A chubby brown ratel dragged his newest trophy against the earth as he hummed himself a merry tune. There was no doubt that his “daughter” would appreciate this meal, and it would help her return her strength for sure. He felt bad for slaughtering a baby gazelle, barely even a few weeks old, but he apologized to the mother and explained that his daughter is more important than hers. Of course, it was not at all very helpful for the poor family who is now suffering from a loss at his paws... But that’s okay. The grin he’d soon see on Kori’s face would make everything worth while.
Hoco had always wanted a daughter of his own. Well, any children really, but most importantly a little girl to call his own. It did not matter that she was an adult, or that she was not even a ratel like himself... she just needed his help, and he was willing to give it. He would raise her, though she had already been raised, it appeared. Hoco sighed. He could not have children... but at least he was not alone anymore.
Hoco left a trail of blood glittering in the dirt as he wobbled, getting closer and closer to the lioness’ resting place. He was not usually a predator like this. He was not partial to the flavour of any meat or blood or flesh. He much preferred berries and leaves, and of course... honey. The food of his species’ namesake. The thought of the sweet golden liquid made the badger drool. Hopefully Kori didn’t mind a meal that was a little... moist!
Finally the badger arrived, dropping the fresh carcass beside his adoptive spawn with the proudest grin a badger could possible wear. “I hope you like young gazelle.” He said, a bit of a gooey mixture of blood and saliva hanging in ropes from his maw.
Kori did not have time to respond before she found herself forehead deep in the meal her adoptive father and provided him. She did not realize she was just that desperate for food. Once she had a good couple of gulp fulls of food, she lifted her head to thank the badger properly. Strings of flesh and tendon dangled from her chin, her pure white fur completely stained with black blood. It was not a sight for a god, that’s for sure, but Kori was oblivious. “Thank you, Hoco. I appreciate it...” Her eyes softened as she gazed upon the chubby little badger with fondness in her eyes. This was a new emotion for her. Without taking the time to identify it, Kori continued to gorge herself on the fresh corpse before the vultures came and decided to take it away from her for themselves. Hoco watched the bloody scene with a bit of amusement and even more relief. She was eating well, and assuming she could keep it all down, she was going to make a fantastic recovery. “You’re welcome my dear little miss.” He said, chuckling as he took a seat at a safe distance from the lioness. He knew just how violent the felines could get during a blood frenzy, and he did not want to be accidentally next up on her menu. Instead he sat quietly in the corner of their little “room” made up of boulders and tree trunks and nibbled some dry shrubs. Later today he’d find himself a nice, juicy beehive to slurp up.
“So, how are you feeling, little missy?” Hoco asked, waiting until she looked as if she was nearly done picking the corpse apart.
“Better...” She said honestly between bites. She has more energy now than she had since she first became a mortal. “However, I feel a bit bloated...” The lioness mused at this before shrugging it off and crushing some bloody bones in her maw.
“Well, it’s probably because you ate so fast!” Hoco said, waddling closer to take a better look at her underside. If she really was bloated, and it was not because of the food... it could be something serious. Hoco pressed a tiny paw against the lion’s firm belly, full to the very brim with flesh blood and meat. “Did that hurt, Kori?” He asked tenderly, eying her face for any sort of reaction.
“Nope.” She said, slurping up some more of the delicious baby gazelle stew.
“What about this, then?” Hoco pressed again, steering clear of her open wounds as the paw dug deeper into her slightly gorged belly.
“No... but it’s a bit uncomfortable now.” Kori gave the brown badger a brief warning glare as blood and strings of flesh flung from her lips.
“I’m sorry little missy, I’ll stop that now... But I do wish to check again later."
Hoco took the hint and wobbled away from the lioness, settling once again among his dry shrubbery. “I don’t think it’s anything serious.” He explained, though he had always been such a horrible liar. Hoco only hoped it was nothing serious.
Kori was rather oblivious about her fragile her “new” mortal body was. This concerned Hoco more than anything else. Her mental state was still very poor, and whatever happened to her... it damaged her brain for the rest of her life. Hoco sighed, wondering what in the world could have happened to her. It must have been a malicious attack from an equally malicious beast. But what could have possibly provoked the attack? Kori appeared to be a very nice little feline, as far as he could tell. But there’s no way to decipher what her personality was like before the attack. And if she was a vicious monster in her previous life, what would happen if she recovered? What would happen if she remembered who she was and ditched Hoco, leaving him all alone once again? The brown ratel frowned at the thought. He wanted the best for his new daughter... but he had no idea what “the best” actually was.
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