A Change

The two large trees which stand nearby each other seemed the best shelther the three foxes could find on short notice, in the dark. Although Mbio has been about the Pridelands area longer than his two new companions, he still hasn't been around long. It just seemed, perhaps, cozier to sleep among the trees than out in the open grasses. But the silver fox is awake now, and has been so for a bit. It is just the day after their trek to the water hole. Sitting back upon his hindquarters, having moved, once again, away from the others when he awoke, Mbio now gazes in silence out across the golden fields, his back to where Matata and Teza had slept last he saw. But that was a bit ago; he's no idea to whether or not they've stirred. The sun's rays which beat against his fur are warm, but gently so. Midmorning is a bit cool today, suggesting a rather mild afternoon and evening. But that's fine with Mbio, as long as things don't get -too- cold.

Indeed, Matata has stirred - finally. The night was peaceful enough, having slept the entirety of it huddled against his sister, the pair of them nestled cosily in the nook between the roots of one of the trees. But now, his head lifts, blinking out towards the rising sun, tilting his chin upwards to feel the first warm rays tickling at his throat. Slowly, carefully, he eases himself away from young Teza, not wishing to rouse her from her sleep by his movements; after all, there's no reason why she shouldn't be left to sleep as long as she wishes, this morning. Perhaps it is simply the mood of the morning, tiny beads of dew clinging to the tall grasses, reflecting the early light like so many sparkling beads, that causes the little red fox to feel oddly calm, strangely more content than you might expect, going on his more recent streaks of caution or anger. A yawn gently pries his jaws apart, and it is with that that he makes his first sound of the morn' - a simple, tiny, 'aaauch'.

The movement behind him is regarded with the canting of one black ear, as it twists just slightly to listen in. Not much is heard; just the occasional rustle of the grass. That is, until the fox behind him yawns. Then Mbio turns his head, craning his neck a bit to peer over his shoulders, both ears curbing forward, now. His smile is faint, like a ghost of a smile, but calm. "Sleep well, eh?" he questions as he, too, lifts to his paws, briefly stretching his back. His voice is somewhat quiet, perhaps in an unconscious hope to not shatter the peacefulness around him. Turning, he trots slowly back to the red boy.

Matata completes his yawn, first, stretching his lips luxuriously and then closing his jaws with a light snap, before turning his attention towards the greets of the silver fox. His own smile, too, is faint, as though he himself is cautious of it, but true nonetheless, and his muzzle dips downwards briefly. "Best I've had in ages, 't feels like..." he says, voice soft but oddly bright. "Looks like Teza's been in need of it too, eh?" he says, then, with a tilt of his head in her direction. But the movement causes a faint wince from the fox; doubtless from the bruises caused by the 'crocodile incident' - yet he doesn't let it bother him, stepping carefully through the grasses now, around his sister and towards the approaching Mbio.

He halts when he feels he's close enough, and Matata seems to finish off the rest of the distance on his own. Sitting once more, the boy lets his tail curve slightly about his side. "Yeah," Mbio replies almost absent-mindedly, with a nod of acknowledgment. "You both seemed like y'needed a good rest." Why? Because something was, obviously, troubling them. And, although Mbio isn't one to be nosey, he just can't help but be curious. If he's going to stick with these two for a bit -- and who knows whether he will or he won't -- then it'd be hard, if not impossible, for the young male to swallow his questions constantly. There's a pause in the conversation, if you could call it that; a silence, which draws itself out for a moment or two, before the silver male glances towards Matata. "You gotta know I hate to poke at you," he starts, and perhaps Matata can tell what follows just by that, "but I can't help but ask." His voice is still quiet, calm. Easy. "Where do you two come from? There's obviously some kind o' burden on your shoulders. You've been acting it, at least."

Likewise, Matata allows himself to take a seat as they come within a comfortable distance of each other, his paws huddling neatly against each other while his tail sweeps the earth gently behind him. Another gentle nod is offered at the comment, done carefully so as not to bring about any more tweaks of pain from his carefully healing bruises. He looks thoroughly at ease; the most content he's probably -ever- looked since meeting Mbio; but his questions are swift to cease the boy's easy demeanour. His expression hardens, his gaze becomes fixed upon a nondescript spot in the distance. But there is more sadness than harshness in his manner, the sloping creases in his brow suggesting a deeper pain. A deep breath is drawn... and then slowly, carefully so that he doesn't have to meet Mbio's eyes midway, the young red fox turns his head, staring intently over the sleeping Teza for a few moments - scrutinising her, for any sign to suggest she will rouse herself soon. Then, with equal care, he draws his head back, and allows his gaze to finally meet Mbio's own, squarely, powerfully. "I suppose you're going to have to find out sooner or later, eh?" he says, in a voice that almost wouldn't seem his own, so grave it sounds.

