Simple Things

[Ruby_Fehu]

The afternoon sun beat down against the Savannah, the air smelt like rain - signs of an oncoming storm. As the muggy air filled the atmoshphere with it's smell a low rumble of thunder could be heard. Distant at the moment, but it was coming, a new danger for all the animals. As the animals from all corners began to scatter the rain began to fall, light at first but then heavy, filling the leaves with little pudles that the insencts could quite easily drown in.
The once bright sky was dark that it almost seemed like night time.




A russet hybrid slunk through the Savannah, her paws making a squishing sound as her paws sunk into the muddied puddles as she went. The fiery red eyes glinted thoughtfully as she sent her gaze over the surrounding area. Her tail swept from side to side in an almost mesmerizing manner, the fluffy tip dripping onto the ground beneath her from the heavy drops. She couldn't quite figure out why but she felt that she had been here. Yes, just to the North was a cave she could take cover in. Ruby sneeze a little as the rain pounded against her full flank, causing her fur to seem almost to big for the lithe form, her marked fur dripping against the ground, causing puddles beneath her stomach. She sniffled noisily before pushing herself forward and racing in the general direction of where she knew the cave to be. She spluttered a little as her sight was blinded and she realized with dismay that the storm was picking up. Giving in trying to find the cave she scanned the area again until she could make out the slight outline of an accacia tree, it's leaves provided modest shelter for the young adult. Groaning a little she forced herself to start making her way to her new cover, her paws dragging along, creating ruts into the soft ground.

After what felt like a lifetime she reached the tree and sighed in relief, sending her gaze upwards she spotted a shielded branch and her lips curled into a smirk, the cheetah in her kicked in and she sank her claws into the trunk, starting to pull herself upwards until, eventually she reached the low branch and sunk into a lying position, her breath coming in quick pants seeing as the rain had made the usually simple task seem like a mission.

[Pulsar]

Not too far in the distance a lone lion sat upright atop a stone slab, his head held up toward the sky as he let the rain wash over him. A slight content smirk appeared upon his face as he enjoyed the weather. It might have seems mad to another had they seen him sitting out in the opening, willingly subjecting himself to such conditions. This didn't bother him, in fact one could say he was enjoying it. In his travels he had always been focused on one goal and this had often been his only focus, that and the daily necessities such as hunting and eating to stay alive. Every so often though he would find himself in a situation where he would stop his wandering and for a brief moment, he would let himself soak up the environment and the world around him, although in this situation he was more literally soaking it up.

The rain had started off slow at first but by now it was beginning to rain upon the land as if the clouds were unleashing their wrath upon everything below them. The lion's moment of tranquility was interrupted by a sneeze. "I should probably find some cover." He spoke aloud but to no one but himself as he lowered his head and rubbed his nose. His fur was completely drenched, his mane nearly stuck to his body with how much water it retained and was being weighed down by. It seemed that his moment of respite was over but he had gotten his fill anyway. It was enough to have gotten a moment to rest and enjoy the simple things, such as being alive. Letting the clouds rain upon him certainly reminded him that he was indeed alive, a fact, which he often forgot.

The mucky ground squelched as he proceeded off the rock and began once more traversing the savannah. The mist created by the sheer volume of rain that was now present made looking into the distance quite difficult. If he had any intention of finding cover it was more then likely going to have to be nearby. Stopping, the lion gazed around himself looking for any immediate place he could seek refuge from the ever unyielding water that dropped upon him. The noise of the rain hitting off his ears being all he could hear, drowning out the drops that dripped from his already overburdened fur. It was at that moment that he spotted a tree, not too far away. "That will work I suppose." He spoke once more to no one as his body began moving once more, his legs flexing as he began putting one paw in front of the other. The squelching sound of his paws very faintly hit his ears as he proceeded forward, the tree coming every closer with each step he took.

