Just his luck. Kerke realized that the female wild dog he had met was indeed going the same way as him. He had hoped that when she left his view over some hills that perhaps she had changed direction, but if anything the distance he had previously set between them had shortened. After glancing over a few times stopped. The wild dog was no longer there. He waited for a moment, searching the grasses and areas that could give cover to see if she had hidden, however if she had then it was good enough to evade his gaze. Kerke turned his attention back ahead, watching a large herd in the distance graze. They had not yet spotted him and, not wanting to be seen, he crouched down. Was the dog hunting here as well? His ears swiveled back and his brow furrowed. This could end up problematic if so.
If they ended up going after the same prey beast then things could certainly get a bit messy. Even if not, if she came out before him the herd could end up running at him, or vice verse if he went out first. Kerke sighed. The whole situation just seemed a bad on, however the hunger in his stomach pushed him forward, closer to the herd. He would just have to act when the situation called for it, or simply do nothing, and the latter choice would not fill his belly.
Alnitak lay grouched in the grasses, one side hidden by a rock, the other by a bush. She had pushed herself between the two and now watched from her hiding spot as a large herd ahead of her grazed unknowingly. While not ideal to hunt alone, she was unused to having more of her pack at her side, there was really nothing she could do about it this far out. She had thus far found no other wild dogs in which to recruit, and while that had been her intention in coming out here she was not fond of the idea of waiting hours or perhaps even days for some to show up. Her mind had fallen to grabbing a quick meal, perhaps one of the little ones. Easy to catch, meal enough for her alone. After that she could retrace her steps and follow one of the old scent trails she had found earlier in the day. With that decided she left her hiding spot and moved forward, keeping herself low enough to stay hidden from the herd’s eyes.
Crouched and slinking forward, Kerke had forgotten about the wild dog. His mind was focused now on catching a meal. His gaze shifted over his options. There were quite a few babies in this group, plus some older ones that looked like they might be easier to pick off. However even they could put up a good fight. Assuming he could even get close enough to give chase he would go for whatever was closest. Easier plan than setting on one and then it disappearing in to the masses of other zebra. Close enough now to make his dash. Kerke paused, muscles tensing as he readied himself to make a run at them. With a quick push he was off, racing forward. It was a few moments before the herd were aware of him, calling out their alerts to the rest. He was close enough now though that it didn’t matter, as long as he focused. They turned and started their run, and he focused on one. An older zebra, a bit slower to react than the others. That would be his meal.
Alnitak moved quickly, low to the ground, and gained ground on them. She came to a stop a good distance away. They had not noticed her yet. Good. Golden eyes looked the herd over for prospective meals. Sure there were plenty she saw, but what could she take down by herself? Aln wasn’t going to fool herself thinking she could take down a prey that she clearly could not. However those thoughts left her mind as she came nearer to the herd, her focus turning towards readying herself for the chase. She was getting close enough now. Close enough to make her run for them. Without a second thought she took off, keeping low for a time while they didn’t notice her before quickening in to a full on run. Her eyes searched quickly as they started to run, finally focusing on an older zebra.
Kerke quickly gained ground on the old zebra, keeping pace for a few steps before jumped at the beast’s side. He held on, attempting to weigh it down, drag it over. It wasn’t as strong, he doubted it could hold it’s own weight and him at the same time for very long. He would have been right too, however he was not the only one after this meal, and the other was not willing to share.
That cheetah again! She saw him as he ran at the cheetah. Certainly a fast beast, but that meant nothing to her. He was in her way now, after her meal. Alnitak shifted direction, coming up behind Kerke and the zebra he held on to. She certainly was not going to share her meal with some cat! With a lunge she went forward, jaws clamping down on his tail as it flicked down. A yowl of pain followed as she hung on.
Pain shot up his tail and back as something clamped on to his tell. He yelled in pain, but continued to hold on to the zebra, at least for a short time. Finally the pain got to him and he let go, hitting the ground running for a couple paces before he tripped over his own legs and was sent rolling, along with the thing on his tail. After the pair came to a halt he pulled himself up, a bit wobbly and dizzy from the roll, and bruised in a few placed from falling. His tail still stung as she spun on his attacker. “What did you do that for?” He growled at the wild dog. Of course it was her.
Alnitak and the cheetah went tumbling over. When they came to a halt she extracted herself from the pile and stood, growling back at him. “Merely stopping you from taking my kill! Why are you following me cat! Trying to ruin my hunt?”
Kerke laughed. “Trying to ruin your hunt? More like you ruining mine! I was here first, dog!”
The two stood growling at each other for a time, each tensing as if waiting for the other to attack. Finally Kerke stood straight, huffing loudly. “I’m not going to just stand around having some shouting match with you. I have lost one meal, so I now have to go find another!” With that Kerke turned and trotted off, huffing lightly to himself as he went. He was not keen to stick around in the company of that wild dog.
Alnitak snorted. “You do that, cat!” She turned as well, stalking off back towards the scent trails she had found earlier.
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