Avya knew she wasn’t anywhere near any place important. How did she know that? There was no one around. No lions, or leopards, or even anything good to eat. Nothing, really, save a bird here and there, and maybe a rabbit. But she wasn’t interested in eating at the moment, anyway, so it didn’t matter. She just wanted to get through this place as possible, and find a good place to sleep. Maybe she would find herself a pride to live in, but she knew it wouldn’t be around here. Though, she did like the look of the green forest. Maybe some something with trees… that would be good. She liked trees.

Window shopping, in a sense, for a pride, she didn’t notice a lioness stalking her from the bushes nearby.

Kilgharrah was getting very tired of this. Lions walking into her lands. Sure, she had known one of them and the other had been a weak, sad looking little thing. And one hadn’t been a lion at all, but rather a cheetah. None of those facts mattered: this was the last straw. This lioness had no business being here, didn’t look helpless, and was definitely not a cheetah or an old friend. No, there was nothing redeeming about her and this it made her a perfect target for some good old fashioned ‘get off of my lands’ chasing. She lunged forward, her paws thundering over the ground instantly, growling loudly so the stranger, with her camouflage hair, would know she meant business.

Avya stopped, ears perking forward, tail going rigid. She looked back, and easily saw the lioness charging toward her. It was rather difficult to miss the deep green streak barreling toward her. But instead of trying to run, she span around and growled viciously at the attacking lioness in return. She extended her claws and hunkered down, her fur bristling in preparation. She didn’t know what this chick was doing, but there was no way Avya was going to run from a fight, even if it was out of the blue and completely uncalled for. That was absolutely ridiculous. And not to mention rude.

Kil leaped and slammed right into the lioness. They scuffled for a while, claws flying, teeth flashing. She felt pain in her arm as the camo-haired lioness managed to land a sturdy bite, yanking her forward and making her lose her balance. “Damn it!” She cursed, lashing out and sinking her teeth into the other’s shoulder. It was a superficial wound, the other able to pull away quickly without Kil being able to keep a hold of her, but it was fine. It was enough to do what Kil had intended: get her to let go of the paw she was holding captive in her jaws. They circled each other, growling constantly.

“Get out of here!” Kil ordered.

“I was!”

“Well… go faster!”

“I would!”

“Why aren’t you?!”

“Because you attacked me!”

They paused, panting. Avya sat down, glaring at the other. Her shoulder was aching and she could see blood on her fur, but it was in a spot where she couldn’t lick it clean. It was not a serious wound, at least, and she still had full range of motion in that leg. Even so, it was an annoyance and it would certainly slow her down while hunting. And for no reason at all! This jerk had attacked her out of no where, and now they were both wounded for it. Avya shook her head. “What were you thinking? Why did you attack me? I wasn’t even doing anything but walking and you jump on me? That is just… impolite.”

“Impolite? Are you serious? You are invading my territory! If you stay here too long you’ll… you’ll scare off all the food! Or try and get it for yourself! You can’t have any, damn it. There’s not enough. This is my place. You need to get out of here.” She huffed, growling. She looked ruffled and upset, but she suddenly realized she had no ground to stand on. The lioness might well have just been passing through, and Kil had been the one to stop her. It was a stupid tactic for someone who hated unwelcomed guests, but she was at her wit’s end with visitors recently. She had reacted too quickly, perhaps, and now she was being too stubborn to admit it out loud. So she just glared.

Avya gaped.

“You’re kidding. I was just walking past your stupid trees and this spit of grass you call a home. I had no intention of staying here for longer than it took my paws to get me to some place interesting. I didn’t even know anyone lived here: I just assumed everyone was smart and stayed the hell away from this desolate place. But I guess one loon has to live here. It is the perfect place for a hermit,” she raged, stomping her paws and swinging her tail behind her in fury. She could not believe the other had attacked her for something so stupid. It blew her mind.

“Well. Okay then.” Kil frowned and the two sat pouting at each other for some time. Kil’s leg was stinging and a bit swollen already, and she could see the bite mark she had left on the stranger. “So… get out then. I mean. If it’s so terrible here. Then just go. It doesn’t matter to me if you like it or not,” she stood, limping away. She felt very, very embarrassed about her mistake but the chance of an apology slipping from her muzzle were slim. To none. None at all, in fact, so long as she could get away and back into the trees before the other could say anything else. It was essentially a hit and run.

Avya watched the other green lioness as she padded off, shaking her head. This was one of the weirder days she had experienced, to be sure. Attacked for no reason, and then she was left stinging and confused. She shook her head, though, not bothering to follow Kil. It wasn’t worth a second fight. It hadn’t been worth a first fight. She shook her head and stood, sticking her tongue out childishly before yelling, “you should probably tell someone to get out before you attack them: that way you know for sure if they were already listening to you without you needing to say anything. Or bite anyone. Damn.”

Kil huffed and bounced into the bushes, turning around and crouching to watch as the camo-haired lioness walked off. She wasn’t limping, which made Kil feel a little better and a little worse, for the same reason. She hadn’t been able to hurt the intruder too badly. While her own paw, the one Avya had bitten, was aching her and she wanted nothing more than to limp home, sit with Hitilafu, and pout about what had happened. And that was what she did.

(Word Count: 1161 in Word)