Night had fallen, taking its sweet time during the day as the sun had seemed to inch along twice as slow as normal. Dina had spent most of the day snoozing in various shady places, regaining her strength from the hard trip to the pride’s new territory. Luckily this northern section offered a little more than what they had called home, with prey beasts and small pools of water to look forward to. Granted it was much more, but anything was better than the place they had traveled away from. Death, sickness, and hunger could have only been found there, that much she was certain of. And for as much as she loved her pride, Dina could not have bared to see them suffer like that for much longer. Needless to say, the lioness was quite pleased with their relocation. The cool air tickled her nose as the dust settled onto her coat once more, having recently attempted to roll it off in a section of withering grass. Unfortunately, there was no such luck for the golden lioness, as the stubborn dirt and grime was adamant in its desire to cling to her fur. No matter, it was cooler now and the sky was darkening, the perfect time for a solitary hunt. Normally she may have invited some of her pride members to join her, but to be honest the lioness was eager to scout the new area for herself, and wasn’t certain if anyone else would be up to the task.
Reaching the outskirts of their resting area, Dina immediately lowered her belly to the ground and began forward in a partial crouch. She was not expecting to go far from the pride as a whole, merely wanting to stretch her muscles and perhaps catch something small to drag back with her. In fact, it would have to be small, as she had no desire to stick around a large kill site by herself, quite aware of the desperation of other hunting animals that may be in the area. It would be nearly impossible for her to defend a kill by herself, as Dina may have been a decent enough hunter, but fighting had always been best left to the abholi of the pride. They were good for that much at least, and Dina had to admit that she had grown fond of them over the years, even if it had been far too many season for her to count since she’d bore the pride any cubs. Hopefully they didn’t think her too old! Oh, that would boil her blood alright.
But, that was not something to dwell on right now, even if that lingering feeling was still at the back of her mind and pitted deep in her gut. Whatever this feeling was, it had been bothering her all day and she would see it disappear soon enough without a trace, as she had no idea where it was coming from or how she could sate the desire. Hopefully a nice hunt would do the trick, as that would explain her body’s restless tendencies despite the constant napping.
It was while Dina was crouching and stalking through the grass, making sure to steer clear of the driest parts as they would rustle and alert any prey, she happened to catch sight of a dark figure not far off. At first she wasn’t certain what it might be, but was relatively small in size, at least when compared to herself. The lioness halted in her approach, lowering herself further to the ground and deep blue eyes scanned the area for anything else that may be in sight. Nothing came to her, and so Dina crept forward, keeping an eye on where she had seen the hint of dark movement. Perhaps it was a wounded buffalo calf that had been left behind? Somehow she doubted her luck would be that good, even in such a promising place as this.
Her movements remained slow, cautious as she moved forward, keeping her body tight and close to the ground. She hadn’t had much practice since the pride had moved on, but Dina had been hunting for many years and had experience on her side. Luckily she hadn’t traveled far from her pride, as she was quite certain she could sprint back to them before anything serious were to happen, if that’s the route this hunt decided to take. Dina remained ever vigilant in creeping forward, her claws silent unsheathing as she caught sight of the dark figure once more. Whatever it was, it wasn’t taller than her chest, and seemed to be plump enough to carry meat on its bones. That was good, as she wasn’t going to eat it on her own, thinking it best to share with the pride she had come to call home. That’s how these things worked after all, and Dina wouldn’t have it any other way.
She was drawing close now, the figuring stirring softly up ahead, likely unaware of her presence. That was good, Dina didn’t think she had enough energy for a long, drawn out race for her prey, as that would require a great deal of concentration which she was currently lacking at the moment. Whatever this restless feeling was, Dina couldn’t seem to shake it no matter what she was doing. Quite bothered by this, the lioness decided to end the hunt quickly, and once close enough rushed out in a fury of fangs and claws. The tip of one of her claws snagged onto flesh, as her rush had startled the creature. During its attempt to bolt, Dina followed with a lunge and a growl, her adrenaline pumping in her veins and demanding the blood of a fresh kill. She had been right assume that the creature was smaller than herself, but when it turned and thrust its head near her chest Dina was startled into balking sideways to avoid a pair of tusks. So, her quarry was a warthog! Luckily it wasn’t a very big one, probably still young and inexperienced in fending off hunters. That was good, Dina had tangled with more than enough big ones and wasn’t willing to take one on by herself at this point. Quickly wishing to end the scuffle, before it managed to get in a good blow, the golden lioness roused her strength and bore forward.
Two large paws grappled with the pig’s muscular neck, as the lioness maneuvered her body stay behind the creature and away from its tusks. They weren’t large enough to cause serious damage just yet, but Dina wasn’t willing to take that chance. In a matter of moments she had wrestled the wriggling creature to the ground, using her superior strength and weight dislodge the pig from its sturdy stand, and finally she could get enough of an opening to latch her jaws around its neck. The killing blow for the pig, her quarry, came swiftly enough as she was thankful to end the task as quickly as possible. There was no telling who or what may have heard the scuffle, and Dina was quite eager to drag it home without incident.
Her fur now matted with the blood of her kill, mingling with the dust to create a red muddy mixture, Dina secured her teeth around a good portion of the pig’s body and with great effort began to drag it back to the pride. It was a good thing this was just an adolescent hog, she doubted she would have been able to take down a full grown adult without serious injury, if she succeeded at all. As soon as she got back to the pride, she’d gladly turn the kill over to be enjoyed as wholly as possible. For what really mattered to Dina, is the sating of her restless desires, which seemed to have quieted down some since she had tasted blood.