Nala, the lioness

Part 2 - Hunt for Help

(Days later...) It had been days since Nala's wanderings, and she was starving. 'A cub, walking around the plain, with nowhere to go,' She thought. How much longer could she survive with an empty stomach? The drought was coming, and prey must be following the rain. Soon, Nala would have to catch something. But how? She had watched the senior lionesses hunt several times, but that was it. Nala hadn't practiced before. She remembered how Dakari had promised to teach her how to hunt, once she was old enough. But now her mother was gone. Nala let out a soft growl, and pawed at a clump of grass.

'If only Bahati hadn't betrayed the pride! I'd be able to hunt properly,' She thought, feeling anger rise up against her chest. Nala dug her claws in the dirt. Vengeance would have to wait. For now, she would have to hunt. Nala scanned the plain. In the distance, she saw a fluffy rabbit tail sticking out from a patch of weeds. She recalled how Dakari had crept up towards a gazelle once. How her mother's tail had been tucked in her haunches, while her paws landed as quietly as feathers. Nala crouched, trying to imitate her mother's hunting crouch. She tucked her tail neatly into her haunches, and glanced at her surroundings.

There were a few twigs around, but Nala was just going to have to risk her chance. She slowly crept up on her prey, her whiskers twitching, and she felt herself shiver with excitement. Without noticing how far the distance was, Nala sprang, and clumsily landed on the grass. The rabbit prick its ears, then bounded away, chirping with indignation. Without wasting more time, Nala chased after her prey, feeling the ground sway before her, but managing to stay on her paws. As she was about to close in on the rabbit, an enormous paw slammed down on the rabbit's body. She looked up to see a pride male glowering at her.

Nala soon realized her mistake, and gulped, wondering if the day could get any worse. 

"You're in Tamarin's territory, cub. So back off!" The pride male growled, unsheathing his claws. 

"I'm not a cub! And you have no right to tell me what to do. It was my prey you caught. So hand it back while I ask nicely," Nala spat, fluffing up her fur and trying to shake off her fear. 

She knew she had to back away, but Nala had to take her chance. She might be able to get help from whoever Tamarin was. 

The senior lion thrust his broad head towards her, eyes narrowed, "I know a cub when I see one. Trust me, lying isn't your best option here."

At that moment, a young male lion collided with the older one, his amber eyes flashing, "An intruder!" 

Nala felt her pelt bristle, and glared at the younger lion, hissing, "Am not! He stole that rabbit from me!" 

The younger lion tipped his head, "You mean the rabbit on our territory? I'm not trying to point out or anything, but you are  on our territory which means you're most definitely an intruder." 

Nala felt her fur grow hot and lashed her tail, feeling furious that indeed he was right. 

She narrowed her eyes, and began looking at him carefully. The young lion did not look much older than her, with tufts of mane starting to grow on his head. His amber eyes gleamed under the sun while his "mane" seemed to glow into the color gold. 

The male lion had his whiskers twitching and shoulders flexing as he purred, "I know I'm good-looking, but please! Keep your eyes to yourself." 

Nala flattened her ears, baring her teeth into a beginning of a snarl. She wanted so deeply to snatch that smug look off of his silly face. But still, he had a point. Maybe she'd been staring at him for too long. 

"Ekon, that's enough! Behave yourself," the older male lion snapped.  

The younger lion, whom seemed to be called Ekon, rolled his eyes. His tail-tip flicked to and fro as if annoyed.