#;; been dragged through the mud (hatari)

[jabbers-wild-world]

[jabbers-wild-world]

Hatari watched carefully, now eyeing the scratches at Scar’s heel. Something wasn’t right about that.. Mongooses didn’t use their claws in quite that way, and usually relied on their bite. At the same time though, there had been something in Sumu’s reaction to Simba that had the hyena curious, and.. perhaps a little worried. He’d seen animals lash out like that before.. Like they weren’t seeing what was actually ahead of them, and instead looking beyond what was there and seeing ghosts or something like that. He.. well, he himself dealt with it on occasion. Flashes of bad memories, and getting stuck in them just because something happened or something was said that brought those memories back so aggressively.

“Oy. Let ‘im up. I don’ think th’t.”

“Can it, Slackjaw!” Sumu snapped, glaring a bit. “This ain’t about you!” Scar did pause, however, a curious glance tossed over his shoulder at the striped hyena.

“Normally, I might agree with the mongoose, but you seem like perhaps you know something.” He acknowledged. “Care to elaborate? And.. please do speak up, you don’t make it easy to understand you.” Hatari shrugged, before limping over and sitting next to Simba with a huff.

“Jus’ th’t- ….” He paused, and cleared his throat. “It’s.. just that.. I don’t think things’re- are.. all that they seem. If you don’t mind my saying so.” Scar smirked, turning further attention to Hatari. Ah, so he could speak clearly. With near perfect diction at that, almost.. as if this hyena had more about him than there seemed to be.

“Oh? Do tell.”

“Stay outta this, three-legger! You don’t know what you’re talkin’ about!” Hatari turned to Sumu now, baring his teeth a bit.

“I know more’n you think, mongoose.” He huffed. “Like I know, y’ ain’t from these lands. Y’ came here from farther out. An’ you got some bad mem’ries keep comin’ flashin’ back to ya when y’ don’t want ‘em.” Scar’s ears perked all the way forward now. That was interesting. The hyena spoke as if he was familiar with such an affliction himself, and.. his words seemed to have fully silenced the mongoose. But the caracal, however…

“You don’t know! You don’t know what it’s like!” He was kicking at Scar now, trying to struggle loose. “Sumu’s got himself kicked out all the way from In- Ind..eeuh.”

“India..?” Scar prodded.

“Yeah, that. All because of a fire an’ his clan thinks he’s cursed-”

“Giza! Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! You gonna tell them my whole life story?!”

“The kid asked-”

“That doesn’t mean you have to tell ‘em!” Sumu frowned, finally wriggling himself loose from under Scar’s paw. “Tch.. Idiot..” He didn’t make any other move to attack, just instead moved to the dark lion’s other paw and sat up on his haunches.

“You mind? Promise no more fighting, if you just let the moron loose?” Scar chuckled. He was actually growing to like this mongoose’s attitude. He was the type who got things done, wasn’t he. The brains of whatever operation these two had going. And as such was the case, Scar actually obliged, lifting his paw from Giza and letting the caracal up.

“So.. you come all the way from India, do you? Quite a long way, that is, or.. so I’ve heard from the migrating birds.”

“Tch.. what’s it to you if I’m not local..?”

“Oh, nothing. I just.. might like to speak with you on another occasion, regarding your homeland, if that wouldn’t be too much for you.”

“…Guess not..” Through this conversation now, Hatari turned his attention to Simba, giving a gentle nudge.

“Y’ get what’s goin’ on, or y’ need me t’ explain..?”

jabbers-wild-world​:

Looking for a den? Well, that didn’t mean the cub could go around poking his head into any den he found and start yelling in it. Some animals were trying to take a nap, after all! Sumu still huffed a bit, eying Simba carefully with his one good eye, and- he glanced at Giza, shaking his head a moment.

“Giza. Stand down.” He instructed him. “No harm’s been done yet. So let’s just hear them out.” As Simba mentioned being royalty, however, and basically implied that meant he could do whatever he wanted, Sumu was back to glaring at him with his fangs bared a bit.

