It's hot in the desert, no real secret there. Even lying around for extended periods of the day can really work a sweat up on a body. And he hadn't been lying around. A little fatigued with his morning 'hunt', Brennen made his way toward the small, resident oasis. His tongue was dry and felt as if it were glued to the roof of his mouth- a cool drink from the oasis' water source was just what he needed after a day of hard (fruitless) work. Head bowed, he drove his way along at a determined pace through the sand, as if he'd been set on tracks. He would stop for nothing on the way, or at least that was the impression he was giving.
Kaa’washa was heading toward the oasis as well. He had spent his morning shadow boxing with himself, and that got tiring after a couple of hours. He panted as he headed in that direction, thinking about the cool waters of the oasis. As he walked across the sands he thought about what he’d do when he grew older. He had watched the older lions sparring and fighting and he thought he’d enjoy doing that more than being a guard, or hunter. Glancing around his dark gold eyes spotted Brennen and he picked up his pace until he caught up with his brother. ”Brennen.” He called out to him, falling in step beside him. ”Where are you headed?”
The other male would raise his head slightly as he was addressed, but he didn't stop. Eyes a similar color to Kaa'washa's would regard him sidelong. "The water." Brennen would grunt in return. His nostrils flared slightly as he took in the other's scent, puffed it out QUITE quickly. "What've you been up to? You stink."
Kaa nodded, they were headed to the same place which was unsurprising, it was hot after all. He was quite as they walked feeling no need to make small talk. That was until he heard Brennen’s question. He wrinkled his nose, glancing at his brother. ”Training. You don’t smell great either.” That was another reason to go to the oasis, they could wash the stink off themselves. His tail twitched, sand getting matted in his tail tuft.
There was an approving note in the cub's throat for such a reply. Strong, that's what they would be. While it was generally understood that cubhood was a time during which little was expected of them, Brennen was convinced it must be as crucial an age as any. Why wait until apprenticeship to start getting serious? His brother seemed to have the same idea, which put him neatly into the 'smart' category. Anyone that agreed with Brennen was smart. As they reached the watering hole, Brennen lowered his head to take long draws of the liquid in, actually chomping at the water.
The red lion cub nodded at the approving noise and said nothing else. He preferred the quiet which was one reason he didn’t mind to being around Brennen, they were very similar. Once they got to the water hole Kaa didn’t even bother stopping to take a drink, instead he just waded into the oasis. He closed his eyes and rolled around, submerging his entire body in the cool water. When he came back up he shook his head getting his mini-mane out of his face, letting out a contented sigh. This was nice. ”Water’s nice.” Short and abrupt, that was how Kaa rolled.
Brennen simply stared at his brother for a moment, licking his black chops. Yes, that water had really hit the spot. Then, gracelessly, he would spring forward, plopping into the water with a dull splash. "Yes." He agreed when he came up, flipping the mess of fur out of his eyes. He sloshed his way farther up the bank some, turning his head toward the other, an expression on his face that could have been called thoughtful on any other lion.
Kaa waded out towards the center of the oasis, swimming around in circles. He wrinkled his nose as small waves came at him from his brother’s entrance. Half-heartedly he pawed water back towards Brennen, before he just started to float. He liked to float, it was simple and after training all morning simple was nice. He glanced over at Brennen and tilted his head slightly. ”Hm?” He seemed to have something on his mind, and he was slightly curious as to what.
"Just thinking. I don't think I can save you if you go under." A small smirk. He lowered himself to the wet sand, not minding at all how it stuck to his belly. Idly, he scratched at his chin, then set to smashing his paw at the shallows. "I'm hungry."
Kaa rolled his eyes and scoffed. ”I wouldn’t need you to save me.” He was confident in his ability to swim and keep himself from drowning. After a bit he could feel himself getting tired and bored, so Kaa swam to the edge of the pool to flop onto the sand next to Brennen. He sighed glancing over at him. ”We could try to go hunting.” He wasn’t sure how well they would do, he didn’t have all that much experience hunting yet.
"Scorpions or snakes?" Brennen countered in turn, the corner of his maw ticking up. He'd been trying to look for something to fight earlier along those lines, but to little avail, at least on the side he'd been going. But maybe there'd be some things around the water... Maybe a bird or something.
Kaa was quiet as he thought about it. Snakes seemed easier, a scorpions tail intimidated him slightly- not that he’d ever admit it. ”Snakes.” He lifted his head looking around, ”Are there any snakes around here?” He wasn’t sure how they would find snakes, he didn’t know what they smelled like. To be honest, he’d never actually caught anything while hunting. Another reason he thought he was more cut out to be a soldier than a hunter.
