Itzal exited the pack's lands at a slow walk, careful of the packages on his back spilling over. The landscape around him changed from countless bones and carcasses to showing more life, his paws crunching on the healthy dirt under his feet. It felt so strange not to smell decay around him all the time or just see the world in tones of white and grey. Not much could grow in the Elephant Graveyard. But than none of the animals who lived in there ever had to leave the grounds to hunt for food, when the food just came to them. He couldn't remember the last time he'd done any hunting himself. All the better, in his opinion. More time he could devote to his job and less on useless distractions like sneaking in the grass and failing to catch a tiny gazelle foal.
Itzal continued on his way, not bothering to step around the growing vegetation around him. The shoots would just bounce back up just as good as before once he had passed. What did a predator care about grass or flowers? Only good to feed the prey that filled his stomach. He could see herds of antelope and zebra in the distance. Wherever he looked out here, there were grazers as far as the eye could see. Seemed they got plenty to eat out here and he could afford to crush some flowers.
Reaching his spot after a while, so far from the pack that the smell of decay and all the hyenas in one place was gone, Itzal laid down his packs carefully and stretched, yawning his mouth wide. He was getting too old for all this walking. For once in his life, he wondered if reproducing would be a good idea. Perhaps he could select a cub who showed potential to follow in his footsteps and train them up to do this for him. He himself would stay in the pack's lands and organize whatever the child brought back, making piles for them to carry back out to the roguelands to trade for better things. Yes, that seemed like a good idea. His legs were a little cramped from the journey. But before he allowed himself to relax, he spread out everything he had brought with him onto a piece of leather, finally allowing himself to lay down to await anyone who was interested in a little haggling.
