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 Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2007 2:38 am
The sun was a large, red disc that dipped towards the distant mountains and above the sky had blossomed. Ona'raha's coat glowed under the touch of the sun as he slunk through the long grass of the meadow. In the tree behind him sat Kucha, but he had ignored her. She knew nothing of being a lion. She had only berries to find. He had a live, kicking and running antelope!
He had fled his friends to attempt to prove himself in some way or other. Malik the Fighter. Rehema the Wise and Ona the...
Well, he'd get himself a title. He'd be Ona the Hunter! He felt the earth beneath his claws as he slunk forwards, his tattooed pelt gleaming as he parted the grass with each slow movement. It had taken him a good hour to track down this particular antelope and for many lions it would have been a rare gift.
The others had strayed off, leaving this one alone. It was a young adult, probably too greedy for its own good. It;s herd were mere dots on the horizon but the wind carried their voices. His target had its head down, nibbling at the tender shoots. He wriggled with anticipation. It was so close, all alone and completely distracted. It wouldn't take long before...
He eyed it's neck, could almost see that throbbing vein. If he could sink his teeth into that vulnerable neck he could bring it down. Prove himself as a real lion after all!
He stepped forwards again and a bird screeched in flight, rising up from the grass barely a footstep in front of his nose. He watched it twirl upwards with anger and then shot a look towards the antelope. The young female's head had darted up, it's whole body rigid. Then it took a step away, legs quivering and Ona knew he had to act now.
Or not.
His inexperience had told him flioght when he should have waited. He pounced from the grtass, snarling with all the anger he could conjure. He landed, his claws raking the antelope's hind quarter's as it dashed away. He watched it bounding away and gave chase, though it was now a lost cause. It outran him, leaving him slowling to a halt, panting heavily.
Dammit!
He collapsed in a cloud of dust and covered his face with his paws. A failure again.
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2007 2:54 am
"Get back down." Rehema's voice would come from behind the young lion, her dark muzzle emerging silently from the dry grass behind him.
She'd followed along after Ona had left, concerned for the young lion's safety. The brutal honesty was that he was the last of his pride...and while she had no doubt that if he absolutely had to, he could hold his own in a fight. But one thing she'd learned and still bore the scars to was that the world was not a fair place. A traveling pack of wild dogs would easily bring down a lion if they were hungry enough or realized that's all it took to claim the territory as their own. Rogues were no better...
Two lions had a better chance at surviving. That and really the poor lad didn't seem to know much about hunting.
"They startle easy." She whispered, lurking through the grass towards the herd. They'd scattered but they wouldn't run for too long. They had to stop sometime. It was dry, there was little risk of losing their scent, and if the lions prowled quietly behind the running gazelle- they would have the energy to hunt while the gazelle would be winded from their first sprint.
"Step lighter, breathe slower, keep your head down between your shoulders...do not rush anything..."
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2007 3:04 am
Ona started, swinging around his heavily maned head to glance into Rehema's chocolate face. Where had she come? Had she been watching? Shame threatened to consume him but her words of instruction gave him a little heart. He purred, flinching his whiskers as he lowered.
"O-okay." He whispered back. He tried to control his breathing, which was harder than it sounded, and slunk forwards, keeping his head down so that his chin almost brushed the dirt. With Rehema by his side his confidence upped a little and he tried to copy everything she did.
His mother would have taught him this as a cub...if she hadn't been too ill to do so.
He cleared his throat and wanted to speak his thanks, buit then decided against it. If he spoke now he might have ruined everything.
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2007 3:15 am
"Lions hunt in groups." She whispered, almost quiet enough to miss against the faint rustling of the dry grass in the wind, "Hunting alone is difficult beyond words... you will fail most of the time. Even if you are an expert. Listen carefully-"
She slowed her pace down a bit, walking shoulder to shoulder with the male. Her eyes still straight forward, wide and focused. "I will move myself off towards the east, you move west... show yourself and run at them in my direction. When the herd begins to run my way- I will make my move." She glanced over, "Do you understand?"
In reality- it was still difficult to hunt with only two lions. The antelope were still dangerous creatures that could badly injure a lion on a hunt, but with three mouths to feed it was nessicary. She didn't doubt his ability, but he was a beginner. He had to understand the art of the hunt before he could become the ambush.
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2007 3:19 am
With a nod, to nervous to speak, Ona turned his head in the direction he needed to go. He swallowed back the nervousness and kept his tail curled around a hind leg in case it got in the way. His head had lowered again and his ears were pinned in case they could give him away. In fact the attention to detail was rather amusing.
He waited for a moment then with one last look twards Rehema he gave a small nod of his nose to show that he understood and slipped away. He was half-way to his destination when he halted, paralysed with a thought. How would he know when Rehema was ready for him to show himself?
His heart hammered and his mouth suddenly felt dry. He hesitated a moment, flicking his ears to try and pick up a sound. Nothing. So instead he crept onwards, putting his body in the right position. Maybe he would see Rehema from here? Maybe there was an unknown language used between hunting lions?
He didn't know.
He swallowed, lowered himself into the grass and waited, hoping that eh wouldn't mess up again.
