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 Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 12:35 pm
 Kito.
Her name was short, perhaps, but perfectly suited. It's meaning? Gem. Simple as that. To look into her eyes is to know why it was perfect for her. Eyes the colour of amethysts, set in that tiny, pudgy, baby face.
It was easy to say, as well. No fuss, no difficulties to pronounce. It was short and sweet, much like the cub herself.
Although at that particular moment in time, her parents might disagree.
She'd scouted the area close to the den that morning and then chased her siblings out towards the water hole where she'd then had a great time splashing about on the muddy bank. Now once, where she had been a wonderful gold, she was almost completely coated in brown mud; those amethyst eyes shining through a mask of muck. And even now she hadn't hurried home to get a 'bath'. She was still lying on her belly amongst the grass, rolling little balls of mud and watching them bake under the sun, fascinated with how the moisture disappeared and made them crack.
She could have watched it all day.
She pretty much had.
Perhaps that was why she was getting tired then. She got onto her paws slowly and glanced around in search of her siblings. Had they all gone home already or were they hiding someplace? She tottered forwards a step and marvelled at how the dried mud on her fur seemed to make walking difficult.
So weird!
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Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 7:35 am
For a cub, he was a brute. He had very little of his mother in him both ineh coloration, in size, and in temperament. He and his twin had been born large, their heads massive, their shoulders broad, and their pudgey little forms solid. From birth, he knew he was larger and took full advantage of it. He and his twin dominated their mother's milk, drinking their fill and nudging their siblings aside so they could take their share. When they were strong enough to walk, they were the first their elderly father would have to round up and bring back to the den.
He was old enough now to play outside of the den- so long as he stayed close enough to see it. Mwali, the massive mountain of a lion, was still laying in the mouth of the cave. Large and ancient, the lion kept watch over his newest batch of offspring as they stepped out into the pridelands. Many cubs had been born around the same time so there were plenty cubs to play with.
In his case- there were plenty to torment.
His father retained his firm paw in the upbringing of his children. They were to grow to be strong, confident, and proud. To Tawala- that meant that playmates were sparring partners. If they didn't like it- well that just meant they needed some encouragement. Rough encouragement.
The cub padded forward, his tail curled high behind him and his paws lifting up out of the grass in a proud strut. It was then he came upon the mudball that might have been a cub at some point. Her fur was a mess, her paws dirty, and the mud along her back had already begun to dry.
Perfect.
Smirking, he ducked down to the ground and flattened his ears. Wide interested eyes watched. Anxious paws danced under him and a little rump wiggled in anticipation. The moment the other cub broke over the small hill dividing them, he launched himself out and caught her shoulders, throwing her to the ground and pinning her under him.
"Ah HAH! What're you doing out here? I gotcha. You're in trouble."
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Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 11:43 am
She gave a high-pithed girly scream, her eyes squeezed closed as she felt herself pushed back and for a horrible moment she thought one of those monsters had got her - the ones her brothers kept talking about. Big mean monsters that would come and take her away from home.
But then there was a voice and her scream came to a sudden halt, daring to open an eye a moment later to peer nervously up at her. The face close to hers was red and set with odd eyes that made her feel a little giddy. But the face belonged to a cub - albeit a BIG cub - and this was clearly some sort of game. Although right now...it didn't feel much like a game.
"Ow." She whined, flailing her front legs in an attempt to push up against him - although she couldn't quite seem to angle her limbs right. And then, a few seconds later, his words sank in and her eyes widened in shock, ears falling back against her mud-caked head. "Tr-trouble? Me?" She gave a little whimper, her bottom lip jutting in the beginnings of a pout. "I wasn't doing anything bad. My den is only over there." She would have pointed with a paw except she couldn't quite move at that particular moment.
She gave a testing wriggle in an attempt to escape, maybe to try and upset the paws pressing down on her shoulders. She wasn't much of a play-fight, however, and her attempt was rather pathetic.
"You are heavy!" She exclaimed after a moment. "You should let me up."
