Hunting. It gave him such a thrill. The adrenaline running through his veins, the fur standing up on the back of his neck. The narrowing of his eyes as he picked out the one beast he'd go after. Lowering himself closer to the ground, thankful of the shadows the rocky outcrop granted him to camoflague within, Kutakia watched the wildebeest herd carefully, amber eyes moving from one to another.

There! Perfect! The plump one with the lame leg. That could feed him well - he'd be full for a week after that! Tail lashed to the left as his muscles began tingling, his whole body eager for the chase and the kill that was to come. It was an incredibly quick movement, the one that saw his strong muscles ripple beneath his skin, propelling him forwards into a fast sprint. The herd, already alerted, screeched in panic, turning and beginning to stampede away. However, the one lame one was behind from the start, and had no chance as Kuta came around, finally leaping onto it's back with strong legs, sinking his powerful jaws into it's neck. It was dead within a minute.

Kuta stood back a little, surveying his kill. He was quick proud of himself, actually. And with that, he began to feast.



How many days had gone by? Many, too many... Did she sleep last night? When did the sun come up?

Amalahle moved slowly through the long grasses, eyes downcast to the earth and mouth open. Her paws dragged and her head sagged. It wasn't a particularly hot day, but to Ama it felt like she was back in the desert, surrounded by massive dunes and an endless, hot sea of gold from all sides. Her stomach growled painfully and she winced, mentally willing her hunger away.

It had been a long time since she had eaten. She couldn't even remember her last meal. She would've given anything for a nice, juicy piece of meat...And a cool puddle of water. Maybe even just a rain puddle. A dirty rain puddle. But these things weren't in sight. Nothing was in sight except for grass, grass, rocks and grass. But then a sweet scent entered her nose...Ama looked up.

Food?

She turned her body towards the scent and picked up her pace.



Mmm. It tasted so GOOD! It tasted so soft and bloody, just the way he liked it. His tongue cleaned his teeth for him after each bite, although the fur around his mouth was stained red from the blood. Purring softly to himself in content, Kutakia glanced around himself as he chewed on a particularly delicious piece of meat, searching. He'd need to find a watering hole soon, to wash himself. He quite fancied a wash, actually.

He didn't realize that he was being stalked.



As Ama got closer, the scent of meat grew stronger and more enticing. Each step was like a trigger to the smell, making better and better. Ama's jaw was lax and her eyes glistened with hunger. The thought of eating spurred her on and she forgot about the weakness in her legs.

What was it...It was...Yes...It was Wildebeest. One of Ama's favorite prey beasts. Their flesh tasted like-like...It just tasted good. Just thinking about it made Amalahle's mouth water.

It was only a few minutes before Ama saw some huddled shape in the distance. It was slumped over and dark. Surely that was the fallen Wildebeest. A gust of wind wafted the scent over her, succeeding in making Ama even hungrier. But she spotted something else up ahead that made her stomach weaken.

There was someone over the body. It was somebody's prey?

Ama bit her lip and narrowed her eyes, stomach growling audibly. Should she go forward, or...Stay back and wait? She debated quickly.



Hmm? What was that? Kuta frowned a little, raising his head from the carass, wrinkling his nsoe a little. had that been...a growl? A small growl-purr combination escaped his maw in confusion as he glanced around the immediate area, frowning as he spotted...was that a lionness? He couldn't quite tell whether the heat was playing with his mind and it was just a strange rock or it was actually another living creature.

...Well, it looked like a lionness. And something had to have growled, right? Deciding that if it was, he'd look stupid for just looking at her, Kuta decided to call out, just loud enough for his voice to reach her, "You can come closer - d'you want something to eat?"



At the sound of a voice, Ama's ears stood tall and her eyes winced open wide.

He was speaking to her?

...Inviting her to eat with him?

How idiotic. When you had a good kill, you had to eat all you could yourself. That was the only way to survive. If it had been Ama, she knew she would've hoarded the food all to herself until she was good and bloated...Which was exactly what she wanted to do right then.

Muscles growing stiff as she stood still, Ama just watched the male eat from afar. Part of her was too proud to take a step forward. Normally, she wouldn't even consider sharing a meal with anyone. But...It smelled so good and she was so unbearably hungry...

Ama took a step forward. That was all she needed to begin walking closer to the male.



Kuta watched the adolescent for a few moments, thining he'd been right to begin with, and it was just a weirdly shaped rock. Well, it wasn't moving. It was just as he was turning back to continue stuffing his face that it started moving, and he realized it was really a lionness. A warm, friendly smile stretched his face as he slowly lengthened his limbs, standing himself up to greet the newcomer.

She must be tired, and hungry. The nearest oasis was a fair way away, and that was in the other direction to the way she was coming from. She probably needed a good meal - he was happy to be able to provide one for her! His smile grew larger as he stepped to the side, inviting her forewards to take a bite.

"Feel free to eat - you must be starving! My name's Kutakia."



Growing ever closer, Ama could hardly believe her own two eyes. The Wildebeest was enormous and plump. It was hard to imagine that the leopard had taken it down by himself. Then again, leopards were strong and stout and more than able to fell such beasts. She hardly took notice of the male introducing himself.

"How--" Ama began, stopping at the pain that shot through her unused voice. She swallowed to wet her dry throat and tried to ignore the hoarse sounds of speech coming from her own mouth. "How would you know that I'm starving?" she asked, never taking her eyes off of the meat. The scent had engulfed her entire being and she hoped that drool wouldn't drip out of her mouth. That would've been awfully embarrassing. She got to the edge of the beast and stared down at it, still wondering whether or not to take a bite. Then again...It was her right to eat. And there was no way that leopard would be able to finish it by himself.

