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 Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 9:33 pm
Tukutu's long night had passed about a week ago, and he felt himself sink back into a regular schedual. For anyone that knew him well, that meant that he did a whole 'lot of nothing. His paws kicked up a lot of dirt as he shuffled around the graveyard, keeping himself looking busy. It was better than sleeping the whole day. At least he'd get a little bit more respect from some of the younger crowd if he at least looked busy.
His ears swveled around as he listened to the sounds around him. There was little to no sound, as the middle of the day was never too comfortable in the dry, dirty lands. He hobbled over to an outcropping of bones, keeping himself in the shade as he decided to take a break. Just one little nap wouldn't hurt, especially if no one found him here.
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Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 9:57 pm
Ever since the near death experience she had had with her granddaughter, Mafa had felt her cold out shell softening up. And to be honest, she didn't like it one bit. Spending time with the pup, actually feeling needed for something other than leadership; that had really impacted the usually stone hearted alpha. It had been a moment of weakness, that whole day. Hopefully it would not happen again.
Mafa was out on a stroll, not being able to sit still yet again. The Graveyard had changed so drastically since the quake. All the old bone formations and dirt piles she had become so familar with in the past were gone. The Graveyard itself was asking for change. But what kind of change? Mafa paused, her aqua eyes closing for a moment. She was trying to listen to her home, trying to feel it. What was it saying? With a quick sigh, Mafa shook her head. Nothing. Everything was silent.
Making her way slowly around a newly formed cliff, Mafa kept her nose busy. She was sniffing up the past, it seemed. Everything that had been buried for so long seemed to have been dug up all over again. It was a bit bizzare. Some scents, though incredibly faint, were still familiar to her. The old hyenas, their names she didn't remember. Lost to memory, all but one: Banzai. Mafa missed him, she really did. Ambling along in her own twisted world, Mafa failed to notice a creature that lay both in her past and her present. The dusty female passed by the slumbering Tukutu before she even noticed he was there. Doing a double take, and turned, returning to where that lazy bum slept and huffed loudly, standing over him like a hawk.
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Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 10:07 pm
Tukutu hadn't noticed that Mafa was around, or anyone for that matter. He had safely assumed that no one would ever find him. But he had taken one misstep. Sleeping nearly out in the open would always get you in trouble; one rule that he had never fully comprehended.
With a snort, he slowly opened his eyes, the green hidden underneath quickly opening widely. Oh, s**t. Why the hell did it always have to be Mafa catching him sneaking a nap? It was never any of the damn pups running around, or one of the younger, nervous recruits. It was always her. What the hell, was fate trying to tell him something? Probably to get off of his lazy a**.
He was old though, wasn't he? Well, probably not. Just living here for so long, with so many memories made him feel older than he probably was.
With a snort, he shook his head as he curled around, slipping his legs under him. "Mafa," he said with a grunt, displeased. Another lecture. He felt like he could almost guess what it would be, though. Pity he wouldn't be able to mock her behind her back, as she'd glare at him the whole time.
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Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 10:17 pm
For a good few moments, Tukutu's fears may just have been realized. Mafa stood over him, her face contorted into a rather furious scowl. He was ALWAYS sleeping. She'd honestly never seen him do anything productive and boy had she had her eye on him for a long time. However, that scowl faded as she simply shook her head. Her care for him was waning. Rolling her eyes to the side lightly, Mafa sighed,
"Don't get yourself all rustled Tuk. Do whatever the hell you want."
With a rather wide yawn, the large female backed away a little, putting about a foot inbetween them. After sitting down, she verted her gaze back to Tukutu, her aqua eyes seemingly searching for something in his dusty gray form. Though this male didn't seem to hold any answers. Did he? Feeling quite zapped of her mental energy, Mafa didn't exactly feel like bickering today; she just felt like talking. She hadn't talked to someone in a long while. When she spoke again, her tone was low, almost defeated in manner,
"Not like there's much to do. Those ******** lions seem to be backing off. That quake sure did a number on this place, too. It's so... Different."
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Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 10:31 pm
Tukutu was shocked when she had backed away. It reminded him of that other meeting, a while ago, where she again had seemed so confrontational, yet she swung around with emotions. Females, he would never, ever understand them.
Grumbling as he settled himself upwards into a sitting position, he shuffled his back legs around a bit too much and scattered some bones. A little put off by the sudden noise, the hyena growled, brushing them away from him, ugh.
