Chapter 1
New Day, New Start
New Day, New Start
A pair of grass green eyes surveyed the Savannah. An early morning breeze tickled his ears, and a yawn emitted from his muzzle. It was early morning, and Kiongozi, or Kion to his mate and allies, was awake and ready to do some more travelling. Him and his mate Malkia, were looking for a place to live. A place to start a pride and a family. So far, they had no such luck. But the day before, Kiongozi spotted a large rock far off in the distance and wanted to investigate.
Now it was morning, he waited for a his mate to wake up. He didn't want to wake her up from her peaceful sleep, so instead he watched over her. His lips curled into a smile, no words could describe how much he loved and cared for her as he gazed at the beauty that was his mate. The two would need to find something to eat though, or go on a hunt before continuing. But for now, Kiongozi relaxed in the morning sun shaded the tree they had fell asleep under, stretching out his legs and letting an ant crawl over his paw. He watched it go into the grass, one of the many ants carrying food for it's family of thousands.
His ears perked up however, when he heard Malkia stir. The lioness was awake. He stared into the sky blue eyes before grinning at her.
"Morning dear". Malkia yawned and rolled onto her back lazily, looking at him upside down,
"Morning early bird". Kion leaned over and gave her a lick across her cheek, somewhat awkwardly. He chuckled,
"You always choose the most awkward positions don't you?". Malkia gave him a look and smirked,
"What do you mean by that?". Kion rolled his eyes, she had to take it too far, but all the same, he gave a little laugh. Sitting up, he looked back out over the savannah.
"You ok though?", he asked. Malkia nodded, also sitting up.
"Yeah, I'm fine, a little hungry".
"Same, we should probably hunt before we go investigating eh?". Malkia glanced at where they were of to, that big rock that seemed closer today somehow.
"Mhm. I'm pretty sure I heard hooves heading that way last night", the lioness beckoned forward and slightly to the left. Kion sniffed the air and padded in that direction,
"I smell gazelle, you were right". Malkia smirked,
"My hearing has never failed me". Kion smirked back,
"Neither has my sprinting, come on, I'll race ya".
The lion started to bound off. Malkia, caught up in competitiveness and playfulness, raced after him. The two lions were no longer teenagers, but adults. However, they liked to play around like teens. She soon passed him, but only just managed to stop before getting spotted by the gazelle which were closer than the two expected them to be. She crouched down, and so did Kiongozi who had caught her up.
"Hey, that one has a limp, it should be easy to catch", she whispered, signalling to a weak gazelle. Kion nodded and started to lead the way. Malkia followed her mate's guidance, knowing he was more capable than most males when it came to hunting. At the signal to pounce, she lent back on her haunches to build the power in her legs before launching herself onto the injured gazelle - immediately causing the rest to scramble.
She held on to the target, locking her jaws to prevent it from moving and waiting for Kion to deliver the fatal blow. This was how most of their hunts usually worked, but she couldn't see Kion. Malkia struggled to keep a hold down on the injured, but large gazelle. Using her claws to steady the panicked creature, she took a moment to shout, "Kion! Where are you?". She could feel the gazelle kicking violently underneath her, and she only just managed to dodge those sometimes deadly hooves.
Finally, Kiongozi emerged and clamped down on the gazelles neck. Finishing it off quickly with those dagger like teeth. Once it stopped squirming, he let go and looked up. He knew it was coming. "Kion! You were worrying me! What happened?", Malkia said scornfully. Kion frowned,
"I got caught up in the madness, the male gazelles were threatening me, I was outnumbered. I've got to be more careful". Kion sighed and leant over to give her a reassuring nuzzle,
"You didn't get hurt did you?", Kion asked.
"Nope, they wouldn't of dared. Too scared of me", Malkia joked. Kion, glad his mate was ok, chuckled and replied,
"Well well, I think your forgetting the time that pelican got one up on you. He wasn't scared of you at all". His mate growled, but in a playful way, she rolled her eyes.
"You just had to bring that up didn't you?". Kion beamed,
"Of course I did, I'm not letting you forget about that one. Anyway, let's eat".
Kiongozi then turned his attention to the now dead gazelle and used his teeth to pull the fur out, not particularly enjoying a mouth full of fluff. He couldn't help but take two or three mouthfuls before actually chewing - it had been a couple of days since they'd caught a good meal, a down side of being a rogue.
Malkia also began to eat, and noticed how Kion only ate the less appealing parts, saving the best for her.
She sighed,
"Kion, have a bit of the rump, I know you love it". He just ignored her. She couldn't be bothered to argue, but she knew Kion just cared about her. She still left him some of the rump anyway.
Once the two had their full, they dragged the carcass into the shade. The sun was beginning to get hotter as midday approached. Kion lay on his stomach in the shade of the tree's,
"I think we'll have a nap through the hottest part of the day. Just in case we don't find water if we continue". Malkia agreed and lay down next to Kion. "You know, you nearly ran into that herd of gazelle. Should be more careful dear", he teased. Malkia batted him softly with her paw,
"Oh shush you".
The two laughed for a while, fell silent. Kion thought of what they may find at that rock, a pride? Or somewhere to live and create one? Either way, it was going to be a new start. Slowly, the two of them drifted into a soft sleep, while Malkia's head rested underneath Kion's chin.