Thread:A Friendly Lion/@comment-27624599-20160514234644/@comment-27624599-20160605061354

Ushidi shrugged and followed the creamy lioness, settling into a slow, languid gait. His eyes flicked up to the fire-and-fuchsia sky, a few vibrant cirrus clouds gliding lazily across it. It would be a good night, he mused, to set aside some time for one of his favorite pastimes; stargazing, providing the weather remained the same. He had very little doubt that it would, the Drylands, true to its name, rarely ever received rain.

As he walked, he gazed out over the Kavu Sana Plains in silence, Darahani at his side. A few hares were scattered about, some nibbling at grass, some standing erect, poised for flight. They cast furtive glances towards the two lions, but none fled. A pair of starlings fluttered overhead, and in the distance, he could sight a herd of sable antelope grazing.

The reassuring rush of the Drylands' lifeblood, the Mkondo River, soon filled his ears. Its clear waters, melichrous in the sunset light, were fast-moving and high- there must have been a rainstorm far east. Many of the more timid Drylanders, such as dik-diks, were crouched by the water, lapping peacefully as the sun dipped below the horizon. As Ushidi and Darahani approached, some simply froze and stared, others receded into the trees on the other side. Watching them, Ushidi wondered what it would be like to be a hunter. He didn't think he would like it much, unless he were to be taking down something really big and exciting- a Cape buffalo, perhaps, or a clan of hyenas, or perhaps even an elephant. When he felt the spray of the river cooling his paws, he turned to Darahani. "Shall we stop for a drink?"