It had been a few weeks since Navale had left the Pridelands border with Amaranth. The blue and white lioness already missed Kimiko, the lioness she'd begun to feel was like a second mother to her. In her place, though, was Amaranth. Though the dark lioness seemed every bit her opposite, Navale had begun to feel she was like a sister. Which was somewhat silly for her, since she already HAD a sister. But then... She already had a mother, too, and that hadn't stopped her feeling like Kimiko was another mother. The blue-backed lioness furrowed her brow, stopping her train of thought to focus on the gazelle herd in front of her. On the other side of it was Amaranth, using her dark coat to hide so she could spring into action as soon as the herd moved.
Around near the other side of the herd, down wind from the herd, Amaranth watched the gazelle. They'd picked out one with a limp - An older doe, round and plump and ripe for the picking. The black lioness licked her teeth, bi-colored eyes watching as she waited. The encounter with her aunt - Half-aunt? - had been a curious occurance, but it had gotten her thinking about her life, and how she acted. The older lioness had given all signs of no longer really caring about who she was related to, and had improved her own life in the process. Amaranth weighed the options of her own life, then decided her father's line was the only one worth mentioning. If more prodding was made, she'd only tell others that she had no idea who her mother's parents were. Movement caught her eye, and her muscles bunched. Navale was moving.
Her bold coloration was an advantage when mixed with hunting with someone who had more blended coloration. Navale enjoyed that aspect. The prey knew where she was, but not what she was up to, and this allowed her to make them edgey. As she stalked around to the other side, the gazelle pranced, clearly agitated by her presence. They could smell her now, but not Amaranth hiding in the brush. The blue-backed lioness dropped down into the grasses, hiding herself as she stalked closer. They could no longer see her, even with her glaring blue markings, and this was perfect as she got closer. Suddenly, she jumped out of the grasses, giving chase. The herd, in a panic, bolted, moving in the exact manner she'd hoped. They wouldn't know until it was too late that another lion was hiding.
As the herd moved, Amaranth's muscles bunched, eyes trained. Her whole body was quivering with excitement, ready to pounce. Her bi-colored gaze soon landed on the injured doe, the prey's pace slower due to her injured leg. As the doe got closer, Amaranth shot out, giving chase. In a surprise burst of urgency, the gazelle's pace quickened, panic causing her eyes to widen quite a bit. Amaranth wasn't deterred, paws pushing her along the ground. Navale soon caught up to her, and the lionesses ran side by side, soon diverging until they were on either side of the gazelle. The prey beast's pace was slowing again as the dark lioness jumped, knocking the gazelle over with her whole body. Everything happened in a flurry, as the hoofed animal screamed in terror before suddenly being silenced and still.
The rest of the herd thundered on, avoiding where the lionesses had brought down the doe. As life ceased in the prey animal, Navale settled to relax, sides heaving as she tried to catch her breath. It would do no good to eat right now, she'd end up throwing it right back up. They both relaxed, letting the herd finish passing, before they began moving their kill. The night before, they'd heard the familiar whoop of hyenas and weren't prepared to just let their hard work go. They soon found a safe place to keep their kill, hidden in some bushes, and only then did they begin to eat. A rumble rose out of Navale's throat and chest, clearly pleased with what they'd accomplished.
Amaranth soon rolled onto her back, full and happy. As the dark lioness smiled, she licked her maw. "That was delicious..." She reached down, scratching at her fully and distended belly. Because of the dark red coloration, the blood that ended up rubbed on was hidden. Not that she wouldn't groom it off later, but for now, she was too full to care. She glanced over at Navale. "How 'bout you?"
Navale hummed, eyes closed and a smile on her maw. "Oh, it WAS... It's so much easier to bring down food with someone to help, isn't it?" She stretched, then raised a paw to clean it. After a bit, she smiled at Amaranth. "You know, you're like an actual sister to me... It may seem strange, but... More of a sister than my blood sister... Sort of. She went her own way, I haven't seen her in a long time..." Come to think of it, Navale missed her sister.
Amaranth had to stop at these words, eyebrows up. She was like a sister? She looked over at Navale. "Really...?" When the blue and white lioness nodded, the red, white, and black lioness smiled, before squeezing her eyes shut and wiggling where she lay on her back, a happy purr in her throat. She didn't think she'd ever find someone who was like a sister to her out here! And she found it true - Navale DID feel like a sister! Granted, Amaranth had had a bit of a relationship with her three actual sisters - She loved and cherished them all, after all - But she still didn't think she'd belonged where she was. Her brothers certainly felt they did... She took a note from Navale, beginning to clean her paws of the blood. With at least one white paw, it was horribly easy to see on her.
Navale started to say something else, when a sound caught her attention. The lioness blinked, rolling over and rising to her paws, hackles raising slightly. As her nose twitched, though, she began to relax - Even smile. She looked over at Amaranth, grinning. "I think we have company, but not someone we need to worry about... They smell familiar! Stay here, I'll go get them!" With a flick of the mist-blue hair on the tip of her tail, she set off, moving at an easy walk that still held the careful silence of a huntress.
Frowning, Amaranth could only roll over and rise to her paws herself. Her dark nose twitched, smelling the air. What greeted her was a scent that was somewhat like Navale's, but... Different. More masculine... Was it her brother she'd been seeking? Or... One of her brothers... Maybe. The primarily-black lioness parked her rear in the grass, waiting for her sister-friend to return.
