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 Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 1:21 pm
Omoa didn't get the chance to say good bye to her new friends, but she hoped she would get the chance to visit them sometime again. She carried her shells on her necklace, having strung them on the day they left. She hadn't wanted to leave any behind, after all. Even if she hadn't kept many. Just a couple. One was shaped like Daddy's, but in a blueish tint. That had been from the day when they had gone to the water's edge together, and had made signs in the sand. That had been a fun day, one that Omoa remembered with a smile.
"Daddy?" she asked, a bit of tiredness in her voice. They had been walking for a while, and though her mother was near enough, she didn't know where they were going, why, and when they would get there. It was hard on a little juvenile to walk so much. Even if she had grown in size (barely any, though, because she was pretty much just as small as she was as a cub) and with age.
"When will we get to where Mommy is?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 11:36 am
Jethro was moving slowly. For him, the relocation was just another adventure. He wasn’t really one to feel attached to a patch of dirt or body of water, so he couldn’t relate to the pain any of the others might have been feeling over not staying in the pride. For him, the reasons of their leaving were elusive. He hadn’t been told, really, what had happened or why they had decided to move on. All he could do was hope this decision had not come with a burdened heart- he could only hope they hadn’t been forced to leave. Maybe it was something he had done? Maybe bringing Omoa to the pride had been a bad idea. Kam hadn’t told him anything, but he had to wonder.
Was it his fault she had to leave the pride?
When his daughter spoke, Jethro looked back at her. How long had he been walking? His thoughts had taken up so much of his concentration that he had forgotten all about time or distance, perhaps neglecting the small cub walking with him. She sounded a little tired.
“Soon,” he told her, “we’ll be there soon. But why don’t we rest for right now, alright?” he asked softly, sitting down, “are you thirsty? We can find some water and I can get you some food if you’re hungry.” He wondered if it was starting to get to the time where he needed to show her more hunting. She would have to do it herself some day. Did she know about hunting? When she had been alone, she must have done something to get food. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to show her how he hunted. He was really good, after all. “If you want, you can come with me.”
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 7:21 pm
"Water would be wonderful," she sighed happily, a tired smile spreading across her lips. Indeed, water always seemed to be the thing she needed in order to feel right again, or feel refreshed. The cool liquid made her feel alive and so much better.
And although Omoa didn't really know why they had to leave the pride, she didn't mind so much. She had been traveling for all her life, you know. She was used to up and leaving on a moment's notice, and leaving someplace familiar for the unknown.
She followed her father obediently. "I want to watch. Maybe you can teach me something I didn't know before!" Her energy boosted itself up a bit. They had done many things together in the past, but hunting usually wasn't one of them. Jethro found food, brought it back to the den, and they shared it. Sometimes Omoa would try and find little nuts and berries to snack on, and those she shared with her father as well, but she hadn't tried hunting real food in quite some time.
Actually, she didn't think she'd ever done it by herself. Most of the meat she had come by before she had met Jethro had been leftovers from a group of lions, or perhaps one predator who had gotten full. She was the scavenger, the optimistic little girl who pounced on free food with a happy smile.
"Can I help too?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 4:07 pm
Jethro smiled. It was nice to see his daughter was still in high spirits, even though all this strange stuff had been going around. At least they would soon have a home of their own. They wouldn’t have to worry about others kicking them out because they would be the ones in control. Not that they would be dictators, of course. The whole thing was strange to the gray male. All his life he had been the exploring. The rogue adventurer. The creature no one ever thought would settle down, much less join a pride. And to have one of his own?
Completely impossible.
Yet, here he was, leading Omoa to the place he, his mate, and his mate’s family would settle down in. How bizarre it was to suddenly find himself with real, almost tangible responsibilities. Indeed, some were quite tangible. Like the girl he was leading to a small pond, for instance.
“Sure!” He said lightly, grinning, “it wouldn’t be a lesson if you didn’t help me, now would it? I think it wouldn’t hurt to teach you how I do things, though it might be odd. I’m not sure I’m a very conventional hunter in some regards.” He sat down for a moment. There was no rush to head off on the hunt. Omoa needed some time to rest and get herself a drink. They had been walking a long time and even his pads were starting to get sore. Maybe hers were worse.
Sighing, he looked up at the sky, perplexed, frightened and happy all at the same time. A new home. Would that mean a new family on the horizon?
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Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 4:55 pm
A content grin on her face, Omoa didn't even stop to rest by her father before she waded into the pond, fully wetting her fur up to her elbows with a sigh. Indeed, her pads were sore. And her paws. But the cool water soaking into her skin felt immensely better than walking along that hot dirt and sand before.
While her paws cooled down, she bent only a few inches forward to lap up a good long drink of the water as well. The cub had never imagined that water would taste so good at a time like this.
"Oh, a hunting lesson? Really?" she peered up at her father with a smile. He hadn't taken her hunting with him for a long time. But perhaps this time would be different. She'd be sure to try and concentrate extra hard and make her father proud.