“Are you kiddin’ me?! Bein’ royal doesn’t mean you can just go around doin’ whatever you want!” The mongoose snapped. “You can’t just strut around here and expect everyone to just get outta your way, or to just do whatever you want them to! You think we’re just gonna roll over and let you push us around?! It’s brat royals like you that are the reason I can’t go home!” Sumu charged at Simba again, this time almost seeming more panicked than angry, fangs bared as he aimed to bite the cub, but Scar was quicker on his feet as he rushed in and smacked the mongoose with a paw, sending him tumbling back down the den.

“‘ey! Don’t you go smackin’ Sumu! This’s our home!” Now Giza charged again, this time leaping onto Scar’s back and biting him hard. Scar gave a roar of pain, before Hatari moved in and grabbed Giza by the scruff, yanking him off and giving him a good shake. But.. while distracted with the caracal now, Sumu was already back out of the den and making his move. Teeth bit down on Scar’s heel, small claws tearing a few scratches across the lion’s pelt.

“I have had enough of this!” Scar growled, turning to smack Sumu again, before he charged after the mongoose and pinned him with one paw, grabbing the caracal from Hatari and pinning him too. “We are not trying to fight. We are only here for a discussion with a certain Cape fox. His name is Njozi. Perhaps you two know which den is his..?”

His eyes went between Scar and the mongoose, a growl escaping his throat as he spotted Sumu attacking his Uncle. “Leave ‘em alone!” Simba demanded already unsheathing his claws only for the fight to die down. Looks like his bravery had cause them nothing but trouble again…

Letting Scar speak, the golden cub went over visually inspecting his Uncle’s wounds. “Are you guys okay? I can tell Dad about it and maybe he can do something.” Simba suggested looking for some form of agreement though none came at the moment. How would Mufasa handle this? Padding over to the mongoose since he was the smaller of the two animals, the cub stared down at Sumu tilting his head.  “You were banished? How come?” Obviously something terrible must have been done for that to happen. But what? 

Simba didn’t know anything about mongooses nor caracals since Zazu hadn’t gone over any of their customs or the like in his lessons. “Were both of you banished or was it just…uh…what’re your names? You never told us.” 

@jabbers-wild-world

[outcasts-of-the-pridelands-blog]

@kingmxfasa | continued from here!

Oh, you’d better believe that it was against his own instincts to even be this close to a lion, but he pushed that aside, his ears pressed back.

“There’s trouble at your eastern border. Big trouble.” He shook his head, frowning. “The spotties are moving in, and in bigger numbers than they usually do. Right off, I know that means there’s trouble.” Spotted hyenas, he meant. Sure, he was a hyena too, but he didn’t associate with the spotted clans. He hardly even associated with his own breed.

[jabbers-wild-world]

"You okay if I go after him?" (Hatari)

RWBY Sentence Starters | Accepting!

A young adult wild dog had come bounding in and stolen the gazelle leg Hatari had been gnawing on, running away with it faster than the three-legged hyena could keep up with, and Hatari had ended up tripping up and falling in the chase, twisting his foreleg in a painful position. Now he could only lay on the ground, waiting for his leg to stop throbbing, and he turned his gaze to the young prince.

“‘m fine, kid, but y’ need t’ be careful, yeah?” He shook his head. “Dunno where ‘is pack might be, but if y’ wanna go after ‘im, jus’ watch your back. Y’ gotta run the second there’s trouble, don’t stick ‘round and fight ‘em. Got that?” Was he going to try his best to follow after the cub to keep him safe as soon as he could stand? Absolutely, but right now, his leg was definitely aching too much to stand.

“Curse m’ missin’ paw…” He murmured to himself. If he wasn’t missing a front paw, spraining one wouldn’t be such a big deal. He’d be able to limp along on the other one, but… With only three legs, that wasn’t exactly possible.

[jabbers-wild-world]

@sixba | continued from here!

Hatari bared his teeth at the python, daring her to try that move again, before he gently nudged Simba and guided him a little ways away. He wasn’t going to take any chances, that was for sure. Padding along in his loping, somewhat lopsided gait, Hatari could only sigh.

