Author's Note:  I decided to write on the next round of the Smackdown Challenge even though I'm not in the contest, so everything from here on is just for fun.  Enjoy.

Two figures crouched on the edge of the ravine, their senses sharp and alert. The first of the pair was a heavily muscled man with light brown hair. The hair had been shaved off the sides of the scalp and what was left had been twisted into thirty-two braids, one for every year of his life. Covered in animal leathers, the man blended in well with his natural surroundings, a bone knife held steady in each hand.

Crouched beside him, wearing nearly identical leathers, was a woman. Her twenty-seven black braids were all on the right side while the left half of her scalp had been cut down to only a thin fuzz. A large claw wrapped in leather strips to improvise a handle was her weapon, clutched firmly in her hand with the expectation of its imminent use.

"Pelt," hissed the woman. "It's too dangerous to be out here. Don't you know what's out here?"

"Of course I do," Pelt answered her in a calm whisper. "What's the matter, Talon? Afraid?"

"There's a difference between fear and survival instincts," Talon answered. Her eyes constantly looked around, and her free hand was pressed against the ground to feel for vibrations. "You're the only one in the tribe without sense, except me since I'm out here with you."

"We're the only ones with true intelligence," Pelt corrected. "The others cower in holes and darkness like rats. I would rather walk free in the sun."

"The Panthera hunt the overworld, and we can't kill them," Talon reminded him. "The stories tell how every few generations, a hunting party thinks they have a plan, and it ends with them being eaten. Do you want to be eaten?"

"I want food that doesn't taste like dirt," Pelt growled. "I want to live above. If the Panthera threaten our existence, we shall kill them first and claim the overworld."

"I told you, you can't kill them," Talon repeated. "What makes you think you have a chance where entire bands of hunters died in the attempt?"

"I don't go after them blindly; I study my prey," Pelt explained. "The Panthera are beasts, strong and powerful, but still beasts. They hunt and kill with great strength, bringing down the largest animals with ease. We cannot match their physical might as the failed hunts have tried to do, but we can outsmart them. It's why the tribes have always lived in caves and cliff dwellings where the large Panthera can't follow us. Our ancestors moved out of reach and survived, proving even the mighty Panthera can be out maneuvered. We simply have to find a similar way that ends in their death, and I have it."

Talon was about to inquire further when she felt a slight tremor ripple through the earth under her palm. Another vibration followed. Something large was approaching, causing the ground to quiver with each step, but moving slowly in an attempt to draw close before it was noticed.

"I think it's coming," Talon warned softly.

"Finally," Pelt said through clenched teeth. He curled his legs under himself in preparation to run but remained crouched low to avoid being seen.

A herd of elephants were grazing nearby, and Pelt watched them, waiting for their instincts and senses to detect the Panthera. When the herd started to run, Pelt knew his moment was nearly at hand.  

Pelt's eyes scanned the terrain for a moment before he saw it.  Moving slowly at first, the Panthera was truly impressive and terrifying at the same moment. It was nearly identical to a tiger except for its massive size and extreme aggression. Even moving forward in a low crouch, the beast was nine feet tall. Every step it took caused the striped fur of its hide to ripple as the muscle underneath flexed.

With a speed seemingly impossible for a creature of its mass, the Panthera bolted toward the elephant herd. Because of the predator's nearly fourteen thousand pounds of solid muscle, it was less of a chase and more of a pounce and capture. A single swipe of its massive front paw knocked down one of the beasts at the trailing end of the herd. The elephant wasn't dead, merely stunned, and the Panthera moved in for the kill.

Pelt jumped to his feet and began screaming at the top of his voice.

"Over here!" Pelt yelled. In case he hadn't been attracting enough of the Panthera's attention, Pelt hurled his two knives at the massive beast. The sharpened implements hit hard, but the size and thick hide of the cat rendered them useless.

Using one paw, the Panthera brushed its face and removed the bladed weapons from its fur as easily as it might remove a diminutive thorn. The attack had been little more than an annoyance, but it focused the Panthera's full attention on Pelt standing in the open. With claws digging into the soil, the Panthera charged Pelt's location, completely ignoring the elephant and letting it get back to its feet and escape.

The Panthera was able to cross vast distances very quickly due to the length of its body and legs. Pelt had only a few moments before the monstrous beast reached him.  Spinning around immediately, Pelt sprinted toward Talon with the Panthera halving the distance to the humans in two strides.

Holding out a hand to Talon, Pelt grabbed hold of her and jumped off the side of the ravine, dragging Talon over the edge with him. The Panthera lunged, claws rending the air mere inches from Pelt's back.

As Pelt and Talon began to fall, Pelt grabbed a vine he'd previously secured to a crack in the rock-face. The vine let the humans swing down and away while the Panthera, unable to halt its forward momentum, continued on to the bottom of the ravine where it landed hard on the sharp rocks. The great beast remained motionless in the stillness of death.

Talon wrapped her arms and legs around Pelt as he was the only thing keeping her from following the giant cat down to the bottom of the ravine and sharing its fate.

"You see?" Pelt asked Talon. "They are but beasts. They can be tricked. They can be killed. Hurry, let us claim the carcass before the smell of blood attracts more of them. Our tribe will feast well."

***

The main hall was filled with every member of the tribe. Torches flickered along the walls and throughout the cavernous chamber. Small holes in the ceiling allowed in the moonlight while letting out the smoke from the torches.

Pelt waited for everyone to finish eating before standing on the outcropping of rock at the far end of the chamber where everyone could see him.

"My tribe!" Pelt shouted to get their attention. When all eyes were upon him and every voice stilled, he continued. "This day you have eaten well, and it's because of what I have done. I brought down a mighty Panthera, a beast thought unkillable. For too long, our tribe has lived in caves and holes in the ground, hiding behind passages too small for the Panthera to enter. Those days are at an end! No longer will we be forced to burrow in the mud like worms. We will live free in the open air and bright sunlight of the overworld."

"The Panthera grow larger and smarter each year they live," warned a voice from the crowd. "The one you killed was only average in size for their kind."

"True, they do get bigger, but so does their appetite until nothing is large enough to satisfy their hunger other than their fellow Panthera," Pelt confirmed. "We'll kill the young and the small in size, and the larger ones will either kill each other or starve until none remain. The Panthera will threaten us no longer. I have risen above fear to challenge these beasts and prevail. Who has such courage to join me and take the overworld?"

One of the tribe slammed a fist twice against his chest before punching the air while shouting "I have!"

Another mimicked the pledge of loyalty then another and another. Throughout the cavern, men and women of the tribe shouted their willingness to follow Pelt to victory until the cavern shook with the sound of hundreds of voices.

With the tribe fully behind him, the days living in fear of the Panthera were at an end, and the conquest of the overworld had begun.