[Vaudeville]

The hellhound's strides are harsh, footfalls crunching autumnal ground-cover. His paws, worn to scaly scar-tissue from years of travel, do not falter as they move from breezy forest to salt flats. Vaudeville doesn't spare a glance for Saki, undoubtedly trailing behind him, choking on the chemicals he kicks up carelessly. "You ever seen a hyena, Saki?" Split tongue flicks, joints settle as he crooks his neck to see her. "Nasty fuckers."

He turns on her, far from spry for his age, but unpredictable as ever, and warns-- threatens, "Don't get bit."

The hellhound grins, blackened gums and rotten teeth, sweet as candy and dangerous as the cyanide it's injected with. "There used to be a whole clan of 'em out this way, but the territory was shit, so they survived off trade. Up and left, and now everything they didn't grab is ours for the taking."

[Saki]

A small sigh escaped from the young female as she followed after the older male that was in front of her. Saki had never traveled to much in her life. Seen so many new things, tasted so many different things. This was all quite new, and interesting to the young female who was enjoying the traveling, even though it seemed to ware her out a tad bit.
Her light purple eyes took in everything that they past, watching the change of the land. Amazed that there was more to the world then just a forest.
The black necklace she now wore, gently swayed as she trotted along. A reminded of the male that was in front of her. A reminder that they were something, not sure what though. The necklace was probably more of a thing to keep him in her thoughts, which wasn't hard to do, as she was already traveling with him and didn't want to be left alone again.

As Vaude stopped and turned towards her, Saki had to take a quick halt in her trot, not expecting him to stop so suddenly. Her eyes blinking in confusion as she listened to him, obvious worry appearing on her face as he talked about some sort of creature that used to live in this area. Hyena....? Saki repeated the word, testing out how it felt. Her sheltered mind instantly connecting his words of warning, with the appearance of this new creature being related to some sort of snake or something. "Are they poisonous?" It was probably a stupid question, but Saki was curious. She's been sheltered her whole life, she didn't know much of the outside world.

Light purple orbs glaced towards the gnarly teeth that Vaude flashed as he grinned at her. She hoped to never be at the end of them. Then, she glanced back up towards his eyes as she listened to him. Her head tilting a little bit as she took in his words. "Even though they left, isn't that considered stealing?" Saki asked, her head tilted innocently to the right as she looked at Vaude for an answer. "If we found anything, what would we do with it?"

[Vaudeville]

A harsh laugh rips across his rough vocal chords, and devolves into hoarse chuffs of air. "Venomous, Saki. HA! Venomous!" The same question has been asked of him before, and the answer is much the same. "Nah. They're just gross as fuck." Vaudeville keeps moving, eyes on a blasted-out baobab. He's not about to nurse an infection; if one snaps her leg, he's ripping it off. His mouth's as dangerous as the hyena's though: somewhat less, when his teeth crack as much as his bones.

The comment about poison already has him tickled, and then she starts about stealing, and he bites a lip while he walks, shoulders shuddering. "If we found anything, what would we do with it?"

"Take it, of course! What did I just say, sweetheart? They left it, and it's ours now." Silly girl. Maybe she's just a little slow, he has to say things a few times before they sink in. Maybe she needs a good slap before she starts really listening.

Maybe he needs to speak up.

Vaudeville flicks his tail, slows his stride, looks to left where he's made a nice little spot for her. Next to him. Insult followed by a quick compliment. If-- and that better be when she goes where directed, the hellhound steps closer, until they're walking with sides pressed together. "Find yourself something pretty, alright? I'll get the good stuff."

With that, he breaks off into a sprint, circles the wide base of the tree, a tattered and sun-bleached banner waving ragged from a branch. It's hollow, used to be some kind of storage shed, and picked through already-- probably by the hyenas themselves. An assortment of herbs he's never cared to identify, some tools that could maybe come in handy, but he's only got one mouth. Vaudeville squints as he comes back into the sun, lunging up on his hind legs to seize one of the banners, rend it down. Cloth dangling from his jaws, he weaves through the busted, abandoned marketplace to appraise whatever has Saki's attention.

[Saki]

At the sound of Vaude's laughter, Saki's ears perk up. What did she say that was so funny? She was just asking him questions, she really didn't mean to say anything off or funny. Her ears quickly went own though as she realized that Vaude was laughing at her questions. She didn't mean to sound so odd, she was just curious about things and didn't want to cause trouble. "I'm sorry." Saki mumbles quietly as she heard the slight annoyance in Vaude's voice. Her tail tucking down a little as she looked away from the male.

Maybe she shouldn't ask him anymore questions for a while. The heat might be getting to him or something. An that's what she planned to do, til she looked forward again and saw that the older male had slowed down a tad bit. That action alone, cause the young female to regain her confidence. Saki sped up her pace into a slow prance as she caught up to the dark furred male. Her tail wagging ever so slightly as she walked next to him. Surprisingly, she didn't flinch as the make pressed against her. She was actualy quite happy for the small comfort that the male was providing her.

Today was actually a surprising day. It was the first that she wasn't completely nervous around Vaude. She felt like she was starting to really trust him. Of course she knew that she shouldn't, but she couldn't help it. He was there, he was someone she felt that she could lean on. Her head lifted, and she looked at Vaude curiously as he spoke to her. A small nod of her head was a signal of her agreement. "Okay~" She said as she slowed her own pace and looked around the area that they were in.

