It had not been that long since Anzaji had fled her home, and she worried for those she had left behind. Their tyrant of a leader had been awful, and no doubt punishment had been taken out on those remaining for the actions of her and her lost love, however there was nothing to be done now. Should she return now she would surely be killed, plus in doing do her lost love's sacrifice would be wasted. Instead she attempted to survive as best she could out on her own. It was something the blue leopardess was not used to in the least. Anzaji had not been a huntress within her old home, but now she was forced to either figure out how to catch her own food or starve. Thus far she had had no luck finding anything, or rather no luck hiding her presence fro them. The past few attempts had ended quickly, with her intended prey hearing her and running off before she even got close enough to attempt to take it down. It was quite frustrating.
The day was a calm one thus far, a nice lazy day and one perfect for a hunt. Utukufu lay hidden within the grass, his eyes half-lidded from the bright sun as he stared ahead at a small grazing herd. He had been following it for a short time, and now that they stopped to graze it gave him the perfect chance to catch a meal. Slowly he slunk forward, pausing at any small noise, whether from him or not. However the herd grazed on unaware of him. Even at his pace the distance between himself at the herd lessened quickly. Then he paused, watching silently, before he shot forward, eyes locked upon the closest zebra to him.
Finally, another herd! Anzaji dropped into a crouch and slunk forward towards the small grazing herd. Her tail lashed behind her, out of annoyance at her previous failures. This one would surely go better. The previous attempts had taught her something, well, hopefully they had. She moved closer and closer, trying her best to be quiet. So far she had done pretty well. They had at least not heard or seen her yet, however suddenly their heads raised. Something had spooked them. Not knowing whether it had been her or something else she simply dashed forward, running as fast as she could.
Quickly he gained ground on them, and the herd noticed. Heads raised and a warning was cried out. The others now knew, had they not already, and the zebra started their retreat. Utukufu kept on them though, determined not to lose this one. Suddenly though the herd turned, causing Utukufu to skid as he made a sharp turn of his own. His gaze shifted quickly around, between the zebra he was after and around searching for whatever had spooked them. It didn't take long for him to spot the blue leopardess. He must had chased them towards her, and she was nearing the zebra he was after. A deep growl rumbled in his chest at the sight of her. This dirt thought she could hunt his herd? Not only that but she was after his kill! Utukufu looked back to the zebra and frowned. The direction change had caused him to fall further behind, and now it seemed he would not catch anything.
Anzaji had not expected the herd to run her way, and had not noticed they were until she left her cover. The sight had nearly made her stumble, however upon seeing her the zebras quickly changed course. She pushed aside her previous fear of being trampled and continued to give chase. They weren't too far ahead, maybe she could actually catch one! The thought made her excited, and caused her stomach to grumble in anticipation for an actual meal.
The meal was lost and Utukufu was not happy about it. A loud roar escaped his maw as he put on another burst of speed. He could feel the effort weighing on him, but he didn't care. The herd were too far away, but the leopardess was not.
The excitement quickly faded. The herd pulled ahead and she could feel herself slowing. It looked like she would be losing another meal, and would be resting hungry once more. However it wasn't until a roar rent the air that she finally skidded to a halt. Anzaji looked frantically around. Had the guards from her pride come after her? However it seemed that was not the case. The lion running her way was unfamiliar, however that did not quite lessen the fear. It may not be a guard from her old pride, however there was still a roaring lion running at her. Anzaji quickly turned and attempted to run away, gaze shifting quickly for a place to escape.
Utukufu did not care if she knew of his presence, he was too angry to care about keeping silent. The bright male continued his charge, anger rising further as she turned and attempted to run. "You ruin my hunt and now think to escape!" He roared after the female, closing the gap between them quickly. With a snarl he swung a paw out, managing to catch the female on her hind leg.
The lion yelled after her as she ran. Anzaji was too scared and too busy simply trying to get away to call a reply back. She didn't know he had been stalking that herd as well, how could she? But now an angry lion was after him. Suddenly she felt her back leg fly out from under her and she went tumbling forward. The leopardess' back leg stung, and the rest of her body was ached as she hit the ground. Somehow she managed to pull herself back up to her feet and started her escape once again. Anzaji had to get away. She had escaped death once, she wasn't going to fall now.
The leopardess fell before him, however his momentum sent him to a skidding halt as he attempted to turn to catch her. As he turned he saw the leopardess back on her feet and running once more. The male stood watching her, a growl quickly forming into another roar. Utukufu stood there, watching the blue leopard until she disappeared into the grass. His tail lashed behind him as he turned away from his second lost prey.
Anzaji felt like heart would burst forth from her chest. Adrenaline pushed her onward, away from the angry male. Soon his roars stopped and she risked a look back. The leopardess saw no one, and slowly she came to a halt. Fear still hung heavily over her as she stood silent, listening for any sound that he might still be after her. No sounds came, and no male appeared. A sigh of relief escaped her as she slid to the ground, exhaustion forcing her to finally rest. For now she was safe.
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