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 Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 7:52 am
 ^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v Horizon crept through the sticky humid morning air. She hadn't felt the sting of starvation in years; back when she was very little. Last night the plains were baron. No life could be found to quench her hunger. She didn't need much, just one little wildebeest, at least. Sadly, there was no food in the area last night. Now she was forced for the first time in years to hunt in daylight. Daylight meant two things, competition and less stealth. She would have angrily sighed but Horizon kept her thoughts to herself. Making a noise was a no-no.
Horizon kept one eye closed. All those years of perfecting her night vision would not be ruined today. So what if this would mess with her field of view? Her fine tuned ears would make up for what her eyes lacked. She dug her claws tightly into the earth and sunk low. Her one eye lowly searched the grass. She heard the snap of a twig. Food? Something? Anything? She couldn't stand another second in the wicked morning light. It was bedtime. And so whatever approached her better be edible.^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 9:08 pm
 The gnawing, uncomfortable pain of hunger was normal to Marne now as he ventured away from his dark, cool den in search of whatever he could find. Any food was fine with him; a few rabbits, a small antelope, or a wildebeast. Whatever satisfied the jaws that clamped so tightly to his stomach that it nearly hurt to walk.
He snarled as a twig snapped under his large paws; he'd have to be extra quiet now if he planned to catch prey even remotely near his den. He shook his mane out, despising the morning heat, and surveyed the land with his red eyes squinted against the glaring sun. There seemed to be nothing in sight. He'd probably already scared whatever there had been away.
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 9:23 pm
^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v
Horizon spotted the source of the sound. It was another hungry Dalin. His fur probably helped with hunting in tall green grass, or he could make up for it with speed. Leave it to Horizon to think about hunting when meeting someone new. It was her life. Not much of a life, but it never bothered her.
Seeing that there was no food in the area she stretched her legs and stood tall. She didn't speak. What was there to say? 'Nice fur'/'I see we are both Dalin'/'Are you hungry too?'. None of it was necessary. But silence was rude. "Good morning," she mumbled. She wasn't really good at the conversation starters. She probably wasn't good at conversations either.
^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 9:33 pm
Marne's eyes flickered to the side as a voice reached his ears. He quickly looked her over, making sure he wasn't in too much danger. She was Da'lin, and he wasn't sure just how traditional Da'lin she was, but her pose showed no threat to him. On the contrary, she stood proud and beautiful, like every decent female should.
"Mornin'." His voice was raw with lack of use, but still audible. "I take it you don't know where the food has gone either?" It was a valid question, but he didn't really seem to care for the answer. He continued to scan the land, looking for any tiny clue that told him where to look for some sort of meat. "Guess we're both out of luck."
He stretched his front paws out infront of him, yawning and popping joints as he did so. He so rarely left the sanctuary his den provided him that his legs were cramped and he was almost as desperate as to say that unexpected, quiet company would be an slightly welcome change.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 9:19 am
^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v
Horizon's vocal chords were getting some much-needed exercise. "Well the winds haven't changed, the stream is healthy, and there aren't many predators in this area. I see no reason for the food to be gone. It certainly wasn't you or me," she said. She couldn't even smell any food nearby. How hopeless. "The stream itself has no fish. So, there is no food of any kind. Nothing flying, swimming, running, nothing period." It would be time to move on and find a new home. For her that would be easy. For others, not so much. Lions don't like to leave their pride lands.
Horizon sighed. Grass has no meat and no protein. Lions can run because they are meant to eat food that can run away. How disappointing. Well, maybe this lion might know why the food disappeared.
^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 10:31 am
Marne shook his head. "I'm sure there was just some get together and we missed the memo." He let out a snort, something like an unamused laugh, and looked toward the lioness. He wasn't afraid to look her directly in the eye, but after a few moments he had to look away. Seeing another Da'lin made him think too much about his past, and he wasn't sure if he could take it.
Despite the hunger he felt, he lowered himself to to the ground, crossing his paws over one another and tapping the dirt with his claws. He was prepared to wait just a while longer before he ventured much further away. His tail swayed back a forth, and he seemed to be relaxed before the was much time for anything to happen. "Guess we'll just have to wait for them to come home."
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 2:35 pm
^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v
Horizon nodded and sat down too. "Are you a part of a pride?" she asked. She wondered if maybe too many lions eating off one spot might have caused this. Though she doubted that assumption due to the fact that this was her first encounter with another lion. By now her stomach stopped beckoning and she didn't feel like she was starving anymore. This was probably because she rested her legs and stopped using up energy. His red eyes didn't look at her directly but she looked at them. She had never before seen red eyes except her own. It was more common with albinos. She was supposed to be looking at the fields for food.
^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 7:03 pm
"Ah..." He paused, blinking, "no, I am not." His expression was unreadable, but his eyes seemed to the scan the ground directly in front of him with a little more urgency, like he was trying to hurry and find whatever he could to distract them. Finally he realized there was little point to his hiding, and sighed.
"I was at one point. I was a healer." He nodded slowly. "We were strong, though small in number. Many were members of my own family. But there was a warrioress who... nevermind her." He shook his head, restarting. "I left for mental reasons. Soon after I left the pride was attacked. Those who were not killed were badly injured. Without me, they died soon after."
His voice stayed emotionless through his speech, but he could feel the pull on his heart, and angry tearing feeling. He knew he could have saved them, if only he hadn't left. So many respectable Da'lin; all dead. Fierce, angry, ruthless creatures they were. It was his fault they died. He'd been far too weak.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 7:09 am
 Not far from the two lions, another Da'lin lay happily in his cave. Although hunger gnawed at his belly, he didn't think much of it. Food was scarce, and living alone didn't make it any easier to catch it. Which was, of course, why he had a small stockpile of meat in the back of his den. Unlike most, this lion was one to plan ahead with his cold, calculating mind. For a few minutes, he lay still, enjoying the feel of warmth as it spread over his silky coat, but the sun didn't seem to want to shine in his cave for long periods of time and darted behind a cloud.
With a growl, he rose to his paws fluidly, muscles rippling beneath his slick pelt. With the grace and agility only a true predator had, he prowled to the back of his den and picked up a half-eaten carcass. Deer. Although meat was so much tastier when you could taste the blood, this would have to do. As he took the first few ravaged bites, the delicious aroma began to fill up inside the cave, slowly wafting out into its surrounding and drifting along with the breeze.
And the bloodlust was on him. He couldn't think, didn't care. It was only him and the meat. He tore into it, swallowing huge chunks down as though they were nothing bigger than seeds. All the while, he was completely unaware that others were outside, fairly close to his cleverly concealed cave, probably scenting the delicious odor. Not that they would find him. He had, after all, chosen a cave obscured by bushes so it was impossible to tell that anyone lived nearby, or that there was even a cave there.
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 9:55 am
^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v
Horizon's chest throbbed. At first she thought it was pangs of hunger. Then she took a deep breath. It was emotional pain, something she hadn't felt in quite some time. "You didn't choose not to save them. You know you would have done all you could if given the opportunity," she said. She lay her head down on her paws. Family trouble is what got her where she is today. Her story wasn't really worth telling. Pretty much she trained herself her whole life to be the perfect hunter to feed her sickly family. Now all she is now is a hunter, who can barely keep up a conversation.
The smell of blood came from nearby. It seeped through the air slowly and stuck to Horizon's senses, like thick syrup. There was nothing live that Horizon could smell but whoever was feasting right now may be the cause of the famine. She sat up and waited till he sensed it too. It would have been rude or something if she just left...
^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v
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