[SRP] Incidental Encounter (Lumi x Tsubame x Mahina x Vayu)

[Polette]

Breathing heavily, Tsubame approached her hunting partner, Lumi, who had just taken down an adult antelope. The pair had been following its herd for some time now, carefully choosing and stalking their prey before the chase ensued. Being in a pair made hunting so much easier, it was no wonder lions had adopted the strategy.

Tsubame liked her solitude, though her cubs had made her realize how nice the presence of others really was. When they left to lead their own lives, she felt like something was missing in her life; it was no wonder, then, that Lumi appeared soon after. What had started out as an ideal alliance had turned into friendship, and Tsubame now even considered Lumi family.

Looking down at the pale cheetah, her white fur was stained red around her paws and mouth - an eerie sight when comparing to the normally bubbly and pristine Lumi. "It went down alright?" Her voice was a little raspy, and her panting was heavy, but she waited for Lumi to eat before she did, since she was the one to take it down.



Tail twitching behind her, Lumi was still on a high from chasing down a grown antelope. Taking down game was always tiring for cheetahs, and her slender frame and smaller size didn't help that fact at all. She was lucky that Tsubame was here with her to help, otherwise she'd be worried that someone else would come along and just snatch their kill.

"It was alright." Her breathing was heavy, and the interruptions it caused in her speech made her laugh. "No more difficult than usual." She grinned at the pink cheetah, her higher voice lingering softly in the air. It was times like this where Lumi noticed their age difference a little more - Tsubame wasn't old necessarily, but she had far more experience in the world than Lumi did. After all, Tsubame had grown children, and Lumi was still a little shaky on the hunting thing. When she had first met Tsubame, she was still living on a diet of hares and meerkats.

Pushing her face up next to the carcass in front of her, she tried to catch her breath so she could eat. While there were two of them, it wasn't completely out of the realm of possibilities for something bigger to come along and snatch their kill from them. Taking a few bites, her gaze returned to her partner. "Here, you eat too."

 

[Polette]

Bouncing on her toes, Mahina was becoming a tad impatient waiting for Vayu. She understood the difference between the speeds of snakes and cheetahs, but could he really be taking this long to catch up to her? She didn't even know why he had to accompany her out today, but her mother insisted. Her other siblings had been able to go off on their own ways, but since Mahina had remained with her mother, apparently that meant remaining a cub forever. It was fine at times, but times like this really frustrated the young cheetah.

"Vaaaayuuuu!" She looked back, seeing the grass moving where he made his path. With him almost here, that meant they could continue. Which was great, because Mahina smelled something delicious coming from not too far off in front of them, and there was no way she wasn't going to check it out.

"Come on, come on, let's go!" Turning around in circles impatiently, she couldn't wait to keep moving, now motivated by a mystery destination.

 

[Polette]

Sliding along, Vayu really didn't understand why Mahina was in such a hurry. Njozi had sleepily stumbled over to the tree he had been napping in to politely inform him that he would be her daughter's babysitter for the day. Njozi had been his companion and friend for so long, he just couldn't deny her; though, if he had known it would be like this, he might have actually considered it. After all, Mahina was fully grown now, but Njozi's constant coddling had kept her from really experiencing life. If she were his daughter, he would have set her free a long time ago. Njozi was probably just grasping onto her because none of her other siblings stayed, though, so he was slightly sympathetic.

Keeping a steady pace, he could at least see the white cheetah's figure now, as well as hear her calling out for him. It was quite the workout trying to keep up with her, and he was really hoping that she'd had enough and would want to go home now so he could finish his nap.

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Really, Mahina, you should be in less of a hurry." He swatted his tail at her as he passed her, waiting for her to dash off again.

 

[Polette]

Giving Lumi another look, Tsubame lowered herself to lay across from her partner, starting to eat off the carcass. It was hard for her to just scarf down food, but she knew that they needed to hurry and finish their meal before something else caught wind of it and decided to come and investigate; if there was one thing this female didn't want, it was a confrontation.

"Do you think we'll be able to salvage any to keep?" She looked at the slowly diminishing carcass, wanting to keep any leftovers so they wouldn't have to hunt for awhile. It would mean sticking around in this area, but she would rather not have to worry about food for awhile.



Eating through the dead antelope at a far faster pace than her partner, Lumi barely paused to look up. "Maybe." Honestly, it had been so long since their last meal that Lumi didn't really think there would be anything left of this antelope. Though, Tsubame wasn't really eating like she should. Letting her eyes wander for a moment, she looked over at her pink friend, wondering if there was something wrong.

"Come on, you need to eat your fill." Pulling away from the carcass, Lumi decided to take a break from eating to make sure she didn't consume the whole thing herself. She brought her head up, her nose pointed towards the sky; might as well make sure they didn't have any company headed their way.

 

[Polette]

Though still fidgeting, Mahina's eyes were locked on her intended direction. Vayu was taking so long that she really couldn't help but daydream about what she might find there; a buffet, perhaps? Free food lying around everywhere? Or maybe even a wandering rogue to ease her boredom? Being the optimist that she was, she never even considered the possibility that she could be headed straight for some seriously dangerous situation.

"We're wasting daylight!" Watching him pass her, she knew that he wasn't overly fond of the idea of having to stay by her side all day; she was actually secretly hoping that she would annoy him enough to abandon her and let her go off on her own. Her mother would be furious, though, so it was an unrealistic hope.

"I smell something amazing up ahead, I'm going to check it out." Without waiting for a real response from Vayu, her paws hit the ground hard and fast, pulling her where she wanted to go at top speeds.

 

[Polette]

Trying to keep a steady pace, Vayu took in a sharp breath when Mahina decided to just bolt off again, especially after what she said. "Mahina!" He called out to her, but he knew she wouldn't stop. "Jeez, I almost wish an angry lion is waiting for you, just so you'll learn." He mumbled to himself, though Vayu was honestly a little concerned that that was what actually awaited her. At this point, he couldn't just very well abandon her, so he tried to move as quickly as possible. Though, what good would he really do if there was danger? He could hypothetically do damage, but that's only if he could get close, which was hard with adult predators that knew how to deal with snakes like him.