The Bonecaster of Canis had a great many responsibilities. One was advising her leader, the Bone King, a lammergeier who gathered and led one of the largest gathered Gembound groups in Canis: the Bonebound. Another was to tell the fortunes of all who came to her, which meant gathering and tending a large collection of bones for her soothsaying. Yet another responsibility, one she'd taken on of her own accord, was the gathering, cataloguing and cultivation of a variety of types of fungus--as well as experiments on their effects.

Last of all was the tendency she had to pick up young, stray Gembound and mother them, offering them food, and warmth, and safety in numbers, and giving them a place to stay at her den. More often than not it also meant looking after them when they were injured, teaching them what she could, and generally being a rather ugly maternal figure with a face that only her children could love.

That face was littered with scars, scars that had once been brutal lacerations over her face. The hyena's coat was matted with dried blood, gore and fungal growth, so that at any given time she could call upon most of the types of mushrooms that she used in combat or for healing.

Right now, though, her mind wasn't on her babies, or the bones, or the fungus. Instead she was padding around the far edges of Canis, dark eyes fixed on the rock below.

But is it rock? What could leave prints in stone? What is so big? Or was this stone liquid, once? Maybe it wasn't stone at all?

She was a gatherer of knowledge above all else, a seeker who wished to learn and to know everything. And these prints, she'd found, were a mystery to her. They weren't from paws, nor hooves, and she found herself placing her own forepaw into their hollow shells time and time again to test their size. Some were smaller, some bigger.

It was this fascination that had her circling, muttering to herself now and again, her eyes on the rocky floor.

________________

Roll the bones.

@Anux

the silence was deafening in this vast cavern.

the ambiance was suffocating with humidity.
the small child cub, solicited her placid persona well
though she felt as if her lungs would collapse as her heart raced.
she felt like she was on the edge of being a scaredy cat
and that was something she never wished
on anyone, feline or not.
fuzz covered padders unsheathed her tiny but, sharp talons
as she gripped the moist, soggy cavern floor.
scraping away at the surface as her steps stayed flat and fleeting.
surely, there had to be another soul nearby.
the thought of being doubtful of that brought on a little depression that gnawed away at her heart strings.


some say "not all who wander are lost"
but, in this unique case.
the speaker would be wrong.
for indeed she was lost in the dark damp cave.

what had she gotten herself into?
perplexed beyond her own understanding.
she hoped her doubts about being isolated from
another vessel were, anything but right.
this nonsense in her head needed to stop ailing her,
childishly she tossed her cranium back and forth in a shaking motion.
letting out a light grunt as she did so.
if someone was to see her do this violent thrashing of her head,
they would more than likely think she was brain damaged.
oh well, she was alone who cared what she did or looked like?


the shadows she was casting on the cavern walls were dwarfing her in size.
she loved how big she appeared and hoped
she'd become massive as she grew everyday.
one could only hope and cross their fingers
for that wish to come true.
perhaps, it was a silly wish but it was her wish none the less.
distracted by the spell that taunted her on the cavern barrier
she didn't take notice of a pile of bones that were gathered.
tripping ungracefully she came head first
diving into the scattered pile of remains
as the dust swallowed her small carcass.
a squeal pitch escaped her vocal cavity as whimpered once or twice in pain.
a pathetic sight, for sure.


the dust was trying to choke her out,
small echoing coughs emerged from the dim cave.

@GIGGLE

Giggle heard the crash nearby, and the suddenness of it brought her thoughts crashing to a halt just as hard. Jerked from her thoughts, she lifted her head, peering around.

The hell was that?

A soft cry reached the hyena's ears, and faint concern touched her. Was it Bones? He'd been injured, had trouble walking--but it didn't sound like Bones. It sounded smaller, weaker.

She was already trotting forward, tense and alert. It couldn't be Kerberos; he was far too large--and too loud--to have cried out like that. The blind bat or the tiny fox that had once visited her came to mind--but now she had little time left to wonder, for a pile of bones just down the hill from the path was already visible, a cloud of dust rising from them.

The spotted hyena trotted closer, sniffing over the bones--ahh, there.

