Babel [bhu]

[I L Y I C H]

Daylight brought with it the promise of more rain. As it had for Skoll knew how long. I narrowed my eyes at the sky, not knowing whether to be upset by this or just not care any more. Really it wasn't worth the effort to get pissy over, but I had to find something to grouch against. Days were so long and so very dull. At least the ocean looked nice against it. Or would. If it hadn't tried to swallow me whole not an hour before hand. I wasn't all that happy with the raging thing at this point. What rain landed on me only gave the oddest sense of warmth against absolutely frozen skin. Oh that was definitely not good, but there wasn't much I could do against hypothermia at this point. Pressed shuddering into the sand I couldn't really do much of anything.

No this was entirely not good. I needed to get up and move. Get the horrible creeping numbness out of my legs, but I couldn't even bend my knees to get that process started. At least my pelt kept me hidden in the stoney beach. I wouldn't get eaten before I froze to death. That was comforting. So maybe walking down here had been a bad idea after all I had seen how high the waves were crashing from the upper cliff. There was always something to find down on this strip of land though, as dangerous as it could be. I hadn't eaten in far too long having been distracted by my own thoughts as per usual. So starving I had crept down the short track to get to this place and had almost immediately been knocked off my paws, the waves just as hungry as my grumbling stomach.

Traumatized and freezing I had finally managed to fight my way out of the frigid unrelenting grip. Never so scared in my life as I had been in that moment I limped painfully up and away finding a place to all but collapse farther along the beach closer to the cliff face. In the safe zone. Dear Skoll I was never going near water again. It was evil. My paws were shaking under me despite my desperate attempts to warm them. Nothing in me felt even the barest sense of heat at this point. I'd lost every bit of it to the soul sucking waves. Nice to know I was going to die of the damn cold on a beach never to be found.

Fur matted and wet against me I had tried to lick the water out of it, sure there was a way but I couldn't quite get it out. Mom had never shown me the proper way after her way had failed due to the stupidity of my having a bared tongue. Honestly. What the fuck had a barbed tongue? Fucking leopards apparently. Cats were weird as shit. And I was going to die. Because I was a cat and thought I was weird as shit, correctly of course, and had no idea what so ever how to deal with this situation. I was middle aged and a fully trained folami Skoll dammit and I was going to die of the cold. Pissed wasn't even the beginning of my emotions.

[Bhu ♥ Irwin]

I had caught the after math of it, the sopping wet hair of a nearly drowned leopard of some sort. Its fur was matted against his form. My kind was built to hunt this creature, I had learned this in my earliest years. I could stalk up to him in this vulnerable, distracted state and he would never know what hit him. Ah, but that would be cannabilistic. I was part feline, after all, if only because of the woman I called my mother. When was the last time I had spoken to my feline ‘relatives’? At first they ran and I blamed it on the pack scent in my fur. But it was gone now. I simply smelled like me. And they still ran.

Who could resist food and warmth when they were clearly freezing to death, though?

I made quick work of hunting down a bull seal with no pack. It was still young, and it bore a deep wound above its left front flipper, probably dealt by his own father when he attempted to hook up with some woman in the family. It sulked quietly, letting the rough waters crash over its back over and over, eyes barely open in what I could only describe as a pout. I hated killing the neglected man, but I justified it by saying I was doing him a kindness. He was obviously lonely, and with that wound, he would be getting no nice cows anytime soon. So I took advantage of the way the rain and crashing sea water hid scent and sound, approaching from an angle that even the bug-like eyes would not reach. It only took one quick bite to the back of the neck, a single snore of protest, and it was over. My fangs were built to to long enough to tear through the thick muscle in a tiger’s neck--blubber was nothing.

I was not abnormally tall, but my blood kind was a rather large animal. I was able to carry the young bull easily enough in my jaws, only his back flipper making a trench in the mud (though it was quickly filled into by the lose soils). I had no scent to follow, but I had stalked the partially frozen cat to where he had hid by the cliff edge before I went to catch the meal, so I just assumed he was still laying there in a silly attempt to keep warm without actually moving. Hypothermia was a diabolical thing. It forces you to be sleepy, so you tend to lay still, even though it is movement that would save you.

I made no formal introductions, I simply slowly approached the man, appearing from behind a rather high pile of sea smoothed boulders. I dropped the kill right at his snout, showing no hesitance as I reaching out to poke at his paw. “Walk in place while you eat.” Perhaps there was a hint of demand in my tone that should not have been there if I had any social grace, but I didn’t think now was a good time to take the man’s most likely inborn fear of my kind into consideration.

