The lionesses were closing in on their prey. Bingo put on a burst of speed, bounding ahead a few feet and then flinging herself at the hippo - the impact knocked it off balance and it slowed down, allowing Dusly to leap onto it as well. The two primals tore at its flesh as it bellowed. Vermeil panted, watching with anxious eyes.

The weight of two lions was becoming too much for the hippo. It started to teeter, leaning from side to side with loud, pained calls. Vermeil ran into to score an attack - it reacted angrily, closing its teeth around her forepaw. She wailed, pulling back, and tumbled into the grass.

Concern flared in Bingo's stomach. She considered jumping after her, but the ferus didn't look too injured... she was shook out of her thoughts by the hippo tipping over. Scrambling, she managed to avoid getting crushed, and the creature hit the ground with a bam. Bingo and Dusky leapt off its flank and Dusky went in for the killing blow, closing her jaws around its thick neck and crushing its windpipe in a fierce bite. The hippo wheezed, kicking its legs, and then fell silent.

xxx

Pallas smiled at the friendly headbutt, and ran after Sab, enjoying the fresh growth underfoot. They were nearing the end of the forest now, the trees growing further apart and the shrubbery replaced by long grass. Soon they'd be on the savannah where their lionesses were hunting.

"Oh, would he? Did he have any mutations? My girls ain't too fond of standard kings." He rolled his shoulders and bared his teeth, showing off his primal-ness. It was true that the Wormwood pride had a penchant for muties; their last couple leaders had all been primals or pies, with only the founder being normal.

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Lita's leap made contact first; she dug her claws in hard, hind legs scrabbling as the hippo reared. Steele was roaring, keeping the hippo at bay with a flurry of clawstrikes, but her rage only caused her to almost get her head crushed by jaws that clamped closed dangerously close to her.
The hippo swung around again, trying to buck Lita off now as the red lioness made repeated strikes at its flank. It was beginning to bleed now, but nobody had managed to get to its neck yet, nor any other vulnerable area.

Avi was creeping in, though, undetected as the hippo was distracted by the others. Less of threat to the cow, too, since she was so much smaller. She wouldn't be able to take it down, but maybe they could get a deep enough bite to catch the windpipe...

xxx

"A felis," Sab said, making another playful swat towards Pallas. He reared on his back legs a moment, though was beginning to grow more alert as they neared the open area. "And the king before him was a primal, like you. Farrah was taken from another pride, I think. Maybe I was, too. There was a time when every lion we had was mutated, but... I don't know. I just don't want any more killin'."

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Dusky panted and laid down, easing her muscles after the fight. Blood rolled down her face and she licked it away quietly. Bingo shook herself, then bounded over to the tall grass, where Vermeil was. She gasped when she saw the ferus.

Vermeil was laying on her side, biting back tears - her right forepaw was worse than anticipated. There was a clean bite through the flesh, and it looked like the wrist was fractured. Bingo hurried over and began licking Vermeil's face to soothe her. After a few moments, Dusky joined them, eyes widening when she saw the wound.

"Good gods, Vermeil, are you okay?" she said. Vermeil shook her head feebly. "We should find Pallas," Bingo answered instead, "She needs to see someone with healing knowledge. Our pride's too far, but maybe Sab has somebody." Dusky nodded and rushed away, running through the long savannah grass in the direction of the forest. Bingo helped Vermeil limp over to the hippo carcass so that nobody could steal it.

xxx

"Hot damn, an all-mutie pride?" Pallas's eyes widened. He couldn't deny that it was something he'd attempted once, and had gotten pretty close, but then he'd found Bryn and Aether and Carnation, and well... it just wasn't worth passing up such pretty ladies. "I get that, I don't think it's smart to kill good cubs just 'cause they aren't muties. And I wasn't born in my pride, either."

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Avi had snuck in close enough by now to streak forwards and make a leap, her teeth clamping onto the hippo's exposed neck. It roared in pain, shaking its head side to side. The pon bit down harder, claws flailing and making rivets in the hippo's skin. She wasn't strong enough to do much damage, of course - when the cow finally flung her away, she hit the dirt with a rather sickening thud. Lita and Steele took no notice, instead doubling down on their attacks and driving the hippo away from the riverside.