“Look, kiddo. Snakes like pythons an’ all them like t’ bask in the sun. ‘s how they get their energy most days.” He explained. “As for elephants an’ them, they’re pretty good for watchin’ where they walk. ‘specially elephants. Even if they don’t see a snake, they got that trunk o’ theirs kept low to the ground to feel for ‘em. And rhinos’ve got them birds to tell ‘em what’s what.” He looked back behind them for a moment or two, sighing again.

“‘s not to say it doesn’t happen sometimes that a snake’ll get stepped on.” He remarked. “It’ll happen. Either the snake gets squashed, or whoever stepped on ‘em’ll get a nasty bite. Sometimes the snake’s got venom that’ll kill someone, like a mamba does. Some of ‘em, like pythons, they squeeze ya ‘til ya crack. Ya’ve been told ‘bout the circle of life, yeah?”

[jabbers-wild-world]

Hatari had been minding his own business, more or less. He spent most of his days alone now, perhaps occasionally running a patrol as a favor to the lions of Pride Rock. He knew the story of Scar and the spotted hyenas, but he wasn’t one of them. His striped hide was proof enough of that. Not that he’d have been an ideal candidate as a soldier for Scar anyway. Not with his loyalties to Mufasa, and even less so with the fact he only had three legs.

Scavenging near the edge of the Outlands had become somewhat of a common practice for him too by this point. Hunting alone was far from easy for the three-legger. So that was what he had been up to. At least.. until the grass started rustling, drawing his attention to it. A frown, a furrowed brow, and slowly Hatari limped closer, moving carefully just in case it was either prey or predator. And he sniffed the air too, checking. Was that..? It was the scent of a lion but not one Hatari knew.

So on his belly he lay, now crawling his way along before he abruptly pushed through the grass, the hair on his back raised on end as he came face to face with this stranger. And.. honestly, it.. was a bit of a letdown. Sitting back, he quirked a brow and canted his head to the side.

“What.. what’re y’ doin’ ‘xactly..?”

@jabbers-wild-world​

You didn’t see hyenas around anymore. Nuka didn’t know why, not really, nobody’d really asked them, but he didn’t remember seeing any for months. 

He was near the edge of the Outlands, and shiver after shiver shook him, just knowing he was playing with fire, tempting fate, setting himself up for trouble. But trying to crawl through the dead grass without making a ton of noise was just about futile, but he wanted to know. Wanted to know where the hyenas were and, maybe a little more pressing, whether they were on their side (not that he was holding his breath, he didn’t doubt Scar had ruined any goodwill there could’ve been between them. Sometimes, Nuka thought Scar might’ve ruined a few things). 

He twitched as those termites moved, bit, and that grass only seemed to make them even more mobile (or maybe that was just in his head), and one overeager scrub against the ground sent the entire patch rustling. 

[jabbers-wild-world]

@sixba @queensxrabi

Hatari stretched a moment as he rested on his small rock ledge a little ways away, yawning a bit. He might have been mildly put off otherwise by not being included in the hunting party this time around, but this time was different. And he couldn’t help a small smirk as he watched the lioness and her son, not to mention the Majordomo and his reaction to the cub’s statement.

“This should be fun.” He chuckled, more to himself than to any of the rest of them, but it was an audible statement all the same. Not that the three-legged hyena was really known for keeping his opinions to himself, of course. His thoughts were as plain as the stripes on his back, and he liked it that way. Made sure no one misunderstood his intentions, and.. ultimately, it actually made him more trustworthy than say.. perhaps his spotted cousins.

[jabbers-wild-world]

Simba and Hatari

For a thread I have with @sixba, which is just adorable already, and I wanted to draw this. I don’t know quite how well Simba came out, but here you go!

[jabbers-wild-world]

@queensxrabi

He was hesitant, his ears pressed back and his tail tucked low. Yes, Hatari had gained favor with the king, but.. what about the queen? Limping along, the striped hyena made his way toward the lioness. Mufasa had encouraged him to speak with her, that was true. Especially since Hatari was determined to still pull his weight and contribute despite his missing foreleg. But.. he still didn’t know how she’d feel about a hyena so close to the Pride, even if he wasn’t of the spotted variety.

