The sun peeled over the horizon and speckled the landscape with bright rays. Over next to a rather soft patch of grass, Anga snored in deep sleep. His tail and back legs twitched as his dream escalated. In his mind, Anga was racing through a leveled field. Nothing was in his way, but the open air. He practically soared through the grass with the wind ripping through his mane. There was no way he could run this fast in real life (not only was it impossible for him to run this fast, but he would never work up enough energy to run in the first place) . He ripped through the air with his feet barely touching the ground with enough time to propel himself forward again.
This was living! His spirit was up lifted and he felt like nothing in the world could touch him. The feeling over powered Anga and he hooted in pure joy. He hollered and kicked up in the air to go even higher! A grin spread across his face as he started to laugh. Joy bubbled in his chest and spilled over in a fit of giggles. Ok, well something more manly than giggles. Male lions didn't giggle. Though, he wasn't doing a very good job at stopping. No, he was happy and he wanted to go on like this forever. However, the sun didn't want Anga to live in paradise. An especially bright ray pierced his closed eyes. In his dream, a red bolt ripped through the clouds and struck Anga in mid air. He tumbled to the ground and crashed back into reality.
Anga woke with a jolt and failed his legs in an attempt to catch himself from the fall. Of course, it was in his dream. He grunted in irritation. He was having such an awesome dream. Flying through the air, only grazing the ground long enough to shoot himself forward again. His tail swatted the grass. He'd love to have that feeling again. It was just pure...freedom. There was no way he could really fly like that again. He suspected that even a cheetah couldn't do it. He frowned at that realization that he would never experience it for real. Hopefully, he'll dream of it again, but it wasn't certain. Anga couldn't control his dreams.
He flopped his massive head back down. Now he was depressed. Stupid gravity. If there wasn't any force holding him down, he'd be soaring right now. He clawed at the ground to vent his frustration. His stomach growled. It needed attention. He pawed his belly to calm it down. Man, it could be really demanding. Well, since he just joined this pride, he might as well hunt like a member. He needed the practice anyway. Most of his life has been spent in the savanna, eating tough meat. Fish offered him something lighter and a different challenge. Though, working up the energy to lift himself off the ground would be hard, but his stomach forced him to move.
Anga stood up and lazily stretched his sleepy muscles. Man, he hated waking up really early. He glared at the sun for forcing him to miss some crucial sleep. If he found a nice cave somewhere, he'd sleep for hours. There's no way the sun could peek in and blind his eyelids. He shrugged, there wasn't much he could do. Besides, rising early was better for hunting anyways. The sun didn't have enough time to get the place hot. Some times Anga feared that the sun was out to get him. His black pelt didn't last long in the direct heat. Maybe that's why he was so lazy all the time. The sun just sapped his energy.
After working out the last bit of sleep in his limbs, Anga strolled towards the direction of the lake. He wasn't in a hurry, even if his stomach pained him for food. Naw, Anga needed to take his time. If he rushed off too fast, he'd use all the reserves he's been saving up through sleep. Nope, he wouldn't want to do that. He wasn't far from the lake to begin with anyway. The wind that danced along the water created a cool breeze at night. It was perfect sleeping weather, so he often slept in the area around the lake.
He padded up to the edge of the lake and dipped his tongue in for a drink. The last time he hunted here, he was with Koko. That hunting experience was fun and a failure all in one. Well, he did manage to get a fish, but in pieces. He'll try it himself this time. Hopefully, he'll be rewarded for his efforts. After drinking, he walked all the way into the water. He didn't want to splash in, like he'd usually do. That would be pretty stupid, considering he wanted the fish to come to him, not swim in fear. It was obvious that he had little to no experience doing this. Last time Koko did all the hard work. Anga just had to close his jaws around the fish. Pretty simple. Though, now he'll have to lure the fish to him. Koko made it looks so easy.
He took a deep breath and dived towards the middle of the lake. Anga figured that the bigger fish would be in deeper water. Big things needed space to roam. He could relate. Anga was a big boy and didn't like to be kept cooped up in a tiny space. That's probably why he enjoyed the rogue life so much. All that room to explore. Though, now he needed to focus. He kicked with his powerful leg muscles to send himself sailing through the water. His heart skipped a beat. Yes! This was the feeling! It was so close to his dream. Though, it was short lived because he needed to re-surface for air.
His head broke the surface and he gasped for air. He needed to go back! Anga was sure that he could go even faster. He took another deep breath and plummeted back under. All four of his legs worked in unison to shoot him through the current, but... it wasn't fast enough. He was still new at this, so his muscles weren't used to swimming. He needed help. Ahhhh~ yes. The ground would work perfectly. He flipped himself around so that his legs were now pressing on the mud. His ears were ringing from the pressure, but he pushed through it. Anga buckled his back legs and folded his front ones to his side. He needed to become like a bird diving from the sky. Except, he'd be sailing to the sky, not from it. The muscles in his legs tensed before he gave a giant push and rocketed himself towards the surface. It felt like his body was ripping the water apart! He'd shout and laugh out loud if he wasn't under the water. This is it! The same feeling he had in his dream! It was pure freedom. But... it was short lived. He broke the surface within seconds and a headache began to form behind his right eye. He slowly kicked back to the shore. Anga needed a break. He heaved his massive body full of water on the shore. A couple good shakes dropped the extra weight. He flopped on the ground and panted from all the exercise. Man, he loved it. He felt like crap afterwards, but for that one moment, it was worth it. Anga laid his head down. It was time for a nap. Wait... wasn't he suppost to do something? Ah, whatever. He'll get to it later.
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