How the hell was she supposed to fit in this overly peppy pride that she had found herself in? Why the ******** had she manged to convince herself that this was even remotely a good idea? Because it wasn't! She might look like others in the pride but at heart was hardly a Pridelander. It was hard to believe that she would ever truly be one. At least now she had food in her belly.
The sun was already high in the sky as Otrera made her way out of Pride Rock. Body stretching, claws unsheathing, she yawned into the sunlight. Blinking into focus she took a look around the lands. Everyone was already awake, but that wasn't too surprising. Considering their numbers, they needed to hunt a good long while to survive. Whatever small bit of happiness had been on her face vanished. They had it so good here. Their herds stayed for the water and good weather while other prides suffered as she had in her cubhood. With her feline grace she began her descent to the grass below Pride Rock.
The lion had already been awake long before the sun had even breached the horizon. He had hunting to do, for his family and for his grandchildren who he was already feeling his age around. They had so much energy and he...well he didn't anymore. Each day he thought more and more on if it was even a good idea to try for a another litter with Ankara. A shake of the tan mane and the sour thought was gone. Mohombi had more important things to fill his brain with then that. Particularly the hunt at paw. Lean muscles rippled under his fur as his legs moved fluently beneath him. Before joining the Pridelands he had barely been able to hunt for him, let along Ankara and his brother on top of that but now, with training, he had come such a long way.
What the hell was she supposed to do now? Go join a hunting party? Peh, none of them were worth her time. She could hunt these stupid herds with her eyes closed and missing a leg. They just stood there like they had no choice. There was no thrill in the hunt, no rush as you finally sunk your teeth in and felt them die in your grasp. Life in the desolate wastelands and the Kalahari desert had proved to be much more of a challenge and it had forged her into near-perfect huntress. Scanning the horizon for something to do she spotted a dark brown mass running after a small herd. While he was good he was lacking form.
"That hunt could have been over a while ago if he'd had pounced then." Otrera mumbled under her breath as she finished her descent. Oh the grass felt odd on her tough pawpads. It was soft; something she was still not used to. All her life the ground had been an enemy to her and now it seemed to be trying to become her friend. Disgusting. Another low growl aimed at the ground before she raised her head to look at the male. Oh s**t.
Clawed paws reached out as he managed to grip the back of a Thompson gazelle by it's back quarters causing the two to go tumbling to the ground in an ungraceful heap. Seconds passed and as the dust settled it was obvious that Mohombi was the victor. With the neck of his prey in his mouth he began to the journey back to Pride Rock. He stopped though, dead in his tracks as amber eyes spied who was walking towards him. That rogue that Ankara had so readily allowed to follow them back to the pride just because they said they wanted to join. His mood flipped upside-down and took a turn for the worst.
"Well look here, a noble father and mate hunting to feed his family." She called out, her voice full of sarcasm. Otrera really didn't like him and he knew it especially after their first meeting. This hadn't been the only time they had bumped into eachother since then and certainly wasn't going to be the last if she had anything to say about it. It was just all too fun to watch him squirm knowing there was little he could do about her being a pridemember.
Dropping his hold on his kill, letting it fall onto the grass, he raised his head to return her snarky comment with a rather nasty glare. He didn't need this, not from her and definitely not today. "What do you want, Otrera?" At least he had the decency to call her by her name though he put a rather foul emphasis on the word 'you'. He might not have been happy about her being a member of the pride now but he had to deal with it as best he could simply because now she was his pride-sister.
Sweet success. She had managed to already upset him and that amused the lioness to no end. Approaching him, Otrera grinned slyly as she circled him, her tail raising to run under his chin. "I don't really want anything from you Mohombi. You've already given me just about everything you could, at least for now." Ruby red eyes darted to eye the deceased gazelle laying on the ground but for only a moment before returning up to look into his amber eyes as her circling continued.
Mohombi did not like this, not one bit. She was nothing but trouble and it would only be a matter of time until he could prove it to get her thrown out. That much he had already promised himself. The Pridelands would be a much safer place if she wasn't in it. A low growl began to form in his throat as he turned his head to follow the lioness as she circled him like he was some kind of prey animal. "Don't toy with me Otrera, what the hell do you want? You always seem to want something."
"Oooh nothing," As if on cue her stomach began to growl forcing Otrera's grin to grow wider. "Except maybe a bit of meat from your kill."
Oh that was not going to happen. The growl grew louder and suddenly erupted as a snarl. "No." Mohombi simply stated as his tail flicked wildly behind him while his eyes and head tried desperately to keep up with her circling. "You're a capable huntress as you boast about so often. You don't need me to do your hunting."
Her pacing suddenly stopped as she stood behind her. The darker lioness' nose scrunched up, her eye twitching slightly as she stared at the back of Mohombi's head. How DARE he! She used to be a queen! If she had any less self-control she likely would have started a brawl, how lucky for them both that she was above such a petty squabble. "Hmph." Otrera noised as she moved out from behind him, her tail raised and her head held high. "I hope your family enjoys your efforts. You may be a hunter but you're far from a master hunter, Mohombi. You techniques are far from perfect."
"And neither are your's." He returned with his own comment. Without saying another word Mohombi lifted his kill into his mouth by the leg. Giving her a small bow of the head he began once again to drag it back to eat with his family, leaving Otrera to hunt for herself. Not looking back, he could only imagine the look on her face as he quietly laughed to himself in his head.
Oh she was not happy with his comeback. She was supposed to have the last laugh but instead Mohombi had the nerve to walk off before she could even find her voice to retort. Fuming, the huntress went off to procure her own meal and also to release some of that forming anger; even if it was on a herd of running food.
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