Of yonder night - ricochet

[Naira]

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[atrb=background,http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i477/rhythmoflove93/III2.png] Ominous storm clouds loomed overhead. This didn’t help his mood, today was horrible, nothing went right, he had screwed up his hunt, and he was just overall angry. Mating season was the worst time of year for him, he was alone, and he was always chased away from the lionesses by the males who had taken claim over them. It seemed he was the only rouge male on the savannah, and that just didn’t make Balthazar feel any better either. The boom of thunder indicated rain, it startled him, jumping he swung his mighty head around in many different directions before he actually realized it was thunder. He padded onward, forcing his massive paws over the scorched savannah ground, the dead grasses crunching as he flattened them out of his path. Walking all day, he had to look for some shelter, and there was obviously none here, just open grasslands with some trees completely filled by birds, which wouldn’t provide much cover for him even if he did decided to take refuge under one of them. He had been walking so long, he was beginning to reach the green belt which eventually lead to a thick forest, and then after a while, there was a swamp. He laughed to himself slightly, remembering the stories his mother had told him about the monstrous creatures that lived within the swamp, but now he knew he was a lion, nothing would dare mess with him. As he walked, he caught subtle scents of different cats in the now mixture of dead and living grasses beneath his paws, it was almost overwhelming, the confusing myriad of scents mixing together in a cloud around him. There where scents of females, cubs, females in heat, males, everything. He shook his head, thinking of the possibility there were some cats around here somewhere, maybe a small male who he can chase off and take that lion’s females, the though gave him confidence to move on. He took several steps before letting out a loud huffing bark sound, his tail flipping upward, indicating that he could be a possible threat to any males around him, letting out another bark, he lowered his tail keeping his ears pricked for any other noises around him, but her heard none, perhaps he was actually wrong about his scenting for once. He took another wiff of the strange mixture of scents around him once more, thinking a little more carefully this time, and realized that a majority of the scents were stale, about three days to three weeks old depending on the different scents that he could pick out. But, there was one scent that caught his attention, the scent of a female in heat but, it wasn’t what he was used to, the lionesses he knew smelled different, almost sultry and magnetic, drawing him to them. This scent was a sweet smell, but it was not as magnetic as that of a lioness, but curiosity forced him onward. He wanted to find the female that had this strange scent, was it because she was young, was she sick? He was beginning to make his head spin, the curiosity to see this female was overwhelming. He lowered his head slightly, trying to pick out which direction the sweet scent was coming from, and made his best guess. It looked like it was coming from deeper within the green belt, hopefully not leading him into the jungle.

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[RICOCHET]

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[atrb=background,http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af101/Siberia_North/ashantimid.png] Quite frankly, Ashanti was terrified. Well, if you were a borderline Arrhenphobic on heat, wouldn't you be too? She wasn't aware of any male jaguars in the area, but she still had to be on guard. Besides, could the fact that they were different species really stop ANY horny male from getting 'at her'? She may not get pregnant from it - she'd heard strange tales of ligers, lion and tiger hybrids, but surely that was just a myth, as she'd never seen one before and neither had anyone she'd ever asked about it - but it would still be horrendous. It would basically be rape. And this is why she was sticking to the shadows, her bright yellow eyes wide and gleaming, swivelling around to scan her surroundings intently. Her sides heaved, and her pulse was almost unbearably quick, it felt as if someone was hammering against her ribcage with such velocity she felt lightheaded. Her ears remained pinned back against her skull as she skulked forward in the darkness. The bright green strands of foliage brushing against her paws, and vines and leaves that dangled from the trees overhead scratched against her hide. "Oh God.... Oh shit... Don't let him find me, whoever the hell he is, please don't let him find me." The desperate mantra repeated over and over again. She was never usually this frightened when her heat came around, but that was because Kivuli was with her and if anyone could scare off a male, Kiv could. Besides, if the male tried anything, it would be two against one. But now, she was alone, and he.... he was close, whoever he was. She could smell him, and Ash was sure as hell that she could smell her. She cringed. The jaguar had to get away from here, and soon. If the female stayed here much longer, he would surely sniff her out. Her eyes nearly brimmed with tears as she thought about what he could do to her.... But maybe if she was found, if she acted tough... Maybe he'd leave her alone. Sure, against female opponents she was a tough bitch, but when males were concerned... Well, she'd just have to rely on her acting skills and prey that he'd believe that she wasn't really scared. She took a deep breath, and tried to keep some composure, although her legs were shaking. In fact, everything was shaking, including her vision. Ashanti gritted her fangs as she heard a twig snap nearby. In fact, very nearby. She suppressed a cry of fear and ducked down as much as she could, peeking through the bushes to see a male about... ten, fifteen yards away from her? But the odd thing about him was... that he was no jaguar. In fact, he wasn't a jungle cat at all. He, being an African Lion, looked very out of place amongst the greens of the foliage that surrounded them. Ashanti blamed it on curousity as she took a step forward, therefore exposing herself. Well, it was too late now. She gulped down her fear and forced her facial features into a scowl, her bright yellow pools narrowed. "Who... who the hell are you? And what are you doing here? Lions don't belong in the jungle."

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