The yearling ventured further from his Eastern homelands, the place of his birth and the place he had always called home. He had gone from East to South, and now made his way Westward. All the while navigating his way around and studying the stars and paths he walked along the way. This time, a wayward path he followed into a place that appeared to have gone through many changes. He knew nothing of the wars or battles that had been fought here, but the place sent a slight chill up his spine, as if somewhere were watching him. The scents of others were both stale and fresh, as if a couple wolves had been lingering around, while others simply passed through. Shiki stared at the grasses, taller then him by a landslide and took in a deep breath. He ventured into the plains, his pawsteps quiet but his body brushing against the dry grasses that the Autumn season had brought creating a slight rustling and crackling sound. He figured he could get to the other side of the plains faster by going through the grasses, then finding a path around.

Long moments would pass, Shiki occasionally grumbling to himself as he stepped into a hole that seemed to be torn out of the earth from an earthquake. And what surprised him more, was a mark in the ground that he nearly stumbled over. Gazing at it, it appeared to be a tomb...a grave of one that had left the earth. He swallowed then, seemingly nervous. Did this place belong to a pack? Or perhaps it had once upon a time? Was this where they buried their dead? Moving on, he wondered just how that creature, whoever it was, had died...and wondered then if his own father was dead too. Was that why he hadn't been around for so long? No. Shiki couldn't give up the hope that his father was still here....probably searching for a safe place for him and the boy and his mother to grow up and live safely. He hoped...

Since the meeting with that strange pelted male Mlezi has found herself restless, pacing through the tall grasses in thought, laying out under the sun. Sick of just lay about she had decided she would grab a meal before wandering further from the lands she had taken up residence in, large frame sliding off the old fallen tree she had been resting upon. At first she would walk carelessly, lumbering through the tall grasses, rustling from her touch and moving against the swaying sea. She made sure to keep her head high, just barely able to see above the surface in search of a meal. That's when she saw it, the grasses shifting around a creature just a few meters ahead. Immediately the lioness began to sniff the air more closely, attempting to pick out the animal's scent and identify what it might be. She couldn't figure it out though, it was something she had yet to encounter yet.

Intrigued and also confused by this scent the female would get low, ears held forward and body shifting to a stalking stance. Carefully she moved forward, trying to move in the direction the wind blew the grasses, large paws slipping between the stalks tactfully. This was what her mother had taught her, move with the wind, weave between the stalks like a snake, keep yourself low and don't rush. Closer and closer she got, stopping every few steps to listen to the creature before continuing on. So far it didn't notice, just what she wanted.

Finally Mlezi was just yards away, shoulders rising and falling as she prepared herself for the pounce and charge. 3... 2... 1... Suddenly the lioness charged forward, leaping through a wall of grass, forepaws spread, claws ready to extend at any second. A mighty roar was sent into the air, green eyes locking onto the animal, that split second she comparing to that of a wild-dog back home.

"normal.
talk. think. you"

Lost in his thoughts, Shiki hadn't noticed that whatever birds were in the area had suddenly grown silent. He slowed to a walk when he realized a few moments later, finally coming to a stand still. Looking around, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary...nor did he smell anything strange either. Swallowing back his apprehension, the boy continued to creep forward, this time a little more silently then before. He wasn't sure why, but something told him to get the hell out of here! Heart pounding, Shiki moved forward as quietly as he could, golden eyes wide and staring ahead though occasionally glancing back. Still nothing.

After several tense moments, he began to allow himself to breathe again, though the atmosphere remained alien to him. As soon as he decided to take that first deep breath to calm his pounding heart, a roar seemed to burst from behind, startling the boys heart into a massive jumpstart that would have caused a rabbit to kill itself with a heart attack. He yelped louder then he ever had before, watching as a massive form rained down on him. At first, he had been so startled he couldn't move. And as split seconds ticked by, his instincts screamed at him to run. And as quick as he could, the tiny wolf streaked beneath the creature. He felt its hot breath ruffle his fur as he swept underneath her, one of her claws striking his rump but he paid it no mind. He raced as fast as his little legs would carry him, breathing hard and his heart pounding even harder, he ran with no other feeling but fear. Eyes wide, he searched for a place he could hide, sure that the beast was following him.

He whipped past the tall grasses, occasionally getting caught up and losing precious life saving seconds as he tried to speed along. Finally, as he thought his legs would collapse and his heart would explode from the intensity of his fright, he spotted a rabbit hole nearly hidden, though visible near the grasses that left it slightly exposed. Not to mention the rabbits seemed to have nibbled away some of the brush to make it slightly more accessible. Pushing himself faster, he put on a burst of speed until he reached it, and as quickly as he could he scrambled inside. Shiki went as far back as he could, which unfortunately for him wasn't far enough. Turning around in the little tight squeeze of a den, he watched the light pour in through the opening of the hole. All he could hear was his pounding heart, his ragged breath, and the blood pounding in his ears. What was that?!

