[Private for GeminiGemelo & Tsuki]

[UncoordinatedPisces]

“This is complete and utter crap” murmured the voice amidst the tall yellow/green grass. The owner of the voice, a pale lion with sharp blue eyes by the name of Nishati, was struggling through the tall foliage. The grass poked at him, it did not cause him pain, but it made him have a fiery itch all over his legs. Or maybe that was the parasites that may live there? He shuddered at the thought. His paws were dampened as the ground grew moist around him. “At least I’m getting closer to water” he mused to himself.

The sun was in the centre of the crystal clear sky, and it was insufferably hot. The rays felt as though they were beating down on his back. Why I have decided to find water in the middle of the day, he thought, I’ll never know. He journeyed on further, his paws finally submerged. He would’ve complained if it had not been such a relief to feel water. Eventually, Nishati came to a clearing in the tall grass. It appeared as though he had come across a marsh. He ventured forward, the water coming further up his body, up to half way up his legs, and then off to the side to find dry ground.

He stumbled upon a large grass area, which had been surrounded by the marshland. It had a number of trees and a few large rocks. With a small relieved smile, he waded towards the island and onto dry land. He turned around to lap up the cool liquid at the water’s edge. Once Nishati had his fill, he retreated to the shade the trees created atop a rock that was as cool as the water had been. He surveyed the area for a few moments before putting his head between his paws, determined to sleep off the heat of the day.

*

A distance away, past the marshland to the north of him resided a lone lioness. She had dark fur, ruby eyes, and she wore a large grin. She lay beneath a tree, panting, with a dead warthog at her paws. It had been pure luck really. The silly animal had just walked past her; the wind was in her favour and she was able to take it down. Good job, she thought, I was just beginning to get hungry. Her name was Kejeli, and she was worn out. Though she did not have to chase the beast, killing it had taken her breath in this heat.

She was pleased with her kill but grew cautious. Kejeli did not know who resided in the area. She had experience with fighting a leopard over her own kill. She had come out on top luckily, but the incident had made her weary. Her priority was to get her belly full before looking for water, and then she could leave the kill for any scavengers that came her way. For the moment though, she had to catch her breath.

[Gemini]

Somewhere in an African plain, a lion was feasting on his newly-caught kill.

No maggots here, he scoffed to himself, ripping out a mouthful of the fresh carcass and smacking on it noisily. Even the flies hadn't had time to swarm yet - and there wasn't no damn vultures, neither. Lucky for him, they didn't have a good sense of smell, or the buggers would've been able to sniff out the carnage already. Trickling rivulets of blood continued to drip past his paws, warm and tinged with a sharp, acrid odor. His muzzle already was coated in it. As much as he didn't like to kill, there was no denying he needed to in order to survive - and needed to do it quickly, at that.

Kukosa thanked the Moon that he was born a lion; it was easier for him to chase intruders away from his kill than it would've been had he assumed the form of a leopard or, spirits forbid, a cheetah. The only real threats to him, an adult lion, were those animals that gathered in packs: the hyenas and the wild dogs, and of course the prides. Especially the prides. The moment he caught scent of another lion's sign, he turned tail and scrammed. The thought of even risking an imbroglio with a bunch of lions was enough to turn him well away. He'd seen just what a group of his kind could do, he'd seen the kind of ruthlessness they were capable of... and as he had nobody else with him now, he was nothing more than a lowly, wandering rogue.

Hell, he was lucky to even be alive. The more he reminded himself of that, the more frightening the wider world seemed to be to him, the more danger seemed to be concealed in the nooks and crannies and dark, lurking corners. It was a strange outlook for a lion so used to feeling in control of himself and his life - one who once foolishly thought that his own protection was secured through his own strength, and that he could ensure the same for his family and friends.

He stopped eating for a long moment, head hanging, tufted mane sweeping in front of his eyes.

I could've done something... I could've stopped it...

He couldn't have. He knew it. He only would've died. His sacrifice would've been meaningless. But to him... maybe... if he'd only been there... it would've meant something to him, even if he was only another useless casualty in the end. What did he have to live for, anyway, without his family and friends? Without his... little sister?

Suddenly he didn't really feel hungry anymore. He nudged the meat a bit with his nose, but it was almost as though all the flavor, all the juiciness, all the tenderness had been sucked out of the meat. What was once a succulent, appetizing meal of raw steak was now rendered to his eyes as a blank, unappealing mass of clammy, grey flesh and messy entrails. It was... disturbing. Almost as their dead bodies had been when he saw them...

The tan lion couldn't eat anymore; his stomach felt palpably queasy. May as well leave it; maybe another being could find use of it without being morbidly disgusted. He looked back at his shaggy, unkempt fur, noticing how his ribs were beginning to poke through his hide a bit - but he couldn't bring himself to care. His life was meaningless without anyone else to share it with. His past, his family and friends, his title... it all meant nothing now.

Kukosa wandered away. He didn't take another look at the meat. Whatever thrill he'd experienced while hunting, whatever joy he'd felt while eating - now it was gone, replaced only with a barren emptiness and a gnawing guilt. He'd taken the life of another creature to further his own; he'd killed another being for nothing. The only way he could hope to atone was to give up his ill-gained prize for someone else.

"Kwa ajili yenu, ndugu yangu."

For you, my sister...