“Beggin’ all pardons, y’ Grace.” That was how you addressed queens, right? As ‘your grace’? Or- Wait. “Er- Majesty, I mean..” Really, he’d been grumpy, and perhaps even a bit rude with Mufasa at first, but now.. Now he actually wanted to make a good impression. Even.. though.. this itch- it was persistent! He had no choice! Quickly he sat back, his hind leg scratching furiously at the itch on his left shoulder, but then- He stumbled, unable to support himself without the right paw, and- No! Barely he righted himself, and hunkered low.

“My ‘poligies.. I.. If you might forget that happened.. I.. I was told I should come speak to you.”

[jabbers-wild-world]

“‘s fair. Good he’s looked after.” It was almost strange, having such a comfortable conversation with the king, but.. Hatari had warmed up to Mufasa in the days since he’d been welcomed into the pride, so to speak. A brief wag of the striped hyena’s tail, and he shifted just a little closer to the king. Only a little, and subtly so, but.. closer all the same.

“If you need me to watch him.. now and again, I could give it a try? Dunno how he’d take to a Stripe like me watchin’ him though. I ain’t like the Spotties, but.. still a ‘yena all the same.”

jabbers-wild-world‌:

@kingmxfasa | continued from here!

“Not me exactly.. But I see him giving your majordomo the runaround, way too often.” Hatari stretched a bit, currently laying comfortably in the shade. He did understand the ‘learn by doing’ notion, though. It was easier that way for a cub with that much energy.

“You don’t worry he’ll get himself in real trouble though? Just learning by doing and all that?”

Mufasa stretched out as well, resting his head on his front paws. His mouth quirked up slightly in amusement at Hatari’s answer. “Yes, I’ve been meaning to speak with him about that. But it’s not entirely his fault. Zazu isn’t the most engaging teacher, nor the most patient.” He was glad Simba hadn’t bothered Hatari, at least so far. Mufasa had been unsure how his son would react to a hyena living in the Pridelands, having been raised to see the species as enemies.

“All the time. But his mother and I would never let anything happen to him, and he has others looking out for him as well.”

[jabbers-wild-world]

@kingmxfasa | continued from here!

Hatari’s ears quickly pressed back as he hunched low. He hadn’t expected that of all things, especially when he’d been coming back to tell the king how the hunt had gone.

“I... Sure thing, Majesty..” A few steps back, and Hatari turned away, now limping back the way he’d came. Stop wasting his time, huh.. That sounded like a ‘leave and never come back’ to Hatari. He’d known he was going to wear out his welcome eventually, and it seemed today was the day.

[jabbers-wild-world]

@fxturekxng | continued from here!

He blinked, and considered the question for a moment. While he knew exactly what his answer was, it.. wasn’t a question he’d actually expected the cub to ask him. But.. considering he was the only one still awake too..

“Count the stars..” He answered finally, turning his own gaze upward a bit. “Even if you can’t see them, just start counting how many you think there are. There’s always too many to finish, and by the time you even get to the big numbers.. you’re already asleep.” There was a brief smile across the hyena’s muzzle, and he stretched a bit.

“It always works for me.”

[jabbers-wild-world]

@kingmxfasa | continued from here!

Hatari’s ear twitched briefly, and he gave the king a side look, before he sighed, scratching an itch with his hind paw (and nearly toppling himself over).. before he spoke again.

“You’re royalty, and everything’s given to you no question..” He grumbled. “And on the other paw, they all look at me and see me as a monster. I ain’t done nothin’ the Spotties have done. I keep my striped hide to myself, hunt only what I’ve got to, but still I’m seen the same.” He stood now, scratching another itch, and this time he managed to stumble and fall to the side.

Growling a bit in annoyance, he snapped and chewed a bit as his scarred stump of a foreleg, before simply leaving it alone and getting to his paws to leave. It wasn’t easy, surviving on three legs alone.. But he did what he could manage, and what he had to.

“I’d bet you’ve got better things to do than listen to an outcast though, Majesty.” He huffed. “I’ll be outta your way now.”

[jabbers-wild-world]

@kingmxfasa | continued from here!

“Not me exactly.. But I see him giving your majordomo the runaround, way too often.” Hatari stretched a bit, currently laying comfortably in the shade. He did understand the ‘learn by doing’ notion, though. It was easier that way for a cub with that much energy.

