EBC Udi: First Day at The Job!

-Udi-

The pale-coloured cat was stretched out on a rock, the day was warm, and the sun shined down brightly. But there was a nice cool gently breeze that blew in from the east. He looked around the quiet camp, his ear's perked up. He was still getting used to the life of the clan, he had no friends yet. But he hoped that would change today, he had spent most of his life with his mother, or by himself. So it was nice to see cats who cared about each other...Even die for each other.

-Shona-

If Shona was correct, and half of the time she wasn't, another feline was making their way towards her hideout. Well alright, she wouldn't specifically call it a hideout, but the tree she occupied was good enough for the Gladiator to catch a few rays of sun before the clouds decided to play a cruel joke on her. She had a good view of the camp from above, and that was all that mattered to her and her Empire-mates who counted on her warning, if that time ever appeared.

Baring her teeth in a yawn, Shona peered down lazily between the thinned-out branches to see a spotted pelt sprawled across a rock only a few tail-lengths away from her perch. She squinted her eyes against the sun to study him more closely, but found that the glare was too much to make out anything other than the ridiculous amount of spots scattered across his sides; a cheetah hybrid of some sort, perhaps? It was investigation time, no doubt. However, her paws wanted something completely different, and Shona figured it was to humiliate her as the next five seconds unfolded in an unfortunate order:

She got up from the branch, took one step and fell face first beside the unfamiliar male, a muffled yelp of surprise exiting her muzzle.

Talk about a warm welcome party.
-Udi-

The pale coloured cheetah mix was just laizly sleeping with a loud thunk came right next to his sensitive ears. His eye's opened with surprise. And his head jolted back slightly, his ear's shot up. He examined the new....Cat, that head entered his vision in front of him. She was sprawled on the ground, face buried in the thick dirt.

The cheetah was female, with a bright yellow-orangey pelt mixed with darker brown colours. He tilted his head slightly, recognizing the scent to be of the ice empire. A smirk spread over his jaws, "If you wanted to see me, you could have just said hello." He said with a light chuckle. Sitting up and nudging her shoulder gently with his muzzle.

"Hey you okay? My Name's Udi by the way." He introduced himself.

-Shona-

Shona's ears perked towards the sound of his voice, but she was too annoyed and frustrated with her clumsy paws to form a proper reply to Uni? No, Udi. Yeah, he said Udi; what an odd name. She bet he was laughing to himself as she struggled into a sitting position, dirt clogging her senses.

"I didn't mean to fall out of that tree, you know," she pointed out while flicking a crumpled leaf off her tail. Regardless of her spastic movements to get all the foliage out of her tangled pelt, she still had a few stubborn twigs and brambles scattered among her own speckled backside.

"And yeah, I'm fine, just...lovely." There was no doubt a trace of sarcasm in her tone, along with her narrowed eyes that were only growing more dark and bothered as she glared at the ground-at her shuffling paws. Half of her was embarrassed, while the other half wanted to cuff Udi over the ears for smirking at her mishap. "The name's Shona," she added more quietly.


-Udi-

Udi smiled softly, finding her sarcastic comments to be rather cute....Though he'd not dare say this out-loud to her. As she seemed like she already wanted to smack him with a paw. He held his tongue. Rather, instead, he helped clean the sticks she couldn't reach off her back with a careful paw.

He sat on top of the flat rock, and looked down at her. "Shona is a beautiful name, for a even more beautiful cat." He said, flicking his tail with a soft smile. "I'm kind of new around here, but its nice to see more Ice Empire cats." He added.

-Shona-
Was he...flirting with her? Shona wouldn't know the difference between harmless complimenting and rude bantering if they hit her in the face, which might be a good idea at that point. What surprised her even more was the feeling of a paw trailing down her spine. Startled, she stiffened, only to realize Udi was the owner of said paw and was only lending a paw. Hah, get it? Lending a paw...okay, inner Shona, shut up.

Instead of lowering her head and flicking her tail in a suggestive manner of playfulness, she roughly said, "Gee, thanks", to his compliment and simply tossed the comment over her shoulder with the other crap of sayings she received from fellow felines. It's not that she didn't enjoy Udi's words. She was sure any female in their right mind would have taken the compliment with a graceful smile and a polite dip of the head, maybe even giggle and butt shoulders with the male while their irises lit up like a shooting star, but not Shona.

