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The sun was low on the horizon, throwing long purplish-blue shadows across the savannah as he stalked through the underbrush. Barakillian was hungry and bored, having seen little excitement in the previous days, but his Name Quest was looming just around the corner. He was looking forward to it… to discover whether or not he truly belonged here with the pride.

Lifting his muzzle into the air, he sniffed in the hopes of catching the scent of a prey item. He so enjoyed the hunt – the stalking, the chase, and the inevitably satisfying crunch as his jaws closed around the unfortunate soul’s throat. What would give its life for his this night? Bara hoped it was something challenging.

Kipepeo had long since decided she liked nighttime; not only did it hide her away from other larger predators (after all, being young was not easy when one had spent a good part one's very short life alone), but it made it easier for her to find toys. Strange toys, at that; she'd managed to stumble upon a rather curious one today. In all honesty, she hadn't caught it. Not really; it'd been the poor animal's own stupidity that had landed it withing her clutches, but still, it was the means to an end what counted.

Since she'd been accepted within the pride, the young lioness had rarely been alone; a welcoming change, really, however, Abeni needed her time alone with her real cubs, and the young female was more than willing to give her adoptive mother the space she so obviously needed. As it was, she was rather entertained, playing with the small creature she'd found; it had wings AND pelt. Fascinating. While she wasn't sure how long it was going to last before it broke... it was something new, and she was bidding her time well as she sat to the side, her claws already stained by blood.

Nothing… he frowned as he found no meal near and went to move on. Another gust of wind drew his attention, however, as it swung around from the other direction and carried the smell of another lion and blood. Hmm… Turning instead in to that direction, he followed his nose until he came upon the cub and for a moment simply stopped and lurked in the shadows while he watched the young female.

What was a child doing out alone, like this? He noticed the small creature in her clutches then and smiled to himself. Hunting, apparently. To be so young still and already trying to fend for oneself was commendable. Pushing through the brush, Barakillian rumbled a greeting as he came to stand behind her. “What have you caught?”

An ear twitched towards the male before she turned her head; brilliant red orbs stared up at him with something akeen to childish innocence. There was absolutely no fear there, merely curiosity; then again, the small girl did not know the meaning of fear. Or rather, did know it, but had seemed to decide these lands were safe for her, and thus, nothing and no one within them would harm directly. Iar and Abeni had said as much; so long she remain a good girl, did as she was told and nurtured her inner demon (she was still rather... flimsy in that area, not quite understanding what they meant, but she figured she'd find out about it, when the time for it came along), and listened to her elders.

Kipepeo was quite sure she was following all instructions, and thus, had nothing to fear, "I don't know," she told the older male honestly, her head tilting to one side, "I was trying to find out," and by that, she meant she was mangling the poor creature to the core in an attempt to see what 'made it tick', as the proverbial saying went.

The male tilted his head at that gaze, wondering at the contrast between bloody paws and the innocence in her eyes. Curious… “You don’t know?” Barakillian frowned and stepped forward, intrigued. Peering at the mangled creature, the male arched a brow. Wings? He rumbled approvingly, “You caught one of those on your own?” It was mangled and torn but the wings were enough for him to identify the creature – a bat.

"It was stupid," again, she answered honestly; rather than lie to take the praise, the girl merely told him the facts, "Stupidity makes on weak, and the weak become toys. Toys are made to learn from and then be broken," it was a simple mentality, but it'd served her well during her time alone; after all, few cubs survived out in the open without parents if they didn't swiftly learn of the laws of nature, "It could not fly; it had fallen. I caught it while it was down. I'd never seen one before; I've caught other toys before, but they're also small. Mice, and lizards and birds," after a small pause, she smiled sweetly, innocently, very much contrasting with her previously harsh, almost cold words, "Nyota caught a hare for me a few days ago. I'm learning to catch those, too," for now though, they were a tad too fast for her.

Barakillian found himself nodding as she spoke, agreeing with much of what she said. “You’re well informed little one. The strong survive while the weak perish. It is the law that every creature obeys.” Again, that sweetness and those harsh words, she was an interesting one, strong, to have learned such lessons already and yet maintain that innocence. “What is in your claws is a bat. What are you called little one?” He lifted his head to glance about the landscape as he thought her last words over. Had she not feasted upon larger prey? While understandable, it was slightly disappointing. “Would you taste larger toys? Hares are small and barely a meal.”

"Kipepeo," she answered his question first before turning down to look at the mangled creature, that had now been dubbed 'bat' in her mind, "Ah," she nodded, as if what he'd told her made sense. Then, it seemed she felt the need to further explain herself, "I used to live alone," as if those words clearly explained why she thought the way she did; she'd seen cubs killed before due to their own stupidity. Or at least.... she thought she remembered seeing cubs get killed out in the open; in all honesty, her memories were hazy and it was hard to tell what was reality from dream within them. Regardless of the fact if it'd happened or not whilst she was present, she knew it DID happen, and that only those that were smart enough survived. It was similar with the toys she got, tell truth. The stupid ones were easier to catch than the smarter ones.

His words caught her attention inmediately, as was obvious by the way she turned her head up to greet his gaze, "Larger?" a pause followed as she blinked, "You mean the ones with horns and hooves?" instantly a small, sweet smile spread across her maw, "I haven't played with those yet; I can't remember a time when I wasn't alone before coming here. Those were dangerous for me to go near," it wouldn't do to get killed getting a toy; it would defeat the purpose.

