The midday sun heated the ground, making the dirt hot beneath Dabiku's paws. She had woken up early that day to catch her first meal, but it had taken her hours to find unwary prey. She crouched near the watering hole, beside a tall tree. The tree's branches offered her some respite from the sun's heart. Animals clustered around the watering hole, a cacophony of noise rising from their midst. She remained on the outskirts of the crowd, her dark pelt helping her blend into the dirt beneath her paws. Dabiku watched the animals, trying to find the perfect prey. She was so hungry that even the birds looked delicious, despite being covered in feathers and hard to eat.
A cluster of wild hogs grazed on a single tuff of wild grass, each one snorting and shoving to eat first. They were too pushy for her liking: they would fight until the end to defend their claim near the watering hole. She turned her attention toward more flighty prey. A small herd of zebra gathered near a watering hole. Their heads were bent, white and black manes shrouding their eyes. They looked like a mass of monochromatic colors. She could barely tell where one zebra ended and the next began. Yes - these would be the perfect prey. She slowly stalked toward the zebra herd. The dirt beneath her gave way to soft grass as she neared the watering hole, the tall grass hiding from sight.
Each paw step took her closer to a meal, closer to sating the hunger that gnawed at her stomach. When she had almost reached them, the zebras suddenly raised their heads. Each of the animals flicked their ears toward her. She held her breath for several moments, before the herd erupted into chaos as they fled the watering hole. At the zebras' commotion, the other animals started sniffing the air. Several nearby birds startled from a tree. They flapped into the sky, feathers floating down to the ground like falling clouds. The wild hogs scattered away from her, and the rest of the prey followed. All the other animals fled from the watering hole, leaving her alone by the water's edge.
The only edible thing left behind was a small lizard sunning itself on a rock. Its sense of smell seemed less developed than the other animals. Some food was better than nothing, she supposed. Dabiku crouched in the grass, her tail swishing behind her, when the lizard suddenly looked at her. Its beady eyes blinked twice. It disappeared into the grass, vanishing without a trace.
Dabiku heaved a long sigh and stood from her crouch. "Really?" she called out after the lizard. "Even you have to run away?" She kicked a rock with her paw. It skittered across the ground. "I wouldn't have hurt you. Not much, anyway."