While Matata avoids the other's gaze, Mbio studies the red-furred boy's carefully. He tenses for a brief moment, in vague fear that the anger that had been brought on the other day should return. But he soon relaxes as the fear fades, for it is clear to him that, this time, the anger isn't coming. Gray eyes narrow some, as if the boy is attempt to calculate Mata's expression, to see within him. But, it fails. He'll have to wait to hear the story, should it be told. Not all things can be made clear by looking carefully at another. And it appears he'll be granted the story, indeed. "Well, I can't say I haven't tried guessing about everything," he says in reply to Matata's question, which really needs no answer. A sort of way of saying, 'Well, yes, I would like to know.'

Matata's tongue sneaks out, running itself over the edges of his snowy maw to moisten his lips, moving just as slowly as all his movements seem to have become. His hardened gaze doesn't falter, hardly even blinks, never flinching from the silver eyes of the oddly-pelted fox, and after exhaling lightly, a resigned sort of frown settles over his features. "We're out here because we're not welcome back at home anymore." His voice itself is not rough, but the words are roughly spoken, no doubt causing a great flood of painful memories to well up within the small, fire-coloured creature. "Teza and I; we don't belong anywhere anymore. We're... Wahuni." The final word is spoken in a deathly-hushed undertone, reverting back to the old native tongue, and as he does so, his eyes seek out some form of recognition of it's meaning from Mbio.

With ears lifted to acute attention, Mbio listens silently, intently. His quick gaze dulls some at Matata's words, a quiet frown settling upon his maw, lips curving downwards. Unwelcome back at home? This only brings more questions to the silver-pelted one, but their restrained, for now. The one question he has already asked seems tough enough for the red-furred boy to come to terms with. His maw parts as though to say something, but Mbio hesitates and glances to the grass, downward, as if considering for a quick second. A still slightly hesitant, ".. I'm sorry," is what he finds, the two words quite sincere. He hadn't it a clue it was something like that. He'd figured they were just having some hard times living on their own. And, they -were-, but it was more than that. However, 'Wahuni' is not recognizable by the boy. "Wahuni?" he repeats, questioningly.

"Outcasts." That single word, perhaps, says it all; not just in the meaning it holds by itself, but from the tone in which it is spoken, the expression it is delivered with; the sore, hard, tired little red fox, who now lets his gaze drop once more, falling to gaze blankly about Mbio's ankles. "We're outcasts..." Matata repeats, voice scarce more than a whisper now, as though he doesn't wish for Teza to hear him speaking of it. "We were sent out of the home territory. We're not to have anything to do with our family." Every additional word that is spoken causes a new grain of roughness, of despair, to inch into the russet boy's voice, his ears now slicked back against his head and his tail curled tightly, defensively, over his paws.

Indeed, the word explains it quite simply to Mbio, who continues to listen in fierce attentiveness. His head dips down a bit, as if in sympathy for the other boy, who he's is considering more and more to be his friend, despite the sudden, previous outburst. -- That can be forgiven. His frown is still quite present as his ears tilt back a bit, trying to come up with something worth while to say. But, when you try hard and think too much about what to say, usually you fail. And now's no different. Nothing comes, and Mbio is forced to go with the more natural, yet still somewhat tougher, form of replying. He seems to struggle for a moment, self-conscious of his words. ".. That's awful .. I'm sorry.." The same words as spoken before, but still very sincere. His next words come without too much thought, though, for better or worse, in an attempt to maybe lighten up the mood, just some. It's something he does unconsciously. "Though maybe I can relate. .. I'm not the most popular guy around, and I wasn't with my family. You heard your sister; I 'look funny.'" However, it's said with a crack of a very small smile at the end. Since his unthought comment didn't seem to hold much use, the boy adds, "Things'll get better." He really doesn't know what he's saying -- he's just trying to lift the gloom that has fallen over them, thus backing them out of the situation. Honestly? Mbio was never good when speaking his words of sympathy, although he truly does mean the fumbled ones he says.