Tall grasses ruptured with the large feline, paws outstretched with claws unsheathed. Mlezi was ready to make the kill, tongue sliding across her fangs as she remained hanging in the air. Green eyes narrowed when she had leapt, wanting to protect her sensitive eyes from any grass and the suns rays, but she was able to catch a glimpse of the animal. Before she knew it the canine-like creature was gone, a claw being snagged on its fur as it just swept beneath her at the last second. Duh dun! Paws slammed against the ground with the land, but she would not waste a moment longer, knowing every second counted with catch your meal before it got too far away, her speed dissipating.

Paw reached over the other, body bending as she tried to whip around in the direction her prey had gone. With that she gave a hard push with her powerful hind-legs, propelling the lioness forward and back into the tall dry grasses. She kept her eyes focused on the path ahead, able to keep just a hint of the animal's pelt within her sight from the bending grass. Even if it was small and she was quite larger it appeared the animal had quite some speed on it, reminding her of a gazelle back home. Faster, faster. Muscles were working hard to keep her speed up, trying to extend the time before they had to slow her down.

Something happened however that left the woman baffled briefly, the animal's pelt disappeared from ahead of her and she could no longer hear the heavy rustling of the grasses as it ran for its very life. Where did it go? A deep and annoyed growl spewed from her clenched fangs as she had to slow herself down, her pace coming to a quick walk, sides rising and falling to catch her breath. She pushed the grass away, head turning left and right, sweeping through to try and find any sign of the animal in case it had found a spot to hide. Every few moments she would growl, both in frustration and in an attempt to possible frighten the creature out of wherever it was hiding. 'Come on you little bugger.' She grumbled to herself.

That was when she found it. Mlezi's paw-steps came to a stop, head lowering to the ground to inspect was looked to be the paw-prints of a canine, fresh. Inky lips pulled back in a toothy grin, her gaze turning to scan the earth around her, able to see a bit better once she was low. A few steps to the side and she would spot the hole. Excellent. Instead of just pouncing for the attack however, the lioness would carefully sneak her way around it. Paws placed carefully, she would take up position behind the hole a few feet, grasses blocking her form to give her some camouflage. From here she would wait, crouched, body ready to make the move. It was just a waiting game now.

"normal.
talk. think. you"

Before he had managed to reach the hole, he had heard the creature coming after him. He was afraid, so deathly afraid! His heart pounded in his chest, breath quick as he tried to remain as silent as he could. Each breath seemed to choke him, his heart seeming like it wanted to break free of his ribs. Swallowing back the bile in his throat, he winced when he shifted his leg. He wanted to see what kind of injury he had, but the confined space and semi-darkness wouldn't allow him a clear view. He waited for what seemed like long moments, listening. Watching. He could hear nothing, but surely something like that, whatever it was, could still be out there? What was that thing?! A voice would scream in his head. If only he knew, then perhaps he'd have a chance of getting out alive. He was sure that giant thing wanted to eat him!

When he could hear nothing else other then the distant call of birds, he slowly shuffled forward to see if he could peer out. His nose inches from the entrance, he scented the air but all he could smell was his own fear, the metallic stench of blood and the dry grasses and dirt. He wanted so badly to escape this cramped hole, but fear kept him rooted in place until he was sure it was safe. Maybe if he could somehow get out and get away...he was small and quick enough. He had lost that thing once, he could do it again right? Summoning just a mite of courage, he called out "Go away whatever you are! Leave me alone!" though it sounded high pitched as opposed to brave...silly child.

Since she was younger, Mlezi's mother had taught the girl how to hunt, patience being a big key to being successful. You would not achieve anything by rushing straight into a task, you had to calculate the possibilities. At the same time you had to come to terms with whether your mission had the chance to be successful or not. The lioness was thinking over these things when the animal spoke, the fact that she could somewhat understand them was sending confusion through her mind, ears rotating in annoyance. Here she thought she was hunting a prey item, but now she was realizing that she might have misidentified what it was. Great...

If it had not been for the tone the voice had spoken with, the lioness probably would have prowled over and try to drag the thing out, figure out what it was. However, because of the high pitch she would lift herself and pad over, eyes narrowed and focused on the hole in the ground as she maneuvered her way around and stopped in front of it. There she would stand in silence just staring at the hole with dark green eyes, grumbling on the inside at the loss of a meal. "Kuja nje kiumbe!" She roared low, coming out more so as a demand rather than a request.

"normal.
talk. think. you"

What did the thing say? He was confused. The thing that tried to eat him spoke. But Shiki had no idea what it had said. Judging by the voice though, it was a female...and it had tried to eat him...how the heck would this turn out? He wanted to chance it and dart past her and out of the confines of his hole, but...what if she grabbed him as he tried to do that? Still shaking, he thought about what his options were...which weren't many. He could slowly wiggle his way out and show himself, but what if it ate wolves too??He could try and dig his way and make a new tunnel...but surely she would hear that and dig after him. If he tried to run, chances were he wouldn't move fast enough this time with the scratch on his leg now.

Biting his lip and his heart pounding wildly, he had run out of options. Though the beast spoke, maybe she had understood him? But given the language in which it spoke...maybe not. Well, only one thing left to do. It was do or die. And if he died, hopefully she would eat him in one bite so that he wouldn't suffer too badly...he shuddered at the thought of it. Slowly, he shuffled forward, the scent of the creature hitting him full on, a wild scent that he had never smelled before. He could see paws, legs, then a chest. And finally the farther he moved forward he'd see a face. Only his head poked out, ready to be pulled back into the hole at a moments notice like a turtle if she tried to get at him.

