Post by Pallu on Jun 15, 2008 2:13:33 GMT -5
Yes my log names suck. Shush. ;.;
[Kivuli] Luvuvhu Water Hole
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[IC ] Mizuka
[LRP] Lilitu
Morning broke a long time ago. At this time of day, Mizuka is usually patrolling the borders of his lands, but he'd asked Kisehemu to go instead; he feels tired, and, curiously, a little achy, but he's positive that he just needs more rest. He can take another shift later. Sprawled out in the shade of a low-lying tree, he drowses near the waterhole, his chin not quite touching his chest.
These lands seem green-- refreshingly so. The grass is soft against the worn pads of her paws as Lilitu strides along. She's been lingering a little more than she should: she has her clan to think about, but her whole body is drinking in the feeling of -green-. Oh, the place smells of lion-- but so did the parched big-rock lands they've been living in, and she's not met a soul yet. The hyena has been following the scent of water for some time, and now at last the waterhole comes into view, a shimmering gleam that makes her mouth water and her pace quicken.
The lion's nose wrinkles, and he breathes in a few times, deep, rattling things. Hurts to inhale. Huh. Damned pollen. He sneezes, trying to clear out whatever's wrong in there, and jerks to his side. As he does so a strange but still-distant scent reaches his nostrils, wafted to him on the breeze, and Mizuka lifts his head up, squinting out into the sun.
In her hurry to reach the water, Lilitu isn't terribly observant-- she's halfway there before she even sees the lion. When she -does- see him, his head is lifted-- he's much better at paying attention than -she- is, just now! Oh dear. She keeps moving initially-- if she doesn't see him maybe he won't pay attention to her-- but of course,t hat's cub-thought and the matriarch first slows and tehn stops altogether.
It's a few minutes before he catches sight of her, but when he does his gaze hones in on Lilitu right away, and his eyes are narrow. Of course, when she keeps moving forward that just ensures that he remains focused squarely on her. A brief growl rumbles up from his chest, but that's all, and it's more of a warning sound than an aggressive one. Mizuka doesn't actually get up, though. Truthfully he's not sure he's feeling well enough to just at the moment. "You're on my lands, hyena," he says instead, and though his rather relaxed posture isn't threatening, it may seem arrogant. "Do you travel with a clan?" Rather to the point, isn't he? Well, he wants to know if there are swarms of them running around in Kivuli. It's his business.
The growl is low-pitched and carries. Lilitu isn't terribly surprised by it either. She swings her broad neck around to eye Mizuka back, direct rather than sidelong. "I'm aware; I've smelled you." His lands? Probably the head male then. It's endlessly peculiar to her that lion females allow themselves to be led by just one or two males, and hardly even protest-- and that haughtiness, or what she sees as haughtiness, makes her want to be snippy. But that wouldhardly be diplomatic, would it? So-- "I do; I head it, in fact. We're thirsty." Among other things.
"Good. I'm sure you've smelled the others who guard our borders, as well." Mizuka still doesn't rouse himself, just stares back at her, his pelt dappled under the shade of the tree. He doesn't seem overly hostile, but he does seem cautious--as most animals are when they meet another large, unfamiliar predator. "Thirsty," he echoes, apparently satisfied by her answer. "So the drought is continuing outside of my lands, then? I've seen the dryness that's still present on the eastern border, of course, but I thought other areas would be faring better by now." This is--it's almost chatty. Certainly unusual for the Kivulian king. But he's feeling her out, probably the same way he'd do if she were a rogue lion, male or female. A hyena clan on his territory is much different than a cheetah or leopard on his territory, after all.
"I have, but it seems that is not always-- indicative-- of interest. In the lands my clan currently occupies I've frequently smelled lion, but none have been a -major- bother." She chooses her words carefully, but even so they don't sound quite right-- she's using the big words but doesn't seem quite at home with this level of formality. "It is; our current home remains -quite- dry, although not as much as before. Still, the herds haven't returned and the waterhole remains..." a glorified puddle. She's a goodly distance away still, and speaks loudly to make up for it: he's being remarkably civil, which is refreshing: she's heard so many nasty stories about lions."
