Orenda licked her lips and fixed her new prey with a malicious grin, large ears folded back against her head. It had been a long time since she had found some source of entertainment and so far, this one had done quite well. For that, the hyena supposed she could grant the creature an extra few moments of healthy life before she was mauled and lost forever.
If one had bothered to wonder, they might ask themselves why Orenda would do this. Why would she attack and taunt and hurt others who could never bring any harm upon her? Maybe there was a reason. Maybe there wasn't. But the fact of the matter was that Orenda would not answer the question even if it was worded to her simply. If she had reasons, she kept them close, and she was not about to share any of her secrets with a creature not even fit to walk this land. A pitiful, scared creature that should have died long ago. So jumpy and timid that she was almost inviting this sort of cruel attention.
She stretched leisurely and, curling her lips up to lay bare her rows of sharp teeth, she approached with a confident swagger. "You are fortunate that you have caught me in a good mood today, bright-thing." She growled softly and reached a paw to hook beneath her prey's chin, jerking its head up.
Piercing green eyes met those gold, feline ones.
"If I had been in a bad mood, you would have been dead already. How you survived this long in the unclaimed lands, I do not know. First rule every feline should learn: never steal a hyena's meal. We are...rather protective of the things we manage to scavenge for ourselves." Orenda's eyes snapped up to where her jackal companion was half-hidden by rocks and golden tufts of grass - waiting for her sign. He knew first-hand what happened to those who took Orenda's share. He'd tried it once. He hadn't tried again. Orenda fancied that he harboured the bitterness of that in his heart. She waited for the day he would turn on her in her sleep. Waited for the day that she would end his wretched life. But, ah, he was a useful follower whilst she retained his loyalty.
Her eyes returned to the red-furred face trembling before her. "What's wrong, feline? Forgotten words?"
"I-I-I, please. Please don't--don't hurt me." The feline shuddered, drawing back in fear. She was not a lion, but a leopard; a little thing all red and white fur. Her bright eyes had darkened with the fear of being threatened and she'd hunched herself up to appear small and non-threatening as if her submissive posture would save her.
Perhaps it would. It had worked in the past.
"I-I didn't know the food was yours."
Orenda gave a bark of laughter and raised her voice."You hear that, Saren? She didn't know it was mine." Her laugh increased and then, quite suddenly it went silent. "Was my scent not heavy in the air? The ground not recently stirred by my paws?" In truth it had been at least half a day since she had dragged that carcass into the undergrowth. Perhaps the leopard had been watching all that time; waiting for her chance. Either way, Orenda had not been far away and the sound of the little food-thief had angered her more than it probably should have.
Saren's laugh was short but equally as amused.
The leopard shivered with fright and attempted to lower her head. Orenda's paw kept it up, her eyes fixed firmly on the other's. "Listen, I'm a reasonable hyena. I can be sporting." She gave the leopard a shove and forced her to turn the other way before moving to sit back on her haunches at her side. "Listen up, because I'm only going to say this once. You make it to that ridge there. See it?"
The leopard nodded wordlessly.
"Well, make it to the ridge and you can have your wretched life. But, if you're too slow, or your legs shake too much to work properly, then you'll find my teeth in your back and you won't be running again." She growled. "Ever again. Do we have an understanding?"
"Please, no. Please don't hurt me."
Orenda's patience was wearing thin. "You play the game or you do not play the game. It's your choice, but if you choose not to, you will die here." In the corner of her eye she saw the jackal crouch down in preparation for the hunt. The desire to chase and kill rose in her chest and her mouth watered in anticipation.
The leopard rose obediently onto all fours, her legs quivering so badly that Orenda wondered whether she'd even make it past Saren before they brought her down. "I'll give you a head start, of course. Five seconds before I come chasing. How does that sound?"
"Please..."
Orenda rose onto her paws and, arching a brow, watched the leopard without another word. There would be no countdown, no 'go' called out to start this little game. After a moment the leopard seemed to understand this. Seemed to understand that this was not a joke and that if she should fail, she would die. Her golden eyes swam and the hyena fancied she could see the beat of the leopard's heart through her fur.
And then the leopard was off, her long tail trailing behind her as she went. She passed Saren by and took off across the flat, sparse grounds.
"Four." Orenda blinked towards the jackal. "Five."
And with a snarl the jackal took off, leading the way as they chased down their prey. Within moments it was clear that the leopard would never make it. The jackal was deadly and swift on his paws and, in seconds he was running wide, attempting to cut in front of the leopard and drive her backwards. The little feline seemed to realise this and, with a shriek of horror, put on an extra burst of speed. An impressive speed, Orenda had to agree. She was not a particularly swift runner herself and it was likely that, without Saren there, the leopard would have actually made it to that ridge.
Unfortunately, Orenda never did play fair.
Saren's involvement meant that the feline was doomed from the start and she watched as the lithe jackal sprang for the leopard. He slammed into her shoulders, his teeth finding the back of her neck as they rolled across the ground in a flail of limbs. Even Orenda winced to see the jackal momentarily crushed beneath the leopard. But he hung on and the squealing of their prey reached frantic heights as she realised she wouldn't be getting free. The scent of blood filled the air and Orenda closed the gap between them.
And then the interruption...
A lioness roared and for a moment, the fighting seemed to pause as if waiting for this ominous sign to pass them by.
Unfortunately for Saren and Orenda, this sign was not just going to pass by. The voice belonged to a fully grown lioness of the Jini'msemi. Her name was Endesha and if there was one thing that angered her, it was the meaningless cruelty of others.
The moment she saw what was going on, there was no one in the world who could have stopped her from intervening. She could smell the blood and fear of that leopard and could sense the excited anticipation of those dogs hunting her down.
It had to be stopped.
Charging forwards with the heat of anger running through her veins, she leapt into the fray without a second's thought. The results of her actions, however, were mixed. The jackal - seeing the lioness coming for him - immediately released his hold on the feline. But, instead of backing away as Endesha thought he would, he lunged for her instead and the two clashed mid-air. It turned out to be a bold but stupid move. The jackal had strong jaws, but travelling at her velocity, Endesha's weight easily overpowered him. And, though her face burned where his teeth had caught her, he quickly found himself pinned to the ground.
A quick glance to the side confirmed that the leopard had been badly injured and was struggling to get up. A glance to her other side confirmed that the hyena was not about to back down.
The sandy-pelted canine was circling closer, growling and snarling. "You felines, always looking to cause trouble. Would you have attacked us if it were an antelope we were bringing down?"
"A leopard is not a prey-beast."
"Likely you would have. You'd have waited for your chance and stolen it from us. What will you do now, little lioness? Would you really throw your life away for that pitiful excuse of a life?"
Endesha frowned. "Yes. Everyone deserves a chance to be saved. Even you."