She was unlike anything he had ever seen before, and so much bigger too! Wide eyes gazed up, his ears pinned back to his head. "Wh-what do you want? If you're gonna eat me then it already...I don't care!" He tried to sound brave, like he didn't care if she ate him. But obviously that's not what he wanted.

"Speech"

Dark eyes narrowed as the time rolled on, tail slowly swinging from side to side behind her large frame, starting to become slightly annoyed with the wait. She would be able to see the creature begin to make its way out, head coming from the darkness and looked up to her with large golden eyes, ears pinned against its skull. Right away, before it even spoke, the lioness would realise what she had come across. Her head tilted as she examined his facial structure, taking notes on how it was similar to the canines back home, minus a colorful pelt. This was one of those animals that male had told her about, canines that were similar to the wild dogs and pretty much populated these lands. What were they called again? Wuuulvez?

Thinking about this, her expression had changed from one of annoyance to something along the lines of neutral, calm and thoughtful with a dash of curiosity. The animal's voice broke the females thoughts however, blinking her eyes a few times to zone back in on the situation. English wasn't her strong suit but she felt that she knew enough for basic conversations, or at least was able to pick out certain words then imagine what was trying to be said. For this... she squinted as if it would help, keeping the action faint so that the animal didn't know that she couldn't fully understand it. Something about wanting, a question perhaps. And the second part, eating, do it.

Her features hardened as she stared down the canine, purposely leaving a long pause after it had spoken, trying to test his bravery. If you could call it that. "Want... eat." She finally spoke, voice holding a strong, foreign, african accent. The lioness took a step forward, head lowering to stare the creature dead in the eye. Slowly her claws would unsheath, lips pulling back and allowing her tongue to run over her fangs. She wanted it to appear that she was still hungry and would aim to possibly nibble on him a little bit, a cruel joke but it wasn't like she really would after finding out it was possibly one of those wolves Hyder told her about. There were questions she wanted to ask, things she wanted to see and learn about. He would be sticking around for sure, whether she had to force him or he was too scared to run away.

The creature spoke after a long moment of waiting. Her face had turned calm, and then the words "Want...eat." fell upon him. What little bit of bravery he had tried to accumulate began to fade quickly, his ears tightening to his head and his tail tucking firmly between his legs. He swore his heart was racing like a jack hammer, and his body began to shake. Was she telling him that she was hungry? Or that...she was going to eat him? He swallowed, eyes growing wide. Would this be the end of him?

And yes, his thoughts would seem to be confirmed as she took a step closer, leaning in to meet him eye to eye. Her teeth bared, tongue sliding across her fangs. For a moment, he died on the spot. The little creature was face to face with a predator that was easily a thousand times his size. And he was sure she could eat him in one bite. At that moment, a small gasp of terror tried to claw its way to his tongue, but it stuck in his throat and he couldn't do a thing. His legs appeared to be frozen in place, knees shaking so bad he swore that they were knocking against each other. Furthermore, his body and mind weren't working together, and however bad he wanted to run, well...his brain and legs didn't seem to be cooperating. It was then that he did one of the most embarrassing acts known to mankind...

He sucked in his breath, a feeling of wet warmth seeped upon his tail and between his legs. The boy didn't need to look to know what he had done. He had been so terrified, that he peed himself! Despite his fear, a bright flush immediately crept up on his face, god why did he have to be such a scaredy cat!? He hoped nobody else would find out about this...then again, they probably wouldn't if he was going to be eaten today.

"Speech"

The amount of fear she was putting into this dog was incredibly amusing for Mlezi, she could have sworn that it was about to fall over from a heart attack any second now if she continued to be cruel. Another step forward and the lioness was going to growl, but before the noise could form within her jaws something had happened, something unexpected and in her mind, disgusting. The wolf had wet himself. The lioness quickly stepped back, all signs of any hunger or hostility melting from her face as it sank in that this was very mean and she should stop. "Kiumbe chafu." Mlezi didn't mean to practically spit it, the action was just a disgusting thing that she never witnessed before and immediately threw off her playful mood. She kind of just stood there all awkward as it happened, turning her head away and clearing her throat. What else could she say? Surely he didn't understand her language, since they were different species and her english wasn't that great. The lioness would settle with a heavy sigh, shaking her head gently before rubbing her temple with a paw. If her mother had seen this the woman would have been greatly displeased with her daughter, even reprimand her for it. Just because the animal was different and potentially a food item, it didn't give you the right to torture it. "Sorry..." She said softly, turning to face the animal, taking a few carefully placed steps forward so that this time he knew she wasn't going to hurt him. In front of the boy Mlezi would gently grab him by the scruff and use a limb to wrap around his side, pausing before doing anything else to make sure he knew she wasn't going to hurt him. Then she would lift and pull him out of the puddle, bringing him to the side and setting him down gently before pulling back. "Mean... I be..." She added quietly, licking his ear.