[PRP] Where Do you Go When You're Gone? (Timur x Njeve)

[hibi-tea]

She was sitting there, at the den, waiting for him. Timur had gone out somewhere once again and Njeve was waiting there alone for him, not eating until he came back. She had even gone out that day and caught rabbits for them. Sure, a rabbit would probably not satiate the full grown male, but she tried her best. She was still too small to catch things that would keep Timur full and happy, but Timur never seemed like he wasn't well fed, so he had been getting food from somewhere.

Njeve licked at her paw, cleaning off some of the dirt and grime she accumulated trying to catch the rabbits she brought back for Timur and herself. He was the only person she knew at the moment within the pride, and had decided staying as close as humanely possible to him was her best bet, at least until she was big enough where incase she pissed someone off she'd be fast enough to run or strong enough to fight.  

[Sergeant Sargent]

The grey shape of Timur appeared from behind a distant boulder, carrying some sort of bone in his mouth. The bone was so large and heavy that it caused his head to tilt to one side. Chunks of flesh still clung to the bone. Judging from Timur's disheveled (more than usual) state, he must have wrenched the big bone from the jaws of another scavenger and made off with it. As far as Njeve knew, it could have belonged to almost any kind of animal. Certainly not a lion.

Timur stopped suddenly, ears erect. He mumbled something to himself. The bone in his mouth made his words unintelligible, but what he said amounted to, basically, "There she is again." After a short pause he continued on his way as before, heading toward his den and Njeve.

So he found himself in the company of another of his own kind. It perturbed him a little. Hyenas had been nothing but unkind to him in the past. He felt quite proud of being a loner. Being around Njeve awakened long dormant pack instincts, which he found unpleasant. He felt as though he should try to take care of her, even though he had no need of her. He found his new position in life, as Njeve's hapless protector, both confusing and inconvenient.

Yet, in spite of how he felt, he was too shy to do anything about his new problem. If he was more sociable he would have searched for someone else to take her off his paws. Besides, Njeve was quiet. As long as she caused no trouble, he might as well let her stick around.  

[hibi-tea]

When the young hyena pup noticed Timur, her tail almost wagged for the briefest moment in happiness, but she halted it quickly. While Timur had brought her here and she had been staying close to him in a somewhat symbiotic arrangement, she did not wish to become attached to him. You see, despite Njeve's best efforts, she was growing the slightest bit fond of Timur, and on the inside she despised it so. She was afraid, afraid he'd take off one day and she'd never see him again, like with her family, and for the most part that fear, coupled with the small fondness she had developed for him was what had kept her sitting in the front of that den for the better part of the day, and what prompted her to catch the rabbits for them.

Her ears lowered slightly as he approached, though, noting the large bone and chunks of flesh clinging to it. In comparison to what hr had caught, her catch was laughable and she felt disappointed with herself for it. Still wishing to present to him her kill, she got up from her spot by the den, and met him as he walked back with the kill.

"...I caught us rabbits," Was all she said.  

[Sergeant Sargent]

"Mmmmh?" Timur said around his bone. His eyes darted between Njeve and the dead rabbits.

Well, that was strange.

Timur looked at Njeve again and dropped his bone in front of the den and vigorously licked his lips. He yawned and shook himself while mumbling something. As he stretched himself out he paused again to look at the rabbits. Njeve caught those rabbits. The rabbits were caught by Njeve. She caught the rabbits for us. Looking between the bone and the rabbits (the rabbits caught by Njeve) Timur uttered a quiet, uneasy growl. Something about those rabbits didn't sit right with him. Were they staring at him?  

[hibi-tea]

"...You don't like rabbits?" Njeve questioned, looking between the rabbits and Timur. Perhaps he was not pleased by the fact she attempted to hunt for him. Had she threatened his masculinity in some way? She hoped not, she was only attempting to be grateful to him.

Njeve approached the the bone and picked a scrap of meat from it, wanting to know what is tasted like. It was obviously not rabbit, and thus far the only thing she had managed to have was rabbit and unrecognizable remains. She hoped the meat on this bone tasted similar to any she had previously tried.

"Nawiri is very nice." She murmured, remembering how the Queen had given her some of her kill several days before as lunch.  

[Sergeant Sargent]

Timur jumped and spun around, startled by Njeve's voice. When he realized there was no danger he sat down and gave the rabbits another look, keeping his distance. "Rabbits? Hmph! No, no, rabbits are good, crunchy little snacks. But... those rabbits... I do not like. Those rabbits, I think, may be contaminated."

About that he would say no more. It was too complicated to explain. Something about the rabbits made him uncomfortable. Timur was one to trust his instincts, even when his instincts contradicted common sense or logic.

He did nothing to stop Njeve from eating the meat off the bone he worked so hard to steal. Njeve was female, so he believed she out ranked him. Even if she was male it would be bad to take food from the mouth of a pup. He lay down beside the bone, keeping an eye on the rabbit pile at all times. "Yes, Queen Nawiri is extremely kind. She is worthy of respect and gratitude."  

[hibi-tea]

Njeve picked a little off the bone, noting how Timur didn't seem to like the rabbits she had caught, despite the fact he said he was fine with rabbits. Perhaps he just didn't like the look of the rabbits, at least she thought that until he mentioned they're contaminated. Her brow rose slightly at the comment as she finished chewing and swallowing the piece of meat she had picked. Contaminated wasn't a word she had ever heard before in response to food.

"I'll eat them than, if you don't want them," Njeve commented, as she made her way to the rabbit pile, "Queen Nawiri gave me food the other day, and said she was glad you had brought me here..."  

[Sergeant Sargent]

Timur mumbled under his breath, "If Njeve eats the rabbits... hmmm... yes, very well."

Njeve might become contaminated. That seemed logical, yet somehow Timur thought that the logical result may not be in the actual result in this case. Perhaps Njeve would be alright. After all, she had caught the rabbits. It seemed right that she should eat them.

He sniffed the part of the bone where Njeve had torn off a piece of meat, examining the scent carefully in his mind, then lay with his paw over the bone and started to gnaw at the remaining meat. After a while he said, "So Queen Nawiri gave you food, eh? What sort of food?"  

[hibi-tea]

Njeve didn't understand Timur at times. He told her the rabbits were contaminated and now he said that she could eat them, despite the fact that they were apparently contaminated. Maybe he meant that they had cooties because she caught them. Was he afraid of cooties? He was an adult, adult's shouldn't be afraid of cooties.

She dug into the rabbits quickly, still having not shaken off her instinctual habit of plowing through a meal so quickly she needs at least a two hour nap before moving can even be considered. As she was working on the last remaining rabbit, Timur had stopped midway through his meal to ask her what Queen Nawiri had given her the other day.

"Zebra," She said quietly, finishing up with the rabbit, a small hiccup erupting from her mouth. She had eaten too fast and now she'd have the hiccups for several minutes. Even if it was only for a few minutes it was still annoying.

"...Where were you?" Njeve asked, settleing down on the ground as her stomach (which looked like it'd explode from the amount of food she ingested) made a little thump sound. She had always wondered where exactly Timur had gone during the day and sometimes the evenings. She wouldn't admit that she missed him when he was gone, but it didn't mean she wasn't curious.