How easy would it be, now, for Matata to turn on Mbio, and snap once more? The retorts burn in his throat... 'What would YOU know?' 'How could you POSSIBLY know what it's like?' 'You didn't kill your own FATHER!' But the slightest momentary indecision is enough to cause the words to bubble away, unspoken, and with the heated moment passed Matata can only find himself keeping his head bowed, eyes thoroughly blank. He could sweep himself into a rage. He -could- storm off. But he couldn't leave Teza here... with this... with this... "Freak." The word is soft, intensely so, and said without a trace of malice or disgust; a simple obvservation, like one who may look upon a sunset and call it 'pretty'. "So. We're the outcasts, and you're the freak..." he can't be sure where the words are going, but there's an odd, tight sort of comfort in saying them.

But it's not like Mbio had meant to cause the anger to return, -again-. He still doesn't know why the two have been shunned away from their family, although he does realise that now's not the time to ask. Matata's flash of anger goes unseen by the gray-cloaked young male, who misses whatever look their may be in his eyes. He doesn't say anything until the word, 'freak,' is uttered. He almost takes offense, as Matata himself did. He's not quite sure what the lone word's meaning is; if it's a sudden insult, or, as it really is, just an observation. His head draws back a bit and his ears tilt down some, but it only lasts a moment or two, for then the other boy continues. "Looks like it," he says, although, apparently, not so interested in lightening the mood anymore. He glances away, black ears still back, gaze just -slightly- tinged with bitterness. "Well." .. He glances back to Matata. "At least we have something in common." It has a final sort of tone to it; not as if it were a conversation-starter. He's just pointing it out.

The ginger toned head of the small canine boy sways slightly, nodding albeit in a downcast position. He then pauses, only his eyes moving for a moment, gaze slowly lifting itself towards the sliver-furred fox once again. The look they hold is odd; one that doesn't quite seem to match the carriage of his body. But scarcely a moment later, his head follows suit, muzzle lifting slightly, revealing a trace of a reckless grin, hinted at by the curve of his lips and accented by the gleam in his pupils. "Right. That's us. Shunned by the world, eh? So why should we care -less- about it anymore? Tezzy said we don' need anybody... and heck. She was right. We'll stick together. Stuff it all up their tails, eh?"

At the sudden appearance of Matata's grin, and the words that follow, Mbio is unable to help let one spread across his own maw, both eyes narrowing a bit. "That's how I've been livin'," he says with a nod, and a light flick of his tail, as if whatever gloomy mood had briefly settled upon him had vanished. "Sometimes, you have t'live for yourself, and no one else." Of course, that doesn't go entirely for Matata -- he has Teza, too. But, when you've got nobody, like Mbio, you've got to be happy with just yourself. "It's not so bad. 'Though, I admit it was nice stumbling 'pon you two-- the company's nice." A total change in mood. He doesn't like being angry, or sad, so it's easy to be happy. Most of the time.

A sudden frenzied rustle betrays the presence of another -- a scrawny, scruffy cape fox tumbles out of the grasses, silvered fur on edge and dark eyes wide. "There was a huge scary /bug/ in there!" she yelps, frightened only until she realizes how awkward her situation has just become. "Er," Susurika says, quietly, huge ears collapsing backwards.

Yes... it is easy to be happy. But one couldn't quite describe Matata's shift of mood to be one that leads into happiness. Not quite. But there's definitely a sort of light in his eyes, now. Something new. Something... /dangerous/. "Living for yourself..." he echos, allowing the words to roll about in his mouth, testing them carefully. "Living for -ourselves-." Yes. That sounds alright, doesn't it? Satisfied, his overall demeanour becomes slightly easier; obviiously somewhat more relaxed - and yet the look in his eyes remains sharp, and freshly focused. "True. It -is- nice t'have someone.. well... /normal/ around, 'nstead of Warithi spoutin' off his big he- whoa!" Matata starts, lifting a forepaw from the ground defensively, catching sight of the thin silvery form that comes tumbling out of... pretty much nowhere. "'ey, Mbio, it's another -you-..."

The change in Matata's mood is welcomed with the lingering of Mbio's own good mood. However, the red boy seems to carry a suddenly ambitious outlook on things, as if seeing his situation in a new light. Living for themselves, yes -- Mbio was forced to resort to this a while ago, and had grown to like it. It made life more carefree, it made it easier to smile. As Matata changes the wording, replacing 'yourself' with 'ourselves,' the silver-furred male understands that this is a sort of acceptance -- and he enjoys it. His lips part momentarily to display a quiet grin of teeth, as 'Tata continues talking. However, the other boy is suddenly interrupted by the very unexpected arrival of yet another fox. Mbio's gaze jerks quickly to fall upon the similarly-colored girl, ears perking alertly forward. His gaze briefly flicks to Matata at his comment, a chuckle escaping him. "So it is," he remarks, and looks back to the stranger-girl. "A bug, y'say? That doesn't sound -so- bad."