"...Empty?" he supplies for her, his voice a little dry. "I can see why you've moved. Drink, then. We've plenty to go around now." As long as Lilitu herself stays civil, anyway. Mizuka doesn't seem overly concerned by her presence; she's not acting vicious, and the Kivuli have no cubs to protect, so it seems like he's willing to tolerate her presence as long as she's willing to tolerate his. "What did you say your name was?" She hadn't offered it--he's well aware, but it's more courteous than asking outright. He, however, doesn't offer his own name just yet; this /is/ his turf, so he's not the one who has anything to prove.
"-- Thank you." She's actually -quite- startled, andi t shows in her voice. "We're small for now anyway, but we've cubs, and--" well, too -many- cubs, really, for this weather. But these lands are so -verdant-. "I didn't," not meaning to be so blunt, but it doesn't occur to her until the words are already out of her mouth that he was trying to ask it -politely-. "I'm Lilitu; my clan in Pango. And you are?"
"Mizuka. These lands and my pride are known as Kivuli." Oh, he /is/ tired. You'd never know it from looking at him, though. In fact, after a minute he rolls to his stomach, wondering if it was such a good idea as he does so--but it's too late. He's committed. So he pushes himself up to his feet, trying to conceal that aching, bone-deep exhaustion he feels. It doesn't /quite/ work, since he goes silent for a minute, trying to draw himself together. No, Lilitu doesn't /seem/ hostile, but most predators are opportunists. Even if there /is/ a significant size difference between them.
Lilitu watches the lion carefully: he moves like he's older than he appears to be, and that makes her a little unsure, but she moves a little closer anyway: Mizuka has offered her clan a place to drink as well as his name, so it seems politic to not have to practically shout at him. She's got her long-necked body a little hunching: they're equals in their -respective- power, but it's clear who'd win in a fight: Mizuka. "Good to know-- thank you. Do you know what happened to the pride in the lands we had been in? Well-- regardless. We're leaving them now: they're dead."
He watches as she draws closer, but doesn't say anything, or move away--in fact, he steps forward as well after a minute, closing the gap between them a little more. He does remain at a polite distance, however. "Which lands are those?" Mizuka glances east again, squinting off towards the border. "The eastern lands are unoccupied by a pride, and have been so for some time. If there ever was one, they left or dispersed long before I was born." Here he pauses for a minute, his ears cocked back, but still alert, as though listening for some response in particular. The reason why soon becomes clear. "Where do you intend to bring your clan, matriarch Lilitu?"
"-- Yes, to the east. I've smelled lion there, but nothing indicating a pride. It's peculiar." Lilitu's words are a little stilted still, altthough her posture isn't anything more than understandably wary. "-- I don't know. We're looking for water, and the eastern plains haven't got it any longer; we've got cubs." She glances briefly over her shoulder as though she's concerned one of those cubs might be following.
"The ones you've smelled are probably rogues. They pass through a lot, but they seldom stay long." Even that band of hostile males that Kamau mentioned to him hasn't been causing any further trouble--at least that he's heard of. They've probably moved on to greener lands. It's that thought that causes Mizuka to hesitate for a minute, wrinkling his nose. "Even so, they're as dangerous as they are uninhabitable. As I said, you'll find plenty of water here, and you're welcome to use it while you figure out where you're going to go." It's an awfully generous offer, considering that they're two competing species, and he may not have made it if the lands were in poorer condition. Then again, Kivuli has always been known as a tolerant pride, and, even though its current ruler is not the most tolerant of individuals, he at least seems willing to uphold the letter of that tradition, if not necessarily the spirit of it.
