Amala sat down with an outcrop of rock and looked out over the sand at the fleeing animal with a wary smile. She'd have pouted if it was something she did. Her white and gold fur was mussed but she wasn't worried. She was a Firekin and a few hairs out of place was nothing much to her. It was more annoying that the desert hare had got away. She'd already caught two but they were such scrawny things, all strong sinew and tough legs.
"We'll get the next one." She spoke aloud, expecting (feeling, knowing) her twin wouldn't be far behind her.
Asita was indeed close by. Goodness if their parents, siblings, and peers in the pride didn't already realize they were practically joined at the hip. She slowed to a stop as she joined her sister on the rocky outcropping, watching the hare zip further off out of sight.
"Definitely." She agreed, ignoring the specks of dust coating her fur.
Asita may have been the dark one, the shadow, but she was not the one who followed. She turned to her sister, looking to her for direction. Her will was to continue the hunt as she suspected Asita's was but she waited for her to decide which hunting trail to follow now, as a soldier waits for their general. It'd always been their way and Amala had always consider it an equal partnership, even if Asita was 'in charge'.
She gave a shake to loose the sand that had settled into her fur, aware that Amala was looking to her for direction even as she went over the choices in a calculating, rapid manner. Within seconds she had decided on what she deemed to be the best course of action. She wanted to go after the next target, but they should recover a bit first. Chasing down two desert hares, even if one got away, was hard work (Not that either was complaining.). She moved closer to her pale twin and began to clean off a particularly noticeable smudge of dust before drawing back and explaining.
"We'll track down new prey. That will give us time to collect ourselves again fully."
"Alright, I'm with you." She got to her paws and after she turned, as she was walking down off the stone, bump-rubbed the top of her head against her twins shoulder as she went very briefly. It was there golden wings blazed, more prominant perhaps on Asita's dark fur but identical to her own.
She didn't wait to be told - she might look to Asita for her opinion but she wasn't a mindless drone - to start scenting the air and looking for tracks as they walked along. The hunt was still on and the disappointment of loosing the hare forgotten. They'd pick up more sign of prey soon enough.
Asita gave a purr in answer to the nudge, the returned sign of affection, but she didn't stay idle either, scanning the sands for any visual clues as Amala scented for tracks as well. She kept her ears open, but it wasn't small prey's footfalls that caught her attention, rather...
The black twin stopped, blinking, and stood up straight casually, watching the grayed mane and dulled red figure of their great, great uncle Iroh walking towards them. She didn't have to look to know Amala had noticed him as well, since she was scenting. What was he doing this far out, she wondered with a silent perk of her ears.
Within a moment of Asita noticing him, her pale sister was looking at the same thing, stopping just a pace or so with her head raised up. Great uncle Iroh. He'd been old long before they'd been young and he was respected as much as loved. Even if he occasionally flirted with her mother (as a joke, yeah, but ew).
What was he doing way out here? Her ears flashed back in a gesture of thoughtful puzzlement before likewise perking up. She took a step in his direction, her gold eyes looking for Asita's.
Asita looked back at her twin and was moving to meet Iroh just as well when he called out to them.
"There you are. Your father said I might find you out here. I hope I'm not interrupting, young ones?" The grandfatherly lion greeted in his usual jolly manner, watching his nieces with joyful eyes. They were growing up to be lovely girls, and the bond between the two was refreshing. He could recall other family members in their tree that weren't so close as siblings.
"All is well, uncle. We have three desert hares stowed beneath the southern outcrop and were just after a fourth." Amala called, her volume dropping as the elder lion drew closer. No need to mention the one that got away. When there's a blue open sky, why moan about one little cloud? Their mother, Ilahle, would have been pleased with them. With their strong builds from their parents and with her patient instruction they were becoming good huntresses in their own right. And all the better for being a double team too.
"How are you today?" She asked politely, smiling.
