Become a Cheetah
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The 'flying kiss'' incident had happened two weeks ago, but Parson and Jairo still came to Luo Qiao's territory sometimes. Luo Qiao, being shameless, asked them why.
He found out that Parson and Jairo had no idea what a kiss was. At that time, they were completely confused by Luo Qiao's bloody face and waving paws. They didn't know what Luo Qiao meant, so they just stood there dumbfounded.
Indeed, even the most charming beauty wouldn't look very pleasing with a face full of blood, winking and flying kisses.
So, Luo Qiao started to regret asking these two brothers. He thought it would have been better to continue the misunderstanding. A beautiful misunderstanding is much more comforting than the cruel reality.
Luo Sen and Luo Rui were still chasing and playing. Now they were getting stronger and stronger, already showing signs of becoming the future speed kings of the savanna. Luo Rui still liked to act cute, but wasn't as clingy as before.
This made Luo Qiao feel happy but also a bit lost. His kids were growing up and didn't chase after him for cuddles and pets anymore. Dad felt so empty...
Parson came to see Luo Qiao alone today. Jairo stayed in their territory. A strange female cheetah had come into their territory. From the scent she left, the intruding female was in heat.
It wasn't the rainy season, so this female cheetah might have lost her cubs, which caused her to go into heat. Jairo had excitedly followed her scent early in the morning. Parson wasn't very interested. Since it was his own territory, big problems wouldn't happen. So, he simply let Jairo chase the female cheetah and came to Luo Qiao's territory.
However, not long after Parson arrived, he heard Jairo calling. A cheetah's call can travel a kilometer. Parson felt a bit helpless.
Jairo's call didn't sound like he was in danger; it was just him wanting Parson to go back quickly. He probably either found big prey he couldn't handle alone, or he got rejected by the female again and needed his brother's comfort.
If his vocabulary was richer, Parson would definitely swear.
But Jairo's calls kept coming, as if he wouldn't stop until Parson returned. Helplessly, Parson had no choice but to say goodbye to Luo Qiao and go back to his own territory.
Before leaving, Parson licked Luo Qiao's ear. Luo Qiao moved his ear slightly uncomfortably and leaned away a bit. He wanted to say something, but Parson had already turned and run off.
Oh well, he would talk next time.
After Parson left, Luo Qiao idly watched Luo Sen and Luo Rui play fight, and couldn't help but sigh.
"Oh, female cheetahs..."
Lying on his side on the grass, Luo Qiao licked his paw and flicked his tail. How could he explain this helpless feeling? Touch his paw, lick his fur, and have another litter of cubs...
What a wonderful thought. Now he couldn't touch his paw, couldn't lick his fur, and his cubs had grown wings and flown away... How did he become... like this?
Frustrated, he rolled on the ground, rubbing his slightly itchy back. Luo Qiao stood up, stretched, and called back Luo Sen and Luo Rui. Today the lions weren't fighting, so it was time to hunt!
"Dad, what are we catching? I want to eat gazelle."
The two baby cheetahs heard Luo Qiao's call and immediately jumped and ran back to his side. Luo Rui rubbed against Luo Qiao's front legs while making his request. Luo Sen didn't say anything, but his bright, shiny eyes clearly showed he agreed with his brother.
"No problem!"
The previous moment, Luo Qiao was charmed by the little cheetahs' eyes and confidently made a promise. The next moment, he came back to his senses and could only silently look up, tears flowing in the wind at a forty-five-degree angle. Being a fan of his kids and their soft fur was really a problem.
Where were the gazelles in his territory? Only near the waterhole in the leopard's territory might he have some luck, but he really didn't want to go there...
The hyraxes, since being forced to leave the rocky hill, had made their home on a small hill near the border of the leopard's territory. Luo Qiao and his two sons happened to pass by this group of hyraxes' home. The hyrax on guard immediately sounded the alarm.
"It's bad! That fierce cheetah is here! Everyone scatter!"
The hyraxes that were looking for food quickly ran back to their burrows. But the three cheetahs ignored them and walked straight ahead. The hyraxes huddled together, looking at each other, really not understanding what was wrong with these cheetahs today.
