She’d found her.

Martirae had seen the lioness laying in the grass, staring off without a care in the world (or so she’d thought) and a frown had formed on her face. Was this really the kind of mate that the brown lion wanted over her mother?

Really?

No, she wasn’t about to allow the idea that some little thing could walk in and just steal her ‘stepfather’ away from her mother! Never! NEVER!

But it seemed her ‘hunting’ skills were rustier than she’d been expecting, as Artemis had heard her coming, lifting her head up and looking towards the dark lioness with an unphased look on her face.

“Your steps are too heavy, sweetheart.”

Oh that was it! This lioness had been making fun of her from the beginning! She really had been! Counteracting her assault from earlier and now thwarting her attempts now!

She roared, again leaping upon the indigo lioness who hissed and backed up, swiping her claws at her before Marty had landed on her, both of her paws planted firmly on Artemis’s throat, pressing down and hissing.

“If you weren’t here, My mother would be happy!”

Artemis wheezed for air, snapping at Marty’s paws and digging her claws first into the female’s legs, before reaching further for the lioness’s face. Marty just pulled her face further from the swiping paws.

Stop moving, stop moving, stop moving!

But her hind legs were suddenly knocked out from under her by the other female’s strong limbs, which in turn knocked her front limbs off balance. Artemis was quick to heave her weight off of her, before rolling over to sit her hind legs on the dark lioness’s stomach and one of her front legs on the other lioness’s throat.

Not heavily enough to strangle, though.

“And if your mother wanted him so badly, why did she have you?” Artemis hissed, pulling her own face away when she was clawed at.

“SHUT UP!”

Oh ho ho! Looked like she’d hit a fun little nerve there, hadn’t she? Artemis smirked a bit and pulled her paw away from the other lioness’s throat. “So, why do-“

OW OW OW!

Oh yes, Artemis had just gotten TEETH IN THE THROAT, hissspit! She could hear the other female hissing through her flesh while she clawed at the younger lioness’s maw and face, eventually managing to free herself, moving away and panting lightly, before hissing and throwing herself at the dark lioness.

Who threw herself right back at her.

Another rolling tango, and Artemis had ended up on top, one paw rested right over the other lioness’s eyes. She just needed one excuse to claw them out, just a twitch or anything else, but it seemed that they would instead be interrupted by something else entirely.

The call to ‘STOP!’

Both lionesses winced at the voice.

They knew it.

They both knew it.

And they both knew that now they had to pay the piper….
…