brother, it is common knowledge we didn’t always get along…”

Why all those past tenses? Where is Vincent anyways? A worse tragedy… she couldn’t possibly mean…

“But even though we had our differences, I do know one thing about my brother: he was good at hearth, in ways a better hyena than I am. But… in all his kindness and understanding, Vincent made one mistake: he reached out to the lions. He reached out to the emissary, even trusted her enough to lose his guard… and facing that much trust and compliance, the lioness they had sent did what lions do best. She attacked. She murdered Vincent.”

Silence. The entire clan descended into a collective muteness. Maybe it was because Vincent had few relatives – only Shenya remained. Or maybe it was the fact the clan had to cope with three grave losses in succession. But the real reason they all kept silent was because they had lost their actual leader. Sure, he had never been proclaimed matriarch (or patriarch), his sister wore the title. But even though he never got to eat first, Vincent had always held the power: he had been the one to, as his father had done before him, keep in touch with all the leading families, befriend anyone regardless of their social stature, clear out all arguments that arose between clanmembers, organize hunting trips, welcome or decline any newcomers and most importantly, keep the clan in fighting shape and train them to defend themselves against the lions. And now gone? Dead overnight without warning? Shenya continued, although now that she had mentioned her brother, she sounded a bit more emotional.

“I-I can hardly believe it myself really… Vincent gone… I have to admit, it’s hard to bear… But as heartless as it may sound now, after the loss of so many lives, we cannot afford to grieve now. We cannot afford to stop and mourn about the losses we suffered, for now we have to act. Because let us not forget what has happened: Vincent offered the lions a paw, but they shamelessly gnawded it off. Vincent died believing there was still something good in lions, that we might one day live without having to fear them. But in their vicious, murderous bloodlust, they have once again proven him wrong. There is nothing good in lions, there is nothing reasonable in them, save their cunning. We’ll never live peacefully side by side. Not now, not now that they’ve once again showing their ugly, disgusting nature. No sisters, it pains me to say it, but my brother was wrong: we can never live in peace with the lions. We will never live in peace with the lions, we will never coexist, I even fear that the lions’ mere existence is an ever ongoing threat to ours. As long as the lions keep these lands in their chokehold, we shall never live at ease. Twisted and perverted in nature these lions are, and as such we can not and will not surrender our future generations over to their mercy, to live at their whims. No, the time has come, sisters, now that the lions’ behaviour has reached a new low, to finally, after all these years of living in fear and oppression, to take matters in our own paws. Now is the time, after yet another provocation, to finally claim our rightful place by force. Now is the time for vengeance!”

Silence.

“Vengeance!” she shouted out again.

“Vengeance!” a part of the clan angrily replied. Again, and again and again, until finally everyone shouted out as one, their voices full of anger and bitter hate, their eyes filled with a dark fury.

The circle of rotten fruit

“Come on, it’d be hilarious...”

“No, it’d be a waste of time.”

“Imagine the look on his face…”

“… when he dumps us halfway the passes? Yeah, that’d be real killer.”

“Jeez, you’re boring, you knew that? I thought hyenas did nothing but laugh all day long…” Vitani sighed.

“Just because our rallying-cries sound a bit peculiar doesn’t make us comedians, you know. I mean, you guys always roaring all the time doesn’t have to mean you’re all crazed out brutes…I think.”

“Apparently… Ow, I think I might have overdone it on that gazelle… Damn, my stomach…”

“Hey, don’t look at me, I told you it’d be better to save some for later,” Vincent commented whilst patting on the remains of a gazelle carcass.

“Apparently… Urp!” Vitani burped out in a surprising loud volume. The Impala they had been looking at from their resting place startled at the sound and tried to make a run for it.

