Majani was not a happy water buck. Prey beasts seldom lived a life of peace, but recently her life had been so calm that she had fallen out of her habits of being watchful for danger, especially from hunting predators. That had been a mistake, and one she had very nearly paid for with her life. A lioness had stalked her, and nearly caught her. She had escaped though, and had been reminded that being constantly on high alert was a good thing. Now she was grazing, but her ears still swiveled and twisted for any sound. And she found one. She jerked her head up and looked with eyes wide and frightful. Another lion...
The lion was another female, which made the water buck even more nervous. Males rarely hunted unless they were alone or starving, and even then they tended to be unskilled. Females were true hunters; they were patient, strong, and masters of stalking... speaking of stalking, it took a few more tense moments for Majani to realize this one was not. She was out in the relative open (and easy to spot to boot with that blue fur!) and smiling. It had to be a trap.
She thought to bolt, but the lioness seemed genuinely uninterested, in an even friendly way. Surely it was a trap. Why was she still standing here?
The lioness smiled again and stepped into some nearby shade, she she sat, and then lay down. The small water buck and the lioness watched each other for what felt like hours, but must have been mere minutes, or seconds. Finally the tension seemed to lift, and Majani bent once more to eating. Still her ears swiveled. There could be an ambush if the lioness was indeed a decoy, or she could decide that she herself had a hunger for water buck.
But for al Majani's wariness and continual readiness to bolt, the time for it never came. The lioness remained under the tree; she seemed unharried and to be almost totally uninterested in the water buck, though she continued to occasionally watch her as she grazed in silence. Soon enough she found her appetite had been sated, and wit h a last wary look at the lioness, she turned to leap away.
Suddenly the world seemed to explode around poor Majani. Something had launched itself into the tall grass! Something was chasing her, HUNTING her! She squealed, feeling something nearly strike her flank, then bolted. There was a heavy thud of bodies colliding, and she squirmed, kicking up dirt and grass as she scrambled away. the sounds were terrified, and through the haze of fear she realized the screams were not coming form herself; nor was anything pursuing her anymore.
She risked glancing back, though she continued fleeing. It was the lioness. The lioness and a leopard, grappling and snarling and clawing at each other. She watched from a distance with wide eyes and heaving sides. The scuffle did not last long. Apparently the leopard didn't care to fight, and it slunk off looking battered. The lioness, sporting a few gashes for her trouble, watched him go and then turned. Her searching eyes lit on the trembling water buck, and she smiled as she took a step her way. "Are you alright?" She called out. "I'm sorry if I made you nervous! He's been stalking you since I arrived. He'd just killed though, and he didn't need another, so...I thought I would watch out for you. He held off a while, but then I looked away. Are you hurt? He didn't get you did he?"
Huh, what? Since when did lions care what got hunted? She'd never heard of a lion leaping to the defense of any prey animal. She was still half panicked from the attack as well; she licked her lips and mumbled a swift thank you. She still wanted to bolt, to get away from the area, and thankfully the lioness seemed to catch on. "You look shaken up, but alright from here. Can you run? If you can, you should. He might com back, and you'd be safer gone or in hiding."
Majani licked her lips again, nodded, and dashed away, leaping over the long grass as fast as her legs would take her. Two days in a row she'd had to run away. What had happened to turn her peaceful life into this continual war for survival? Perhaps she'd simply always been sheltered, or maybe this was karma getting her back for her previously easy going life. She didn't care, she just wanted peace again.
The lioness watched her go and then sat back on her haunches. Blood spotted her fur and face. Some was hers, most wasn't though. Gingerly she began to groom herself. Her wounds were fewer than the leopard's would be, and though they hurt she understood they would heal just fine. The leopard had been focused on the water buck, not herself, and the attack had surprised him. Thank goodness too. In a real fight she might not have come away so easily.
She looked after the long vanished doe once more, then got to her feet and trotted after her. She doubted the leopard would return, but one never knew. It would seem silly, she knew, to continue guarding a prey beast, but she'd always had a firm sense of justice and what was right and wrong; what had to be done for survival, and what was just wasteful. And wasteful behavior, even in the rogue lands, was not something she would tolerate.
By night she had caught up with the water buck and managed to check that she was alright. The poor thing seemed afraid of her, but she'd been able to calm her. She learned her name was Majani, and gave her own name, Libra. Seeing that Libra had only been looking out for her helped calm Majani, and the lioness offered to stay with her for a while in case the leopard came back. The pair settled in well together, but neither slept. Libra was watching for the leopard, and Majani was watching Libra. Just in case.