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Kejeli had made a detrimental mistake; she had given herself far too much time to recover from the hunt. It was enough time for a group of travelling wild dogs to notice the kill and decide amongst themselves that they wanted it. Once a pack was certain they wanted something, they would more than likely acquire it. The issue with wild dogs was that they had absurd stamina for chases and for a waiting game, so the options of taking a small kill and running with it or hoisting it up a tree would not do you much good. Hyenas were stubborn for a while but would give up if they thought their chances were slim.

As the group of six-strong circled the young lioness, her body language changed under this threat. She arched her back defensively, her claws were unsheathed and she bore her teeth with a hiss. Kejeli may not have worked for this kill, but she would prefer to keep it.
“You call this a fair fight?” she spat. A few of them laughed and a male, the largest, stepped a little closer to the lonesome, but still very dangerous lioness.

“As a matter of fact, I don’t” he smirked. The lioness titled her head to the side momentarily in confusion. “I’m not in the mood for a fight today, lioness” he said in a very matter-of-fact tone “So you may leave silently; without your kill of course”. Another differentiation between the two canine species common on the plains was that wild dogs would always give you a chance to leave and live. Hyenas would not be so courteous; wild dogs hated to see one of their own hurt. Kejeli, though furious at this interruption in her good luck, was wise enough to know when she was beaten. Reluctantly, she turned away and slunk off behind the tree into the sun.

“Dumb mutts” she spat over her shoulder. When she heard a loud snarl erupt from lead dog’s muzzle and felt his eyes staring at her from over the kill, she regretted her comment instantaneously. The last difference between hyenas and wild dogs, she thought frantically, was that one could not stand to be belittled. She heard the movement of paws behind her and knew it was time to run. She was given a chance to leave without a word, she should’ve taken it.

Her sprinting was superior to the pace of the wild dogs so she made a very reasonable distance, but they would catch up. A thin layer of sweat already formed underneath the dark fur of her body. She was not panicking, not yet. She’d panic when she felt the first dog snapping at her paws. Not too far away, she saw the outline of another lion; a young male. She was aware that she was bringing the dogs towards him, and he was probably beginning to be aware from their barks and growls. Perhaps he could help her, or at least point her in a helpful direction.

[Gemini]

Skauti had been creeping along through the tall grasses of the savanna - mostly aimlessly, as usual. If he had had any sort of destination, any sort of set course for his journey, then he had long since forgotten it. His only goal? To survive. Any other trifling worries were mere, auxiliary distractions that ultimately meant nothing. Needing to go towards or live in a specific place was petty and not befitting the life of a wanderer. And a wanderer was simply what he was now. Families were burdens that didn't mean anything.

His lithe, dark body didn't blend in well with the surrounding terrain. It made hunting difficult, but he managed, despite his young age. The trick was being smart, and agile, and quick - sheer, brute strength and specific stalking techniques could only really go so far... and thus he got creative, crafting rudimentary traps out of sticks, digging holes to trap his victims and chasing them into it, waiting in trees and throwing rocks in the hopes that the sudden sound would make the herds run towards him... oftentimes he used several techniques in combination, eventually learning that, as it turned out, most prey animals were amazingly stupid and flighty creatures without even a shred of backbone in most situations. It only took one lone animal to be caught or trapped or hurt for there to be a meal. It would struggle, helplessly and futilely, wishing nothing more than to escape as primeval fear absorbed its entire mental capacity. Extirpating the beast after that was simple child's play; it took no more effort than sneezing did.

He hated walking around so soon after his last meal, as he felt a bit groggy still, but he knew that it was better than waiting for the scavengers to come and take his leftovers from him. Indeed, he'd long since learned that it wasn't worth defending a kill in most cases - there simply was little chance that he would be able to eat any more of it later. Instead, he simply packed himself full of as much meat as his stomach could hold and left the rest of the meat and bones for someone else. It was all he could do, as sad as it was.

The dark lion had been walking for a while, however, when he came upon the scent of another kill a little ways away, causing him to salivate slightly. A warthog, killed only a few hours earlier. Its scent was incredibly appetizing, and he couldn't quite deny that - for as talented and successful of a hunter he was, he certainly was not above scavenging. Only issue was that, with as large and delicious-smelling a kill as that, someone else had to have taken notice... or, at the very least, would soon. He had to make sure that the area was clear of predators.

It was at that moment that, somewhere behind him, away from the wind, he heard a yell. The yell of an apparently rogue lioness, dark in color, sprinting towards him. He couldn't help but jump momentarily, his hackles bristling a little out of sheer surprise... until he saw, directly behind her, six wild dogs giving chase.

Dammit.

He didn't particularly want to run. Already his mind was thinking through ways to get that kill, if only he could distract the predators and let them chase each other far enough away... Would that be worth it? No. Surely not. It'd be too risky...

... Right?

Alas, six wild dogs was a lot for one lion. But for two? Not that hard at all. Wild dogs weren't as direct as hyenas, and they needed numbers to be effective; on their own, they were small. If they picked them off, one at a time, then maybe this lioness would leave him be and let him go without any harm. At any rate, it would certainly get rid of some more wild dogs - which, in his opinion, were essentially the darkest little stains on the savanna, and probably the biggest wastes of fur that could exist.

Only question was how he would end the six of them...

[Tsuki]

(OT:Still without proper interwebs. Will be able to post in 2 weeks when I'm home . Phone internet fails! )