Dry, dirtied paw pads scraped across the parched land. Decaying, wilted shrubs watched the trio maneuver their way across, huffing arid air in a desperate attempt to catch the scent of prey; the scent of life.

While it was no surprise the only scent to be picked up was the smell of rot and death, the three lions couldn't help but feel a sense of disillusionment when that was all they could find.

"How long is this.. hunger going to last?" Rasped Callisto, who stood at the center of the group. It was an idiotic question; one with no answer, as much as the young leopon would've wanted one.
Jupiter shrugged one rugged, tan shoulder, "Hemellë only knows." His nose twitched as he breathed in the still, scentless air.

It was stuffy, hot and hazy. Every day was that way. Any kind of water, any sort of moisture, was extremely hard to come by. Jupiter wasn't sure he'd seen rain since the last wet season. Heat was persistent, the sun shining harshly into the pelts of those below. It tore into their skin, burning a hole never to be filled.

The consistent hunger pains did nothing to soothe the survivors. With no water, there were no plants; with no plants, there was no prey. Most of the herds had left, following the river as it slowly succumbed to drought.

Jupiter, Callisto and Leila continued their seemingly aimless patrol of the desolate territories.

That was, of course, until a faint scent gingerly trod across the breeze, paving its own journey to the nostrils of the three lions.
One word came to mind, and that word was:
"Carrion." Leila pointed it out softly. It was better to remain quiet when talking. Sound travelled quickly through the barren and desolate surroundings. Food was scarce, and they simply couldn't risk another group of lions picking away like hungry vultures. Jupiter squinted, looking in the direction of the scent.

There appeared to be two forms laying motionlessly in the near distance. With a curt flick of the tip of his tail, Jupiter began to lead Callisto and Leila towards the forms.

_______

The leoponess' skin clung tightly to her skeletal frame. A golden, rosette-covered pelt that once glimmered and shone in the sun was now deathly dull. Her shimmering, amber eyes had long been replaced by darkness, a look so dead and exhausted one might presume she was exactly that - dead.

She wasn't dead. She hadn't yet succumbed to the hunger consuming her. Although often she wished she was...

Beside her lay the remains of her mate. The two had split off together when the prides began to break up. He died here, silent as a mouse. She refused to leave him. Whether it was love or simply the fact she physically could not move away very far, she stayed. Scavengers came and went, trotting up to the corpse and tearing off chunks for themselves before swiftly scampering away once they realised the leoponess laying beside their precious meal was, indeed, still alive.

She heard the approaching footsteps of a group of cats, she knew they were coming, and yet she did not bother to lift her head. Even such a small gesture as that proved too much for her weakened state.

The front paws of one of these lions came into her view. A sandy, beige colour. They were large. She was sure the lion they belonged to was, too...

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starts crying loudly hope you enjoy