Acacia Trees & Bouncy Balls: Cliaming Evangili

[Scyphon]

This land, this Acacia forest, with its lounge-like qualities and comfortable atmosphere, was a perfect highway for prey and predator travel. Broad acacia trees grew high here, limbs branching out horizontally, the ground soft and cool while the very tops of the trees protected what lie beneath it from the vicious savanna sun. The shade was water were plenty, the air of the place less tense than any other land known to those one the savanna. There was great reason, however, that this jungle was not crowded and teeming with life. There was a threat here, black as night and silent as death creeping onto the horizon. She carried herself well upon four elegant paws, a tail hanging directly behind her spine, ticking and curling as she moved, just as any cat’s would do. This threat was a beautiful creature, her silver eyes targeted towards the outskirts of what was soon to be her own territory. Rolling shoulder moved together with hip movements, the normal four beat walk suspended every third step as her right shoulder lifted and set that pretty black paw down on the ground. Every third step resulted in a barely noticeable limp, and by now, Scyphon had grown used to it. The four beats of her walk soon transitioned into a brisk two-beat trot, again slightly off with this unimportant limp.

Her tail curled and flexed as she trotted, dodged her way swiftly between the bases of acacias, weaving her way closer to the borders of what had been her home since the beginning of winter. These lands went unclaimed, why, the panther did not know. This jungle was a beautiful place, fed well by various streams that ran though it and the stock of prey was kept at a decent level, for this land was what was called high traffic. Prey and predator alike wondered through here, though the predator did not bother with claiming this place their own. They had places to go, and this place was obviously not one of them. They could sense her presence, like all predator could. They sensed one another and ignored one another; there was no reason to meet. No one was invading anyone’s space, and Scyphon was not one to pick fights over nothing. The panther glanced over everything in her path, eying each thing that lay in her way; she noticed the paths that she frequented, mapping out this place in her head until she finally broke to the edge of the jungle, eyes peering through shadow out into the vast grasslands that lay before her.

As curious as she was to explore these grasses, she knew it was not here place, for this land dipped down into a sort of crater, and Scyphon knew that this place had been claimed. She could smell it, she could see movement down within the crater. Not only that, but she did not want that place. She wanted this place. And so, the black panther traveled along the edge of her jungle rubbing her face all over trees, letting the scent glands just below her nose and beneath her tail do the work, her paws laying down another line of warning as she moved. The course of boundary marking took her a total of several suns and moons, circling back to where she had first entered her home that time ago. A deep purr sounded within her throat as the panther hopped onto a low branch, close to the mouth of the archway of tree limbs that signaled the entrace of what was now Evangili. The kingdom of one, of a new Queen balanced herself onto the low branch, head tilted upwards, claws out as she sprang up and landed quietly with a grunt almost fifteen feet above her head and previous perch. Round ears swiveled and turned as she stood there, her eyes narrowed slightly, nose wrinkled in a slight look of distaste. I forgot my ball.[/color]

The Queen gave a slightly dramatic huff, shoulders hunching forward as she plopped herself down onto the thick acacia branch. Of all times, after spending days circling and patrolling Evangili, marking her borders and finally getting the chance to lay down, she forgot her ball. Still pouty-faced, the cat crossed her mighty paws and dropped her head upon them to rest, her eyes blinking and half closing. d**n.[/color] she thought, debating whether or not to hop down and take the twenty minute journey to the bend in the stream where she left her companion ball. The orangey ball of rubber, with its faded black smiling smile and beady eyes, was sitting there, stopped from falling into the stream by the barrier of four rocks placed at its base to prevent movement. The Queen had taken a swim, and decided to leave her ball out of the water, not wanting to lose it in the current. The panther growled at herself, seriously considering gettin up to go retrieve it. It was almost an itchy feeloing, to go get it. She wanted to, really. She loved that bouncy ball with its big smile.

But Scyphon was tired, and Scyphon did not want to get up. Far from lazy, Scyphon normally would have hopped up to retreive it. But in all honesty, it would be there.

Her eyes closed before she even realized it, and the big black panther, Sciphon, Queen of Evangili, was purring in her sleep, dreaming of night and the joy of stalking terrified wildebeast through her beloved acaia jungle.

The ball would be there when she woke up. No one would dare take it, if they knew what was best for them.

[Rivet]

- Reserved for Caldoor, who is having difficulties registering. I'll delete this notice after she posts. ^^

[Caldoor]

Kira had been wandering for most of her life. Aimlessly, you could call it, but Kira liked to think there was a purpose to her existence. Being without aim made it seem that her life was without a point as well, but even though she didn't know exactly where her life was going from here she enjoyed each day and tried to make the best of it. After growing up and leaving her mother, as all cubs eventually do, she was starting to get used to this on-my-own thing. She never claimed her own territory; she had not run into any other big cats in her short life and saw no need to. She liked the challenge, the feeling of adventure that accompanied waking up every morning and not knowing were you are going or caring where you have been.