[Ruby_Fehu]

Ruby was allowing her fur to drip down below her when the sound of approaching footsteps caught her attention. The hybrid swung around and a snarl ripped past her lips as she watched a soaked lion pad to the shelter of the tree, she knew that she should be polite. This wasn't her patch after all she was just a rogue, wandering around aimlessly. She snapped her gaze to the ground and narrowed her eyes before standing up carefully. Balancing precariously on the branch she sent her paws forward slowly, one tiptoe at a time until she could peer through the branches, lowering herself down carefully she growled once more.

Through the rain she could vaguely make the outline of a lion, larger than the average feline. Ruby pawed at the branch warily before decidedly leaping down to the ground, her paws sinking into the mud again as she landed in front of the newcomer agilely. Her eyes narrowed and her lips curled back in the obvious shape of a growl, she knew it was pointless - the rain would drown it out unless the lion had super hearing as well as super size. For a moment she ignored the vengeful weather and fixed her gaze on the lion. She lowered her head and pinned back her ears as she stared towards him but not directly into his eyes. She felt unsure of herself as she stared up at him, even though she was more than confident with her fighting abilities - admittedly one of her worst flaws - but something about the potential enemy before her screamed at her to not get into a fight. Not yet. Not until she could figure out his strengths and weaknesses. Instead she settled for allowing her hackles to be bristled and the growl still reaching deaf ears.

"Who are you?" Ruby demanded, raising her head so she was stood to her full size, which made her feel like a cub beside the lion. "Why are you here?" She hissed.

[Pulsar]

The male was walking toward the tree he had decided to take shelter under, his gaze had drifted to his paws, his eyes watching as the muddy sludge popped out between the gaps between his claws. As he got closer to the tree, only being a few feet away, he raised his head back up. To his surprise there was a creature there under the tree that was not there before. The moment his eyes caught it his motor functions came to a complete and total stop. He stood there head slightly slummed for but a moment, until that was, the creature spoke to him. He could vaguely tell from the voice that it sounded to be female. Her demands were barely audible over the sound of the rain hitting him.

<"A local, great.."> he thought to himself as he changed his posture, standing upright and raising his head. His somber facial expression didn't change as he gazed at her. His bright yellow eyes glanced over the female that stood before him. Her ears were back and she was showing some teeth, not usually a sign one is welcome. He of course was not yet under the cover of the tree and the rain un-compassionately continued to drench him. His usually vibrant yellow mane now looked dark and rustic since the rain had had it's way with it. His black and white coat dripped from the water that his fur could not contain, though the droplets from him were lost amongst those of the rain itself. Without speaking he moved his paw and brushed some of his wet mane out of his face, clearing his view before he placed it back on the ground with a squelch. As he did all this he was using the time to think to himself. He hadn't expected to run into another out here, not another feline anyway, which this female seemed to be although her exact species he wasn't sure of. Could this be her territory? Was this tree hers? She might live in it, which would explain how she almost appeared out of nowhere and why she is making demands of him as though he is an intruder on her land. All these were nothing but assumptions of course and in the time her had ran these ideas through his mind only a brief second had passed.

Knowing he would have to answer he decided to speak. "My apologies, I was simply seeking shelter from the storm." he finally stated in a rather calm voice. He was well aware he didn't answer her first question but that was intentional and hopefully she wouldn't notice. If this was her land there could be a chance she is not alone and he had no want to start a fight. <"Then again, she COULD be alone...">. An interesting thought, but it didn't really change how he was going to try approach the situation. Females after all, can be rather formidable at fighting sometimes and fighting over cover from some dropping water wasn't exactly on his list of reasons to pick a fight. No, it wasn't worth the fight at all. "I wasn't aware that this area was taken, I do not seek a fight, I'll simply be on my way." He bowed his head to the female then turned around and starting to walk away, the sound of the mud between his paws being heard faintly under the noise of the rain. Exposing his back to her was risky since he didn't know how aggressive she was, but if she was simply warding him off then it was safe. He'd just have to find shelter somewhere else, a little rain never killed anyone after all... Well, there was that one time a riverbank overflowed.

