Fuli
PRIDELANDERS
The Wanderer
Posts: 131
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Post by Fuli on Mar 7, 2021 20:53:24 GMT
Hunting was a delicate, elegant, fine art. The art of getting close to your prey without being detected. The art of accelerating quick enough that it can't get away. The art of tripping it an a single hooking motion with your dew claws. An art it took many years to perfect, or in the case of this cheetah, most of your life. A cheetah's hunt was usually done solo, going after a lone target. Success, even for the fastest living land animal, was difficult even for a seasoned hunter, especially when you weighed almost half as much as your prey. So caution and planning were critical. Fuli slinked through the tall grass, right behind a lone gazelle. She approached slowly, careful to avoid rustling the grass and giving herself away. Just a few more feet and I'll be right on top of it. Steady now, no room for error. Just a few more steps.
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Njaa
OUTLANDERS
The Boss
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Post by Njaa on Mar 8, 2021 9:03:53 GMT
Hunting, for a feline, was certainly a work of precision, more of a science than an art. The hideout had to be perfect, the hunter had to be completely silent. The wind had to be blowing in the right direction, or you risked being spotted. The reason for this was simple: Felines were not endurance runners, they just ran fast and quick!
The gazelle Fuli was after got her head up from the grass and looked to her left. She was not looking at Fuli, no... But the cheetah could hear it coming.
But hunting, for hyenas, was something entirely different. Especially for a group of hungry hyenas who were too hungry to listen to reason or even instinct.
"NO, FURBRAINS!" Njaa screamed, as three other hyenas jumped out of their own hiding spot and went after the gazelle, who simply SPRINT forward, initiating a chase. Njaa sighed... And joined the other hyenas "Try to bring her down fast! The Lion Guard might be getting here soon!"
"But boss!" Spoke one loud hyena "There ain't no guard, just one cub!" to which Njaa answered with a laugh "AHAHAH! Yeah! But his roar hurts! We gotta get this gazelle down and back to the Outlands before he gets her'!"
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Fuli
PRIDELANDERS
The Wanderer
Posts: 131
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Post by Fuli on Mar 8, 2021 17:17:15 GMT
Fuli's head peeked out of the grass at the sound of movement. Sure enough, a trio of hyenas soon began to chase after her prey, in what looked more like a chaotic race than a hunt. They were soon followed by their apparent leader, who didn't look that much smarter than the others. At the mention of a Lion Guard, whatever that was, she was a little confused, especially when they brought up the cub. And his apparently harmful roar. Maybe they were so hungry they'd begun to hallucinate? Oh well. Then, they all took off. The gazelle she'd spent a good chunk of her afternoon tracking was now under threat of being stolen by a group of malnourished terrorists. Well, this wouldn't do! "Huwezi!"
She took off running, rapidly approaching the hyenas and their target gazelle. "Hey hyenas, that's my kill! Get outta here!" she shouted at them. They weren't even supposed to be in the Pridelands in the first place. And more importantly, she was hunting that gazelle first!
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Njaa
OUTLANDERS
The Boss
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Post by Njaa on Mar 8, 2021 20:40:38 GMT
The hyenas were clearly not looking for chat, they were indeed hungry! But, again, weren't all hyenas always hungry? Certainly, hyenas didn't think so... Well, some did. Hyenas were not known for their brains, more for their teeth, claws, and constant despair and hunger to use and abuse the first two.
"Hey!" Njaa said as the cheetah... rather easily gained ground on him and approached the gazelle. This was a pretty long chase-line: the prey ahead, followed by his three furbrains and their laughter, and a bit after that, Njaa himself. Not there was a cheetah in this race? Njaa was smart enough to know he was not beating a cheetah in a race by playing fair. Not that it mattered, once he was not intending to play fair from the start.
"Das our food, spots! Get outta her'!" And he advanced to the side with his shoulder, trying to ram into the cheetah as she passed through him and stop both of them from running if he had to. It was better to leave the chase with his furbrains anyways, they were smart enough to run and bit at the same time. Hopefuly.
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Fuli
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The Wanderer
Posts: 131
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Post by Fuli on Mar 8, 2021 20:50:16 GMT
Fuli snickered at the hyena's vain attempts to dissuade her. "I think you're confused, barebones. This is my kill."
