Welcome to Gaia! ::

Padding from the darkness of the dens the young juvenile padded down through the thick vines until his paws hit the ground. He was bored and determined to get out and about and learn some things, for a start how to hunt something larger than the night time crickets. Hard to catch as they were, he wanted the taste of blood in his mouth, the taste of blood that had been killed by his own paws.Shaking out the fur which crested his head the youngster slowly made his way through the shadows, blood red eyes sparkling in the darkness picking up every movement around him. He felt pretty proud of himself, he was convinced no one could sneak up on him! he was far too cunning and skilled and all those other things that adults were and that NORMAL cubs were not.


Puffing out his chest a light smirk rolled across his lips as he continued onwards, thinking himself silent as one of the elders, when in fact his small paws seemed to find every branch and dried up leaf possible to make a noise in.

In the depths of the jungle they called home, Bidu had found such confidence, and such power, in her skills as a spirit-talker that she'd taken to dressing as a spirit. Or at least what she thought a spirit in these lands would look like.

Her face obscured by a scavenged gorilla skull, the lower jaw a choker about her neck, her ghostly form moved like silk through the jungle she now knew like the back of her paws. The gorilla's pelt she also scavenged and used it as an homage to her parents - her father's black mane and her mother's midnight fur.

It didn't take long for Asan's clumsy steps to be heard and Bidu honed in on the noise, expecting some poor victim. Although in a sense, it was. She smiled at the sight of her younger brother and felt it time to play tricks on him.

Moving with the experience of age, she crept up behind him silently, starting to breathe on his back as an indicator of another's presence.

The cub stopped, his paws out spread, his head lifted and those tiny tufted ears perked forwards. Something was behind him. Gulping he cleared his throat poncering if he should turn around or not. If he turned around he might just be assailed by what ever was breathing on him, wheer as if he kept his head forwards he could bolt off in to the darkness away from the spooky thing, but then, well maybe it was nothing to worry about.

These changes in his mind happened in an instant and curiosity got the better of him. Turning those blood red eyes upon the creature behind him his heart stopped, though only for a moment as he witnessed the fearful gorilla skull. His eyes bulged, but his legs stayed rooted to the ground. What was he supposed to do? Run? The thing faceing him really didn't seem very alive so if he ran it would probably capture him easily enough. "Whwhwhat are you?" he managed to stumble, trying to gain soem sort of face back, though it was hard stareing at the shiney orbs within the gorillas skull.

"Why dear brother...do you not recognise your eldest?" came the silky tones from beneath the skull.

Bidu didn't have it in her to torment this sibling for too long, she thought of it more as a learning exercise. He'd need to respect the spirits, and her, as he grew older.

Asanbosam looked up at his sister, her scent flooding to his nostrils at last The fear flooded away and he smiled turning aroudn to face her properly and look underneath the skull helm. "Where'd you get that then? You looks scary bidu!" He smiles weaving his way between ehr fore legs, he could show a little affection to his family, it was allowed after all.

Settling himself back before his sister he sared up at her with deep red eyes and grinned. "I'm off hunting Bidu, will you come? I wanna catch soemthing Hyoooge!" He puffs out his small chest proudly, it was great having a couple of big sisters, they could teach you stuff that your parents didn't really want to.

Now, Bidu had a chance here to really exaggerate her powers over her younger siblings by telling a great story of vanquishing a rogue gorilla. They were rare, but were known to wander down from the higher jungles and mountainsides. But Bidu was not the kind to lie.

"It was a gift from the gods, they led me to it and bade me wear it as a symbol of my devotion to them. They promised the power to induce fear if I did," she said, still adding a slightly dramatic air. And it wasn't all that far from HER truth.

You could just about make out a demure smile beneath that skull as Asanbosom curled about her paws and legs. Affection was always appreciated by Bidu. Despite any misgivings she had about sharing her parents with this newest litter, she'd always love them.

"Of course little brother. What would you like to hunt?" she asked, starting to pad n one direction, assuming he'd follow

"The gods, ohh" His eyes went wide and his shirt tail swayed happily. His sister was certainly a big shot in his books, she was amazing wearing a gift from the gods them selves, he couldn't help but feel he was in the presence of greatness.

"Oh I'll hunt anything, I just wanna get my claws in to something bigger than a cricket!" he huffs "I think I'm old enough now." he grins bounding after his sister, his claws padding at her long tail occasionally, being young an impressionable meant that although he respected his sister he still loved her and thought of her as just a bigger play mate.


