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 Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:25 pm
 "The miiiiighty lioness crouches low, her prey unaware of her presence..."
The young adolescent crawled through the tall grass, her red eyes focused on the little bird that sat yards away on a nearby rock. Unbeknown to the lion, however, the bird was fully aware of the female's presence, and was merely biding its time before flying away.
"Sloooowly but surely, the huntress nears her game, prepari---ahggghhhh!"
One wrong step, and she'd slipped, taking a tumble, face first into the ground.
This certainly wasn't supposed to happen to a mighty huntress!
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:29 pm
 Tiombe sighed and muttered to herself as her prey flew away from the rock it'd been perched on. She'd made sure she was deathly quiet while approaching her hopefully-soon-to-be feast, but something, no, someone had stopped her from succeeding in making a meal out of the little bird.
Growling, she steadied her paws against the ground. The voice that had hollered out had been high pitched, so no doubt it was just a young fool making... well, a fool out of themselves.
"Who's out there?" she called out, peering into the tall grass. "D'you mind explaining why you're scaring all the food away?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:44 pm
Blue ears perked up as a pink tuft of hair popped out from within the tall grass. Red eyes scanned the top of her hiding area, curious and a taaaaad bit fearful of the booming voice that had called out... apparently directed towards herself, no less!
"I'm.... I'm over here! My name is Delu!" she heard her voice, typically bold, cry out meekly.
No, no no no. No huntress acts like a scaredy cat!
Puffing out her chest, she stood up taller, her head barely reaching over the grass. "I'm over here!" she called out louder, trying to sound tougher. "In the grass!
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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 8:22 am
The larger lioness rolled her eyes, and walked passed the rock her lunch had flown away from.
"Well then get out of the grass," she commanded, her eyebrows furrowing. "It's not exactly polite to address someone without even letting them see you while you speak."
She saw the pink hair, the blue ears, and finally the red eyes. Judging by the size, she was older than Tiombe had assumed, but not by much. She certainly had a ways to go before adulthood.
"Delu." she said aloud, testing the name, "My name is Tiombe. Do you hunt alot, Delu?"
Judging by the young one's failure, she assumed not, but felt her curiosity get the better of her, so had to ask.
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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 8:29 am
Delu's ears flattened, not liking where this conversation seemed to be heading. Slowly but surely, she crept out of the tall grass and into the small clearing, one eyebrow raised in curiosity towards the strange new lion.
"I hunt when I wanna hunt." She told Tiombe defiantly, nervous that her inexperience was showing. "
Feeling awkward at having to look up at the older lioness, Delu strutted up towards the rock and stood upon it, adding a few inches to her smaller stature. "Momma taught me how to hunt, so I know how to, okay??"
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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 8:38 am
"I'm sure she did," came the sarcastic remark as blue eyes stared back into the younger, immature red ones. "And where would your mother be, right now?"
Tiombe caught herself smiling, knowing all too well the pride and ego that young cubs had. She herself had gone through such a phase, thinking she was as great and skillfull as her parents were, all the while being nothing more than an inexperienced cub.
"Am I to assume she's in the grass as well?" She asked, motioning her head towards the grass Delu had come from, "Hiding in there, giving you pointers?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 8:43 am
"My...m-my mother?"
Delu glanced back towards the grass, then looked back towards the green lioness, her expression hardening. "My mother's dead. She trained me on how to hunt when I was little."
Leaping off of the rock, she shot a glare at Tiombe, as if her feelings had been hurt. In truth, the memory of her mother did hurt, but the lioness had long been dead since Delu had been fending for herself, so her hurt came more towards the fact she was obviously inadequate at her hunting skills.
"I... I know how to hunt. I just like playin' around. And besides, you don't have to hunt to survive. You can eat bugs 'n eggs and baby birds, if you can climb a tree good enough."
Sticking her chin in the hair, she huffed. "I'm really good at climbing trees."
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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 8:50 am
Tiombe stood there, stunned. She hadn't expected quite a dramatic answer, and it took her a few moments to realize that the cub wasn't pulling her leg about it.
Feeling embarrassed, she shook her head, mentally berating herself. "I'm sorry, Delu, I didn't mean anything by it. I'm sure your mother taught you well on how to hunt."
Glancing away, she looked towards the uninhabited grass, and then back at the adolescent. "So... do you not have anyone else that can help you hunt? No father or sister? What about an aunt?"
Stepping closer towards the girl, she finally took notice of the younger girl's shrunken stomach, the ribs barely visible against her blue fur. The idea she had to climb up trees just to find eggs to eat was a pitiful mental image.
"Delu," she asked, hesitating as she tried to think through what she was about to say, "Delu, would you like me to help you hunt?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 9:09 am
The young girl's eyes widened, her mind confused... tempted, and offended. This older lioness who she'd never met before.. was willing to help her? But... but why? Did she feel bad for her? Or did she want to be her friend?
No, Delu thought crossly, nobody wanted to help Momma when she needed help, so I betcha this one doesn't REALLY want to help.
She scowled at the older lioness, her eyes narrowing back at her. "You just... just wanna steal my food, THAT'S what you wanna do! Well I don't need your help Tiombe, I can do it myself!"
With that, she turned her white paws around and dashed back into the tall grass, hoping and praying that the black and green lioness had no intentions of following her.
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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 9:13 am
A frown formed on Tiombe's face as she watched how the young girl reacted. She hadn't meant to hurt or scare off the other girl; if only she'd known the history before she'd said the comments she had!
"Delu!" she heard herself call out, taking one step to follow the cub, then hesitating. Part of her yearned to follow after her, to make sure Delu was alright, to get a meal in that scrawny stomach of hers. Another part of her tried to reason with her. This was Africa. This is how things went. The strong survived and the weak are prey.
Taking one glance back towards the tall grass, Tiombe returned to her own route, to search out other options for lunch. Her heart sent a silent prayer to the gods and spirits that Delu would survive, despite the bleak outlook her mind said the inexperienced cub was doomed to be fated.
Perhaps one day, should the fates shine their fortune upon the both of them, they would meet again. Next time, Tiombe would be more careful with her wording.
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