She saw the hyena leader attempt to shoulder her. As if. The cheetah waited until they were about to collide, and then jumped. Right over the top of the hyena, and came down on the other side, then resumed running. With a growl, she faced the hyena again. "So do yourself a favor and call off this dumb excuse for a hunt, or I will."
Might as well give the fella a chance to give up before things got ugly. And if he didn't accept? Well, then this would get a whole lot harder. For them.
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Njaa
OUTLANDERS
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Post by Njaa on Mar 9, 2021 3:03:08 GMT
Njaa huffed at Fuli's high self-esteem. He clearly knew that cheetahs were not to messed with, but if this one was stupid enough to get between a hyena and their food? Then he probably had nothing to worry about! And it was not like he saw many cheetahs back in the Outlands anyways. He went forward with his shoulder push strategy! But the hyena certainly wasn't expecting the super narrow evade! He almost got knocked out of the chase by that! That cheetah was crafty, he barely felt the tail dragging against his back fur as she jumped right over him "Jino!" He barked out "I need a paw her'!" And one of the hyenas seemed to look back, still after the gazelle. Njaa was hoping Fuli would pay attention to it, as he himself stretched his neck and made a quick jump to try and bite at the cheetah's upper left hind leg!
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Fuli
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The Wanderer
Posts: 131
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Post by Fuli on Mar 9, 2021 3:41:57 GMT
Proud with herself for pulling off that move, Fuli was taken slightly off guard by the other hyena's sudden involvement. Two threats on her now, time to even the odds a little!
Fuli put on a short burst of speed, leaving the hyena leader in the dust and rapidly approaching this "Jino" figure. Speed and surprise, that was how she fought. And once she was close enough, she extended her front right dewclaw and went to hook his rear left leg and trip him. A classic cheetah hunting technique, now repurposed for high-speed combat.
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Njaa
OUTLANDERS
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Post by Njaa on Mar 9, 2021 8:21:17 GMT
The cheetah just moved too fast there! This could be a problem, soon! Njaa followed her to the best of his ability, but he was of course left not he dust. The one thing he had going for him is that she would approach the other hyenas, and they were not going too fast. If he ran fast enough he should be able to get to them!
Jino was a... rather a small hyena. Probably a bit younger than the others. But when he slowed down to go side to side with the cheetah, she would learn why he was called that. His teeth were not pointy, they were sharp as a knife! And he went for a bite... That is, he was going for a bite but instead he just got knocked down by her claw move!
Njaa barely evaded the tumbling hyena as he got there! That was close, if he collided with them, he would be off the chase, just like Jino there was. One down, three more to go. Njaa was gaining ground slowly..! Fuli might outrun him, but he could outrun that gazelle, even if not by the amounted the spotted cat could.
One of the two hyenas started to lose ground to approach Fuli. This one was larger, and looked quite strong! A heavy shoulder shove would likely knock the wind off her!
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Fuli
PRIDELANDERS
The Wanderer
Posts: 131
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Post by Fuli on Mar 9, 2021 13:57:05 GMT
One down, three to go. These hyenas were stubborn, alright. But the cheetah dewclaw hook worked like a charm, as always. It looked like yet another one was closing in, and he was a bit closer to her weight class. She could still probably kick his tail in combat, but right now she didn't have time for that. Luckily, cheetahs had a certain luxury few else did, and that was the ability to pick and choose their battles. If she didn't want to fight right then and there, the hyenas couldn't make her.
She waited for him to lose as much speed as possible, then before he could make his attack, put on another burst of speed and zoomed right past. These hyenas weren't going to snag this gazelle, not today! Last hyena before the finish line. "Not so tough now, are ya?" she teased the hyena leader behind her, glancing back over her shoulder.
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Njaa
OUTLANDERS
The Boss
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Post by Njaa on Mar 9, 2021 21:40:36 GMT
In fact, all of the hyenas were around her size already. This large one was just particularly bigger than her! Hyenas were dangerous predators, especially in a group. Most cheetahs would give up, it was not worth facing all of them for one lunch, but Fuli certainly was no ordinary cheetah.
The hyena there himself towards the cheetah, and... OOf. He missed miserably as the cat just advanced forward! The hyena losing balance thanks to his extra-large size, and ended as just another obstacle that almost made Njaa trip as well! "Hey! Watch where ya fall, furbrain!" complained the boss, and he kept going forward.