Udi kept speaking, Shona's cue to quiet her mind and pay a little more attention to the feline's words. "Hey!" she suddenly blurted out in the middle of his last sentence. "I'm new, too."


-Udi-

Udi only smiled more at her comment, he liked the type of females who were more hard to please. It was almost a type of fun mystery to him, rather than the ones that were easy. Not that he didn't enjoy the company of them, but he much more enjoyed a challenge. He pushed these thoughts aside though, reminding himself to be respectful and polite, you don't have to flirt with EVERY female cat you meet Udi! He thought to himself mentally.

Udi was caught off guard by her sudden blurting out of words, as only a moment ago she had spoken rather quietly. He had not expected that, but smiled nevertheless. "Oh really? Thats cool, I guess we can figure things out together then. It’s nice to know you’re not the only one I must admit." He said flicking his tail, and tilting his head with mild curiosity.

-Shona-
A flicker of a smile highlighted Udi's face; Shona watched as it spread, as if he was satisfied in what he was hearing. The gladiator averted her gaze to the bramble barrier quickly, her parted jaw-she hadn't realized it was opened, speechless-closing as slowly as a turtle's pace. She felt...odd, especially under the scrutinizing gaze of a stranger. Fortunately, neither of them needed to ruffle each other's fur over a border skirmish. Fortunately, they were empire-mates that just needed a little more time to get to know what ticked the other one off; what their favorite spot was to hunt, and how fast they could run; what time of the day they preferred and what kind of prey made their tongues slide against the roof of their mouth in contentment. All the kind of things that Shona missed sharing with someone. Maybe-finally-she could let her secrets spill across the wind, one tidbit at a time until they formed a full story.

Woah, Shona shook her head rapidly, blinking multiple times for clarity. Don't get ahead of yourself. That had always been her problem from the beginning. Rae would have scolded her for being so naive.

He has a nice smile, she noted as she turned away, exhaling a puff of air that sounded close to a, 'mhm.' She needed anything to get her mind off of the past. Her tail dragged against the ground with each small step she took away from the rock. Spinning around without warning, she offered Udi a fleeting grin. "You and me, let's go hunting." She realized how overly excited she sounded, and stumbled to rephrase her statement to make it more subtle. "I mean...get off your lazy tail, and that probably, really warm rock, and come catch prey with me. We can get to know the territory. Together," she added, more to herself.

-Udi

The pale-coloured feline watched her with curiosity, he found her response to be slightly amusing. So I'm not the only one who is excited to be part of a empire. Is she trying to act tough? She doesn't want me to think she's weak. He wondered, tilting his head slightly. He then smiled as she asked if he wanted to hunt with her, the last time he had ever gone was before his mother had gotten too old to hunt. He felt a pang of pain as the memory flashed in his mind. He missed that friendship, the trust it took to know your partner would be where they needed to for the hunt. The adrenaline rush, the excitement...

He shook his head to clear it of the memories turning his focus back to her. He stood up and jumped off trotting up beside her, "Who would ever so no to a offer like that? Of course I'd love to hunt with you." He said flicking his tail, he smiled playfully.

-Shona-
The more Shona watched Udi, the more she found his expressions to be quite entertaining. There were smiles, and smirks, and nods of the head-all were intriguing enough to get the cheetah wondering what was going through that mind of his. Was he an over-thinker? Was it possible that Udi's mind was filled with just as much fantasy and excitement as hers? Figuring out other felines was always a favorite hobby-if considered one-for Shona, and Udi would be no different. Finally, his mouth opened to accept her offer, and she straightened in response.

"Awesome, okay..." Shona briefly turned away to study the camp entrance. She took one step forward, but it wasn't long before she was halting in her tracks, a paw raised in hesitation. "Uh...do you want to lead the way? I mean, we both don't know the territory, but I think you have a better chance at this than I do."
-Udi-
Udi nodded, "Sure thing." He step in front of her for a moment, perking his ears and sniffing the air. He could smell a more dry grassy air from their right, and when he looked that way he saw how the tree's slowly thinned out.

"We both have cheetah-blood in us, so why don't we head more into the open? Maybe we can bring down some bigger prey." He suggested with a flick of his tail, and padded in that direction. Weaving through the tree's as they slowly thinned out more, the dirt under his paws was dry and dusty. He looked back to make sure she was following him.

-Shona-
Heading out into the open when surrounded by a bunch of rocks and icy patches sounded about as nice as picking thorns out of her paw. Well, at least not all of Ice Empire was like that, and they wouldn't be heading up the mountain to find prey, anyway.