The light purple eyed female looked around the area, trying to figure out where she should start. There wasn't much left to look at. Slowly, she moved over towards where a few large rocks seemed out of place. Saki sniffed the are and then started to gently move away the loose dirt. Under the loose dirt she was surprised to find a animal pelt that seemed to have been decorated. "Pretty." Saki mumbled to herself before she pulled the small pelt out of the dirt. Then she carried it as she started to look around some more.

The young female slowly walked around the area. Looking for anything else that would seem interesting to her or Vaude. Her light purple eyes looked around, trying to find something that seemed interesting.

It wasn't til she was circling back towards Vaude that Saki paused in her step and looked up at a nearby bolder. Her eyes staring curiously as she saw strange symbols and pictures drawn on it. "I wonder what it means." She muttered through the pelt in her mouth.

[Vaudeville]

It's a disappointment, honestly. How's he supposed to throw together a traveling salesman shtick with one pathetic pelt and some plants he can't even pitch the purpose of? Vaudeville snarls slightly, kicks a cracked piece of pottery over, and trots over to meet the female hellhound. Through teeth holding cloth together, he says, "Unless it's a map to the treasury, I don't care."

He wraps around the boulder, serpentine, dusts the ground with a paw. Frowns. "Suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Place is a shithole." Narrowed purple eyes scan the horizon, and he mumbles, "Gotta have some kind of food stores..."

From his place opposite the rock, Vaudeville sees them first, ragged tail whipping out behind him with a crack to boot. He sets the bundle down, hackles creeping up his spine in waves, smile cutting his maw. "Kill first, scavenge later!" Laughter, in the distance: trio of hyena giggles. The hellhound rushes to meet them with clacking teeth and cracking joints, impromptu stretches made in preparation for a fight. "Remember what I said, sweetheart!"

If she joins him in the fray, or cowers behind, it's all the same, just so long as she doesn't get bitten.

[Saki]

Hearing Vaude's voice Saki's ears perked up and she turned her gave from the drawing towards the male as he approached her. Her eyes instantly going towards what he was carrying, as it seemed that he was having more luck with finding things then she had been. Then again, she felt really bad about looking through people's things, even thought they weren't there anymore.

"What if it's meant as a-" Saki stopped herself mid sentence as she looked around the bolder that Vaude was circling and gulped. Her eyes widening slightly as she watched the three hyena's coming towards them at a fast speed.

Her ears fall back against her head in fear as she glanced towards Vaude. Fear swallowing her up inside as she watched the older male run off towards the group of laughing creeps. What was she going to do? She's never actually lifted a paw to anything other then prey before, never towards another creature that had sharp teeth like she does. But, Vaude. He ran towards them without hesitation.

Bright purple eyes shift towards the male and then back towards the trio that were coming towards them. A feeling of anxiousness was swallowing her up as she felt worry starting to swallow her up. Her legs twitched in anticipation of her action. Should she run or flee? Should she help Vaude or just watch in the background like a helpless pup that she once was? 
No, she was an adult now. She should be able to handle things like this. Vaude is going to need some help. Rather or not she was able to do much is still uncertain, but she wanted to at least try. Try and protect the male who she was starting to feel close to.

Feeling like she was going to constantly go back and forth with herself, Saki just commanded her limbs to move before she could think otherwise. 
The small female ran towards the three creatures that were coming towards the two hellbeasts. Her lips pulled back to show her large fangs off before they all clashed together. 

Saki, snapped at one of the beasts once she was close enough. Only for it to laugh as it pulled away from her. The sound causing the hair on the back of her neck to raise. She was slowly starting to get aggitated, which was a rare trait for her to possess. Slowly, she started to circle the hyena that she was locked onto. Both baring fangs and trying to snap at each other, Saki, having to make sure that her extended tail was held away from the thing so that it didn't make for an easy target. Then, when it seemed to glance towards her tail, Saki took the chance and lunged towards it's neck.

A loud yelp erupted from it as it tried to escape from the young females grasp. Saki made sure to hold on though, pulling in the opposite direction then the hyena. Successfully tearing it's throat open and cutting it's airway to peaces. The poor hyena's blood, pooling down into Saki's beautiful white chest fur.

[Vaudeville]

The hyenas laugh, and Vaudeville cackles in kind. He doesn't get nearly enough violence, scaring off any contenders before a battle can really begin. Good thing, too, because he's not nearly so formidable as his threats may suggest.

He snaps for a hyena, that skitters back, and turns his attention quickly to another. He's barking it back when the third goes to flank him-- but Saki, sweet, delectable Saki has it by the neck. Two on one, then. He can work with that. The hellhound darts between the pair, splitting their formation, snarls at one, then twists around to scruff the other.

Something snaps, but it's impossible to tell whether that's the snap of vertebrae, or the crack of his own bones locking in to place. Vaudeville is too busy mauling one to fend off the second lunging at his shoulder. One paw slides the dead hyena out of the way, and in the same movement he rears back, throws his head back, and impales the creature on his horns.

In the end, they are a mess of ruffled fur, piss and spit and blood, tangled up in limbs at angles they should not go.

Vaudeville snaps his head back to the front, rolls his shoulders until the sockets don't sound serrated, and drags a hyena by the broken neck to their pile of loot.

His grin is glistening, and voice rough as he announces, "Dinner!"