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 Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:06 pm
Maybe, maybe she had missed her chance to teach them. But Shani had been thinking, about her mother, her life, her death and her own life since then. One of her fondest memories was when her mother had gone out of her way to teach her how to hunt, to help her improve. It had given her a goal, something to occupy her time with. She remembered the first thing she'd managed to bring home after many attempts at hunting alone. Her bunch were all a bit old for it, perhaps, but maybe they would still like to go out with her.
Maybe.
With these hopes in mind, Shani was walking home after a short walk around the waterhole. She would see who was around and ask if anybody wanted to come out with her.
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 10:37 pm
Demeter smiled and nudged her sister playfully as they walked away from the watering hole. The sisters had spent the entire morning talking, and of course Demeter took most of that time to pick on Anya for being...well Anya. She was smaller and all of Demeter's jabs were in good fun, she never said something hurtful to the other lioness.
"Want to find mom?" she asked and threw some dirt onto Anya's lighter colored let."Hey!' she exclaimed, it didn't really bother her much that her sister picked on her, she knew it was just apart of Demeter's personality. However, she did mind when getting dirty, "I don't throw dirt at you." she humphed and quickened her pace shaking the dirt from her fur.
Tossing Demeter a glare she replied, "Only if it isn't a race or a competition, I know you Miss Demeter, and it's always a race or competition."
Demeter's nod of approval together they started in search of their wonderful mother.
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 10:43 pm
When Shani arrived home and found that nobody was around, she decided she should just relax and wait to see who would show up. She was reminded of the afternoon she'd spent with Enzi, waiting for the girls to come back. It was that afternoon that had changed so much in Enzi, and Shani was very glad for that. Smiling and taking some time to relax, she laid out in the sun near the den and waited.
She didn't get time to even start to doze off before she noticed two familiar figured heading this way. It was unmistakably Demeter and Anya, they each stood out in their own ways. Anya looked so much like her sister but she was smaller and it was a big giveaway. With a smile on her face, Shani got up and walked out to meet them.
"Good morning girls," she called.
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Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2009 2:13 pm
"Good Morning," they chimed in unison and then looked at each other laughing.
"We were coming to find you," Anya exclaimed and skipped (the best that a lion can) over to Shani playfully, "We thought we saw you at the watering hole."
Anya was beautiful and tiny, her pale form not all together dwarfed by the other lionesses, but she's smaller than her siblings. She looked around for Enzi wondering if he was anywhere near to join in the fun.
Demeter rolled her eyes at Anya and trotted over to Shani and together the sisters squished her into a a sandwich lovingly.
"Anya wanted her Moooooommmy...and.." she paused looking around shiftily, "So did I!" She gave Shani and extra nuzzle and sat down beside the pair, giving Shani some room so she wasn't completely smooshed between them.
She never thought their acts as too childish, they loved each other and were not afraid to show it, it was simply who they were. Demeter had a slight mean streak, but only in good fun, and she loved a good challenge!
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Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2009 2:23 pm
"Oh, you might have seen me there," Shani said with a small laugh, "I had gone for a walk but couldn't find any of you so I came back here to wait." There was no need to explain more, eventually everybody came back here.
She was quite happy with each girl at her side, nuzzling each affectionately before she retreated back a bit so she could address them both without shaking her head back and forth to get a good look at them each.
"I was wondering if you girls were interested in a bit of hunting practice with me," she said, explaining why she had been out looking for them. She didn't say anything more, yet, but she thought of the fun she had had with her mother. Anya and Demeter were not quite how she had been, but perhaps that was better for them. Shani knew they didn't need to try hard to have her love and approval.
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Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 7:01 pm
Eventually everyone came back, indeed. The family had a pull to one another, tight knit and reliant on one another. There was really no place like home, no place like being under your mother's watchful eye. Anya wound do anything for her mother and the thought of Shani taking them hunting seemed like a marvelous idea!
"I'd love to practice hunting," the pale lioness beamed, "Can Enzi come too? I know he could use some practice too."
The dark brown lioness nodded vigorously, she was sick of Thea gloating about being able to hunt while Demeter was not very good at doing so. "I can't wait to show Thea a what for, she's been bragging about knowing how to hunt." Demeter didn't care for being shown up, especially by someone so close to her.
