Chapter 50 50: Are you approaching me?

[1st POV] (Three days later) The herd of antelope that I told Grim to keep an eye on did not waste their time and moved on with their migration. They followed the Mrara rivers and were already out of the region, so I had to give up on them. So after three days, I set out to hunt once more. My muscles screamed at me whenever I moved. Perhaps it was not a good idea to train so much yesterday. The training consisted of me trying to climb up the kopje with the least amount of leaps possible. I went overboard by doing it four times. Fortunately, after walking for a good while, the soreness faded a bit. As if my body realised I would continue moving anyway, so it stopped torturing itself to try and make me stop. The sun had not yet reached even halfway to its peak, so it was still morning. But the air already felt scorched. The breeze was dry and sharp against my nose, like breathing in powdered ash. Each step I took kicked up a faint puff of dust that clung to my paws. The once lush grasses had faded into brittle gold, swaying stiffly in the breeze like they had forgotten how to bend. There were a few trees here and there, scattered like bones. But even then, most of them were dried up and did not provide actual shade, only the illusion of it. There was also a thick silence in the air. When herds of animals migrate in thousands, most life in the Serengeti is gone. Zebras, Wildebeest, Antelopes etc, all the common and plentiful animals were the ones that moved too. So the land was quiet. The only animals I saw were warthogs that sprinted across the plain when they saw me, and the giraffe that watched me curiously when I passed them. God, I wish I could take down those towers of flesh already. But that was literally impossible, maybe with huge pride behind me, I could fell one giraffe. I've seen the bigger males fight over females before. They could swing their head like wrecking balls. Their long neck gave them insane leverage, and I kid you not when I say the sound of their attacks reminds me of explosions. Not a gunshot, more like bombs exploding on impact. If you want gunshots, their hooves smashing the ground sounded like gunshots. You would never guess how powerful giraffes are until you see them first-hand. They could be put in the same category as rhinos in animals not to be fucked with, both animals being right below elephants. I turned my gaze back to the blue sky and made sure I was still following behind Grim. He was the only one guiding me this time. And so, I walked through the savannah for an hour, following behind the vulture in the sky. But after an hour had passed, Grim released a croaking scream. Vultures were one of the ugliest-sounding birds in the world. The sound they made was like a person yelling, "Aaaaakkkk~" while being strangled by the eagle Khabib. It was an uglier version of a crow's caw. But no matter how unpleasant he sounded, it worked to catch my attention immediately. I stopped in my tracks and waited as he flew higher in the sky and circled a few times. And then he flew down and landed in front of me with a cloud of dust. "Is there something wrong?" I asked. "It's a herd of Impala ahead," he answered. That was unfortunate. Impalas were still one of the hardest prey to catch. But I did not see how that was a problem. "And?" "The problem is, we are not the only ones hunting them. I do not know why they came all this way, but the Siringet pride is here," Grim answered me with a hard nod. I sucked in a deep breath, and my mind immediately worked to assess the situation. Grim said he did not know why, but the reason why they came all the way over here was obvious. Prey was scarce for them, too. The herd of impala might as well be the last herd in the area that could be hunted. When resources were scarce, it made sense that we would meet on one of them eventually. "Are any of the kings there?" I asked to which he shook his head. "It's only the hunting party, females. I saw four of them, but more are probably hiding nearby to stalk the herd," he said. "What should we do, my lord? If the females are here, I'm afraid the kings will not be far behind," he asked, but there was no real concern in his voice. Instead, I heard excitement in his tone. He was secretly eager to see how things play out. "Do you have any other herd or prey that I could hunt nearby?" I asked after thinking for a while. He shook his head once more, a hard no, "I'm afraid not." "Then it's obvious, we will hunt the herd as well," I said and continued onwards. It was not clear when I would find another herd or possible prey. I could not let my chance to feed slip by just because of other lions. I needed to grow as well. And you might think that I was afraid of the Mbali brothers and should avoid them for now, but the truth was quite the opposite. I was not reckless enough to start a fight with them and be the aggressor, but if an opportunity presents itself... I was more than willing to meet them again, face to face. The past six months were more than just training, eating and sleeping. There were also results and progress. Grim took off to the sky once more, and we both headed towards the herd of impala. ... ... ///////////////// "Would you look at that," I said while looking towards the herd of impala in the distance. I was still far enough that I could stand and watch them without scaring them off. My eyes were not focused on the prey, instead, they were locked on the lionessess that was stalking them