Bones clattered to the ground, scattering like old twigs. There was a grumble of frustration. Dark paws collected the bones together and tossed them again. The end result didn't look much different from the first, and earned another frustrated groan, followed by confused muttering. Again, and again, one final time ending in a whispered curse.

"What are you doing?" a cold voice demanded.

The bone-thrower, Takataka, whipped around with a pathetic start. Two glowing pink eyes were staring at him through the shadows of an elephant's rib cage.

Mafuu.

Taka regained his composure in an instant, though his breath was visually quicker than before. He cleared his throat before replying, "Noth--ehHEM--nothing, Mafuu. I mean--something, obviously, but not--anything....Just collecting bones," he finished awkwardly. He seemed interested in the messy ground rather than the eyes of the female hyena--eyes which now began to narrow.

"You have no business collecting bones," Mafuu said, "you're a Guard. Supposedly," she added, half-circling him. Taka swallowed. Mafuu observed him more closely. He had come a long way since his sister died. His sister's death was one of the things that kept her tied to both him and his other sister, Tufani. It was one thing they had in common. Her own sister had died--been murdered by lions. Takataka's sister had suffered the same fate. The female's insides burned and her skin felt a chill. She still lit with rage and bitterness every time the memories rose, which was still often despite all this time. She would not let the fire go out--not yet. Taka, too, had put his grief to good use. He'd trained hard and turned his tail-tucking ways around. Except for sometimes, like now. Mafuu wasn't sure what to make of him. She curled her lip as she watched him search for words until he finally spoke again.

"Yeah, but I'm just--I'm not...on duty, like...well, I'm always on duty, I'm always looking out for--but right now, I'm just kind of trying to...help out in other areas..." Takataka fumbled, his composure cracking by the second. Every time Mafuu was around, he lost it. Why was it so hard to be normal around her?! She'd helped him a lot after Kokoto--...died. Over that time, he found that he'd bonded to the solitary female. She didn't get along with most, but she was kind enough to lend him an ear or advice when he'd needed it most. No one else had done as much. No one else could have. They didn't have the same experience.

"Takataka," Mafuu said lowly, stopping her pacing. She met his gaze, eyes hard. "We both know that's bullshit." Taka blanched. There appeared to be a stalemate for several moments before the male finally dropped his guard completely, slumping as he released the tension with a sigh of defeat.

"I was just--trying something, just a pastime..." he said, ears folding. He could barely look her in the face. It was so embarrassing. This was pretty much the most embarrassing moment of his life so far. He didn't know how it could get any worse. Well, it could actually get a whole lot worse if she guessed what it was he was trying to read through the bones--not that he had an idea how to read bones. Yep, he pretty much would've killed himself if she found out.

"What kind of pastime?" Mafuu asked, moving forward to examine the twiggy pile at the male's feet. It only took her a second to process the idea. "Bone reading...?" she guessed with a sideways glare. Takataka looked quickly at his paws--too quickly, he thought, and so he looked to the bones instead. But then he was embarrassed for looking at the things that Mafuu so clearly disapproved of. Why did she have to show up now of all times?! He wanted to bury himself in a hole!

"It's just a game," Takataka said under his breath, scattering the bones into the dirt with a frustrated paw. "I know I'm not a Bone Reader or anything like that, it's just--like--..." he searched, the bones nearly buried under his shuffling. "It's just a pastime, like I said. I know it's not real, it's just a dumb game," he reiterated, rounding on Mafuu. He regretted it instantly, however, because facing the female head-on was quite a lot worse than feeling her judgement from the side.

"A game?" Mafuu repeated carefully, her expression devoid of warmth. Takataka glared down at his paws and attempted to swallow the lump in his throat. "If you have time for games, you sure as hell have time to do something useful," she said. She watched him with unfiltered disdain. She, too, felt that she had formed an unfortunate type of bond with the younger male, but moments such as these reminded her of how naive he still was. But then she wondered if he would ever be free of this type of thing? Maybe Takataka would always be a little naive? Could life experience really wash out such things?

"You can't work all the time," Takataka defended himself, offering a glare of his own. Mafuu felt mild surprise at the expression. She had seen Taka's mind and physique harden through training, and sometimes she caught rare glimpses of the evidence when they conversed together. But ask anyone and they'd tell you that Taka turned to mud around Mafuu. She had that effect on some. She preferred it that way.

"I can work however much I damn well please," Mafuu growled, "but I guess you don't hold the same opinion." Takataka opened his mouth a few times before he finally settled on an angry shrug. Mafuu felt a smirk tug at her maw, though it didn't quite succeed. He was stupidly pup-like sometimes. "What were you trying to find out, anyway?" she asked.

Does she love me? Will she love me? Can she love me?

"Nothing," Takataka blurted with such urgency that he nearly bit his tongue. He composed himself. "Just...stuff," he said, shuffling extra dirt onto the buried bones.

Mafuu harrumphed as she turned away. "Enjoy your stuff," she said quietly as she went, "I'll enjoy my work." She rounded the elephant rib cage and disappeared from sight.

Takataka gave the bones' burial mound one last spiteful stomp before sprinting off, muttering curses to himself with every step.