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 Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 10:51 pm
It was time. He could feel it in his bones, a knowing. It was acceptance as well as release, a passing from one point of life to a new one. The past was done and gone, and there was nothing he could do to change it. He had mourned and torn himself up over what he might have done differently. He'd spent months pondering the ramifications, examining the nuances, and coming to terms with his own short-comings. Though he was not an example of the perfect lion, he had last season come to the conclusion that it had not been his fault, that he could say in all good conscience he had given her his all. It simply had not been enough for her.
It still had taken some time to let that settle in, and more time yet to become at peace with himself about it. Though he had let her go completely, it did not mean his heart did not ache for her nonetheless. How he longed for that love again, or at least something more like the love he'd given her. She hadn't wanted to return that love, and he admitted calmly within himself that she hadn't been capable of giving him what he needed. Whether there was another lioness out there for him, he couldn't say. But he no longer could begrudge her leaving, and taking their cubs with him. It was her right, and it likely was best for the both of them. He regretted that his cubs would never know him, but again, there was naught that could be done about it now.
So it was that he emerged from is solitary life. Two years had passed, two long years of contemplation and grief. It was time to move on, both emotionally as well as physically. As he came out from beneath the edge of the trees, the mountain looming far behind him, he gazed across the savannah with a lighter heart. For once, he did not wonder where she was, or how his cubs had grown. No, he had let it all go. This time, he felt the air fill his lungs with something new. Hope. Hope for a new life, for a new start. With a bellowing roar of delight, he set off across the open country at a lope, the wind blowing back his mane and making him feel as if the world was his to conquer. For the first time in too long, he felt alive!
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 11:01 pm
Sikara's life was unremarkable. It always had been. He'd been born, one amidst a squalling litter of seven. He was a middle son, of little importance, and just another mouth to feed. As soon as he had been able to support himself, however meagerly, he'd been booted out on his own by his mother. The daughters she'd kept close to her, the boys being of little use to the harshly practical lioness. He hadn't resented it. He'd merely accepted it and found his own way in life.
This was actually how he'd come to excel at the one thing he was proud of. He'd learned very early how to hunt, and hunt well. It didn't matter what prey he set his sights on. The wily hares were tricky to manage, but he knew how to stalk their holes and catch them unawares. He found them quite succulent, if merely a snack. Gazelle were swift but easy to startle into situations they couldn't get out of. Zebra merely needed a determined state of mind to bring down. Waterbuck, however, he did not care for, and never hunted them. Their taste was too... well, too something. He wasn't a lion for words, so didn't bother to try to describe, even to himself, what the flavor was that he disliked in waterbucks.
Being a lion of few words and zero ambition, he'd discovered he wasn't exactly any lioness' idea of an ideal mate. Thus far, to be honest, he'd yet to find a girl he found favorable anyway, so the lack of a mate didn't trouble him in the least. What need did he have of a lioness to hunt for him, when he likely could out-hunt her in the first place? As far as he was concerned, it practically made females irrelevant.
Today his chosen prey was zebra. He'd scented a nice, big herd not far away, and he was already circling up-wind as he plodded along into the morning. He could see the cloud of dust they were kicking up not far ahead. Before long, he'd have food for the next few days. Content and relaxed, he padded onwards.
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Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2012 7:49 pm
The first thing he noticed was the cloud of dust. Curious, he altered his lope to head that direction. It likely meant a herd of some sort, and he definitely could use with some sustenance. Sure enough, as he drew nearer, he could see the eye-baffling muddle that indicated it was a zebra herd. However, at this distance, he could also see that it was not just zebra. There also was a lion. A dark smudge that was too big to be anything but a lion was trailing along behind the herd. He didn't seem in any hurry though, strolling along and looking completely uninterested in the herd ahead of him... though undoubtedly following them!
So puzzling was this, Eloran altered his course. Rather than heading to intercept the herd, he instead aimed to meet up with this strange, dark lion. What was he up to? He took his time meeting up with the strange individual, so as not to spook the herd that thus far was placidly shuffling about a mile ahead of their apparently heedless herder. Or was he? Wordlessly, he approached and then fell in beside the brown lion. He was quite muscled, bulky in a way Eloran had never managed, though Eloran was taller and broader in the chest than the other male.
Eloran glanced over at him, noting that he'd said nothing thus far, and looked fair likely to continue to not say anything. The red and black male cleared his throat. It had been a long while since he'd spoken to anyone, after all. "I am guessing you are hunting the herd up ahead, but I admit, I'm baffled by your tactic," he hazarded. he was glad he hadn't done the typical thing by stating the obvious. Such unnecessary observations were exasperating, and he tended to feel they were spoken by those who lacked any real purpose for speaking.
