Summary:Two huge unusual cat creatures go for a hunt together. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Having 'discussed' with Catseye - lion to tiger, as it were - how recently she has been able to go out hunting in the wilds - the non-concrete jungle - Amur Khatun has decided that her purple friend needs to come out with her. How, exactly, she went about getting her biped form to agree to this is as-yet undetermined. But as the three nights of the full moon approached, a certain homeless veteran showed up nearby not to Sharon's condominium home with Emma and Priscilla, but on the rooftop of her science laboratory building on the grounds of Columbia University.
And then Diya just waited for Catseye to find her there, before explaining her intention to take the other cat-woman out hunting with her in the wilds. If she were interested.
Catseye is very interested. The semester is just starting, exams and papers are due weeks and weeks from now, and she hasn't been out for some serious time in fur-form in a while. Oh sure, she sleeps in lion form every night, but that's different from a serious run, much less a hunt. Sharon makes sure to let her guards know she's going out of town and informs mothermotherFrost as well. Unexplained absence is something to be feared in her family, checking in is a must.
Then Catseye and Hunter get into one of the family's cars, and head for the mountains.
Hunter is not in love with 'fancy schmancy car,' but does not argue the point. Apparently not every shapeshifting feline woman can run almost as fast as a car can speed down the highway; she will adapt. Or try. She makes a point of sticking her head out of the sunroof a good bit, winding down the windows despite winter chill, etc. She is well aware that her scent is enough to induce borderline panic on humans in confined spaces, and she doesn't need the driver dying of apoplexy, thanks.
Once they arrive at the park in question, though, Hunter is definitely the first out the door. Out. OUT! She is also, as usual, incredibly laconic. Her conversations tend to be measured in barely-double-digit numbers of words which in theory contain whole paragraphs worth of semantic value. Now that they are where they need to be, she uses hand-signs to explain that the driver needs to stay here, or come back here, and not follow.
Then Hunter gathers up Sharon more by gaze and attitude than anything else, and goes loping off into the woods a far piece before finding a particular gully. It is here that she sits down and peels out of her clothes, bundling them up and tucking them away out of sight. She does not appear to have much in the way of body modesty, but she's not overtly flaunting, either. She stretches out …
What follows, honestly, is not pleasant to watch, hear, or smell. Diya's transformation into Amur Khatun is long, drawn out, and excruciating. It takes literally minutes to accomplish. But once done a five-nine athletic bonde Russian woman of about one-fifty pounds has been transformed into a twelve-foot long, six-foot tall gigantic thousand-pound Siberian tigress. Once Amur Khatun is finally present, Catseye will find her much more welcoming and less reticent than her biped form. Nuzzles, petting, and happy grooming ensue.
Cateye tells the driver, "Will call when need a ride back, probably tomorrow morning." She strips out of her clothes save for a black unitard that is made of a special material that shifts with her. Clothes, cellphone, everything gets shoved into a waterproof bag and stashed hidden at the base of a tree. Then Catseye stretches and shifts, a change that is much faster and fluid than Amur Khatun's. Lavender fur flows over her like water, muscle and bone shifts and reforms, and a large lavender lioness stands her place. While the Tigress finishes shifting, Catseye scent-marks the tree where she hid her clothes.
And then big pretty tigress friend is there! Catseye frolics like a kitten, rubbing up against the larger cat, purring as she nuzzles and grooms Khatun.
Then Catseye crouches, tail twitching playfully, and raises one paw and lightly boops Amur Khatun on the nose, then immediately Catseye leaps up into the trees, whiskers twitching in silent laughter.
Amur Khatun has a much better sense of humor and lightness of mood than Hunter; she is more than happy to be playful with Catseye. She even offers the gigantic feline equivalent of laughter - churring - at the giant lavender lioness' leaping up into the tree to tease her.
Her other response is to leap up and //over/ the branch and pat the lioness on the back on her way by. The branch won't support her weight, but it doesn't have to if she doesn't stay up there, just sails over.
They can play some, before hunting. Sure. Besides, Amur Khatun thinks her biped form needs to play more! So if she won't, Amur will!
Playing is good! Playing burns off the nervous, fidgety energy that has been crawling under Catseye's skin. And pretty much all breeds of cat play some form of touch-tag, some just as kittens, others their whole lives. Is fun!
