The herd of gazelle he’d been following had finally decided to stop for a rest beside a watering hole, and though they still rustled uneasily in the tall grass, Hjalmar was fairly confident that they wouldn’t see an attack coming until it was too late. They were suspicious, sure, but they had also let their guard down by stopping like this.
The lion’s eyes narrowed as he stared out from his crouched position, claws flexing into the ground while he debated which to go for. It was just him out here, so an old or sickly one would probably be best. While he could go trail back to his Viking group to get aid, he didn’t want to risk the herd moving on, and, admittedly, he didn’t think he’d need them anyway, one eye or not.
Zeroing in on a gazelle that hobbled about, he lowered himself further before edging closer. He had no idea if they were injured or just old, nor did he care. A stumbling one meant an easy catch, which was good enough for him. The thought somewhat amused him too, as his younger self would have been appalled over him passing up the opportunity to show off.
That part of him had grown up though. There were better ways to show his mettle than through stupid competitions like that.
Hjalmar’s ears flattened against his head as he saw his opening: the gazelle was mere feet away from him now and had lowered its head to nibble at some grass. Bunching his muscles, he sprung forward with a snarl-
Only to rear up as something burst out of the grass with a roar before tackling the gazelle to the ground and latching strong jaws around it’s neck.
What... hey! That was his kill! With a scowl, he stalked closer, ready to snap at the mysterious lioness that had shown up.
With so many new mouths to feed, Aiysha found herself struggling a bit to keep them fed, but she was nothing if not determined, and she wasn’t about to ask anyone for help regardless. She could handle this!
So when she’d come across this herd, she’d thought it a boon. Oh, she knew that there was a lion trailing behind it, likely the source of their skittishness, but she didn’t much care. It was a dog eat dog world her in the roguelands, and she’d been taught how to fight. Besides, if he was stupid enough to think he was alone in his hunt, then that was his mistake.
Tail flicking side to side, she waited patiently for the male to make a move, opting to use the confusion from his attack to gain some food for herself, and when he finally did, her eyes locked into the gazelle closest to her before striking out with a roar.
It hadn’t occurred to her to make sure she wasn’t hunting the same one as him, but then, that probably wouldn’t have stopped her anyway.
With a vicious growl, she held onto her kill until it finally stopped moving, before movement at the corner of her eye made her snap her gaze around to lock onto the lion. Oh great, he was going to try to start something. A sneer grew on Aiysha’s face as she raised a bloodied mouth to snarl right back at him.
”That was my kill you just stole!” The words left his mouth before she had even noticed him approaching, and he was full ready to start his tirade about the nerve of it... before he froze as she lifted her head to glare at him.
Oh no, the glare meant nothing to him. No, what made him freeze was those markings and that white cost... he would recognize those anywhere. After all, he wore a matching mask on his own face.
She certainly didn’t look like any of his half siblings in the Stormborn, but then, that probably didn’t matter much when it came to his family. His father had a habit of, ah... getting around, and he was bound to run into another random relative eventually. He just... hadn’t been expecting it now, of all times.
She hadn’t seemed to notice though, considering the caged look on her face. With a frown, he looked her up and down, noticing the ragged fur, the thin looking skin, and eyes that promised pain should she be challenged for her meal. He also took note of the odd scent coming from her. It was vaguely familiar....
Aiysha spat back at him, curling protectively around her kill, “I don’t see your teeth marks in it!” She huffed, “First come, first serve out here.”
She had not noticed the contemplative look that had grown over his face, nor the similarities they seemed to have, though she had never been the most observant of her litter mates. Plus, all she cared about was getting the meat back to her temporary den.
She did notice when he took another step towards her though. With a snarl, she swiped an unsheathed paw at him, hostility clear on her face. “Get your own food. This one’s mine!”
Hjalmar frowned at her, tail flicking in agitation at the reaction. By now, curiosity had overtaken his anger over the stolen hunt, so with a guarded look, he spoke gruffly, “... Who are you?”
”No one to you.” She wasn’t the type to release her name to a hostile so easily. In fact, she knew better than to really stick around too long. Lions were known to get captured by a nearby pride around these parts.
Lunging forward quickly, Aiysha nabbed her food around it’s neck and, deciding she’d stuck around long enough, began bounding away. She had cubs to worry about - the last thing she wanted was a male asking questions about her.
”WAIT-!” But it was too late. She had slipped into the tall grass.
Hjalmar took off after her, trying to keep track of where she was running by the sound of her paws, but between a lack of an eye and the grass obscuring her, he quickly lost her amongst the foliage.
With a snarl, he slammed a paw in frustration on the ground, sending dirt and dust flying into the air.