It was a cold afternoon, the sun hidden behind dark clouds and the wind fierce as it blew across the savanna, a telltale sign of a storm headed their way. Unsurprisingly it had already started sprinkling, steadily getting heavier as time went on.

Crouched low in the swaying grass, steps light, only a few meters away from the large herd of gazelle, were two lionesses with their sights trained on a calf. Ever-so-slowly approaching they took their time, assuring that they weren't spotted as they left the two adolescents by a large acacia tree, having allowed them to tag along and gain some experience from watching the hunt.

Despite the rain, Rashida, a dark brown lioness with golden eyes, never once took her gaze off of their target, determined to bring the gazelle back to the pride for dinner. She had gone hunting earlier with Jehlani, as well as another female, and the three of them had brought home two impala calves, so she felt the need to bring home another good meal.

Beside her the tan lioness known as Jehlani made her move, jumping from her crouched position and sprinting towards the small animal, keeping to one side as the herd dispersed in fear. Rashida stayed crouched and waited, watching apprehensively as the gazelle was lead right towards her, and just before she had her chance to leap came the roaring thunder, spooking the prey and forcing it to change directions. By now, the rain was beating down on them and blurring their vision, making it almost impossible to chase after their prey. It was a lost cause.

Her shoulders slumped as she tried to watch the calf run off, blinking the water from her eyelids and shaking her head as though it would help. She briefly heard the adolescents, Mzuzi and Kanika, trot towards the two, giving a small sigh as she resigned to failure.

"We should find some shelter," Mzuzi stated, puffing his chest out slightly. He received a small whack from Jehlani, an affectionate smile on her muzzle as she nodded, starting up a light trot in a random direction. He guessed she had no idea where she was going, but he followed her anyway.

Kanika, a young black and white lioness, stayed a few feet behind the sulking Rashida, nose wrinkling at the feeling of mud squishing between her toes. Despite growing up with these lions for a majority of her life, she couldn't allow herself to trust them for certain reasons. Of course, they didn't know anything about that, and she'd like to keep it that way.

-

A while had gone by before they finally managed to find a cave, soaked to the bone and shivering as they left muddy paw prints at the cave entrance. Thankfully, it was a bit warmer inside, and they could finally sit down and have a rest until the storm passed. They could only hope, however, that they hadn't strayed too far from their pride.