Kude ached all over, but that was nothing new to her. Thankfully for once the ache was only from her bum leg and not from her being starved half to death. In the past two days she had ran into two different males willing to feed the starving lioness and while she was still skin and bones, her eyes were bright with renewed lift and she was filled with energy again.
Wandering alone again, Kaishori slowly made her way through the tall grass. She held a small smile on her face; she was content with her day so far. She was small, but her muscles seemed to bulge a little bit. She was a hardy lioness, for sure, as she adored hunting and had the physique to do so multiple times a day. Her young heart yearned that rush of adrenaline that she gained from hunting, so she never hesitated to do so.
Her yellow eyes flicked back and forth ahead of her, scanning for something to chase. Seeing something move off in the distance, she quickly ran towards it.
Kude heard the pounding of feet before the lioness reached her and whirled around...or tried to whirl around. With her mangled hind leg, she couldn't move that fast. She crumpled into a pile with a angry snarl both at her 'attacker' and at the betrayal of her own body.
Oh. It was a lion. Kaishori felt her legs tense as she came to a halt, not wanting to pick a fight right off the bat. She moved into a fighting stance quickly, though, as the lion she had run after snarled. It was like daring her to fight, teasing her pride and fighting nature.
"Oh?" She almost whispered, wanting the other lioness to move forward, to engage her. Her tail flicked back and forth, and a smirk crossed her maw. This was what she loved, although it did provide for some ugly scars.
Kude snarled again, trying to seem bigger than she was.
The lionness knew she was in deep s**t if the other attacked. The red lioness was muscular, and well fed but most importantly..she wasn't handicapped. Hell Kude knew she was dead, she couldn't even get her three good legs under her, the meager meals hadn't given her that much strength.
Swaying her whole body now, Kaishori eyed the lioness in front of her. She was older, that was for sure, and honestly, didn't look like she stood much of a chance. Kaishori had prided herself on her fighting skills, ever since she was a small, stalky cub.
"Do you wish to engage me?" Her tone was smooth, almost girlish, but kept its assertive power.
Kude snarled savagely "Do I look like I could take you on?! Just kill me and get it over with!" She tried again to get up only to have her legs crumple under her again.
Kaishori's brow eased, and her eyes almost seemed sympathetic. She could feel her muscles ease, and it made her body shrink a little. Without the bulkiness of her muscle to puff her up, Kaishori looked like a husky adolescent. Her ears fell, and she took a step towards the other lioness.
"Why would I want to kill you? There's no fun in that." Her lower lip moved out a bit, like she was pouting. Kaishori had never been one to kill others; at least, not without an engaging fight first. It was like foreplay-- the best part to the red lioness. Without it, there was little point.
Kude growled again, " Don't touch me!" She finally was able to get to her feet, her hind leg barely touching the ground.
"Gosh, you don't have to be so angry about it." Kaishori flicked her eyes to the side, her voice young and sweet. She didn't quite understand why this older female was so angry about not being killed; usually others would be happy about something like that.
Her eyes moved downward, staring at the apparently injured leg. She twisted her head, pulling it back to the side. It was something she did, when she saw something but didn't want to mention it. She could only imagine how she'd be snapped at if she did say something.
Kude's laid flat back as she snarled at the younger liones, " I was mind my own damn business and you nearly attack me. And I am not suppose ot be angry?! Are you insane?!" She was furious that the young female had cost her what strenght she had gained
"Nearly being the key word there." Kaishori mumbled to herself. It was encounters like these that made her have a distaste for older lions. They seemed so grumpy and stingy all of the time.
"Besides, you should be more careful. A lioness in your....condition shouldn't just be running around like that. I could've killed you." She wanted a chance to scold, to be heard. Not many lions understood why she loved fighting and hunting so much, so she usually took up the defensive. It was true, though, she could have killed the other lioness, had her soul not been active. If she was a cold lioness, like the one that took her brother from her, she wouldn't have hesitated, have back down.
".....Are you touched in the head girl?! Do I look like I can run about?!" She growled faintly. She was in bad shape without a doubt, her fur was dirty and hung off her bones, her stomach was shank in, her hing leg was mangled.
"I assure you, you hag, that my mind is just fine." Kai's voice rose with every word, her pride hurt now. "You, however, are very deranged, and have little respect for those who hold power over you." She moved closer, her chin slightly raised. Her muscles began to tense up again, and she could feel herself readying for a fight. "You need to learn your place, you worthless thing." Her eyes narrowed, unwavering as they stared down at her.
Kude laid her ears back as she crouched down, " You can kill me but atleast I know how to respect my elders." In her case she did more than most. She had been her pride's spirit talker, keeper of the runes that spoke the words of the dead. "No one but the spirits hold power over me."
"I only respect those who deserve it." She huffed at the lioness, turning her head to the side. Kaishori held strong on her belief that not all elders deserved respect; it was something they had to earn, either by influence, power, or the way they acted with others. Kai's pride was too large to give any sort of respect to an old lion that was ready to die at first sight.
"The spirits? I would never be so weak as to allow such things to control me." Kai wasn't afraid of anything that she couldn't see or speak to. If the spirits wanted something from her, they could take it up with her when she was dead.
Kude shook her head as she slowly got back to her feet. "They do not control me, they speak to me. There is a difference." Looking to the younger lioness, Kude sighed faintly her anger draining away. "Fine, if you aren't going to kill me what do you want?"
In all actuality, Kai approached this lioness because she thought it was food. The skinny body looked like a wildebeast from afar, and she got excited. "It was nothing, really." She flicked her mane to the side, casually tossing aside her previous thoughts and moved on, knowing that if she told her she thought the other lioness was food, it'd only upset her more.
She shook her head again, in all honesty...she wasn't that much older than Kai, it was just her horrible physical contition that aged her so. Kude was barely out of cubhood herself. "If you don't want anything, then can I go?"
"Why not? There's no bond that holds you here." Kai really had little else to say to the bitter lioness. She almost regretted not knocking her around a bit, but if she wasn't going to fight back, then it would have been a total waste all together.
"I would advise you not to flick your poisin tongue at others, or they will kill you." She stared at her straight on now, trying to give some advise. "Though I doubt you'll heed it."
She snorted faintly, " Maybe you should learn to control your temper." Snorting faintly she limped away. With her back to her, she could see how twisted Kude's hind leg was. It looked like the leg had been crushed and healed wrong.
