Marrana: Wrath of Oshun

=Breaking Ties=

Behati took pride in her position, focusing on herself rather than Hope or her stranglers. The others followed, still muddy from their violent encounter, and ventured further away from Hope's territory in search of their own. The lionesses had walked about 24 miles from Hope's territorial outskirts with little rest as Behati pushed them on; she should have thanked Hope because she would never have recognized survivors of the Enzi pride flood if it hadn't been for her. Behati eventually stopped them by a waterhole, where they happily drank and sat. The waterhole was large and more akin to a lake, but not many creatures were likely present due to the puddles scattered throughout the grasslands. 

The smell of the land was novel, and it piqued the interest of the few who purred incessantly among themselves, or so we thought. They did not find a waterhole exciting, but what was on the other side simply arriving for a drink.

Zeus, a fearsome male, a once successful pride male, and now a solitary figure in the marshes. His gaze was drawn to the females, who reminded him of his own before the flood. For the time being, he was uninterested in the group, but as he approached, the lionesses became interested in him, all three of them walking toward him, with Behati the furthest away, she squinted her eyes in dissatisfaction knowing they were acting out of lust, but she let them...an interesting choice. A pride without a male was doomed to die out, they all knew this and their instincts reminded them, but before they took on their natural role, they needed to be certain that this male was as strong as his mane looked. Zuri, a beautiful and usually clean lioness and one of Behati's associates, was up first, coming forth with an upright twitching tail purring and offering a playful muddy paw, his gaze remained stale yet intensive as he still hadn't left after pushing past Zuri to get his drink. Behati turned her head sluggishly as she noticed her friends following Zeus around. Zeus was patient, to begin with, but after a while, he became irritated and snarled before lunging at the two in a warning. The waterhole was filled with the bellowing of confused lions until Saidah, Behati's other associate, was seen marking before walking away to drink in the nearby area. Zeus approached the diluted marking and took in its contents, raising his head and showing his teeth, causing his nose to wrinkle and his eyes to close completely bringing the sent to the Jacobson's Organ. Opening his eyes again, he began to follow Saidah. Behati obstructed Zuri, who grumbled as she sidestepped in an attempt to avoid her to no avail.

Currently, Hope was stuck in place, it was the youngster's responsibility to hunt food for themselves and their pride for the next 38 days, which was a challenge, to say the least. They confidently splashed into the marshes after leaving the acacia tree, not too long after Hobble arrived in a huffing fit lapping up muddy water from the paw prints of the others letting her know they had left. She looked around, her eyes softening, her limp becoming more pronounced, and her body dripping with the blood of increasingly infectious puncture wounds. She let out a small roar, startling Hope and the two defenseless cubs. She was even more perplexed, her mouth open ajar as she took a seat, too tired to move. When she left her cubs, they began to whine and complain, but she ignored them for the time being. She lumbered over to the hurt lioness, her eyes low in fatigue, and gave her a headbutt, sliding her muzzle across the side of her head and to her neck to groom the mud off of it. A familiar smell and the taste of blood lingered on her tongue and in her nose, causing her to raise her head for a moment grumbling deeply before continuing to groom the filthy youngling. Hobble leaned up against Hope, accepting her grooming wholeheartedly and relaxing her aching body as Hope's tongue ran over her scruff causing her to snarl as a result of the pain. Her cubs required her body heat under the cool dirt, thus the session was short-lived. Hobble followed her to the den's entrance while still showing respect for her personal space.

The younglings scanned the area as they walked the first mile in search of prey. The scattered rains had dispersed herds, and with their inexperienced hunting techniques, they kept ruining the hunt. They grew more impatient out of irritation, which worsens their predicament. As they continued to follow the same herd, their hunger began to humble them. They set out south in an erratic configuration, clinging close to one another while panting due to the humidity. Zuri, Saidah, and Behati had left their mark on the fragmented pride and their hunting techniques, but after what they had done, they had no intention of turning back. They dispersed while recalling their past encounters and the proper way to pursue their prey. One had to take the lead, that young lioness was Folami.

Folami, the oldest-looking of the younglings, continued to reveal her youth in their joint hunting endeavors. Folami led the charge, refocusing their sights on the target. Their minds began to work as they visualized Hope sprinting toward the prey and Zuri, Saidah, and Folami ambushing it, but the space in between was cloudy. Due to the previous morning's rain and dew, there were plenty of areas for them to hide in the thick and blossoming grass.

One by one the younglings disappeared into the grasses, and the day became evening with the clouds covering the evening sundown. With their eyes 6 to 8 times better than humans these growing beasts can outsee their prey as it gets darker. With one in the back and three in the front, they repeated what they remembered to the best of their ability. Snorts and brays filled the space as they alerted one another to the issue at hand. Tail twitching in anticipation of a meal, Folami comes as close quickly before jumping out and grasping the leg of an anticipating Zebra just out of range. Barks gathered in the background shouting at one another even louder. One by one, the other three dashed over to assist, but they had no notion to go for the throat just to start devouring it alive. The zebra in question kicked and bucked while moving forward, even with the lioness clinging to their side, but was being pulled down by the other three who bit and clawed at the legs and delicate belly. The zebra was now stuck on all fours, unable to move forward or backward, and they punctured the skin in many different places, leaking blood onto the vicious Savanah. Folami took a chance, holding onto them from behind, and attempted to lunge for their throat but instead flew in the opposite direction.