This season's pickings had been slim for the ruddy cheetah. She had gone most of her life taking what she needed from others, be it food or shelter, and rarely had been left wanting. Normally it was no issue for her to sneak in and steal a bite to eat here and there, or take a nap in someone's den while they were out, but her luck had turned rotten recently and her belly had been going hungry more often than not. Prides or groups really weren't her thing, either, so that had mostly been out of the question. No one wanted anyone with sticky paws around, and she had been turned down many a time before because of it. She had nearly given up, until a whisper had hit her ear. That perhaps there was a place that would welcome someone with her... skills. Mahiri was intrigued by such whispers, and her hungry belly surely helped spur on such ideas.
Thunzi was on the lookout for someone he had spoken with briefly the day before. A ruddy colored cheetah by the name of Mahiri. She had asked to join the Tani'Ajiri, and he was happy to oblige her, but only on the condition that she showcase some of the skills she had mentioned. After all, the pride could always use another skilled thief in its ranks for when those contracts called such talents. The silver eyed leopard had given this new recruit the task of sneaking up on one of the mercs, and a particularly skilled one at that. He knew Moya had retired from her mercenary position, but the fact remained that the dark pelted lioness had been one of their best. Now all the leopard had to do was sit back and watch the game begin.
Moya was beginning to enjoy retired life, though she was struggling with what she wanted to spend her free time doing. She could hunt, probably, but the lioness wasn't particularly good at it and she would feel awful if she wound up being more in the way than a help. For now she had been spending most of her time by herself, after having a heart-to-heart with Thunzi several days ago. It had been good to talk about feelings and fears she had kept bottled up for as long as she could remember. As for right now, perhaps a cool drink from the river would help refresh her and clear her mind.
She had met with one of the leaders the day before, and he had tasked her with sneaking up on and 'tagging' an individual from his pride. The concept was sort of funny to Mahiri, but if that was her condition for joining, and getting a bite to eat finally, then she would do it. She had spent most of her morning stalking the outskirts of the Tani'Ajiri's border, attempting to find hide or hair of a black lioness with purple markings. So far, she hadn't been very lucky with that tactic, so she had moved in carefully and closer to the forested side of the territory. She had been warned that any wandering guards would likely stop her from doing so, so Mahiri was careful to scout the area first before entering. She stopped and ducked down behind some brush when she heard movement up ahead, her red eyes focusing in on what or who was ahead of her.
Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to choose Moya for this game, since she was dealing with a lot of internal issues, but Thunzi thought it might help her get out of her shell a bit. It had been several days since their last talk, and the lioness hadn't so much as left her den since then. Hopefully this little game would help her reconnect with reality. And hopefully she wouldn't scream at him for doing so.
Moya was well on her way to the river, her dark form easily and mindlessly weaving through the dense underbrush and past trunks of trees. They hadn't been here very long in this new territory of theirs, but Moya was starting to know it like the back of her paw. It was a welcoming feeling, if she was being honest. As previously she had always felt like she was on the run from her past and the pride that Thunzi had saved her from. Now? Well, now she felt at peace and at home. The river wasn't very far, and the dark lioness was looking forward to maybe taking a dip in the cool water as well. She had no idea someone was watching her, and waiting for their moment to strike.
Mahiri couldn't say she was shocked to see the black pelted lioness with purple markings, but she was surprised at how easily she had stumbled onto her. The lioness also seemed somewhat distracted, which turned the tides in Mahiri's favor. The ruddy colored cheetah hunkered down out of sight and waited patiently for the lioness to pass, counting the paw steps of the other female until she judged her to be in the perfect position for a pounce. Technically Thunzi had told her she just had to tag the target, but Mahiri decided she'd have better success at pouncing rather than simply rushing at the lioness. She took a slow breath, waited, and then launched herself at the lioness' hindquarters to 'tag' her. What she wasn't expecting was the yelp and to be suddenly thrown the lioness' back like a bucking zebra!
Thunzi's ear twitched when he thought he heard a yelp come from the forested side of the territory, and though his first instinct was to check it out, he quickly realized what he had done. Oh. That was probably Moya being surprised by her stalker. A thought occurred to him then. Maybe he should have told her about this plan before hand? A small smirk played on his maw as he filed that information away for future use. Maybe. But this was certainly much more fun. He was definitely going to get an ear full from Moya.