from the sides. I could not catch a glimpse of them but since I knew what to look for, I noticed the movement among the sea of grass. "They know what they are doing, that's for sure," I commented while I watched them stalk the herd with patience. One of them slinked along the left flank of the herd. Another one mirrored her action and stalked to the right flank of the herd. They were closing in on the herd from both sides. The scene was vividly familiar to me. I remember following the hunting party back when I was just a small cub. They would use similar tactics as the one they were using. "If those two are steering the herd, then the chasers must be...." I said and turned my head to look at the back of the herd. "Right there," Just like I expected, there were two lionessess staying low among the grass right behind the herd. Those two lions were the chasers, they would be the first to move and chase the herd. The two lionessess on either side would steer the herd towards a narrow path. Which was referred to as the killing lane. The funnel tactic, or so my mother told me. My eyes wandered across the whole area and I tried to predict where they were going to lead the herd. Mostly they would chase them towards an open area with good hiding spots. If possible, a sloping terrain was preferred. After I saw what should be the killing lane, I walked around the herd and headed towards there. My prediction was proven to be true as I felt a vibration on the ground when I reached the area. I saw at once the three female lions that lay among the yellow grass. They also noticed my presence and were growling at me with malice in their tone. I did not approach close to them, instead, I lowered myself onto the grass as well. I was shamelessly joining them in their strategy and taking the situation to my advantage. Not long after, the chasers moved. The two lionesses on the back began chasing, causing the herds to start running away. When the herd was about to move in a different direction, the lioness on the left emerged from the grass. The impala released a fearful bellow and then they changed their direction. They tried to move further to the right, but another lioness popped up from the grass. The herd was left with no choice but to run forward. They came like a stampede. The herd consisted of around 40 impalas, enough to shake the ground when they ran towards you. The three lionesses who stayed in the killing lane burst forth after the herd moved close to us. They were the ones responsible for taking down the targeted impala. Usually, it would only be two or one lionesses who stayed in the killing lane. But since the Siringet Pride were big, they had multiple lionessess stay in the killing lane to take down more than one prey. I saw them run towards different targets respectively. On the other hand, I remained in my place. I waited for a few of the impalas to come even closer to me, and when they were in my range, I exploded out. I did not have to chase after the Impala for a long distance like they did. I simply came out like a crocodile from water and collided with the Impala that came straight at me. The impala was a big male, and when he saw me, he was intending to headbutt me. His head was low, antlers facing forward, and then he charged. Usually, he would charge through a lioness with ease while leaving damage. But I reacted quickly and moved to the side. I used my paw to steer him away, barely missing my body, and then we crashed and rolled on the ground. We kicked up a cloud of dust in our struggle, but when the dust settled, I was holding him by the neck and suffocating him. Catching an impala had never been easier. Among the three lionessess in the killing lane, one of them failed, but the other two had their prey by the neck. They did not have the raw power to bring them down solo, so they waited and dragged the prey down. Soon, other lionesses came and helped bring down the impala fully. But by that point, I was no longer paying attention to them. I was busy with my own prey. I began dragging the Impala away from the area. My eyes searched for a good place to eat, and when I saw a big bush in the distance, I headed towards there. The bush was void of green leaves, but the complex branches provided enough shade. It took more effort to drag the kill to the shade than it did to actually kill it. But when I reached there, it was worth it. The sun was at its peak in the sky, and under the relentless heat, even a small shade went a long way to cool the body. After that, I began tearing into my food as usual. Around half an hour into eating my meal, I was disturbed by the sound of thunder in the sky. Wait, not thunder. A roar. I pulled my head out from the inside of the impala and stared towards the direction of the roar. My face and mane were covered in blood as I prepared to greet the kings of this land. It was hard to notice just how much progress I made when living alone. I needed other lions to compare to. So let's see where I stand now. They already knew where I was through my scent, so I roared back to announce my presence. A roar with only one meaning. Come. ... ... [IMAGE] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author : I'm lagging in the patreon. I am in the middle of writing the documentary chapters again and if you read te first episode, you would know it takes quite a bit of research. So just a warning for those who want to join. It's not 10 chapters advanced. I'll try locking in these next few days to upload more.