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 Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 3:55 pm
So, Kenai was gone. Taabu was gone. Syeira was gone and as was Denahi. Who else was about to leave the aging female's side? Mng'Ariza, an old pride member of the Kusini'Mwezi lands, moved back to the den after speaking with the coffee pelted lion Asikari. A nap, or perhaps just a good time to think would do the old female some good.
Moving into the den, the queen spotted the twins who resided in the den still. Having less senses then most lions, Ari wanted to make sure that both were looked after well. That meant still allowing them to be in the den they lived in from newborn, until someday they too would be strong enough to journey away from cave if they wished so.
Ari gazed at them, purring quietly. She padded towards them, moving to the closest one, Angua-the one void of sight, and licking at the top of her head. Her little babies wouldn't be little babies for much longer.
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Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 4:05 pm
Angua stirred almost instantly at her mother's contact, opening her filmed over eyes with an instant smile. Pulling herself to her paws she nuzzled Ari and let out a contented growl purr. She was less inclined to travel than any of her siblings, after all, why wander the world when to her all the world was perfect darkness, bottomless and empty? No, she'd rather remain in the home that she had been born into, the scent of the Kusini lands always a reassurance in her mind, the sounds of her family and friends a comfort.
"Mother!" she said with a toothy smile, something instinctual that she didn't need to see to emulate.
To her her mother was and always would be a heartening precence.
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Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 4:16 pm
At the small call, the charcoal female's eyes moved towards her daughter. "Angua." She murmured quietly, returning the brief nuzzle that the blind juvenille had given her. "I didn't wake you, I hope." Having disabled children made have to be more careful about grooming the sleeping cubs (seeing as most of the time, they hated bathtimes. Sneaky Ari, sneaky Ari).
Silently, the sky blue eyes peered over towards the deaf twin. Asi would be back in a few minutes. She would be alright on her own until then. "Ang.." Ari said softly again. "Would you like to join me on a walk." Then, the female would be able to teach her daughter how to feel about the lands, and make note where everything was. It was better just incase a trouble time entered the area.
"Perhaps we will be able to snag some lunch while we are out?" The female asked, smiling though her daughter couldn't see it. Yet, Angua was smart. Even if she was void of sight, she'd be able to catch the small smile in Ari's voice.
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Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 4:29 pm
Angua shook her head "Nah, I wasn't really sleeping, just resting for a bit. And even if I was, I don't mind you waking me up at all!"
At the suggestion of a walk she all but bounced to her feet, always ready to go out into the lands, especially when she had someone there with her to make sure she didn't get lost. "Yeah! A walk would be really awesome, I was getting bored in the den anyway."
Being able to pick up that unique tonal inflection a smile gave was one of Angua's first skills she learned and it was with a smile of her own she bounded to her mother's side. "Lunch, lunch, lunch sounds good!" Hunting was an odd instinct in Angua, sometimes she felt like she should be chasing things to eat or catch but never really seemed to come across them.
Either way, she loved the idea of something interesting to do.
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Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 4:57 pm
Good. She hadn't awakened her.
And who couldn't blame the juvenille for getting bored in the den? She was there all the time! Ari felt bad now. Perhaps the charcoal lioness needed to take her daughter out more. Perhaps her and Asi could devise a plan to do so, just as long as one of them (or another member of the pride) was able to watch them. It was an idea, after all.
The female chuckled at Ang's enthusiam. "Lunch it is." She grinned. "I'll let you try catching something." Ari smiled, nudging her youngest daughter slightly. The comment was to help boost Angua's morale. If the blind cub was able to catch something without her sight, then the possibilities of what else she would be able to do were endless!
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Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 4:38 pm
Angua practically bounced on the spot, excited by the prospect of a good walk and some food. However she looked incredulous at the prospect of actually getting a chance to hunt, she had never thought she'd be allowed to, that it was too dangerous, despite knowing that if she relied enough on her other senses she could do it. After all, lions could hunt in pitch blackness, all that was wrong with her was that the darkness never lifted.
"Really?! I bet I could mum! I could hunt like a proper lion rather than always picking off what's left." she rowled playfully and headed towards the place where she knew the exit lay.
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 12:44 pm
Ari nodded, although her child couldn't see it. "I'm sure you could," The female chuckled, following the playful juvenille from the den. Angua knew about the land from her sleeping spot to the entrance of the den, but Ari wasn't sure if she knew about the terrain around the lands that could tell you where you were.
Just to make sure (as a precaution, or so to speak), the charcoal mother spoke softly. "If you ever go out and wander, make sure you feel the land around you. These lands are seperated into a few different terrains." The queen said. "Feel how hard the ground is here?" She asked, moving past Angua to stand before her, allowing her to feel it. "You know you're at a den with this hard ground underneath you."
It was time for the blind cub to learn things other lions learned about this age. The disability had in truth taken a toll on the adult, but why should Ang be treated any differently? More carefully Ari would teach, true enough, but the blind female should be able to learn the same.
