Become a Cheetah
o0o
The wildebeest herd came and went quickly, eating up the newly grown green grass. Then, just as they had arrived, the wildebeest herd crossed the Gangas River in groups and returned to the opposite bank.
When the wildebeest crossed the river, the lions of the Oros pride and the Hosbby pride lay in ambush in the tall grass. Although there was no awkward situation of lions from different prides chasing the same prey, there were encounters between hostile lionesses on a narrow path.
However, the most important thing for the lions at the moment was to hunt. Seeking common ground while reserving differences was the best solution.
The common ground was that everyone needed to catch wildebeest to fill their stomachs.
The difference was that they would still have a fight sooner or later.
The twelve lionesses of the Oros pride came out in full force, and the cubs were also brought out, hidden in the woodland by the riverbank. Tina spotted the Hosbby lionesses, and immediately two lionesses went back to look after the cubs.
The remaining ten lionesses were enough to handle the upcoming hunt.
The Hosbby pride also spotted the Oros lionesses. Their numbers were inferior to the other side, and they had lost a large area of territory to them some time ago. At this moment, they could only swallow their anger, and it was important to catch prey and fill their stomachs.
This strange atmosphere of peace spread along the riverbank. Even the usually irritable hippos and the crocodiles, known as the overlords of the Gangas River, quieted down in this atmosphere.
The hippos occupied the deep water area, and most of the crocodiles lay on the bank basking in the sun. A dozen lions hid in the tall grass, and no one made a sound.
Luo Qiao learned from the last lesson and dared not take the two cheetah cubs to the Gangas River to look for opportunities again. There were definitely lions lying in ambush there now. As a cheetah, he felt powerless to compete. Going there would only lead to death.
To catch prey before the wildebeest left, one had to act early.
Luo Sen and Luo Rui followed behind Luo Qiao. The father and sons used the cover of tall grass and bushes to bypass the acacia forest in the leopard's territory and ran to the front of the wildebeest herd. After confirming that they hadn't lost track, Luo Qiao found a hidden spot and lay down.
The ambush location Luo Qiao chose was excellent. The view here was wide, and the grass was lush. With his spotted coat, the cheetah could be completely hidden in the grass, making it difficult for the wildebeest to spot them. He had enough time to choose a suitable prey. As long as the timing was right, the prey would hardly escape his claws.
The only drawback was that Monty had also followed, claiming it was for hunting.
Even though the relationship with Monty had undergone a qualitative leap, Luo Qiao still found it difficult to guess what this leopard was thinking. This excuse was so clumsy that Luo Qiao could see through it with his claws!
He had personally seen Monty hunt and kill an adult male wildebeest yesterday! This wildebeest was hidden in the acacia forest at the edge of the leopard's territory! Although he couldn't drag it up a tree due to the wildebeest's weight, Monty's method of hiding prey was superb.
Neither vultures nor hyenas could easily find the wildebeest's carcass.
This leopard clearly wasn't lacking food, so why did he still come?!
"Dad, do we have to stay with him?"
Luo Sen and Luo Rui moved closer to Luo Qiao, snuggling tightly against him, keeping a high degree of vigilance towards Monty. Unlike Luo Qiao, whose core had changed, the concept that leopards were their natural enemies was deeply rooted in the two cheetah cubs' minds.
Monty's fur provided better camouflage than Luo Qiao's. If Luo Qiao hadn't been deliberately paying attention to him, he might have already lost track of him.
This feeling was really bad, like knowing someone was following you but not being able to find them at all without concentrating. Luo Qiao cursed inwardly but was helpless.
"Don't worry"
Monty ignored the two cheetah cubs' threatening postures and walked directly to Luo Qiao's side, lying down.
"I won't snatch your prey. Perhaps, I can even help you."
The wildebeest herd passed by in a long line, mostly adult female wildebeest and calves born in the rainy season. Luo Qiao wanted to find a weaker or younger one among them, but the wildebeest herd suddenly sped up, forcing him to lock onto a target as soon as possible.
Finally, Luo Qiao chose his target, a young wildebeest with newly grown horns. Wildebeest of this age seemed easy to deal with, but for a cheetah, it still involved a certain risk.
Monty hadn't made a sound since Luo Qiao fixed his gaze on the prey. Instead, he retreated to some taller grass in the distance, clearly indicating that he posed no threat to the two cheetah cubs.