[Ruby_Fehu]

Ruby scoffed a little as the lion had the nerve to not only ignore one of her questions but to start walking away, no one had ever done that to her, they normally knew better. With a quiet growl she bounded around to the front of the lion and cut him off, her paws positioned carefully so she could jump if he tried to walk away again. Her tail flicked with a slightly more rapid speed than at first - a sign that she was incredibly irritated. "This isn't my territory, I'm merely taking cover from the rain as you seem to be doing. But you see, I don't trust you." Ruby stated bluntly. She began to circle him, her tail dragging along the mud creating a ring around him. She gave him the once over and smirked. "You can hardly hurt me right now though, a brute like you can't climb trees." She swept past the male, making sure to knock against him rudely. "You can take cover there." She gestured with a paw to a small dry patch, hardly protecting the lion from the rain but she wasn't bothered in the slightest. "As long as this branch is mine, I don't care what you do." She continued, her voice taking on a slightly bossy tone. "Just until the rain stops however." She continued as an afterthought, rolling her slight shoulders back into a shrug.

She strutted past him before sinking her claws into the tree and pulling herself up once more, this time she stayed on the lowest branch, just out of reach of the lion but so she could watch his every move. With her vision cleared she managed to take in the male before her, he was most unusually coloured - black, white and yellow, although the white did seem to be a mix of grey and brown from the mud. "You are a most intriguing specimen." Ruby stated loudly, her tone still cold but not as hostile as it was at first seeing as the male was only doing like she was, no threat to her. Not yet anyway. She couldn't help but laugh slightly when she replayed her statement in her mind, she could hardly talk. There wasn't very many cheetah/lion hybrids let alone one who was two shades of red. "I did, however ask you two questions. I believe you answered one. What is your name?" Ruby repeated.

[Pulsar]

The male lion walked away thinking that the event would be behind him shortly and that he would once again be seeking cover from the storm, at least, he WAS walking away. The female had suddenly cut out in front of him. His natural instincts had gotten the better of him as she did so and he flinched as if expecting her to lung at him. When she remained still though he returned to his former posture. He kept his gaze on her as she walked around him, although he didn't move his head as she walked around his back, only his eyes followed her. It was obvious to him that she was sizing him up, for what purpose however, who knows. Maybe she was simply assessing whether or not he was a threat to her. Suddenly he found himself raising an eyebrow in both curiosity and confusement as she began to once again speak to him. It would seem that she was willing to allow him to remain. He thought it a bit stupid that she had revealed the information she did to him. Informing a stranger who is walking away that the territory is not in-fact yours, thus signifying that you are a wanderer and possibly alone? Not the smartest of things to do. A more.... brutish male, might have taken "advantage" of this female had they been so inclined knowing that no one was going to be around to stop them. What confused him the most was that she stated that she doesn't trust him, yet she apparently trusted him enough to let him hang around. Still, her generosity of sharing the cover of the tree didn't go unnoticed to him.

Turning around the male looked at the spot that the female animal had gestured toward, a spot meagrely covered by the tree. He'd barely fit into the dry patch. "Maybe not so generous.." he muttered under the noise of the rain, safe in the thought she wouldn't hear him since she had retreated back up onto a low hanging branch under the tree. He remained out in the rain for a moment, glancing at the dry spot then at the female, eventually shrugging to himself and making his way back toward the tree. <"It's Better then nothing I suppose."> He thought to himself as he drew closer. As he started to reach the edge of the tree cover he heard the female make a remark toward his unusual looks. "Yeah... I get that comment a lot." He replied back up to her without looking up as he entered under the tree toward his little patch that had been assigned him. "You're not so normal looking yourself." He retorted as he briskly shook himself, spraying water in all directions. He once again lifted his paw and wiped some of his mane from his face, a result of the shaking he'd done. He wasn't AS wet, so all in all it was worth coming back under the tree, even if the female that was here was a bit odd.