There was a lion cub--ugh... She detested lions. Something about their stink and their sly and flirty demeanors pissed her off. The were never straightforward, never honest. They were manipulative things. With a sigh, she reached down, trying to grip the cub by the neck and gently pull it back out of the pile and upright before releasing it--even if it scratched her up, a little.

Then she sat back, staring at it.

"Are you all right?" she asked in her deep and raspy voice.

________________

Roll the bones.

@anux

before she knew what was happening,
something had shattered her solitude.


a rescue mission was in the works.
the few dry particles that remained hazed her vision.
gentle fangs gripped her extra scruff that protected her neck.
feeling the rush of being lifted involuntarily
was an odd but comforting feeling.
the scattered bones below her shifted as she was removed from their clutches.


who had been her guardian angel?


caramel optics, made attempts to peer upwards
but with little luck to see her saviors face.
again, before she knew what was happening she was set down on the rock bed surface
now looking head on with the one who saved her.
angel wouldn't be the first thought that would come to mind when looking upon her.
a gruesome species, a hyena.
instincts kicked in out of no where.
she'd never met a hyena but,
the unconscious need for hate encroached.
"stop this foolishness, she just saved me!"
she screamed inwardly at herself as her speckled tail twitched tensely behind her.


the hyena's words were short but, she seemed somewhat concerned for her well being.


"I am now, thanks to you." she debated
letting a smile invade her contemplating expression.
only to give in slightly, the smile in question was quick but sincere.
continuing she spake again "I don't mean to be a bother to you.
I hope I didn't take you from anything important.


anux was unsure on how to read her.
perhaps this is how a lion and a hyena's relationship was supposed to be?
unsure.


@GIGGLE

The little thing could speak, then. Giggle grunted.

She had no idea how the lion had managed to get not only over but down into a pile of bones, so deeply that she'd been entangled. Running, maybe? Not looking where she was going? Cubs of all species could be silly. This one was likely no exception.

"How'd you manage to fall into a pile of bones? Never mind. You hungry?" She shoved aside the faint distaste she held, the desire to mock the cub, and instead offered food. There were rats enough near her den, if the thing was hungry. If not, she wasn't sure what to do with it.

Nothing, maybe. It'd be nice to just ignore it and move on.

Damn lions.

________________

Roll the bones.

@anux

the gruff persona the hyena had put on display, was slightly confusing.


if lions and hyena's were supposed to hate each other
why than had this one decided to save her?
and now she was offering a meal?
perhaps this was a trick of some kind.
at this point, she wasn't sure what to do.
like clockwork her stomach did start to make a monstrous noise.
an ephemeral sigh made it out of her without her permission.


should she even try and answer the question that would cause
her more embarrassment?


maybe later, for now she couldn't miss
the opportunity for a meal being offered without a catch.
or was it?
not wanting to make the large hyena
impatient her answer spewed eagerly.
"that would be very kind of you, m'lady"


she let her head dip slightly as she expressed gratitude to her.


@GIGGLE

Giggle stared blankly for a long moment.

Did she just fucking say "m'lady?"

She stared some more, and finally broke into uproarious laughter for a moment--not at the cub so much as at the situation. Her cackling echoed, eerie, through the cave, ringing from the stone walls and bouncing off the piles of bones that littered the area.

At long last she fell quiet, looking at the lion with dark amusement in her eyes.

"'M'lady?' There's no need to be so formal, lion. I'm Giggle. Come on, then--there's rats this way. What's your name? You got one, yet?"

She turned, padding off toward her den. The path would ramble down through the bones, past her vast bone pit where she told her fortunes, and off to the west wall, where the rats lived. There were large boulders there, places with some greenery, where the rats lived in holes in the rock and stared out with glinting eyes and twitching whiskers.

The hyena was good-natured, for the most part; she glanced back to be sure the lion cub was following, and that it wasn't upset by her cackling or by her amusement at the cub's choice of word. She decided to explain, as they went--just in case.

"You're in a cave filled with bones and scavengers, predators and beasts. Nobody uses flowery language, here. There's the Bone King, but that's about it. Maybe you'd get along with that damn white cat up on her bone tower. She fancies herself a little princess." Realizing that this, too, could be insulting, Giggle sighed to herself.

