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 Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 12:27 pm
It was beginning to get dark and they were tracking the Oryx, but in the meanwhile Rujul was testing Unzu. The purple lioness had not offered much in the way of conversation as they went, but had watched him track, following along silently as she watched him at work, and finding less to criticize as they went on. He was not a naive hunter, he had obviously spent some time on his own and knew how to take care of himself. Still, he came across as cocky and narcissistic, and she avoided speaking to him for long periods.
Unzu, in the meanwhile, was having a pretty good time showing off for her. He made a great show of looking at hoof prints on the savannah floor, sniffing a tree where an oryx had rubbed its horns, and climbing up to watch the herds. He had to be efficient, though, because he knew that too long away and Akinyi would worry. Besides which, the further he strayed away, the further he'd have to drag part of a carcass back, and that could take ages by itself. There was no way of knowing she wasn't patrolling this very area, either. They had many places around where they tended to stay or sleep.
The purple lioness approved of this efficiency even if he meant to make a greater show of it; she wasn't looking for anything long-term and the sooner she could ascertain his quality the sooner she could be rid of him.
They followed the herd, managing to come upon them before dusk had fully settled in, the sun hanging in late-afternoon position. The Oryx were heading into higher lands above the swamps to browse on the hardier vegetation that lined the edges of the temporary wetlands. It didn't happen often during the wet season but would occur more and more frequently as the rains slackened. The thick, luxurious grasses of the lowlands started to turn into scrub, the floor of the savannah a little sandier.
"This will have to be an ambush attack," Unzu told Rujul, as if she did not know this. Still, it helped her understand his thought process, and thinking was generally a good sign in a hunter. The purple lioness said nothing, letting him lay out the plan.
"I'm a bit faster than you, so I think I should chase one to you while you take up position behind one of those low scrubs. It won't see you until too late," he said, his green eyes focused on their prey. A few individuals were wandering away to nibble at the verdant bushes, and one of them was favoring a limb ever so slightly. Even if they couldn't catch it by first charge, they could run it down and follow it until their ambush finally took it down. If the hyenas didn't get to it first.
"Very well. I will go get into position," Rujul agreed, halfway wondering if Unzu would run off without her observing him. But she had not intimidated him in order to get him to come this far. He was plainly happy to show off for her, and as long as she remained skeptical of his ability, he would stay around. The purple lioness circled around. It was easier here in the scrubland, she could move from bush to bush, staying out of any direct line of sight. On the open grassland the herd would move off as soon as it saw her intentions.
Unzu watched until Rujul crouched down behind one of the bushes, moving slowly as well, staying upwind of the oryxes. They were aggressive and the specimen he'd tagged was large. Even if it were not in prime shape, it could do some nasty damage with its horns and hooves. He doubted that they would bring it down this time.
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Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 12:45 pm
Unzu waited until he saw Rujul's eyes meet his, positioned nearly flanking the Oryx, where he could harry it towards the purple lioness, feeling the earth under his paws, claws extended for grip. He tensed, crouching down, preparing for the spring, his tail ramrod straight as he crept up, pure energy as he focused on his prize which had thankfully failed to notice him as of yet. Then, he sprang, without a word, a roar, anything, flying out into sight. The Oryx, to his surprise, did not flee. Instead, it turned on him, swinging its head around to box him with its horns. He caught it by the face, but it lashed out with its forehooves and batted him off, rearing and aiming another blow at him as he stumbled back, shocked. The others of its herd were coming towards hm now as well.
Rujul sighed, shaking her head and leaping into the fray, roaring to startle the healthy Oryx and give her just enough time to dig her claws into its haunch, sinking in her teeth. The Oryx tossed her off with one powerful kick, but the wound in its leg was done. It spun to present its horns to both lions, and the others were coming back, trying to scare them off with a show of force. Unzu and Rujul were forced to retreat for the time being.
They ran out of reach of the herd, watching them move off, drawing to a halt. Unzu panted, his green eyes focusing on the one they'd attacked, its face and rear leg injured, favoring it even more so. If they kept after it, they could take it down when the wound made it weak enough. For now they would have to wait, following along.
"We were close," Unzu observed. "But I didn't expect it to turn on me like that," he admitted under his breath. Rujul made a dismissive noise.
"Well, I do hope that is not the best you can do. But there is time left. It was stronger than we thought it was," she shrugged, sitting to take a rest. Their kind was built for short bursts of speed, nothing sustained. They would have to follow the herd through the night, but until it got dark they could rest.
Hunting on the Savannah certainly was different. Rujul had almost forgotten. But to be back out here, in the open air, also eased her heart a little. Even if the male was not well-behaved or brightly colored. She could bear with it for a while. Without cubs, there was no future for her out here. She wasn't sure she could stand to tie herself up with a pride, Rujul thought far too much of herself to defer to anyone that could not physically dominate her, even this game stinging her pride.
So she lay there with Unzu for a while as they caught their breath, panting, feeling the cool of the night seep into the air and energize them again, bringing first Unzu, then Rujul to her feet. They shook off and were off after the herd, following the scent and the stripped bushes in its wake, staying far out of sight. The injured one would lag further and further behind and then they could finally take it down. Luckily they were heading back into the swamp, where the going would be slower and more difficult for the injured Oryx. Not to mention closer to Unzu's home.
It really would be a lovely thing to treat Akinyi to some Oryx; it was very good meat, in great quantity. It had eaten all wet season of the succulent grasses and other flora that populated the savannah, and would taste delicious even on a full belly, if she'd managed to catch something. The trouble would be that all hyenas, wild dogs, and carrion birds would think the same thing about it.
While Unzu's mind stretched back to his other life, Rujul focused on her present, taking away from the monotony of locating signs of the herd and following after them. The moon rose full and white overhead, shining silvery light down onto the grasslands in the same way it had done for millions of years, in a dance that had taken place in some shape or form for so many generations that no mortal consciousness could fathom.
And thus they followed the herd through the night.
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