They were completely different from the fierce ones who had caught their aunt, cousin, and niece, and the bossy ones who had driven their family away from the rocky hill. Could they have eaten something bad?
Well, Luo Qiao, the cheetah worried about by hyraxes, would probably be the first in the history of the savanna.
It wasn't that Luo Qiao didn't see the hyraxes. First, hyrax meat didn't taste good and had a bad smell. Second, he had already smelled the scent of gazelles and believed the two little cheetahs had too. Instead of wasting energy on hyraxes, it was better to save strength to catch gazelles.
As for running into Monty or something at the river, Luo Qiao had already put that out of his mind. In the face of food, everything else was unimportant. This clearly proved that you become like those around you. As for whether Luo Qiao had led the two little cheetahs astray, or whether Luo Sen and Luo Rui had influenced Luo Qiao, it was unknown.
Near noon, the river in the leopard's territory was crowded with animals coming to drink. Due to months of high temperatures, most of the water in the waterhole had evaporated, and the remaining water was muddy.
Because of the animals trampling, most of the waterhole was already filled with mud. The animals had to step on the mud to reach the center of the waterhole to drink. Warthogs and elephants liked to roll in this mud. The thick mud could help them avoid the scorching sun and get rid of parasites. But the mud caused trouble for some of the antelopes that came to drink. Their hooves would sink into the mud, and if they couldn't escape in time, they would be trapped alive in this natural trap.
Luo Qiao led the two baby cheetahs to hide in the tall grass about two hundred meters away from the waterhole. They didn't dare to get too close. A grown male elephant was rolling in the mud of the waterhole. Its long trunk and huge tusks were a threat to other animals.
Elephants didn't like big cats. This had become a well-known secret on the savanna. Even though cheetahs couldn't threaten baby elephants, elephants still didn't like to see them in their sight.
Luo Qiao didn't plan to cause trouble at this time. He could only continue to wait. The elephant would eventually leave, and his prey would appear.
What Luo Qiao didn't know was that it was this male elephant that had driven the lions of Gamma's pride out of his territory. But even if he knew, he couldn't change anything. Was he supposed to go up to this giant creature and say, "Hi. Thanks for the big help. Want to be friends?"
The elephant's only reaction would be to lift its foot and stomp him flat.
The temperature kept rising, almost reaching its peak for the day. More and more animals gathered at the waterhole. Even a small herd of buffalo appeared. The elephant clearly didn't like these guys who might challenge his authority. So, he stood up from the mud and chased away this herd of buffalo that just wanted to drink water.
The other animals ignored this scene and instead took the opportunity of the elephant and buffalo conflict to quickly drink water. Two or three gazelles were among this group of animals, not very noticeable, but they caught the cheetahs' attention.
The elephant and the buffalo herd seemed to have reached some kind of agreement. They returned to the waterhole. The buffalo were just as aggressive as the elephant, and some smaller animals were pushed away from the water's edge.
Some short warthogs had an advantage because of their size, but they still had to be extra careful of the buffalo's hooves.
Luo Qiao kept watching those gazelles until they left the waterhole and went into the bushes. Luo Qiao knew it was time. He led Luo Sen and Luo Rui towards the gazelles, getting closer and closer. Neither the gazelles nor the animals by the waterhole noticed the three cheetahs.
The gazelles stopped to eat grass, and one lay down. Luo Qiao couldn't miss such a good chance and immediately ran out of the grass. Hiding is one way, but using speed to win is a cheetah's strength.
The sound of the gazelles running scared the animals drinking at the waterhole. Some baboons made loud calls, and the buffalo herd also became restless. When everyone realized it was just a cheetah causing the commotion, the buffalo herd calmed down first. As long as it wasn't a lion, this group of buffalo wasn't afraid of any predators.
Luo Qiao's effort paid off. He caught up to a female gazelle, tripped her with his paw, and bit her neck. The other two gazelles saw their companion get caught and ran for a while before stopping. Predators and prey understood each other well. The cheetah had caught its prey. One gazelle was about to die, but that also meant the others were safe.