"-- Probably." In a way, rogues are worse: there's no big male or group of females to go to if any of them hurts one of her clan. "-- Thank you. If you need any of those rogues frightened off, I've a few females who can help the lionesses here do that." Some big girls, too. "If you don't mind, I've got to go and let them know-- they're quite thirsty." This a little-- just slightly-- anxious: she -doesn't- want to be rude, but she can'tthink how to phrase it politely.
"They usually don't trouble pridal lands, but thank you. I'll certainly let you know." Mizuka's a little startled, truthfully--sure, she's only offering a service in return for his offering her a share in Kivuli's resources, but she seems to be amazingly diplomatic--much moreso than most of the strangers he comes across, at least. But dealing with a civil hyena is much better than dealing with a hostile one, especially the way he's feeling right now. It's fortunate that things didn't turn south, because he's certainly not up to a scuffle today. "--Of course," he adds. "You may be stopped by a guard, but if you explain the situation I doubt there will be any problems."
"Of course. Doubtless any lion faced with a group of hyenas would be a little concerned." Lilitu grins at him, a flash of yellowy teeth, and then softens it into something pleased before turning. "I'll seek you out once we're here," over her shoulder, and she pauses a moment for a response before starting back-- yes she could use a drink, but getting her clan here is more important; she can be thirsty awhile longer yet. It's a bit after she leaves that something -else- begins to move, rustling industriously throught he grass.
"I'll be in the area." Mizuka stays on his feet only until he's sure that Lilitu is too far away to either see him or hear them. Then, with a little groan, he flops down onto his stomach again. All he wants to do is go back to sleep, but how far away is her clan? Will it be days before she returns? Hours? Less than that? His head hits the grass too, and he shuts his eyes, not noticing the way the green, tall grass has started trembling.
Kushoto has been a busy boy: he's extrmeely pleased with his sneaking-skills, too! He followed Lilitu Mama all the way from the dry place here and she only noticed him once! Told him to go back of course, but he didn't! And isn't this -grand-! He's so -brave-! And look now the big lion is laying back down and going to sleep! The girls would surely never bother him again if he told them he touched a -lion-. He doesn't realize they probably wouldn't believe him. And Mizuka's possible status as bitey doesn't occur to him either: after all, Lilitu Mama didn't seem scared! And Mister Lion didn't seem bitey to -her-! He can't stay hiddeni n the grass forever though, and as he gets closer, his stocky form becomes visible, his adult patterning faint still on ihs dark frame.
Certainly Mizuka doesn't /look/ horribly aggressive. It's debatable whether he's actually asleep yet or not, but he's definitely resting, his eyes firmly shut now. If he hears the grass rustle, he doesn't give any sort of indication, perhaps passing it off as some small, unimportant animal--or maybe he really /has/ dozed off already.
Golly!! Kushoto's grumbling softly to himself as he moves forward, sort of nonverbal chatter as he begins to circle around the slumbering (??) cat. He must be -awfully- sneaky to be able to do this! It's thrilling. Maybe he'll get to help hunt now, he's so brave! Maybe he can get the cat to tell Lilitu Mama about this-- to show off how brave he is! -Yes-! It's accompanied by a shrill giggley whoop.
Mizuka may have been able to ignore the pup's approach, he may even have been able to ignore those low guttural mutters, but he certainly /can't/ ignore the sudden whoop right by his ear. He snorts, coming alive all at once, and rolls his head back to stare at Kushoto with wide, thin-pupilled eyes. He looks almost bewildered--as he would be, one would guess, upon finding himself almost literally nose to nose with another, much smaller hyena.
Aaah. Aaaah. /Aaaah/. Sudden-- moving-- aaaaah! The boy flails backwards in a frantic clumsy movement, eyes rolling and ears back, whooping high and thin and startled but of course there's no Mama here to save him! He comes to rest with a thump when one of his paws catches a stick, and staring at Mizuka goggle-eyed.