"It was /huge/!" Susurika insists, wide-eyed and panting a little. "And big and red and spiky and it was going to /eat/ me or ... something ..." The cape fox loses her enthusiam, realizing how silly she sounds, and fumbles for a change of topic. "Eh?" she says, peering at Mbio, suddenly. "He's grey, yah, but he's not one of /me/. Not a /Cape/ fox, he isn't," Susurika continues, puffing out her chest a bit.

"I didn't say /he/ was one of you, I said /you/ were one of him!" Matata retorts, quite matter-of-factly, as though this is indeed a very important discrepancy. "But yer right. You're not 'xactly like him, really. But y'know what? That sounds like a good idea." He then allows his tongue to run over his chops, licking them as he would were they spattered with blood. "Well, not getting eaten by a bug- but /eating/ something. I feel like I haven't eaten for /seasons/..." he halts, momentarily, and shoots Mbio a thoughtful sort of gaze. "You wouldn't know what the hunting's like around here at all, would you?"

Mbio only studies the stranger for a bit, before looking to Matata as the mention of food is brought up. "Yeah, you've got my agreement there," he remarks, both brows lifting some. "The mice are pretty plentiful, lately-- I'll go look into some o' those?" But, as he didn't wait for a response when he offered to go the water hole, he doesn't wait for one now. His own stomach seems to lift him to his paws. A nod of his head is offered to them both, and Mbio turns, trotting away. However, the suddenly lightness of the mood has caused a funny little song to spring to his throat. "I'm off t'go a-hunting, a-huntin' the squeakygraymice.."

Susurika flicks an ear, watching Mbio exit. She suddenly collapses onto her hindquarters, flashing the other foxes a bright grin, and chatters away as if she's known them for hours. Days, even. "I haven't seen any mice. But then again, I can't hunt very well. Which isn't good, when you're by yourself, you know? Can't catch much. I /am/ rather hungry, now that I think of it ..."

Matata's reckless grin begins to spread all the wider along his muzzle, eyes gleaming with the fresh hint of ambition that's begin to seep into his thoughts. "Ripper!" he chuffs, brightly, not entirely sure -where- that expression came from, but deeming it satisfactory all the same. "Thanks!" But his words only find the back of the now retreating Mbio, lost in the beat of his uppity song. Soon enough, though, young Matata finds his attention drawn towards the chatty little cape fox, to whom he tilts his head with light curiosity. "By yourself? What'cha mean you're by yourself? Where'd you... come from, anyway?"

Susurika cocks her head at Mtata, bright-eyed and curious. "'m from, uh, that way," she says, nodding her snout vaguely westward. "With my mum and my dad and aaaall of my brothers and sisters. And my aunt and my uncle and /their/ kits, a little bit farther away. But I left." She nods vigorously, solemn yet retaining her inherent ... 'chirpiness'. "Too many little kits. Not any fun. Being by myself is more fun. Except for the not eating part." The cape fox seems rather unworried by this.

Matata blinks... once, twice, several times, ears cupping curiously towards the words of the little female, whiskers twitching slightly at the end of his sharp foxy muzzle. "You just left? Of your own... wanting-to? You left so much family behind, just... because you could?" He's treating it as though such an act were impossible, almost, but that's not really the way he thinks... just taken slightly aback, is all. "How d'you get on, then? Running from bugs- there's a lot worse things 'n bugs out! What- how-" his muzzle quirks a little, as he tries to work out exactly -what- it is he's trying to ask. "What's your name?" he finally settles on, utterly off track - but something to work with, at least, and possibly help to straighten out the perplexed expression that's taken hold of his features.

"Susurika," the cape fox offers, with a grin. "And, yeah. I left 'cause I wanted to, 'cause I got tired of being home all the time. Y'can't do /anything/, when you have kits around. Stay home and watch them. 's all. And I, uh, haven't been gone that long," she says, reluctant to speak for perhaps the first time thus far. "I had some bugs, yesterday ... But, hey! What's your name?" she inquires, brightening again.