"Do you think we could kill a uhm monkey thing or a what ever that thingie is on your head magig? I bet we could! I'd help!" He grins toothily speeding up a little to try and keep up with his sisters long strides. "I wanna be a scary lion like you Bidu, an have a skull an everythin'!"

She lead him further, silent for a while as she listened intently to his youthful wishes. He was asking a lot, but then she thought back to her own cub hood. She wanted to do everything and anything at that age too. But how did she tell him the truth without dashing his hopes?

"Oh the beast this comes from is rare around here. That it is why it was surely a gift from higher power, only they could have lead it here and then me to it. But we can find smaller types of the beast," she said with a tone of voice that suggested a manic grin on her muzzle.

"You'll need to be fast, you'll need to listen to me carefully..."

Asanbosam nodded in what he figured to be a very sage manner, his dark blood red eyes fixed on his older sister. "Okay, mebe when I'm older then!" He smirked and wriggled his behind as he leapt forwards and pounced around her forepaws until she changed her tone of voice to one of extreme seriousness.


He stopped and perked his ears up, his blood red orbs looking up intently "Yes Bidu, I will do what ever you say." He nods, his youthful jaw set at a determined sort of angle. He felt a surge of excitement run through his body as he imagined the crazy beast that Bidu's skull must have come from and they were going to hunt a smaller version? Well good! They would be just as scary and dangerous and he would get one he just knew it.


"I'm ready Bidu, just tell me what I need to do."

"Good, this is the first of many lessons you'll need to learn for hunting larger prey. The largest you can never hope to bring down on your own, but there are means and methods if you're patient," she said, almost sounding like she was his mother.

They rounded past an overgrowth and into a small clearing, the floor littered with fallen fruits. Bidu motioned with her paw for him to stay where he was as she slinked forwards to sniff the ground and air. Then she returned, leading him into cover.

"Your lesson today will be about ambush," she said in hushed tones. "It is THE core to hunting anything, whether you're in here, or out on the wide plains. It simply changes HOW you have to do it. In here, we are given much greater cover - by the trees that shield us, and by the flowers that mask us. But don't let that lull you into confidence. Our prey also live here and have other ways to detect us."

Bidu sounded very serious.

The young males ears twitched forwards as he listened intently to Bidu's words, ambush, cover, scent. all important things, he knew that, but the way Bidu spoke of this ambush tactic made it sound almost impossible a mythical task performed by no one. Still he felt he could do it he just had to pay attention. He gave a quiet nod and moved as she moved following her footsteps as quietly as he could, perhaps he was trying too hard though for his feet once again seemed to know just how to find every little twig amongst the undergrowth.


Looking up sheepishly he stopped and waited as she moved from the trees in tot he small clearing. Was this where they were to hunt? The place wreaked of fruits and something far more poignant which he could only assume was some kind of poop. The dangerous smaller creatures certainly smelled bad.

"O, do you think I will leave the cover Bidu?" He blinked looking out owlishly in to the clearing. "I think I'll stay in the jungle forever, I bet I'll be a really good hunter in here." He whispers, his body shrinking in tot he ground as he awaited his next instructions. He wondered what he was to do, what were they truly hunting and would he walk away with a prize? He certainly hoped so.

"You'd do well to at least see what's beyond this jungle. When I was your age, we lived on the outskirts at first until delving deeper and finding our home. Its very different out there though, very open. It can be quite a shock for ones who've spent their lives covered by trees," she explained.

Suddenly, there was a sign of life, movement above an the soft grunting and squeaking of primates. Bidu pressed herself further to the ground, obscuring her pale form even more. She looked to Asanbosom to do the same.

"Move only when I move," she whispered so quiet it was any wonder the cub could hear her. "Tense your muscles, ready to run."

As if to demonstrate, she did so, her forelegs visibly taut and her claws ready to dig into the ground for traction. Before them, descending from the trees were olive baboons. They'd come for the fruits, which only ripen and drop to the floor twice every season. They were by no means as big as a gorilla, but their long snouts harboured very deadly teeth. Bidu was beginning to wonder if this would be safe enough for her younger brother...