Shona picked up the pace to settle into a smooth trot beside the male. His suggestion had made sense, so she nodded along with a small hmph of agreement, more concerned with keeping her paws straight and tangle-free from any briers that might suddenly show up to cause her to trip again; wouldn't want that on a first hunt.

"Wait, shh." Shona slapped her tail against Udi's muzzle without a second thought of what she was doing, or where her tail had been previously, for that matter. "I think I hear something in that bush over there." It was a peculiar piece of foliage out in the middle of a rather barren landscape. Without waiting for Udi's reply, Shona approached the shrubbery with caution, one paw placed carefully after the next until she was mere inches from her target. I got you now.

Actually, she didn't.

The moment she leaped for the bush was the same moment the thing inside of the bush-which happened to be a squealing chipmunk, of all things-decided it wanted to be brave. Shona danced back on her paws, shaking her snout rapidly to get rid of the sensation of being bit by a little, fluffy, not-so-adorable-anymore chipmunk. With one last burst of chattering, the chipmunk dashed away, probably laughing in mockery of the cheetah's skills. Shona wasn't usually that bad, at least not by herself.

-Udi-
Udi watched her, and felt his chest tighten as the male cheetah mix tried hard not to laugh. He took a deep breath and firmly closed his jaws shut tightly. He knew better then to let Shona hear him, plus...If it had been him he would be pretty embarrassed too. He was quiet for a few moments, but when he thought he had control of himself he took a few steps forwards and spoke.

"It was just a chipmunk anyways, so it wouldn't have been alot of food....Are you okay? I was hoping between the two of us we might be able to find, and hunt down, some bigger prey." He said swishing his tail hopefully, as he raised his head to sniff the air. A light chilly breeze blew down towards them, and he caught the scent of deer on it.
He crouched down slightly, "Follow me, I smell deer...." He said speaking just loud enough for her to hear him.

He quietly stepped, spreading his toes out so when they touched the hard ground it was quieter. Making sure to distribute his weight evenly across all four paws. He slowly made his way to the top of the sloping rise, perking his ears. He spotted a male deer all by itself...Which was rather odd he noted mentally. The deer was eating grass peacefully, unaware of the danger lurking near-by.
He turned to Shona, and motioned with his tail for her to flank around to the other side quietly, he also nodded his head in the same direction. He didn't want to speak in case it alerted the deer of their presence.

-Shona-
Laughter, she was certain it was bubbling up within Udi's throat. The moment she turned around-she knew, she knew he'd have a glint of amusement in his eyes that would only fade to disappointment. She was a disappointment; she couldn't even catch a measly chipmunk. As if to prove her point, Udi went on to make it noticeable that it was just in fact a chipmunk. A small, good-for-nothing chipmunk, but that wasn't the point. She had made a fool out of herself. What right did she have to be a gladiator?

But when Shona decided to face Udi, there was understanding in his stance, not disdain. He...he wasn't laughing? Why wasn't he shaking his head and snorting in annoyance for her slip-up? Her second mistake of the day, if she wanted to torture herself with the reminder.

"I'm fine," she responded, averting her gaze to the treeline behind her. Movement flashed across her eyes, and she turned back around in time to watch Udi's tail glide across the ground--she turned back around in time to see an amazing glint pass over his eyes as the wind carried something worthwhile. It took Shona a heartbeat later to filter the smell of deer through her nose. Finally, something she could do.

Hopefully.

A shudder ran down the cheetah's spine, whether from the cold winds or excitement, was uncertain. One thing was on her mind: we've got this, don't screw up. Crouching low, paws tucked underneath her chest, Shona took her position up front, but noticed the quick flick of Udi's head that indicated that she needed to move around their prey. She didn't object to the position change, the only thing she was confused about was the lack of a herd for the buck. That, and they were going up against a set of antlers.

No sweat, we're large enough.

-Udi-

Udi could feel his fur standing up as the strong scent of deer washed over him, he took a deep breath to control his breathing. Couldn't let his instinct take over right now, he had to think through this...

He watched as Shona moved off to the deer's flank as he had asked her to. He had full trust in her ability to do this. She was a cheetah like him, or he was half cheetah anyways. They were good at chasing down prey, he had more muscle then speed because of the jaguar in him though, so she'd be faster then him.