As he lay down on the patch of dry ground, his rear end stuck out and thusly was subject to the few droplets of water that would escape the cover of the tree's branches ad foliage. "My name is Pulsar if you must know." he finally replied to her as he shook his front right paw to get some excess water off before finally flying his head down and letting out a light sigh. One would think from his attitude that meeting strangers wasn't his kind of thing. Truth be told though Pulsar was accustom to running into others along his travels, not every encounter turned out well. This has caused him to always be cautious when dealing with new creatures. There is no way of knowing how they'll react after all. This female though for the most part didn't seem to be too much of a threat, that is, unless this was some sort of ruse on her part. An idea which Pulsar had considered. He was confident enough that he could fight her off if needs be, though he hoped it wouldn't come to such a situation. <"It's only for a little while, once the rain clears I can move on."> he thought as he closed his eyes. He may have looked like he was going for a rest but his ears were on the listen for any noise that would indicate danger to him, especially danger of the female persuasion.

[Ruby_Fehu]

The young hybrid smirked a little as the male - Pulsar - rested his head down and looked as if he was about to have a sleep, even though it was mid-afternoon. Then again lions always had a tendency to sleep whenever possible; Ruby however wasn't going to let that happen. "I'm Ruby." She finally said after a while, "And I know my colouring is strange. You can blame my parents for that though." She continued, resting her head on the branch and allowing her tail to hang down as she peered down towards him before giggling a little as she saw him looking quite sorry for himself, with his mane a knotted mess. "I'm guessing you have quite a rivalry with rain." She stated, jumping down from the tree hesitantly and flicking what she assumed was the front of his mane up with her paw and grinning with wicked amusement as it flopped straight back down. She knew she was giving him mixed messages but if she were to spend so long with him - considering this storm showed no sign of easing - she wanted to be able to predict how badly tempered he was and see how far she could push him.

She tilted her head to one side and glanced out into the open area, animals were still scattered here and then, some more drenched then others. A few times she noticed a couple of animals start towards the tree before backing up and trying the opposite direction whenever they saw the two cats. With a grin she looked to Pulsar, maybe it would come in handy having another lion around, it would mean she didn't have to share the tree with lesser animals and she was fine with that, until she was hungry that is.

Shrugging dismissively she turned her attention back to the lion and continued pawing at his mane, her lips curled into a smirk each time it dropped back down into his eyes and her eyes narrowed, like she was daring him to do or say something to her. "This is very amusing." She said coolly.

[Pulsar]

Pulsar didn't move when the female introduced herself as going by the name Ruby. Letting out a very feint sigh he replied "Charmed." before continuing to remain silent as she continued to speak to him. When she mentioned that her odd colours were the "fault" of her parents he considered that she was more then likely a hybrid of some kind. Hybrids weren't creatures one seen too often out here in the savannah, that being said, it looked as though Pulsar had found one, whether or not that was a good or a bad thing remained to be seen. A moment later noise of motion reached the male's ears causing them to twitch in reaction. Opening his eyes he saw as Ruby jumped down onto the ground level. He had barely raised his head from resting on his paws before she had flicked at his mane causing him to flinch in natural instinct. The wet part of his mane's fringe that she flicked up of course was still weighed with water and thus subject to the laws of nature and ended up flopping right back down into his face. A sour expression creeped onto his face as he blew the hair away with a puff. "I don't have any rivalry with the rain, in fact I do enjoy it's company from time to time" he respond as he looked up at her raising a eyebrow at her curious behaviour. His sour expression had by this point faded and he watched as she continued to interact with him.