The brute was backing away now, swinging its jaws side to side. They were wide open, fangs that no primal's could rival glinting in the high sun. She faced the lionesses, bellowing in defiance, charging now and again to drive them backward. Whenever they circled to the back of her, the hippo turned as well, keeping her jaws facing them; but at least one lioness would run behind, grabbing onto its back and biting down hard.

It was flagging, but so were the huntresses. Avi had gotten up slowly and was crouched in a patch of tall grass, her ears laid back. Steele bled heavily from a large gash in her side from glancing teeth, and Lita's sides were heaving. The two roared and snapped, though by now it was getting just as much at one another as it was their prey. Frustration hung heavy in the air, mingling with the smell of blood from all parties.

xx

Sab shrugged his shoulders, softening his step into a lope.
"It was nice, I suppose. In the way that we were all the same, but it bred ego in a lot of them. But then it wasn't enough, and others started dying. Sometimes Farrah would let cubs grow up, because he saw something in them. But then, they'd reach adulthood and it'd turn out they just had a bit of extra fuzz, and he'd kill them. Felt a bit like a roll of the dice."

He stopped, his ears twitching. Abruptly, his muscles tensed up. All of the humour from earlier was gone.

"That's Lita," he growled, ears flattening. "If they've gone after a bull... too reckless for their own good. I'll kill them, if they get themselves killed."

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Dusky's paws pounded on the soil as she ran, flattening the grass in her wake. She was tired from the hunt, but the desire to find Pallas overran the desire to lay down - she panted and forced herself to carry on. She could see treetops in the distance now, coming closer slowly.

xxx

Pallas nodded along as Sab described Farrah's rule. It sounded awful, and the attitudes of the lionesses now made much more sense. He froze when the smilus tensed up. "A bull? Crap. You'd better go find them." He was gonna ask to go with, but he could hear running, and turned to see Dusky barreling through the grass. She slid to a stop just before crashing into him.

"It's Vermeil," she panted, "Got a busted paw. Needs medical help." Pallas gasped, fearing the worst. Turning to Sab, he said quickly, "Do you have anyone who can help in your pride? I can bring her back while you look for Lita."

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The hippo swung again, a nasty crack resounding as it hit Steele hard along the side of the jaw. She yowled, feeling pain spread through the area - biting down again was a challenge, and eventually she had to hop away and circle around the hippo's head, both of them lashing out but refusing to back off. Lita's ears flattened and she aimed another quick swipe at the hippo's back, making it turn and grunt in pain. Then she tried to dive for its neck again, but a pair of jaws were open in her face, making her back off again with a frustrated growl.

"Avi!" She roared the pon's name. "We need you to get to its neck!"

But the pon just stared back in terror, hissing at the other lioness. Steele was trying to bite down again, but the hippo tossed its head, taking advantage of her weakened state. Another hit square in the head was enough to make the grey huntress back off, shaking her head dizzily.

xx

Sab's ears slicked back at Dusky's words, and he looked over towards Pallas.

"There's a piebald called Elora, she might be able to help - depending on how bad it is. Just... be careful. El might be fine, and a few other girls, but the rest... they aren't really keen on strangers."

A high yowl cut through the air and Sab put tension into his haunches, ready to bolt in the direction of the sound. Still, he looked back at Pallas, as though waiting for the go-ahead.

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Bingo crouched over Vermeil, keeping her calm by grooming her fur. Vermeil closed her eyes, trying to ignore the aching pain from her paw. The bloodloss wasn't too bad, luckily, but she wouldn't be able to put any weight on it for a while.

xxx

"Okay, sounds good. I'll make sure to be careful." Pallas nodded to Sab, then to Dusky, who turned and took off across the savanah. Pallas ran after her. His muscles weren't as tired as hers, and the moment he caught Vermeil's scent he outpaced her, arriving at the scene first.