There are more important things in life than emotional comfort--like, I don’t know, fucking living.

[I L Y I C H]

I'd like to claim my head came up sharply at the smell of blood as it touched my tongue but it did not. Grogginess had begun to set in and I looked up almost painfully to see the folami before me. Well shit. I tipped my head slightly to the side, eyeing him. Anything could really happen at this point, but it didn't really take an idiot to realize he was offering me food. Whatever the golden dog's intentions were I wasn't about to pass up life saving shit. My legs almost gave out, but I forced them into holding my weight even if I had to stand at an awkwardly bent angle to prevent my toppling over. Walking in place was starting to seem out of the question, but even standing had erupted the pins and needles I knew were a wonderfully good thing.

Puffing up my spotted pelt as much as I could under the circumstances I clumsily started to move my legs, though I didn't move to touch the seal carcass. Amber eyes were locked on the creature in front of me, questioning. So who was the fluffy loner? And why had he come to help a cat? Those would be some nice answers to have. The whole not killing me while I was practically frozen to the ground kept me from snapping at him. Mostly out of thankfulness. The other bit was defensiveness. If I was mean he would probably call me out on almost drowning and I didn't want that shoved in my face right now. With my legs moving and starting to slowly come back to life I was starting to notice the burning itch in my throat.

Ears flat back against my skull I frowned thickly at the man before me, peering into his white face like it would offer the answers I wanted. Wasn't this little shit just Mr. Talks a lot. "Dear Skoll, I hate the ocean" The words barley managed to croak out of me and jeez that stung. Only way to get it up though. Finally able to feel the sting in my paw pads once more I let up a bit on my frown curiosity getting the better of my normally hermit like mind set. I would be demanding answers sooner rather then later, but my stomach was beginning to make itself known again. Finally giving in I broke my attempts at keeping eye contact. I couldn't remember if that was a canine only trait or not, though it didn't really matter. What did a loner know about social cues. Maybe that was just a me problem.

Taking careful mouthfuls I continued to frown up at this random rouge folami. His teeth hadn't had any issue ripping the blubber open, and mine had no problem taking it apart. Maybe it was the layer of threat I still felt, but I was very obvious in showing the sheer length of my canines. It was rare for felines to have such big teeth, and it was a point of pride. The parents had always complimented me on them. Apparently my breed was rare, they'd not seen one of me before. None the less I knew the power behind my bite was a threatening thing to many animals despite my size in relation to them. So I would threaten, if only to keep a certain distance. Didn't want the guy thinking he could just chum up and kill me. Damn tricks.

[Bhu ♥ Irwin]

I couldn't help but smirk at the way the man kept his eyes locked on me as he began to walk in place like some silly little wind-up toy. In the pack, that sort of eye contact from a cat would have received a lethal blow from every angle. In fact, in the pack, if I had even looked Bidziil, or mostly anyone, in the eye I would have at least been giving my fair share of wounds form all sides. I was pleased by his defensiveness, and found my ears creeping forward as my smirk grew boyish. Defiance was something I often found humorous, I was not someone to wave my species banner around. If this little man wanted to be the one in charge here, all I could say was go for it.

"Looks like the feeling's mutual." I chuckled it out cruelly in response to his statement, eying his soaked and frozen form. My ears pulled back slightly as he slowly began to eat, sitting back on my haunches and merely watching him for a moment before looking back towards the waves. Despite his small size, his canines had been a good length. I still wasn't sure what sort of leopard he was, but I had enough social grace not to ask him questions while he ate. "I find it fascinating. Powerful. My mother loved to swim in the ocean. Dad thought she was nuts. Guess folami just aren't strong swimmers." I stared a moment more towards the endless blue, drinking in the salty tang to the air. I missed my mother--my father, too, but I had always found myself more of a mama's boy.

I looked back to the feline, social graces forgotten--hell, I was never one for socializing anyway. "The name's Burnie, Burnie Burns." I stood up and gave him a playful bow, eyes angled upwards as I did so to pull his attention to my smirk. Chill out, little man. I'm not gonna eat you. Sitting back down, I watched him expectantly, despite the fact that he was still freezing to death so I should have probably been considerate enough to wait on the names. So long as he kept his paws moving and mind focused on other things besides those little needles in his legs, he would be fine, though. My own feet tingle uncomfortably where my paws had hit the water while catching the seal, but I forced myself to ignore it. No reason to dwell on the discomfort--all it did was push it to your forefront and make it worse.