"Ahh well, everyone is... different. We all need to eat and shit, right? C'mon. Let's get you that food."

________________

Roll the bones.

@anux

cackling proceeded from the hyena's mouth.
it was eerie, ear curdling, but yet it was filled with amusement.


" I am glad your highness thinks my politeness is amusing."
she spoke up after the obnoxious laughter came to a halt.
sarcasm laced the phrase, as a grin smacked her kissers
making the white whiskers on her cheeks curl mimic her mouth.
"some see formality as a must, glad to know you are not one of those."
she said with a sigh of relief.
suddenly, the hyena was attempting to start up chit chat with her.
this creature was one of a puzzle, that was obvious.

giggle was her name, odd.

" they should call you cackle" she said
as she tried to keep up with the widespread steps
she was trying to mimic.
a small and barely audible chuckle floated into the cave.
letting her self gain back her composure she spoke up once more
"anux is what i call myself, and I don't consider myself a princess.
actually, I don't really know what to consider myself?" the last sentence
had specks of query.

hurrying herself along she tried not to trail
too far behind the much larger creature.
she didn't want to get lost in the darkness again, that was to be certain.

"Well, you're a lion. Other than that? You're you." She sounded matter-of-fact, leading the way down to the western walls and the rat holes dotting the rock nearby.

"Right. I don't suppose you've hunted before?"

When Giggle trotted up into the boulders, the sound of scurrying was audible. The rats and cave rats who lived here had found shelter in the water-worn holes beneath the rock, and ventured out in the dimmer cave-light of evening to sneak strips of meat from the bones.

It was a bit of a mystery as to how the hyena could possibly hunt; she couldn't fit into their holes, and she smelled strongly enough that they'd notice her coming a hundred yards away. In fact, she didn't even try to mask the sound of her approach, still speaking at a normal volume.

A moment later, though, she was digging and sniffing beneath one of the boulders, reaching in with a paw and snatching with powerful jaws laid low to the ground, biting at the underneath of the boulder. When a skittering came from the other side, she lunged, leaping around the boulder and bolting low to the ground to try and snatch up the fleeing rodent.

She missed--landing face-first on the stone with a flinching grunt--but the rat bolted directly toward the lion cub, oblivious to Anux in its terror of the reeking hyena.

Would the lion cub try to catch it? Would she be quick enough to?

________________

Roll the bones.

@Anux

you are, you.

that was all fine and dandy but,
how could she be entirely sure who she was
when she wasn't even quite sure of why she was here?
picking up her already brisk pace she urged
her small little appendages to patter a little more quickly.
were they almost there?
it felt like they had scampered quite a ways.
finally, they breeched the western crevice of this cave.
naturally water made holes had made random patterns
all over the cavern blockade.


the next question, giggle wanted an answer to was quite simple.


"no not ever, this will be a first."
she said quietly not wanting to look so pathetic.
before she could mutter anymore, giggle was on a mission.
scouring the wall for some prey she called "rats".
never having laid eyes on one she watched curiously.
lifted her moist nares she smelled different scents in this region of the cave.
perhaps, it was because these creatures, or rather rats lived here.
they sure let off a funny stench, more so than the hyena's.

rash movements came quickly from giggle as she located a rat.
only catching a quick glimpse of the small rodent,
anux stood planted firmly excitedly waiting for the kill.
her excitement vanished for a moment
as the rat foiled the hyena's plans of capture.
giggle fell flat on her face with a grunt.


wide eyed her killer instincts kicked in.


ahh, ha! this was her chance to show she wasn't pathetic.
the beady eyed vermin with a long scaly tail was headed right for her.
apparently, it was in shock and amnesic.
without hesitation, quick to her feet her back end rose
as she formed into a pounce position.
caramel pools were locked on as they darkened with savageness.
"gotcha!" she squealed.
her pounce was in perfect form as her talon unsheathed themselves
just as they landed on top of the rodent, now laying unconscious.
"piece of cake" she said with a beaming smile plastered on her maw.
she looked for giggle's sign of approval, would it be visible?

no more waiting, it was dinner time.

@GIGGLE