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"... alright..." His ears pin now, and he sulks after Binti, deep in thought. He was pretty sure he could do this. He almost had before, right? Sort of... loudness was his main issue. "I'll be fine. You just watch!" As challenging as this statement was, it's said rather half-heartedly. This wouldn't be so tough if she wasn't so cruel! But somehow, he didn't mind... it did make him shape up.

Ignoring his pouting, Binti focused on the task in front of her, stalking forward with determination. Her eyes darted to and fro, and her ears swivelled so as to better hear for the telltale scrabbling sounds that would hint at the presence of something...huntable. There were times that she definitely wished she was larger, just so that she could take down larger prey animals, instead of having to go after the very young, or smaller, rodent-like creatures. Freezing, she suddenly stared off slightly to her left, her eyes utterly fixated on the surrounding grasses for signs that her ears weren't deceiving her. Spotting one slight indentation in the shape of a foot, she smiled, and moved backwards to stand directly beside Essi. Placing her mouth over his ear, she whispered quietly, barely audible even to him. "Alright, there should be a good-sized young antelope hidden in the grasses just off to our left...I need you to give me time to get on the other side of it, then start stalking forward--remember, you need to be quiet...and don't reveal yourself to it until you're close enough that it can't react to the sight...got it?"

Mwindaji, having seen the antelope from above, decided to give the lion cubs some space, and so veered off slightly to the left, in an attempt to locate some more appropriately-sized prey for himself.

((*hoping that the meeting doesn't occur til after this "hunting lesson"* xd ))

Binti barely made it to her desired hiding spot before Essi leapt out at the antelope. She couldn't help but wince at the look of disappointment as he missed...but she forced herself to stay still a heartbeat longer, waiting for the panicked young antelope to run almost directly into her waiting jaws. In seconds it was over--as the baby broke through the curtain of grass in front of her, she leapt forward, the sheer force of her jump tumbling her prey backwards with a cracking noise, which told her that she'd broken one of its' hind legs. Thankfully, it wasn't much more than a newborn, and so she was able to overpower it. However, unfortunately, that didn't mean that she didn't have to really work to keep her grip on its throat--her jaws just weren't strong enough to crush the windpipe instantly, or to rip out the entire throat in one bite--so she clung, having to settle for slowly cutting off its air supply, instead. She growled, deep in her throat as the youngster caught her in the ribs with one small, but still hard, hoof, one forepaw flailing about trying to gain purchase as her jaws slipped slightly.

Taking advantage of the extra weight holding the baby antelope down, Binti shifted her grip again, grasping the windpipe more firmly. Her eyes gleamed in satisfaction as the young antelope's struggles grew weaker, even though her ribs were probably going to be a bit tender come tomorrow.

As lack of oxygen took its toll on their prey, sapping its strength, she moved so that one forepaw lay solidly on the neck, the other almost covering the only nostril that wasn't pressed into the dirt, although she maintained her grip on its throat until the antelope grew completely still beneath her. Once she'd satisfied herself to the fact that it wasn't going to get up and run away again, she slowly eased up, her teeth hurting slightly, but in a good way. She was lucky she hadn't knocked any loose, with the way she'd been gripping its neck.

Finally, she looked at Essi in satisfaction, not even noticing the blood that mottled her beautiful coat (( gonk ! )). Idly, she sniffed at the air, not wanting to be caught off-guard by something dangerous. The slightest wafting of...something feline teased at her nostrils, prompting a vicious growl. After all that work, she wasn't about to back down from this kill without a fight.

((If Aster's still here, I appreciate the patience sweatdrop heart ))

[[Eee, I'm still here! heart It's no problem waiting a bit! 3nodding ]]


Damasi's ears pricked, then started retreating backwards to rest flat on her neck. When she'd thought about tagging along in hiding, she hadn't really considered they'd really kill anything. But they had, and now it looked like the girl knew she was lurking around. She didn't need Kima to tell her now was the time to think about retreat. She started to back up a little, but flinched and froze in place when she heard a distinctive snap.

Oi. Damasi looked back to see where she stepped, ears flattened and eyes half lidded in disbelief. Of all the times to go and step on a twig! She was in for it now. [ gonk ]

((posted too fast...so, I'll just post twice in a row, so that I can react to you as well, ne? heart sweatdrop ))

Stiffening mid-chew, Binti's eyes shot back to where she'd been so focused before. I knew that there was something there! she thought, slinking forward, practically bristling with aggression. "Show yourself..." she hissed, ready to take off into the brush after whatever it was, if it didn't.

[[I did wonder about that heart ]]

Ignoring Essi for the time being, Binti circled behind the leopard cub, her tail still flicking back and forth cautiously, but her manner far less threatening--after all, the other cub wasn't trying to threaten her. "How long have you been watching us?" she queried, a suspicious gleam in her eye.