Hunting had been fairly successful as of late, and she padded contentedly through the canopy of acacia trees with a good feeling, her golden amber eyes brightening (literally) and becoming lighter with each step. She was in a good mood. However, she was a tad thirsty, and stopped to lick the morning dew off a few glistening leaves. Expecting the cool, refreshing taste of crystalline droplets to relieve her thirst, she pulled her tongue back into her mouth with a sharp hiss when it was instead met with a very sharp sting. Her tongue throbbing, she peered more closely at the foliage she decided to lick. To her surprise, it was ringed by a stately line of ants, their large mandibles grasping chunks of leaves that were easily twice the size they were. But still, they must have been no bigger than the smallest spot on Kira’s body… surely that wasn’t what caused her so much pain. Carefully extending a claw, she hovered it near the column of ants. One ant, clearly surprised at the intrusion, dropped its leaf and promptly fastened it’s pinchers on Kira’s claw. Brave little buggers, she thought as she shook the ant off and began looking for a less harmful source of water.

Continuing through the foliage, she sensed something. It wasn’t the absence of prey, which was unusual for such a bountiful place, nor the sixth-sense like feeling that someone was near. It was a combination of those, and many other signs, that led Kira to believe that she was not alone. Raising her head, she opened her mouth slightly and let the sent-ridden air pass over her sensitive membranes. Yes, there was definitely something near. Something different from the usual prey, different from anything she had smelled in a long time. Time to find out what it was.

Following her nose and her instincts, Kira drew closer to the source. She knew she was very, very near when she saw telltale signs of another cat habiting this place. Trees were scratched – impressive marks that were easily six feet or more off the ground. Kira stretched her arms up, but the highest she could reach was still substantially lower than those beastly gashes. Maybe you should be careful about what you are getting yourself into here, whispered a voice in her head. But it was largely ignored as a new sound greeted her ears: water! As she gleefully sprang forward to quench her thirst in the tumbling stream, her spine prickled and an almost overpowering aroma of another cat accosted her. She didn't know that she had just passed into Scyphon’s territory, the newly crowned Queen of Evangili, but she knew she was in another cat's territory. Barely pausing, she just hoped that the other cat didn’t mind her coming and taking a teeney sip of the water. It would only be to stop the ant bite from hurting. That was it. Then she would leave.

Crouching at the bank of the stream, the slippery pebbles felt smooth under her paws. The endless tumble of water over them had worn any ridge, outcropping, or bump on the stones, weathering away any outcropping or imperfection. Lapping a few sips of the crystal-clear brook, Kira refreshed herself. Her tongue felt better already. Turning her head and readying to leave (just like she said she would) she spied something very unusual sitting on a pedestal of sorts, elevated from the ground by four stones placed underneath it with great care. It wasn’t only round but even more so; it was perfectly spherical. Its color was very unnatural, a bright shade of orange that she hadn’t seen on any flower, bird, or fish. It didn’t seem to be moving; in fact, it didn’t even seem to be alive. But it had two large, faded eyes, staring back at Kira, with a goofy mouth accompanying the gaze. Kira didn’t quite know what the expression was meant to convey. Was it playful? Scary? Or, like herself, merely curious? Dropping into a hunting crouch, she began stalking the ball. It was more for fun than anything else – it wasn’t going anywhere and knew that stalking it would be useless. But is was more fn this way, and when she got within pouncing distance, she squared her shoulders, readied her hind legs… and… Leaped!

Landing on the ball, she was expecting it to be something like a mouse or a rabbit - soft, squishy, and yielding to her blows. But instead it was hard and slippery. It squirted out from under her paws and rolled, thankfully, away from the river. Intrigued that it could escape her so easily, Kira chased after it, batting it with her paw and generally making a spectacle of herself. With much play-growling and taunts thrown a the ball, she managed to get the hang of it, anticipating how it would bounce and learning how to pull her punches, so to speak, so that it didn’t go flying off somewhere unexpected whenever she hit it. She amused herself for a good thirty minutes with that thing – throwing it up and catching it again with her mouth, rolling it down small hills and chasing after its erratic bouncing down the uneven slopes, hitting it with her soft paws and watching it happily bounce away. She was just perfecting the art of lying on her back and juggling the ball to and fro between her forepaws when she remembered: She was on another cat’s land. Oops. She had let her curiosity get the better of her again, and she didn’t know what she might have gotten herself into. Mother had told her what sometimes happens when a cat intrudes on another’s territory, and it wasn’t good. Letting the ball drop to the ground next to her, she quickly righted herself and stood up on all fours. Gingerly picking up the ball in her mouth, being careful not to get teeth prints in it, she slunk towards the spot where she had originally found it, intending to put it back where it had came from and quickly leave this other cat’s territory. Kira just hoped that whoever owned this place didn’t catch her trespassing. She would put the ball back, then she would leave. And she meant it this time.