Tsavo yawned widely and stretched while looking out the window onto a beautiful sunny day. He rose from the lounge and flicked an ear at the cheetah patterned Grem lazing next to him, looking effortlessly boneless and graceful all at once “'Vuti, I'm heading out, it's too nice outside to waste the day, want to come?” One eye opened and Savuti half rose, leaning on his elbows to look up at the lion. “Mmmm I've got training and the evening dance on tonight, I'll give it a miss. Might be worth taking out the tracker and checking up on the leopard out by the river… if he's still there.” Tsavo chucked but nodded in agreement “Alright, you stay and sleep in the sun, lazy.” Savuti huffed and stretched back out with a smug smile.
Tsavo clipped on the utility belt with a snap, petting the pouch to be sure the small handheld tracker was in it then headed out the door into the glorious sunshine. His claws sank pleasantly into the sun-warmed sand and fell into a light jog following the river. Completely tuned out to his surroundings he barely glanced at the tracker in his hand, lightly swerving around the dense patches of rushes and elephant grass that grew thickly in the area. Swerving away from the river to avoid a particularly dense patch a sudden, deep grunt brought Tsavo to a skidding halt. With a horrified gasp he dropped the tracker, blood and adrenaline rushing in his ears he faced a mature bull hybrid. The massive animal grunted again and tossed his head, furiously eyeing Tsavo through beady eyes. The bull rumbled, the sound so low Tsavo felt it in his chest, he spun, kicking up sand he moved so fast with adrenaline screaming through him to get away from the aggressive animal. His legs pumped as he sped across the sand, listening intently past his own hammering heart for any sounds of pursuit. Thankfully, he could hear nothing behind him, but he didn't slow until he was far, far past the bend in the river. Leaning on his legs and gasping for air he let out a chuckle “Looks like I'm not getting that tracker back until tomorrow, damned territorial bulls.” Straightening back up he stretched his back and dragged his fingers through his mane. After regaining his breath he steadily loped back home, taking the route home much slower than before.
Reaching home he dusted himself off lightly before entering. Savuti was exactly how he'd left him, sprawled lazily on the length of the lounge. “So… how was the walk?” Savuti said as he rolled gracefully onto his back “Oh you know, pretty uneventful…” “so where's the tracker gone?” “That's tomorrows problem, don't ask!” Tsavo laughed as he dropped back onto the lounge next to the cheetah, resting a hand on his shoulder “It was… an energetic walk” Savuti just laughed as he rested his head in the other Grems lap.

——-

This is my first attempt at digital painting, pretty happy with how this turned out! I’ve lost count of how many hours I’ve put into this, but it was so worth it, learnt so much doing this!