Only when Luo Qiao saw Monty's actions could he hunt with peace of mind. Although their relationship was closer than that between members of the same species, it was simply a joke to expect Luo Qiao to leave the two cheetah cubs alone with Monty with peace of mind.
It was better to be safe than sorry.
This wasn't judging a gentleman by one's own petty standards; moreover, leopards were not gentlemen by nature. Beatrice didn't even allow Monty to approach his own offspring, which showed how bad the male leopard's temperament was.
However, since Monty had stated that he wouldn't harm the two cheetah cubs, he would definitely keep his word.
"Stay here, don't run around."
The target Luo Qiao had locked onto was getting closer and closer. When the young wildebeest was less than twenty meters away from the cheetah, Luo Qiao rushed out of the grass.
Cheetahs lacked strength but were first-rate in speed. Luo Qiao's appearance caused a brief chaos in the wildebeest ranks. Luo Qiao took advantage of the confusion to bite the young wildebeest's neck, trying to pin him to the ground. However, the young wildebeest's mother suddenly rushed over, determined to teach this cheetah a lesson with her horns and hooves.
Luo Qiao had to release the young wildebeest and turn to flee. The mother wildebeest still didn't intend to give up. She wanted to drive this cheetah further away. Just as the furious mother wildebeest was chasing Luo Qiao, Monty silently appeared at her side, unnoticed by the wildebeest. Suddenly, Monty leaped out of the grass, accurately seizing the wildebeest's neck, his sharp teeth biting into her throat.
The wildebeest herd fell into chaos once again. Luo Qiao took the opportunity to catch up with the young wildebeest, who hadn't gone far, tripped him to the ground, and bit his neck.
The commotion of the hunt attracted jackals, typical canids that often trailed behind big cats to scavenge leftovers. The jackals initially didn't notice Monty. It wasn't until Monty leaped out of the grass and caught the mother wildebeest that the jackals realized something was wrong and immediately distanced themselves from the leopards.
Leopards were different from cheetahs. Jackals could follow cheetahs, even using their calls to attract hyenas to drive away cheetahs and seize their prey. But they rarely dared to provoke leopards because, in the eyes of leopards, jackals were also a delicious meal.
They were both big cats, so why was the difference so great?
Luo Qiao didn't have the extra energy to drive away the jackals. He dragged the motionless young wildebeest to the foot of an acacia tree. The tall grass and bushes under the tree could better hide the prey, at least preventing it from being discovered by vultures at the first moment.
Monty dragged the dead mother wildebeest to the foot of another acacia tree. This mother wildebeest was very heavy. He had to eat some of the meat first before he could drag the remaining carcass up the tree.
The young wildebeest seemed dead, but through the contact between his whiskers and the wildebeest, Luo Qiao could determine that the young wildebeest hadn't stopped breathing. He released the young wildebeest's neck and walked aside. The young wildebeest immediately stood up unsteadily. Luo Qiao hadn't killed him, but he had still injured him.
Luo Sen and Luo Rui curiously ran to the young wildebeest's side. Startled, the young wildebeest immediately ran, and the two cheetah cubs closely followed behind him, instinctively reaching out their claws to trip the prey.
Luo Qiao watched and called out, "Good, trip him! Bite him, sons, bite him!"
Hearing Luo Qiao's call, Monty raised his head and licked the blood from the corner of his mouth; well, he had long known this cheetah's peculiarity, although a bit silly, he liked it.
Finally, Luo Sen and Luo Rui worked together to pounce on the prey and kill it.
Luo Qiao dragged the young wildebeest back under the tree again, and the two cheetah cubs immediately began to eat voraciously.
Monty finished eating a hind leg of the wildebeest, took out the wildebeest's internal organs, and seeing that Luo Qiao and the two cheetah cubs were still gobbling down their food, and that there were no other predators nearby besides the jackals and a small number of vultures, he felt relieved and dragged his prey towards a more distant tree.
Luo Qiao glanced at Monty, twitched his ears, and continued to eat his meat intently.
Monty hid his prey in the tree and found a branch to lie down on.
Finally, Luo Qiao and the two cheetah cubs were full. More than thirty vultures had gathered around, which wasn't a large number, but Luo Qiao still led the two cheetah cubs away.