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Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 8:08 am
"Trouble." He repeated, grinning all the wider. He'd never hurt another cub, not badly anyway, but she didn't need to know that. "This is my playground and you're a trespasser! That means you gotta do what I say all day 'cause I gotcha."
Okay, so this wasn't exactly his spot, nor was it his place to deem it so, but it was reason enough in his mind. It would be all kinds of fun to have someone doing as he said simply because he said so. It would one-up his siblings at the very least.
"Now today I wanna play hunter, but I don't got a gazelle to chaise. That's where you come in!"
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Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 2:37 pm
Whether he spoke the truth or not didn't seem to compute in Kito's mind. He spoke it as if it was true and that, for her, was plenty good enough. Besides, he was bigger and stronger and unless she called for help - which would get her laughed at, no doubt - she couldn't really make him do anything that he didn't want to do.
"I didn't know it belonged to anyone." She replied in a sad, whiny voice. "Honest I didn't."
And then her eyes widened even further and she shut her mouth tight, wrinkling her snout as she absorbed what he'd said. No gazelle to chase so...
"...you want to chase me?" Her voice came out in a high-pitched squeak. "Like...a game?"
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Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 8:10 am
"Well now you know. Better remember it too 'cause around here, I'm the boss!" He pulled his paws off her shoulders and bounced back to the ground. It seemed the other cub was buying his antics and that was more than enough to make him happy. His father would be so proud! He was showing himself to be quite the warrior now. Or so he thought.
"Yup like a game. My old man says games are practice for life- so you gotta be a gazelle."
He glanced about, his eyes narrowing and his tail flicking thoughtfully. After a moment he padded over to a nearby shrub- dry and cracked with the season -and broke off a pair of sticks. Returning to the other cub he put the two sticks behind her ears. "There. You're a gazelle. Now run! I'm gonna count to three."
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Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 2:30 pm
( lmao )
"O-okay. I'll remember." She peeped, staring up at him in awe. She had no reason to disbelieve him after all and he was a huge cub. It sort of made sense that the bigger, stronger cubs would have additional bonuses in their lives.
"Well, okay, I can try..." She replied a little shakily, rolling up onto her feet and flicking some mud from her toes. Wow, the stuff was really drying well on her fur now...she wondered if it would be harder to get off now that it had. Her parents were sure to tell her off... "I have seen a gazelle." She added as if that might help her situation. They were the skinny-legged things with horns, right? Although...to be fair, a lot of the prey beasts had those qualities.
She turned to look at him only to find that he'd skittered off to get something and watched with curiosity as he cracked odd some dry sticks and carried them back to her. Kito's head hunkered down automatically, ears drooping as she felt him attaching the sticks to her head. Oh wait, not sticks--horns! She actually looked rather happy about that and gave a small hop, the smile returning to her face. "I'm a gazelle!" But the excitement was soon lost to a nervous, excitement as he told her to run.
She gave a high-pitched squeak and turned, pushing off on her hind paws to send herself dashing back towards the water hole. In her head she counted: one, two, three. And, as she crossed the flattened ground she risked a glance back to see if he was giving chase.
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 10:44 am
"Yup, a gazelle! And I'm a mighty hunter." Tawala crouched himself down in the grass and shifted his weight from one shoulder to the other, just like he'd seen the older lions do when prowling after something.
"One..... two...... THREE!" With that, Tawala launched himself out of the grass and tore after the 'gazelle'. She was fast, but her movements were a little stiff he noted. Well that's just what she got for covering herself in mud! Didn't she know it got dry and pulled on her fur? Guess not. She'd learn it this time around though.
As the female glanced behind her, he gave a squeaking roar. In his mind- it was a scary, terrible sound, Maybe she'd run faster! It wouldn't be much fun if he caught her right away.