"And step forward." Ari waiting for hte juvenille to step forward to begin her speaking. "The grass comes just past your forepaws. That means you are heading towards the forest. With the grounds gets soft, you will be before trees." The charcoal female followed, nipping at her youngest daughter to tell her the direction to do in.
"We will reach the main hunting lands when the grasses begin to rise." The queen said to the princess. "You tell me when you think we have arrived." A small test for the blind female.
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Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 5:00 pm
Angua walked along slowly listening to everything her mother had to say, listening with her ears and seeing with her paws. "Yes" she said as they walked on the harder ground. "Hard ground, den, gottit." She mentally mapped out her location relative to the den, pleased that there actually was a way to see the lands that didn't require sight. After all the juvenile got so bored in her world of darkness sometimes and hungered for things to learn, things to file away for future reference. It was for this reason that she found it so simple to memorise the very feel of the ground under her pawpads.
As she was asked to, she stepped forward, feeling the grass as Ari said she would. She walked proudly at her mother's direction all the while listening to what the ground had to teach her feet.
She walked along in total concentration until she did feel a slight change in the height of the grasses that brushed her forpaws, more and more strands hitting her tummy to. She paused, curling her tail. "Here?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 12:33 pm
Ari seemed to drift in thought as both of the lionesses walked. It was only until her filmed eyed cub asked the question, 'Here?' did she become more in tune with her surroundings. She looked around, after gazing towards her blind daughter. Angua was right. They had approached the hunting grounds, even if it was just near the beginning, but it didn't mean Ang was wrong.
"Correct," Ari smiled, nuzzling her daughter. "Tell me, what do you smell? What do you hear?" She asked, looking around. To the right, two jack rabbits stood on their hind legs, watching the predators with unease. To the left, a small herd of zebras grazed, sidestepping on the crunchy grass.
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Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 4:09 pm
Angua was pleased she managed to guess correctly, maybe there was some possibility of her learning to "read" the earth beneath her feet after all.
In response to Ari's question, she tilted her head back to sniff and listened intently. She could scent the prey around, the smells unfamiliar but nevertheless clearly preybeasts. She could also hear the munching of the zebra and their loud breathing, they really were noisy creatures. She gestured in the direction of the zebra. "There's noise over there, like crackling fire or crunching, smelly animals. And other smells too, smaller ones."
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Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2006 2:18 pm
Ari nodded to her daughter. "Right. That crunching noise is the small herd of zebras that roam here. Of course, more come with each passing season but...this one only holds about four in striped creatures in it." As Ari spoke, she described the scene for her daughter to picture it. It might've been hard, but Angua could probably make the scene up in her head.
"The other smells are two jack rabbits. That's what we will go for." Not that the queen didn't trust the princess, she just didn't want Angua getting hurt on her first hunting outing. "Now, creep as low as you can in the grass, so the grasses go just above your head." For Angua, it would be easier than Ari. The charcoal female was much larger than her cubs.
"But make sure you are quiet." At this, she whispered, emphasizing her point. "And follow your nose."
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Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 6:13 pm
Angua nodded, zebra were bigger than she was, she could remember that from all the kills she'd eaten, even their legs were big and strong, probably dangerous. No she wouldn't go for them, the jack rabbits sounded better, smaller.
She did as her mother asked, slinking low to the ground until her belly all but scraped the soil beneath her. Her lack of vision meant that she couldn't allow herself slack in her stealth, everything had to be done to the best of her ability.
She focused on the scent of the rabbits, visualising their scents as a trail in the air, visible against the canvas of her mind's blackness. She nodded to her mother and in a tiny whisper asked. "Am I hidden enough?" before getting ready to move.
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 5:29 pm
Ari nodded, her sky eyes watching Angua's every movement. "Yes." Angua's pelt blended well with the grasses of the Kusini. The normally wheat colored grass held patches of the deadening brown here and there in the hunting ground, which was perfect for the young female. After Angua was done, Ari followed in pursuit. Her ears laid content on the osunds of the rabbits, while her eyes watched her daughter.
"Creep slowly towards the rabbits scent, but mind you be quiet." Ari explained quietly, moving forward ever so slightly. This was her daugther's kill.
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Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:46 am
Angua did as she was told, keeping low, keeping quiet, her every sense riveted on the near-tangible scent that led towards her prey. The female hadn't even thought of it but this method of hunting could prove very useful in nights of deepest darkness where even the prey's senses were dulled.
Her every movement was controlled, focused and in her mind she could almost taste the rabbit already. She waited silently for any further whispered instructions from her mother.
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 5:44 am
"How far do you think the meal is from you, Angua?" This was a learning lesson for the blind cub. The jackrabbit was standing on it's feet, eyeing Ari but not the other. It's nose twitched, as it hoped one step from the lions. Even though the small rodent pushed itself backwards, it was still pretty close to the two. Stupid thing.
"When you think you are ready, following your nose. When the scent seems unbearably close, pounce it." Ari nodded when she spoke quietly. "You want to hold it with your teeth until it's movements stop. Okay?"
From there, it was all on Angua.
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