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Post by Amari <3 on Jan 6, 2021 4:07:01 GMT
Ever since the other night at the Elephant Graveyard her mood had drastically improved. She had even managed to spend some quality time with her mother without fighting. Needless to say she was flying high this late afternoon. Amari had finished her hunting lesson for the day, and had been dismissed to do whatever she wanted. For once instead of heading to her old haunt, she decided to visit the flat ridge rock. It was a perfect spot. The Pride lands met the Outlands and the differences between the two are quite obvious. With it being late afternoon the rock would be nice and toasty, perfect for her to take a much needed cat nap. Quietly, she walked across the warm rock smelling the various scents that lingered in that particular place. She even smelled Simba, he must have been here recently. Finding herself a nice little spot she lay herself down.
The rock was a delight, and a pleasured groan escaped her mouth. It made her muscles relax, and her good mood seemed to get even better. Nuzzling her cheek into the hard surface she flexed her claws lightly scratching at the rock beneath her. Amari looked out into her surroundings, just letting time tick on by. Her nose wrinkled slightly as she watched the bushes near her shaking. After a few moments she saw a leopard leave the bushes, looking all business. Her curious nature got the better of her and she raised her head to watch the other feline more keenly.
It would seem that they were hunting, this would be a good lesson for her to watch. She wiggled closer to the edge of the boulder, and watched the scene unfold. A good distance away from the stalking leopard was a herd of gazelle. Those small antelope's seemed very oblivious to the approaching danger. Time seemed to stop as the leopard tried to find a suitable hiding spot. Amari felt her own heart begin to pound, her muscles tensing up. It was very exciting seeing this happening.
The strike came at random, and it was over so fast she barely caught sight of it. Her ears twitched as a gazelle's death cry rang out. It was over. Amari was happy that the leopard managed to find food. She on the other paw was so excited just seeing it happen. Her sharp claws continued to dig into the rock.
What could possibly make her day any better? |
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Post by semperferus on Jan 7, 2021 0:37:53 GMT
Ma’at had been stalking this gazelle herd for what felt like ages. Her muscles were starting to cramp from keeping low to her belly with her paws underneath her frame, but the wind kept shifting and she had to keep readjusting her position. It also didn’t help that the prey seemed flighty today, constantly throwing their heads up and scanning the surroundings for signs of a threat. Every so often they would move about warily as if they were preparing to flee at the slightest shift of earth under her paws but after a moment they appeared to calm down and return to grazing.
While she wasn’t stark white like the plumage of an ibis, the pale lioness always hated how her creamy pelt made her stick out like a sore claw. She hadn’t faired much better in the golden desert sands, but at least here there was more foliage cover to hide within. It also helped that the straw color of her bushy mane made her blend a bit more in the grasses when they yellowed in the changing season, so even when the breeze caught it the motion of her fur billowing matched with the waving of the stalks that surrounded her.
She had set her eyes on a young, spindly legged gazelle that lacked the experience of her peers to pay attention to her surroundings. She had continued to wander further from the group in search of the lusher portions of grass, greedily prioritizing the taste of the tender roots over the security of the herd that protected her life. The meal she would provide the pride would be worth the patience Ma’at was trying to hold onto, waiting until the moment was right for her to strike.
‘Just a little further…’ She thought silently. There was still too much open space between her and her quarry for her to pounce yet. Her body was built for power, not grace, and was too large to hold the speed and agility required to match up with the most graceful of the antelope species. It would require taking it by surprise with one quick burst of speed and knocking it off balance before it could get its legs underneath it. She let her ears swivel forward just a hair in anticipation as she held her breath.
Suddenly, the cluster of grazing undulates scattered, the ground rumbling with their thunderous pronking to warn the group of danger as they fled. Bewildered, she dared to lift her head up from where she was poised and her green eyes swept the patch of grasses in front of her to find out what had disturbed them. As the herd thinned out in their retreat her eyes spotted the leopard, holding his catch triumphantly in his jaws. He was heading the opposite direction with a confident swagger to his gait, no doubt seeking out a tree to drag the kill up into its branches for safekeeping.
Ma’at scowled, her lips drawing back from her teeth in frustration. Now she just felt stiff from sitting in the dirt for far too long and didn’t even have anything to show for it. Shaking her head, she crossed the open terrain that she had been overlooking without any further concern of being sighted by the herds at this point. Now that blood had been spilled here, it was unlikely they would return any time soon and would likely move on to a new grazing place for the time being.
