[PRP] Shapen Up! (Njia x Faraja)

[Krysin]

Njia was on a mission.

It was one that would either embarrass her, or instill a greater sense of pride in herself. Hunting alone was always difficult, and for reasons she did not want to talk about, she was doing just that. She did not have a bird as her eyes in the sky, her companion had died young, and there had yet been a moment where the bond between bird and lion had been rekindled in Njia. It would happen one day, Njia was sure, since she did not want to be the only lion in the entire pride without a bird companion. She was fine on her own, though. It taught her to rely more on herself than the aid of others. So, it had its own rewards. Njia was a good hunter, and bound only to get better with how much time she spent fulfilling her task.

She had set out much earlier in the day, and was getting closer to the boundaries of the pride where she was sure no one would bother her. Prey usually did like to go this far out when not driven by the need to drink or find greener grass. They were less likely to be followed this far out, since most of the time every lion enjoyed attacking them when they were closer to the center of the pride. Njia, however, enjoyed getting away for a while. There was a peace and calming effect to wandering around on her own. At least, she was sure that this far out no one would be able to bother her.

No sisters laying next to ant hills. No friends trying to convince her to hunt for boys over actual prey (really, where was the sense in that?). It was peaceful. Perfect. Njia could hunt like this. There was a very small herd of animals not far away, and Njia sunk low to the ground. If she had a bird, they could have spooked the animals in her direction. It would have been far easier that way too, considering Njia's dark pelt. Hunting in the day was a nightmare, but it was a challenge she'd gladly accept. Nighttime hunting was more to her advantage - her black pelt hard to spot in the night sky. At day, it stuck out like a sore thumb.

If her prey was careless enough, and she was quick enough, she'd be successful. She was sure!  

[Meepfur]

As luck (or unluckiness, depending on your perspective) would have it, Faraja was also out near the pride's borders that day. His avian companion, Amini, hadn't been around when he'd woken up, and he'd now spent most of his day looking for her. He wasn't worried, as she did this on a regular basis - he was pretty sure it was on purpose, like some kind of weekly game - and he always found her eventually. It was taking a little longer than usual today, causing him to wonder if he'd chosen the wrong direction to head in, and he was just about to turn around and go another way when he spotted a dark lioness-shape in the grass.

Given her posture and the proximity of prey, she was obviously hunting, and so the striped lion refrained from calling out or bounding over, but he couldn't just leave and not say hi. Or see if she wanted some help with her hunt!

Sinking down low to the ground, Faraja crept towards her as stealthily as possible, with a low whisper, "Njia! Want some help?"  

[Krysin]

The problem was that Faraja had been able to sneak up on her. Of course, he was trying to avoid startling the prey, but instead that meant startling a lioness that had fallen into deep concentration. She was just about to start creeping forward when she heard a familiar voice behind her. Her dark fur stood on end with alarm, and it took a great deal of concentration to keep her from jumping up with surprise. When in Hestia's name did Faraja come from? When she had scanned the area she hadn't seen anyone besides her intended prey. But, he was also a striped lion, so he very well could have just been... missed.

Njia frowned, and doubted that. She believed her eye to be good enough to see anything. "Crap, Faraja. Where did you come from?" her voice was a soft whisper, and her gaze cut from him to the small herd of antelope to ensure that they weren't overheard. The animals were probably too busy talking amongst themselves to actually overhear them. "I don't need --" she started, and then paused. Did she really want to throw away an opportunity for help? It'd be rude, and besides, she may actually need some assistance... despite how her pride felt about it.

"Fine," she relented. Njia couldn't recall how good of a hunter Faraja was, but that meant he wasn't terrible. She'd remember if he was outright terrible. "You want to try and sneak around them?" He'd probably have a better chance of not being spotted than her.  

[Meepfur]

"Oh, sorry." Faraja canted his ears back, looking truly apologetic for startling the lioness. But at least it was better than startling the prey? Then she probably would have been mad, and that would have been really terrible! He didn't deal well with anger. "Um, back there," he answered, looking back behind them.

His expression fell when Njia started to tell him no, but quickly brightened again when she changed her mind and gave him something to do to help. "Sure! I can definitely do that."

He wasn't the most super-awesome hunter ever, sure, but he wasn't bad. And he had just managed to sneak up on Njia! Surely he could manage this. He wouldn't want to disappoint her...  

[Krysin]

At the very least, it was comforting that Faraja did seem to realize his error in spooking her. It soothed whatever irritation she had left over from that incident, and allowed her to get her mind back on track. She had a hunt to accomplish! With prey so close by now, she couldn't pass up the opportunity. While Faraja may have wanted to sit and chit chat, Njia wouldn't tolerate it now. Perhaps later, if the hunt didn't run entirely amok and Njia was not embarrassed by her failure or Faraja's, then they could sit and chit chat. She had priorities, and while some believed that her's were a little off, she followed them never-the-less.

"Whenever you're ready, then," Njia told him with a little nod of her head. Realizing that he may not be the best hunter, she decided to elaborate before he headed on his way. "You want to flush them towards me, okay. If you can, try and herd just a weak one." Njia didn't want to... stretch his abilities, though. She left that option out there in case he was better than a moderate hunter.  

[Meepfur]

"Can do," he agreed, nodding confidently. He could totally do that. He had to do that, or Njia would be unhappy - and not just unhappy, but unhappy with him specifically. That was even worse than just being unhappy!

Now that he had his orders, Faraja stalked off to do as he'd been told. He crept around the herd very, very carefully, assessing the individuals as he went. He needed a weak one, or maybe a little one...

Aah, there! Not a calf, but not full-grown, either. Maybe that would be okay? The striped lion took a deep breath and made his move.

((Up to you whether or not this actually goes well. XD))  

[Krysin]

The hunt was over in less than a couple of minutes, and while Njia now was smothering the poor beast's last breath the hunt had been a little harrowing. She supposed that Faraja had been well-intentioned with his pick. The antelope was still young, but it had passed the youthful stage in which it was truly weak. It was nearly as agile as a healthy adult, and not exactly a choice she would have made. Njia liked to go after the more sure kill, the young, the old, the crippled. She couldn't deny that Faraja's effort was honest... but he certainly needed some help.

She let go of the now dead antelope, waiting for Faraja to catch up to her and the kill. Njia was a little breathless, though Faraja had taken the most energy-sapping part of the hunt. "Good job," which would have been praised if it did not sound like Njia was simply stating a fact. "There was an older antelope that I would have gone for personally, but it takes practice to train the eyes to pick out the weak links." Njia had not always been skilled herself. She was born with no natural talent, but instead learned and drilled herself until she was a successful hunter.

The dark lioness still did not consider herself to be anywhere near as good as her mother had been before her injury. It was why she continued to push herself now.