The gazelle was still kicking its hooves. Luo Qiao had run almost three hundred meters in about ten seconds. She now had almost no strength to fight back and could only bite down hard on the gazelle's neck, breathing quickly and waiting for his body to recover.
Finally, the gazelle stopped moving. Luo Qiao dragged the gazelle into the deeper tall grass. The two baby cheetahs heard his call and came over. Luo Qiao stood guard on the side, letting them eat first.
Even though they had caught prey and had food, Luo Qiao still felt uneasy. He couldn't help but look around, making sure there were no lions or hyenas nearby. But he still felt uneasy, and the feeling of unease grew stronger and stronger.
Finally, his feeling was right. It was buffalo.
Two strong male buffalo came over from the waterhole. They clearly had bad intentions. Luo Qiao immediately told the two baby cheetahs to stand up. None of the three cheetahs understood why the buffalo were there. Luo Qiao was sure he hadn't provoked them, but the buffalo didn't plan to explain anything to the cheetahs. They charged straight at them.
"Run!"
Luo Qiao didn't care that he hadn't eaten much of the gazelle yet. He immediately told Luo Sen and Luo Rui to run towards the bushes farther away, where they could hide from the buffalo. The buffalo didn't chase after them. Instead, they walked to the gazelle's body and sniffed it. They didn't seem to plan to kill the cheetahs; they just came to help a fellow plant-eater, the gazelle. This seemed ridiculous, but it really happened.
The two buffalo stood by the gazelle's body until they were sure it was really dead, then they turned and left.
The whole thing lasted less than five minutes, but all three cheetahs were very scared.
"Papa..."
Luo Sen called to Luo Qiao. Luo Qiao looked at the buffalo leaving and the gazelle's body lying alone on the grass. Because the tall grass hid it, vultures would have a hard time spotting the gazelle from the air. But if the food was left for too long, they couldn't eat it.
Luo Qiao decided to take a risk. He told the two baby cheetahs to stay in the bushes, and he ran back to the prey. The buffalo didn't come back to attack him. Luo Qiao immediately dragged the gazelle towards the bushes where the two baby cheetahs were hiding. But suddenly, a male leopard jumped out. This leopard was strong, and its fur was beautiful, but it wasn't Monty.
Luo Qiao was startled and instinctively let go of the prey, running towards the bushes. The male leopard's goal was just the gazelle, not the cheetahs.
He picked up the gazelle's body and was about to leave when another male leopard suddenly appeared, blocking his way. This one was the owner of this territory, Monty.
The sudden appearance of the two male leopards caused another commotion by the waterhole. The buffalo had drunk their water and were planning to leave. The elephant also ignored the threat of the two leopards, but the other animals didn't think the same way. They could all be hunted by leopards, and now there were two of them!
The gazelles were the first to run, but one unexpectedly ran right into the cheetah.
Luo Qiao really wanted to say he didn't intentionally ambush them here. In this situation, he had no mind to hunt. He just wanted to quietly sneak away with Luo Sen and Luo Rui. Who knew this gazelle would run right towards him, straight at him.
Before his mind could give an order, instinct had already decided his actions. Luo Qiao directly jumped out of the grass and, in a way that didn't look like a cheetah at all, bit the gazelle's neck. Then, he was in tears.
He didn't want to catch it, but he had no choice... Why did it run straight towards him? If it had just turned a little, things wouldn't have become like this...
Now, should he eat the prey or run away...?
The two baby cheetahs didn't care about all this. They just looked at Luo Qiao with star-filled eyes. Papa was so amazing!
Monty and the male leopard who stole Luo Qiao's prey were already fighting. The male leopard's fighting was different from a male lion's.
It wasn't just a clash of strength; it was more about using sharp teeth and claws, trying to leave lasting wounds on the opponent. At the same time, if there was a chance, they would go for the opponent's neck.
Monty was clearly slightly better. He almost bit the other leopard's neck but was escaped. The other leopard dropped the gazelle and turned to run away. Monty didn't chase after him. As long as this leopard dared to stay in his territory, sooner or later, he would kill him!
Now he had other things to do.
While thinking, Monty picked up the gazelle's body and walked towards Luo Qiao, who was lying speechless and tearful in the bushes.
o0o
❤️
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