“You don’t worry he’ll get himself in real trouble though? Just learning by doing and all that?”

[jabbers-wild-world]

@fxturekxng | continued from here!

For a while there, he’d thought the little prince was avoiding him. He was a hyena, after all. And.. well, he could only guess what the cub had probably been taught, but as Simba came running over with the lizard still alive and dangling from his mouth, he actually found himself smiling a bit, his tail giving a small wag.

“For me, huh? ‘s real nice of ya, little prince.” He acknowledged.

[jabbers-wild-world]

@kingmxfasa 

As an inherently nomadic animal, Hatari had a tendency to wander when he had the chance to. He never really went far, especially in case he may be needed to help the lionesses on a hunt. But.. he liked to roam, and it was another way he could contribute and help repay Mufasa for his kindness in letting the three-legged hyena live with the pride. While Zazu was an excellent eye in the sky, Hatari made rounds occasionally to check in on things.. lower to the ground, and even a bit more minute in nature.

He knew sometimes the smaller rodents and such animals could sometimes get overlooked in the underbrush. No fault of the Majordomo’s of course, the little ones were good at hiding, or sometimes just went generally unseen even when they wanted to be. A sniff, lowering his muzzle to the earth, he managed to startle an elephant shrew passing nearby, who darted off just a little ways before the striped hyena called out.

“Didn’t mean to surprise you.” A flick of his ear, and he laid himself flat to the ground. “Just makin’ rounds for the king.” The elephant shrew paused, looking back.

“F’r the king? A hyena makin’ rounds?”

“Yeah, ‘s funny, I know.”

“I thought that was the hornbill’s job.”

“Still is, but he sometimes misses the little animals.”

“Y’ know, that he does.” Slowly the shrew ventured a bit closer, and caught sight of Hatari’s missing limb, and.. actually seemed to relax considerably. “If y’ wouldn’t mind, we’ve been havin’ a bit of troubles o’rselves, an’ it doesn’t seem like anyone’s hearin’ about it.”

“What troubles?”

“Well, there’s this gang of monkeys, y’ see. They keep hoistin’ us shrews off the ground and bullyin’ us, tossin’ us to each other for a good laugh. We’d really like it if’n they’d stop, an’ we’ve tried askin’, but they won’t listen!” Hatari lifted his head, ears perked forward.

“I’ll bring that news t’ the king, you can count on it.”

“Thank y’, hyena. Thank y’. An’... Sorry ‘bout y’r leg. I’ve got a cousin on my mother’s side who’s missin’ both his front paws, poor thing. He makes do, but I know it’s hard.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” He stood, and turned to leave, except- He froze, the long hairs on his back raising on end by pure force of instinct alone. Standing before him, just a few feet away.. The clan leader, of the ones Hatari had once called family. And he saw Hatari too.

“Hatari.”

“Kiume..”

“Still alive, are you?”

“No thanks t’ you..” Kiume smirked, and chuckled a bit.

“Hatari, we did what was necessary for the good of the clan. You were- are.. the weak link.”

“Says you. But I’ve found better.”

“Oh? And what does that mean?”

“‘m livin’ with the king now.” And now Kiume hesitated, his ears perking forward. Had he actually heard Hatari right? He lived with the king? With Mufasa and his lions? He considered the idea, considered his words, and.. his eyes briefly wandered to Hatari’s scarred, missing leg. Oh. Wait. He knew just what was going on. That smirk was back and he was chuckling again already.

“Oh, Hatari.. You don’t see it, do you.. The king’s pitying you. He feels sorry for a pathetic three-legger like you. But soon, even his patience will wear out, and he won’t be like us. He won’t just let you walk away. A weak hyena, is just a tragedy waiting to happen. He’s just taking his time, while he figures out how best to just kill you off.” And that was it. Hatari’s ears dropped back, flat against his skull, and he leapt at Kiume, fangs bared.

No one should ever underestimate the jaw power of a hyena, even a disabled one like Hatari. And he clamped hard on Kiume’s neck, but it didn’t last as he was kicked off, and then.. it only descended into violent chaos from there, as both hyenas snarled and barked, snapping their jaws at each other, rearing on their hind legs and kicking their paws in wild combat.