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Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2013 11:00 am
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[Apologies for the delay with this. It's been one of those weeks at work...]
She walked with an air of purpose, her tan fur looking as if it had been recently groomed, the bangs hanging in front of her eyes blown to one side from a particularly strong wind. And yet, despite the blows she had taken to her pride since being captured, she still looked determined and fierce. There was a stubborn heart beating in her chest. A stubbornness so strong that only death would take it from her.
But everyone had their price. Everyone had something that they would do anything to have or retain. Orenda's was her freedom. Her dependence only on herself. For that she would do anything but freedom was not bought easily. It, perhaps of all things, was a thing rare and hard to find. And perhaps, some might argue, one could never truly be free.
Still, the terms had been laid down and the female hyena had agreed to them.
Today, unusually, the jackals were not with her.
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Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2013 11:13 am
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It was a normal day for Los. He had eaten, walked around a bit to meet new lions and hyenas (mostly lions though, the one female he had seen the other day was the only other canine he had come across so far), and had taken a quick trip to the stream to get a drink. So far, nothing out of the ordinary.
Which was why when he spotted Orenda from a distance, his tail gave a happy wag. Finally, a familiar face! Not a very friendly one with the way she was always scowling, but at least today she looked a bit better kept. She didn't have that shaggy appearance as she had last time. He set his paws in her direction and pricked up his ears to see if she'd hear him.
"Afternoon, Orenda," he called out, a cheerful look on his face. This pride was full of those who would hurt and even kill those who didn't agree with their ways, but that didn't mean they were horrible animals at all times. He was fiercely loyal to the lions that oversaw him and felt as though they were all one big family here. Which was nice, considering he didn't have one. He had been the sole survivor in his litter, his father abandoning his pups and mate soon after they were born, and his mother dying just a few months prior to his adulthood.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2013 10:26 am
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Los paused a few paces away from Orenda, tail wagging slowly. He was glad he had made a friend, even if she didn't want to be here. He hoped he could convince her otherwise - it would be rather sad to have to kill her if she didn't change her ways. He picked up on her rather uncharacteristic behavior, though, and his tail stopped swinging back and forth.
"What is it that you need help with?" he asked, tilting his head. He knew that she despised lions, but if she really needed help, wouldn't she ask one of them? There was a difference between being stubborn and stupid, and he was positive that she was not the latter. Los' mind instantly jumped to the worst: she was going to try to escape.
"If you're trying to run away, I can't help you," he said firmly, but not unkindly. "But if it's anything else, I'll do my best to assist you."
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2013 11:37 am
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Los frowned a bit as Orenda continued to speak, wondering what she could possibly mean. What was worse than death? Death meant you stopped living, and that was no fun. Los liked being alive. That wasn't to say he was afraid of death, far from it in fact. He just felt as though being dead would be very boring. Laying around, waiting for the buzzards to come pick your bones clean...surely that was rather dull.
"A bargain?" he repeated, ears perking up. He paid no mind to the dropped respectful term. It didn't bother him in the least, especially knowing Orenda didn't particularly like lions. He followed her away from the lions that were roaming about, seeking shelter next to a large pile of rocks and twisted trees that could have once been some kind of altar for a long lost pride.
"What of this bargain?" he asked, fully intent on the female. "What does it entail?" And how was he the only one that could help her? Surely she had been here long enough to make other friends...or...maybe not friends but contacts. It was nice to think that she trusted him, though, and his tail wagged just a bit at the thought.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2013 12:55 pm
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There really was no getting out of this, was there? She'd have to come out with it and what then? What if he said no? Hell, what if he said yes. Her fur prickled upwards without her realisation and, very slowly, she turned to look at him. Her eyes very bright in the shadow.
"They will set me free." She said, her voice toned low. The pause hung thick in the air, putting a nervous tension into the conversation and, for a moment, she looked away. But she wasn't such a coward that she wouldn't look at him when she said it. Even if she didn't want to. Her eyes flared back to his and, at last, she finished her sentence, trying not too hard to think about the implications.
"If I provide the Nergui with pups."
A wave of nausea swept through her. There. She'd said it.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2013 9:26 pm
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Los waited intently for her answer, dark eyes staring at the lighter female. Perhaps if she served them for a season they'd allow her to leave? Or maybe they had given her a position that would keep her away from the lions?
The answer surprised him. He lifted his head a bit in shock. Pups? Well...it would do good to strengthen their numbers, have some new blood in the pride. But how did they expect her to find and steal pups? Or cubs, for that matter?
"They want you to...oh." And then it hit him. They didn't want her to steal cubs, they wanted her to make them. Had he been able to blush, Los would have been doing it at that moment. That was why she needed his help. He was the only one that could help her, in this instance, unless she found a rouge. But there weren't many rouge hyenas in these parts, let alone any that might want any child of theirs to be given to the pride.
"I see," he said slowly. "Well. That is a rather large order to fill."
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