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Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 3:55 pm
Rehema might as well have disappeared as they branched off. A born huntress, focused and experienced. Her dark pelt, when kept low, very well might as well had been the shadow of the golden grass against the dry ground. She moved only when the wind did so the parting and shifting of the grass was easily mistaken for the wind's handiwork. Her breathing was slow and controlled. She could taste the prey on the air...they were downwind. Very good.
She moved into position, crouching herself down, every muscle coiling like a spring. Eyes wide and ears pinned down. She'd have only seconds to point one out, seconds to react, and seconds to overwhelm her prey before it had the wit to fight her back... prey as they were, she was no idiot and was fully aware of how damaging a hoof to the face could be- or worse.
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Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 12:11 am
He crouched ever lower, listening to the thud of his heart. One...two...three...
He counted slowly steadily and when he reach the count of ten he slipped forwards. A branch snapped underfoot, causing the herd to shift. Some of them looked up warily but this time he hung back and they returned to eating. The moment they lowered their velvet muzzles he was springing out from the grass. His powerful legs uncoiled like springs, propelling his small but bulky frame through the air. His claws were unsheated and the snarl that ripped from his throat was thunder in the air.
The herds screamed in terror and turned, running for their lives. His claws clipped the rear legs of his target but it managed to slip from his grasp without much of a problem.
He chased them lazily for a moment or two, then paused and watched for Reh. Where was she? His heart pounded nervously. Had he done it wrong again?
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Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 12:20 am
Rehema watched, breathing slowly and counting the beats between her and the herd. She had to move quickly- avoid being trampled and make the kill. Out of the herd she picked out a smaller one. Unfortunately a larger one would put up too much of a fight for a single lioness. The gazelle sprang closer, realizing only a second too late that there was a lioness in wait. She lurched forward, her claws hooking into the flesh of its shoulder as her fangs quickly seized the windpipe in the creature's throat. The antelope threw its head up as its feet were ripped out from under it, giving a gurgling cry.
Rehema threw her weight downward, locking her jaws around its throat. The gazelle continued to kick and thrash, even as it began to suffocate. The lioness held fast to its throat, fighting against the prey's kicks.
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Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 12:25 am
For a moment Ona stood paralysed with fear, his chest rising and falling as he tried desperately to control his breathing and failed. Then suddenly he saw Rehema holding on with all her might and knew that he had to atleast try.
Wary of the kicking legs but dfetermiend to do something right, he powered himself forwards, sliding almost into the struggling pair as he latched his jaws around one leg, trying his best to hold it still. The prey-beast thrashed and forced Ona to leg go but it's leg was badly wounded.
Instead Ona circled round and threw himself on it's flanks, pressing himself against it, wincing as one of the hooves caught him on the shoulder.
But had his effort stilled the prey beast long enough for Rehema to give the final bite?
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Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 12:29 am
Rehema was a bit surprised to see Ona coming as well but relieved to say the least. She pinned her focus down on the prey once more. The gazelle was frantic with panic but its cry was soon silenced with a sickening snap as Rehema, with Ona's help, had enough of her bearings to simply snap its neck. She released her prey, letting its head fall lifelessly to the ground.
Panting, the lioness plopped her back end down and glanced up to Ona, her bloody maw smiling in full approval. For the moment she didn't have the breath to talk.
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Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 10:18 am
And the moment the herd-beast fell dead, the young lion felt a thrill of adrenaline lance through him. He could feel his heart pounding, the excitement of the hunt tingling in every pore of his skin. His fur fluffed and then he turned to glance at Rehema. He looked much like a cub who had made it's first kill.
Then, bouncing over the carcass he threw himself at her, intent on sending them rolling across the ground. This time instead of a growl, a laugh ripped free from his throat.
"We did it! We really did it!"
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Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 10:25 am
Rehema had only a second to open her mouth in protest before she was bowled over to the ground, sent right to her back with her paws curled up against her still heaving chest. For a moment she just starred at the younger male, confused and surprised at his over-enthusiastic reaction. However, she couldn't help but smile in spite of herself. He was like a big kid... he must never have caught anything over the size of a young deer for himself.
"Well...", she panted a bit, "That's...how you...do it. Just need...more practice. Well done."
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Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 10:34 am
Seemingly unaware that his reaction might have seemed a little...over enthusiastic, he beamed down at her with as wide a smile as he could conjure.
"Does that make me a real lion now?" He hoped so. He wanted to prove himself. He wanted to be useful. If he could help in hunts well...that would be perfect! He purred and then realised he was still holding Reh to the ground.
"Oh. Um...sorry." He stepped off to stand beside her, looking sheepish.
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Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 10:39 am
Rehema coughed a bit, rolling herself back onto her belly then pushed back up into a sit. "You've always been a real lion." She chuckled, "Don't take what Malik says to heart... he has a different view of the world. To him being a 'real lion' means being a big, hairy brute."
She licked at her chops a bit, trying to clear the blood from her face, "You're just inexperienced is all. That'll change in time, you did a wonderful job today."
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Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 10:55 am
"But I wouldn't have been able to do it without you." He sighed. "And Malik's right. Males should be strong so we can protect the ones we love. But look at me? I'm nothing but a little fuzzball compared to him?" It was true. Ela'wadiyi lions were famous for their little stature.
"Besides, I don't even know how to start reviving the clan. I can't do it alone and I'm too shy to approach outsiders." He sighed deeply. "What am I going to do? The situation looks hopeless!"
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