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 8:10 am
The roar did give the wanted effect. Squeaky or not, Kito could hear how close he was and she did not want to be caught so soon. She might have been the gazelle but she wanted at least to try and escape if she could. After all, not all hunts were successful. Perhaps she could get away--
--She leapt over a small line of rocks and skimmed the edge of the water, splashing noisily as one paw slipped into the shallows. With a squeak of surprise she tried to circle the water's edge, shrieking in terrified delight as she bounced this way and that to confuse him...although when she was in full view there really was no point.
Already panting, she lurched into the tall grass and crashed unceremoniously through it, turning in a slow arch so as to come back out near the watering hole.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:43 am
This was great! She'd done what he said without hesitation. Maybe that was how he'd get his way within his own litter from now on, who knew? His father would be proud at least. He was being 'assertive' in what he wanted and what he wanted to do.
He kept up but the little female was surprisingly light on her feet. Tawala's over-sized paws skittered at every turn, clawing for traction and fighting to cover the ground he lost in the process. The girl's weaving and darting made his chaise all the more exciting, and frustratingly difficult.Still, it was all in good fun!
He squeaked again, first as an attempt to imitate the hunters then again as one of his paws plunged into the shallows. Quickly diverting himself, he tore after the she-cub as she jumped into the grass.
"I"m gonna getcha! You can't escape the hunter!"
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 3:54 am
She could hear his approach and was certain it was getting louder, which, of course, meant he was getting closer. She squealed with fright and turned sharper, desperate now to get back out where the water was and perhaps from there, she could make a dash for the den.
Okay, so gazelle didn't exactly have dens, but she didn't want to get captured!
She exploded from the grass with a shriek and edged the watering hole once again. But she was tiring now and her breath wheezed as she struggled to keep going. Her legs even started to feel a little shaky. She tried to answer the red cub's reply but she was too out of breath to speak and then suddenly she was tripping on the uneven ground and falling flat on her face.
One of the sticks behind her ears jerked free and she gave a small sound of surprise as she tried to struggle back to her paws. Her heart was pounding as she realised every moment lost brought her closer to capture.
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 7:39 am
Tawala's over-sized paws ate up the ground as he tore after his prey. She was panicking into error! He'd heard his mother recount several of her hunting stories and knew full well that once the prey began to panic the hunt was nearly over. She'd slip up sometime and then he'd have her! The proud hunter, the victor!
She tore right, skirting the watering hole and running headlong for the denning site. Tawala turned, slipped, and went tumbling into the shallows of the water hole. A muddy, water-drenched ball of red and yellow slowly rose up out of the water. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes as he waddled to the dry land once more.
"Ow....ow....not fair! CHEATER! Ow.... who put that there? Ew I'm wet...."
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 11:05 am
There was a splash.
At the time it seemed a tremendous splash that roared in her ears and had her heart thumping with a terrible fear. But then, a moment later, and the sound of paws squelching on wet mud was followed by a loud voice.
Kito, with a small squeak, turned her head to look - still not having quite regained her paws - and saw that her 'hunter' was sopping wet and...rather upset looking. Spinning to face him, she hastened back to see if he was okay. "Oh no. Oh no. You could have sunk to the bottom and never come back!" Her bright eyes were wide. "Are you okay? Shall...shall I go get an adult?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2012 10:46 am
He was too proud to go looking for the help of an adult. No doubt his father would give him a stern talking to about keeping his attention on his task and learning how to think on his feet, he'd heard it several times in the past. His mother would fuss and spend the entire day checking him for injury and licking every spot of dirt out of his coat. Neither option was particularly appealing to the cub.
Shivering and scowling, he plopped his backside down in the grass and shook his head. "No... I'm fine I just sli.. I... I meant to do that! I threw you off! HAHA!"
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Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2012 11:17 am
"Oh." Her ears drooped and she sat heavily, looking at him with her large ears. "On purpose?" She didn't seem to want to believe it, but he seemed pretty serious about it - what with that little scowl on his face and all. This was clearly a more complicated game than she had first realised!
"Does this mean I lose?" She asked, sounding hesitant as if she didn't quite want to know the answer. "I'll try and do better next time!" She promised, reaching out to wave a pleading paw at him.
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