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His stomach told him it was time to hunt, and his nose told him what was on the menu. The large black lion stalked through the grass eyeing the Klipspringers in the background. They might be hard to catch, but were so worth it. Licking his fangs, he moved closer, knowing that he didn’t have much camouflage to use to his advantage.

Singling out a little stripped one, he shifted on his paws and bolted forward, leaping like a great white wave from the tall grasses as he ran at his prey, claws out and fangs ready.

They had barely been out of the saftey of palahalas vally for a daya nd already they were being hunted. As the large lion bolted fromt he undergrowth she sprang off "Gobo!" She called hopeing the big male had managed to bolt off in the otehr direction. She was convinced she could outrun anything.

Gobo hadn't gone very far at all, infact he was chaseing after the tw fleeping beasts, his thick head and strong horns set forwards in a charge. he wasn't about to let Zebadie get eaten, it was his fault they were out here! "I'm comign Zebadie hold on!" He grunted lifting his head slightly for a moment just to check, he was getting close, that lions butt was gunna get such a pounding. Noone was going to eat his girl!

Kei stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the stripped Klipspringer talk. At first he thought he was hearing things, but then she called out for help. This baffled the hunter, who stayed still trying to figure this out, meals didn’t talk! At that moment, he forgot about the help the female had called for.

Of course, it was easy to remember there was more than one of them when he got a head butt to the hind end. Leaping forward, he gave an enraged roar, then calmed down, looked to the both of them wry now. "I have just lost my appetite." His comment was to himself, he wasn’t sure what to say to these two but was sure to keep them in view.

Gobo leapt past the big black lion and joined Zebadie his ears held high and a grunt rolling over his lips "Go away lion. We arn't about to be your lunch!" he grunts scraping his hooves on the ground and causing a little dust storm.

Zebadie looked at the lion and gave a morefemienine, though not at all less aggressive grunt at the big lion. "You see, this is why we need palahala, at elast we wouldn't get chased by stupid hair brained beasts in his lands!" She snorted glareing at the maned creature. "Don't you know not to chase klipspringers, we are far more aggressive than we look you know!"

They were very feisty, he’d give them that. While water buffalo could bullies, he had never met something so small that gave such a fight. Well he had never met anything not feline or canine that talked either. The novelty of it all was wearing thin when they started getting more insulting. "It isn't healthy to insult something that can eat you." Wise advice, he had a long temper but just about anything else might go after them for their mouths alone.

To try and defuse the situation, his pride would not let him just walk away, he said, "I will not harm you, any more." He had a bad feeling that was not going to do much to calm them down.

Zebadie looked at the lio and snorted flickering her tail. "The fact that you were going to eat me in the first place sort of defeats the point of saying that. Do you want me to forgive you for trying to make me in to your lunch?"

Gobo chuckled lightly and shook his head. "We can run lion, probably for longer than you, we are no fools and I'm not afraid to use these things" he rolled his eyes up to the tapering horns which crested his head. "I'v given mroe than one lion a hole with these things!"

Kei wasn’t sure why he was defending himself against what could have been a meal, but here he went anyway, "I tried to eat you, yes, before I knew you could talk. Circle of life, anything not feline or canine is food; you eat the grass, and so on. Though, I make it a point not to eat anything that can talk back to me." He’d be in trouble if everything else in the savanna talked. Everyone had to eat; after all, he very well couldn’t survive eating as the hooves smart mouths did.

Agreeing to the male, he mentioned, "I am aware of how fierce you are, and apperently civilized though not much." No meal was easy, after all.

Gobo chuckled "well i suppose our mouths have saved us then hmm?" He raised a curious brow, those dark brown eyes fixed on the big lion, he remained tence, he wasn't about to be eaten, no matter what the lion said. "yes well my cmpanion and I arn't quite prepared to join said circle yet, we have far too much to do in this life time."

