Ana was back on the move, following the migration of a herd of buffalo and zebra at a distance. She was enough away that none of the more aggressive members tried to intimidate or threaten her, but also close enough she could see the playful babies trotting at their mother's sides. Oh, what a tasty treat they would make, if only she could catch one. Being on her own, however, that would be impossible. She had not the strength or the powerful paws of a lion to pull her prey down. All she could hope for was to scavenge along the way or live off the small rodents or raid a nest while the parent wasn't looking. Not a feast by any means. Or even overly tasty, the small rodents like the mice were. Far too small. Not enough meat to taste over the crunchy bones. Food nonetheless and that was what mattered. Once she made her way back to her lion friend, she'd have all the time to feast. Mohini was an excellent hunter, easily taking down the bigger calves. Ana would help by applying her weight to the creature while Mohini went for the throat in the manner of felines.
Oh, how she dearly wished she could have something real meaty to chew on. As soon as the massive herd reached the river, she should be a few days travel away from the area where Mohini set up her home. The problem was the river itself was probably still weeks of travel away. Maybe even still a full month! A full month of dining on tiny little critters that scurried in the grass and ran almost right into her waiting paws when she crouched down in the dry grass. Her markings gave off the impression of spots of color from the sun, blending in almost naturally with the flora she choose to hide in.
Dumb rodents. Look at that one now, scurrying towards her with tail held almost completely vertical, zigzagging this way and that as if something were chasing it. Wait. Something was chasing it.
As Ana crouched down in the grass, an almost pure-white lion cub came bursting out after the rodent. With an impressive leap, the cub pounced at the rodent, trying to catch it before it could disappear down a nearby hole. Claws outstretched, she reached for it, just coming within inches of catching it before it scrambled down the hole and out of sight.
"Aw, come on!" the cub groaned, getting up on her feet and licking at the undersides of each paw. Pounding the ground once with each one, she gave a big huff of annoyance. "I almost had you..." Giving an angry stomp near the hole, the cub turned around to go back where she had come when she noticed the strange colors in the grass nearby. With the confidence of the young she approached. Curious. She'd never seen colors like that on the ground. And those two green spots, staring at her through the blades as if they were eyes....No. Not as if they were eyes. They were eyes!
Aolani gave a yelp and scurried back almost as fast as the mouse she had been chasing had done.
"No, wait! I didn't mean to scare you..."
Aolani halted. Turned around slowly. The two green spots had risen and were now staring at her with an apologetic expression. In her short time on this earth, she'd never seen a creature like this before.
"Hello! I am Ana." So as to not scare the little cub anymore, Ana kept her distance, staying near her hiding place. She watched as the cub turned around and cocked her head to one side, clearly inviting a little conversation. She didn't appear to be very old. Perhaps she'd never seen a hyena before. Images of the angry mother lion came back to her and she gave a little shudder, wondering if maybe she should just turn back now and pretend they'd never seen each other. But no. That'd be rude. She'd already introduced herself. "May I ask your name?"
Aolani merely stared at the strange creature for a few moments more. She was oblivious to the fact Ana was becoming more and more nervous of a charging mother springing out of the flora on all sides of her. Grandmother didn't like her talking to strangers. Than again, grandmother wasn't here and she didn't like being constantly told what to do by all the adults in her family.
"Aolani." Another pause as she continued to stare at Ana, while Ana struggled to think of something else to say. Aolani broke that silence. "What are you?"
Ah. So blunt. Just like a child. Kind of refreshing, really. A child may lie, may try to get out of trouble. But other than that, they were the most honest of to the point of any creature in the world, weren't they?
Ana cleared her throat, sitting down. "I am a hyena. And you are a lion."
"I know I'm a lion."
Right. Of course she did. She wasn't that young, not to even know what she herself was.
"Grandmother says lions and hyenas weren't meant to get along with each other."
Oh. Another one of those. Ana gave a sigh. If only Mohini had come along with her, they could have easily shown this youngster how well they got along. "Some can. My friend is a lion. I'm on my way back to her." More silence as the cub stared at her. Not a very chatty one, was she? "What do you think, little one? Do I seem like an untrustworthy hyena to deserve to be lumped in with the rest like that?"
Did she? Aolani wasn't sure. All she knew was she didn't like listening to what the grown-ups told her. They didn't know everything. "You could be being sneaky with me."
"I promise I'm not. What would I gain by tricking you? We're all alone right now. I don't need to trick you." Scary words to tell a youngster, that you could easily hurt her if you wished. So Ana tried to put a friendly grin on her face, to make herself look as unintimidating as possible. Not that she thought she was very threatening to begin with.
Fortunately, Aolani agreed. She didn't find this hyena very threatening at all. Just curious. Very curious. And friendly enough. See? Adults didn't know everything. "Mm. Maybe." More silence. "Is your lion friend nearby? Do I know her?"
"No. She lives far away. I still have a few weeks of traveling to do before I reach her."
"We don't live near her. Mom said they travelled a long distance and had to stop here to have me and my siblings."
"It would still be a very big coincidence if you knew her. She lives by herself and doesn't socialize with others much." Such an odd cub. Just staring at her with her head tilted to one side, still, her voice almost a dull monotone as she asked questions like only a kid could. "Should you be out here by yourself?" The scent of other lions was very far off. Too far off for a little cub to be out on her own.
"Probably not. Malia will find me soon enough." As she always did. Responsible Malia. She'd made a fenced in yard to keep all the cubs in if she could manage it, Aolani knew. But maybe to lesson the lecture from her aunt, she'd go closer to the group, anyway. "I think I'll head back, though. It was nice to meet you, Ana." Giving a small, rare smile, Aolani turned on her heel and slowly walked back the way she had come. Ana watched her silently, a small smile also on her face. Cute kid.
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