He bares his teeth in response to that noise, his ears flat, and bats a clawed paw in Kushoto's direction--it hasn't really even registered that the boy isn't doing anything harmful, just that he's noisy and far too close. But the strike isn't particularly hard, and it falls short regardless, because a few seconds later it /does/ click into place. Lilitu had said something about pups. Mizuka rolls to his stomach, his tail thumping against the ground. "Are you one of the Pango hyenas, then?" comes the demand, gruff and truthfully just a little cranky.
Ah paw! Kushoto doesn't try to bite it, he's too busy being hunkered-down and wide-eyed. "-- Yes!" blurting it out. Oh good. The lion isn't trying to hit him anymore, either. -Good-. "I -am-! I followed her. I wanted to see where she was going! I'm sneaky. I can hunt now!" it all makes sense to -him-!
But it /doesn't/ make sense to Mizuka, whose ears haven't budged at all from their place flat on his skull. "You should have stayed with your clan," he replies dryly, sounding rather unimpressed. "Sneakiness could get you killed." He doesn't mean it as a threat and it doesn't particularly sound like one, from his tone of voice, but Kushoto might well take it that way. He's unused to dealing with children of /any/ species, and he looks just as perplexed now as he'd been when he was first startled out of his doze.
"Killed?" Kushuto gives him a wide-eyed look, that slightly froggy gaze. "I was being -sneaky-. Now I can -hunt-. I have ot tell Lilitu Mama," he informs Mizuka severely, "that I snuck up on a lion. Then she'll say oh you should hunt and I'll say thank you Lilitu Mama and then I'll be really big!" yes! Because all the hunting he'll do will make him big and strong of -course-!
"Go after her, then." A bit grouchy, still. Never mind that in all likelihood Kushoto wouldn't have been able to sneak up if Mizuka had been feeling well enough to be any more attentive--and that it's not a terribly good idea to go creeping up on larger animals in the first place. "Tell her that. I'm sure she'll be thrilled." No, somebody clearly /doesn't/ know how to deal with kids. Male lions aren't exactly renowned for having much patience with them, however.
"I've got to wait for her. It's too hot back there. I'm thirsty. My feet hurt!" he's not whining but rather listing his ailments, and he actually sounds fairly chipper about it, even extending one large paw to wiggle his toes at Mizuka. "See?"
A low, irritated snort is the only answer at first. Are they all this talkative? Did /he/ behave this way when he was a cub? "Then drink, and wait in the shade." The implication being, of course, that he'll leave Kushoto alone if the boy returns the favour. Down goes Mizuka's head again, and he closes his eyes with an air of finality.
Kushoto regards the king for a few moments. "Okay," he decides, and gallops off to the water. He's gone a few minutes, although the noise of his splashing is -more- than audible. When he returns, he's rather damp, his fur spikey, and fairly prancing along. "I got wet," he informs Mizuka with some gravity, but that seems to be his sole comment on his situation. Perhpas he feelsthat his condition speaks for itself. He collapses next to the larger animal, sprawling on his stomach with his legs sticking out, and rests his chin between his paws.
He can hear it, even from here, and it reminds him vaguely of the time he'd caught that rogue lioness splashing around in the waterhole. Of course, that had been during the drought. Kushoto's wasting of it he ignores, if only because the lakes and river are all full to the brim now. But he can't really ignore the boy when he starts talking again. Mizuka cracks an eye open and regards him a little sourly, but when the hyena flops down next to him he has to open the other and just blink. Well...he's certainly calmed down, hasn't he? Good. The king sighs, letting his weight list a bit--moving into a more comfortable position, and throwing a little more shadow over Kushoto as he does so. Now that he's decided to wait /quietly/, perhaps Mizuka can sleep off some of this exhaustion.
He -has-, and he sighs out when that shadow pools over him: he can wait until Lilitu returns, and for now, splashing aroundi n all that water has tired him out -quite- nicely. All that following-around has probably helped too, of course. The boy yawns, big, and then settles down once more, his tail whisking away a few flies oncve or twice before his breathing begins to deepen into sleep.
