Survival in the Velds -- Part 1

Zamba was on a victory ride with his family. He strolled the Velds naked, dragging his kill. It was a matter of pride in the community. His long, shiny hair covered much of his neck and cheeks -- trimming hair was taboo. His consorts followed him closely; with eyes on the kill and the area they were walking on. They had to remember the extent of his territory, lest someone should usurp it!

Zumba was a father -- he fathered 6 cute babies. As of now, they could barely speak. But they mimicked cats. Zumba would always instigate them, only to hear their feeble meows. His consorts would come in between, growling, asking him to back off. Zumba had to listen, if he had to ever mate with them again! He loved his family. He loved his territory, which he inherited from his father. "Inherited", he smirked at his own reflection in the pond. "If killing one's own father and usurping his throne is inheritance, then so be it! Even he would have inherited!", he laughed and roared. He loved his father, but his father was getting in the way. "Not any more", he whimpered.

Salya creeped towards and sat close to him. Salya, one of his consorts, was his favorite. Zumba had won her in a duel. Ever since that day, she had always loved him. Salya creeped closer. He could feel her warmth. "It's OK. . You did what you had to. Let's hope you will give your sons an option to not kill you", she murmured while she was tending to his wounds.

"Tell me one thing. Why do you lick my wounds?"

"My mom used to do that when I got hurt. So I thought I might as well do that to you!"

"Of course! There's one more place I'm badly hurt"

"Where? You animal! You don't know how to hunt one prey properly?!"

"The wound's in here. See?", he signalled his unkempt nails towards his grotesque lips.

"Oooo. That's badly hurt. Very badly. Come here; let me tend your wounds"

And what happened next is left to the discretion and imagination of the reader.

Day broke. Zumba had nothing to do. He roamed around, and asked his consorts to go in other directions and collect news. "Why ask us to collect news? You have your messengers!", they would shout. "My messengers serve the title. You serve me. And, I trust you. Is it that bad to trust you?", he roared. A shudder passed through anyone who heard that high-decibel noise coming from his vocal chords. His consorts quickly hurried away.

He seldom met people of his kind. He thought of things differently. He had radical notions. He believed that all living beings had a 'soul' -- that living and dying is part of a grand cycle. Others shrugged his ideas off. He would let them shrug. That day, he noticed something different. The territory had alien markers. "I didn't do that", he murmured as he closely checked those marks on trees. They were done by somebody powerful, so powerful that he tore off the tree's bark in one stroke!

"Danger is coming. Be careful and stay close. And no matter what happens, I want my kids safe", he conveyed his message to his consorts. It was only a matter of days when the big fight was expected. He could not sleep that night. Salya tried to play with him, but he slapped her. "Coward! Hit the one who's coming to fight. How dare you hit a female?!", she growled and sprung upon him to hit him.

He easily overpowered her and whispered in his ear, "Remember the duel? You look the same angry as you were then. Let me smell your anger. Oh, look at that heart beat! My God, you are tempting me!". "What if I am?", she murmured as she was looking at him through her eyelashes. "In that case, let me prey on your heart", he kissed her body and her soft, tender breasts. She moaned. He continued the foreplay a bit longer, till she could no longer take it. She then scratched his chest and moaned, "Do it! Do it!". "Not today. When the fight is over, then you'll have the time of your life!"

Sun rose as usual. No. Not as usual. With dawn came the imminent omen. The birds flew from their nests all at once, the bison moved away from the velds. No animal wanted to be witness to the event that was about to unfold. Many had heard of the legendary Po'El. Po'El - The Usurper. Legend says that nobody, that is, nobody could escape from Po'El once the eyes of Po'El were set on that mortal. There were rumors that Po'El was cordoning Zumba's territory, but Zumba had shrugged it off.

"He has to give us a warning. That is the rule", Zumba once said. "So, the marks you saw yesterday were made by Po'El?", Salya asked Zumba. Salya sounded terrified. The consorts were looking white with fear. The children were playing with a lizard.

Click here for the Part-2 of "Survival in the Velds"