And the hyena boss smirked. That was no gazelle, but could be good enough! "Gotcha now, cat!" she heard behind her as she closed in on the last hyena in front of her, and Njaa closed back behind her. "Now, furbrain!" And the last hyena in front of her spun around for a surprise tackle! at the same time, Njaa went for a tackle, wanting to sandwich the cheetah between them and take her down. Hyenas were crafty!
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Fuli
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The Wanderer
Posts: 131
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Post by Fuli on Mar 9, 2021 22:12:11 GMT
Last one, then she was home free. Well, that was what Fuli thought, right before the one in front of her turned around. Apparently these guys were now more interested in her than in the gazelle. Which meant her insulting them probably worked! No time for that, though. She heard the hyena leader behind her make his remark, and had a feeling she wouldn't like what was going to happen next. Once again, it was time to flip the script on the hyenas. Thinking quickly, Fuli made a left turn, skidding for a few moments before picking up the pace and then continuing towards the gazelle, now on an offset course. This also had the effect of kicking up a ton of dust, which would hopefully throw the hyenas off her tail.
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Njaa
OUTLANDERS
The Boss
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Post by Njaa on Mar 9, 2021 22:16:47 GMT
The hyenas were closing on on her... they knew she could outrun them, but she was going so fast it was likely difficult to turn. And they were so wrong! The dust was lifted, and the two hyenas pounced in opposite directions after the cheetah... But the turn was way too fast for them. Fuli could hear the boinking sound of two hard-headed animals hitting each other as she literally left them int he dust. She could barely hear Njaa complaining in the background "Lemme go, furbrain! I'm not a cheetah!"
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Fuli
PRIDELANDERS
The Wanderer
Posts: 131
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Post by Fuli on Mar 9, 2021 22:33:18 GMT
Fuli looked back over her shoulder and was relieved to see that her plan worked. Not that there was ever any doubt, of course. "Like the taste of dust, hyena?!" she yelled back at them, with a little snicker at the end. And now, finally, with that out of the way she could get back to her hunt, as planned. She refocused on the gazelle, and began advancing towards it. She lost a bit of speed in that last maneuver, but like all cheetahs, she could accelerate very quickly. Steady now, she couldn't strike until the gazelle was close enough. This had been an exciting hunt, but it was time to end it. A nice meal after this ordeal would be great!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2021 2:14:28 GMT
And just like that, the cheetah seemed free to hunt again! The hyenas, by the time the cloud dispersed, could not be seen anymore. They already fled, so they could st- hunt in the Pridelands another day.
But, as Fuli was finally getting close to the gazelle, getting ready for the blow, a couple of minutes later... The animal suddenly stopped, dragging its hooves against the floor, and stopping so fast in front of Fuli she would likely end slamming face-first against the prey. Why... did the prey stop while being hunt?
"K-Kion!" She spoke up after stopping. And so Fuli would see him. A lion cub, slightly smaller than her, with a vibrant red mane. He stood bravely in the gazelle's path. "Are you alright?" He asked the gazelle, who noded.
"Fuli, right?" He asked, "We have to talk!" His tone implied this was a good thing. This lion was someone the cheetah surely knew. Kion, son of Simba. The newader of... the new Lion Guard?
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Fuli
PRIDELANDERS
The Wanderer
Posts: 131
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Post by Fuli on Mar 10, 2021 2:29:53 GMT
Fuli was rapidly approaching this gazelle. Now, finally, after all this, a decent mea- And then the gazelle abruptly came to a stop, followed by the lion cub's appearance. Fuli, slightly panicked by this sudden stop, dug her claws into the ground and tried to stop. But she skidded across the ground a few feet before tripping over one of the gazelle's legs and face-planting at the cub's feet. She looked up at Kion, astonished when he called her by her name. Oh, she'd heard things floating around about Kion and his new Guard, but never seen them in action before. Well, this wasn't really action, more like Kion taking advantage of her action. "How'd you... how'd you know my name?" she asked him, quickly picking herself up. The cheetah panted rapidly for a few seconds. "And whaddya want from me?" She didn't fully trust the cub, nor was she totally pleased with him for having interrupted her hunt. But he was a prince, and only the second one she'd ever met. And this one was actually a lion. Best to give him some respect.
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