[Kivuli] Luvuvhu Water Hole
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[IC ] Mizuka
[LRP] Lilitu
Morning broke a long time ago. At this time of day, Mizuka is usually patrolling the borders of his lands, but he'd asked Kisehemu to go instead; he feels tired, and, curiously, a little achy, but he's positive that he just needs more rest. He can take another shift later. Sprawled out in the shade of a low-lying tree, he drowses near the waterhole, his chin not quite touching his chest.
These lands seem green-- refreshingly so. The grass is soft against the worn pads of her paws as Lilitu strides along. She's been lingering a little more than she should: she has her clan to think about, but her whole body is drinking in the feeling of -green-. Oh, the place smells of lion-- but so did the parched big-rock lands they've been living in, and she's not met a soul yet. The hyena has been following the scent of water for some time, and now at last the waterhole comes into view, a shimmering gleam that makes her mouth water and her pace quicken.
The lion's nose wrinkles, and he breathes in a few times, deep, rattling things. Hurts to inhale. Huh. Damned pollen. He sneezes, trying to clear out whatever's wrong in there, and jerks to his side. As he does so a strange but still-distant scent reaches his nostrils, wafted to him on the breeze, and Mizuka lifts his head up, squinting out into the sun.
In her hurry to reach the water, Lilitu isn't terribly observant-- she's halfway there before she even sees the lion. When she -does- see him, his head is lifted-- he's much better at paying attention than -she- is, just now! Oh dear. She keeps moving initially-- if she doesn't see him maybe he won't pay attention to her-- but of course,t hat's cub-thought and the matriarch first slows and tehn stops altogether.
It's a few minutes before he catches sight of her, but when he does his gaze hones in on Lilitu right away, and his eyes are narrow. Of course, when she keeps moving forward that just ensures that he remains focused squarely on her. A brief growl rumbles up from his chest, but that's all, and it's more of a warning sound than an aggressive one. Mizuka doesn't actually get up, though. Truthfully he's not sure he's feeling well enough to just at the moment. "You're on my lands, hyena," he says instead, and though his rather relaxed posture isn't threatening, it may seem arrogant. "Do you travel with a clan?" Rather to the point, isn't he? Well, he wants to know if there are swarms of them running around in Kivuli. It's his business.
The growl is low-pitched and carries. Lilitu isn't terribly surprised by it either. She swings her broad neck around to eye Mizuka back, direct rather than sidelong. "I'm aware; I've smelled you." His lands? Probably the head male then. It's endlessly peculiar to her that lion females allow themselves to be led by just one or two males, and hardly even protest-- and that haughtiness, or what she sees as haughtiness, makes her want to be snippy. But that wouldhardly be diplomatic, would it? So-- "I do; I head it, in fact. We're thirsty." Among other things.
"Good. I'm sure you've smelled the others who guard our borders, as well." Mizuka still doesn't rouse himself, just stares back at her, his pelt dappled under the shade of the tree. He doesn't seem overly hostile, but he does seem cautious--as most animals are when they meet another large, unfamiliar predator. "Thirsty," he echoes, apparently satisfied by her answer. "So the drought is continuing outside of my lands, then? I've seen the dryness that's still present on the eastern border, of course, but I thought other areas would be faring better by now." This is--it's almost chatty. Certainly unusual for the Kivulian king. But he's feeling her out, probably the same way he'd do if she were a rogue lion, male or female. A hyena clan on his territory is much different than a cheetah or leopard on his territory, after all.
"I have, but it seems that is not always-- indicative-- of interest. In the lands my clan currently occupies I've frequently smelled lion, but none have been a -major- bother." She chooses her words carefully, but even so they don't sound quite right-- she's using the big words but doesn't seem quite at home with this level of formality. "It is; our current home remains -quite- dry, although not as much as before. Still, the herds haven't returned and the waterhole remains..." a glorified puddle. She's a goodly distance away still, and speaks loudly to make up for it: he's being remarkably civil, which is refreshing: she's heard so many nasty stories about lions."