“Oops…”

Immediately after the impala began sprinting away, Kiruhu leapt up out of the bushes he’d been using for cover and began his high speed chase. Normally, he’d have no trouble outrunning the prey, but this time he had his cover pre-emptively blown, so he was in for a long chase. He absolutely blew at long chases, but this time, with a bit of luck he might just make it. Meanwhile, Vitani and Vincent, still plucking their dinner from out from between their teeth, had deemed it necessary to start shouting a bit to encourage him, or to bug him, he wasn’t sure, nor did he care. He was entirely focussing on the prey running out in front off him, trying to avoid anything that might trip him. Suddenly, just before running in what appeared to be a thorn bush, the impala made a sharp turn, forcing Kiruhu to do the same. As his felt his paws sliding over the dry savannah floor, he just barely managed to avoid a fall, but he felt the bush tear his skin as he ran by. But he was still gaining on his prey, that’s what mattered, not some puny scratch. As he got closer still, the prey became desperate and tried to make another turn, but this time, it made a slight miscalculation and lost its balance. For a split second, it slowed down to try and regain its balance, and that’s when Kiruhu jumped in. While still running at high speed, he knocked the prey’s back with his paws, which then fell down. A short struggle ensued, in which the impala desperately tried to get up while the cheetah tried equally hard at gnawing his prey’s throat.

“Come on, gut him!” Vincent shouted.

“No, break him!” Vitani cheered.

Kirahu just did what he always did, being none of the above: biting the prey’s windpipe shut until it choked, which took a comparatively long time.

“Now that’s entertainment,” Vitani yawned, “And if I hadn’t disturbed him, he’d have caught his prey in half that time, and that’d been only half as fun. Told you it’d be hilarious…”

“I just hope he doesn’t get pissed at us for almost messing up his hunt…”

“Hey, that’s what he gets for being so smug. ‘Thank you but no, I prefer warm flesh… blah blah blah’. Talking ‘bout arrogant,” Vitani noted a bit scornful.

“I guess some cats just don’t appreciate the convenience of just having to pick up your food from the ground… not even when it hasn’t even been touched yet. Not that I wouldn’t prefer a fresh ‘n bloody kill of course,” Vincent mumbled as he started crunching down a few ribs, “Bah, I’ve had enough…”

“I bet he just doesn’t want to eat with us around… Phew, I’m busted. Eating’s hard work,” Vitani yawned.

“Don’t worry, we’ve walked far enough today, it’s about time we had some rest. Maybe then, we’ll be able to cross the passes in under a day tomorrow,” Vincent suggested.

“Why the hurry?”

“Why not hurry?” Vincent replied quickly, as he wouldn’t want to upset Vitani with the news his sister was probably on route to pick a fight with Vitani’s pride. It would only slow them down if she panicked (or got angry for that matter).

“Because we’ll be going our separate ways once we get back. Or are you that much in a hurry to get rid of me?” Vitani frowned.

“No, no, not at all… No, I like being around you… It’s just I don’t like to leave the clan all by itself, ‘s all.”

“You really like me?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, you saved my life twice by now, and you’ve been as nice as any lion could be. Not to mention you’re fun to hang out with. Quite frankly, I though you were the one getting sick of me…”

“If I were sick of you, I wouldn’t have saved your life twice by now, wouldn’t I?”

“You’re right; sorry, stupid remark from my part.”

“Stupidity forgiven, you’re a man after all,” Vitani smiled, “Hey, you smell that?”

Vincent snuffed around a bit, then discreetly snuffed his own fur.

“Smell what? Whatever it was, it wasn’t me. I think.”

“No, dumbass! Rotting fruit! Can’t you smell it? Mhhm, it’s just right… and it can’t be far! I’m amazed the grazers didn’t eat it already.”

“What for? It’s just stupid fruit… I doubt it being overdue makes it any less yuk.” Vincent grumbled. Vitani looked at Vincent with amazement.

“You’re not telling me you’ve never had any rotten fruit?”

“Why in the Spirits’ name would I ever have wanted to have eaten rotten fruit?”

“Come on, you’re kidding me, right? The big ’n bad hyena hasn’t ever eaten some rotten fruit? Fool the other one.”

“I’m telling you I haven’t…” Vincent replied, starting to get a bit annoyed, “Why, what’s the big deal?”

“You’ll find out soon enough!” Vitani grinned as she got up, “Come on; help me find out where it is. You’ll be thanking me later!”

With a fair amount of scepticism, Vincent reluctantly got up. Though he trusted it wouldn’t be anything harmful, Vincent was quite sure she’d be trying some prank on him. Bah, for the better, he thought, I can use some good laughs… After a couple of minutes spent looking around, they found the fruit lying at the base of a couple of trees. It