TMNTTLK Lover, thanks for the review. Here's chapter three.
It had been a few more weeks since the night with the fireflies. The two were always together and taking romantic strolls. One night their nightly walks had them venture further away from their pride then they meant. It was too late to turn around so they spent the night in a nearby cave.
As the sun started to rise, Syrena's eyes fluttered open, and she glanced at the peaceful lion that her head was nestled against. She also noticed that his paw was placed protectively over her. Smiling she slid her nimble body out from his paw, she stepped out of the small den, in hopes that she could return with breakfast before he woke. But what she saw nearly took her breath away. She ran back over to the sleeping lion and began to nudge him, telling him to wake.
"What-uh?" he said.
"Spartan, c'mon, you have to see this!" she yelped excitedly.
So with a yawn, he rose and followed her to the mouth of the den, and his eyes widened in wonder. It was one of the most beautiful sights either of them had ever seen. There were miles and miles of rolling seas of green grass in every direction. Leafy trees dotted the horizon of the big, open, blue sky. The sun was spectacularly rising over the land, its rays cutting through the early morning fog and bathing the landscape in a shimmering shade of golden light.
"It-it's beautiful." Syrena whispered.
"I've never seen anything like it." Spartan replied.
But the most striking feature of the land was a huge stone mountain that rose up from the land, and its majestic promontory seemed to be kissing the sky itself. Syrena and Spartan could only stare in awe, taking in the majesty and beauty of the heaven that they had found themselves in.
After watching the mesmerizing sunrise, Syrena and Spartan decided to have a look around the beautiful landscape, and see if they could find food. The deeper into the territory they went, the more breathtaking it became. As they walked through the tall, lush grass, each drank in the rich, earthy smell that filled the air. Soon they reached a large waterhole, filled to the brim with glimmering, clear water. Both lions immediately dipped their tongues into the cool liquid, neither having ever tasted water that was so pure and sweet. After both had satisfied their thirst Syrena nudged Spartan and pointed to something in the distance. A huge herd of zebra were grazing nearby, contently munching on the dew-kissed grass.
"Rena, are you crazy? I'm hungry too, but there's no way we can take down a zebra! And you're pregnant!" Spartan whispered to her.
Syrena rolled her eyes, then replied, "I'm pregnant not disabled! But You are right, WE can't. I'll have to do it alone."
"WHAT?!" Spartan said.
"Darling, as handsome as it is, your mane will alert the herd to our presence. Sorry love, I'm afraid you'll have to sit this one out." she said, smiling.
Spartan thought for a moment, he'd been hunting with Syrena and the other lionesses many times, or rather he'd watched them hunt many times. He knew Syrena was a skilled huntress, she had never given the huntresses false information about points and where to attack. But to hunt Zebra alone and pregnant, were a whole different story, they were always on the guard for predators, and a well-placed kick from one of their hooves could easily kill a lion. But Spartan also knew that when Syrena set her mind to something, there wasn't much he could do to dissuade her, but if any creature could bring down a zebra single- handedly, he knew that it was her. So, shaking his head, he replied,
"Look, I think we both know that when you set your mind to something, there's not much I can do to stop you...except sit on you maybe." the last part he said with a sly grin, to which she raised her eyebrows , but then his face became serious again, and he continued, "So will you just promise me that you'll be careful."
Syrena smiled and replied, "Of course." and she gave him a light kiss on his cheek, before turning and silently stalking toward the ever-weary zebra.
As she crouched low, her usual playful and gentle expression transformed into a fierce concentration of focus and power. She breathed slowly, in and out, feeling her own heartbeat become one with that of the earth under her paws. She melted into the tall grass, which her reddish brown coat blended perfectly into. It had been a rare opportunity for her to hunt zebra in the Western domain and as she relished the challenged she racked her memory for the specific strategies her mother and aunts had taught her. "Ok, target a weak or old one, and avoid hooves." she coached herself. As she expertly scouted the herd for the perfect target, she noticed that one of the zebra had picked up its head and begun to alert the others. "It's now or never." she thought as she darted from her cover in the grass.
She was already moving in on her next victim, and just as she was about to make the killing leap, something intercepted her, knocking her to the ground with a hard thump. Recovering she found herself looking straight into the eyes of a greyish gold lioness...