Surely she realised that she was giving off all kinds of mixed messages. You don't tell someone you don't trust them only to flick their mane like you're their pal, or to invade their personal space in such a way as she did. "It's just unfortunate that it seems the rain doesn't share the sentiment." he finally added after a moment or two. Once again there was a moment of silence, it seemed that something out in the distance had caught the female's attention. Turning his head, Pulsar looked out to see what had given him a moment's respite from her. Other animals it seems had the same original idea he had had, which was to use the tree as cover and just like him they changed their minds when they found out that it was occupied. Unlike him, they were lucky enough to escape. Though he had to admit, not having to put up with soaking up the clouds rain certainly was nice. While he enjoyed the rain there was a limit to how wet he was interested and willing to become.

When he looked back forward he was greeted by the sudden sight of Ruby up in his face, batting his mane like a cub that just found a new critter to play with. This continued for a few moments, with her flicking his mane only for it to flop back into his face, her, clearly relishing every moment of it. During the whole event he just stared her dead in the eyes and then suddenly with the most blunt of tones and expressions he said "You're not normal, are you?". If Pulsar hadn't known better he would have sworn some higher power was trying to test his patience. He was at least thankful that she wasn't trying to rip him apart and eat his innards. "I wonder if that'd be worse then this..."

[Ruby_Fehu]

(OOC: I apologise this post is insanely short but as you probably know I'm still pretty tired and such from last night XD)

Ruby smirked a little at his words, "No. No I am not." She said proudly, her head held high in mock smugness. "So you better get used to it, buddy." She said. The hybrid noticed the lions patience wearing thin and with a wicked grin she flipped his mane up roughly once more so it fell straight back onto his face with a wet squelch. Satisfied she may have had the final word she turned and clambered up the tree again to resume her position on the bottom branch, her gaze still locked on Pulsar, daring him to say something else to her. "But you're not normal either." She said, her voice calm and almost friendly, considering she was still incredibly wary of him.

[Pulsar]

Pulsar frowned as once more Ruby flicked his mane, this time with a bit more force making it smack back into his face. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and brushed the mane from his face. "You're right, I'm not normal." he replied as he looked up at her, his face clearly portraying that his patience with her shenanigans was wearing thin. "I don't think I'll have to "get used to it" since when the rain ends I don't plan on sticking around." She was deluding herself if she thought he indented to stick around longer then he had to, not when someone is so clearly trying to see how far they can push him. Truth be told he could have left at any time he had wanted but the convenience of not being further drenched had seemed at the time to be worth the risk. Although now he could certainly say that he found himself guessing if not getting any wetter was worth the hassle of having to deal with this Ruby character.

Closing his eyes for a moment he tilted his head back to normal while a low exhale escaped his mouth. Opening his eyes once more he looked out onto the plains of the savannah, watching as the rain continued to pour with no sign of yielding let alone stopping. All he could do was to remind himself that he was lucky that she was just annoying rather then being aggressive. All that being said though, he didn't HAVE to be under the tree, nothing was stopping him from going back out in the rain and just continuing on his journey. Eventually he would have to, he couldn't afford the luxury of being able to stay in one place too long, not right now anyway, not when he was getting closer. Then again, the rain would make his tracking more difficult then usual. "What to do..." He thought to himself as he remained there, almost motionless, his unblinking eyes looking out as if they were staring into another world.

[Ruby_Fehu]

Ruby ignored his snide comment and just continued to watch him before she showed another side to her, despite being increasingly irritating she was also rather observant and she couldn't help but notice Pulsar zone out and she didn't know how but she could almost guess something was bothering him. She bit down on her bottom lip for a moment before jumping from the tree and padding over to him. Now she knew he wasn't very likely to attack her at any given moment she felt slightly more relaxed around him.

When she reached his side, she slid into a sitting position, still alert in case she need to defend herself, she was amused as she looked between them and noticed how her slender figure made her look so much smaller than she first did beside the lion. "Something is on your mind." She stated softly, looking up at him with genuine curiosity in her fiery coloured eyes. "The rain won't let up, there is no point you trying to move on in this. It won't be worth it at all." She said, assuming that was what was on his mind. She turned her head away from him and sent her gaze out across the plains and saw that it was still of animal life, only the rain hammering down and causing the puddles to splash water droplets up in the air every now and then. "It's most likely to continue on until tomorrow morning or afternoon. You know how the wet season is here." She said to him.

