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 Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 12:02 pm
"Oh where are you now, you little brat?" Ilaheva chunnered under her breath. Once again, the cub she'd adopted had run off. And, once again, Ilaheva had to go hunting for her. It was a never ending cycle as far as the wild dog was concerned.
Why did I ever take her in, Ilaheva found herself wondering. I should have just left the mite for the scavengers. But... no. Though the cub exasperated her beyond all reason at times, the wild dog's deep maternal instinct would not have allowed her to abandon a tiny cub to the whims of fate. No, she mused as she snuffled about for the cub's scent, I'll just have to do my best and hope she outgrows this odd wanderlust of hers.
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 12:09 pm
Giggling madly from behind her screen of grass, 'Ren watched as her guardian hunted back and forth for her. There was no wind to carry her scent to her auntie this time and 'Ren had every intention of enjoying her joke to the fullest.
The cub lay down and kept her ears pricked for Auntie's voice. She sounded concerned, but not terribly worried. 'Ren was always careful to pop out of hiding before Auntie sounded scared. She knew she'd get a n** on the nose, but she had to find some fun somehow! All Auntie ever seemed to care about was somethign called 'manners' and acting like a lady. Hardly a growing cub's idea of entertainment.
The tip of her tail twitched slightly as she heard Auntie's voice go up a notch. Time to come out and be found. Sighing, 'Ren wondered if the day would ever come where she'd be allowed to play without worrying about worrying her aunt.
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 12:19 pm
Whirling around at the sound of rustling grasses, Ilaheva gave a relieved growl as Mrengo appeared. Hurrying over to the cub, Ilaheva snapped lightly as the girl's nose before herding her back to the little den they shared.
"Why were you hiding from me?" she began to scold in an aggreived voice. "Why must you always be so naughty? I'm sure if your parents knew, they wouldn't like it!"
She quailed a bit inside as her words caused Mrengo's ears to flatten against her skull. Oh, it was a dirty trick to bring the cub in line, but it was the only thing that seemed to make her behave! And at least, she salved her own conscience, at least the idea that her parents are alive and off together somewhere keeps her happy. Ilaheva didn't care to think about the result should Mrengo ever learn that her 'Auntie' really had no idea who her parents were.
"Well," she continued in a much gentler voice, "no harm done, I suppose. Though I wish you wouldn't go off alone like that without letting me know first."
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:13 pm
Whining under her breath as her guardian's sharp, white teeth flashed a few inches from her face, 'Ren hunched in on herself, careful to keep her eyes down and her ears flat against her skull. It was as if she liked making Auntie worry or anything. She just wanted to have a little fun, that was all.
In her softest, meekest voice, she managed to stammer an apology.
"'m sorry, Auntie. It's just so boring staying in the den all day..."
Not that she expected the wild dog to understand. After all, Auntie was grown up and had different ideas of fun than 'Ren.
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:21 pm
"Boring or not," Ilaheva began in a prim sort of voice, "it's much safer for you here. When you get a little older and bigger, then perhaps you can go wandering about willy-nilly."
Didn't the child understand? There were lions and other creatures who would kill somethign her size if they caught her. Or they would catch her and torment her for the rest of her life. No, however much Mrengo wanted to explore, she had to be kept safe.
"Now," the wild dog began in a no-nonsense voice. "Let's see how accurately you can identify scents in the air."
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:28 pm
Huffing softly, Mrengo threw herself down on the sandy floor of the den and turned her back on her guardian.
"Don't want to," she growled sulkily. "It's not fun and I don't like it. I should have gone with Mr Odin. He was nicer than you!"
Curling up into a small ball of fluff, Mrengo closed her eyes sighed. If Auntie ever let her leave the den again, maybe she would go find Mr Odin. He hadn't treated her like a baby, at least.
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:39 pm
Faintly amused by her charge's rebellion, Ilaheva simply sat down nearby and kept her voice light.
"Oh yes, your imaginary leopard friend. Let me tell you, my girl... If you'd met a real leopard out there, you'd be dead by now. Besides, who ever heard of a leopard living this far away from the jungles, hmm?"
Though she tried to sound cheerful, Ilaheva worried. If the child really had met a leopard on one of her rambles, she'd been very very lucky to have come away unharmed. On the other hand, if she was only playing pretend, this game had gone on far longer than most of her other fantasies.
"If you don't want to practice, would you like somethign to eat?" Ilaheva purposely steered the cub's thoughts in a different direction. She was less likely to argue and fuss if she had a full belly, after all.
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:46 pm
Mrengo cracked open an eye at that last bit, though she tried her hardest to appear as if she didn't care one way or another.
"I thought we ate everythign you'd caught yesterday? There's some left?"
She wanted to argue that Mr Odin had been real. But when you're a very small cub, hunger takes precedence over fighting about whether or not someone is real.
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2008 6:38 am
Smiling slightly at the success of her tactics, Ilaheva turned to the back of the cave and nosed the body of a young hare from the cool shadows.
"I was out hunting before you ever woke up this morning, child," she scolded good-naturedly. "I'm sure I don't know why you couldn't scent them earlier."
Yawning hugely, the wild dog laid down on the cool earth close to Mrengo. She was going to have to consider starting hunting lessons soon. Mrengo was gettign bigger every day and soon, a single hare would stop filling her stomach.
"Go ahead and eat, little one. Then try to get some sleep," she said, suddenly reachign a decision. "I think we'll begin teaching you to hunt when it gets cooler, yes?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2008 6:46 am
'Ren fell upon the hare, gnawing clumsily at it's thin limbs before finally detaching a leg. She was happy that her dinner was a grown up. She didn't like the idea of eating a baby whose parents might mourn. The thought was horrifying to her.
It would be like if somethign ate me and then Mama and Papa came back and couldn't ever find me, she thought. She knew Auntie found her scruples to be silly, but she never tried to feed a young one to 'Ren.
Only half listenign as Auntie talked, 'Ren's ears suddenly perked up at the mention of hunting lessons. Allowing the hare leg to drop from her jaws, she stared incredulously at her guardian before nodding eagerly.
"Oh yes, I like that plan! I'll go to sleep right away!"
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2008 6:51 am
Nodding approvingly, Ilaheva made quick work of the second hare. SHe had the feeling that she'd need the energy tonight, simply to keep up with her adopted cub. A single scrawny hare didnt' take much time to eat and as soon as she'd finished, Ilaheva took the bones and settled herself between MRengo and the den entrance and began to contentedly gnaw the bones.
Casting her gaze at the cub, she was quite pleased to see that Mrengo had finished her dinner and was already curled up with her eyes determinedly closed. Well, she thought, perhaps there's hope for the child yet!
Ilaheva chuckled silently and closed her eyes as well. A small nap wouldn't harm her any.
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2008 6:57 am
Cracking an eye open to see Auntie settling down to rest, Mrengo wriggled slightly and settled down. As she made herself relax, she wondered what exactly Auntie would teach her. She had a vague sort fo idea that wild dogs and lions had different ways of hunting, but withuot a grown up lion to ask, she couldn't be certain.
Finally, 'Ren yawned and re-settled herself. Within moments, she was asleep.
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