Kovu hung onto the bank with his hind paws, his whole upper torso lost in the small stream. He came up gasping for breath, his immature mane hanging over his eyes. He paddled his front legs to keep his head above water. He'd drank so much he thought he was going to be sick. But it hardly mattered. Not now.
Kovu threw himself down on the grassy, reedy bank and sighed in relief. He listened to the morning chorus of tropical birds singing as the day lengthened. Trees surrounded him, reaching up to touch a sky of mottled green. The light reaching down to the ground was pleasantly dim, though the heat remained stupefying and humid to boot. Still it was a vast improvement over the desert, now behind him. Any hope Zira might have had of finding him was now gone. Kovu felt that he had a new home now. "For as long as I need it to be..." he thought critically. After all, if he made it here, why couldn't Zira or even Nuka? In fact, he wouldn't put it past his mother to know this place existed. "Is there a reason why she never came here? Deciding to eke out an existence in the wastelands outside of the Pridelands?" Kovu hoped it was only her intense hatred of Simba and his pride and the desire to reclaim what she saw as her 'birthright' which caused her to linger. He hoped there was not some hidden danger about this place beyond the obvious plenty.
And the oasis was plentiful, Kovu could tell that at once, having passed several different kinds of animal droppings from monkey to warthogs on his dead-eye rush for water. Now that he was sated, he could get to the serious business of hunting. Kovu lifted himself and decided to press on through the rest of the day. He needed to get his bearings if he was to have any hope of stalking prey here.
Late in the afternoon, as Kovu was beginning to get a feel for the dimensions of the generous oasis, the smell of ripening meat left out in the warm jungle atmosphere caught the attention of his nose. This long since he'd last eaten, Kovu had no intention of passing up an easy meal, even if he had to play the role of scavenger. He let his nose lead the way through the thick crowding of brush and fern leaves. The interior of the oasis was a wet marsh surrounding a wide lake where birds and a couple hippos floated languidly. Water trickled down the rocky face of a jungle encrusted mountain which sheltered the haven for green and living life within its arms. It was up the slope of his precipice that the tantalizing scent of meat and spilled blood was leading the dark maned lion.
He finally made it to a place where the ground was not so steep nor so soggy. The grass parted here and there in the game trails of warthogs as they tore through the brush in their constant search for food. Kovu made a mental map of these along with the ones he had already observed. These were great places to settle down for an ambush. Kovu normally walked to the side of these trails, so as not to spread his scent and alert his prey to his presence, but now, the ground gave way in front of him. The water had carved the side of the mountain where it streamed into the marsh and the lake below. Kovu had to move to the side, into the trail in order to keep following the scent.
No sooner had he stepped on the trail, however, before something snapped underfoot. Kovu yowled in surprise as his foot was lifted into the air by a bent sapling of all things.
"What the-yow!" Kovu snapped as his head banged against the ground. After the initial pull, the sapling was bending back over. Whatever creature this snare was designed for, Kovu was too heavy for it. However, his paw remained high in the air and the blood was rushing to his head.
"Of all the cursed...who the hell would put such a bloody inconvenient thing here?" cursed Kovu soundly even as a couple of coconuts clicked and clacked together loudly, though not as loud as Kovu's continued cursing. As he reached up towards his trapped paw, which was held in the air by a loop of woven tree bark, Kovu remembered who it was that used these sort of devious devices. He felt a tingle of fear spread up his spine despite his face reddening under the fur. Zira had said the poachers set traps for lions! "I've got to- uph! get out of here!" he growled, straining his upper body to get up at the loop holding him uncomfortably half in the air. Every time he reach up, his back banged against the ground as the sapling gave a little more. All the time, the coconuts continued to bang and clatter together
At last he flopped backwards, puffing from his exertion. He was armed with sharp claws and teeth, but the cord was tight and fast against his paw, so tight his toes were turning purple. He couldn't get at it, his own fur and skin getting in the way of his efforts. He wondered if there was any chance he could break the sapling suspending him.
Before he could implement his plan, however, there was movement in the grass beyond. Kovu held his breath. His stomach muscles burned as he tried to lift himself up to get a better view. Something was coming...  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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