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Roshan watched a small antelope that was all by itself. He was hungry and that antelope was without a herd to protect it. It seemed to the lion that this was something that could be to his advantage. It most definitely should be to his benefit that the creature did not have a herd to help it defend itself. He was not sure if it was lost or it had just been chased out of its old herd, but whatever the reason, the lion thought this antelope looked like lunch. Lunch, dinner, in between snack, they were all good uses of the graceful hooved critter if the lion caught it.

Catching it would be the trick, though, as Roshan could not risk losing such a good chance at a meal if he could help it. He stayed crouched in the long grass as he watched the creature. It was at the watering hole, getting a drink. Its ears were swiveling this way and that as it scanned for predators, and yet it had one within a few yards of it. Apparently the male lion was down wind of it because it had not caught a whiff of him as of yet, and that was not for lack of trying. The lion had to give the prey credit for being cautious and trying to sniff out, hear, or see anything that might sneak up on it while it was getting its drink.

Roshan moved forward again, pausing with his paw still raised as the antelope looked his way as if it had heard something. The lion did not want to move while the thing was looking in his direction. Doing such a thing as moving would likely catch its eye and bring its attention to his hiding spot. That would mean one of two things, standing very, very still while the thing kept looking his way, hoping that it would turn away again, or it running off before he could get a good start after it. It was best to just stand still with his paw in the air right now than have to work twice as hard later for moving.

Roshan was rewarded for his imitation of a statue. The prey looked away again and dipped its head to drink. The lion continued his move forward and got himself a good bit closer. He was almost to the edge of the long grass now. The lion would have to make his move soon so that he did not creep out into the open and scare the thing off. From the edge of the long grass to the watering hole was only a yard or so, which meant he was going to be within touching distance of the antelope soon.

Roshan, having made his decision on how he was going to attack, sprung from his hiding spot toward the antelope. The creature must have heard his movement, because it started to bring its head around his way again. Unfortunately for it, this time there was a lion headed claws first for its rump, and not just a lion hiding in the grass creeping closer. The lion took his prey down without much problem. His leap sent him into its back side and knocked it to the ground. He managed to pull his legs up away from the kicking hooves that were failing about to try and get traction or kick him off it. It would have been happy with either outcome at this point.

Having downed his prey and avoided being hooved or horned, Roshan made short work of ending the antelope’s misery, and he took a few moments to be smug over what he had accomplished. He would get at least two meals out of this kill, and that would mean he could travel longer without stopping later. He had needed a rest for his paws anyway, and now he had a good excuse for one. The lion tore into his meal with an overpowering sense of smugness, while he kept an eye out for anything that might try to take his prize from him. He had worked hard for it, and he did not want to lose it