"Mom...do you think it is you know...bad that I'm an adult and can't hunt..I mean it can't be thaaat bad, right?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 7:16 pm
"Practice doing what?" Enzi asked suddenly, catching only the sentence fragment containing his name-- and the comment that he could use some practice. It was only by coincidence that he was heading back towards the den at that moment and he was accompanied by Kafara, who was certainly known to his family but had not really been formally introduced quite yet. He hadn't been expecting to find so many family members at home when they came, but his self-consciousness about introducing his friend was pushed quickly from his mind when he heard his name. He wasn't worried but he was curious. Kafara was walking shyly by Enzi's side, a couple steps back but certainly not following after his tail. She had slowed down when they saw how many lions were there, it was somewhat overwhelming but she knew family was important and, well, this was a better option than introducing Enzi to her family. She could just see how her father and brother would behave, even if there was no call for it. It was entirely possible to have friends of the opposite sex but she was entirely aware of how it often looked.
*
Shani was smiling at the pair of girls before her, her stomach fluttering when they agreed so enthusiastically. She missed her mother, she knew she should be the one here to do these things, would have done it sooner.. a slight gloss to her eyes and the focus on the girls before her blinded her to the approaching pair of lions.
"It's not bad, Demeter, you can still learn," she said reassuringly, smiling at Demeter-- and then surprised by the seemingly sudden appearance of Enzi. She blinked and looked past Anya and Demeter to the bright blue boy.. and the small, pale lioness behind him.
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Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 7:52 pm
"Good," Demeter nodded, "I don't want to be useless, I want to help and contribute like you."
"We were-" Anya started to answer Enzi's question, happy to see him around, as well as with his new friend.
"Talking about how you need to practice....," Demeter interrupted Anya to slide in that little joke but couldn't think of anything funny so she shrugged it off and allowed Anya, who was looking pretty annoyed to continue speaking.
"Hey," She glared at her sister and then turned to Enzi and his new friend, she was very pretty! "We were talking about getting some hunting practice in, do you want to come?"
Anya beamed at the pair and addressed the pale lioness, "Hello, I'm Anya, this rude lioness," she shot her sister a daring glare, "is Demeter."
"I'm not rude..I'm..." she paused, "I'm funny." She laughed, "Nice to finally meet you." The brown lioness turned to her mother expecting for some back up on defending her character.
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Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 8:28 pm
(Putting Shani first again to keep Shani and Kafara posts separated since they use the same color xD)
Shani seemed to pay no mind to the look she got from Demeter, except that the exchange did make her smile (and suppress a giggle).
"You must be Kafara," she greeted brightly, happy to finally meet the young lioness in person. Shani had been responsible for the selection of Kafara as a friend for Enzi, a win in a bet allowing her to force the poor blue boy into some social interaction. And seeing him with a friend now hardly made her feel guilty about it.
"I'm Shani," she introduced herself, sparing the lioness some repetitiveness and letting Demeter's 'nice to meet you' cover her as well, "We are going hunting, you're welcome to join us- both of you."
Enzi shuffled his feet when Demeter tried to make a joke about him and failed, then Anya filled in the blank. It was better than some answers but really, the most likely one.. but it still made him a bit uncomfortable. Perhaps because Kafara was with him, but a quick glance at her reminded him that she knew a fair bit about him anyway and she would be having her own worries now that she was faced with three lions from his family.
"Hunting?" he repeated, glancing to Kafara, more concerned with forcing her into something she wasn't interested in, "Well, we don't-" He stumbled over his words there, not sure how was best to say it.
Kafara was about as social as Enzi but she was surprised to find that these three lionesses didn't make her uncomfortable despite there being three of them, each with enthusiastic greetings for her. Maybe she was just used to this kind of attention, from family. It was different than when you met a stranger, but she wasn't sure she could explain it.
"It's nice to meet you all," she responded, her voice quiet at first but slowly rising. She wasn't nervous but her voice seemed to be taking a minute to catch up with her. She smiled sheepishly and glanced at Enzi when he stammered something about .. not hunting? It was hard to guess if he really didn't want to or if he was saying so for her benefit, so she took a guess.
"We can tag-along," she murmured, looking to Enzi for approval first but smiling meekly at his sisters.
