|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 8:47 am
There were... so many of them.
Kayin peeked up over the hilltop, his eyes wide and his ears flat. Sarabi had spent nearly ten minutes trying to teach him how to be silent. In the end, she had instructed him to hold still, keep low, and try to breathe in longer, more shallow breaths rather than loud, short gulps. It wasn't easy- he still couldn't quite get the breathing right and the notion that moving could do something that would scare off the deer was something he was still having difficulty understanding. He was frozen in place, afraid to move, afraid to breathe, and afraid to comment on the prey in front of them.
The Zebra herd was a larger one. He couldn't even begin to count. The closer to the center of the herd his eyes wandered, the harder it was to pick just one out. Their stripes slowly began blending in with one another, soon the entire herd looked like one big moving mass of black and white. Blinking hard, he looked back up to Sarabi. Still afraid to speak, his eyes darted between her and the herd.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2012 9:32 pm
 There probably wasn't even enough time for Kayin to react or even realize what Sarabi was doing in these few seconds that proved most dire in a hunt. In a flash, she had darted out towards her prime targets from the zebra herd, also struggling with herself inwardly as her thoughts also floated towards Kayin. Should she have waited, looked back to see what he was doing..? No, it would have undoubtedly interfered with her chase. She wondered then if he ever observed any one of his family members performing a hunt. By his tendency to shout and make noise, they probably just left him back at home, didn't they..?
She heard one of the zebras ahead of her squeal, tripping over a rock stuck in the ground. Her eyes narrowed, focus gathering on that one mistake from her prey. Oh, it'd soon pay for that - its panicked eyes stared straight at her as if it realized its life was instantly gone.
Oh, if Kayin was near... she hoped he was near... he would learn how to hunt today!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 11:46 am
Not wanting to disappoint, Kayin tore out of their hiding place as Sarabi did. His paws were loud but swift over the ground. As inept as he seemed, he was a quick one and seemed to find his footing just fine. His greatest flaw was in the volume of his approach. His breathing was far too loud, his paws were hardly light, and he did very little to muffle his movements. Sarabi branched off one way and Kayin, having missed seeing the zebra trip or the lioness turn her attention, ran head-on towards the retreating herd.
Huffing, he bared his teeth and threw himself fully into his stride. Another mistake, he was quickly growing winded. Ignoring his exhaustion, he reached a paw out, swiping at the hind legs of one of the zebra. He was a few feet off. Grinding his teeth, he returned to simple pursuit.
"COME BRAK! I GET YOU!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 4:51 pm
Sarabi's concentration was near perfect, accurately focused on her prey. Not even the concern of Kayin could draw her from this trance-like state. She was nearing the fallen zebra and she could indeed achieve success to benefit the two of them, even if Kayin could not get anything from this one particular hunt. If she had gotten this, he would have hopefully been watching her... learned... And then he could try again.
Nothing could break her attention away from her goal. Except, for the quite loud and frantic sound of Kayin's distorted words.
She broke her eyes away from the zebra towards the voice in surprise. Kayin was... doing what?! Sarabi faltered, almost tripping over herself but regaining her composure to veer towards Kayin, instead.
"Wait, Kayin!" she shouted, but then realized he couldn't see her or hear from his direct concentration on the hind legs of the zebras in front of him.
She had to get there fast, before something happened. He was at the tail end of the herd, where a bunch of thundering hooves could easily kick at his face or turn around to trample him. An experienced lion would not find it difficult rushing through the mess, scaring the zebras in his pursuit, but Kayin was not that.
"KAYIN!" she shouted fruitlessly and in desperation as she heaved her body towards the grey, scruffy lion in the distance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 2:28 pm
Poor Sarabi's words were as lost to him as the sound of thundering hooves around him or the frantic whooping of the zebra as they panicked. His world was a rush of black and white bodies, the swirling clouds of dust as the hooves kicked up the dry earth, and the rush of brown and green under his paws. He was panting hard, thrusting his body into every stride and leaping outwards. His lungs burned and his limbs were starting to ache but every stride brought him closer and closer to the backside of his prey.
Determination burned more furiously than the pain in his lungs and chest. Snarling, the little lion leapt out and sank his claws into the hind quarters of a zebra. The creature wooped in surprise and reared back, pawing at the air. Kayin croaked out his own surprise as the animal bucked and thrashed under him.