Without a second thought, Ama lunged at the fallen Wildebeest and sunk her teeth and claws into its warm flesh.



Kuta watched her carefully, just a little wary. Why hadn't she spoken yet? Didn't she like him? What had he done already to upset her? A little confused, he watched Ama carefully, eyebrows rising eagerly as she spoke her first words, a fond smile creeping over his face at the dry, hoarse sound that was produced. She sounded thirsty, too. He'd have to show her the oasis after this.

"'Cause the nearest oasis is that way," he spoke, indicating the way opposite to that she'd come from with a casual flick of his tail. Allowing himself to lie back on the warm sandy ground, Kuta watched her carefully as he dived at his kill, devouring it greedily. Boy, was she hungry. She seemed like the type to care what others thought of her, so to act so...vulgar must've been quite hard. But then hunger did that to people.

"It's nice, isn't it?" he piped up after a while, keen to start a conversation



Ama's mind barely registered Kuta's words. Her teeth tore at flesh and she feasted hungrily, barely stopping to chew. Blood speckled her face and stuck to her hair, making it drape heavily over her eyes. But she didn't stop, not caring about her appearance or how others perceived her. All she cared about in that moment was food; sweet, precious food.

She lapped at the blood and licked her chops clean, stomach growing full and paws soaked with the red liquid. She exhaled tiredly and trailed her tongue across her nose, finally winding down. The food hit her belly and she was satisfied. Even though she had stopped eating, she stayed lying down by the chewed-up Wildebeest.

"Oasis?" she echoed after a while, pink eyes staring into amber. An oasis meant water...

Ama became aware of her intense thirst again.



Kuta watched her eat in silence, getting the feeling that she wasn't one for idle chit-chat. Which was a shame, since he liked talking. Sitting there in silence just seemed so awkward and strange. Well, not complete silence, since the sound of ripping flesh and her growls was actually quite loud, but silent as far as speech went.

As she seemed to wind down, he decided to pick the conversation up again, now she wasn't occupied with eating, "So...what's your name?"

He watched her expectantly, forehead furrowing softly as she spoke of the oasis in a questioning manner. Didn't she know about the oasis? Wasn't that why she was heading this way? Geez, if she'd just been walking blindly, she was lucky! She'd have starved or become dehydrated before reaching anything if she hadn't been heading in that specific direction!

"Yeah - it's not far, we could be there before midday. Would you like me to show you?"



Ama smeared a bloody paw over her face to ease an itch that had started, listening to the male silently as she did so. She shook her head around, bloodied hair flipping back and sticking to her cheek. She took one last, savoring bite of Wildebeest flesh. She took her time chewing before she swallowed.
"I'm Amalahle." she greeted back, though not with fervor; she didn't like introductions. They were so stiff...

Her lips twitched at the mention of the oasis. So they were close? That was perfect. But before midday seemed so far way...Was that at walking pace?

"...What if we run?" Ama asked slowly.



Another bite? She must be close to exploding! Kuta's eyes had grown steadily wider at just how much the female was eating - she was like a bottomless pit! Not that he minded, of course. It just meant h'd have to catch again tomorrow, which shouldn't be a problem. Not if he was well-rested at the oasis. He looked up to Ama as she introduced herself, bowing his head a little in greeting as he stretched himself into a standing position once more.

She hadn't mentioned anymore about the oasis, but that was soon fixed when she asked about running there. His forehead furrowed once more in confusion as he thought about it. He'd never actually run, since he was such a casual leopard. But he supposed...

"Well, in half the time, I guess. We'll be there in no time."



Coal fur bristling with anticipation, Ama leapt to her feet. She paced a bit, waiting for Kuta to begin moving. When he did, Ama followed closely.

The image of cool, flowing water entered her head and she focused on it, trying hard to be patient. She took even breaths, ignored the itch of thirst that bit at her throat. They would be there soon. Patience, patience, patience. But...

It was hard to have patience when your guide was going so SLOW.

Ama narrowed an eye, glaring into the leopard's back. But she shook it off, startled at herself. He had openly shared his meal with her and he was leading her to water. She should be...What was the word...Grateful!

But her thirst told her otherwise.

Try as she might, Ama could not wait any longer. Pounding waterfalls and dancing rivers were all she could see in her mind's eye and she HAD to drink. Muscles tensing, Ama jumped in front of Kuta and ran in the direction he was headed to. She ran hard and fast, leaving the poor brown leopard in the dust behind her. She trusted her sense of smell to lead her to the oasis.

Sweet water...She would be reunited with it soon. As for the leopard...Well, he would be fine.

With that thought in mind, Ama ran harder, imagines of a cool oasis in her head.



Even running was just a little too hurried for Kuta, so he set off at nothing more than a brisk walk, hoping it would satisfy the lionness. It was faster than he'd usually travel, so to Kuta it was fast, which was what she wanted, so all was fine. Perhaps she'd sleep with him tonight - he did like having company. They could talk deep into the night, and he could find out all the places she'd seen...

But before anything could happen his thoughts were interrupted, as Ama leapt in front of him, setting off at a sprint towards the oasis. She must've been really, really thirsty, if she was that impatient! By this time she was already too far away for him to catch up with her, and his ears drooped a little. Was it something he'd said? Or was he just going too slow? Another friend made, and left again. With a sigh, ears perking up a little as more optimistic thoughts entered his head, Kuta turned back in the direction of the wildebeest herd, beginning to trot after them. Well, they had to be heading towards water. And there was still the whoeld ay ahead of him...