"Matata," the young fox quips in a sprightly manner, knowing that the question would be directed his way soon enough. "And the one who's just gone off to try 'n nab some tucker is Mbio - I haven't actually /known/ him all that long, but from what I can gather, he's a good sort. Funny lookin', but good." He allows himself a grin at that, a little darker than his grins would usually be, perhaps, but one all the same. He then skips up to his paws, trotting a few brisk paces aside so that another small russet bundle becomes well enough visible in between a pair of trees behind him. "And that's m' sister, Teza..." he introduces, taking a seat once again in his new spot, motioning briefly with her muzzle her way, before flicking his glinting eyes back over to the newcomer. "'n I'm sure she'll be pleased t' meet you too, Susurika, when she wakes up!"

Susurika nods, repeating the names softly to herself. ("Matata ... Mbio ... Teza," she mutters.) "So," the cape fox chirps. "How come you're here? And how' d ya just meet Mbio?"

Not a flinch, not a wince, not a falter, this time. He simply offers Susurika a cool sort of look, and a swift shrugging movement with his shoulders. "We left," he utters, simply, brushing over the whole matter in a generally frivolous manner. "'cause we weren't wanted anymore. We met Mbio a bit of a way east, at the river b'yond the waterhole. Helped us out of what could've been a pretty nasty scrap with some crocodiles, too..."

"You weren't wanted anymore?" Susurika asks. This time /she/ is unable to comprehend. "How ... ? -- Oo, crocodiles? That's scary. My brother almost got eaten by a crocodile, once. Well, he saw one, anyway, on the opposite bank. A few foxlengths downriver. But you escaped?" she asks, earnestly.

The look that Matata shoots at Susu', when she begins to touch back on the subject, is hard, dark, almost warning her to keep away; but fortunately it has no need to linger, as she apparently finds discussion of crocodiles all the more interesting. And so it should be. "There were two great big 'uns... almost nabbed Teza, they did, but yea.. we managed to get ourselves out of it alright, though not without one of the monsters giving me a fair crash to the head. Brutes. Hmmm. D'you think it would've been the same river that your brother saw the croc' at? It must be infested all the way through... t'd probably be safe to try 'n head well away from it."

Susurika nods. "Maybe it was. Could have been. -- My sense of direction's not too good, though. So," Susurika says, inclining her head to scratch behind one huge ear. "Where're ye goin', anyway?" She punctuates her question with a neat little yawn.

Ears flicker, head tipping back slightly, as though he's trying to fit all of the little cape fox into a single glance. "Where?" Matata echos, tone making it obvious that he really hasn't thought too much on the subject. "Wherever! Anywhere! Just... away. Around. Here and there, y'know? Living for ourselves." He concludes with a sharp tip of the head, looking thoroughly pleased at his new 'motto'.

"Sounds good to me!" Susurika tries it out for herself. "'Living for ourselves.' I like it." She grins, brilliantly. "Kinda nice to not have to think about anybody else, for a while."

"Exactly!" crows Matata, now looking something like the cat who's got the cream. This is the way it aughtta be, right? And he's already started convincing himself it's the -only- way to be. "Exactly. Nobody to worry 'bout but ourselves, see? No rules. No obligations. We can go anywhere, do anything.." he blinks, then, almost startled at himself, sending Susu' an almost apologetic look. "Uh. That is. Would y' want to come along with us?"

Susurika brightens even further, if such a thing is possible. "Yeah! That would be fun," she says. "I'm not doin' anything. And if things ever get really bad, I bet you could come home with me, even -- not that they will. Or we will. Right. But I'd like to come." She grins.

Matata rises to his paws once more, rolling his shoulders and dipping his head in yet another nod. Eyes bright and ears standing tall, he does indeed look as though life's taken something of an upward turn. "Great!" he chirrups, with a quick flicker of his tail, and a leap into the surrounding tall grass. A moment later, his head peeks back out from between the elongated blages, his expression bold and reckless. "Well, I'm gonna go make like Mbio, see what sorta tucker I can scout up m'self around here - I'll keep in earshot, so you keep an eye on Tezzy and yelp if anything's up, right? Hopefully she'll just stay asleep, though." And at that, his face pulls back, and with little more than a rustle, the fox is gone.

"Let me tell you about the strange things are happening to me
Strange things
Strange things are happening to me..
Ain't no doubt about it."

~ Randy Newman 'Strange Things'

Matata is the (s)queeproperty of Ras.
Mbio is the (s)queeproperty of Aidan.
Susurika is the (s)queeproperty of FireFleet.
Picture drawn by and (s)queeproperty of Ras.
Teh_Photo is from here.