[PRP] Hope is a waking dream..(Sadara and Athena)FIN

[Kathryn Dragonna]

Athena watched the spring bucks for an hour or so before deciding on which one he wanted to take down. The calves were staying too close to their mothers to be picked off, but there was a large buck with a bad leg that kept falling just a little behind the back of the herd. Even though the creature was large, that leg would be his undoing. The male lion would make sure of it. With all the females that Athena was gathering to follow him, one would think he would be hunting in a group, but more often than not, he insisted on going out on his own to do the hunting.

That was what had brought him here. He had insisted he would hunt on his own and if the ladies wanted to wait he would bring something back. They had declined the offer, but with a creature this big, he would drag it back anyway. They could eat it or not as suited them. The fluffy lion crept closer with the herd none the wiser to his presence. He did not see any sign of another approaching the same herd, but then he was focused on the hunt.

Athena waited and just as the male lagged back again, the lion leaped from his hiding place and ran full force at the side of the spring buck. The creature tried to limp away, but was not fast enough. The full size of Athena went crashing into the side of the buck and the lion's maul closed on its throat. The rest of the herd bounded off in the other direction while Athena finished off the thrashing buck. One of the hooves did manage to catch him on a paw, but he moved it with the blow, taking very little of the actual force onto himself. When the thing finally stopped thrashing and was dead, Athena took the time to admire his kill.  

[Kathryn Dragonna]

Athena was just about to start dragging the creature back to the others when he heard paws padding his way. He looked up and over in the direction of the sound and was pleasantly surprised to see the pretty leopardess heading toward him. If she had not looked ready to kill him, he would have been thrilled at the sight of such beauty. As it was, he was enjoying the view even if she was angry, just silently enjoying.

When she started ranting at him, Athena got very confused. How was he being inconsiderate? He was hunting for his group which was several females and a cub so far. His face reflected his puzzlement at her tirade. "I am sorry, beautiful, but what did I do? I do not know what I could have done to anger you so... and as we have just met one would think it very unlikely that I did anything to you in the past." He went over everything in his head to figure out what she could be upset about.

If she was this close and so upset directly after he got the spring buck, perhaps she was hunting the same herd? That seemed logical. "Did my hunting disturb yours? If so, I am sorry, but I have been stalking this herd for the last hour and did not realize someone else was even here. I am more than happy to share what I caught as it was intended to go back to my traveling companions for that purpose anyway. But if that is not the reason for your anger, you will have to enlighten me."  

[Kathryn Dragonna]

"If you wish to think of it as stealing, I am sure I cannot change your mind. You seem the type to keep your own opinions no matter what another might wish. But my offer for you to share the meal and my compliment both still stand." Athena looked at her and blinked before shaking his mane to fluff it out. "In a couple of days, if you want to travel with me, I help you hunt again. I have others traveling with me. They help hunt, hunt on their own, or let me hunt for them, depending. I do not mind any of these ways really."

"I enjoy hunting and caring for others. I enjoy helping others and having company. I am sorry that you missed the chance to catch your own meal, had I seen you, I would have allowed you the hunt. I cannot change what is already done, but I can offer to make it up to you. You have to let me, though." The male sighed and wished he could help her, but he knew that if she refused to let him there wasn't a thing he could do about it. "Will you let me make up for this? Or perhaps even help you? I would like to."

His first instinct was to step close to her to comfort, but he already saw how furious she had been. It was not the best idea to intrude on her space just yet. If they got to know each other better that was a different story. He had a sad look on his face as he watched her. "You are beautiful, even if you do not think I mean the words." His voice was quiet on that last. It rather hurt him that she had brushed off his compliment like that. He sat down on his haunches heavily and wrapped his tail around his paws.  

[Kathryn Dragonna]

Athena watched her for a few moments. He saw the anger fade into something else, not all of which he figured she wanted to share, and listened to her apologies. She seemed to have gone through something traumatizing, or so he would figure by how she was to her breaking point. That could be the lack of sleep too, though. If she was not sleeping, then she needed to relax and take time to rest. "Take my offer of the meal. I insist."

He got up and followed after her, stepping in front of her to half bar her way. "If you are not resting, going off on your own is going to get you killed. I have a group that you could travel with, mostly females, where you would be safe to rest. So long as you do not mind the cub and myself, you will not have any males to bother you, and you will eat well." He purred at her and licked her nose. "Besides, where is safer to rest than among a bunch of female lions that will think of you as a sister?"

He hated to force her to take the offer, but she needed the rest. He was not about to let someone that close to their breaking point out on their own. What happened if she snapped at the wrong person? Or for that matter if she misjudged a hunt? There were a lot of things that were dangerous even when one was well rested and thinking clearly. The leopardess needed some time to get to that point before she went off.  

[Kathryn Dragonna]

"My name, is Athena. I offer to help you because it is who I am. As much as it is to praise the beauty of others, and delight in the company of others, both male and female." Athena shrugged his fluffy shoulders. "I have made my kill for now, but you have not. I have others that will eat this if you do not, but they can all hunt just as well as I for the most part and would not begrudge you eating. Should I care less because you are a leopard than if you were a cheetah or lion?" He looked at her and tilted his head to the side. He certainly did not think so.

"Perhaps I should care less or more because you are female? To me that is irrelevant. I would even help a wild dog or hyena in trouble, and I think of all felines as on equal paw. We all have our strong points and our weak points. No better or worse than each other when looked at as a whole." He lowered his head to look right into her eyes. His dark ones looking straight into her light eyes, Athena touched her nose with his. "I think you could use the help, and my offer stands."

"If you are too stubborn or proud to take it, that is your business. I would not be who I am if I did not offer and do everything I can to convince you to take the help, though." He was an honest lion, a sweet lion, and a flirty lion, but he was also the fluffy adorable lion that took down the big spring buck by himself. "If it makes you feel any more at ease, I have plenty of females traveling with me, and the only cub belonging to any of them was sired by someone else. Not all males are bad. I would not say no to an offer, if you wanted to give it, mind you."