Maia quietly slipped out of Firnen after spending the morning patrolling the borders and checking up on her children. All seemed well, and her members seemed to be settling in well enough without having much need for any intervention. The lioness headed out to a neutral territory she knew quite well, delving into evermore glade freely. The grass here was long and tall enough to hide even the largest of cubs, and for a moment she casts her mind back to her childhood. It was never something she tended to think about often, but she would have loved to spend time here, frolicking through the grass and enjoying the freedom it seemed to produce. She supposed she could enjoy the long grass as an adult too, just not as much as what her younger self would've.

Rising to her paws and stepping deeper into the glade, Maia was on the lookout for something to track. So often she would just stumble upon prey without having to really look for it, and so that meant that her tracking skills were just that little bit rusty. Something to her right rustles in the bushes, and the lioness instinctively drops to her stomach and focuses her attention on that spot. Parting her jaws and inhaling the air, the woman could identify a stray hare that had seemingly startled itself. Remaining still, Maia would wait to see what might happen next if she just... doesn't... move...

Photo by Frida Bredesen on Unsplash
Coding & Manip © Plymouth

It'd been quite some time since Myra had ventured out towards the forest of towering pines and the grassy hills it sheltered. The huntress kept herself busy enough nowadays that idle exploration wasn't as common as an activity for her as it used to be. But even she had reached the point where she desperately needed a break from the damp, suffocating air of the Mire. The desert-born woman was used to the summer heat, certainly, but the humidity? Not at all. She rather preferred breathing air that she didn't have to chew.

This place is a nice change of pace, warm though it might still be. The grass whispers gently against her pale fur as she prowls through the rolling green hills, and she contemplates for a moment, how strange it is, that it seemed so normal to her now to see the greenery grow so lush and tall when she'd barely known such scenes existed just a few short years ago.

Yet even relaxed as she is, Myra does not wander purposelessly. She knows there must be all sorts of little creatures hidden amidst vegetation. Why should she leave here empty-pawed? A pointed ear twitched towards the sound of rustling branches to her left, and the gilded huntress naturally sank deeper into her crouch, sharp blue eyes peering through the leaves intensely. Ah, a hare. Such tricky little things to catch, but that was what made it fun.

Always a proactive creature, Myra inched her way closer on silent steps, tail tip flicking behind her in anticipation and mild impatience. Steady, steady...there! Yet for all her timing, the hare's sharp reflexes had it darting beneath the shield of some dense branches, white tail flashing up as it sought to make a speedy escape. With a low growl, Myra would pounce forward to give chase - both her and her quarry unknowing that they were heading straight towards another predator lurking within the tall grasses.

@Maia

SENTINEL

OOC: So sorry for the delay on this one <3

Maia watched the white-tipped hare that had become hyper-alert to its surroundings. She observed as it froze, its little nibbed-nose twitching ever-so slightly as it waited. Fiery eyes watch carefully as she takes a step forward, her paw settling almost silently on the earth beneath. The woman was about to pounce, about to strike, when the events that happened next seemed to all blur together.

The white hare bolted off into the undergrowth, away from the rustle of leaves off to the left. The rustling got louder and louder as @Myra gave chase to the small prey animal, until it disappeared off, and instead the bronze female seemed to clash into Maia's smaller grey frame, legs buckling under her form and Maia felt the kick as she seemed to barrel off to the side. Unf! She mutters, rolling away and scrambling to her paws as quickly as she could, in case she were to be ambushed again.

Photo by Frida Bredesen on Unsplash
Coding & Manip © Plymouth

There are times where Myra can easily settle her mind into a pool of patience. There are many times, when it comes to the hunt, that such patience is necessary, the deciding factor on whether one shall live or die.

In her opinion, this was not one of those times.

It's alright if she, perhaps, rushed it a bit - there is an entertaining challenge to be had in the chase, in testing to see if she possessed the speed and agility to match the hare's own skills. And in this environment, it is a test for the senses as well. How well can she follow the hare's trail in the tall grasses, where hearing and smell are needed far more than sight?

Whatever the answer, it seems she is not meant to find out today. As perfectly quiet as @Maia had been, Myra does not expect to see the gray feline on the other side when she bounds through the foliage - but it is far too late to change her trajectory now. She collides headfirst into the smaller woman's side with a startled grunt, the force of the impact enough to make the golden huntress stumble, strides breaking off into a stagger even as the other rolled away. And so the lucky rabbit dashed off to live another happy day.

Briefly, Myra thinks to continue giving chase. But it is rare that one can come back from such mistake, so precious were those few seconds that she had lost. So instead, her cerulean gaze turns towards the woman that she had just about trampled. "You're rather big for a rabbit." She comments wryly, stepping away to recollect herself and shake out the grass from her fur. "Can't say that I've ever caught a lioness before. I suppose I should thank you for the...novel experience." Though she definitely would've preferred the hare. The hare would've been of more use to her. "Just don't be in my way next time, hmm?"

SENTINEL

The Firnen High Sovereign scrambled to her feet, a little confused. It took her a moment for her eyes to refocus as she looked around the glade, her fiery orbs eventually settling on the figure of @Myra as her sides heaved. Maia's mind had moved away completely from the hare she had originally been stalking, and instead closed in on the bronze woman that stood in front of her.

Can't say I've ever been called a rabbit, Maia muses with a small grin, watching as the woman shakes herself off. I don't believe I have ever been hunted by another lioness before, so I guess it's a first for both of us. Maia comments, eventually sitting down and wrapping her tail neatly around her paws. I'll certainly stay out of your way next time I see you hunting... you've got some force behind those muscles. The grey Tolkien comments, before moving the conversation on.

What is your name? She asks, then, eyes falling on the long-tipped eared lioness.

Well, although her ivory paws are sadly hareless, perhaps Myra could say she'd learned at least one thing by the end of the day - the tall grasses were more than capable of hiding things that one wouldn't initially expect. She'd have to tread with more caution, if she ever thought to return here to hunt again. Catching felines wasn't exactly practical.

"It's not an inaccurate comparison. Maybe if you had ears like mine, as well..." She muses aloud with a smirk. The other woman was grey and relatively small in comparison to Myra herself. Fairly 'rabbit-like', indeed. She lets out a low chuckle when the other comments upon her unintentional show of strength, though she is mildly pleased by the confirmation that her regular training habits are paying off. She couldn't exactly ask her prey, typically. Unless their demise was an answer in it of itself. "It's my specialty. Perhaps now I can properly call myself the master who's hunted down 'everything.' A shame about the actual hare, though."

The day's still young, at least. Perhaps she can find another. She extends her forelimbs in a stretch, casting a contemplative gaze back towards the undergrowth before @Maia drew her attention back with a question. "Myra. And yours?" She allowed herself to recline into a seated position for the time being, reptilian eyes flicking over the grey woman's features with neutral interest. Myra's seen her around in a couple places before, hasn't she? Any further details escape her, however. "I suppose just calling you 'Rabbit' wouldn't be to your liking?"

image by rabbit, code by anyu