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 Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 6:55 pm
The herd of gazelles hesitated their grazing, and one by one each gazelle cocked its head in Peponi's direction. The animals stared at him for the longest time, not a single muscle moving to betray fear or intent to run. A chunk of grass fell from one of the fawn's mouths. As if all by some cruel, cosmic cue, the herd suddenly galloped in a white and tan mass away from him. Their hooves kicked dirt high into the sky.
Peponi chased them for several feet, his lungs heaving in the dusty air, before he abandoned the exercise and sat down on the ground. He scuffed a nearby pebble with the pad of his left paw, and he watched as it skipped away from him. "This is so not fair," he said. Although no one was around to hear him, saying it aloud still made him feel better. "You'd think those guys would learn not to be so skittish." He had only planned on eating one or two of the fawns, after all.
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Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 9:36 pm
A small chuckle from behind gave away the older lion's position. He'd come upon the lone rogue... an adult but only just, or so it seemed. "You made too much sound." Akua remained sitting behind the younger lion. He was at a safe enough distance that he could stand and back off if this other fellow decided he didn't want any company. Akua couldn't help it, though. Maybe he was a meddler by nature.
"You let the dirt shift beneath your paws. You walked too heavily and they heard you." He tilted his chin upward in a way that could be mistaken for him being haughty... really he was just trying to get a better look at the other lion. To him, with his poor eyesight, the other male seemed to blend in rather well with the dusty browns and tans of the surrounding Savannah.
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Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 8:32 am
Another lion approached him from behind. Peponi whirled around, rising to his paws immediately. The Rogue Lands were dangerous: they belonged to no pride, but some lions claimed areas anyway. He hadn't meant to start a fight.
Although the haughty tilt of the older lion's head made his fur bristle on his haunches, Peponi reasoned that had the stranger wished to fight, he would have been attacked by now.
Had Peponi really been that loud - enough to scare away the entire herd of gazelle? He stalked forward several steps, his paws flexing over the dirt. Several grains moved. He stalked backward, and his paws unearthed large chunks of moist dirt. One of his tensed claws caught a pebble and sent it skittering across the plain. "Oh," he mumbled. His ears pressed against the back of his head, his tail slumping to the ground. "I - I thought I was being quiet." Peponi had never been the best hunter - he was rather horrid at it - but having a stranger point out his problems was humiliating. "You sure that's what startled them?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 11:36 am
Akua gave a little chuckle as he stood up and paced a bit closer to the young adult. "I'm sure. My ears are a bit sharper than most. You need to practice moving, don't let your claws dig into the dirt and tread as though you're walking in the marshes. You want to be as light as possible."
He flicked his tail as he sat down again. "And keep your breathing low, try breathing through your nose instead of your mouth."
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Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 5:19 pm
Peponi tensed as the other lion stalked closer to him, but something in the lion's gaze seemed kind, almost vacant. Surely he had no intent to attack with such a benevolent expression? He had always been too quick to trust another lion's good intentions, but this lion seemed rather benign compared to the others Peponi had met.
"I breathe out of my mouth?" Peponi asked. He inhaled, and then he exhaled. It sounded rather quiet to him. "You mean prey can hear that much?" He flicked his tail in the older lion's direction. "If you're such a good hunter, then, why don't you show me how it's done? I'm pretty sure no one can stalk prey without walking somewhat noisily."
The older adult made a strong argument about his claws - he would have to keep that in mind.
A bird settled on a nearby rock, its feathers fluffing in a white and cream display. It ducked its head to scratch under a wing. The sun's bright rays decorated with the bird with vibrant light, and suddenly Peponi's stomach ached. A bird would taste delicious this morning. Maybe if he convinced the older lion to hunt it - because Peponi had never captured a bird, or much of anything, before - the lion would get distracted after killing it and Peponi could have his full.
"Actually - could you show me what you mean? If you know so much about hunting, maybe I could learn a thing or two."
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Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 6:03 pm
Akua had to follow the sound of the bird landing on it's rock just to be able to locate it. He turned back towards the younger lion, giving him a look of disbelief for a moment. "Well..." A bird. It had to be a bird.
He gave a sigh, standing up and circling around very slowly, crouching down in the tall grass. His sandy, faded colors made him blend in with the surroundings very good. Another fact he relied on to help keep his hide intact. He crouched, scooted forward low to the ground, picking up his feet and walking lightly and making sure to come up at the avian from behind. Sure, the grass made a little noise as he walked through it but it could have been mistaken for the wind moving it.
He held his breath as he managed to edge closer... closer. Just a little more and the bird would be his. The fact that he was teaching or that he was doing this because another had requested it left his mind completely and suddenly all that existed was the bird and the fact that he might actually manage to catch this one.
