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 Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 10:46 pm
Oooooh...Kimaji thought she could understand now. Her Mommy was a dark-pelted lion, and she could hide underneath the bushes. But Kimaji was a light-pelted lion, and she was noticeable by the dark bushes. But there were patches of light in the forest...probably more now than there had ever been before, since the drought was killing all the plant life.
Kimaji looked about her for those light patches on the forest floor and started moving along slowly within those areas of light where her coat closely matched the color of the ground...
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 10:59 pm
As Kizuka was wading out in the grass, she forced herself to keep her eyes off the girl for a moment. When she did turn, she didn't try to find the girl, either. It wasn't expected of the girl to be good at this right away, but Kimaji had spent a lifetime being taught how to hide herself from predators and so Kizuka had a hope that the girl would apply those lessons here--they really weren't so disimilar.
Kimaji was learning fast. This time it took Kizuka a few minutes to find the girl, picking her way through the light patches in the forest--she'd even over looked her twice. A smirk lighted on Kizuka's lips and she took a moment to consider wether or not to 'catch' her this time. In the end, she knew the girl hadn't reached full potential with that sneaking and so she melted her way through the grass and up behind Kimaji again to n** her right flank.
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 11:04 pm
Awwww...caught again. But this time, Kimaji wasn't as depressed as she had been before. It had taken Mommy longer to find her this time, and a lioness could do a lot of damage in a few minutes, provided she had a plan like Mommy said. She didn't really have a plan yet; she had to think of a way to get through the darker bushes to pounce on the log without getting nipped again. Though it didn't hurt her, it was still starting to annoy her that she kept getting caught.
"What else should I do?" she asked.
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 11:07 pm
"You have to answer that yourself, darling." She butted her head gently against Kimaji's neck to show that she meant no ill of it. With a smile Kizuka began to step away, then paused. "But you're doing much better, you know. Always know where you are going before you get there, but remember to watch your step. ... And never let the enemy know what you're doing." She winked at that point, a hint, and slipped back off into the meadow grass. It was a wonder the grass hadn't died yet, an idle part of her mused, but its yellow nature, so close to Kimaji's secondary fur colour, prooved that it was close to wilting for good.
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 11:14 pm
Well, that settled it! She had been going the wrong way all this time! Mommy knew that she was going to be moving left toward the opposite side of the log. But Mommy wouldn't be expecting her to move quietly after her. There were a few patches of light by and in the meadow grass...but no, that was dry, and would make a wierd sound when she walked through it. Her best bet was to crawl through those light spots, letting the rest of her fur blend in with the grass, as she kept her eye on the final prize...all this time, she had been getting closer to the position she needed to be in, but now she just had to stay hidden for long enough to pounce...
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 11:27 pm
Kizuka headed back towards the log, keeping her eyes away from where her daughter should have been, once more. She had enough experience to keep the grass from making too much noise around her, but there was still a slight crunch every so often as she made her way through it. As Kizuka reached the log, she made a slow circle around it before turning to look towards where she'd last seen the girl. Hmmmmm.....
The lioness's ears flattened after a moment, then twitched to either side of her. Funny, she didn't see the girl anywhere. As much as a smile tried to cross her maw, she was also briefly surprised that the girl would become so good so fast--then again, she was her daughter. Allowing that one stroke to her ego, Kizuka turned her head breifly behind her to either side, checking each direction that she could.
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 11:31 pm
Oh, now this was too funny. Kimaji could see her Mommy looking almost...confused? Yes, confusion is what it looked like to Kimaji. But that was not as much of a concern to her now as the opportunity that was open for her. There was a thin area of meadow grass...there was the log...there was probably only a few minutes time left before she was discovered, but she didn't need that long. After watching the log for a moment, pretending it was her bug, she leapt toward it and pounced.
She couldn't resist a playful flick of her tail toward her Mommy afterward.
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 11:37 pm
Kizuka chuckled lightly when the tail batted her backside. Proudly, she smiled at her cub and gave her a nod of respect. "Very good, Maji-Kaji; very good indeed!" The older lioness leaned in to lick her daughter's tuft of mane then circled around her. She'd heard the last few steps Kimaji took to get there, but that was of little consequence--most prey probably heard that and had little time to do it in. When she came to a resting spot again and flopped down, the lioness looked her daughter over. "Now. What have you learned thus far?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 11:41 pm
The white and gold lioness beamed from her Mommy's words of respect. "I learned that I should have a plan that lets my fur blend in with my surroundings. I can't hide under bushes, 'cause I'd stick out, but I can hide in the light spots on the ground. I've also learned I should go in the opposite direction that you tell me to, 'cause then you won't expect me."
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 11:56 pm
The last part caused Kizuka to laugh, though it was true in this exorcize at least. She nodded to her daughter's words otherwise and smiled, "That is correct! When you become more practiced at masking your footsteps, you also would have blended perfectly into the grass--if we had a larger field that would have been more obvious, but with what our territory offers you likely won't need to know that." Kizuka glanced over at the log as she trailed off into thought, then.
After a few moments, the darker lioness shook her head and brought herself back to reality. "Now. You need to remember that you cannot go after larger prey by yourself--especially if it has horns of any kind! Even the stubby ones can do a lot of damage. However, smaller prey is good for a lone lioness.. especially one that is just beginning to hunt."
"Another good key," Kizuka continued, "Is the rule of the stragglers, elderly and wounded. Don't touch sick prey if you can help it, because that will just hurt you in the end, but always watch a herd before deciding which one to pick off. If there is one that is obviously slowing the herd down, an elder prey beast, or a wounded one, always go for that one first. You must leave the young, strong ones so that there will always be more food--unless you have no other choice.
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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 11:56 am
Kimaji thought back to the times in which there had obviously been no other choice; there hadn't been much food in these lands. But now Mommy had her to help hunt! Kimaji just needed to remember the important rules.
"Don't go after the large prey, especially if they have horns that can poke me," Kimaji said, as if she was speaking to commit each word to her memory. "And go after the slow ones, 'cause they'll have more trouble outrunning me. But not the sick ones, 'cause I don't want to get sick. Right?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 10:23 pm
"right," Kizuka gave a light nod. She smiled at her daughter, leaning in to lick a spot of dirt from her coat. "Practice makes perfect, so take these lessons to heart. Use them in every moment, if you have to, until they become second nature.. these tools may seem simple, but being able to do them without thinking about it--indeed, so well that another lion wouldn't detect you even if they knew where to look--will be your greatest ally in dangerous times. Remember: even a old, slow wilderbeast can be dangerous, if its given opportunity to be."
Kizuka gave her daughter's neck an affectionate lick, then rose to stretch. "Think these over and practice... but only on game smaller than yourself! ..... and no hoofed or horned beasts." With that Kizuka nodded to her and began to lope back towards the den, "I'm going out to the border. I will be back before sunset." With that, Kizuka slipped into the forest. Her daughter might have seen her this time, but only for the lessons she'd just learned.
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Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 11:10 am
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