"...Empty?" he supplies for her, his voice a little dry. "I can see why you've moved. Drink, then. We've plenty to go around now." As long as Lilitu herself stays civil, anyway. Mizuka doesn't seem overly concerned by her presence; she's not acting vicious, and the Kivuli have no cubs to protect, so it seems like he's willing to tolerate her presence as long as she's willing to tolerate his. "What did you say your name was?" She hadn't offered it--he's well aware, but it's more courteous than asking outright. He, however, doesn't offer his own name just yet; this /is/ his turf, so he's not the one who has anything to prove.
"-- Thank you." She's actually -quite- startled, andi t shows in her voice. "We're small for now anyway, but we've cubs, and--" well, too -many- cubs, really, for this weather. But these lands are so -verdant-. "I didn't," not meaning to be so blunt, but it doesn't occur to her until the words are already out of her mouth that he was trying to ask it -politely-. "I'm Lilitu; my clan in Pango. And you are?"
"Mizuka. These lands and my pride are known as Kivuli." Oh, he /is/ tired. You'd never know it from looking at him, though. In fact, after a minute he rolls to his stomach, wondering if it was such a good idea as he does so--but it's too late. He's committed. So he pushes himself up to his feet, trying to conceal that aching, bone-deep exhaustion he feels. It doesn't /quite/ work, since he goes silent for a minute, trying to draw himself together. No, Lilitu doesn't /seem/ hostile, but most predators are opportunists. Even if there /is/ a significant size difference between them.
Lilitu watches the lion carefully: he moves like he's older than he appears to be, and that makes her a little unsure, but she moves a little closer anyway: Mizuka has offered her clan a place to drink as well as his name, so it seems politic to not have to practically shout at him. She's got her long-necked body a little hunching: they're equals in their -respective- power, but it's clear who'd win in a fight: Mizuka. "Good to know-- thank you. Do you know what happened to the pride in the lands we had been in? Well-- regardless. We're leaving them now: they're dead."
He watches as she draws closer, but doesn't say anything, or move away--in fact, he steps forward as well after a minute, closing the gap between them a little more. He does remain at a polite distance, however. "Which lands are those?" Mizuka glances east again, squinting off towards the border. "The eastern lands are unoccupied by a pride, and have been so for some time. If there ever was one, they left or dispersed long before I was born." Here he pauses for a minute, his ears cocked back, but still alert, as though listening for some response in particular. The reason why soon becomes clear. "Where do you intend to bring your clan, matriarch Lilitu?"
"-- Yes, to the east. I've smelled lion there, but nothing indicating a pride. It's peculiar." Lilitu's words are a little stilted still, altthough her posture isn't anything more than understandably wary. "-- I don't know. We're looking for water, and the eastern plains haven't got it any longer; we've got cubs." She glances briefly over her shoulder as though she's concerned one of those cubs might be following.
"The ones you've smelled are probably rogues. They pass through a lot, but they seldom stay long." Even that band of hostile males that Kamau mentioned to him hasn't been causing any further trouble--at least that he's heard of. They've probably moved on to greener lands. It's that thought that causes Mizuka to hesitate for a minute, wrinkling his nose. "Even so, they're as dangerous as they are uninhabitable. As I said, you'll find plenty of water here, and you're welcome to use it while you figure out where you're going to go." It's an awfully generous offer, considering that they're two competing species, and he may not have made it if the lands were in poorer condition. Then again, Kivuli has always been known as a tolerant pride, and, even though its current ruler is not the most tolerant of individuals, he at least seems willing to uphold the letter of that tradition, if not necessarily the spirit of it.