"Oh, no," he breathed, checking Vermeil over for other injuries. "At least it's just your paw." He looked at Bingo, then said, "Here, let's get her up. Sab says there's a healer in his pride who can help." Carefully, they hoisted Vermeil, who cringed with pain. They balanced her between Bingo and Pallas, with her wounded paw lifted off the ground.

"Dusky, you stay here and guard the carcass. Good job taking it down." He nodded to the brown primal. She nodded back, and went to sit obediantly by the dead hippo, trusting her pridemates to keep Vermeil safe. Seeing that the prey was secure, Pallas and Bingo began their slow walk back to Sab's territory.

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Lita growled and made a final charge towards the cow hippo, which seemed sure enough now of its victory to charge back at her. She sprung out of the way, lunging at the side of its neck and drawing considerably more blood than before. But, with a final desperate spirt of energy, the hippo stood snorting and tossing its head by the waterside. Crocodiles lurked in there now like great, brown logs, attracted by the smell of blood.

It teetered by the water, looking like it wanted to edge in, but then it stopped. It looked like it was deliberating. Then, it made to run at the lionesses again, but instead of attacking, it lumbered past at top speed. Steele was still catching her balance, and Lita was limping heavily, but now it was Avi that streaked after it.

Unfortunately, one final charge from the hippo was enough to drive her off.

There it went - running towards Sab's territory, and bleeding heavily, sure. It might even die on the way. But the lionesses had no energy left to pursue it.

xx

Sab's territory was dark, eclipsed by the shade of the trees. The smell of lioness was heavier in the air than even the king's scent, dominating over anything else. Most girls stood when seeing Bingo and Pallas, their eyes narrowed with mistrust, and a rumbling snarl began to spread through the camp.

The large clearing at the back was where most of the softer scents led, though - more earth and tang of lioness in heat than blood and viscera.

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Dusky sat regally beside the large hippo. She was tempted to take a few bites from its tough flank, but she assumed the contest was still on and that a chewed carcass might look smaller, so she remained still. She was worried for Vermeil - the ferus should never had been taken on this trip, with her lack of hunting or fighting skills. It was a miracle she'd gotten so far before being injured.

xxx

Pallas and Bingo were pretty worn out by the time they reached Sab's camp. Vermeil was panting, leaning heavily on Bingo as Pallas stepped away to address the pride. "Sab sent us to help my lioness. Where is Elora?" he called out, in a commanding voice. He puffed out his chest and hoped he could get some respect if he looked fierce enough, like with Avi.

(hey, i wanted to practice my lion-drawin skills so i drew pallas and sab! hope you like it :D clicky)
(ps just noticed i totally forgot sabs goatee - my bad D:)

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"Get it!" Lita snarled aside at Steele, who glared dazedly back at her.

"You go after it!" Steele snapped back, her tail lashing. "You're the one that let it go!"

"You're the one that scared it away!"

Steele just growled, too tired to argue much further. She swiped at Lita, which the red lioness dodged, and then aimed a leap at her. Steele tackled Lita to the ground, and the two were still wrestling when Avi trotted back over.

"It might collapse," Avi said, her tail waving. "We should--"

"You go, then," Lita spat. "You're the one that hid for most of this!"

xx

There were more snarls and glances between the lionesses. The entire pride looked battle-hardened and savage, tails lashing and moving as one growling mass. Finally, a dark-pelted ferus pushed through the crowd, flanked by a sleek, white-dappled lioness.

She gave a little gasp and went to dash forward, towards the trio, but the ferus stopped her with his body.

"What's your business here?" The ferus hissed at Pallas.

((Omggg it looks incredible!! Thankyou so much! Man if I get to nick my flatmates drawing tablet I'll try draw Pallas too~ and ahah that's fine, it is optional))

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( :D ty!!! he was fun to draw. and aw man, thatd be great, im tryna get better at drawing lions to take comms)

Pallas narrowed his eyes and approached the ferus angrily. "My lioness has a broken paw," he said, gesturing to Vermeil, who weakly held up her paw as proof. Bingo licked the ferus's ears nervously. "I assume this is Elora?" he nodded to the piebald, speaking to her, "We need your help so she can get home safely. Our camp is too far, she won't be able to make it without assistance first."