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Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 9:35 pm
Anya beamed happy that they would be coming along, things were not the same with out Enzi, and having Kafara along made it all the better. She wanted to get to know her brother's new friend...girly friend. She stifled a giggle between her thoughts and Demeter's expression.
"Where will we be hunting?" Anya stood and shifted from paw to paw, "I am happy you're coming along, Kafara."
Demeter sat oddly silent thinking about how she'll show them how great she'll be at hunting. Unfortunately the brown lioness was rarely if ever silent and hunting would be quite a challenge for her.
"What will we be hunting?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 10:04 pm
Shani looked over the surprisingly large group before her with a smile. It would be a greater challenge but with more of them around they also had a better shot at actually catching something big. If they decided to aim for something big. The idea widened her smile, especially when they started asking her questions.
"Well, we have to be away from the central pride lands," she started, looking around thoughtfully, "There are certain areas the hunters often check first, I don't think there is anything going on right now so we can head towards there. Besides, it couldn't hurt to see if we can tell if someone else is around with us. We'll find out what we're hunting when we find something!"
Enzi's ears turned back sheepishly as Kafara accepted the invitation to go along with the hunting. It wasn't that he wasn't happy, he was just beginning to doubt himself again. His eyes were on Anya as she struggled to stifle a laugh, he could see it on her. He didn't think anything was really that funny.. but maybe he was being too analytical. He changed his focus, looking to Anya when she asked where they would be hunting, to Demeter when she asked what and then to Shani as she answered.
Kafara couldn't help but smile at Anya when she said she was happy that she was coming along. She was being welcomed, that was a good thing.. and she was still really there with her friend, so there was nothing to be too awkward about. Just stick with Enzi, that's all that she would have to do and she could keep being cheerful, friendly and comfortable. She thought about her own experience hunting. She was still learning too, but her family also contained hares. They were good friends to her mother and to various children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.. but games of hide-and-seek and tag, so long as you were careful, had been valuable practice. Of course, she couldn't really offer their service to strangers. And there were far too many of them right now, besides. She hadn't really tagged along on any hunts yet, but she was sure it would be a valuable experience. Enzi's mother was so much younger than hers, Kafara could already feel the greater energy invested in the activity.
She made no suggestion and instead she waited quietly for decisions to be made, she would do whatever she was asked. She wanted to learn, not teach.
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Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 7:52 pm
Anya thought over her mother's information, they were hunting away from the central lands, that was helpful information to have. They would know exactly what they were hunting when they found it. Well, that didn't help much. "Ready when you are, Mom." She was excited they would be working toward a common goal all together, well unfortunately three sister's shy, but they were probably off doing their own thing.
Demeter scowled, she wanted to be hunting something big, something that she could easily boast about being her first kill. "I'm ready too, I hope we can take down something cool." she wasn't a picky eater so taking down something 'yummy' wasn't on her mind. Thea was so going to get this rubbed in her face! She was going to be so happy to do it too.
"I'm happy you're here too, Kafara, Enzi needs more females in his life," she joked.
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Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 8:40 pm
Shani started off, leading them towards an area she knew to be quite the frequent stop for herds. She didn't say anything right away, there was a fair distance between them and their destination and she started off the walk thinking back to her first hunting trip with her mother. She'd been successful, she'd caught an antelope. But more importantly, it was one of her fondest memories of her mother. It had been one of the first times her mother had talked about love, interrogating her daughter about any suitors and describing young love. She had indicated that it was something she wanted for her daughter, something she had wanted for herself- something Shani would have been happy to give if she had had the time. Grandcubs. Now they were there, not from Shani but from Ghali, raised by Shani. And Aadil was not there to see them.
"When hunting it is best to hunt in groups. Some lions can hunt alone, but at least two is fine," she said very suddenly, almost quoting her mother exactly in her first lesson, as Aadil's mother had said to her too, "And they must always be quiet, especially with something like antelope as they are quite skittish."
Her voice was strained and her sad thoughts were pushed away as she tried to focus on the task she had. Her mother hadn't been so sad when they had done this, Shani could do it just as well. She loved them, all of them, that was all she needed. She glanced back to the four of them, smiling to herself. There was even a hint of young love amongst them, Enzi and Kafara, but that would be why Shani couldn't toss in that bit of conversation into their hunting lesson.
