Velvet & Others

Quietly, deftly, the large paws of the African lion fell across soft snow and frozen mounds of grass and bog plants. Broad shoulders pumped rhythmically above her dark tan back, and carried her from the fringes of the trees to the open space of the Marsh that spilled out before the small pack. This is where Velvet paused and raised her regal head to survey the frozen landscape. Ice should have cemented in the entire area, but the thermal activity below the frigid land kept much of the water open throughout even the coldest of winter spells, and meant that traversing the marsh would not be so simple. On the positive side, it was cold enough to put all of the local reptilians in a stupor, if they weren't already hibernating, and this meant that not only were they no threat... they were a potential easy meal.

Lupanare padded forth from the trees next and stationed herself a few feet from the Oracle's side, also taking the time to survey the hunting grounds. With big cats on her side, she didn't hesitate to scope the field for larger prey like moose or elk, though any bit of warm flesh would be fair game to the wolfess.

Several yards away, Zanarah broke the treeline last. Her head was down and her ears slightly planed to reduce her profile. Like the others, it was big game that the lion was after.

Leomar

By the time Leomar caught up with the huntress group, he'd already entertained the idea of siring a number of litters and boosting the Nuova Alba's numbers to something a little closer to what it had been in its haydays. '...of course, finding a worthy female might be a bit difficult. Another lioness would be best, or a tigress I suppose.' Leo now stopped in his tracks a few yards behind Velvet and the others, still within the cover of the trees. 'I haven't really scented any new lions in the area though, cougars notwithstanding.' A heavy sigh that brought a cloud of frosted breath swirling from his nostrils pretty well summed up his thoughts on the smaller felines. His eyes then lit up with a sudden thought, and he cocked his great head, 'There is that two-legger place though....' Momentarily oblivious to what prey may or may not be out in the field, Leomar continued to contemplate the future of the Nuova, and what he could do to help out with that. And that included going against his aunt's rule of leaving the humans alone.

~Prey~

Under the observant gaze of the pack, a few potential prey items could be found. Not terribly far Velvet and her crew, several larger Canadian geese had gathered around an open patch of shallow water. Fifteen in all, they honked and chattered to each other as they foraged the water for what bits of food they could find.

Further out in the marsh, they would also see the nose of an alligator poking up from the dark waters. Though impossible to see the rest of its body, this individual looked to be of a decent size, though they were in deeper water, roughly fifteen feet away from the edge of the shore.

Even further away, the scent of red deer would come to the group. The small herd wasn't in sight at the moment, but their scent was strong and if the pack listened closely, they might hear the occasional grunt from a bull.

Velvet & Others

The geese were immediately passed over, none of them being enough to fill the bellies of all of her pack mates. The entire gaggle maybe, but most would make it to the safety of the sky before falling prey to the hungry claws and teeth of the predators. On the same paw, Velvet couldn't ignore them completely either. Once startled, they'd raised the alarm for every other potential dinner item on the Marsh's menu today, and the lioness was not keen on spending half the day roaming the Valley for a new hunting ground.

The alligator would have been a far more promising meal if it wasn't out so far in deep water, floating safely in its own element. Sure, the big cat was confident she could take on the winter-chilled reptile and easily out maneuver those deadly jaws, but not in deep water where the beast could easily just submerge itself. Strong as she and the others were, trying to drag several hundred pounds of thrashing weight through freezing waters was more than she wished to tackle today. Besides, more favorable scents were on the wind.

Big deer.

The lioness dropped her body into a semi-crouch, her ears flattened across her skull. A sharp slash of her long tail was a signal for the others that she'd honed in on their next meal, and now was the time to go into stealth mode. Patiently, methodically, the huntress began to traverse the large marsh with the rest of her small pack fanning out at either side and slightly behind. She stuck to firm land as much as possible, favoring whatever tall clumps of brown grass or shrubbery she could find to conceal her movements, and waded through water only when it was necessary. Velvet would pause occasionally to test the wind or listen for the grunt of the bull, and when her coordinates were confirmed, she'd continue onward with her rendezvous for dinner.

Leomar

'...pretty slow, right? They walk on two legs, anyway. Plus, they don't really have claws.' The big lion was still lost in his own thoughts, now weighing his chances against the humans that he'd only ever seen from a far distance. They had other strange defenses, like the boomsticks and those... big thunderbug things they rode in, but if those could be bypassed, surely tackling a stray two-legger or two would be simple? Leomar blinked, staring blindly at the scenery ahead of him while being wholly consumed by the images flooding his mind's eye. The lion smirked to himself, drawing a lip up just enough to unsheathe the end of a long fang, where it glinted in sunlight.

It was only when the scent of deer finally wafted to his distracted senses did the big brute snap back to reality and glance about for his packmates. "Great!" They were gone. Lowering his great head down, Leomar slunk forward and began to follow the paw prints of Zanarah.