Kuma - [x]
Astar
The young lioness sighed as she managed to ruin another attempt at catching a springy gazelle. Astar had left the pride on her Rite of Passage and she was practicing hunting on her own for the first time on. She was still in the En Gedi border and the patched lioness didn’t seem to have luck (and well… skill) on her side today. First she’d managed to catch a small baby zebra only to have been violently attacked by the little thing’s mother. Number one. Then she’d sprinted towards a small herd of gazelles but the wind had changed and the animals had noticed the presence of the feline predator. She was too far when they bolted. Number two. And now, when she’d believed that maybe she’d scared off just about any grass eater in a mile radius, she’d found two large bucks fighting against one another. And she’d managed to scare them away as well. Number three. Sigh.
Kuma
Lost. The thin wild dog cursed his luck. He was steadily growing weaker, the poor condition of his coat and the protruding ribs tell tale signs that the young canine wasn’t doing too well on his own. He was a young adult but being separated from his pack and forced to hunt on his own had taken a great toll on the dark wild dog. He had just found a small gazelle and was silently stalking the creature as he planned his next move. He actually this could be his last chance at surviving. It certainly felt like it.
Astar
Another blotched attempt. What was wrong with her? Hadn’t she learned enough from Ahava? Didn’t she make a promise to herself that she would never become a burden again? Why was it so hard, why was she being so incompetent?
The young lioness sighed as she kept on walking until she saw a gazelle in the distance. She dropped to the ground at once and waited to see if the small animal had noticed the commotion she’d caused just a few moments before.
Kuma
Kuma noticed the activity coming from the other side of the gazelle and he hoped the animal – that seemed to be watching something intently - wouldn’t decide to leave. The grass seemed far less appetizing now and anyone could tell the gazelle was about to bolt. Kuma decided to take a chance and ran towards the animal, his blue eyes fixed on the animal’s leg, his chosen target. He knew he wouldn’t be able to take it down on his own and in his condition but Kuma was aiming to injure and tire. So he sprinted, he jumped… and he missed. The gazelle noticed the black shape approaching, bellowed out a warning call and ran in the opposite direction, hopping evasively as if possessed.
Astar
Astar had been silently crawling her way to the gazelle – that must’ve caught her scent because the creature was looking somewhat on edge – when she noticed a black shape running towards the creature. It was small, smaller than the adolescent lioness at least but Astar wasn’t keen on getting into a fight with another predator. And yet, she was suddenly forced to join in on the hunt when the gazelle bolted… towards her! Of all the fool’s luck in the world! Astar waited patiently before leaping just at the right moment and grabbed the gazelle by the neck. This was it. Her first kill. And she’d done it all by herself! Well… almost.
Kuma
Kuma cursed as he chased the gazelle to his exhaustion, unwilling to give up until a larger shape of white and grey suddenly popped up from the tall grass and grabbed his prey. The canine froze at once, stopping firmly on his tracks, a mix of fear and annoyance suddenly taking over. He probably would never have caught the gazelle on his own but to see it being taken away from him like this, so easily… it was frustrating. He paused, panting heavily, considering his options. There was the faint scent of lions in the area. If the lioness belonged to it and decided to take her kill back with her, he had no chance of getting anything. But if she was going to eat it here, Kuma might actually be able to get a few scraps before the vultures and hyenas that would surely appear drove the wild dog away.
Astar
Astar stood tall now, panting as she looked at her first kill with an unmistakable expression of pride. She’d finally done it. On her own. Lost in a whirlwind of thoughts and memories, the patched lioness took a while to notice the dark canine watching her from a safe distance. She could tell he wasn’t in particularly good shape and she had to admit that his help had been invaluable on her first hunt. The gazelle would probably have run off had he not chased it her way.
Astar didn’t say a word as she dropped down and slowly started to tear into the grass eater’s belly, unsure of how to handle the little observer.
Kuma
The dark wild dog waited for the lioness’ reaction with a wary expression. She’d partially disappeared into the tall grass and Kuma could only assume she was now doing what he could only hope to do very soon: eating. Mouth watering at the scent of fresh blood, the wild dog moved closer with painfully slow steps, always ready to jump out of the way at the slightest sign of aggression. His head lowered as he moved through the grass, the dark canine could already see the patched shape of the lioness.
Astar
Astar watched as the small dark shape moved closer, taking in all the little details about the canine’s appearance. He was in bad shape but not sickly as far as she could tell. She didn’t even think to drive him away as he’d been, after all, of great help in finally earning her first kill. It was only fair that she would share it with the wild dog but Astar didn’t feel the need to say it out loud for some reason. Her green eyes were soft when she looked up and stared at the wild dog before lowering her head to continue eating.
Kuma
Kuma‘s blue eyes met the lioness’ brilliant green gaze but he felt no tension. She seemed to feel comfortable with his presence – now whether it was because the slow advance wasn’t unwelcomed or because she was confident enough not to pay attention to one lone wild dog remained to be seen. Feeling a strange, unjustifiable confidence, Kuma crept in close and started eating on the other side of carcass. While he tried to stay as far away from the green-eyed lioness’ mouth, once he’d started eating it was clear that he wouldn’t be able to stop.
Astar
Astar didn’t smile or speak but her entire body seemed relaxed and her expression unconcerned. She continued eating in silence and apart from the rare glance towards the dark wild dog, the lioness appeared to not to notice her company. Perhaps it was because he was so much smaller than her and incapable of dealing much damage to a lioness (even if Astar hadn’t reached her full size yet) or maybe it was because of his pitiable condition but Astar felt perfectly safe and comfortable around the smaller predator. She didn’t say anything because nothing needed to be said.
Kuma
He could tell the green-eyed lioness was relaxed and consequently his own body slowly released all the tension Kuma had accumulated. The wild dog ate, quickly at first but after a while his movements became slower and his expression softened. He, too, felt strangely comfortable in the presence of a large feline that could easily kill him if she were to attempt it. He couldn’t quite explain it but he felt at ease in her presence and even when their eyes met, he never felt the expected tension. The pleasant breeze ruffled his coat and he sighed deeply and continued eating.
- FIN! -