“Kipepeo?” He mulled the name over with a bemused expression. An odd name to go with an odd child, it was fitting. “I am Barakillian. And I have lived along for quite some time too.” The male understood those simple words, knew that a cub left alone on the savannah was most likely to perish from starvation or predation. She was a fighter indeed to have found her way here without being mauled or killed.

“I do. They are deadly prey for a young one, with cutting hooves and horns that gouge deep wounds. It is smart to stay away from them until you are bigger.” He returned her gaze, noted the smile and rumbled, “I am hunting. Do you wish to join? I will show you how to hunt them and you may investigate as you wish.”

"Mmmhhhmmm!" the humming sound was made as he tested her name out by saying it, "I think it means butterfly," her eyes lowered to her rump, where her markings resembled a crimson butterfly with splashed out wings. It was one of few things she remembered; Kipepeo was sure her mother had named her after that marking, but in all honesty, she couldn't have told him why it was she thought that, or how, seeing as how... she couldn't really remember the lioness in question. A roll of her shoulders indicated a small shrug, as if she weren't at all troubled by the notion.

Then, she straightened up, her maw lowering down to rip off the meat from the mangled courpse; she wasn't about to leave the meat there, mostly because her instincts would not let her. She had survived on small creatures while alone, and the idea of allowing meat to go to waste was disgusting to her. As soon as she was finished, she raised her head again, "I saw one wound a wild dog from a pack before. It died," she was still smiling, and something in the way her eyes twinkled indicated she had been one o the few that had feasted on that wild dog after it'd died. Oh, but his offer was too good to turn down, and the cub nodded politely, "Please," she'd noticed that she was perhaps, more mild mannered and slightly more polite than the other cubs around, but that seemed to please the adults all the more, "I do wish."

He nodded absently, not really caring what her name meant. “Antelope can be difficult prey, if you misstep it can cost you your life, as it did with that wild dog.” Barakillian shrugged as he watched her, thinking her resourceful. There were a number of creatures that would turn up their noses at such a ready-made meal and he was one of them. He was most certainly not a scavenger – catching your own meal was one thing but feasting on rotting flesh was another thing entirely. “Then follow me. I will not stop to let you catch up.” It was the only warning he offered as he moved off, searching once more for an antelope to bring down.

There was little explanation as he moved, sniffed the wind, and picked directions based on what that told him. Night had descended completely by the time he’d dropped into a crouch and eased forward through the tall grasses. There was small heard before them, with a few more cocky individuals straying from the main gathering. Stopping and laying on his stomach, head low, Barakillian kept his eyes forward as he whispered, “Stay here.”

THe warning did not seem to put her off; the only indication that she'd heard was the mild tilt of her head as she stood on all four feet to follow after him, content to remain silent in order to listen to what he had to say; the more she learnt the better. It got her another step closer to being able to get herself better toys. Age and tactics would soon enough ensure that, she was sure.

Trotting along beside him wasn't all that hard; after all, while he had a larger stride, she was agile and had been well fed and rested during the last few days... keeping up was not a problem. The only signal she got that he'd found something was the slowing of his movements till he crouched. Following suit, the cub lowered herself to the ground, practicaly invisble thanks to the darkness and the tall grass that hid them; the only thing that gave her away was the almost luminiscent red of her eyes, which trailed up to seek Bara's as he whispered to her. A small nod was his answer, her claws digging into the ground.

It became a game of patience after that, sneaking closer, freezing when they glanced his way then sneaking closer still. It was best to be as near as possible when you leaped out for it meant less of a chase. Still, they knew he was there, could feel his presence even though the wind favoured him and were growing anxious. Nervous calls and flicking ears all signaled a predator was near. While most returned to the group, one remained on the edge, closest to him.

When he was as close as he thought he would be able to get, the lion bolted forward without a sound, a flash of shadow in the night that sent the antelope scattering with wild calls of fear and fleet-footed retreated. His target fled as well, but he was too close, tearing after the terrified animal for a moment before jumping upon its hindquarters and dragging it down with his weight. In the space of a few blinks, he’d clamped down on its throat and the deed was done. After ensuring it was indeed dead, he rose and spoke, “Come Kipepeo.”

She remain still where she'd told her to stay, however, the fact she was silent did not mean she was uninterested; oh, she'd watched other predators hunt before, that's where she'd picked up what little she knew, however, this was the first time she was near enough to be able to drink up the hunter's movements. Her ears had flattened back against her head, hidding the glaring red of their insides, and her tail and curled around her body, twitching lightly as she too grew anxious. It would take time to teach her patience; not like it mattered right now though, for she wasn't the one doing the actual hunting. For now... she was content enough to simply watch.

When the attack came, the small female watched the antelope scatter, terrified, their wild calls echoing in the night. A small purr rumbled through her; for some reason, their calls were much more enticing than that of the small game she'd caught. Much more sattisfying. Only when called did Kipepeo finally reveal herself to the world, pushing herself off the ground in order to trot over to Bara. As soon as she arrived by his side, she sat herself down, "They knew you were there; why didn't they leave?"

“They could not smell me.” He tilted his head in the direction the wind was blowing, as he lips his bloody lips, “The night is full of hungry eyes and they are nervous, knowing there are those who hunt in the dark. They feed as much as they can before moving on, reluctant to leave a place with good food.” Barakillian smiled, flashing fangs, “As long as you keep the wind in your face, they may think you are there but will not know – it is your scent they watch for.”

Moving around the body, he plunked down in the grass and began to tear open the antelope, gnawing on choice parts with a contented look. “The stupid ones will linger on the edges, think nothing is wrong. Or the old and injured will lag. Those are the easiest to bring down.”

[incomplete]