I watch in fear as Sam races towards where Micah and Edwin stand between the large brindle bull and Dwayne who is leading Justin to the relative safety of the undergrowth. I see Malcolm and Chris rushing towards where the bull stands raking at the dirt with his massive front feet; he bellows his rage and kneels to rub his head in the dirt as well. Robby and Mikkarl are racing towards Dwayne and Justin from different places while Steven and Timny are rushing to aid those facing the bull. I rush along the tree line to stand where Dwayne and Justin are heading; I rub my head against Justin's shoulder as he halts beside me.
Robby and Mikkarl take up a defensive position out from us while Dwayne and Mitchell race towards the others now gathered around the bull. I watch the toms fan out around the front end of the bull. Micah is directly in front of him and he roars his challenge at the bull making me shiver with a mixture of excitement and fear. I watch as the toms make quick lunges towards the bull, dodging out of harms way at the last second as the bull drops his head to meet them.
I quickly see how they work as a team, one or more distracting the bull as others dart in from behind or to the sides to try to deliver damaging blows. The bull goes down in one hind leg and I realise someone has hamstrung him on that side. He bellows his rage and pain before trying to charge forward at two of the toms only to go down as the other hind leg is hamstrung as well.
The bull is pulled to the ground and I quiver with excitement as his struggles quickly diminish. Justin whines beside me and I nose his shoulder but refuse to follow when he wants to move forward. Robby and Mikkarl have crept forward a good distance, but I wait for some signal or call from those around the bull. Micah stands up and looks towards us; he calls to us then drops his head to the carcass. I allow Justin to run ahead of me as we follow Robby and Mikkarl. I slow as we approach the kill and hang back as the other three rushes forward to join in the feast.
I eye the clan of cats eating their kill and crouch down nervously. I know better than to approach another cat's kill but I was called to it and I am hungry. Mitchell calls to me but I only whine and move nervously. Micah raises his head, calls and I cower to the ground. He advances towards me slowly and I hiss in fear but he merely lowers his head and sniffs towards me and calls softly. I wriggle on my stomach nervously as he nudges my shoulder gently; I crawl towards the kill and cower down once again.
Micah returns to the kill and eats several mouthfuls before looking at me and calling again. I creep forward a little ways and sniff towards the carcass but make no move to touch it. I watch as the others eat hungrily and finally I pluck up enough courage to sneak forward and grab a mouthful of meat and rip it free before retreating to gulp it down. I repeat this process several times until I gain enough courage to stand in place and eat several mouthfuls before retreating then returning for more food.
One by one the toms stop feeding and move away to clean themselves. I keep a wary eye on the others as I eat and when Mitchell comes over near me, I snarl defensively and back away from the kill. He moves away and I return to the kill to finish my meal. I am licking my muzzle when Micah heads my way and I cower away from him as he sniffs at me.
I cringe when he starts licking my shoulder and I hiss in fear. Chris walks over with a growl and Micah moves away to leave me sitting with Chris. I clean my muzzle and face before I lay down in the shade from a small bush and roll onto my back. I look at the toms lying around and roll onto my belly and get to my feet slowly. I move from one to another checking none of them are injured and smoothing rough fur here and there. Mitchell hooks a foreleg over my neck and I tumble down on top of him as he wrestles me playfully. Chris comes over and chews playfully on one of my legs while Mitchell pulls at another. After a few minutes we stretch out lazily and drift off to sleep.
I wake after several hours and sit up to look around. Micah and Sam are at the kill eating again and Malcolm, Dwayne and Steven soon join them.
When Chris wakes and returns to the kill I join them and soon everyone is eating again. This time when we finish there isn't much of the bull left and Micah moves off at a steady walk. I follow for a while before lying down once again. A demanding call from Micah has me on my feet and moving once again to catch up with them. The journey back to the quarters takes us time and we arrive to a dark building. The toms begin to shift back to human form outside but I head inside to the bathroom before shifting and claim the first shower.
I wrap myself in a towel before heading to Chris and Malcolm's room and pulling on clothes; I climb into bed and make myself comfortable to sleep off my two large feeds. I can hear the toms laughing and talking in the lounge room and lay listening to them. It isn't too long before a form appears at the doorway and I watch it uneasily.
"Rosy? You asleep?" Sam asks.
"No."
"Come on come out in the lounge room. You can even have the lounge to sleep on if you want," he tells me as he comes into the room.
I hesitate a moment before pushing the covers back and swinging my legs over the side of the bed. I pull on an old comfortable pair of track pants over my underwear and straighten my t-shirt before following Sam out to the others. They immediately move off the lounge and I lie down on my stomach and look around at them as they settle themselves nearby.
"You've had enough to eat?" Micah asks as he looks at me.
"Yeah," I say and yawn. He laughs looking pleased and stretches his legs out making himself comfortable.
"I'd like to know what the hell that bull was doing there," Edwin says sounding annoyed.
"Some of us had better go check the boundary fences tomorrow, see if he got in that way," Micah sounds very relaxed.
"He made one hell of a meal though," Steven utters and the others laugh.
"Yeah, that he did," Sam agrees.
"Who made the kill?" I ask curiously.
"Both Sam and I took him down to be on the safe side," Micah tells me as he looks directly at me. "He was one big fellow."
"That was your first time you ate someone else's kill wasn't it," Steven remarks.
"Micah kept calling me to the food," I say defensively.
"If he hadn't one of us would have - being part of a clan means we look after each other," Mitchell says as he settles himself against the lounge and uses my side as a pillow. I feel someone touching my hair and lift my head to see Chris seated at the end of the lounge where he can touch me. The look in his eyes makes my breasts ache and a tingle start low in my stomach.
"That hunt wasn't anything like that red bull being taken down," I mutter as I remember the shear savagery of that attack.
"You have seen a red bull taken down?" Micah asks lightly.
"Pete, you and Steven were there, on the other side of the clearing watching. The wind was blowing across the clearing so it wouldn't have taken any of our scents to one of the other groups. I watched the strays all attack at once; Red Devil ground one cat into the dirt with his head before he went down." I hide my face in the cushion of the lounge for a moment before I lift my head once again. "I'd been out to help Donald Caruthers vaccinate those three bulls the month before. Red Devil was a big sook."
"Hell, we didn't even know there was another cat watching! And that bull took out another cat before he was pulled down a second time," Steven says as if he almost respected the fight that Red Devil had shown.
"No one was meant to know I was there," I snap, realizing what I had done and shake my head. "No one was meant to know I was there. I intended to hide my presence."
"What do you reckon the difference between the two kills was?" Micah asks and I think for a moment before replying.
"The strays did it for the thrill of the kill; it was all about bloodshed for the sake of bloodshed. Earlier was for food, carried out with skill and precision and humanity," I say firmly.
"Yeah that sums up what those strays had done pretty well. It's called bloodlust: killing only for the sake of the kill and the taste of blood, nothing else," Micah agrees.
"Yeah," Sam nods.
"I noticed you were smart enough to stand back and leave the kill to us," Edwin grins at me.
"Yeah, I protected Rosy. Or I would have if that bull came our way," Justin puffs his chest up proudly.