"-- Probably." In a way, rogues are worse: there's no big male or group of females to go to if any of them hurts one of her clan. "-- Thank you. If you need any of those rogues frightened off, I've a few females who can help the lionesses here do that." Some big girls, too. "If you don't mind, I've got to go and let them know-- they're quite thirsty." This a little-- just slightly-- anxious: she -doesn't- want to be rude, but she can'tthink how to phrase it politely.
"They usually don't trouble pridal lands, but thank you. I'll certainly let you know." Mizuka's a little startled, truthfully--sure, she's only offering a service in return for his offering her a share in Kivuli's resources, but she seems to be amazingly diplomatic--much moreso than most of the strangers he comes across, at least. But dealing with a civil hyena is much better than dealing with a hostile one, especially the way he's feeling right now. It's fortunate that things didn't turn south, because he's certainly not up to a scuffle today. "--Of course," he adds. "You may be stopped by a guard, but if you explain the situation I doubt there will be any problems."
"Of course. Doubtless any lion faced with a group of hyenas would be a little concerned." Lilitu grins at him, a flash of yellowy teeth, and then softens it into something pleased before turning. "I'll seek you out once we're here," over her shoulder, and she pauses a moment for a response before starting back-- yes she could use a drink, but getting her clan here is more important; she can be thirsty awhile longer yet. It's a bit after she leaves that something -else- begins to move, rustling industriously throught he grass.
"I'll be in the area." Mizuka stays on his feet only until he's sure that Lilitu is too far away to either see him or hear them. Then, with a little groan, he flops down onto his stomach again. All he wants to do is go back to sleep, but how far away is her clan? Will it be days before she returns? Hours? Less than that? His head hits the grass too, and he shuts his eyes, not noticing the way the green, tall grass has started trembling.
Kushoto has been a busy boy: he's extrmeely pleased with his sneaking-skills, too! He followed Lilitu Mama all the way from the dry place here and she only noticed him once! Told him to go back of course, but he didn't! And isn't this -grand-! He's so -brave-! And look now the big lion is laying back down and going to sleep! The girls would surely never bother him again if he told them he touched a -lion-. He doesn't realize they probably wouldn't believe him. And Mizuka's possible status as bitey doesn't occur to him either: after all, Lilitu Mama didn't seem scared! And Mister Lion didn't seem bitey to -her-! He can't stay hiddeni n the grass forever though, and as he gets closer, his stocky form becomes visible, his adult patterning faint still on ihs dark frame.
Certainly Mizuka doesn't /look/ horribly aggressive. It's debatable whether he's actually asleep yet or not, but he's definitely resting, his eyes firmly shut now. If he hears the grass rustle, he doesn't give any sort of indication, perhaps passing it off as some small, unimportant animal--or maybe he really /has/ dozed off already.
Golly!! Kushoto's grumbling softly to himself as he moves forward, sort of nonverbal chatter as he begins to circle around the slumbering (??) cat. He must be -awfully- sneaky to be able to do this! It's thrilling. Maybe he'll get to help hunt now, he's so brave! Maybe he can get the cat to tell Lilitu Mama about this-- to show off how brave he is! -Yes-! It's accompanied by a shrill giggley whoop.
Mizuka may have been able to ignore the pup's approach, he may even have been able to ignore those low guttural mutters, but he certainly /can't/ ignore the sudden whoop right by his ear. He snorts, coming alive all at once, and rolls his head back to stare at Kushoto with wide, thin-pupilled eyes. He looks almost bewildered--as he would be, one would guess, upon finding himself almost literally nose to nose with another, much smaller hyena.
Aaah. Aaaah. /Aaaah/. Sudden-- moving-- aaaaah! The boy flails backwards in a frantic clumsy movement, eyes rolling and ears back, whooping high and thin and startled but of course there's no Mama here to save him! He comes to rest with a thump when one of his paws catches a stick, and staring at Mizuka goggle-eyed.