Zebadie snorted. "I hope every prey beast you chase has a word for you then." She clicked her togue her golden eyes full of a glare. "we don't want to be eaten you know, you just choose to eat us, maybe you should learn to eat grass, at least it grows back after we chew it."

The one, Gobo, he believed, was at least being nicer. Certainly he was right, if he hadn't talked, the stripped one would have been dinner already. Their mouths were a double edged sword, it showed they were self aware and intelligent, but could really aggravate one into forgetting that. "I can understand that," his polite response was earned by the male, and he understood not wanting to die. Part of him always hoped that preybeast were aware enough to have those fears and thoughts.

Of course, the stripped one was looking tasty again, shaking his big white mane, he vehemently disagreed with her, on all points. "Our fangs are not just for show, we cannot live on grass. Besides, there would be less for the rest of you. Though, when we die, our bodies do become the grass, in the end it comes around for the preybeasts who would then eat the grass." One day, he would die and something, hopefully not these two, would come along and eat what grew from his body. As much as he hated the pridelanders, their beliefs were a part of him.

Gobo raised a brow. "In reality my friend, we all become the grass, what you leave of us, what the vultures don't pick from us becomes the neutrients for the soil. Just think, if we were not here neither would you be." he smirked a little scuffing one hoof off the ground. "I once heard tell of a lion that lived off of bugs, you should all do that, they have no minds of their own."

Zebadie chuckled. "really? i never heard that tale before Gobo, who knew lions could eat bugs?" She chuckled, clearly the thought greatly amused the stripped femme. "perhaps we should let you get away now hmm? Since you arn't going to eat us, some other poor creature must suffer. Unfortunate, if only lions could learn to be more like Palahala."

Kei nodded, he fully understood that without the preybeast, there would be no lions and that without the predators eventually there would be no preybeast. "Yes, we need you, and you need us. If there was nothing to eat the grass eaters, then there is nothing to keep the numbers from getting bigger than the land can hold, that would lead to starvation, a crueler end I think." He had gone hungry before, he knew how miserable it was to be so hungry you couldn’t think.

The tale of the bugs made it very, very hard not to make a face. That was about the nastiest idea he had heard, bugs tasted awful. Ruefully, he remarked, "I once thought klipspringers had no mind of their own. I was proven wrong, who is to say the bugs won’t prove me wrong again?"

Going on his way sounded liked a great idea, they were giving him a headache, sitting there thinking of all the things he had eaten, if anyone of them were able to talk. First, he wanted to know something, “What is 'Palahala'?"Was it a place, or a being?

Zebadie smiled and puffed out her small chest "palahala is the god of prey beasts, he cares for all preybeasts and protects us, when he can, from beasts like you whom would slaughter us for our meat. he's a kind and just god." she beams, her golden eyes shimemring like little golden stars. "I am the head of his herd, out doing some recruitment so that otehrs of my kind don't get scoffed by the likes of you."

Gobo cleared his throat, he felt that zebadie getting up on her soap box was not a good idea right now. he nudged the stripped femme and cleared his throat "Speaking of which, we should really get going zebadie, Let's not rant to the lion, he must eat too and as long as we have not been made in to lunch, we should continue our journey."

Kei watched them, seeing no reasoning with the little lady, not that he blamed her at all. Nearly being lunch and knowing your not at the top of the food chain can't make one very forgiving. "I see, be safe, the both of you. Should anything else try to eat you, try yelling at them first." It might save everyone trouble, well the preditor would be confused, but might not get a sore bum because of the mistake.

Zebadie chuckled and gave a snort hopping away with a laugh "Good advice, i'll run first and shout later, good bye lion, remember eat bugs not beasts!" She laughed and flickered ehr tail int he air as she sprang away her four hooves eating up the ground.

Gobo rolled his eyes, keeping an eye on the big lion for a moment longer "Watch your butt from now on." he grinned turning and speeding off behind the black and white female, he knew this would certainly set further in to the females mind that the world wasn't safe, but he couldn't change that. Still, the lion had givent hem something to worry about, they definately had to be more careful onthe road ahead.