Catching a familiar scent on the breeze, she followed the direction it came from and saw Amari lounging on a rock warmed by the sun. She seemed much more peaceful than their last encounter and for that she was glad. It was good to see she was capable of keeping her spirits up, in spite of the grief and torment that had plagued her. The young lioness actually looked to have been downright enraptured by watching the excitement that just took place, a stark contrast to how she felt about the outcome for herself. Striding in her direction, she flicked her tail in greeting and gave her a friendly nod, “Amari. You look well.” She glanced over her shoulder in the direction the leopard had moved off in, her ear twitching, "Some of us appear have more luck than others, today."
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Post by Nyongeza on Jan 7, 2021 6:26:05 GMT
The maned lioness' timing could not have been more poetic. Just as she reached the rock on which the silver lioness lounged, there was a sudden bellowing noise, not quite a roar but close, a deep throaty growl of sorts that was usually used as a way to find other pridemembers not in sight. It rolled across the ground like thunder, shivering the very stone on which the leopard walked and, experienced and well versed in the food chain here in the savannah, the spotted cat froze instantly. Wide eyes scanned the grasses somewhat wildly, looking left and right frantically trying to discern where the noise had come from, but just as it had abruptly sounded, it had abruptly end, and for a tense moment that seemed to drag on forever, the hunter waited, still eying every bush and every stalk of grass. They were so focused on listening for the sound again that they forgot how important it was to use all senses at all times, not just sound and not just sight, but the very earth beneath their feet. Had they been expecting it, the thundering footsteps would've been obvious. But so disorientated by the roar, the leopard had no time to react.
In a flash of rusted fur, the spotted cat was body slammed by what looked like a pickup truck. The shock of the attack caused the hunter to gasp as the wind was knocked out of them with the force of a god damned rock slide or something, the leopard was absolutely stunned into silence. The corpse in its maw was dropped immediately as the leopard was sent tumbling by the attack. The gazelle's body fell but never touched the ground. Swift as the wind, the massive lioness caught the body in her jaws, holding it up as she glared with hard eyes at the slowly recovering leopard. The hunter did not say anything, they took one moment, one long look at the absolute monster of a lioness before them and immediately started to slink away, low to the ground, tail tucked between their legs. They laughed nervously and left with a cordial 'I'll leave you to your lunch then...' and with a nod of agreement from the lioness, the spotted cat departed as quickly as its legs would carry them.
Nya watched the animal disappear into a nearby stand of trees with a coldness that did not match the warm sunshine. She held it for a moment, making sure that the leopard was good and gone before turning slowly, padding softly back toward the popular sun spot of the broken rock outcrop. She had not been following Amari for once, instead Nya was just hungry and was looking for an easy meal. The sun was high and hot, this was no time to be running around chasing gazelle, a lioness could easily overheat for doing that. So scavenging seemed to be the best option. She'd found a rancid warthog on her way out of the Pridelands, somewhat hopeful that the victim would be one of Simba's annoying cohorts, Pugsley or whatever his name was, it certainly smelled bad enough to be him. But it wasn't, and the corpse was so... unsatisfying in the way that it was rotting, not even the buzzards wanted it. So she'd moved on, simply looking for some way to easily get some food. Spotting Amari on the rocks had literally been an accident. For a crucial moment, the beautiful young lioness distracted her and she thought she'd missed her chance to nab a kill from someone else, well aware of the large gazelle herd nearby. But it turned out that her timing was not as bad as it had initially seemed and after leaving the leopard with some broken ribs, she finally not only had something to eat but also someone to share it with.
She padded over to the object of her deepest affections, at first not noticing the third lioness approaching from the other side of the rock. But as Nya jumped up onto the stone, she noticed the other female's head and ears just barely peeking out over the edge of the rock formation. She did not roll her eyes but she wanted to. It seemed like she and Amari could never have a minute to themselves, someone always seemed to be following her and it was annoying, even a bit triggering for the larger lioness. For all of her physical bulk and brazen attitude, Nya was actually super insecure so they really needed to have a talk about... well...
Clearing her throat to draw attention, the massive lioness dropped the gazelle at her feet next to Amari. Though she took a sec to fire a glare at the maned lioness, she did remember her from the cave in the Elephant Graveyard and thus seemed to relax. She took a moment to step over the gazelle and give the lovely silver lioness a good cheek rub and a huffing 'hello' chuff.
"I... uh..." She blinked, wondering if she had overstepped and immediately backing out of Amari's space sheepishly. It interrupted her thought process so it took a moment for that tough and serious exterior that she had built around herself to regain its strength. Suddenly, she was a cub in front of her first crush, a little timid, looking down at her paws as she shifted her weight a little nervously. "I brought lunch..."
