Death in the trees

Leaving the girls to their own devices, and instructing them not to leave the territory. Azoula set out on a solitary mission. Solitude wasn’t all that foreign to a tiger, anyway. In fact, she’d enjoyed spending time alone the most- when she didn’t have to drag wolves along behind her, making sure they were fed, sheltered, and alive. She couldn’t help but think back on her time in Saffron. How she’d been tasked with corralling the Sidi, ensuring they stayed alive, to meet the needs of their captors and abusers. Truly, it was a job for the devil himself- a lackey of chaos, who allowed beasts to satiate their depravity by pillaging the young and innocent. And yet, if Azoula was being completely honest. She quite enjoyed it. Wolves were mutts anyways- better to let them destroy themselves.

These thoughts accompanied her mind as she walked through the redbud nook, having been here not long ago when she hunted the boar with the young wolf. Ahh, that had been quite the experience- annoying and chaotic, yes, but she’d been able to feast on pork belly nonetheless. Today, she meant to spill blood in a similar fashion- only, she wasn’t on the hunt for pork. There was something far more exotic roaming within the forest- a deer like creature who roamed the jungles her ancestors inhabited. Saiga antelopes. They were odd looking creatures- their snouts bulging and long, nostrils seeming as if they had two noses to breathe from. And the taste of their flesh- oh, was it delectable. Especially when the body was still warm, the blood hot and sticky, the entrails steamy and gooey. The thought alone made her mouth water.

Yes, antelope was on the menu today. All Azoula had to do now, was find it. Which luckily, wasn’t a hard task for the feline. She was able to identify its scent with ease, the small, hooves prints fresh and easily identifiable in the soft soil. Moving through the redbuds, the tigress moved with feline precision- paws steps silent, shoulders rolling forward with each step she took, the tip of her tail twitching to and fro. Those volcanic eyes of her scanning the terrain, pupils dilating and constricting as she weaved in and out of the shadows.

It took some time to find the little herd of antelope- their silhouettes appearing in the distance, heads down to the earth, while they grazed on the underbrush at their hooves. Completely unaware of the tigress lurking in the shadows. Azoula fell into a predatory stance- body low to the ground, ears pinned back, eyes trained on each and every movement, as the antelope lazily walked through the meadow. Honing in, stopping once she was within striking distance, ensuring she was downwind. Azoula waited for several minutes, continuing to analyze her prey. Waiting for the perfect moment to attack.

And when it came, she didn’t hesitate. Muscles uncoiling, springing her forward, as she landed directly behind her target. Morphing into a sprint, she chased the antelope several feet. Making sure she was right on its heels, jaws almost able to grab it by the hock, before a massive paw swiped out and she tripped it. Descending upon it, her claws outstretched and sank into the young buck. Jaws unhinging, closing around its windpipe, flexing and biting down until snap! carnivorous incisions punctured through the cartilage. Squirming, kicking and wailing. She held the writhing buck down with her weight, a paw pushing down on its head to keep its neck stabilized. The whooshing of air escaped through the holes in its throat, seeping out the corners of her mouth, as she suffocated her prey.

Finally, it became still. Blood oozing from the wounds, coating her chin and dripping down onto her chest. And once she felt content with her kill, Azoula would stand with her quarry still in her mouth. Using her strength to drag the body to the nearest tree. She wasn’t going to drag the carcass all the way back to her girls- no, that was too much for even her. And so, she would use a technique she’d been taught by another big cat. One that would hide their meal from scavengers on the ground.

Analyzing the tree, ensuring its branches were sturdy and could support the weight of herself and the carcass. Azoula, still holding her prey, used her claws to ascend up the trunk of the tree, and into the lower hanging branches. Dragging the carcass up, and laying it across one of the bulkier, thicker branches. She laid it out, distributing the weight evenly. Blood dripped from its throat and onto the ground below, creating a gradually growing pile of sinew. Leaping down from the tree, and looking up to inspect her work. A haughty smirk curled her lips, and she turned towards the direction of Laney and Mila.

It was only a matter of time until a scavenger tried to pick her kill out of the tree. And so, time was of the essence, if the girls wanted to eat. Slinking away, she sought to retrieve the dog and the wolf- to allow them to feast on her fresh kill, but only after she’d had her fill of the delectable meat.  

"Azoula Davati"