The thrill of the kill
Days had passed since Askari and Tekelea had left their friends. Standing on a hill, the dark furred lion closed his eyes and sniffed. Finally. The scent the soft breeze blew through his nostrils was strong enough for him to be sure. Jino wasn't far!
He looked around to check if Tekelea had returned from her hunt, but the lioness was nowhere to be seen. She had insisted to do the hunting for the time of their exile, so she would actually be of some use, for the fighting would obviously be Askari's job.
Unwilling to wait for her or risk giving away his location to his prey, he set off into its direction. Actually, Askari had to admit, that he was a little sad the end of his mission was coming closer. He had started to enjoy their punishment and so did the lioness as it seemed. He had started to feel better about his failure with every step he came closer to the problem's solution. Another plus point was that by hunting down Jino he avoided Ruya's rage. Hopefully she would have calmed down when he returned. But there was even more. He was close to his next fight and this time everything he would do would be totally justified… and probably the fight's result would tell him more about the strange feeling he had felt after the rogue's death.
Pushing his thoughts aside, he focused on his task and followed Jino's scent through the savanna. After some time, it led him towards a rocky gorge with only one way to enter. Jino had definitely been here. His scent was everywhere around the trees next to the gorge's entrance and fresh paw prints covered the dusty ground. The newest track seemed to lead right down…
He stopped and carefully checked his environment. With the trees, some bushes and a few big rocks around, there were plenty of hideouts and the gorge the track led into had only one entrance. This was the perfect place for an ambush. He felt a shiver running down his spine and suddenly knew, he was right. Someone was watching him!
From his cover, Jino glared at Askari. Why did that damn dark coat hesitate? Had he sensed the trap? It wouldn't be that bad, but still Jino wanted him to go down there. If he entered, it would be impossible for Askari to flee when he realized, that his attacker was stronger, a circumstance Jino wanted to ensure. Giving Askari one more moment to move into the trap, he prepared himself. It would be hard fight in any way, but he was sure. Today he would get his revenge on this filthy rogue! And with him out of the way… He licked his lips in thoughts of the young lioness.
There, between the rocks… Quickly, but not too obvious, Askari turned his eyes away from him and pretended to continue searching the area. This wasn't really a trap. Jino had chosen the battleground, a place where he could be sure, Askari would have trouble to avoid fighting till the end. That arrogant jerk still thought of himself as superior, thought, Askari would flee when the fight grew too hard… With a grin on his face, he stepped down into the gorge, ready to teach him a final lesson.
From his hideout, Jino watched the fool entering the chosen arena, the place of his downfall. Suddenly, he wished for spectators, for his pride and the whole bunch of filthy rogues to witness his triumph. Slowly he stood up and followed Askari.
Hidden behind the tall grass, Tekelea crawled towards her unsuspecting prey. It felt good to hunt, even though she had to do it alone, what made it a lot harder. It gave her the feeling of usefulness. Askari had made it very clear, that he did not want her to aid him in his coming fight with Jino and she hadn't dared to discuss this matter with him. Instead, she had claimed the task of supplying them with food and since then did her best to keep him well fed, so he would maintain his full strength. Actually, she had started to like this punishment. The time they spend alone together and the fact that he – at least kind of – relied on her made her feel closer to him than ever before.
Now she was close enough. Her eyes focused on the young impala, a rare but welcome sight in this area and prepared to pounce…
A roar sounded, quickly followed by another one.
The impala jumped up, noticed the surprised and startled lioness and ran, but Tekelea already forgot about her hunt. Askari had found him! They were fighting already! As fast as she could, she set of into the roars' direction. Despite her promise to stay out of it, she did not intend to let him alone with his task. Askari's last victory over Jino had been a close one and she wouldn't take any risks. If he needed her, she would enter the fight, if he approved it or not! If only the roar hadn't been that far away!
Whirling up the dust the two lions tormented each other. Even though they looked nothing alike, it was soon impossible to tell them apart.
This fight was different from everything they had done so far. No rules were left to be followed, no one was there to intervene. All restrictions were gone. With brutal force they lashed out, dug their teeth into the other one's body and carved the skin with their claws. In no time both of them were covered in bleeding wounds.
They both seemed to be equal in strength until suddenly, something changed. Slowly but undeniably one of them began to gain the upper hand.
When he noticed the fight's balance changing against his favor, fear began to crawl into his mind. He felt his body getting weaker due to his effort and wounds and even though his foe suffered from nearly equal conditions, he seemed to deal with it way better.
This was not how this was supposed to turn out! Not at all! One of his attacks missed and the other one countered, dealing a heavy blow against his head. Tumbling, he backed off, trying to orient himself, but all he could see were the walls of the canyon. Cold panic grabbed him, as the other one growled at him, sensing his advantage. He had to get out of here! The exit, where was the damn exit?
In a desperate attempt to get away, he dodged his pouncing opponent and jumped out of the dust cloud. His claws dug into the gorge's walls and managed to find hold. A shimmer of hope found its way back I to his mind. Only halve a body length separated him from the edge! If he managed to grab it…
A furious growl sounded from below and he turned his head, then powerful jaws closed around one of his hind legs. With a desperate roar he lost contact to the wall and fell backwards, disappearing into the dust.
Another, fearful roar sounded, as Tekelea reached the gorge. Pacing along the edge, she stared down into the dust cloud, unable to see anything. She couldn't tell whose roar she had just heard. Finally, she found the entrance and hesitantly entered, fearing she might be too late already. Carefully, she walked through the dust that slowly began to settle. As finally, a silhouette appeared, moving somewhere in front of her, she stopped.
"A-Askari?", she brought herself to ask and fearfully took another step forward, noticing that it actually were two lions. One on his's back and one towering over him, pinning him down, slowly lowering his head.
"Urgh… No! Plea…" The words turned into a burble and disappeared, as the upper lion closed his jaws around his opponent's throat.
Like in a trance, Tekelea watched the scene, watched, as the defeated lion began to twitch, desperately trying to breathe. Then, with a sound she knew very well from several hunts, the victor crushed the other one's throat.
The dust settled and covered Askari's blood covered muzzle. Motionless, his eyes stared into Jino's. One last shiver ran through the fallen lion's body, then he lay still.
"Askari?" Tekelea's voice sounded far away. Slowly he inhaled, taking a deep breath, as the strange feeling he knew from the last fight returned. The sight of his defeated foe lying dead in front of his paws awoke something deep in his chest. With one of his paws he stepped on Jino's corpse and exhaled. His roar's echo thundered through the gorge as he shouted his triumph out into the world. He had done it again. He had killed an opponent in single combat and now knew what it was, he felt about it! He felt alive and stronger like never before. Disgust about himself creeped into his mind. He had killed another lion… and he had enjoyed it!
AN: Jino is dead and Heba is save! Hey!