Her stomach growled. With a giggle, she poked at it with her tail and slowly walked out of the water, the moisture oozing down her paws and seeping into the dry dirt below.
"Daddy? Will you and Mommy have cubs for me once we get to our new home? There weren't too many lions to play with by the ocean," she was proud of herself for continuing to remember the proper name for the huge body of water, "and I know Mommy wants to have cubs."
She had no clue how awkward an innocent question could be, especially to a parent.
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Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 11:05 am
The large male watched her get wet, smiling. He took comfort in knowing she had her spirits up. The water didn’t look too bad. Nothing murky about it, nor was it really large enough to house any potential threats.
She could splash around as much as she wanted to.
“re-really?!” almost yelped the gray lion, watching Omoa carefully, “did she say that to you?” He knew she wanted a family, yes, but he was still awkward about it. Having a family with him: was it in her game plans? Boy, he kind of hoped so. Still confused, he couldn’t really tell one way or another how things were going to pan out. Sighing, he smiled once more, fluffing his mane with a shake of his head.
“I’m not sure,” he admitted, “but who knows? Maybe you’ll have a nice big family one day soon. Lots of brothers and sisters to play with. And you’ll be able to teach them things, too! Like how to hunt and not to make daddy play in big bodies of water with them,” he chuckled.
Now his stomach was unsettled. He wasn’t sure how well he would be hunting. At least it was Omoa who would be having to do most of the work, since it was a lesson. “Alright. Why don’t we look around and try to find some hares or something small? Then you can show me what you think you should do when hunting. We’ll go from there.” Might as well see if she knew anything already. Then he wouldn’t bore her by teaching her the same things.
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Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2008 7:21 pm
"Maaaaaaaybe," Omoa drawled carefully, keeping her gaze at the water and her current splashing game. "She might've hinted at it. I want cubs to play with, too," she added hesitantly. As much fun as her parents were, it was nice to have someone your age or a bit younger than you around to play with. It kept you energetic. And even if it would probably end up being Omoa that would have to watch these cubs, she would do it.
She would do it happily, if it meant they would come into the world that much sooner.
"I can teach them to hunt? Nooo, daddy, that's yours and mommy's job! I'll teach them how to have fun! To explore, and swim, and make stuff out of clay. Ithie taught me that," she reminded him proudly. Her best friend was quite the artist, if she did say so herself.
She nodded, though, when her father suggested they begin the lesson. Omoa knew that she didn't really have to concentrate on impressing her father as so much as making him proud of her. There was a difference, and she planned on doing the latter as much as she could.
With a grin, the cub waded out of the water and flicked some water up at her father before looking away innocently. "Let's see," she mumbled, glancing around. There were some small bushes in the area. "Hares hide behind bushes, right? So we can look there first."
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Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 2:47 pm
Jethro chuckled faintly, watching his daughter and trying not to press for more information. She wasn’t his little spy- he didn’t need to tell her to relate everything his mate was saying to him. Jethro trusted Kam. Even if it was very, very interesting content like this particular matter of baby-making. If she wanted him to know about her thoughts, she was the kind of lioness that would tell her.
“Well… maybe,” he chuckled faintly, “maybe you’ll be able to play with brothers and sisters very soon,” he said again, “haha, well I meant start teaching. Of course I would be the one to teach the to hunt. But it wouldn’t hurt for you to show them some things you’ve learned, right?” He watched her, tilting his head to one side.
“Really? You can make things out of clay? That sounds pretty need. Maybe I can sit in when you teach them how to do that.” He was being silly, talking about babies that didn’t even exist!
Watching the female ponder, Jethro smiled and nodded. “Yes,” he hummed, “that sounds like a good place to look.” At least she knew where to find animals. That was pretty good. He started to move, sniffing about to see if he could find something for her to hunt. Soon enough, he noticed a small group of hare not too far away.
He looked at Omoa, smiling and keeping his voice low. “There were are. Some perfect targets.”
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Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 5:11 pm
Following her father move around, sniffing for game, Omoa responded in a quiet voice (for if they stumbled upon possible food, she wouldn't scare it away and get in trouble).
"Yes! Ithie taught me a lot when I was still with her. She made a little statue of me, and I made one of her (but hers was better, of course) and we put them next to each other. It's supposed to mean that we're friends forever and together no matter how far apart we are," she beamed.
When he motioned at a group of hare that were nearby, she tip-toed over to where he was and looked, then immediately crouched down, low to the ground.
"Isn't this what we do? Hide in the grasses so they don't see us?" she asked in a hoarse whisper.
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:48 pm
Jethro smiled, finding the whole thing completely adorable. How could he be so fond of someone who wasn’t even his own blood? It didn’t matter anymore, he was her father regardless of who her real parents happened to be. Hearing her talk about cute little things like friends and moments of happiness only made him feel more proud.