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Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2012 8:18 pm
Sakira had glanced askance at the stranger approaching him. He had first worried that the other male was going to hunt the zebra ahead, spooking the herd out of the path he'd planned. However, he wasn't sure how he felt when that turned out not to be the case. No, the other male was heading towards him. He regarded the near-intruder with a certain amount of distrust. He tended not to welcome company, as most folks were too chatty for his taste. Usually those who didn't talk too much just wanted to fight him. Neither option interested him at all. Which would this one be?
The other male was larger, but Sikara had dealt with bullise before. He tensed his muscles and stood his ground by continuing on his determined path. The way to best deal with the sort of lion who threw his weight around was to ignore him, treating him as unimportant and inconsequential. Granted, this usually infuriated such lions, but left them open to calculated defense if violence happened. This was what he was braced for as the other loomed closer and closer. However, nothing happened.
After pacing side by side for fifteen minutes, Sikara finally slanted a look sideways at the other male. To his mild relief, the one beside him was relaxed and even calmer than he was himself. With amusement, he rumbled a chuckle. "So, not here to beat up on a smaller male, hmm?" The other gave him a mellow smile, arched a brow, and tipped his head towards the herd up ahead.
"I was curious," the red male said simply.
"Ah," Sikara nodded, not saying anything more for a time. He had half-expected the other male to become impatient, as most generally did at Sikara's long silences. He had no use for impatient people, so this was a pleasant change. Eventually he got around to answering.
"Since I lack a pride of lionesses to help with the hunting," he began with a throaty chuckle. Him. With females. Since when did females flock to him? "I'm left to do what I can alone," he continued with a wry smile. "My short legs mean I don't sprint well enough to catch larger prey, if stalking isn't enough." Usually it wasn't, in fact. Stalking worked if there was very young, very old, or very sick or injured prey in the herd. When those were lacking, stalking wasn't an advantage for him. He shrugged, not bothered by his limitations. "So I have become good at new strategies that even the odds." He pointed his muzzle ahead to where the land began to change up ahead. What began as hills to either side of the path soon dropped off into sheer cliffs towards the road, creating the mouth of a canyon. Ahead the path narrowed and fell beneath the shadow of the cliffs, which reared high over the heads of the herd that was now sedately moving deeper into the canyon.
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Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2012 11:03 am
Eloran watched the zebras saunter along into the deep shade of the canyon as the dark brown male beside him explained further. "There is water in there, as well as other exits. This is why they aren't panicked, but trotting complacently in." Eloran indulged this time in a puzzled look at the other male. Granted, it seemed counter-intuitive to follow prey into a place they could escape from, but he did not protest this. It was easy to see that the other male expected him to bluster and feel superior, but this was not Eloran's way. Instead, he trusted that his instinct that the other male was no dunce, and that he had some sort of plan. Thus he held his tongue and waited to hear the rest.
Sure enough, the brown lion looked faintly pleased not to be challenged, and shared the secret with him. "I plugged up the two exits with brush and brambles." Eloran pondered this, then brightened, casting the other male a broad grin.
"Ah, if you can't out-run them, out-smart them." He nodded vast approval. Too many creatures tended to stick to tradition, doing what they'd always done for generations rather than thinking for themselves and coming up with better solutions. "Very clever," he continued, gazing towards the herd that was now out of sight in the canyon. "That's not anything I'd have thought of before, but I can easily see the benefit." If the canyon had been blocked by rubble and rocks, that might have been another matter. Completely cornered prey was dangerous beyond telling, and the resulting stampede would put the hunter in danger. But the brush would be just enough to confuse and delay the herd, making it easy to pick off one if not two zebras for a tasty feast. The rest would eventually figure out in their panic that the brush was not solid enough to keep them in, and would force their way out, perhaps wound a few to make them easier to catch next time!
"Mind if I join you for this hunt?" he asked politely, his mouth already salivating. The scent of prey and imaginings of the warm meat was more than enough to bring his muscles singing into readiness. He wasn't offended that the dark brown lion didn't answer him right away, but paused for thought. It was no surprise that the answer did not come back an unequivocal yes.
"If we can work together, help each other take down prey, then I welcome your presence," was the answer finally, and one which Eloran approved of highly. He had a feeling this was the beginning of, if not friendship, at least an equally satisfying partnership. With a soft growl of agreement, he exchanged hungry looks with his new partner before they both broke into a lope and disappeared into the canyon's mouth. They would eat well tonight!
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