"If they're leaving, you'd better take their lands before they come back with their...damn males that come out of no where." Irritated now, the hyena couldn't help but be snappy in Mafa's place. "Especially since their numbers have been so low lately. We could always use the room, the damn pack is huge now." He could barely get time alone now! Certainly that was a cuase for concern.
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Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 11:13 pm
At Tukutu's words, Mafa gave a half hearted shrug. Perhaps this was what had been bothering her. Sure, they had the opportunity to expand. Tukutu said there were many, but she never saw them. Whether it was that they simply avoided her or that there weren't as many as she was disallusioned to, she couldn't tell. Everything was all a-jumble in her head.
"There's only so much I alone can do, Tukutu. I've noticed the following waning. I haven't even seen my own children in months. My own daughter..."
Mafa frowned as she spoke of her past litter. She'd seen nor heard anything from them. The boys, she expected it from, as they were smarter than Mabozi and didn't stick around. But Tawala, where had she gone? Mafa couldn't exactly throw a ball anc chain so to speak on the girl. But it seemed she was once again without a daughter. Useless... The lot of them. The alpha shook her head, chuckling cruelly,
"Me and what army?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 7:02 pm
Tukutu's ear twitched as he thought about it for a moment. He could have sworn that there were more around, but perhaps they only stuck their heads into the pack long enough to fool him into thinking they were still around. Tukutu was open enough to admit that he didn't pay much attention to anyone else in the pack. Mbezi, only because that stupid rat was trying to threaten him, and Mafa, well...because she was Mafa, and everyone should know where she was, unless they wanted new scars.
"They're here Mafa, I'm sure of it. Perhaps they've grown lazy. Without the lions to war with, we have nothing to do."
Sometimes the truth hurt, but TUkutu was oblivious. He was just stating things without thinking about them beforehand.
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:26 pm
A fretful, yet annoyed sigh parted Mafa's lips. He was right, the pack had gotten lazy. She couldn't lie to herself , nothing had been the same since the birth of her last litter. It was like a sort of hibernation the pack had fallen into. Sure, this was a time of peace, but that didn't mean they should all be so inactive. Of course, Mafa was guilty of this herself, but hypocracy bothered her none.
"We need to breathe life into this pack again."
Mafa's comment was curt and to the point. Her cold eyes narrowed in on Tukutu. She said 'we' because she felt loyalty toward Tuk. They had started this pack and thus were in it together. Even though she always considered it HER pack. Mafa was content to have Tukutu lurking in the background. Her safety blanket. Her key to the past. One look at the brooding male and she could almost see herself as a carefree pup once more. She needed him in her life, no doubt. He kept intact what was left of her 'humanity', so to speak. Without Tukutu, Mafa would actually be that souless beast everyone saw her as, not just seeming like one.
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:37 pm
Ugh. Tukutu felt his stomache drop. More scouting? He was sure that now she'd want him to steal pup's from their mother's den, hoarding even more hyenas here. That was what he had done a lot of! Sure, maybe it was only marginally successful, but then everyone knew who they were!
With a grumble, he pushed himself up into a sitting position, his shoulder blades aiming for the drab sky as he sulked. "I'm assuming that it's back to recruiting, eh?" Great, just what he needed.
He was interested in this 'we' though. Was she going to go all out and find them too? Or just snap at everyone to get them back into shape? Maybe they could set up sparring teams, get them going again. Or take an old route and just keep them hungry. His tail twitched with ideas, all of them sounding good but not really sticking in his mind.
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:47 pm
Mafa noted the expression on Tukutu's face change from one of slight contempt to a more discerning one. Just what was he thinking? Looking curiously at him as he propped himself up, Mafa shrugged, shaking her head lightly,
"I'm not sure. I've always preached more. That we need more hyenas. But what good is more if they do nothing but hide?"
The land wanted change and Mafa was intent to bring it. Not particularly by more recruits, though if hyenas did stumble in she wouldn't refuse them. No, they needed to whip this batch they were already stuck with into shape. Most of them were weak, as far as she saw it. That needed to be fixed.
"They need training, these huddled masses."
Mafa flicked a paw in the air as she spoke, just saying things as they came to mind. She didn't feel the need to watch her tounge around Tukutu.
"I need to see the state of these lions for myself. I think it may be time to take back what's rightfully ours..."
