by Schainukan » Sun Mar 05, 2017 9:04 am
Owner: Schainukan
ID: 0083
Name: Mau
Gender: Male
Age: 4 years
Height: 14 inches
Phenotype: Black Dun Roan Splash
Eyes: Chocolate Mousse
Tail: Short (MM)
Genotype: EE Dd RnRn Spsp
Feline Companion: Melanistic Serval
It was a day like any other, Mau was enjoying the sun at his own little spot and almost dozing off until something pushed his side. Alerted, he jumped up and stared at the origin. A black thing... No, a young adult serval. He had never seen a dark one before which irritated him. On edge Mau whistled trying to make it go away, which didn't work. It swiftly drew in to poke his leg and leaping to play with his tail. Getting uncomfortable the dik-dik zig-zaged in a rough shape of a circle, but the tom kept following behind, touching him. Confused Mau stopped in his tracks and stood firmly, facing the serval as he repeatedly pushed his head forward, displaying his horns. The feline leapt back and left grinning. Yet, he couldn't shake off the feeling this wouldn't be the last time, for some reason that serval was weird and he was not talking about his coat. He didn't even attempt to scratch him nor acting aggressive, to begin with servals weren't usually what he had to deal with.
This continued for a while, this dark male kept coming to his place, teasing him during his nap. Strangely he never occurred when he was with other dik-diks, only when he was alone and unaware. And yet, he couldn't be angry about the tom for too long. This was an uncommon situation though, no matter how you looked at it.
A month after that, Mau found this same troublesome tom-cat injured near a favorite shrub, a couple trees away from his spot. He couldn't let him here to get eaten by a larger predator, even if he was bothersome. Not only because of his instinct to help, but as well the mere fact this serval was different than anything he knew. Day by day Mau came and checked on him, never staying too far away and keeping an eye on him. The tom had a hard time walking, although he followed the dik-dik whenever he got told to move because it was unsafe. The antelope couldn't feed him, but he led him to carcasses. Mau watched the feline cleaning his wounds so none would get infected, it was almost bewitching, his long scary fangs but how gentle he could be.
It was until one night, when the serval suddenly talked. He said his name is Raven. Like the black and sneaky bird, so was he. It suits him well. To be honest, Mau was speechless, he didn't believe he could let alone he would understand.
The cat told him his past, how he came to be around here. He was the runt of the litter of 3, all toms. His brothers were normal while he ... he was, different. Always looked down upon, always treated poorly. Although he was working so hard to compensate for his coat by wiz and technique, it seemed no matter what he did, still none would like him. Raven never really had a proper kithood, constantly alone on his own trying to find something to accompany himself with as no one would play with 'the cursed kitten'. His teenhood wasn't any different, just even harder.
Then one rainy season, the nearby river they stayed at, rose so high that he accidentally fell in and was washed away. Luckily at some point the serval could grab onto a branch and save himself from drowning in the harsh current. From then on, he had to fend for himself. Raven had watched Mau for a long while. Somehow he felt like this dik-dik was different from the rest and he was right. However he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, which sparked his interest. Still, Raven couldn't quite figure it out.
Even after Raven was fine and healthy again, he never was far away and stayed near Mau. The teasing was reduced, not by much though. the dik-dik didn't know why and literally didn't mind, but somehow he was relieved, having the tom-cat at his side.