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Whilst the run rose above the mountains far in the east, Kura lay frozen in her position. She had been watching this small herd of gazelle for over an hour now. The female's had just started giving birth the morning before and there were plenty of new babies to go around. Though Kura was by herself, so she would need to catch one quickly and bring it back to the pride. Seizing the opertunity as a newborn gazelle tries to stand for the first time, this was the one Kura was going to go after. It was the closest to her, and the male guarding the herd was furthest from the mother. The baby tumbled back to the ground, not ready to stand quite yet. This was her chance, when the mother gazelle would turn her head to see where the head male was. Almost...almost...now! Kura's powerful hind legs shot her from under the tall grass, her front paws out to snatch the little one. Claws at the ready, Kura had the baby gazelle in her grasp before the mother could even react. The herd scattered as a loud raor erupted from Kura whilst she sunk her long fangs into the baby's neck. In a moment, it was done and Kura stood with the baby dangling from her jaws. Watching the herd run to the south, Kura went north. Dragging the baby in her mouth, Kura made her way back to the pride.

With baby gazelle still in her jaws, Kura focused on getting back to the pride. Though her mind started to wander a bit, she knew she had to stay alert. There had been rumors going around that the people whom protected their lands were not doing their duty anymore. Ear's flickering to the left, Kura noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Head tilting she saw it was Tsuki, a swish of her tail and a nod of her head told Tsuki that Kura had noticed her. Dropping her prey to the ground, Kura licked her muzzle and yawned. "Unfortionatly this is all I could bring down on my own. It seems everyone is on edge lately." Kura spoke in a softer tone, hoping that no one else was around. With the pride still alseep Kura knew, as head of the pride she would eat first. With her paw apon the back of the young gazelle, Kura used her mighty jaws to rip the animal in half. Taking the back end for herself, she left the front half of the body for Tsuki to eat. Food has not been scarce, but the prey had heightened their guard lately....but why?

Kura turned her tawny head to the side when she saw Lela stand. Stopping for a breif moment, she wondered why the young female would not have gone over and tried to get some food. Sighing gently, Kura knew that if her pride was to survive, she must feed all. Though all the instincts in her body told her not to share her food, as she was head female, Kura dropped her kill. Pulling a back hind leg off, she kicked her part of the kill under some grass so no one would take it. Following Lela silently, Kura's foot falls could not be heard by the keenest of ears. Knowing very well the hardship that Lela came from, she stood infront of the lonely female. "Here." Kura said after she dropped the meat to Lela's feet. Becuase Lela was part Cheeta, Kura knew that she is a runner, not a fighter. Cheeta's have soft bones and are not made for fighting so she would wait until no one was around to eat to avoid conflict.

Kura turned away and had gone back to her own meat. Laying low in the grass, Kura took a hold of the carcass in her jaws and pulled the flesh from the bones. Crunching the bones with her strong jaws, Kura swallowed everything she could. When the meal was finished, Kura licked her paws until they were clean of blood. Standing how, her long tail stretched out and she shook her body. Looking around at the pride, a thought popped into her head. I know Lela lost her mother...but it is so unlike a normal animal to move on... Kura thought to herself about the strange, young female but then shrugged it off. Growling low in her throat, she turned her head to the west. The sun was high in the sky at this point, but far off into the distance were dark clouds. The rainy season was apon them and if they did not move to their rainy season denning area, if there were any cubs born this year they would not survive the flood waters.

Stomach swollen with cubs, Kura looked down at her stomach and snorted. Getting up, she stretched out again and let out a loud grunt. Going slowly back over to Lela, Kura wanted to get the female to open up a bit. Sitting down beside Lela, Kura nudged her shoulder softly. "If we do not move out soon, the cubs will not survive the flood waters.." The pride was too close to a river that flooded every rainy season. "Tomorrow we will move the pride out and make our way to higher ground." The area that Kura was talking about was higher in the mountain behind them. It was still in their territory, but it had a rock formation that had a denning area for the females that would give birth to cubs.

((Kind of like pride rock, but not as huge and extravigant. No problem with the writers block, it happens.))

Kura knew that for Lela to feel like she was a part of the pride was to get her to speak her mind. "What is it child?" Kura asked, paw reaching out and nudging Lela's front leg gently. "I understand that you lost your family not so long ago, I too know how it feels to loose everything. But you are in a new pride now, with a new life. I understand the past can be painful, but the future is always joyful. You need to focus on your future." Kura tried to get into the young female's mind and ease her pain.

Lela turned her head and looked at Kura before looking down and saying. "I-I just feel lost with out her. She was all I had to guide me and now she's gone." Lela sighed softly. "I understand what you are saying and you're right it's just hard to let go...." She said quietly.