"If you don't mind me asking, what kind of leopard are you?" It didn't occur to me that he may not even be a leopard. I just assumed because the spots were the same as my mother's, different from ocelots and other spotted cats. I knew there were several sub-species of leopard, but I only knew African and Amur, the one's most commonly victimized by the forsaken pet trade. My mother had been an African leopard, the most common, yet most beautiful of them all.

[I L Y I C H]

Well he was a sarcastic little shit wasn't he. Cutting my eyes up to the folami's white face at his statement I grimaced. Though in all honesty he was right and it was kinda funny. "Guess I don't taste all that good" Still croaking but stronger then before my voice wasn't in the best places. Long tail twitching at it's end I paused in my pacing to shake out the pain building in my paws as they came back to the world of the living. Dear Skoll that stung. I hate the ocean. I hate the cold. I hate a lot of things. At least I had company and food now. Someone to chat with who didn't appear to be a complete idiot. Cats weren't very good for that half the time. Though loner folami weren't all that great either. Apparently stupid was a disease shared between the species.

I chuffed in response to his words, tawny eyes flicking back to the bull seal before I began to shuffle my legs again. "Well it can be its powerful self the fuck away from me." Taking another smaller bite and keeping my fangs a bit less threatening I glanced up at the man. He said folami as if his previous reference to a mother wasn't the same thing. My ears flicked forward at the thought. Maybe I wasn't alone in my adoption. The idea was a bit exciting. It would give us something in common. Maybe a lot of things in common. So I formed my reply carefully. "I guess so. Neither of my parents could anyway." Not that I could either. Water was something I was only forced to deal with. I wasn't a fucking jaguar.

Finding I very much found this stupid pacing in place shit annoying I stopped. My paws were stinging with blood. Warm blood. So all was good, I didn't need to b doing this exhausting exercise anymore. The grogginess had fallen away as my mind woke back up focusing on details calculatingly as per usual. So I didn't need to keep plodding in place. It was silly. Even if it had pretty much just saved my live, I didn't particularly feel fond of looking like an idiot for longer then I had to. Burnie Burns. Interesting. A hard name to forget at least. I nodded my head, amber eyes flicking curiously to the man's bright eyes. He bowed playfully as he spoke, and I relaxed in response to the behavior.

Apparently I wasn't going to be gnawed on, though that was never really my worry. A guy could just dislike company. "Gus Sorola" I offered in response, dipping into a formal bow that my Father had been very very insistent on us children using. Though I wasn't a child anymore. Having lived alone for as long as I have I essentially had to fall back on my childhood teachings of social grace. I didn't exactly have any other reference. Lifting my head back up I blinked at Burnie and his question. I guess we really were a rare species. Glancing at my side and the elongated rossets there I shrugged before looking back up at the folami. "I'm a clouded leopard."

[Bhu ♥ Irwin]

I couldn't help but snort amusingly at both his statements. I had to agree. As a child, my mother had coaxed me in during warmer months to swim with her. She said she had been raised by jaguars, after humans foolishly mislabeled her as such and placed her into the adoptive care of the breed. She was happy they made the mistake, though--the couple that raised her were wonderful to her. She claimed that she could only dream to be half the mother her mother was. I had always doubted anyone could have been better, but I dare not say it, for it seemed to light up her eyes thinking so highly of the two that raised her. My gaze flicked back towards the ocean. "Yeah, I suppose I can agree with you. All this rain has made the ocean a little more...intimidating." And it was true. I would not swim with waves crashing as they were. They were always a little too rough, and for once I realized it was a good thing my mother was dead. She would have been heartbroken to be without her daily swim in the warmer seasons.

Shaking away the memories, I turned my eyes back to the creature. He had stopped his marching, and I could not help a sense of relief flicker into my chest. He must have been feeling better. Ah, but that wasn't what had recaptured my attention, now was it? "You were raised by folami, then? That, my friend, is amazing." My dislike for my species lessened mildly. In all my days I had not met someone as grand as my father who stood so strongly against the ways of our kind that he could love a feline. There were dogs out there, I knew, that pitied the cats, but they always chose the approval of their own over the life of their prey.

I guess there would be no harm in admitting my mother was a leopard, then, since this cat knew as much as I did that people are not dictated by what they are. I had hinted towards her being non-folami, anyway, and it wasn't like I would ever be ashamed of the woman that raised me. "The woman I am proud to call my mother was a leopard. The man who acted as my father was a folami." I smiled in an almost loud fashion as I met the man's eyes. "I guess we two are an example of adoption being the better life." And I had been raised by the woman that birthed me, I would surely have turned out the 'proper' way. If my father had not stolen me or my mother had not been a leopardess, the instincts would have overcome anything he could have taught me on his own. And this cat, if not raised by folami himself, would have feared me. The fates destined us to go up and over stereotypes.

