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P.H. crouches and dips her face into the cool water, drinking deeply and enjoying the cool breeze blowing off the water. She finishes her drinking and moves to a shade tree directly behind her. Taking advantage of the shade and the cooler breeze.
Huffing a sigh, P.H plops down and rolls a few times to scratch her back and cover it in soothing mud to keep the bugs and sun from driving her mad. She's also keeping down wind from the zebra herd drinking and grazing lazily on the opposite bank. Not a single zebra has noticed her presence.
P.H. sense's the time is close for her to get the zebras attention so that the lionesses can move in and with luck, grab a zebra or two.
Just as she goes to make her move, a large herd of elephants charge into the water hole, they seem startled and agitated. Suddenly a massive bird like nothing she has seen before very noisy and mechanical sounding appears above the tree she was laying under, chaos erupts as elephants and zebras scatter and stamped around the watering hole, trying to decide on where to run.
Several of the hunting team were slaughtered from the stampede, a few were mortally wounded, only two lionesses escaped with their lives, P.H. ran back to the pride with everything she could muster, she had to report the event and resulting finale to Ravenmoon.
Minutes later, P.H. collapses from exhaustion.
P.H sleeps deeply, for 2 days, she had dreams and nightmares. Ravenmoon stayed by her side, licking the thorns from her paws and fur, cleaning her wounds from the marathon she ran trying to save her pride.
P.H finally awakens, shivering from the dream she was startled awake from, she sense's warmth and pressure on her side, she slowly lifts her head and looks at the unfamiliar warm pressure and sees Ravenmoon laying protectively next to her, something that she had never had before.
Ravenmoon sensed P.H. move gently and woke up quickly, sensing P H. Was awake. He rumbles a deep and soothing purr, delighted that P.H. was finally awake, he chuffs a greeting to her and rubs his head on her chin.
"About time you wake, it's been two whole days. I was starting to think the pride would starve from your laziness" Ravenmoon laughed lightheartedly at P.H. who looked very sore but well rested.
P.H. asks Ravenmoon carefully about what happened after she collapsed, and Ravenmoon sadly tells her what she missed.
"I followed your scent back to the watering hole, I saw the carnage and devastation that was surrounding the hole, elephant and zebra carcasses everywhere, calves and foals screaming out for their now dead mothers, pelts and tusk's rendered from their now decaying corpses.."
Ravenmoon paused for a while, gathering his thoughts and trying to gauge P.H.'s responses to the story thus far..." I found your mother and sisters on the other side of the watering hole, the ones that survived and were suffering, I put out of their misery, only you and Fetch survived relatively unscathed.. you are now my queen and we must rebuild the pride "
P.H let out a gut wrenching roar, so mournfull and full of loss that everyone in the pride, Broody, Ravenmoon and the other broidmothers and cubs answered back with their own roars of mourning.
"I shall be your queen, and as first lady, I request to you, that we all go to the watering hole and retrieve as much meat as we can eat and drag back "
P H looks at Ravenmoon while making her suggestion, in the hopes to hide her sadness, but to also allow herself and the rest of the remaining pride to say their goodbyes to their family now lying in the field by the watering hole, for the vultures and hyena to dispose of.
P.H. leads the pride with Ravenmoon at her side to the watering hole and upon arriving, she quietly bade goodbye to her mother and sisters, gathered a decent sized zebra carcass and silently dragged it back home at the front of the pride procession a tear rolling down her face.
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