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Marble had been very fortunate for the past few days. The weather wasn't too bad, at least not bad to where her densely muscled body and strong leathery wings couldn't handle it. To top it off, her last few hunts had went over smoothly, a rabbit and wolf yesterday, though admittedly the wolf had been old and half dead when she'd taken him down, and today her hunt yielded larger fruits for her labors.

She kept her jaws clenched tightly over the nose of the young moose calf she'd managed to snatch away from it's herd, her body sucking away the small creatures life energy as she slowly suffocated it. The energy she got from this beast would be enough to last her for a while, and certainly the creature's flesh would not go to waste inside her belly. She couldn't help but feel pleased with herself all over again. The catch had gone better then she'd thought it would, probably due to winter being finally here and the animals having a harder time finding sufficient nourishment. Either way, the herds loss was her gain.

Marble tightened her clawed hold on the calf as it started up a renewed struggle, an instinctual reaction now that death was near for the small beast. He managed to struggle to his feet with her, but still she was bigger and weighed more, so his fight was a futile one and he just stood weakly in protest while she mentally apologized for prolonging his suffering. 'It will be over soon.' She mentally told him, tightening her jaws even more. 'Soon...'

It wasn't going to be able to stand much longer, the trembling in the calf's legs and body showed the lack of oxygen was taking its toll. Marble grunted slightly, shifting more of her weight onto the weakening calf's back until it finally dropped to the ground shaking and desperately trying to gulp air into it's starving lungs. Marble had to shift herself away from it when it struck blindly out with a hoof, and it was at that moment she noticed she wasn't alone.

Her eyes widened, staring at the other kage in curiosity. She hadn't thought this area was claimed yet, so seeing another of her kind around came as a slight shock. Pleasant though it was. She released the calf's mouth, letting the creature gasp for air. It was too weak to try to escape for quite a few more minutes at least. "Can I help you, darling?" She fairly purred, her tail twitching behind her. It had been a while since she'd had contact with another living thing tht wasn't on her list of meal items, and she was hoping for a nice chat if the other kage were so inclined.

Not to mention smart enough to talk. She didn't want to think how horrid it would be if the other female had a canine soul, she would simply die of boredom then. "Care for a bite?"

Marble tilted her head to one side, watching the other kage's odd movements before she started laughing, her mouth opening to release chuffing noises. 'My dear, you look like one of the old temple alley cats that use to visit me.' She exclaimed with delight, digging her claws into the calf a bit more a she watched the other kage. 'Certainly you don't think I'd harm such a pretty thing as yourself?' She asked, before chuffing again in laughter.

'I say now, stop dawdling and come eat before I suck all the life from him.' She chided the other kage in amusement. Small and easy a target as the other kage was, Marble certainly wasn't going to eat her. She found eating one's own kind to be unpleasant and, over all, rather dull. She didn't like the taste the recycled souls of kage had, so fresh game was all she cared for herself. Still, she couldn't blame the child for fearing her.

'I swear on my roar that I'll not harm you.' Marble promised, though she couldn't stop laughing. 'Kage are much too tainted for my tastes.'

'What a pretty name.' Marble nodded, looking Ambol over. 'And you really have such pretty markings.' She complimented the smaller kage, her words spoken with complete honesty. Ambol's colors and markings reminded her of the clothing one might have seen at the circus, and Mable's heart ached as she remembered those happy and easy times in her life.

'I am Marble, grandest roarer of the Seven Wonders, fiercest beast among my litter, and princess of the beast tents.' Marble smiled, introducing herself with the same introduction the circus use to use for her. 'Or rather, I was...now I suppose I am something else.' She laughed, looking down at the moose calf and watching his eyes. He would pass soon, and then her and Ambol could start in on the creature's meat.

'So tell me, have you been in the area long?' Marble inquired curiously. 'I would have figured there would be much less life around with a kage in the area.' The again, Ambol was much smaller then Marble, so she probably didnt need to kill as often, nor as much, and the area would have supported Ambol easier then it could Marble. 'Oh, have you ever been to the circus?' She asked suddenly, content to chatter away instead of eat. 'It's been years since I was there, I can't help but wonder how everyone is doing.'

'Oh, thats such a shame...' Marble sighed, looking down at the calf before she sucked the rest of the life energy away. She lay her head on it's now still side, watching Ambol with a look of pity one might give a child who'd never experienced candy before. 'It was my home, long before I was as I am now. There was always plenty to eat, and everyone was very affectionate there. Now it is terribly lonely all the time.'

She gave Ambol another grin. 'But even so, I do suppose not all manners of our kind can be of the types who enjoyed such things as circus' and the like. So I can't hold it against you.' She gave the calf's lifeless body a heave toward Ambol with her nose. 'But come now, don't be shy. If you've been living on small things, this one is sure to be a treat. Help yourself to as much as you want.'

Marble gave her tail a bit of a twitch, then got her wings into a more comfortable position on her back. 'I can only eat larger things...The smaller beasts aren't worth the energy I'd spend tracking and killing them. At least, thats what I've found. So big fellas like this one suit me fine.' She happily tore into the neck of the calf, ripping away a few good mouthfuls before continuing. 'Even so, I tend to have to move about a lot, since as you said, Humans really do notice the bigger ones missing.' She sighed, shaking her head a bit sadly as some blood dripped down her muzzle. 'They have no problem with other animals eating as their natural order dictates. Why do they have so much hatred for us?'
At this, she turned her silvery eyes to Ambol again. 'I don't get it at all.'

Marble smiled while watching the other kage, not a gruesome grin of malice, but rather one with a bit of motherly affection in it if anything else. She had been an unusual tiger in her previous life, and she was certain by the other kage's actions that she must be something of an unusual beast in this life as well. She didn't know how, other then she now had wings where she before had not, but she had claws and fangs like before, so to her there was not much difference between herself and Ambol.

Well, other then size. But that could be fixed with good meals regularly, or so Marble thought. It never occurred to her that there were such a difference as species to her, anymore then it had between her tiger self and the lions she preformed with. Ambol was just a malnourished cub, and Marble's heart went out to the small, ground bound female.

She sighed a little, looking away from the other kage and calf with a bit of sadness in her eyes. 'A life of remembrance and loss is one that is terrible. I miss my family and friends...but the humans I knew are no longer willing to have me. I'm too different now, and they do not know me any longer...' She felt the familiar constricting of her chest, a longing to be home, once more preforming under the tents with people laughing or cheering, or screaming in fright when she roared. She missed the attention and the life energy of the place, but mostly, she missed the petting and affection she'd always received after a show.

She turned her attention back to the calf, helping herself to the lower half of the calf to give Ambol the upper. Marble could hunt again, and she was sure Ambol could use the meat more now then she herself could. She had fed the days prior but heavens knew when the other kage had last feasted till she was content.

Marble chuckled when she saw Ambol yawn, her eyes glowing in amusement as she did. 'Do not feel the need to force yourself awake for me. Sleep little one, if you wish.' She took into account the remaining meat on the calf, then tiled her head toward the smaller kage curiously. 'If you would like, I can help you move the rest of the meal to your den.'

She gave a pause, remembering something from her youth. Even the tigers and lions she'd grown up with hadn't freely shared their cages with other big cats easily. Showing off one's den in the wild would probably be just as taboo as showing off one's sleeping place in the circus had been. 'Or, I can hide the meat somewhere for you to get later, if you would like.' She offered instead. She stood up and stretched her wings out to their fullest, her back arching as she did.

She gave a bit of a yawn herself, more from relaxation then from actual fatigue. 'What do you say, little one?'