to roar. The cub pounced in front of her, fighting an imaginary foe, dodging and feigning. Rath smiled and sat down hard, all of her pent-up energy finally spent. Where do we go now? Rath asked, slightly tilting her head.

[daystar]

Rayen watched Rath happily. She was smiling widely and despite the long night was still quite enthused. She let her tail dance wildly behind her and she felt a quiet growl rise in her throat. Finally she laughed loudly as Rath sat down. This was fun and Rayen was enjoying herself and her company. But she didn't have any plans, nowhere to go. So she turned the question.

"Well, little wildfire, where would you like to go?" Wildfire seemed like a good description of the cub. Even after her fight, a fight that so easily could've been fatal, she was still happy and raring to go anywhere. Rayen liked that and so she would leave the activity planning up to her cub.

[ OOC: Sorry, my postie is short but I'm a little short on time tonight. ]

[hawksong]

Rath stood, looking out over the landscape at dawn. The cub saw movement in the grass, a stork flew up from the reeds. The cub watched it circle before flying away. Her tail-tip twitched as she went in to a crouching position, spotting another prey not far off. A small rat scurried away before she could even spring. She growled and sat down once more, staring at the beautiful birds overhead. Why don't we race? There's got to be somewhere to go. Maybe we'll find something to eat besides hyenas! The little lioness giggled and twitched her tail. She crouched in to a running position and smiled. Betcha can't catch me! she called before racing off in to the reeds.All anyone could see was the cub's tail-tip bouncing like a grasshopper over the reedy landscape.

[daystar]

Rayen watched the cub quietly as she began her hunt though luck didn't appear to be in her favor on any of her 'prey' so Rayen again watched as the cub gave up on hunting and sat down. If it was a race the cub wanted then she'd picked the wrong femme to race with. Rayen sprung to her feet taking note that Rath had mentioned she might want something to eat. 'I'll keep my eye out.' she thought. Rath had taken a small head start and Rayen stretched quickly before breaking into a dead run.

It was hard to track the cub in the tall grass and following her bouncing tail was making Rayen dizzy. She veered slightly left of the cub and tore into a straight line no longer following her directly but every few seconds she scanned for her. Rayen wasn't running full speed because by definition Rayen's much longer legs would easily outmatch the cub and Rayen did not want to get to far ahead.

She was scanning the grasses for Rath's tail when a rabbit exploded from in front of her. Instinctively Rayen reached for it and surprisingly she manage she catch a back legs with her claws. Wounded the rabbit was doomed from the start. It continued to run but it's pace was slow as it's injured back leg gave out. Rayen had trouble coming to a stop and she overran the rabbit. She doubled back and easily caught it around the neck. It didn't scream like they usually did and it only kicked for a split second. She guessed it's heart gave out in fear which happened to the nervous little rabbits.

Rayen dropped her prize and looked for Rath. "Oh, Raath!" she called immensely proud of herself. Rayen's own stomach was queasy from the earlier epic. She'd eaten a large meal yesterday and the rabbit didn't even look appetizing so this was for the cub. She hoped the small prey would sustain the cub's hunger but if not, Rayen wondered how well the child knew how to hunt larger prey. Rayen normally didn't bother but with the pair of them she thought it was attemptable.

[hawksong]

Rath heard the lioness call from a bit away, where she was stalking an unnaturally plump bird. She pounced, not to the desired effect. The bird was gone. The small sounds that usually emitted from the cub's throat grew large. Oh Rayyyyyyyen! The little cub bounded to the great lioness. The blood scent was strong as the little one drew closer, her tail-tip leaping high over grasses taller than she was. She skidded to a halt before silently stalking Rayen's tail and pouncing in to the space where the lioness waited. She bowed and looked to her caretaker. Gorgeous capture, Huntress. she teased, looking at the plump rabbit. She sat down and licked a drop of blood from her paw where it had been in the blood of the creature. She smiled as the bit found her tongue, one of her favourite flavours.

[daystar]

She smiled. "I am a great huntress, aren't I?" she said. "Well, eat it." Rayen's eyes scanned the immediate area, fresh blood could easily draw in unwanted company. Rayen waited physically tense but mentally at ease. She realized as she brought her gaze back to Rath that she was very happy. She had a great queen that she respected very highly. She knew Lothril was undoubtedly busy but she couldn't wait for Lothril to meet Rath. Rayen decided she'd be a nice addition to the pride.

