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 Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 4:01 pm
AJ dug into the small gazelle, ripping off and entire leg. It had been so long since he had eaten last. Hunting in the savannah was much more difficult than hunting in the jungle. All of the pretty was so big, and so much faster! The lion was lucky that one of the gazelle had been limping heavily, or he would have gone another day without anything to eat. Which, for a lion his size, was not a good thing. AJ needed to eat more on a more frequent basis than other lions in order to keep himself going. The male could tell that he had already lost quite a few pounds. The gazelle would help, but not by much. He would have to eat again if not tomorrow, then the day after that. There really wasn’t a lot of meat on the dead prey beast.
Which is what made AJ wary when a wild dog came strutting up to him, licking his chops. He didn’t think there was really enough to share…
Hanja sat down right across from the black lion, giving his maw another over-dramatic slurp. ”Might nice kill ya got there, mate. Mind sharin with a poor bloke who hasn’t eaten in a few days?” This target was a risky one. The male was big, very big, and could probably knock Hanja’s head from his shoulders with one blow. However, Hanja had found through many different cons that most big lions tended to be big softies. And the lion’s uncomfortable expression as Hanja stared at him only confirmed his suspicions. ”Come on now, if I don’t eat now, I won’t make it another day or two!” The dog whined, looking longingly at the kill. Hanja had actually just eaten the day before, but this lion didn’t need to know that.
The lion flattened his ears to his head uncomfortably. He and this dog were both in the same position. Well, the dog didn’t look all that skinny. He seemed pretty well fed, actually. But, if this dog really was starving…except he was starving too! This was quite the dilemma. AJ swallowed the mouthful he had bitten off, eyes darting uncomfortably between the kill, Hanja, and the ground between them. ”Um…well…you see…” Oh gosh, this is why he was so bad with confrontations. How could AJ tell this dog that he didn’t believe the story, and that he needed to keep himself fed as well? He couldn’t, not without making the canine angry. And AJ hated it when people got angry. Normally, AJ would gladly give the kill to a stranger but he had almost passed out from the exertion of the hunt. Without food, he probably wouldn’t be able to hunt anything at all.
The dog rolled his eyes. This was taking too long. He would just have to take the meal by force! He stood up and snarled, laughing inwardly as the mighty lion cowered in fear. ”Yes, let’s see indeed?” He took a step forward, watching as the lion shimmied backwards along the ground in order to get away. ”New plan. I take all of the kill, and ya get yer sorry tail out of here before I remove it from yer body.” Hanja suggested with a growl. He placed a paw on the dead gazelle, dragging it towards him a little. ”Unless of course, you have any objections?” The dog grinned, showing as many teeth as possible.
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Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 4:03 pm
Leto huffed. She was starting to get pretty tired. The lioness had been walking all of yesterday, through the night, and up until now. Her paws ached and her thinking was starting to get a little fuzzy. She needed to find some place to rest for a little bit. But when the sudden sound of growling caught her attention, Leto had the feeling that she wasn’t going to be resting for a while. Not too far away was a wild dog and a rather large male lion on opposite of what looked to be some sort of prey beast. Leto’s first thought was that the lion was bullying the poor canine out of his meal. But as she drew closer, the lioness was astounded to find that it was actually the other way around. That was certainly unexpected. However, Leto should know better than to judge a turtle by its shell. She loped up to the pair, noticing how the lion flinched noticeably at her approach. The poor thing looked terrified. ”Hey now, what’s going on here?” She demanded, claws already out and ready to use.
Hanja swore under his breath. Where the hell had this girl come from? And what did she think she was doin, butting on someone else’s business? ”Move along, sweet cheeks. This ain’t none of yer concern. Me and my mate was just havin an argument. Nothin serious.” He sneered. It wasn’t as if the other lion had the courage to protest the story. He glanced over at the male, resisting the urge to snicker. The black lion had his eyes on the ground, tail flicking back and forth uncomfortably. No, he wasn’t going to squeal at all. And if he did, well, Hanja was fast. He could probably get in a good bite or two before having to take off.
