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Kerke woke with a jerk, eyes blinking wearily as he stared around to try and figure out what the noise had been. Perhaps it had just been in his dream? Probably. A loud yawn split his maw and he stretched out his back legs, then his front, before rolling on to his feet. Something poked him in the paw and he lifted it and spotted a rock. In fact, now that he looked there seemed to be quite a few lying around for some reason.

Kerke had started to make his way towards the small watering hole a few minutes walk off, wondering quietly where Zaria had gone off to. Perhaps she had awoke with a thirst as well and was already there, or maybe she was off looking for food. He paused at the second thought. It seemed the less likely of the two, considering how she had fared on previous hunts. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as a yowl broke the morning silence. Kerke jerked his head around and looked quickly for it’s source. “Was that Zaria..?” He questioned aloud to himself. It had sounded like her at least, but then again it had been further away so maybe it was someone else. Whatever the case though Kerke decided to find out.

The male cheetah had turned and was now heading in a completely different direction, the one which the yowl had sounded from. If it was not her then he had only wasted a little time, however if it had been Zaria then perhaps she was in serious danger. What if she had been attacked by a lion, or a group of wild dogs. Maybe it was even too late! The dismal thoughts caused him to speed up, hoping that she was alright, or that it wasn’t her at all.

The voice came again, though this time they were words. Kerke quickened his pace to a run. It was definitely her voice, and by the sound of it she could very well be in some trouble! Perhaps something really had attacked her, but hopefully he wasn’t too late. The male rounded a group of bushes and skidded to a halt when he saw the female on the ground.. “Zaria, are you okay?” The words came out quickly, but full of concern. He moved around her, eyes shifting back up to look around for any sign of danger. There didn’t appear to be anything around, nor could he smell anyone else. Kerke looked back down to Zaria, a bit of a squelch beneath his paw catching his attention. He had stepped in what was left of the grub that had been crushed on the ground. “Are you hurt?” He asked again, forcing his attention off the mess on his paw and back to the female.

Kerke moved closer and with a paw quickly pushed Zaria’s own away from her face. “Don’t rub it in further or it’ll just be that much harder to get out.” He spoke, quickly looking around for the closest water source. The only one he could think of was a good walk away, a walk that would be much harder if he was leading a blinded female along, however he did recall a puddle at least closer by. The water was a bit muddier, but he figured a bit of mud might be preferable to being blinded and bloody. “Here, stand and lean on me.” He spoke as he scooted himself to stand before her. “We will move slowly and I’ll lead you to some water so we can properly wash that mess off.”

Kerke moved slowly, leading the helpless female as carefully as he could to the puddle. It was not that far, but the slow pace made it seem much further. Finally the pair reached the puddle. There was a good amount of water, and though the light brown colour made it a bit unappealing to drink it would work just fine for washing off the grime and bit of blood in her fur and eyes. Kerke caught a sigh in his throat, not wanting to make Za feel even worse than she surely did. “Don’t worry, the muck will come out, though it may still bother your eyes for a bit. Should be fine after a bit of rest.” He spoke, trying to sound confident and reassuring. In truth he was not even sure what she had crushed, it had been a bit of a mess upon his arrival. The male cheetah scooted slightly over to allow room for her to clean herself up. It seemed no wonder she did wish to stick with the company of others, the poor girl seemed a hopeless hunter, but he couldn’t help but smile. Hopeless as a hunter she may be, but he enjoyed the company nonetheless.