The hyena was not expecting to run into company, but it seemed that today was meant for it. She spotted not one, but two lions in the distance, walking together, chatting lightly. They did not seem particularly comfortable, as she watched them, and she assumed that they were just meeting each other. That, or they were just not friends, however well they knew one another. She did not think they would be forcing themselves to stay in company, though, if they were that awkward around each other all the time. She had to assume that they were just getting to know one another and she happened to find them at the start of their meeting. She wondered if they were aggressive toward hyena, like some lions could be, or if they would not mind her joining their conversation… she had not had any company in a few days, and it would be nice to have some help hunting if she could manage it. Hunting with a bad nose was just difficult, and with the wind against her and her prey all apparently endowed with super hearing, her efforts had so far been fruitless. Everything caught on to her before she had a chance to start hunting, running away sometimes before she even saw them. Not being able to smell… it was getting more and more difficult just to survive.
Rizardon and Yol had only just run into one another. The two lions were tense and stiff, and neither noticed the hyena watching them for now. They were still trying to figure out if the other was any kind of threat or not. It did not seem so, but lions could never be too careful, one way or the other.
Yol looked at the male lion with a careful eye, bashful and quiet for the most part. It was only when she had to defend herself when the monster came out, so to speak, and she proved just how tough and skilled she really was when it came to fighting. She just did not want to fight, if she could avoid it, because she did not want to hurt anyone. Ever. After she had accidentally killed someone in a fight before, she had been timid into getting back into the whole thing. She looked at the larger male with her ears down and her eyes barely lifting to meet his, avoiding them as much as she could. She took a slow breath and tried to speak again, but words failed to come out and she just made a little sound.
Rizardon watched her and smiled. She seemed very unsure of herself, and he did not think she had a mean bone in her entire body. He would never have suspected her capable of killing anything more than small food, and even then it was hard to think she was much of a hunter. But he did not ask her about her past, or what she had been trained in, just as he did not offer any of that extra sort of information about himself. If she asked, sure, he would be all too happy to tell her all about his history, but for the moment it was not necessary. He was just trying to get her to look up at him, and talk to him like he was not a giant monster. There was no ill intent in his body, as far as he could tell. He had no interest in hurting her and wondered vaguely what had happened in her past that made her so timid.
“You don’t have to be scared, miss. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m a pretty nice guy, if I can say that about myself. Look, I just. You’re making me feel bad or something, I don’t know. I can leave if you want me to, I promise I am not going to hurt you…” He was almost begging her to look at him a different way, and it did work. Kind of. She looked up at him and made a surprised, upset face, then looked down at the floor again, her mouth drawn in a long, thin line. She looked very troubled and guilty for a long moment before she sighed and tried to look up at him again. This time, she made a stronger effort, and managed to smile.
“I… I am sorry. I just… I don’t have much experience with others and the last time I met a rogue male in these parts… my head is just some place else, I’m very sorry if I was rude… for not talking.” She spoke quietly and her tone was soft. Rizardon smiled at her gently, his kind nature bubbling up. He was rough and tumble, large and built for physical labor and grunt work. He was not the brightest lion out in the plains, and he knew that he could be a bit dumb. But he was kind, and he would never hurt something that looked like it just needed some protecting. His attention was drawn, though, when he heard something approaching, turning his head suddenly and spotting the hyena as she was approaching. Growling fiercely, he moved in front of Yol, letting her hide behind him, which she was all too happy to do.
Bilashi halted in her tracks, wide eyed and looking up at the massive lion fearfully. She had greatly underestimated his size upon approach…
“Uh. Hi. I was just… I don’t want to hurt anyone either! I mean, I just heard you guys talking and I thought… I mean, you all sounded so nice and I’m not… I know lions don’t like hyena but… hey, look, I’m just passing through, same as you guys. Please don’t eat me.” It felt like every word she had ever learned was suddenly falling out of her mouth. She could not define her own sentences, hurrying through one thought to the next in an effort to say everything she could before, presumably, she was eaten by this huge lion. He stared at her and for a long moment she thought he did not even understand her, his dim eyes looking her over with a disinterested gaze. But he relaxed and stepped to the side, letting Yol step forward again, and now both lions regarded her for a long moment before anyone tried to speak again.
“My name is Yol,” the red and white lioness said gently, “and it is nice to meet you both… you’re both welcome to walk with me for a little, if you would like… perhaps we could find some food to share? With the three of us, hunting would be a lot easier…”
Though she imagined Rizardon had no trouble hunting, and could likely take down something the same size as three normal lions might. He did smile, though, and nodded his head at her idea.
“My name is Rizardon. Sorry I was so aggressive there. Some hyena seem to be around just to cause trouble, you know. Not to say all of them are… uh.”
“It’s alright. Most of us are jerks. I try not to be. My name is Bilashi. It’s nice to meet you both. Uh. Yol and Rizardon. I’ll try to remember, though I’m not the best with names.”
The large male looked at the little crew he had assembled and nodded his head. He moved to get them walking, remembering he had seen a herd of food not too far off. After all, there were three of them now. He had passed by without thinking about it, hungry but knowing that he had his limits. He doubted alone he would be able to keep up with the fast prey beasts that lived around here. Having a few others that could help him herd one to its fate, however, would cut down all the effort and the risk substantially. He was all too happy to help with the hunt, of course, not lazy in his efforts to keep himself fed.
He was not bad at sharing, either, when it came down to it.
“Alright, you two. I hope you’re good hunters! I think we’ll be able to find enough food for the three of us, but we’ll need a plan and we’ll need to work together. I’m more than happy to do the bloody part, but I’ll need you both to make sure our meal runs the way it needs to. Do you think you can do that?”
“Of course,” Bilashi scoffed. As long as she was not the one sniffing out the food, she did not care what job he gave her. Or that he had suddenly elected himself the leader of their band, when it was Yol who had brought them together for this hunt. She was quiet, though, and smiling gently. She seemed content to let him lead, following along and nodding her head slowly at his orders.
“I will do what I can to help. Thank you, both, for the aid. I haven’t had much to eat recently… so this is a very big help to me. I’ll try to repay you both some how.”
“I think,” Bilashi said easily, “if we all get food out of this, that’ll make us even, right?”
“Right.” Rizardon said with a grin.
Word Count: 1,548 in Word