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:55 pm
Tukutu snorted. He agreed, but it would be interesting to get them started. "Well, 's long as you don't scare them away when you n** them at the heels." He could see some of the lazier ones freaking out and leaving, but Tukutu would have to get himself in enough shape to chase them right back. No one was going to leave here if Mafa didn't want 'em to.
"I'll help if you want, or follow after you. The Maziko's been a little too quiet lately." He hoped that it wouldn't turn into some sort of ambush. That was the last thing that he needed to deal with right now; something happening to Mafa on account of the lions. He had never been much against them, but if something like that happened? His hatred could rival Mafa's.
He paused before he let himself rise. "If that's what you meant with 'we', anyway."
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 10:20 pm
Mafa shot Tukutu a quick glare. Why what did he mean scare them away? As far as she was concerned, if one wasn't a lion, this was the best place on earth to be.
"That's not meant to scare. I call that motivation."
The alpha smirked momentarily before letting her usual stoic glaze-over run back over her expression. At Tuk's words, Mafa simply nodded. It just felt right to know that he'd follow her lead. And with that, she knew he was right. She hadn't seen a lion from that so called pride in months. Now talk about weak. Perhaps they had all died off. They were lions after all, and lions were not meant to live in climates such as this one. Hyenas on the other hand were simply created for it.
"It'll be ours again..."
Mafa's voice sounded far away as she stared off at the bones behind Tukutu. Back to the way things were before the lions meddled. Then there could be peace. Then she would be content. But Mafa could not rest knowing that there were lion paws on land that was rightfully hers. When Tuk spoke again, Mafa's eyes seemed to refocus on him, her tone serious all of the sudden,
"I suppose... You just can't run off like you did before. I... I can't function so great without you."
Mafa frowned as she spoke, never exactly being one to share her emotions. But there it was, she'd said it. She needed him here for more than just politics. At least it was out in the open now.
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 10:34 pm
Tukutu smirked, quite pleased with himself. It wasn't like he was trying to get anything out of Mafa, but it just happened to be that way. He stretched his limbs out, a little growl escaping his throat as he felt his tense muscles relax. His nap hadn't been too long, but with the awkward position he had been in, he had cramped up quite quickly.
"All ours. Good too, we could always use more room to run around in." In his older age, he had finally decided that high savannah grasses were itchy and annoying, and the dusty lands of the Mava'Bunda always complimented his coat. He'd take this over anything, any day.
A laughter emitted from his throat, though he did cut it short. "I'm sure you can't function without your punching bag." His tail twitched wildly for a moment as he thought about Mabozi. Certainly, since that moron was grown and probably busy playing with his own little rats anyway.
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Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 7:56 am
Yes, all theirs. Well, predominantly all Mafa's, but she was willing to share for the benefit of the pack. However, in Mafa's mind, it wasn't that they needed more space. At least not really. To her, it was all about principle. Her ancestors had lived in this land, ALL of it. There had been no divisions in the past and lions just didn't belong. It was during her reign that this divide had taken place; she had been too young to stop it. But now, now she was older, wiser, and set with the determination of her youth. Her home would be one again. Without the lions.
The female scowled as Tukutu laughed. Was he talking about Mabozi? Mafa's eyes narrowed in an icy glare. Like Tuk was one to talk. Mabozi, in that state of mind, was perfectly the most useless creature on planet earth. Not a thought that floated in his empty head was a serious one. Mafa hadn't exactly put any effort into raising him, only recently had she taken up interest in her son again. She'd hated him for a long time, transferring her anger for Tuk to the pup. Mafa shook her head, sighing heavily. When she spoke again, her voice was cold, suddenly devoid of emotion,
"He's YOUR fault Tukutu. Not like you would ever accept any responsibility."
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 8:52 pm
The hyena's ears plastered themselves to his head, obviously feeling a little guilt over what had happened. Not only guilt, but a bit of anger, as well. It wasn't like he tried to ruin her hopes with that boy. He had hoped to giver her what he wanted, but Tukutu had failed. He didn't need to be reminded of that every moment, but it always was.
"Perhaps a bit," he said quietly. He didn't think being on Mabozi's life would really change his outcome, but perhaps he wouldn't have grated on the female's nerves quite so much. Tukutu didn't want to be 'dumped' with the kid, but instead ruined what he had set out to do.
With a shrug, his green eyes glared at the ground, as if it was at fault for his shoddy luck. "But there's nothing ah can do now, really." His eyes narrowed as he clawed at the ground. Take that, luck. Isn't like he needed it anyway. "'Cept maybe keep him away from you."
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