Enzi followed after everybody else, sticking near Kafara so she wouldn't be left far from him with his sisters right there. He stuck his tongue out at Demeter when she teased him, not really wanting to focus on the fact that Kafara was a girl because that only lead to the obvious and uncomfortable situation of teasing about love and mates or what have you. He didn't need things to be more awkward than they were!
His attention turned to Shani when she spoke up, explaining about groups. It was kind of an obvious fact, considering they were from a pride and almost everybody was a hunter. Still, he wouldn't say anything.
"Well, we have quite a big group," he commented.
Kafara smiled at Demeter when she joked, but also felt a bit awkward about it. She was used to jokes and familiar behavior like that but she rarely enjoyed being part of a joke. Still, she didn't let it bother her and she followed along beside Enzi. When Shani spoke up, mentioning antelop, she leaned over to Enzi and asked in a poorly-hushed voice.
"Do you think we'll find any antelope?" She had never really gone after anything so large, it was rather exciting! And there were plenty of them if they wanted to try.
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Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 9:39 pm
Demeter followed quietly, her confidence faltering when Shani explained they would need to be quiet. Her quiet? Puh-lease! The blue eyed lioness lagged back in the small group thinking. She hadn't considered silence as being apart of hunting, although it obviously made a great deal of sense.
Enzi sticking his tongue out forced a large grin across her face. With this family there was so much that she could accomplish, they were always here for her, each and everyone one them. Still lagging behind she thought, if antelope are skittish what type of prey was trusting?
"Big group, indeed."
Anya bounced happily beside her mother soaking in every word spoken. The change in Shani's tone made the pale lionesses ears perk. Why would speaking about hunting make her mother sad?
"An antelope would be interesting, I don't know about seeing one," the young lioness turned her gaze to Kafara and back to Shani.
"Do you think we will?"
Anya grinned, "I don't think I'll have a problem with being quite," Anya nodded vigorously, "What else should we know about hunting?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:04 pm
"We just might find some antelope," Shani said optimistically, thinking back to the hunt she and her mother had gone on. She hadn't been watching for any herd before this, she was only going on the hope that they might find something. Still, she continued to offer advice as they walked, "When we find something, if it's in a group, you need to pick the right target. Any injured animals will have a harder time running away, and younger ones might be more naive and less skilled in how to get away. But with younger prey you have to be careful that a parent or the group will not fight back, horns can be sharp if you're not paying attention."
Her voice quieted as she caught sight of something in the distance and she made a noise to hush the group behind her. She crouched lower, indicating for the others to do the same. She stood up a little more than them, trying to decide how to approach this. They had indeed found some antelope, a small group of them but certainly it provided hope they could catch something.
"OK," she said, crouching again and turning to them, "We are not terribly close yet but it's never too soon to conceal your presence. If they notice too soon, you'll lose your chance." One bit of advice down, now it was actually time to come up with a specific plan.
"We'll split up," she said, starting to divide tasks, "Enzi, you come with me and we'll go one way around them. Demeter, Anya and Kafara, you all go the other way and wait for us to scare them in your direction. Have someone picked out and work together to catch it."
Enzi shrugged to Kafara quietly, and he slowed down to walk beside Demeter so she could not let herself fall behind. He glared jokingly at her when she repeated him and shoved her playfully before bouncing ahead a bit to walk by Kafara. He tried to review the things Shani told them in his mind, muttering some of it under his breath to Kafara-- and stopping very suddenly when Shani indicated to duck down.
He frowned when he was singled out and instructed to leave Kafara with his sisters, glancing over at her but not arguing as he moved ahead to follow with his mother.
Kafara smiled over at Enzi when she realized he was trying to repeat everything Shani said, quite happy to see and learn more about her friend's family through this hunting experience. She knew what Enzi said about them but this helped form her own opinion about it, which she thought was valuable. She stopped and ducked down when inidicated, as well, and wasn't at all worried about when she was grouped with the other girls.
"OK," she murmured, glancing back to smile at Demeter. It was unusual for her to be so social, but they were making her feel very welcome and very much like a part of the group. Daringly, she peeked up over th grass as she tried to look for a good target but they weren't quite so close yet.
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