It wasn't anything like an eventful day to start with when the dark brown male woke up during the morning and left his small pride's grounds, but it definitely would be by the end of it. Golden eyes scanned the grounds nearby, looking for the carcass of a possible kill from a few days past but to no avail, there was nothing left to fill his aching belly. No matter though, it wasn't as if Durin could not hunt, he merely preferred to let the females do the work. That was what they were there for so long as he protected them from rival males who wished to take them into his own pride.
Had Aviana known what she would get into that day it was likely she would have stayed within her cluster of trees and gone a different direction for her morning meal. The burnt orange lioness moved swiftly thought the wheat gold tall grass, her dark teal eyes keeping and eye out for any herds or even small game that would pass into her field of vision. What caught her attention was not prey but rather one of her own species, but a male. A small growl erupted from her maw, her fangs already bared and lips curled up just at the thought of one being so close to her sleeping area, especially a male that was did not have his will broken like the two that guarded her from other males.
It didn't take too much longer for him to take notice that there was someone watching him. The presence of the lioness was discovered quickly, but from the distance they were from one another, Durin could not see her hostility towards him. The thought of another lioness to hunt for him and possibly have cubs by him was too good to pass up. Three lionesses would make sure his belly was never empty and this feeling of hunger would be a thing of the past! He could not help him; he approached.
The male's actions took Aviana by surprise, having hoped that her growl and teeth would scare him off, but it seemed that would not be the case. Perhaps he had not seen them? Then he would meet her claws. Her eyes did not break from his body except for seconds to keep an eye out for more in case he was not alone and they were planning to ambush her. Taking her chances, she slowly padded towards him.
"Hello there! You seem new around here. Are you lost?" Durin called out, smiling, trying to be charming as he possibly could be. Now was definitely the time to throw on his manly charm if he wanted to come home with another female that day. Perhaps she'd be so grateful she'd go hunting right away and he wouldn't have to! Maybe she was adept at hunting zebra... The thoughts made it hard for him not to start drooling right there, but the male tried his hardest to maintain appearances. There's really no chance of a lady that looked like her coming home with a drooling mess after all.
"Lost?" She snapped, her words as cold as ice. "Do I look lost to you, boy?" Of course she was not happy at his presumption of her lack of navigational skills, but was more displeased with his presence there in general. "I'll have you know that I likely know these lands better than you, but it seems I have been slacking since filth like you have moved into my lands."
The large male was taken aback by how hateful he voice already was towards him. This was nothing in a lioness he had seen before. Most were happy to see a male if they were not in the company of one. Perhaps she already had a male lead in her pride and he was essentially a rogue male encroaching on the lands; a threat. Yes! That would explain her hostility towards him. "I meant nothing by it," Durin replied. "I had just never seen you before around here. And I have been in these lands plent- wait...did you say your lands? You're a female, not a male. You can't 'claim' land. That's the job of the pride's males to do."
That was probably the last straw for what patience Aviana had for the brown mess in front of her. Her paw raised, her claws unsheathed and struck at the male's face. "Watch your tongue, whelp!" She roared, her eyes blazing while her fangs bared back at Durin. "I can and do claim land as my own and you happen to be on them. You can consider yourself lucky that I have no taken you to become a slave with the other two powerful males." She had put a heavy amount of emphasis on the the word powerful, indicating that they truly were the exact opposite of what she had said.
Blood oozed from the scratches along the bridge of his nose with wide golden eyes. Never had a lioness, or any species of the opposite sex raised a paw at him! Shock was still setting in and while every bit of him told him fight her back, force her into submission and make her hunt for him until she broke; the words she had said made his blood run cold. A slave?! This lioness has two males under her control? How?! That went against everything he knew at the time. It was supposed to be males over females. They were stronger! He couldn't fight her. He just couldn't, not with the chance of losing. She had already displayed she would fight him if she had to by striking him. So he ran. Never had Durin run so fast from a woman.
Dark eyes watched the male turn and run just after one strike. "So weak." Aviana snarled as she licked the blood from her claws. "I'd be surprised if he could even fight off a rival male. No matter. At least he won't be bothering me." A wicked grin spread over the lioness' maw, as she turned to return to her cluster of trees just, at the thought of the scratches scarring, leaving a permanent reminder of her female superiority to him.
[Word count: 1046]
