Chapter 35 35: Humans again?

[1st POV] I rarely went four days without eating back home, so upon finally getting my paws on some meat, I literally inhaled most of it. An Impala was not a big prey, it had more or less 30 kg of pure meat if we exclude the hide and bones. But it was more than enough for one growing lion. The food filled my belly to the brim. I spent the first hour constantly eating and chewing. After that, I slowed down my pace and cleaned my bloody face and paws. I would nibble on my meat from time to time to fill myself even more. At that point, I allowed Grim to feed on the meal as well. He perched on top of the impala and began digging into the meat as well. I watched him with wonder, having a beak must suck because he was eating so slowly. I could never. I shifted my eyes from Grim and looked at the humans who did not leave even after an hour had passed. Instead, they seem to have moved even closer while I was feeding. One of them was clearly pointing his camera at me from the back of the vehicle. I propped myself up and took in the smell that came from the vehicle. The smell of the humans was distinctive, they were the same as the ones I encountered last time. There were four of them in the vehicle. I was definitely curious about it, but also wary. I am no longer a human, but a lion living in the Savanah. Both shared the same planet but lived in completely different worlds. It definitely put some thoughts in my mind, like whether I was in the same world or a different one completely. I heard that religions like Hinduism, Sikhism, and Buddhism believe in reincarnation after death. Specifically, humans were reborn into animals according to their karma. Which is why most of these religions did not allow the killing of animals and were vegetarians. Perhaps that was the case for me. Or maybe not, since the story of Simba was fictional in my past life. I spent the next few hours finishing my food with Grim before I stood up and decided to leave. The Imphala was now only skin and hide, mostly, and I left it for the scavengers to finish everything else. Grim was too full that he was not able to fly. Watching him try and fall multiple times was amusing to say the least. I walked away from the shade of the tree to head towards my home. During the past few days, I have found a good place to sleep and rest. I was not foolish enough to sleep on the open ground every day just yet, there were unfamiliar dangers roaming around. I head towards the direction of the vehicle while walking away. When I reached there, I could see the humans once more. They were frozen in place, eyes locking on me as if I were both the most magnificent and dangerous creature they had ever laid their eyes on. I observed their exact position and noticed that it provided a great view. I wonder if they saw me hunting, or better yet, if they captured me hunting. Perhaps they were taking a video of me for research. I could understand why I would be an interesting specimen, considering my unnatural build. I huffed and left the vehicle to head someplace else. .. .. ... /////////////////// [3rd POV] The scene opened up with three unique individuals sitting infront of the camera. All of them seemed to be preoccupied with themselves, they were checking their posture, fixing their clothes and hair to look good infront of the camera. "Oh, is it already starting?" the only woman among them said and when she got the green light from the crew, she slapped the leg of her two colleagues. "Okay, where should we begin?" the woman, who looked asian, said while rubbing her hands to cool off her nerves. "Introduction, let's start with the introduction," the black man on her right suggested. "Yes, right! Introductions," she said and shifted upright. "Okay, my name is Hana Park, and I am a Zoologist with a speciality in big cats." "And I am Kyle Ramirez, drone operator and tech specialist," the man sitting on her left said in a slight Mexican accent. "Malik Adeyemi. I was the assistant cameraman and the driver for the project," the man on the right said, he too had a slight African accent. "The three of us serve as the project leads responsible for the documentary that you are watching today," Hana said, taking the initiative among the three as she was more experienced in front of the camera. "The success of this project was made possible by the unwavering dedication of countless remarkable individuals ranging from scientists and doctors to filmmakers and rangers. All of whom poured over a decade worth of effort, passion, and expertise into bringing this vision to life," she said and then took a brief pause. "But all of it was more than worth it. What you are about to witness was not only made for the sake of entertainment. The story you are about to witness is a great turning point for animal science as a whole. It changed everything we know about the consciousness, emotions and individuality of wild animals. Especially when it came to big cats like lions, it broke myths and pushed new discoveries," Hana said. "This documentary contains real footage, nothing has been dramatised or faked. And with that said, we need to offer a disclaimer. Some of the scenes you'll see are violent. Nature isn't always beautiful in a way that's easy to watch. There's blood, conflict, and death, which we chose not to censor because that would be the same as omitting certain truths." Hana said, and the scene panned out from her face to show her two colleagues. "Again, we cannot stress this enough. Do not watch this documentary if you are under 16 or sensitive to violence and gore. Suppose you are a lion lover expecting to watch a fun documentary about them. Please do not watch this. Believe me, a lot of them die, especially the male lions," Ramirez said in all seriousness before a hand covered his mouth. "Okay, let's stop this before someone spoils the whole thing," Malik said with a wry smile on his face. "We poured our hearts into this project, not just as scientists and filmmakers, but as people who were changed by what we saw. So watch with an open mind, and more importantly, an open heart." Hana finished. "Thank you," .... [IMAGE] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extra chaoter for the 850 mark. Good job guys, give me more and let's sit at number 1 this week. From nect chapter, the length will return to normal.