"Full?"
Monty lay on the branch, looking down at Luo Qiao who had walked under the tree. "What would you have done if I hadn't killed that mother wildebeest?"
"..."
"Aren't you going to thank me?"
"..."
"I don't ask for much, just let me do it one more time."
"..."
"If you don't speak, I'll take it as you agree?"
Agree my foot!
Just as Luo Qiao was about to speak, he felt a discomfort in his stomach. He opened his mouth and vomited all the wildebeest meat he had just eaten.
The two cheetah cubs were frightened and at a loss. Monty immediately jumped down from the tree, walked to Luo Qiao's side, and seeing that Luo Qiao was still retching, he asked.
"What's wrong?"
"Uncomfortable..."
Luo Qiao lay down on the ground. Monty reached out his paw and rubbed Luo Qiao's body.
"Wait for me."
After saying that, he leaped into the tall grass a few times and disappeared. Luo Qiao curled up his body. Luo Sen and Luo Rui, seeing his discomfort, called out "Dad" while licking him. Luo Rui almost cried.
"Dad's okay."
Luo Qiao raised his head and licked the two cheetah cubs. "Dad will be fine after lying down for a while."
"Dad..."
Luo Qiao felt another wave of nausea in his stomach. Was he sick? He would rather believe he was uncomfortable because he ate too fast, but which cheetah didn't eat like that? This had never happened before...
Cheetahs really couldn't afford to get sick. Illness was as deadly as injury for a cheetah. Moreover, he was raising two cheetah cubs...
The father and sons huddled together, dark clouds gathering overhead, as if the end of the world was approaching.
When Monty returned, he saw this scene. He shook his tail in confusion, wasn't it just a small matter, was it necessary to make such a fuss? He walked up to Luo Qiao in a few steps and placed the grass he was holding in his mouth on the ground.
Luo Qiao looked at the grass, then at Monty, a big question mark appearing above his head.
Monty used his paw to push the grass closer to Luo Qiao.
"Eat it."
He was a carnivore, why should he eat grass?!
"You'll feel better after eating it."
Seeing that Luo Qiao didn't move for a long time, Monty changed his approach. He picked up Luo Qiao, pried open Luo Qiao's mouth with one hand, and held the grass he had bitten off to Luo Qiao's mouth, signaling Luo Qiao to eat it quickly.
Seeing that Luo Qiao still looked dazed, Monty simply blocked Luo Qiao's mouth, forcefully stuffed the grass into Luo Qiao's mouth, and even nudged it with his tongue.
Luo Qiao was embarrassed. He had just vomited and hadn't rinsed his mouth yet...
Although wild animals probably didn't care about such things...
The bitter taste of the green grass spread from his mouth all the way to his throat. Before Luo Qiao could complain, his mouth was blocked again.
Well, could you imagine a super beauty holding a cheetah and feeding it grass mouth-to-mouth? No matter how you looked at it, this scene was extremely incongruous.
Monty stubbornly stuffed all the grass he had gathered into Luo Qiao's mouth. He still didn't let go of Luo Qiao, but instead raised Luo Qiao's chin and began to lick Luo Qiao's neck, while one hand rubbed Luo Qiao's belly.
The two cheetah cubs hadn't made a sound since just now. They were frightened by Monty's actions.
After a while, Luo Qiao began to retch again. "Do you have a grudge against me?!"
Monty didn't speak, but picked up Luo Qiao headfirst and shook him twice. With a "wah" sound, Luo Qiao vomited everything in his stomach, and several tangled hairballs rolled onto the grass.
Seeing that Luo Qiao was no longer vomiting, Monty picked him up again, licked his ears, and kissed his furry cheek.
"Do you feel better now?"
Luo Qiao was so exhausted from the ordeal that he didn't have the strength to speak.
"Remember, if you feel unwell again, find this kind of grass to eat."
Luo Qiao lay on his back in Monty's arms, unable to resist raising his paw to cover his face. Although he felt better, being seen in this state by his sons was just too damn embarrassing...
Monty continued, "It's okay, this kind of situation is not uncommon. You'll get used to vomiting as you go."
Luo Qiao froze. This was something one could get used to? Although raising his claws at his "savior" would be very ungrateful, he really couldn't help wanting to punch someone...
o0o
Love
ReplyDelete