[Pulsar]

Pulsar snapped back to reality when Ruby began speaking to him, it had seemed that he had let his mind wander, he hadn't even heard her descend from the tree. A frown appeared upon his face as he remembered that he wasn't overly fond of her company. It didn't help that she was now trying to make a menial conversation with him. Maybe if she hadn't been sending him all kinds of mixed signals and trying to test his patience, maybe then he'd be more interested in having a conversation with her.
As she continued speaking to him he glanced at her from the corner of his eye for a moment or two; she was being annoying, but she was right. The rain wasn't about to let up any time soon and while yes, he could venture out in it, it wouldn't be of much use to him with the lack of visibility the downpour of rain was causing.

Letting out a low sigh he lay back down on the ground, crossing his paws and resting his head on them before finally closing his eyes. At this stage he doubted she had any sort of ill intentions toward him. It wasn't like he couldn't defend himself if needed either. He was more concerned about the time he might be loosing because of the storm. "Maybe I shouldn't have sat on that rock for as long as I did, if I had just kept moving I may have gotten out of the storms cover by now..." he thought as once again a very faint sigh escaped his muzzle. He put this to the back of his mind since there was no point in worrying about it now, there wasn't much he could do after all. Any time he might have lost can and will always be regained later down the path. There was nothing left to do now but pass more time.

As the rain continued to pour down, Pulsar's ears twitched and shifted slowly as they listened to the sound of the water falling upon the leaves of the tree and making their way through the maze of it's branches before finally meeting their end as they feel from the last branch to the earth below. If the rain continued this heavily it could cause a flood, a possibility he had to keep in mind. Since they were on low enough ground.

"Tell me Ruby, do you always act so oddly to strangers?" he spoke after a moments. He was aware that he didn't like her company but he thought that maybe making some light conversation would help pass the time, plus, he was curious to know whether or not the female's extremely odd social behaviour has ever worked for her.

[Ruby_Fehu]

Ruby was taken back by his remark and she lowered her gaze to him. She cocked her head, considering the question before grinning a little, "You said my name." She stated clearly quite surprised, "But in reply, yes. I have a rough history with strangers. I've learnt in the past years that I have to now push my luck to see whether or not whoever is nearby is a threat or not. It's usually only if I have to associate myself with them for a while, like I'm associating myself with you because it's going to be pointless just sitting in silence for ages." She fell silent suddenly when she realized she may have given a little bit too much away, she lowered her gaze to the ground when her words stirred an old memory, one that she had tried to conceal for so long, the memory made its presence know though and Ruby thought back to when she was younger and the dangers her and her sister had faced and a pang of pain spread through her.


She swung her head around so she was looking away from Pulsar and instead looking back over the area, blinking a few burning tears from her eyes "I hate the rain." She sighed after a while, obviously trying to change the subject from herself. That was something she despised, speaking about herself, not many people knew her very well only a handful of carefully picked creatures. "Whenever it rains I'm absolutely freezing." Ruby felt a shiver pass through her when a single large drop of rain landed atop her head, almost as if her body wanted to prove a point. Trying to ignore the cold she instead watched something stagger in the distance before it fell to the ground in a heap, rain pounding down on it and seeming to bounce back of it, creating a strange shape around it, almost like the rain was outlining the body, emphasizing it's weakness, "Are you hungry Pulsar? I may be able to risk grabbing that creature whatever it is and bringing it back without much trouble." Even though she was trying to seem humble she was also wanting to grab the prey for herself as their was a dull ache in her stomach from what she wanted to be hunger.

