Sauda grinned to herself again, tail flicking as she lounged on one of the many small humps that dotted the savannahs’ mostly flat landscape. The memory of the tall, blond-manned lion the day before kept circling her thoughts. His piercing pale blue gaze, so calculating, dismissive in his well-earned arrogance. She had been watching him carefully for a while now, his casual indifference to everything fascinated her. Other females flirted with him and he either ignored them completely, deliberately misunderstood their words or flat out rebuked them. It was clear he considered them silly, giving no credence to the females opinions. Slowly over time she had come to realise that he honestly had no idea how impressive he was, how appealing, not only for his richly marked coat with its warm browns and striking wing marking, or his well honed hunting skills, but also his cold dismissive temper which was like a lure to most females. And she had no problem admitting it was part of his charm for her too. He was the untouchable prize.
Yet in her watching she had come to notice other things about him too… his chilly defensiveness was a cover, a protective response when he didn’t know how to deal with a situation, which was apparently any time a female spoke to him. Yet when he was alone, he was almost a different lion. He would sit for hours watching the sunrise, or a flock of brightly coloured birds as they swooped and danced in the sky. She had once followed him as he tracked and rescued another pride member’s cub that had wondered away from the dens and gotten itself stuck in the mud alongside the river bank. Not a difficult task, but a messy and draining one, as the male had ended up having to carry the cub on his back as he struggled in the thick glutinous muck, his larger weight making the wet ground far more dangerous for him than for the far lighter cub. Yet he had gotten them both out of the muck and even washed the little one off before carrying it all the way back to where its frantic mother was searching. All the time he had kept the youngster entertained with jokes and stories of failed hunting from his own cubhood. The kid had been almost disappointed when they reached its mother and had promptly asked to go play with the big, surly male. This of course had confused the lioness even as she thanked the male for his assistance, as Taveni’s less than pleasant temper was well known.
It was just one of the many instances that had caught Sauda’s attention and gradually she had come to suspect there was more to the male than met the eye. Another grin curled across her muzzle as she recalled their meeting the day before. He hadn’t known she was there at first, which had been the plan. But when he did spot her his reaction had been exactly what she had expected. His confused expression had made her want to laugh out loud and jump about in victory at the same time. Yes, he had scowled darkly enough to scare a honeybadger and had stalked off with his metaphorical nose in the air, but she had met and held his gaze, had seen the swiftly hidden emotions than he never showed to the outside world as they flickered oh so briefly through his eyes. Yes, he was an ornery b*****d on the outside, but her sixth sense insisted there was far more to this male than met the eye and she was starting to understand the few tells he possessed. So that brief moment on the river bank had been a clear victory. He had noticed her, actually looked at her rather than through her as he did so many others.
She had caught his attention, time for her to start to reel him in.
Turning he rhead away form the dawn sky, she realised the very lion that occupied her thoughts was stood some distance away, staring at her. In truth she had known he was there a while ago, but hadn’t wanted to scare him away by looking, or more likely, discover it wasn’t him but another, or it was him and he didn’t care she was out here. But as she looked, she saw his head was indeed turned her way, though he was too far away to see if he was actually looking at her or the dawn. Still, it was a victory in a long line of planned skirmishes to come. He had seen and remembered her. Good.
Standing she allowed herself to stretch, highlighting her long, lean frame. Yawning widely she flicked her tail and shook before lazily jumping off the mound. Regardless of her personal pursuit there was the more pressing need to hunt for the time being. He was a prey that required a careful and committed stalk, and she had made the first moves in catching him. For the time being, that was all she could do, now she must let him decide the next step in this dance of theirs. But that was not to say she could not nudge him along in that decision. Lifting her head she started to move off, knowing he was watching her, she put a sway in her step, letting her body slink like the apex predator she was, muscles flexing smoothly under her sable-like fur, tail twitching with the coming expectation of the chase and kill.
Not just for the meat she would soon be feasting on, but the more specialised hunt for a mate, the prize a far more desirable prospect than just a full stomach for a day, no, she was on the hunt for her future and she fully intended to win.
Grinning to herself once more she tossed her head, lifting her muzzle to the clouds whisping above and let out a powerful, vibrant roar. Proclaiming her place in the vastness of the savannah. She was young, at the prime of her life and nothing and no one would best her. She would get what she wanted. He just had to realise she had already won.
Taveni scowled as the lioness paced off, her tail swinging, drawing his gaze after her like an elephant to water. She was up to no good, of that he was sure. Her sparkling yellow eyes and that knowing, confident grin. Shaking his head he pushed her to the back of his mind and set off to hunt. He had to try for a bigger beast today, small fry wasn’t going to keep his hunger at bay.
