(AIM rp between Moose & Myself)

Ves hated to admit it but this land crap was not working for her. She had been knocked down, ran over, trampled by these damn long legged land creatures, it had been days since her last good meal. Temper high and stomach empty the lioness had cast her nose into the air following the scent of water until atlast she came to the shore. Violet eyes widened in awe at the size of the water, the sharp scent of salt stinging her nose but seeing a fish jump awoke her hunger that easily over road her awe.

Slipping silently into the water, Ves was amazed at how easy it was to swim in, but rather than ponder if too long, she dove under the surf, and began to fish.

It wasn't long before Shirou found himself at the waters edge, basking in the sunlight with the ocean spray fluffing his mane. It was the best feeling to have after a night from hell. With his visions worsening, he knew it was only a matter of time before someone caught on; he only hoped it wasn't Pirato. That male...if he knew, he'd call Shirou weak, and then he could never be a Captain. With his mind on recovering, the little juve stepped out into the water, his eyes dancing along the surf in search of shells for his sister.

There was a brief splashing sound then a snarl as a white and blue lioness could be seen down the beach wrestling a rather large fish onto the shore. She was rather short for a lioness but broad, wide shoulders and hips with muscular but short legs. Her jaws were clamped with a killing bite on the back of the fish's head as she just threw her weight down and let it struggle it's life out.

He didn't want to look, but with that much noise, how could he not? Shirou turned curious eyes onto the warring battle. He couldn't figure out why that lion was trying to fight a fish of all things, but it sure was - "It's a girl!" He shrieked. His curiosity peeked, Shirou took off at a jog to her side. "Hey, why are you fighting that fish?"

Violet eyes glared at him hard but she didn't let go of the fish until with a last weak tail flop it laid still. She snorted at the young male getting up, "I was fighting with it because it is my dinner kid."

"Kid?" He rolled his eyes with an irritated huff. "Hardly." Shirou stared at her for a moment, his disgust mounting. What kind of female was she, anyway? They were supposed to be pretty, nice....and not like that. "I knew swamp rats were gross, but you're new."

She paused having lowered her head to tear into the food her stomach was growling for at his words, "What the hell you call me?!"

"Are you as deaf as you are stupid?" Shirou stood tall. His arrogance didn't let him feel fear at having obviously ticked off a rogue. As weird as she was, she was still a girl in his eyes, and not a very good one at that. "Swamp. Rat."

He had about two seconds warning with the savage snarl she gave, when she plowed into him. She may not look like much, but dammit if she didn't feel like she weighed a ton. The damp white fur covered a body of solid muscle.Years of wading and swimming in the murky swamps and plowing through thick mud had given her a solid build.

Shirou didn't waste time in screaming. As soon as she hit him, though, the air jutted out of his lungs like a Tsunami. Just trying to move under her hurt like he was getting the beating of his life! Looking up at her, he growled, defiance on every corner of his face, and snapped at her.

Ves snarled in answer even as he bit her, "Damn boy I have had worse gator bites than that." She got up off him, aiming a rough cuff at his head, "Whoever got charge of you sure ain't doing there damn job. You would already be bait back home."

Turning her back, as if he didn't matter she went back to her fish, stomach rumbling.[/color[

Just when he was about to really let her have it, something his his head and knocked him onto the sand. He barely heard anything she said from where his head was buried. Something about 'doing their damn job' and 'bait'. Whatever it was, it had him tearing up from the sand and stalking after her. "Like you've had better. Look at you! I've seen Hippos with more grace than you. You look like someone's backwoods cousin."

She heaved a sigh having been about to take a bite out of her dinner again. "Don't make me send you head over tail again boy, I ain't in the habit of hurtin kids but you interrupt my dinner one more time I am gonna notch that damn ear for ya."

"I'd like to see you try. If you had done YOUR job right, I wouldn't be able to bug you right now, would I?" Shirou didn't know what it was about her, but something about this female had his aggression levels through the rough. NO ONE talked to him like that. Not after what he had to put up with night after night. He may have been small, may have had bags under his eyes from lack of sleep, but damn it, he stood as tall as a Captain and wanted the same respect.

Ves heaved a sigh looking at regret at her cooling dinner, then with a sudden lunge she was on his back, her sheer weight likely causing his knees to buckle as she tried to fasten her teeth on the back of his neck, where his spine would meet his head. It was a weak area...a killing area.

In a moment of panic, Shirou ducked his head at the last moment, narrowly evading his bite. It wasn't something he had expected, and with his legs pinned underneath him, he knew he had no means of escape. "Gonna kill me, swamp rat?" He snapped, but his voice shook.

He would feel a sudden sharp pain in his right ear, then her weight was gone as she once more got off him to head for her dinner. "I told ya what I was gonna do if you disturbed my dinner once more boy. "

He wasn't as eager to get back up this time. That little moment...it made him want to hide for the first time in his life, and Shirou wasn't eager to relive it, even if she had only cuffed his ear. He rubbed the sore appendage on his shoulder. "Whatever. Have fun with your fish. I've got better things to do than deal with you."

He would see blood on his shoulder when he rubbed it, she didn't even look up from her meal tearing into the fish with obvious hunger. Her tail flicked at him in dismissal her entire being focused on the first food she had in days.

Shirou just shook his head, wincing at the pain in his ear, turned tail and left. What was it to him what she wanted to do with her time? He'd already seen it in his visions - she was going to join soon enough, so he'd have plenty of opportunities in the future to kick her a**.

(word count: 1263)