Asan nodded and squeezed himself as tightly as possible to the ground following his sisters every move, his shoulders were tensed, taught and tight, they even started to hurt he was concentrating so hard ont he primates which filled their line of sight. He was ready to go, ready to leap when Bidu did, though a slight fear crossed his mind, these things were bigger than him and they looked quite scary. No, he couldn't wimp out now! Bidu was showing him how to be a great hunter and he was desperate to learn that above all things!

Licking his lips he pressed his small dark form against one of her back legs to let her know he was still there, waiting patiently in the back row for his share of the duties, for his share of the kill and perhaps a trophy to show mum and dad!

Look what I caught, he would say, he smiled his mind drifting a little until one of the baboons made a noise and it dragged him back to the present, forgetting the future and his bragging status, for now there was only this, the big, scary looking baboons chomping down their fruit and flashing their teeth, adrenaline rushed down his body and his paws grew cold, he was ready for the leap, he just needed the signal.

Her eye movements were difficult to detect beneath her skull, but she had been looking intently at her brother, weighing up his attitude, his experience...she took a soft but deep breath and watched as the clearing was now almost flooded with baboons, some bickering over their fallen fruits.

"Don't be a fool, do not go for anything you can't handle. Call if you are in trouble," was her last piece of advice. Still wearing her skull, she intended to use the gorilla's teeth, equally as formidable as her own, as a second pair to grasp and puncture with.

With one last look to her young ward, she focused on the primates.

"Now," she whispered, her voice ghostlike.

But then there was nothing ghost-like in her movements. She exploded from the jungle cover, a great white figure of fury, roaring and appearing to have two jaws as she stretched her mouth wide. The baboons began to scatter and screech.

Lost for a moment in the excitement of the jungle as it burst in to a raucous of screeching fleeing shapes, the young males brain slowly formulated the 'now' and he too leapt from the undergrowth. Alot of these creatures were bigger than him but under the wrath of his sister the bulk of them seemed to be fleeing, unafraid and unobstructed by the youngster. His eyes settled then on what looked like a young baboon and he quickly bolted through the screaming screeching entourage, his claws out and his fangs barred.


Then those paws met with soft furred flesh, his claws dug deep in to the meat and the scent of blood collided with his nostrils. It only took him a split second to realise he had his prey, the screeching of the beasts around him faded to nothing as the blood seeped on to his pale toes turning them a deep bloody red. His fangs, sharp and long met flesh and he held tightly the gush of first blood spurting in to his pallet and nearly causing him to cough, to choke, but he held fast, calming and drinking as he used all of his weight to hold down the young baboon.


It was going no where and neither was he attached to the bristly fur, his fangs deep beneath the thick flesh. he had done it, eh had made his first true kill and the blood tasted oh so sweet.

Bidu's main objective had never been to actually kill something herself. It had been to demonstrate to her younger brother the skills he would need. It had been to frighten the troop of baboons so that they would not know left from right, up from down. It had been to create the opportunity for Asanbosom.

So of course, if her own chance to kill arose, she would take it.

She approached where her brother had successfully captured something, a large male baboon dangling from her jaws, her sight truly horrifying.

Asan looked up at his sister, the young male grinning, his own face spattered in the blood of the creature he had killed and which now lay mangled beneath his small claws. "I did it Bidu" he puffs out his chest stepping back off the beast and tugging at it a few times, testing the dead weight. "I can take it home right? Yo show mum and daddy?" He grinned broadly those dark blood red eyes dancing excitedly.

Although it was difficult to tell immediately, Bidu smiled at her brother, quite proud for his first time hunting. She had not been so successful, but had progressed quickly to larger game. Perhaps he would be as quick a learner.

"Perhaps next time, I will show you the best points to draw blood from, and you will most definitely need to learn how to skin your kill," she said after dropping the large carcass for a moment. "And I'm sure mother anf father will be proud."

He grinned, he was glad that his sister was happy to help him, happy to teach him her tricks of the trade. She was such a skilled huntress. In his eyes she was the perfect role model. Flickering his long tail he bent down and grasped the small dead carcass in his jaws and started to drag it across the clearing, keeping his head as high as he could. He had made his first real kill and the thrill of the adrenaline still pumped through his veins and made him feel a thousand times larger than he actually was. This was his kill and the tang of iron smacked at his lips.

His mother and father would be so proud. He smirked a little as he humped the small carcass over a tree root. it was time to go home and create a very tall tale about how fearsome he was and about how frightening the baboon had been. He was a real hunter now. In his own mind any way.