Many nights had passed since her and her sister had fallen under the protection of the male Durin, and Damu had slowly come to accept that this had now become her life. It was a difficult transition, one she hadn’t been too keen on making in the first place, but now that their life had begun to settle down she felt as though she could calm her nerves. At the very least, just slightly. The female was still quite wary of strangers, uncertain if they were agents of the old pride she and her sister had escaped from, and unwilling to let her defenses down quickly. So far, Durin seemed to be trust worthy, so the ruddy pelted female tolerated his presence and even joined her sister in hunting for the hulking excuse for a lion. Okay, maybe she was being unfair to him, but Damu wasn’t exactly generous in the compliment department. She never had been, and there was no reason to start now. With a flick of her dark tail the lioness spotted the large acacia tree where her little group called ‘home’. It was such a small territory, but she supposed small was good. It meant they didn’t have to go patrolling or looking for trouble at the borders.
The lioness snorted at the thought. Trouble actually sounded good. She flexed her claws and arched her back, feeling her lean muscles stretch and warm at the action. Trouble sounded really good. Where was fatty when you needed him! Her sharp eyes scanned the area once more, and they landed on the bright golden form of her sister. Ah-ha! An impish smirk plastered itself onto her muzzle and Damu dropped to a crouch, edging her way closer to Asali before finally launching herself at her sister.
The day was warm, which meant good hunting later in the evening just as the sun was about to set. For now, the pale golden lioness was content to lay under the shade of the acacia tree, her eyes lulling shut as she thought of their life and how it had changed. They were free. They had a wonderful male to take care of them, and Asali could do all the hunting she wanted! It was a wonderful feeling, the thrill of chasing down your kill and the pride one felt at succeeding. It was her way of relieving tension and exercising said freedom, as she had not been allowed to do such a thing in their past life. The lioness snorted. It seemed like ages ago, but her hide still bore many hidden scars from their time as slaves. She would have continued to think on this, had she not caught the sound of her sister sneaking up on her. Or at least attempting to do so. Asali smirked, timed herself perfectly, and managed to roll out of the way just in time for Damu to sail right over her. ”Feeling like a scuffle, aren’t you?” she quipped; pale yellow eyes keen on her sister’s playful but tensed form. It pleased her to see Damu open up more, and Asali was not afraid of a little rough housing. She readied herself for Damu’s next assault.
Damn! She glanced back at her sister and in a very childish way stuck her tongue out before backing into another crouch. ”Definitely. Beat me and I’ll help you hunt today!” Okay, she might help her anyway, but Damu wanted to make this a competition. It was funnier that way and much more enjoyable when something was at stake. With a laugh the smaller lioness flung herself forward, rising to hind legs to bat at her sister with one of her paws. She wasn’t trying to hurt her, but she definitely wanted to win!
”Careful what you wish for!” Asali chuckled, tensing as her sister came rushing at her and ducking down as she batted just a few inches where her face had been. With a mock-growl the lioness barreled forward, tackling Damu to the ground and attempting to keep control of the wrestling match. Luckily, Asali was a good bit larger than her sister, and was able to hold her of fairly well, but wrinkled her nose and yelped when she felt Damu’s teeth on her paws. ”Ouch! That’s cheating!” she complained, glaring at her sister.
”Is not, you just can’t take it. Give up already!” Despite being partially pinned Damu seemed to have been holding her ground fairly well, making Asali work to keep control of the grapple. She would have been able to wiggle herself free, if Asali hadn’t suddenly sat down on top of her! ”Get off, Lardbutt! I can’t breathe!” Damu gasped, wide eyed that her sister had even thought to do that. … There was definitely no wiggling her way out from this one. Damu’s eyes narrowed as she locked gazes with her sister, hissing out of frustration.
With a mock gasp at her sister's insult, Asali flopped down further with thump. "You wound me sister! My rump is no bigger than it was yesterday!" Lardbutt! How did you like that? With a huff and a hurt expression Asali completely turned her head in the other direction, ignoring her sister completely... and still not budging to let her up. Attempting to act discreet, she watched Damu out of the corner of her eye, and almost burst out laughing with the annoyed expression that plastered itself onto her dark pelted sister's face. This was definitely priceless.
She might have said it as a joke earlier, but Asali was heavy! It didn't help that Asali was also much larger than her, and though Damu hated to admit it, she was probably stronger as well. Her cheeks puffed out as Asali ignored her, biting back a growl that threatened to escape her throat. "Just let me up already!" she grumbled, frustrated with trying to wiggle herself out on her own. She had been beaten, there was no point to keep trying. As much as she hated to admit that.
Asali could only smirk. ”Nuh-uh, you admit defeat and then I’ll get off you.” Yup, if Damu was going to cheat, than so was she. It wasn’t fair to use one’s teeth or claws in a sparring match, and Asali certainly wasn’t appreciative of her throbbing paws. Damu had to help her hunt now! Luckily for her dark pelted sister, Asali didn’t need to go further. Damu muttered something akin to ’Fine, now get off!’ but Asali wasn’t quite certain what the exact words though since they were mumbled through bared teeth. ”Works for me. We’ll get started as soon as the sun begins to drop,” and with that removed herself from her sister’s chest. She did enjoy her sister’s new state of mind, it reminded her of a time that still felt fuzzy to her, back when they were cubs and their parents were still alive before- she caught herself before going any further. There was no need to think of the past. There was only here, now, and the future to look forwards to. With a satisfied huff, Asali lowered herself back down to the ground to wait out the beginning of dusk. Tonight would be a hunt, she could just feel it.
Go figure! Next she’d have to pick a fight with Durin, the fat male couldn’t possibly be fast enough to keep up with her. She crinkled her nose at the thought, hoping that he would at least go easy on her. Damu was no fighter, despite how reckless she was feeling lately, it didn’t make up for a lack in combat skills. Hmm… maybe he could teach her! Feeling relieved and somewhat anxious, Damu settled down next to her sister, watching for the sunset and their cue to hunt.
Asali glanced back to Damu as she heard the grass shift, pale yellow eyes studying the younger body for but a moment before returning to horizon. "I'm glad we're here now. Glad to have each other," she rumbled with a pleased purr. Yes they had Durin to look after them, but he was insurance to their pleasant life. Without him around, Asali was certain they would have continued to be a paranoid wreck, and there were worse males to be attached to. Besides, she kind of liked him. A small smile spread across her maw as she laid her chin against her paws. What sort of meal should she take down for him tonight?
(Word Count: 1439)