She was only a cub but a healthy, smart one. Not to mention a great candidate for border patrol, she thought amused. Rath had certainly spiced up her time spent since she'd met her. The realization of what had just happened was slowly sinking in. Rath was her cub...she was kind of like Rath's mother, adopted mother to be exact. Not since she'd left her mother had Rayen been in contact with a creature she cared about more then herself. Rath was that now.

She thought about how different her and Rath were. When Rayen was a cub she was so sick and so small well into the second year of her life was she considered weak. Rayen was a shy, soft-spoken cub, she hadn't been eager for adventure or companionship or anything like that she had just been weak. She'd been lucky enough to grow out of it. Truthfully it wasn't fair that Rayen was given so much time to grow especially since she was so sick. So many cubs just like Rath, they were born healthy and so many of them died healthy at the hands of fate. It just wasn't fair that a healthy cub like Rath wasn't given the proper chance.

She shook the thought because Rayen was going to do everything in her power to give Rath that chance to live. She couldn't help but wonder if maybe Rath would've lived on her own. Rayen knew she wouldn't of, but Rath might've had a shot at it. "You know what, Rath? I'm glad you're here." she said sincerely.

[hawksong]

Rath tore in to the rabbit, eating as quickly as she could. The cub didn't even notice how hungry she was until she'd finished the meal. She'd left a choice piece of meat for Rayen. The cub finished and licked her paws and chops. The cub heard the lioness' words and smiled. I'm glad you're here too, Rayen! Rath rubbed against the femme's foreleg and made a noise kind of like a purr. The little cub looked up at her and smiled, blissfully happy. I dunno what I'd do without you here to help. I guess I'd have gotten eaten by the hyena if you weren't there to eat her. Didn't you think she was bitter? She yawned, showing all of her teeth. The little cub swayed on her feet, tired after the long night. She turned in a circle and layed down. She half-awakendly played with the femme's tail and soon found herself asleep.

The babe found herself in a dream amidst the biggest pride she'd ever seen. The leader was old and grizzled, almost dead on his feet. He was about to name a new heir when the hyenas attacked. They savaged most of the pride, leaving her, Rayen, and the old, grey leader. The king was about to be attacked when her and Rayen swooped in to fend off the onslaught of blows. She found herself within an impenatrable shield, Rayen with one of her own. She swiped one hyena after another, fighting side by side with the great huntress. All of the hyenas were dead. Then came a scary part. One giant hyena rose from nowhere and attacked them, knocking Rath to the ground. Rayen swooped in and tore the beastess' throat out, swallowing it whole. She turned to Rath, Rath and Rayen 1,000,000, hyenas 0. The cub snuggled deeper in to the warmpth of Rayen's side.

[daystar]

She watched as Rath ate satisfaction showing in her features. As it turned out Rayen wasn't a half-bad caregiver. They'd made it through the first night and a first meal. Rath's words further proved Rayen's newest hypothesis. She quickly noticed when Rath was done that she hadn't finished all the meat and she tore the meat from the bone and had it chewed in swallowed quickly. She hadn't been hungry but she knew better then to waste, plus the longer it sits the worse it'll taste.

Speaking of taste, the hyena did taste different nothing like the deliciousness of the rabbit and the usual prey. It was unnatural for carnivores to eat other carnivores. Carnivores weren't prey and so they were more likely to taste bad was how Rayen figured the disgusting taste. Really, hyenas were disgusting creatures anyway. They smelled bad, they were awful and Rayen knew most all lions were on the same page when it came to the dirty creatures.

Rayen laid down and Rath was falling asleep. Rayen was tired too, it had been a long night. She rested her head on her front paws and glanced at Rath out of the corner of her eye. The cub was asleep and soon Rayen succumbed and closed her eyes. She didn't dream, and she was still vaguely aware of her surroundings. It'd been a tough night but she had a feeling it might be a good day. Her shoulder still stung but she was pretty sure the dash she'd just made would be good for it.

[OutOfCharacter: I think this post is about over, nice place to end off, I'm pretty sure Lassiel is going to call a 'pride meeting' soon...I think. We can get Rath official member status there.]

[hawksong]

OOC: Thread Closed

[Lassiel]

Locking.