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Post by Amari <3 on Jan 8, 2021 4:06:55 GMT
Amari hadn't really expected company, but it was always welcome. Her green eyes seemed to twinkle with amusement as the pale lioness appeared. It would also seem that Ma'at was trying to hunt those gazelle as well. Unfortunately, it would also seem that she had no luck this day for a meal. The leopard had won his prize and disappeared through the thick foliage. Glancing back down she noticed how empty the small plain was now, surely more grazers will eventually show up again. This place never seemed to stay empty for very long, at least now that the drought was gone. "I'm sure you'll get another chance here shortly, the herds don't stay away for very long." She tried to reassure the shaman, at least to try and ease any aggravation the other lioness felt. The frustration of failure was something she was very used to, having grown up in a drought. Many times the pride had come home with nothing to give to the cubs, so many died it was awful. At least this particular moment in time wouldn't lead to Ma'at's untimely death.
With a soft grunt the silver toned lioness rolled onto her paws to sit up. As she glanced at the other pride member she heard some noise from down below. Leaning over the edge of the rock she watched as a large lioness seemingly came out of nowhere and slammed the leopard to the ground. A gasp escaped her as she watched how quickly it happened, how the gazelle was taken and the spotted cat ran screaming for the hills. It took her a moment to realize who the large feline was. It was Nya! Amari felt a genuine smile cross her face as she watched her friend slowly approaching the rocks.
She sensed the hostility from her friend for a moment as she noticed Ma'at. However it seemed to be short lived and things returned to a comfortable normal. Amari eyed the gazelle that was hanging limply in Nya's jaws before it was dumped onto the rocky surface. She was even more pleased when her friend walked over to her and greeted her with affection. A soft purr rumbled in her chest as she returned the affection with a openness that may make other's blush. The moment seemed to be over far to soon, and she almost seemed to pout when the larger female moved away.
Lunch? Honestly she hadn't been expecting to eat much that day but she'd never turn down a snack. Her gaze fell onto Ma'at. "Well come eat some lunch, there's more then enough for us to have a quick bite." Amari would notfeel right eating and not inviting the maned lioness to eat some as well. "You're such a risk taker Nya, going after a leopard like that. My hunting instructors never speak of stealing a kill. It's not noble or whatever. Honestly, that mentality sounds spoiled to me.."
Amari moved to tuck in to the kill, licking her lips in anticipation. "So what are you both up to today? It's been quiet today. Kind of boring really." She pulled some of the gazelle's hair off with little nips of her teeth, not wanting to swallow to much of it. Within a few pulls she had her first decent mouth full which tasted like heaven. The first bite always did. It was something she had always enjoyed while growing up. The first bite was good as was the very last bite.
Licking the blood from her mouth she looked at the other two lionesses. Wondering exactly what the day was going to bring them. |
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Post by semperferus on Jan 15, 2021 1:55:35 GMT
Ma'at's ears twitched in sympathy for the leopard as she watched him limp off towards the trees after losing his kill. She may have been irritate how he had gotten the jump on the prey before her, but that didn't mean the spotted cat deserved to go hungry. He had no doubt been waiting as patiently for his opportunity at picking a gazelle off from the herd as she had been, baking in the rising sun with the biting flies until the moment was right. At least if she was going to walk away from the hunt with an empty stomach it was better than nursing some busted ribs or worse from catching the bad side of the massive lioness that beat him away from his kill.
Amari mentioned how it was taught by the senior huntresses that it wasn't honorable to steal prey when Nya brought the offering to her friend. The blond maned lioness had to agree with the ideals for the most part, even if the younger lionesses didn't find the merit in the teachings. She had fought over a kill a time or two when she travelled alone, not having the aid of a hunting party to bring down larger prey, and not as much as grass as this land had to sneak up on it. When you're starving, you can't think of morals. But this wasn't the case here. There was more than enough prey to go around and as frustrated as she had been to miss her mark there would be more opportunities. As for the leopard, the stiffness in his gait suggested that his next chance might have more challenge in play. In the interest of putting forth a show of good will by the pride, she considered offering a portion of the meat to the leopard. But when she looked again the other feline had disappeared into the thickets, making himself scarce less he suffer more damage.
Instead, she nodded her head in a show of appreciation for the offer of the meal, "Thank you, but I'm not hungry." Taking the food out of the mouth of the predator who caught it didn't sit well with her, but her principles weren't worth offending Nya by expressing why. Besides, she had a feeling that considering the hard stare she got from the large lioness that she didn't intend plan on having a lunch for three. "You two eat your fill. If there's any left over I'll help take it back to the pride so it doesn't fall waste to the scavengers. I'm sure the cubs wouldn't object."