[Pulsar]

Pulsar remained on the ground with his head resting on his paws; his ears listening intently to Ruby as she replied to him. He was going to offer her some advice, about how she should try to be more tactful about how she deals with others, but before he could she changed the subject. He decided to let it go, she might have taken offence to his 'advice' anyway and he was happy with her being as placid as she currently was.
Just as she commented on the rain, a droplet of water fell upon Pulsar's nose, causing the male lion to scrunch his face and wiggle his nose before wiping the water off with his paw. He enjoyed the wet weather from time to time, but he'd be ling if he said that he wasn't longing for the sun to break out and bask them in it's glorious warmth.

It was at that moment that Ruby apparently sighted something off in the distance. Opening his eyes, Pulsar's gaze looked out onto the horizon or more accurately into the mist of the rain, to see if he could spot what she had been referring to. Lifting his head, he turned it to look around at a bigger arc. Eventually he caught sight of what Ruby had obviously been referring to. A creature of some sort, lying out in the rain. He couldn't quite make out what it was but apparently she thought it was possible food. It could just as easily be another lion though. It seemed the rain was doing everything in it's power to obscure the creatures details from his view. The splashes as the droplets hit the creature almost shrouded it. Nothing more then a basic outline could be seen and even then that didn't offer much in the ways of identification since the creature was also lying half buried in the muck.

"I'm not really hungry..." he began with a rather relaxed tone of voice "but by all means, don't let me stop you." he added as he turned his gaze and looked up at Ruby, who was still looking out possible dinner. "If I was you i'd be careful though, there's hippo territory not far from here. One of them could have waddled out from the lake since it's nice and wet out." he paused for a moment. Why was he giving her advice? It wasn't his concern if she got herself killed. They don't even know each other aside from by name after all. Still... "... a hippo is not the kind of animal you want to anger, especially when the weather and terrain is the kind they enjoy." With that he laid his head back down on his paws, but kept his eyes on the creature off in the distance.

[Ruby_Fehu]

Ruby gnawed on her bottom lip at his words before she padded forward a few steps, squinting against the rain. After a few moments she made her way to the prey, her body physically tense as she prowled forward, lowering her body to the ground. When she was close enough to the say what the animal was she sighed in relief and allowed herself to relax, it was only a gazelle. She stood upright and trotted up to it, nudging at it carefully. It was still alive, but barely its breathing was laboured and its eyes wide with panic, she almost felt sorry for it. Instead she raised her paw and unsheathed the claws before swiping along its neck, saving it from anymore suffering as her mouth watered a little she grabbed the carcass by the leg and dragged it back to the tree she'd taken cover in.

When she reached the 'safety' of the tree she sighed in relief and shook herself off - soaking Pulsar in the process - she smiled apologetically at him before turning back to her meal, "Looks like we were safe this time, but this weather is awful. I don't think this tree will provide cover for us much longer." She said carefully, slumping down beside the gazelle and starting to lick at the blood from where she'd slashed its neck.

[Pulsar]

Pulsar's yellow eyes tracked Ruby as she ventured out from under the safety of the tree's coverage. The rain showing no remorse for her as it continued to lash down. He could feel the ground under him softening, as if it was slowly melting. The water was very surely turning the ground into muck with how much of it was coming down. As Ruby returned with the pray, he watched as she drug it through the dirt, coating one side of the kill in a somewhat thick layer of the local debris. When she shook herself off, the male lion flinched as his female counterpart splashed him with droplets of water. He gave her a short stern look after she did before returning his head to rest on his paws. As she spoke, he didn't do anything to acknowledge that he had heard her. His gaze simply continued to look out upon the land before them, shrouded in the mist of the falling rains.

After a few moments of silence as Ruby began licking the blood from her kill, he opened his mouth to speak. "I probably wouldn't have touched that animal. The fact it was alone, had no visible scars of an attack on it, plus the fact it simply collapsed?" he paused a moment as if for effect. "I'd almost think it was poisoned or perhaps diseased or something..." He gave a light shrug shortly after speaking before he added "But that's just me. I'm sure it's fine."