The golden form moved expertly through the grass, topaz gaze fixed upon the herd. She kept note of her peripherals, keeping an idea of where her companions were. A successful hunt relied on teamwork, it always had and always would. Even if two of the lionesses, Onyeka and Kailani, were not females that she was intimately familiar with hunting with in recent times, Ismitta trusted their abilities, and so she trusted them.

The presence of her mother was spiking Ismitta's anxiety, Palika could see it in her friends figure. Even if the two were not blood related, the golden lioness thought of the Queen as a sister, and she knew the other felt the same. Onyeka, Ismitta's mother, had taken Palika in when her own mother had perished, after all. They'd grown up together, grown up practically attached at the hip, had gotten into trouble and scuffles together for as long as she could remember. Where one went, the other was never far off.

The lioness of gold flicked an ear towards Ismitta when the Queen spoke, and she made a small noise in agreement. The herd was large, an elderly bull trailing at the back--he was their aim. It was smart, a bull would be large enough to feed their pride, and an elderly one would be an easier takedown for inexperienced lionesses.

But Ismitta was right. The herd was drawing closer to the border, and if their competitors, Ridge Pride, caught wind of their hunt... Well, Palika didn't doubt that they would get challenged for the kill. And while they had yet to see how powerful Ridge Pride actually was, their reputation spoke volumes.

She feared few things in this world, but Ridge Pride may have very well been one of them.

Many things plagued the mind, as they did most days.

She would have to tell the pride eventually that she was pregnant, preferably sooner rather than later. She would have to ask her mate whether or not he would like to be included in her announcement, although she was sure that many members of her pride, for they were not idiotic creatures, would guess who the father of her offspring was even if she didn't tell them.

Next came the worries of their newest neighbours, the Desert Pride. She could make many assumptions about them--they were weak, injured, low on numbers, all horrible, horrible things she hoped. But she could never confirm that without seeing their numbers for herself, seeing the condition of their pride, seeing exactly what they were up against. Everyone knew of the bad things that had happened to the Desert Pride. A fire, terrible losses, but they were Kalahari Lions. Kalahari lions were tough, they were built bigger, stronger, more powerful. She'd have to be very, very careful.

A hunt would also be in order to feed the pride. And, likewise, it would boost the moral of the lionesses. She needed her hunters and warriors to be strong to fend off any attacks from the Desert Pride, and to aid in any confrontations that they may have at the border.

Ridge Pride had little to worry about from their other neighbours--it was Desert Pride that had gained their irritations, and the damaged pride would suffer for it.

"Neda, sister," the Queen softly called as she stood and made her way over to where she saw the other lioness. She bumped her head against the other in greeting, a thing that she, truly, only did with Neda and Crixus, her closest companions. Physical affection wasn't a big thing for her unless you were close to her. "Which direction do you think we should go on a hunt in?"

Kovanu || 5 || King || Ridge Pride || M: Crixus, Others (Ind)

The large, leucistic male narrowed his eyes against the sunlight; while it was not at its strongest, the rays were still enough to irritate him. Oh, how he preferred the blue vision of the nighttime. Patrolling was so much more enjoyable, then. Kovanu shook the clinging dust from his coat and prowled through the sparse grass to the inviting shade of a nearby tree.

Under his new umbrella, it was much easier for his eyes to adjust, allowing him to observe the horizon; now that the sun was not reflecting painfully, the savannah became more detailed, and the heat waves stopped blurring his vision. Far, far away, a small train of elephants could be seen as they traveled in the direction of one of the larger watering holes Kovanu knew of.

He scanned the rest of the horizon but found no other movements. Perhaps it was still too hot for an abundance of prey, but there would probably be a scavenger or two out and about. The pride lionesses would beat them to the best morsels, though -- Kovanu was the proud king of the greatest huntresses in Africa.

Puffing out his chest a little at the thought, he shook himself out once again and looked over to where his warrior, Crixus, was located. Slightly tilting his head, he called in a low voice, "Do you see anything of interest?"

Part of him braced for a snarky retort. Crixus was completely and utterly full of himself -- as he should be; he'd snagged the most powerful lioness Kovanu knew. The other part of him was not so on guard. He respected the other male. Perhaps they were not best friends, but Crixus was a good warrior and devoted to their Queen. Kovanu trusted him, at the very least.

The bronze lioness stalked alongside the one of gold, Palika. They had a larger hunting party today, with six lionesses rather than the four that would normally be on the hunt. Ismitta, Palika, Adani, and herself. The four of them were quite a force to be reckoned with, hunters by trade and they were good at their job.

She could understand why the Queen had requested the two others to join them. Onyeka was experienced, and Kailani offered extra paws. When she had been pregnant with Titilayo, her own cub, she had feared that putting too much into a hunt would injure her offspring, so she'd stepped back from her role as a huntress at that time.

But now that her daughter was five months old, Viyan was back alongside her fellow hunters, putting herself and her body on the line to feed the pride.

The amber female perked her ears and listened to Ismitta's orders, slowly nodding her head. Hide on the riverbank with Onyeka and ambush the bull when it came towards them, it was an easy enough task. The only thing that made her concerned was the idea of making a kill so close to the Ridge Pride territory.

Unfortunately, the other pride had been nothing but... hostile. Would they try and take their kill? It was possible. It was even more likely to happen if the bull ended up on the other prides side of the river.

She turned her head slightly when Palika gently nudged her, hearing the words 'Do not miss,' come from the other lioness, and understood instantly that Palika's train of thought had followed her own. They were both very worried about Ridge Pride. If only to calm both of their nerves, Viyan nodded, watching the lioness of gold drop back to be beside Kailani. In the same movement, Viyan directed herself to be beside Onyeka, the elder of their pride.

She had very, very high respect for the elder. It took great skill to live long enough to become an elder, and it took even more to be an elder and live through what the pride had been through. So, if anything, Viyan was grateful to be partnered with the aged lioness.

Without a word, because who would dare to tell Onyeka when to move and when not to, Viyan began the descent down the side of the river, crouched and moving into a good position for the ambush.

Now, all there was to do was wait.