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((You defo should take comms, you'd make bank- you're a super good artist! I really like your style from that pic alone; I wanted to take a look at the rest of your art but wanted to make sure it is ok with you first haha))

"Reno," the piebald gently nudged the male ferus's shoulder. "Let me help. They're like us, see?"

Reno sniffed first at Bingo and then at the injured Vermeil. He gave Pallas a stern look in the eyes, his chest puffed out proudly.
"Fine," he grunted, "but be quick about it."

He didn't leave, though - just sat down in the crowd of lionesses to watch. In fact, they were all watching as Elora padded forwards, nuzzling Vermeil's chin soothingly.
"It looks like a fracture," she purred, sniffing at the wound. She gently licked some blood from Vermeil's foreleg. "I can disinfect the bite, and give you something for the pain. You may not be hunting for a while."
She nudged Bingo to take Vermeil towards the den at the back of the clearing, then turned to Pallas.
"You said Sab sent you? Where is he, anyway? Don't tell me the hunting party ambushed him, again."

xx

Avi balked at the idea of going after the huge creature, her fur standing on end as she thought of those huge teeth again. If it dropped, they'd follow the scent trail. There was no use going after it while both Steele and Lita were indisposed; Avi could barely make a scratch on it.

The three were still squabbling when Sab trotted up, his ears lowering when he saw the state of them.
"One of Pallas's girls got hurt because of this," he snarled at them with a flash of uncharacteristic anger. "And look at the state of you. You didn't even manage to bring one down?!"

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(oh man thank you sm!!! go ahead - this is my portfolio, i do take comms but its been slow lately so im hopin lions will help)

Vermeil managed a weak smile as Elora nuzzled her, and nodded, accepting that she'd fractured her paw. Bingo shifted her weight and started off towards the piebald's den. She glared at the surrounding lionesses, practically daring them to try something, the desire to protect Vermeil overriding any anxiety about being in another pride's camp.

Pallas watched them go, then turned back to Elora. "No, our lionesses were holding a hunting competition and I guess Lita got hurt. He's checking on them now. That's how Vermeil fractured her paw, a hippo stepped on her or bit her or something."

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((Ooooh I'm so impressed by your anthro skills too, I'm so bad with human anatomy, you are incredible! Would love to comm you one day aa))

Elora held her tail high, growling at the others ladies who snapped at them as they passed. She gently led the other two towards a dark and mossy den, covered in nesting material. She helped Bingo lay Vermeil down and then padded over to a herb pouch hidden at the back.

"Lita? Get hurt? Ah, I don't know why he bothers. They'll only make him feel bad." She licked Vermeil's ear in a motherly fashion. "Hang on. Let me chew these up for you, it'll numb the pain. And don't mind Reno... he's just jealous."

xxx

"Can it," Lita snarled, her fur fluffing out. "It was Avi's fault. She--"

In a sudden move, Sab moved to swat her across the face. His claws were in, but she still reared back and snarled.

"Your issue - all three of yous - is that you have no responsibility. Stop blamimg each other, work together and maybe you'd have brought down that damn hippo."

For a moment, the lionesses' ears twitched. They looked between themselves, and then back at the smilus. Then, Steele dropped into a crouch and began to growl.

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(awh thank you!!! irs def taken a lot of practice. ive got a comm thread if youre interested, id be willing to give you a discount!)
(also my lion meated lioness gave birth to an amp girl today >:D )

Pallas watched Elora care for Vermeil for a few seconds, then nodded and went to sit at the entrance to the den. He surveyed Sab's pride silently and waited for her to be done. Bingo, meanwhile, laid down beside the ferus's nest and watched Elora work.

"Reno? Is that the ferus who was with you?" Vermeil's voice was tight with suppressed pain. She laid her head down and closed her eyes, not wanting to look at the wound - she'd never had anything worse than a stuck thorn, and the fracture frightened her.

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