He reached the point where he would either manage to snatch the bird or it would get away and flap infuriatingly into the sky where no lion would ever be able to get it. He bunched up his muscles, shoulders hunching before he leapt for ward, claws outstretched. His first swipe missed it but he managed to clamp his jaws down around a wing, pulling the squawking creature to the earth. He quickly put a paw over it's neck and killed it.
He stood looking down at the bird as creamy white feather floated down around him. He was... a little surprised at his luck. Birds were NOT the easiest thing to catch especially for him.
"Well... there you have it." He sat down, trying to look nonchalant as he licked a paw. He left the bird available for the other, not really that hungry at the moment. "Birds... I don't care who you are, birds are usually hard to catch."
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Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:57 am
His eyes widened. He perked his ears toward the older lion, his wariness forgotten, and he padded over to the bird. It smelled fresh, delicious, and for such a fast bird to have been caught so easily...
"You're a great hunter!" he said. Eager excitement bubbled within him, threatening to overflow, and the catch had been so magnificent that he didn't bother to suppress it. He nudged the bird with his nose. It still felt warm. The feathers felt soft against his maw. "I didn't actually think you'd catch it that quickly. I could never do this. How did you learn to be so quiet? You didn't make any noise at all! You're like a ghost or something."
While Peponi rambled, he gestured to the side with his paw. "I'm certain that I never could have caught that thing. It was like a bird-cheetah, and you still managed to catch it. How come it didn't see you? Was it your pelt? It does look a lot like the ground. Or was it that you're a ghost? How did you do it?" He had mostly forgotten about the bird, despite a white feather that clung to his nose, and he had turned his entire attention to the older lion. He probably should have been more wary, but the older lion had been so cool it seemed ridiculous that he'd be dangerous.
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Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 10:42 am
Akua blinked, waiting in a bit of a stunned silence as the other lion chattered on and on excitedly. He couldn't help but puff up a little bit when the younger lion showered praise upon him. How was he going to be able to admit that it was honestly just a fluke that he'd managed to catch it now? Well... he HAD made mention that usually birds were hard to catch. That'd be good enough, wouldn't it?
Ah, but some of the other questions he could answer. He gave a little chuckle, sitting back on his haunches. "I'm not a ghost. When you are lacking in some things, other things become stronger I suppose. My ears are good to make up for... other things." He nudged the bird with a paw. "As for how I did it. I just used all of the things I suggested to you. I breathed out of my nose, I watched where my paws fell so I would make as little sound as possible... You have to watch and listen to your prey but don't forget to listen to yourself as well. Get too caught up in the goal and you'll forget to move carefully."
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Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:04 pm
It was rather disheartening to hear that the older lion wasn't a ghost. That would have been very cool in Peponi's opinion. When he had been a cub, his older sister had regaled him with stories of all the amazing hunters she had met, and all of them had been ghosts. He didn't really mind though. The older lion had still caught that bird as easily as if he had lifted his paw and swatted it to the ground. Peponi had never caught a bird that quickly. Often times, he had to chase birds across the entire Savannah before he'd finally catch one.
"What do your ears make up for?" he asked. Did the older lion have a disability of some kind? Maybe eating zebras made him sick, or he was deathly afraid of water. That would make it hard to hunt - lots of times the best places to catch prey were the watering holes and rivers. Peponi could even hunt there without much problem. "I can't believe you really did that. Could you show me again? Or maybe show me how to do that silent thing with your paws?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 6:19 am
He sighed. This one was just as good as a cub, perhaps he was younger than Akua first thought he was? "I... think showing you how to walk more quietly would be more... valuable." He walked away from the fallen bird, motioning for the younger lion to trot over as well.
"First... my name is Akua." He felt it was only right to share pleasantries before going on. "And second..." He sighed. "My ears make up for my sight. It's lacking some."
Akua crouched down, trying to change the subject as quickly as possible so the younger lion wouldn't have a chance to zero in on that fact and ask him a million more questions. He spread his claws lightly, showing the other how he was standing crouched above the ground. "Remember. Like your walking over marsh land." He hoped the other lion had been to marshy lands to know what he was talking about.
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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 2:53 pm
Peponi flicked his tail as he watched the older lion pace away from him. He examined the lion's tan maw and pale eyes. "Your sight?" He looked harder. "Let's see... it looks like you have two eyes. Is one of them a mirage, like when you've been on the Savannah too long and start seeing imaginary prey? Or maybe a rival lion scratched one during a battle for territory?" The obvious answer was that a jealous god had seen the lion kill a bird and struck him sightless in revenge for being so amazing. Peponi didn't want to offend such a god by mentioning it, though, so he waited for an answer before letting the subject drop.