The pale lioness found a spot in the shade to lay down in to escape the heat, giving the two their space but within a distance that allowed them to carry on in conversation. It felt good to let her muscles relax after keeping them tight for so long when she was parked out in the grass. "Well... You saw my plans for the day get disrupted. I suppose I could go make sure the supplies are stocked at Rafiki's tree... though I imagine the younger shamans in training have taken care of that. Bakari has been bugging me for a hunting lesson..." The young cub was a persistent when it came to finding excuses to follow her around and spend time with her. He had imprinted on her in some fashion when she picked him up all alone on open territory. When she brought him with her she had hoped that one of the lionesses of the pride would take him in, but he seemed insistent on sticking by her whenever possible despite her attempts to create distance.
While she spoke, she observed the other two lionesses in her company. They seemed very different in that Amari was very passionate, emotional, and open with those around here whereas Nya was much more rough, closed off and hardened, only really speaking when she had to. Except when Amari seemed to be in the picture. Their closeness was evident by the way that one was often seen around the other, and the way the other maned lioness seemed to take on an almost warmth about her where Amari was concerned. She treated her with a respect and compassion she showed no others. Chuffing under her breath, Ma'at paid special attention to their reactions as she said, "Sorry, I always seem to present myself as a third wheel when you two want to spend time together."
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Post by Nyongeza on Jan 16, 2021 22:34:06 GMT
The massive lioness shrank a little bit when Amari sounded somewhat... not annoyed but cautious, calling out the larger lioness for her reckless behavior. She shrugged haphazardly, a doofy expression on her face, the kind of cluelessness usually reserved to stupid males. But even she sometimes had her moments where her lack of fear, lack of consideration for her own health and safety, got in the way of some things. Many times, she'd stolen kills from other animals, even large hyena clans and, like her most recent victim, large leopards. She knew to some degree that such a habit was going to get her hurt one day, but as her shrug clearly communicated, she was not worried about that kind of thing. Worrying did not change the future so... she tried her best not to.
"Yeah..." She used a forepaw to rub her head sheepishly, tossing her hair about before smoothing it down again. This wasn't the first time she'd been called out on her recklessness. "I get that a lot."
Sitting back on her haunches, the reddish female gave the horizon a quick scan, as one did when they had fresh meat. Though one leopard was not a threat to the three of them, or even just one, if Nya's display of strength had clearly shown, they could easily take down a small group of scavengers. But hyena clans could have 50 members or more sometimes so she was keen and alert, eying the far savannah wearily before looking back to her companions. Though she did level the maned lioness with some disdain, it was really pretty mild as far as her harsh gazes went and she softened up as Amari seemed to be interested in her take on things.
Some part of Nya had felt bad for judging the pale lioness so much, from the first moment they had met, she'd been a bit of an asshole. But if Amari liked her then Nya knew she had to just deal with it. So, with one last side eye, she dipped her head and tore into the fresh meat of the gazelle's thick and tender hind legs, tearing the fur away with a few licks from her rough tongue. She deliberately dumped her attention into the carcass, trying to give Amari the time and space to talk to the other lioness, knowing that the two were on good terms, friends even. Nya had never really known friendship of any sort before Amari and it was a valuable thing in her mind, precious and fragile, she worried daily about messing it up for her and her silver furred princess. But in this moment she realized that Ma'at was someone Amari called "friend" so, Nya let them chat, tried her best to not be too rude or too... prickly. Even though Ma'at was right, she always seemed to arrive just before Nya did and was becoming a pretty consistent third wheel. But it was clearly unintentional so it was difficult for the larger lioness to really hold it against her. Who knows, maybe the Circle of Life was doing it on purpose, one could never be sure.
"It's too hot to really do much of anything right now." The ruddy lioness started, her words a little muffled as she talked around a mouth full of food like some kind of manner-less barbarian. But she did pause to finish her strip of meat, swallowing and licking her whiskers with her tongue before continuing. "Just thought I'd find myself a snack and a place to nap. The company is just a happy coincidence."
There was a pause as Nya used her forepaws and dark claws to tear more of the gazelle apart to expose some of the more tender slices of meat. She could've eaten the entire kill herself in this manner, seeming almost desperate to get as much meat in her belly as possible. But she had only been in the Pridelands for a little while, she was still getting used to the fact that food didn't need to be fought over here, there was plenty for everyone. Suddenly, her ears perked and she looked over at Ma'at with narrowed eyes.
"Oh so you're the one taking care of that little cub." She said, remembering a few times when she and the little brown cub had crossed paths. At one point he had even attempted to play with her, jumping on her back and fussing around with her ears. But all she needed to do was growl a little bit and the cub jumped down and scurried away. He seemed like a handful for whomever was in charge of him. Apparently, that job had fallen on Ma'at. "He's uh.... an annoying little shitlord nice, I guess. Glad someone is looking after him."
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