"Gus Sorola, the clouded leopard-folami, it is my great honor to have met you. I do hope you are comfortable sharing with a fellow leopard-folami. I may not be clouded, but we are one in the same...because I am starving." I chuckled out the words lightly, not waiting for him to answer before I took a careful bite of the kill's hide. The rain had kept much of the prey at bay, so I could feel my stomach protesting the denial of its needs. The bull seal would have fed a whole family of clouded leopards, and all I wanted was enough to shut up the obnoxious rumbling I had been hearing all day. I wasn't fond of the rubbery flesh of seal, anyway--it was much too salty.

I eyed the man while I chew, not challenging him in the least, merely curious. I assumed he was alone here, as was I. I knew leopards were not group creatures, but I had gotten that itch for companionship that my father had, so I was half tempted to come right out and ask the clouded leopard if he minded me hanging with him for a couple days. Who knew, maybe something interesting could come of it? Plus, the original pack had been wandering farther out from their territory recently, expanding their hunting grounds. It could serve Gus well to have someone to help if he gets attacked by more than one.

But I forgot to ask. I just stared at him with the question on my face, but only seal on my tongue, and I chewed.

[I L Y I C H]

I huffed at his laughter, curling my lips slightly though a small smile did peak up. "It's intimidating at all times." Who the fuck could look at a massive expanse of seemingly endless water and not be intimidated? Not to mention the fact that it seemed very much alive and rather pissed off at all times. Puffing up my cheeks I stared hatefully passed Burnie towards the rapidly rippling waves. Bitter little devils. Black ears curved back towards the Folami as he spoke again and I only half glanced towards him, brow quirking slightly. "Yeah." Wonderful might not be the word for it. It was just kind of there, but then I guess most folami weren't like my parents so maybe to this brute it was wonderful. Now that it just occurred to me that he perhaps should have attacked me and I probably should have reacted with fear and not annoyance. I kept forgetting.

I blinked at Burnie as he went on excited and loud. Shuffling my paws I tipped my head slightly to the side in reaction to his parentage. I'd heard of things like me, and folami being taken in by cats, but i'd never in all my wanderings heard a story about a mated pair like that. It was curious, and I wanted to know more but I supposed now was not the time to pry. It took some restraint but I kept myself from blurting demanding questions for once and instead remained focused on what the massive brute had to tell me. My shoulders rolled though, and my eyes along with them. "For some people I guess." I mean my siblings had gotten on fine. At least for a while. Adoption was a nice thing for those that were presented with it, but having a blood family was good too. It was a thing I had always been jealous about. Not actually being related to my small family. Not that it would have mattered in the end, but at least I wouldn't be a cat who didn't know how to be a cat.

Waving the bitterness away I settled for taking another small bite of the flesh under my nose. Blubber was a wonderful thing. Energy could be so easily obtained from it's rubbery substance and it was already helping remove the violent chugging noises my empty fuel tank had been spitting out. My eyes cut up to Burnie's white face and I pulled a bemused expression not really knowing how to respond to the man's exuberance. "You caught it." I pointed out thickly through my filled mouth not bothering to swallow first. "What the fuck are you doing all the way out here anyway?" I all but demanded after gulping down the meat in my jaws. Maybe it was a bit rude, but it was already out and I couldn't really amend it so I left it alone.

The packs were some distance from here, even Vea Apxn wasn't all that close. Folami could be loners I knew that, but normally they existed in small groups when they were. Not all alone and not friendly when they were. Something was normally wrong somewhere in their minds when they did shit like live on their own. It made me a bit wary to think about it. After all the loners I had met had all seemed a bit off. So what was up with Burnie? I'd come across an oddity a few days ago who'd seemed almost as nice as this guy, but her lavender eyes had been dead behind the conversation. She hadn't given two shits and had left just as quickly as she'd come. So maybe this dude was just a better actor, but he hadn't left yet and that was nice at least. As much as I enjoyed living alone I couldn't help but feel the loneliness creeping in every now and again. Or constantly.

[Bhu ♥ Irwin]

I swallowed the single chunk I had sat there chewing. It was enough to satisfy me for now. I knew I would hunt again soon. This whole not eating every second of my life thing did not please me. My stomach flipped at the rubbery nonsense I had just taken in. It wanted a rabbit, something I had had difficulty finding since the rains started. I wasn’t sure if all the rabbits had drowned, or most just simply moved on. Either way, the seal made my stomach shut up, but did not make it happy.

