Adani || Desert Pride || Huntress || M: Hunting Party

The spotted lioness charged forward with Ismitta as the bull scrambled past them. His hooves kicked up clods of mud and dirt that sprayed Adani's front, and she had to lurch to the side to avoid trampling Ismitta as the ground gave way beneath the queen's claws. After a moment of hesitation to make sure that the other female was still in one piece and not in need of assistance, Adani lengthened her pace to catch up.

She placed her teeth firmly in the other hind leg of the wildebeest and sat back on her haunches with her front paws splayed out to increase drag on their quarry. Adani flinched as some mud-hidden object slashed into her hock but ignored the sudden spike of discomfort. Digging her back paws deeper into the ground, she brought up her outside front paw and slammed unsheathed claws into the wildebeest's flank.

The moist ground that had been covering her paw was flung free by the sudden sweeping motion and the largest collection of it made contact with her cheek, momentarily blinding the eye above it. Her tear ducts began working overtime and rapid blinking quickly cleared her vision, but now blood trails were running down the leg she held and her cut leg was beginning to sting.

With a snarl, Adani brought up her other front paw and curled her back legs around the wildebeest's, stiffened her back, and jerked backwards as hard as she could. The bull lost his balance and stumbled, sliding on his back leg and Adani's frame. The lioness grimaced faintly and released with everything but her front paws to avoid being crushed entirely.

Her one side was now colored with clumpy, half-dried dirt, and her paws were slick with the wildebeest's blood. Adani looked at Kailani's frame clinging to the bull's neck. She was so close...

Adani released the bull's leg and charged forward until she was right up next to his shoulder. She lunged, then, and sank her teeth into his throat. More red liquid gushed onto her muzzle and up her nose, making her eyes water, and the bull slowed considerably before staggering, staggering...

And he fell.

The huntress was almost gagging on the creature's heme, but she dared not let go. Not yet. She had to let the others get onto him, too, before she would feel comfortable releasing its neck. She wasn't about to become the reason they lost their kill; Adani refused to fail them now.

Kovanu || Ridge Pride || King || M: Crixus, Ethan, Acantha (Ind)

Kovanu's blue eyes shifted to the growing dust cloud in the distance, and his ears strained to hear the scuffle. A short cry from a wildebeest was barely audible. Yes, their neighbors were most certainly hunting -- and they were cutting it dangerously close. Too close.

Crixus's words caused his whiskers to twitch in faint amusement, and the king turned to the warrior. Ethan beat him to a snarky reply, which Kovanu would mildly berate him for later, but he did agree with the main point behind his brother's suggestion. Taking a breath, he said, first to Ethan, "Careful. Acantha's mush is still ten times more deadly than any of ours."

To Crixus, he replied, "If Acantha is planning a hunt -- and I am sure she is by now -- then I believe you should relay the news, Crixus. You are the fastest, and Ethan and I will be able to provide a more... diplomatic approach... until you can arrive with the lionesses."

In other words, Crixus would start a war before either Kovanu or Ethan could get to the lionesses and, while the king had no doubt that Crixus would do just fine and come out pretty much unscathed, Acantha would slaughter them both. He wanted to keep his hide, thank you very much, and Crixus was one of the few other males in their pride. Leaving their lionesses without two of their main males would not help their chances of success against the Desert Pride. See, it was all strategic.

Pink tongue lolling from his mouth, small pants could be heard, expected to cool the male down in response to the sun's harsh rays. Drops of saliva ran down his chin, falling onto the ground and being soaked up by the dry dirt below. Behind him, his tail twitched, eyes steady on the path ahead before fixating onto his companion. "Aren't we a prime fit?" Tone riddled with amusement, he continued, "between the pain of your eyes against the sun and the heat felt with my mane, this is torture."

Araali wasn't one to bluntly complain. In truth, he complained little, but this.. this was something worth complaining over. He would risk sittin in a river full of crocodiles if it meant that he'd cool off. Long had he been proud of his flourished mane, but now, he wished nothing more but to strip it off. In fact, he..

A pause.

His ears sat erect upon his cranium, head risen and eyes widened to better glimpse his surroundings. A sudden feeling had struck him from within, a form of uneasiness. "Do you sense that, too?" He asked, tone barely above a whisper. Something was off, he could feel it. "Come," was all he added on, resuming his walk. This time, his gait had increased, head still raised as his paws slapped the ground in a brisk walk.

The Ridge Pride was at a constant threat. Their neighbours made sure of it, and Araali didn't trust them. As King, he needed to be on constant alert, for his pride had but two males, while Ridge Pride had three. He knew that much, thus, he needed to ensure everybody's safety all the more. The safety of the lionesses lay in his paws.. The safety of their Queen and of his unborn children lay in his paws.

Thus, when Koen declined the offer to see his child, Araali couldn't help but nod in agreement. The sudden shift in the air had him unsettled, the option of visiting Titilayo no longer on the line. Call it paranoia, but it was better to be safe than sorry. For now, he wished to check on the lionesses and see their progress with Koen by his side. He alone wasn't intimidating enough, despite his enlarged height, but with Koen's massive physique standing alongside of him, he was sure it would be warning enough to keep away. Especially given that they were to be so close to Ridge Pride. The females could be at risk. The pride could be at risk. Everything could be at risk. He wouldn't have it.

"I don't trust them," he spoke, voice a raspy alto as a rumble lay at the back of his throat, aching to be released. "I trust Ismitta, but they could use back up dare anything ensues, and I pray that it doesn't." They were hunting in the general direction of the Ridge Pride, lurking dangerously close..

"I don't trust them at all."