To say she had nearly jumped out of her skin was an understatement. Moya, a fairly small lioness with a sleek look about her, had leapt nearly as high as she could and twisted to spot her 'attacker', a terrified looking cheetah with eyes as wide as a tortoise's shell. Moya faced the cheetah, her own eyes wide with bewilderment at being startled in such a way. "Um, hello, I don't think we've met..." she huffed as she tried to calm her nerves. When her first attempt at breaking the ice was met with more wide-eyed starring, Moya took a step back to get more distance between herself and this stranger. "Did you need something? What was going on here?
What did she think was going to happen? She had pounced a stranger, and she was lucky the other feline hadn't taken a swat at her for doing so. After the initial shock of being thrown from the lioness' back and being confronted for doing so, Mahiri swallowed hard and regained some of her composure. "I, uh, well..." snap out of it! "Thunzi said I had to 'tag' you if I wanted to join the Tani'Ajiri," she explained, her ears going back defensively against her skull. Yikes. This situation had gotten out of paw.
The tip of Thunzi's nose twitched and he attempted to fight back a small sneeze that tickled the back of his throat. To no avail it would seem, as the sneeze overtook his attempts to push it back. Uh-oh. The leopard's silver eyes narrowed in the direction he had heard Moya yelp and his suspicions rose in turn. It was quiet. Too quiet. What could they possibly be talking about?
The dark pelted lioness narrowed her eyes at the explanation as she studied the ruddy colored cheetah. "I see," she said curtly and with a nod. A small smirk played on her maw and her expression softened considerably. "Do me a favor. I'll distract Thunzi, but I need you to scare the daylights out of him. Then I'll forgive you," Moya offered. Two could play this game, so long as her new cheetah friend was willing.
What choice did she have? "Well, it wouldn't do to have one of my new pridemate's mad at me, so why not," Mahiri agreed. Plus, she kinda owed the bigger lioness for startling her like that. With a nod, Mahiri got up from where she had landed and without a word silently stalked into the underbrush to sneak up on Thunzi. She had seen him lounging on a rock in the middle of the sparring grounds during her scouting, and she was fairly confident he would still be there.
Moya smiled approvingly as the cheetah agreed and went stalking off into the underbrush. Perhaps she wouldn't help at all, but it was worth it if she had the chance to see Thunzi's startled face. She'd have to hope that the cheetah would keep her word. Without further prompting Moya turned around to go storming off where she knew Thunzi would be. He spent most of his time on the rocks near the sparring grounds, though it wasn't a guarantee, it was the most likely place to find him. As the rocks came into view, as she had expected, Thunzi sat smiling a wide knowing grin at her. This was going to be fun. "What were you thinking!" she roared up at him, her brows furrowing together as her lips curled up into a snarl. "I can't believe you!" Moya snarled, her claws unsheathing as she fought back the urge to smile. Instead, she snarled even more.
Thunzi had never seen her so angry before, and it was kind of cute. His grin widened as he flopped down to lay on his belly on the rock. Thankfully he was safely out of her reach. "What? I thought you could use some fun!" he told her, his silver eyes gleaming with mischievousness. It had gotten Moya out of her den and out of her own head, so that was a win for him.
It had been fairly easy for Mahiri to sneak and get close to the rocks she had seen him on before. And right on cue Moya started screaming. The cheetah couldn't help but smile at herself. Yes, today had started out weird and kind of awkward, but it was also rather fun. Her ears flicked forward as Thunzi flopped down to his belly on the rock and began speaking and engaging with the dark pelted lioness. Mahiri took a moment to compose herself before silently stalking up to the side of the rock and launching herself up at the pale leopard. Not only was she surprised to have caught the leader off guard to pounce him, she was surprised that he had twisted in such a way to pin her underneath him in less time than it had taken her to pounce on him. For half a second she thought he might hurt her, but his expression softened as he snorted and made room for her to get up. Which Mahiri did, quickly, to jump off the rock and stand next to Moya.
The pounce had definitely surprised him, and now he couldn't help but glower at Moya's pleased expression. "Okay, I get your point," he sighed. Next time, he would definitely tell the target that a game was afoot. "Mahiri, welcome to the Tani'Ajiri," he said with a smirk. Not many could sneak up on him like that, and he was confident she would make a great thief for the pride. "You two aren't allowed to team up on me any more," he huffed in mock anger as he turned his back on them. In truth, he was highly amused by the two's antics.
Moya was indeed quite pleased by the result, and she was glad that Thunzi hadn't hurt her new friend by accident. With a deep purr she reached down to bump her forehead against the cheetah's shoulder in reassurance. "Come on, let's go find you a den," she offered. Hopefully one near her own!
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