He waited until she was in position, You've done this a thousand times before Udi, you can do it again. Don't worry, its just like how you hunted with mother. Scare the deer towards her, and if it sees her it'll run at you...Or if it doesn't, it'll give me a chance to jump on its back while its running. Easy!
He straighten his tail out, crouching down. The muscles underneath his pelt tensing up as he prepared to leap forwards....

He leaped forwards out of the grass and into the open, letting out a loud roar that echoed off the mountains. The deer's eye's grew wide as ovals and it started to bounce away from the larger cat. Running right towards Shona, the sound of its hooves pounding against the hard ground like drums. Udi suddenly burst into a sprint, his feet barley touching the ground until they were in the air again.

Just a little...Closer...Just...A little... He was only a few yards behind the deer, if he could just get a couple more feet...

-Shona-
The buck seemed completely oblivious to the duo creating a foolproof plan guaranteed to bring in a decent meal for the empire; she was surprised at its lack of awareness, but maybe that's why it wasn't around a herd: it was just too inexperienced. With a snort, it lowered its head and continued grazing as Shona let out a breath she had been holding in since she settled in the patch of tall grass adjacent to their prey. She studied the imaginary pathway of success ahead of her, her claws itching to spring into action. Shona was so pumped up on energy her eyes nearly missed the small shift of Udi.

And then it all began with a roar.

The cheetah-jaguar mix sprang into action, his pace quickening with each lengthy stride until Shona thought he was going to lift off the ground and grow wings. Hooves thudding loudly against the rough terrain, the buck twisted and bolted in a blind panic. Straight for her.

I guess it's my turn.

The smell of fear wafted off the deer's tawny skin the closer it thundered towards her path. Shifting on her paws, Shona bit her tongue, forcing herself to stay put until she was certain her endurance could last. When she could make out the round pupils-pupils filled with the knowledge that the end was near-the gladiator burst forth into the fray.

Startled at the sight of a second spotted pelt joining the chase, the buck hesitated before picking up speed again. But it was just enough of a pause for her, and hopefully Udi too.

The impact of her hitting long limbs caused her own paws to throb in protest. Shona hadn't intended to plow into the deer like an unexpected avalanche, but it wasn't her fault it didn't have enough time to switch directions efficiently. While trying to discern a paw from a hoof, Shona prayed Udi could deliver the killing blow.

-Udi-
Udi was sure his breath was all but out of him, he felt his limbs scream for more oxygen. While at the same time his lungs screamed from working so hard. He knew his limits though, and he pushed them even harder, ignoring the painful rocks that pressed against his paws....If they could bring this deer down who knew how many of the clan could be fed?

C'mon I'm so close! Right as he thought he would give out from the pain Shona burst forth from the grass. The deer tried to turn around but it skidded and shifted in uncertainty. Confused and panicked as the cheetah slammed her body into its front.

Thats my chance! Udi leaped onto the deer's back, opening his jaws wide to give the killing blow. But the deer reared up in an effort to throw him off. He sunk his claws deep into its back. Clinging on for dear life now as he ducked his head from the giant antlers that threatened to take his head off.
Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap.
He swallowed his fear, letting go of the deer he crawled up its back and bite down on its neck. The deer reared up again throwing its head back and forth.

Then suddenly it stopped.
And slowly it fell to its side, with Udi still clinging onto its back. The deer was dead.

-Shona-
Something connected with Shona's cheek with a quick jab. She swatted her paws at the buck's legs, no doubt creating a few good indents with her claws. Heavy breathing entered her range of hearing; was the buck really breathing that hard? Peering up from having a pointless fight with the deer's legs, Shona spotted Udi and realized he was the culprit to the labored breath.

You got this, come on! She watched with wide eyes as Udi, suddenly on the deer's haunches, avoided the two, deadly swinging antlers desperately trying to dislodge the large cat from his back. Shona removed her gaze before she got distracted, her whiskers brushing against a thin pelt pushing against her like a wall of muscle. Oh no, she wasn't going to let their prey get away that easily. The deer remained frustrated, but Shona was more concerned with sinking her teeth into its chest to stop the squirming; however, her grip didn't hold for too long, for the deer must have felt excruciating pain for it to rear up, a final cry for help.

It's falling, it's falling-wait!

Dirt and pebbles did not taste as good as they looked, not that Shona ever really thought of that in the first place....And ech! The smell of the deer with blood mixed in was not so pleasant either.

