Darshana sat up, looking around. The green hare wasn't sure what had waken her, not yet, but she was wary. Long ears moving around, listening, she frowned. Looking at Kohpi, sleeping curled up against Mkorogo, she smiled. So sweet... She knew it would last. Turning back to the direction of whatever sound she'd heard, she carefully moved off. A paw on her back leg had her looking back, then motioning for the other hares in the travel party to stay back. In what was a heartbeat for a lion, the hare took off across the grasslands, a blur of green.
As she had traveled, Sayuri had seen many lions, many cheetahs, a few leopards... And just as many hybrids. It disgusted her. Leopard-looing cats with manes, wirey leopard-looking cats that were too bulky to be cheetahs, too thin and long for leopards... And things that she wasn't sure what it was, but she'd seen a lion parent, a cheetah parent, and odd cubs between. It had taken everything to not out-right attack them. As the wind shifted, a smell reached her nose. It made her smile, a dangerous smile. Mkorogo was near.
As she had suspected, somebody was near that Darshana knew was a problem. Watching the leopardess, the hare prayed the winds shifted. Moving to be in the cat's present path, she kept her eyes trained. The winds shifted, letting the hare relax just a bit. The only problem was.. Now HER scent was wafting to the leopard, and she had no idea if it was a hungry leopard or not.
And smell the hare she did. Hunger nibbled at the edges of Sayuri's concience, causing her to stop in her persuit of Mkorogo for the persuit of food. Lowering down into the grass, she began stalking towards the source of the scent, a determined look on her face as she went. If she didn't catch the rogue leopard, she would at least catch herself some food.
Starting to move back towards where the others were asleep, Darshana smiled at the breeze. Her mind caught up to her, though, giving her a sharp tap in the brain. The wind was now blowing HER scent to the leopard... The hare froze, looking towards where the leopard was. She didn't see her... That could only mean one of two things. Either she was in persuit of the group, or... Fur bristling, Darshana watched a pair of ice-blue eyes melt out of the grass before turning and bolting.
Muscles bunching, Sayuri took off after the hare. The small creatue was fast, but after years of running through jungle and dodging trees to catch food, so was Sayuri. As the hare made a sharp turn, Sayuri looked to see where it was going, but not so much where she herself was going. When she looked back in front of her, she roughly dug her paws into the dirt, trying to stop momentum from taking her over the edge of the river bank.
When she was sure the leopard didn't persue her, Darshana finally stopped. Sides heaving, she gasped for air, whole body shaking. Looking around, she started to back track. Maybe the leopard had tired herself out? As she cleared the grasses near the river, Darshana saw the marks of where the leopard tried to stop a little too suddenly. Following them, she found herself nose to nose with the leopard, dangling from the ledge. "Well, look what you get for chasing a hare..."
The leopard glared, tried to pull herself up. "I swear to you, when I pull myself up, I'm eating you!" Stretching a paw foreward, she dug her claws into the ground and began pulling. The effort was futile, though, as her back paws slid against the side, kicking dirt and rocks down. Down below, the growl and hiss of crocodiles could be heard, just waiting for this tastey treat to fall. Letting out her own growl, Sayuri struggled to at least stay up.
Sitting back, the hare frowned. "I don't think you'll be eating me..." She reached out, patting the cat on the head, yanking her paw back before the predator's powerful jaws snapped shut on it. "I guess it's silly to say to stay here. I'm getting you some help that can pull you up." As she turned and started away, she paused, looking back. "And after you're pulled up, you are telling me WHY you're hunting my charge and her family." Ears twitching, the hare took off, heading back to the group to get Mkorogo.
Glancing at the crocodiles, Sayuri growled. Stupid hare, leaving her hanging like this... She dug her claws in, doing her best to not fall. Kicking a particularly large rock free, she smiled wickedly as it made contact with the head of one of the crocodiles, ending the worry of at least one picking her bones. The rest were still there, though... As she dangled there on the ledge above the river, Sayuri had to be grateful she wasn't hanging over HIPPOS...