Once some of that energy has burnt off and she's feeling steadier, then it's time for another quick grooming to make sure fur is settled and both are in good shape before the hunt. Catseye curves her body in silent question, before heading off to stalk prey. They'll have to go a ways, their earlier games would have spooked anything close by, but would have been ignored by more distant prey. It's not the predators you can hear that you fear, it's those that you can't. And as for a direction to stalk… towards water. Everything needs water. And while Lions and Tigers can go for long times without, their prey needs to drink more often, so the nearest stream or river is a good place to start a hunt.
After they have had a nice play, and some more grooming, Amur Khatun is more than happy to go for a hunt; that was the reason they came out after all. Going towards water is perfectly feasible, and off they go!
As big as they are, most would expect that these two would make a terrible ruckus while stalking through the woodlands.. But the reality couldn't be further from the truth; they are literally whisper quiet and virtually unheard. Indeed, they are also almost invisible in the darkness, blending in so naturally with their surroundings.
Amur Khatun's particular target of choice turns out to be a wild pig - a small boar. Yum!
Wild boar is tasty and dangerous. Even cats their size need to worry about being gored by a tusk. However, there are two of them, and after exchanging silent glances with Amur, Catseye heads silently up into the trees.
Killing a boar usually means waiting for it to bleed to death from lesser wounds, or going for neck or belly. Neither of which Catseye can do from a tree-pounce. What she can do is leap on the beast from above, latching on with four sets of claws and biting at the back of the head…. which sends the boar into a pain and terror maddened frenzy that utterly shatters any chance of it NOTICING Amur, much less fighting against her. But DAMN is it noisy! The phrase 'squeal like a stuck pig' definitely applies.
Amur Khatun finds this perhaps amusing - she does chuff - but she awaits her moment and then laps out with her mighty clawed paws, slicing through tendons to disable fore- and hind-legs on one side, bringing the beast down. At that point it is a simple matter to break its neck.
And then? Nibbles! Amur Khatun is quite giving, happy to share the bounty of their kill and not at all aggressive about establishing any dominance. This likely has a lot to do with the fact that to her mind there is no question; she is the bigger, the stronger, the older cat. Ostensibly she is the wiser, but that might be up for debate. But the nice part is just being able to share a meal. Amur doesn't get to do that very often at all.
Catseye is very polite about sharing the meal, checking with Amur and making sure that Amur gets some of the tastiest bits. Amur is indeed the bigger, stronger, older cat and Catseye has no intention what so every of arguing dominance. Nope.
Catseye also doesn't hesitate at all at devouring internal organs as well as meat from the kill. Numans, especially Americans, seem to be squeamish over eating what to a cat are the best parts! And in part that is because cats are true carnivores, the meat provides nutrients that omnivores can get through plants. And Catseye is capable of eating a large fraction of her body weight… true, she might not eat again for several days to a week after such a meal, but food is not to be wasted!
Amur Khatun eats like … a giant cat. No signs of American - or Russian, in her case - squeamishness. But she is also happy to share those choice bits, so each can have some. She is not greedy, and is happy to have a meal partner and friend. She too is happy to eat a large fraction of her own body weight; it is trips like this which enable her to keep going when subsisting otherwise on what Hunter can manage to get at the food kitchens in Mutant Town. Otherwise, Hunter would end up going crazed and attacking in the city, which would be bad for everyone, including Hunter herself.
After the main meal is over, Amur Khatun distributes some bones to chew on, which help with tooth health. After that, they can eventually leave what little remains and have some of that water to drink, before finding a spot to just lounge and digest.
The giant version of catnaps.
Bones are crunchy and filled with tasty marrow, which Catseye is very happy to gnaw on. Then down to the stream for a drink and a little bit of splashing, as Catseye does seem like an overgrown kitten at times.
Then lounging, lazy grooming, and catnaps. Though even with her eyes closed and faint buzzing coming from her, Catseye's ears twitch and focus on any unusual sound. There's little chance of anything sneaking up on the two felines, even with them napping. A few silly squirrels even forget the cats are there and come down to forage, then suddenly SEE the twitch of an ear or tailtip, and bolt back up the tree scolding furiously.
Amur Khatun is only too happy to play kittenishly in the water; she is much lighter of spirit than her biped counterpart. But she truly excels at napping. Just a ginormous lump of fur and a basso rumbling that sounds like a motorcycle writ even larger. And yes, she is always hyperaware of her surroundings. She does not bother to pounce on any squirrels, but she would be only too happy to bat one around playfully if it gets too close. Those big paws can be quite fluffy and soft, and are the size of serving trays (rather than mere dinner plates).