And then came the crucial question- now what?! He'd never killed before and aside from catching something, he had no idea what to do with it. He looked truly dumbfounded and distressed as the zebra caught itself on all four and threw his hooves back, kicking Kayin clean off him with a dangerous crack of his hooves. The lion went flying back, limp and light until he fell, rolled, and stilled on the ground.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 4:12 pm
Her heart almost flew out of her body when she saw Kayin take one single leap towards the back of the zebra herd. It all seemed to happen in one single motion as the reaction to that, as usual, as the zebra "victim" did all it could to flail its body around, taking Kayin's body down with it. She thought she heard some sound of surprise coming from him, no doubt - she rushed to the scene, hoping she would get there before the zebra could do anything... Oh, she didn't want to think of what it could possibly do!
Then she stopped. She couldn't help herself; the eerie sound of the crack in the air with the imagery of Kayin flying off the zebra sent a shiver down her paralyzed body. Her indigo eyes widened in shock and dismay, and she just... stood there for a good few seconds in panic.
"K-Kayin?" she breathed out, trying to shake herself out of the stupor.
He was lying on the ground. Dear goodness, it couldn't be. Part of her... didn't want to walk up to his form out of the pure possibility and his form that made it look like... He couldn't be dead. No, she knew his body was stronger than that! The zebra hadn't aimed in the right place for it to have connected with something critical. But still...
"Kayin?" she said again, knowing that he couldn't have possibly heard, but wanted to say his name anyways.
She walked a very frightened and anxious walk towards his lying form. And when she got there, she looked down. Thankfully, his chest was still heaving from the stress and work it was doing during the chase. But still, he was... in very bad shape.
Sarabi bent over, putting her face next to his to nudge it, and then licked his cheek, not knowing what else to do. She could only hope.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 5:06 pm
Stars and dark shapes flooded his vision. A small part of him had felt the impact of the ground but for the most part he was left reeling in a near witless state after the blow. Reality danced in and out of his mind as he made little moaning sounds to try to collect himself properly. It took many long moments before time resumed its pace within his awareness and the situation came crashing down on him.
First he felt his head moving a bit, hard ground under him and a warm breath on his cheek followed by a rough tongue. "Mama?" He called out weakly. After a moment and a touch of sense he looked up into Sarabi's worried face. There was relief for a brief moment and then there was pain. A sharp, hot pain in his hind leg. Unaware of how pitiful it was to do so, Kayin let out a loud whimper and reached one paw down.
"Ow.... OW Lreg! It hit... ow!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 1:04 pm
Kayin was moving, still breathing. That was all she needed to know to thank the gods for that fact, and she smiled when he called her "Mama". He sure went over his head on this one. Sarabi wasn't sure of what to say, just patiently waiting for him to relay anything about his condition. Sure enough, he had been hurt. But how severe was it?
She almost jumped in surprise at his sudden loud whimper, and looked at where Kayin was reaching for. His pained yelps made her frown, and she couldn't help but feel guilty for all of the trouble. If only... If only she had known how to make hunting lessons easier, or a way to make him not chase down those zebras so recklessly. It was entirely her fault, she realized.
"Oh Kayin," she said somberly, placing her head down in shame, but also to nuzzle his side (as if it made it feel better), "I'm so sorry..."
She then got up, knowing he couldn't see hear say anything unless he had clear vision of her face, and stood over him. There was only one thing to do now, and it was clear that Kayin shouldn't be able to walk right now. She nudged his arms with her head, signalling for him to grab hold of her or something, and made a scooping motion under his chest to help him at least get up from the ground.
"We should get somewhere safe," she said, a bit worried that lying out here with an out of commission leg in the savanna would attract trouble.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2012 1:30 pm
Kayin whimpered weakly, perhaps louder than he meant to or was necessary. It wasn't broken but there was a good chance that he had a small fracture in it. Regardless, it hurt terribly. He couldn't think of putting any amount of weight down onto it. The thought sent his gut twisting. What if he couldn't walk anymore?! What if he was stuck here? Animals that got hurt often died. There were hyenas, wild dogs, and other lions that would take advantage of a downed predator.
He choked on a quiet sob and leaned into Sarabi as she pressed her head against him, coaxing him into a calm.He wasn't alone at least... she was a strong lady, much like his mother had been, and far more capable.
He rolled onto his belly and slowly, carefully brought himself to his good paws with the injured one curled away from the ground. Pressing his shoulder against Sarabi's, he leaned against her neck. "Sorrrry.... So Sorrry... I messed up."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