He bares his teeth in response to that noise, his ears flat, and bats a clawed paw in Kushoto's direction--it hasn't really even registered that the boy isn't doing anything harmful, just that he's noisy and far too close. But the strike isn't particularly hard, and it falls short regardless, because a few seconds later it /does/ click into place. Lilitu had said something about pups. Mizuka rolls to his stomach, his tail thumping against the ground. "Are you one of the Pango hyenas, then?" comes the demand, gruff and truthfully just a little cranky.
Ah paw! Kushoto doesn't try to bite it, he's too busy being hunkered-down and wide-eyed. "-- Yes!" blurting it out. Oh good. The lion isn't trying to hit him anymore, either. -Good-. "I -am-! I followed her. I wanted to see where she was going! I'm sneaky. I can hunt now!" it all makes sense to -him-!
But it /doesn't/ make sense to Mizuka, whose ears haven't budged at all from their place flat on his skull. "You should have stayed with your clan," he replies dryly, sounding rather unimpressed. "Sneakiness could get you killed." He doesn't mean it as a threat and it doesn't particularly sound like one, from his tone of voice, but Kushoto might well take it that way. He's unused to dealing with children of /any/ species, and he looks just as perplexed now as he'd been when he was first startled out of his doze.
"Killed?" Kushuto gives him a wide-eyed look, that slightly froggy gaze. "I was being -sneaky-. Now I can -hunt-. I have ot tell Lilitu Mama," he informs Mizuka severely, "that I snuck up on a lion. Then she'll say oh you should hunt and I'll say thank you Lilitu Mama and then I'll be really big!" yes! Because all the hunting he'll do will make him big and strong of -course-!
"Go after her, then." A bit grouchy, still. Never mind that in all likelihood Kushoto wouldn't have been able to sneak up if Mizuka had been feeling well enough to be any more attentive--and that it's not a terribly good idea to go creeping up on larger animals in the first place. "Tell her that. I'm sure she'll be thrilled." No, somebody clearly /doesn't/ know how to deal with kids. Male lions aren't exactly renowned for having much patience with them, however.
"I've got to wait for her. It's too hot back there. I'm thirsty. My feet hurt!" he's not whining but rather listing his ailments, and he actually sounds fairly chipper about it, even extending one large paw to wiggle his toes at Mizuka. "See?"
A low, irritated snort is the only answer at first. Are they all this talkative? Did /he/ behave this way when he was a cub? "Then drink, and wait in the shade." The implication being, of course, that he'll leave Kushoto alone if the boy returns the favour. Down goes Mizuka's head again, and he closes his eyes with an air of finality.
Kushoto regards the king for a few moments. "Okay," he decides, and gallops off to the water. He's gone a few minutes, although the noise of his splashing is -more- than audible. When he returns, he's rather damp, his fur spikey, and fairly prancing along. "I got wet," he informs Mizuka with some gravity, but that seems to be his sole comment on his situation. Perhpas he feelsthat his condition speaks for itself. He collapses next to the larger animal, sprawling on his stomach with his legs sticking out, and rests his chin between his paws.
He can hear it, even from here, and it reminds him vaguely of the time he'd caught that rogue lioness splashing around in the waterhole. Of course, that had been during the drought. Kushoto's wasting of it he ignores, if only because the lakes and river are all full to the brim now. But he can't really ignore the boy when he starts talking again. Mizuka cracks an eye open and regards him a little sourly, but when the hyena flops down next to him he has to open the other and just blink. Well...he's certainly calmed down, hasn't he? Good. The king sighs, letting his weight list a bit--moving into a more comfortable position, and throwing a little more shadow over Kushoto as he does so. Now that he's decided to wait /quietly/, perhaps Mizuka can sleep off some of this exhaustion.
He -has-, and he sighs out when that shadow pools over him: he can wait until Lilitu returns, and for now, splashing aroundi n all that water has tired him out -quite- nicely. All that following-around has probably helped too, of course. The boy yawns, big, and then settles down once more, his tail whisking away a few flies oncve or twice before his breathing begins to deepen into sleep.
