the sun crept below the horizon as the moon steadily rose, her choir of stars forming behind her. the day's glory was coming to an end and his creatures knew it.
it was a silent plea made out of desperation. anathi's hunger grew as the prey populations declined; he wondered if life would ever return to these lands. 
a rustle in a nearby patch of grass pulled his attention from his lamentations. anathi primed himself to pounce, hoping that whatever crept in the shadows would be enough to sustain him another day. 

there was silence. another sound from his left, though this one significantly louder. his body was being driven by a deadly cocktail of instinct and starvation.

without thinking much further, anathi leapt from where he was once crouched and aimed for the mysterious creature. inyoka! he yelped upon finding his paw atop the scaly reptilian skin. while the fear persisted, it was easily done over by the growling in his stomach. 

while he recovered from his momentary shock, the snake took the opportunity to slither away. determined to claim his prize, however, anathi took after it with a hunter's will.
 

the chase lasted only but a moment. the snake was fast, but the hunter was faster; anathi was almost immediately atop his prize with his jaws wrapped around its head. its partner had since managed to escape.

the scales were tough and difficult to break through. it took more force than anathi had expected to peel away the skin and reach the meat. the scent of a stranger was carried on the wind. mholo. he stood still and silent while he waited for the reply.

the common tongue was foreign to the eastern wolves. there were dialects that came close, but none so much as to rival its harshness. a moment of hesitation passed. ek sê, uhm, hallo. it was the closest thing that he knew to english, though he doubted the stranger would understand.

anathi turned to face her and understood her posturing. he smiled and gave a nod of his head. slang, oukei? the hunter knelt down and lifted the mutilated corpse. ek en jy. he attempted to tear the beast in half but found it difficult to make a clean cut. 

the stranger needed to eat. anathi understood that, but he also knew that this meal was meant for him. giving it up completely was not a viable option, but the language barrier made communicating the problem nearly impossible. he looked to the stranger and nodded for her to approach.

it was difficult to coordinate a reaction under such strange circumstances. the woman's initial approach was met with a friendly wag of the hunter's tail. tension grew as she spoke, finally bursting from its cocoon with her escape.

anathi had no way of knowing that it was a game. in his mind, something had been stolen from him and it was his only right that he fight to get it back. hackles raised, ears flat; the hunter pursued his prey with barks of aggression.

the woman dropped the snake and continued to speak. anathi swooped down to grab the corpse from beside her paws, then trotted a few feet away. 




it took a moment for him to calm down. he fixed a cold stare on the prankster but allowed his tail to begin its wag once more. ek, anathi said, en jy. the explanation was ended by a nod to where the stranger stood. anathi picked the snake up and motioned again for her to come forward.

there was something wrong with this woman. anathi watched in amused confusion as she pounced forward and snapped for the snake's tail. long, russet legs pranced a few steps away, the dangling corpse in tow. behind him, the hunter's tail continued at its slow wag.

a devilish smile began to grow on his maw. slowly, he knelt down and placed their toy on the ground, though his eyes never left her frame. anathi licked the blood from his lips and continued to step backward as he waited for her to continue their game.

it seemed that the game ended just as it was about to begin. confused, anathi stood tall and tried to pick out words from the strange woman's speech. there wasn't much to hang onto so instead of arguing, the hunter waited and watched her turn to leave.

his disappointment was evident but his hunger far outweighed it. as soon as belharra was out of sight, anathi laid on his belly and began to dig in.