Kopa's return
Prologue
Chapter 1
Swept away
Two months later…
Azuru and Kopa were trotting across the savanna,manes bellowing in the wind. "Are we close now?" Kopa asked his father. Azuru opened his mouth and tasted the air. "It's stale the scent but they definitely passed this way."Azuru said. Kopa groaned in annoyance. They had been tracking a herd of zebras for two hours and they still haven't found them and his feet were killing him. The sun was shining brightly,radianting its heat on those below. The sky had a few clouds in it but otherwise was clear and bright. A grasshopper jumped in front of his face. He snapped his jaws at it but missed by a mile. Azuru saw his failed attempt and laughed. Kopa scowled himself then tasted the air. He smelled zebra and the scent was fresh. "Dad,dad I smell zebra and it's fresh!"Kopa said,excitedly. Azuru tasted the air as well. "You're right,"he sniffed again. "Follow me."he said and took off. Kopa followed behind. Finally the hunt has begun Kopa thought,his excitement giving me newfound energy as he followed his father. Every minute he would smell the air and the scent would be fresher. He kept smelling the air until,at last, the scent was overwhelming. The zebras came into view and Kopa stared at them with awe. The zebras were huge ten times bigger than him and a bit bigger than his father and they were black with white stripes or white with black stripes Kopa couldn't tell. He looked at his father and saw his eyes glittering with excitement. He must have been impatient for this hunt to start Kopa thought. "Come on dad,let's take these zebras down."he said. He tensed his legs,ready to pounce when Azuru took his paws and pulled Kopa towards him. "Woah there tiger. First you're going to sit this one out."he said. "Aw but why?"Kopa asked. "Because this is your first hunt so you need to see how we do certain things before you actually hunt ok?" "Oh ok."Kopa said sadly,sitting down. Azuru must have seen he was upset because he added,"Look,if I kill this zebra and we carry it to the pride quickly i'll teach you how to hunt fish." "Ok."Kopa replied,his face brightening up. Azuru smiled. "Now watch and learn."he said. He lowered his body to the ground and crept towards on of the zebras. He continued to creep closer and closer. Then,when he was a good distance away from it,he rushed forward with blinding speed. Some of the zebras were altered of the danger and ran but the zebra Azuru was after reacted too slow. He grabbed the zebra's side and pulled it to the ground. The zebra fell heavily and started kicking. Azuru stayed away from it's hooves. He pressed one paw on the zebra's side to keep it from escaping. He moved to its neck and,in one quick movement,bit down on its neck. It neighed and kicking furiously but Azuru gripped tighter. Finally,the zebra stopped moving its eyes rolled behind its head,and died. Azuru held its neck a moment longer,to make sure it was dead,then let go and looked at Kopa with a smile. Kopa just stared at him open-mouthed. "That. Was. Awesome!"he shouted. "You were all like 'I'm gonna take you zebra down' and the zebra was all like 'Oh no the fierce lion is here run' and then everything went so fast and...and."Kopa was out of breath before he could finish the sentence. Azuru laughed. "Hey slow down now. Come on let's get this zebra to the pride quickly or there'll be no fish hunting."Azuru said. "Ok."Kopa said. He grabbed one of the zebra's leg and pulled. Azuru smiled,grabbed the zebra's throat and dragged it. They dragged the zebra for a good ten minutes before Kopa's jaw started to ache. He dropped the zebra's leg and opened his mouth,to stretch it out,when a foul smell hit him. The smell was obnoxious,like a dead animal that was left uneated and rottened. Kopa turned around. Ten dark silhouettes were dashing towards Azuru and him. "Um dad,I think something is chasing us."he said,nervously. "What?"Azuru said,confused,though the zebra muffled the word. He turned around as well. He narrowed his eyes then,two seconds after,they widened in fear. "Kopa run!"he screamed and took off. Kopa dashed after him. As they were running Kopa looked back over his shoulder. The ten dark silhouettes that were chasing them were hyenas. Well that would explain the horrible smell Kopa thought. Hyenas were poor hunters so they had to eat the carcass of a dead animal. They continued running for five minutes before Kopa started to become tired. His legs were burning and his breath were coming out in ragged gaps. "Dad...I can't go...on for...much...longer."he panted. Azuru turned his head sideways to Kopa,his eyes filled with worry. The hyenas were getting closer and with Kopa unable to go on...Azuru slowed to a stop,as did Kopa. He looked Kopa in the eye and said,"Listen son. I'm going to buy you some time whatever you do just keep running ok?"Kopa stared at his father,his blue eyes that rivaled the blue in the sky,his fiery mane that glowed like a hot fire. "Ok dad."Kopa said. Azuru licked his son on the cheek then turned to the incoming hyenas. Kopa turned around and ran. The hyenas continued running and once they got to Azuru they attacked him. One bit his leg,some went after his back and others were just just trying to get a wound on him. But Azuru was more than capable to handle them. He roared and charged at them. He slashed,swiped and threw them whenever they got too close to him. Kopa,while he was running,looked back at his father. His father was handling the hyenas well. Most of them were injuries greatly or exhausted. "Woo-hoo you go dad! Teach them a lesson!"Kopa yelled. One of the hyenas heard Kopa yell,stopped fighting and looked in Kopa's direction. That's when he realised his mistake. The hyena grinned and ran towards him. Seeing their companion running away,two other hyenas looked to see what he was running after. They saw Kopa and joined their companion at running towards Kopa. Kopa didn't waste a second and dashed away. The hyenas cackled with laughter and ran faster. Kopa ran and ran so fast that he was having trouble breathing. "Dad!"he managed to shout. Azuru heard Kopa's shout and turned around. Kopa was being chased by three hyenas! "No Kopa!"Azuru shouted. He slashed at the hyenas near him and raced to his son. Kopa saw his dad coming and an idea popped in his mind. It's risky but it might just work. Kopa made a sharp turn to the left and ran straight towards the hyenas. The hyenas seemed shocked at what Kopa was doing but then smiled thinking it would make him easier to catch. Kopa kept on running at one of the hyenas. The hyena licked his lips and open his jaw a little. Finally,when he was about a pencil length from the hyena he slid under the hyena.