I flicked my ears towards the man as he asked why I was out here. At first confusion swept across my expression, mouth slightly ajar, trying to decide why the words had come out of his mouth. Was I not supposed to be here? Uncertainty pricked, but I didn’t say a word. “Well, I assume the same thing you’re doing. Just...surviving.” My tone was a little quieter than my previous exuberance, a hint more heavier. I was alone, so perhaps this man questioned my motives. What could I say? That dogs didn’t approve of me because everyone’s a little bit specist? Admit that I am specist so I avoid my kind like the plague? Sure, why not. I had always been a little more up front that I should have been. “I rather despise folami, and they hate me, so we keep our distance from each other. And cats? Well, they hate me, too.” I shrugged it off because, honestly, I didn’t care that much what others thought of me. I was happy in my own fur and, sure, I would love to have someone around, but if they didn’t like me I wouldn’t force them.

“What about you? Just a solitary leopard trying to stay alive?” I was curious. It was the likely thing, after all. If he really was alone, I would have a chance to finally have a companion, someone to look one way and me look the other. There was safety in numbers, and not just from the physical dangers. I wanted someone around so I could keep them safer that I had those poor lion cubs. I had abandoned them and Skoll only knew I needed to try and make amends for my failure. I would never tell Gus, no matter how long we knew each other, that I wanted to protect him. He didn’t seem like the type of man that wanted a guardian angel.

But then, most people don’t, but that doesn’t stop the angel from coming.

[I L Y I C H]

I shrugged my shoulders at the man, looking intently into his pale face. Burnie seemed uncertain how to respond, and it made my tail twitch slightly. Agitated. He spoke up a second later, awkward in the extreme but that wasn't really something I of all people could complain about. So maybe not a horrible reason. Not one to make my fur ripple at least but it still did. Trust got a loner killed after all, but my defensiveness fell back against the hope of some odd friendship. A bit of companionship never hurt anyway, and Burnie didn't seem all that horrible a person to have a chat with. I'd been a massive dick the entire time and he hadn't really retaliated at least. Letting out a low hum in reply to his response I ducked my head taking a final small bite filling my stomach to the brim in a way I very rarely had the treat to be able to do.

Feeling full to the point of immobility was something I hadn't been able to accomplish in years and my gratitude was sleepily thick. My ears flicked slightly in relation to his little story. Folami were dicks yeah, but some of them weren't so bad. I'd met a high ranking man from the newer pack a few months ago who had been all excited talk and welcoming gestures. He'd not been bother by my defensiveness. It had been a nice conversation. Well until he had run off screaming about how his mom would kill him if he didn't get home soon. Shit was going down between the packs still, even after that massive fight they'd already settled. Nothing good came from such things but hey. I wasn't actually folami so I guess I just didn't get any input. "Sure everyone hates everyone and no one can get the fuck over themselves." I shrugged again. It was inevitable. People sucked.

Leaning back away from the meal I set about cleaning what small amount of salty blood clung to my whiskers. The motions were automatic and I didn't remove my attention from the larger animal even if it may look it. "Yeah pretty much." Solitary leopard and all. Dear Skoll I was tired. Not the bad kind of tired that had shivered it's way into my body earlier. But truly dead on my paws exhausted. That little near death experience had shaken my muscles up and I was strained, in pain and ready for a good long rest. Yawning widely, I cut myself off before all but baring my fangs at Burnie gripping my teeth together to avoid blowing cat breath everywhere. Blinking up at the folami I frowned for a moment before speaking up again. It would be nice, I guess, to have someone else around. Another folami. I missed them all so much, and lonely as I was I supposed having someone to guard my back wouldn't be all that horrendous. "So hey. You want to hang around?"

[Bhu ♥ Irwin]

I nodded, amused by his proclamation. That was how the world worked. Everyone just sits around hating everyone else because there are differences, no matter how insignificant or uncontrollable, and people hated change. I watched the man do a partial yawn and I realized I wasn't all too tired myself. I was about to offer to leave so he could rest, but paused as my jaws parted and his own question came out. I watched him for a moment, a cool expression on my face, though the corners of my lips twitched mildly to express the euphoric glee I was containing. "I would appreciate the company." I turned on my heals and found myself leaping to land onto a slightly elevated boulder. "And to show my gratitude, I will keep watch while you get some rest." Looking out towards the ocean with my words, I sighed and sat down comfortably, yet alert. It occurred to me that I could now say, to some degree, that I had a friend.

I made my first friend, mama, and I know you would love him.