"You can call me Peponi." He vaguely gestured with a paw. "Most people do." It was his name after all, although he had never been entirely fond of it. "You'll show me how you're such a great hunter? Really?"
Peponi stepped forward to follow the lion, before he remembered the bird. He scraped some dirt over its feathers with a hind paw. It did him no good if another lion smelled the bird and took it while they were busy. He didn't want to fight another rogue over a possible meal.
He hurried after Akua through the grassy plain, away from where the gazelles had grazed and toward more dusty ground. His paws nearly tripped him with his eagerness. Once they stopped, he crouched on the ground and tried to imitate Akua's motions. His shoulders awkwardly bent forward, and he struggled to make them seem as practiced and graceful as the other lion's. He had never been a good hunter. This has always puzzled him. It seemed, now, that he was discovering why. Peponi pressed his paws into the ground, feeling the dirt mush around his extended claws. "So, I should act like I'm sinking?" Somehow, that advice sounded odd, but Peponi wasn't about to question the master hunter's logic.
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 9:49 am
Akua just stood there staring at the younger male, or at least in his direction. His mouth was slightly open in complete awe at how Peponi took a simple fact and spun it out into a wild fiction. "Right... er. Yes." He didn't specify yes to which story the orange lion had suggested, Akua was sure that he'd decide for him.
As he crouched low to try and give an example of how to walk he was struck speechless again by Peponi's comment. He stood up straight again and half turned, tail flicking back and forth in a faster, annoyed rhythm. "What? Sinking? No." HOW had he come to that conclusion!? "Do you TRY to sink when you're walking over the marsh? No, you try and stay on top of the ground and do the opposite... and not FLOATING, either. Before you try and suggest that." The last he said under his breath.
"Look, I'll teach you but you've got to be quiet and listen and try and follow my direction. I can't show you anything if you refuse to see."
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 10:21 am
"Oh. Okay. Then I'll try and remain quiet!" Peponi crouched beside the larger lion, his paws fumbling to imitate the lion's graceful motions. His paws seemed too big to rest comfortably so flat on the ground. Tiny stones bit into his pads, his paws pressed so close to the dirt. He swished his tail behind him, across the dirt, and he tried to imagine the swampy marshlands beneath his paws. His mother had taken him through the marshlands as a cub. That was so long ago that he hardly remembered it. Dirt from the tangled undergrowth coating the ground and dark shadows circling like birds from the overhead canopy. It had been a frightening place for a young cub, but he dimly remembered his mother giving advice like the large lion did now. Spread out your paws, keep above the swamplands. Walk on it like an elephant with its flat feet, like a bird hopping lightly over the ground. He pressed his paws firmly against the ground and took a step. Pebbles scattered like before, just as noisy, just as loud.
A sigh escaped Peponi as he lowered to the ground, his tail swishing across the dusty dirt. "So I should keep trying, right?" he asked the lion. He stepped forward with his left paw. Several pebbles scattered. It was less loud than before, though. While he had a hard time imagining that he could ever be a good hunter, if the mighty hunter thought so, then maybe it was possible.
"Will I get better at it, if I remember everything you said?"
The young adult may have sounded eager like a little cub, but he had never met such a wonderful hunter before. It gave him hope. Maybe one day he'd be able to hunt without startling prey, without having to scavenge from other lions' leftovers.
"I mean, you caught that bird like it was nothing! Like it was a warthog after a really long nap. So if I follow your instructions, maybe I can one day become fast and stealthy like that, too?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 2:05 pm
The large lion stopped walking as though he were stalking and sat up straight, looking down at the other with a half exasperated smile. "If you try to remember what I've told you and practice... of course you'll become better. Everyone becomes better with time and practice, Peponi. I wasn't always... er... as magnificent of a hunter as I am now. I had to practice and learn. There was even a time when I'd forgotten all that I'd learnt and I had to practice and learn it all over again." Of course he was referring to when his eyesight had -really- started to go bad. He'd never realized how much he had relied upon his sight until then. It felt like it'd taken forever to relearn how to hunt without relying so heavily on that sense.
"Just keep trying." He stood up, tail flicking a little bit. He walked over to the other lion and gave a little nod of his head. "It was... an interesting time meeting you, Pepnoi. I do not believe I'll forget it. It's time for us to walk our different directions now, however. Be well, stay strong." He began to walk at a leisurely pace away, pausing only a moment to call back over his shoulder to the other lion. "Ah, and you can have the bird to yourself! Eat well!"
With that Akua headed off in his own direction, an amused smile across his muzzle.
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