”Oh really? Cause I think you’re trying to bully an honest hunter’s meal out from under him.” Leto snorted. The male lion’s head shot up, staring at her with eager teal eyes. Yep, that seemed to be the real story. He must really hate conflict to let a puny little wild dog take his kill like this. ”I said move along.” The dog growled. Leto laughed a little. What did this dog think he could do to her? She outmatched him in both size and power, and was willing to bet that they were closely matched in speed. ”Why don’t you?” The lioness pounced with a roar, claws gashing the dog’s flank. The canine yipped and took off running, tail tucked in between his legs.
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Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 4:06 pm
AJ stared up at the lioness, wondering what was going to happen next. Would she take the kill for herself? Maybe hurt him too? She moved so fast. There was no way AJ would be able to dodge. He hoped she wouldn’t hurt him too badly. ”Ah, looks like that nasty character is out of here.” The lioness turned to look at him, smiling. AJ stared back blankly, unsure of what to do. The female frowned at him, making him grimace. ”Well go on! It’s your kill.” She gestured to the dead gazelle. AJ’s ear pricked forward and he shuffled towards it, still trying to look as small as possible. Which wasn’t very small at all, considering his size. The male took a tentative bite out of the gazelle, waiting for the lioness’ reaction. However, the female wasn’t even paying attention to him, instead busy finding a comfortable spot to lie down. AJ swallowed and addressed the lioness. ”Ah, thank you, miss. I’m AJ. Would you like some?” The male asked. He really shouldn’t be sharing, but if it wasn’t for her, AJ wouldn’t have been eating at all. It was the only way he could repay her.
Leto looked at the lion and smiled. ”Leto. And no, I couldn’t. You look like you haven’t eaten in days!” The male sitting across from her was scrawny with fur hanging off his frame in places where there should be muscle. Leto watched him eat, an oddity that needed to be figured out. He was so meek and passive, whereas she had been warned that males were cruel and overpowering. Yet AJ had been afraid of a snarling, flea-bitten dog a fraction of his size. There wasn’t a fighting bone in his body. Plus he had still offered some of his scrappy-looking kill to her, even though the lioness could tell AJ was close to starving. This was certainly the strangest male she had ever met. ”Don’t choke now,” Leto teased as AJ scarfed down the gazelle. The lion looked up at her and smiled sheepishly, finishing the mouthful he was on and taking the next bite more carefully. ”Been a while since you’ve eaten last, I take it?”
A while was a bit of an understatement. ”Yes. I’m not very good at hunting.” AJ admitted with a shrug. He pouted a bit at Leto’s shocked face. It wasn’t like he could be good at everything. It wasn’t his fault that he had never actually been taught how to hunt. ”Well, what are you good at then? If you have a useful skill, you could trade that for a meal.” The lion sighed. He knew very well what he was supposed to be good at, but he hated doing it. ”I can heal. I’m good with herbs and making bandages. I can set broken limbs too, make sure they don’t end up with permanent limps.” AJ remembered the last leg he had set and hoped the hybrid he had treated was doing well. ”But I really like construction. Moving logs, shifting boulders, building dens, things like that.”
A healer and a builder, not an oppressor and a womanizer . This AJ was certainly an oddball. Of course, there was the possibility that AJ wasn’t and oddball at all. Maybe he was normal, and the males who had been responsible for the teachings of the Amazons were the oddities. Could it be that most males were actually nice and caring? It was a hypothesis that needed further testing. But for now…”Well, how about this? If you tell me a little bit more about yourself and your family, I’ll give you some tips for hunting. Sound like a good trade?” Leto suggested. The blinding smile AJ gave her made Leto chuckle. ”Oh yes, thank you! Thank you so much! That would be wonderful!” Well, on second thought, maybe it didn’t need too much testing after all.
Final Word Count: 1658
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