“That’s good,” he told her, watching her get low, “make sure you move carefully. Keep in mind where your paws are going so you don’t step on anything and scare them off while you’re getting closer.”
He let her do what she wanted for the most part, though, just wanting to see how much skill she had on her own.
She was looking competent so far.
Watching the hare, he motioned for her to go ahead and try to attack.
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 3:28 pm
Hoping to make her father proud, Omoa took his advice and carefully tried to watch a few things at the same time. One was where her paws were going on the ground: it was true that a hare's ears were sensitive to even the tiniest of sounds. If she accidentally stepped on a twig, and it cracked, the rabbit would be gone in an instant. The second thing was also watching said rabbit. She had to be sure that she was even moving in the right direction. The third thing was her father. If he gave her a specific nod, or a wink, or a smile, to help guide her on her first hunt, then she wanted to be sure that she saw it.
So she made a little pattern. Watch the paw, step, look at rabbit, look at Dad, watch the paw, step, look at rabbit, look at Dad, watch the paw...
And it kept going.
"Daddy, am I close enough now?" She had moved all of ten paces forward, and her ten paces were about four of her father's. The rabbit was still far off, but she swore that she was close enough for the pounce. To the rabbit, of course. If she did it now she'd probably only get dirt in her paws.
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 6:21 pm
The large animal watched, keeping himself back so that rabbit didn’t see him coming. The area didn’t provide apt enough covering to shield his much more massive frame from view as it could for the girl. He could still offer her nods and warm smiles to make sure she knew she was doing the right thing. So far, she looked pretty good. Her form was fine and she was as quiet as a mouse- all good signs that she would make it just fine as a hunter once she was on her own.
If only she could get just a little closer. Still, if she didn’t think she could move in without startling it, she was still in a good spot to grab the rabbit. She would just have to make she moved a bit faster.
Smiling, he shook his head, motioning for her to get just a little closer just to be safe. He had to remember that she was not as large as he was and probably wouldn’t be able to compensate the distance on her shorter paws. For him, that was a perfect spot to attack. For her… not so much.
He found his claws were gripping lightly at the earth, the male nervous that she would be disappointed with her hunt.
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Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 3:54 pm
Omoa was so small that being quiet wasn't a problem for her; she knew where to put her paws like so in order to make the least amount of noise possible (which she had done that one time when she had accidentally walked over and scared Daddy so much that he had fallen into the water; an incident that she still snorted and chuckled over. Especially when he came out, all soaked and dripping). She fought to contain that giggle now, but she kept quiet.
She glanced back at him and did as he told her: move forward more. She took one step, then another, and another, and another. And then one more for good luck. She gave a final glance at him, now unbelievably close to the prey in question.
Omoa launched herself.
It took her a second to get the energy back into her hind legs so that she could jump, but once she did that and got the position right, it didn't take any more effort at all. Her paws were outstretched with a small amount of claw showing (she didn't want to massacre the poor thing), and pounced.
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Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 3:46 pm
Jethro smiled, watching her progress. He was glad her tiny feet had little noise behind them when they touched the dirt. Such a small body couldn’t really make a lot of noise, save for when the growing cub decided it would be fun to talk relentlessly in front of his mate and say things that make him feel very uncomfortable. Like how she had asked about he and Kam having babies together long before they had decided to give mating a go. Keeping quiet, he continued to watch, aware that her time to strike was upon her.
And the animal still seemed completely unaware of anything happening around it.
Tensing, as though ready to leap out and attack along with his daughter, Jethro watched her make her leap, mentally urging her body forward. The hare, startled, took off away from Omoa, trying to escape. But its efforts were much too late for it to be able to escape her from at least landing on top of it.
Jethro could see that, moving along the brush to get himself closer to what was happening. If Omoa could keep hold and kill the animal, than the hunt would be complete. Though that was normally the hardest part of the whole thing- animals weren’t usually interested in lying down and accepting death. Even a small hare would kick and try to get away.
She’d have to hold on.
“You can do it!” he told her now that the need to be silent had dissolved, “very good leap! Now you can finish it.”
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 10:08 am
Oh, embarrassing Daddy was one of her favorite things to do! Especially when he was present; she and her mother would giggle and whisper and watch him turn red while they talked about a bunch of stuff. Even when she decided to be louder in her questions, so he could really hear what they were talking about. She didn't mean any harm by it; most of her questions had some validation to them, after all, and was still considered a cub. So she could away with them.
Might as well ask them all now while she still could.
When she sprung out from the ground, she saw the rabbit's eyes widen and its feet try to scramble away in time. But it was too late, and her paws were now weighing down on the wriggling fur. It was tough to hold on, but she did, and her claws were digging slightly into the flank just so it wouldn't flee entirely. Her ears flickered to her father's voice and instinct kicked in. Her mouth found the neck and gripped tightly with its powerful jaw and held on until she could feel the rabbit go still. And then her stomach growled, her mouth released the catch, and she beamed proudly at her father.
"I did it! You're such a good teacher, Dad!"
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