"Um, Udi?" Shona's muffled voice felt ten times louder under the lifeless body of the deer. "You're squishing me."



-Udi-

Udi felt his body slam into the ground, he actually felt the ground shutter as the deer collapsed. I'd hate to be under that thing when it fell. He thought, and as if reading his thoughts he heard a muffle noise from underneath him. His fur spiked up slightly, as he remembered Shona was clinging onto the deer's front when it had fallen.

"I got it!" He said, shoving his shoulder under the deer, and using his strong leg muscles to turn it over, he dug his claws into the dirt for better grip. It slowly rolled off of the squished female cheetah.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He asked, a hint of worry in his voice as he spoke. Stepping back so she had room to sit up.

-Shona-
How long am I going to be under this thing? Shona twisted her face across the ground, a beetle-fantastic, she squashed a bug too - flailing its legs against her nose as it took its last few breaths.

Udi's voice bought a sense of relief to the cheetah, and when air was limitless again, Shona took in big gulps of it, sitting up slowly to give each leg a chance to wake up. Her eyes roved over the carcass sprawled beside the two, her gaze returning to Udi with the biggest smile gracing her face. She opened her muzzle to congratulate him when his own jaw parted, slight concern forming his tone.

Pretending to be upset at him, she raised a paw and shoved him, lightly, in the shoulder."Jerk." Losing her playful smirk, she said more seriously, "I'm fine, just a scratch. But hey, we should be celebrating. I mean, look at you! You brought down a beast of a deer."


-Udi-
His worried face soon disappeared as he smirked playfully when she pushed his shoulder. Swishing his tail back and forth across the grass.

Udi felt his fur get a little hot as she congratulated him, and he smiled.
"We brought it down together, as a team...I bet this'll feed alot of cats!" He added grinning., he playfully pushed his paw against her shoulder jumping up to his feet.

"And hey, you got the hard job, you had to get crushed by that thing!" He added, "Now how to we get it back though?" He asked, could they drag it all the way back? Or did they just leave it there?
-Shona-
Udi's exclamation and shoulder push caused Shona to flick her tail once, not in irritation, but happiness. A smile worked its way slowly across her face as Udi seemed to have moved on to praising her, rising to his paws in the process. Shona chuckled, a weird, yet surprisingly warm, sound that started from the throat and exited her parted jaws with amusement and pride lighting up her eyes as backup to her glee.

"We both did amazing," she whispered, mainly to the ground for fear of embarrassing herself for being overly attached to making her peer feel appreciated, the words nothing but a wisp of wind. Attention was suddenly given to the deer, and Shona stopped grinning to pick up on Udi's questions.

"Um, well between the two of us I think we can drag it back without any problems," she stated as she stepped closer to the buck's glassy gaze. "After all that work, we're not just going to leave it here."


-Udi-

Udi felt a large grin spread over his jaws as he heard Shona's light chuckling. He didn't know why, but hearing the cheetah's happy voice made him happy as well...Odd how when one made someone else happy, they too felt that same feeling.

he swished his tail lightly back and forth, listening to her comment, nodding in agreement. "Yes I think your right, we can probably get it back to camp with some struggle. Better then leaving it where other predators will eat it before anyone else does." He said, pointing out the rather obvious though.


-Shona-
Shona forced herself to look away from the grin forming across from her. She had to focus-focus on the task at paw; for the empire. Sure, she wanted to plop down and relax, possibly engage Udi in a conversation about...eh, life or something, anything that might interest the two of them. The lack of breeze honestly would have made a good conversation starter for the silence that was going to surely follow if they couldn't handle bringing back the prey without causing a mess. The thought of dragging the buck into the camp, the two of them wheezing and arguing over something stupid-most likely the cause of Shona's big mouth-actually caused the cheetah's muzzle to twitch in inward amusement.

"Okay, I'll take this side..." The gladiator, after pacing back and forth in front of the buck carcass, stopped by the haunches with a cocked head. "I figured you could handle the front?" She looked up, uncertainty crawling through her irises.



-Udi-
Udi nodded, for once he was glad Ice Empire didn't have alot of tree's, how did Fire or lighting Empire deal with big game like this? With all their tree's they surely hit every branch and root for miles. He inwardly smiled at the thought shaking his head slightly, he crouched down by the front.

"My Jaw's will be too stiff to eat after this." He said and chuckled, then grabbed ahold of the base of the buck's neck with his strong jaws and started to gently move it.