Snakes. Snakes had those fangs and could potentially be poisonous, the end of any cub's life. At least you could smash a scorpion quick. But Brennen's foread only creased a little as a sign of this thought, and he nodded. Either way, it could be dangerous. "Maybe." He replied, eyes moving as if he could spot one just like that. "They probably get thirsty too. Want to look?"
Kaa nodded and then slowly pushed himself up. He supposed they’d have to get up to find some snakes. ”Okay” He stood there for a moment glancing around. He felt stupid, he much preferred training over this. ”Where do we start?” His tail twitched and he pawed at the sand.
Hell if he knew. Brennen made rumbly noises that weren't quite as effective in a cub's tenor, before he got up and nudged into Kaa, passing him. "Rocks and shade." He decided. If they weren't in the open where they could be seen, they'd have to be hiding. There wasn't anything out in this desert aside from sand, cacti, and rocks. And in the oasis, trees and very sparse patches of grass. "Anywhere they can fit."
Kaa nodded, rocks and shade sounded like a good place to start. ”Alright.” At the nudge he followed after Brennen, on the lookout for any snakes. He yawned, mouth opening wide as they walked. He had a feeling that after their hunting he was going to take a nap, after training, swimming, and now hunting he was getting worn out. ”Have you caught many snakes?” He asked gruffly, hoping that maybe the answer was no, then he wouldn’t be the only failure.
Except Brennen was going to take a little while to admit it. He padded over to the first rock he found, about the size of his paw, and turned it over, jumping back like it was trying to strike at him. But there was nothing. "I've watched it before." He would say after he had calmed down. "One of the older boys by the dens. He smacked it on its head and it died."
Kaa nodded, that sounded reasonable and not too hard. He went over to a rock that was about half his size and flipped it over, flinching back as well, but there was nothing there. Getting an idea he glanced over at Brennen. ”Maybe one of us should flip rocks and the other should stand by to smack it?” It seemed to make sense to him, gave them the element of surprise.
"...That's really smart." He nodded with approval, then gave the most serious of looks as he asked, "Do you want to be the Seeker or the Crusher?"
”I have my moments” Few and far between. He pondered the two options before shrugging. ”Crusher.” He waited shifting his paws on the sand for Brennen to flip a rock.
That was fine with him, and he would grunt to acknowledge his task. If Kaa's crushing paw got tired, they would switch out. They trecked on until Brennen spotted a rock as big as his own head, then went to place paws upon it. After a mere glance at his brother, he yanked the stone away.
Kaa nodded and followed Brennen to the next rock. Catching his glance he got ready paw up in the air over where he thought the snake would come out. Luckily for him he was ready because as the rock was flipped a snake uncoiled raising its head. Kaa reacted quickly bringing his paw crushing down on the snake. He watched satisfactorily as it crumpled. This hunting bit was easier when you did it with someone else. He glanced over at his brother. ”Want to switch for the next one?” He assumed they would go after two, so that they both had a meal.
Brennen peered over at the kill, reaching to push at it with his paw, feeling it crunch some under inspection. Yep, it was dead. He held his head up somewhat, looking a little smug for the both of them. Ha! This wasn't so bad. "Yeah. Pick that one up to carry with us." Just in case someone had the bright idea to take their kill.
Kaa nodded, he was smug as well but he didn’t show it- he didn’t show a lot of emotion. Bending down he grabbed the snake in his jaws. He was pretty sure he’d be able to carry a snake and flip a rock pretty easily. He headed over to another rock that was half his size. He glanced over Brennen and then flipped the rock, stepping back.
There wasn't one, but two snakes under that rock, and instead of making his desired smashing motion, Brennen was swatting aside one of the nasty reptiles as it struck at him. The other one slithered away as soon as the light hit it, bolting across the sand toward the trees. Growling, the boy danced out of the way as the snake regrouped itself and struck again. When he smacked it down, he did not stop at just one beat, continuing to smash it into the sand. He stared after the other snake when he got bored, considering, but he decided against chasing the thing. One was enough for now. Huffing and a little irrate from not being as successful as his brother, he picked up the very squished snake in his jaws.
At the sight of two snakes Kaa jumped back dropping the dead snake in surprise. He was too shocked to attack the other snake or help his brother. Luckily Brennen seemed to be able to handle it and when one snake was dead and the other ran away he sighed relieved. ”Nice kill.” He wasn’t sure if he would’ve been able to dodge the bite and kill the snake.
The crimson colored boy gave another huff through his nostrils, but the compliment did make him feel quite a bit better. He could have been hurt- that would have made him look like such an idiot! "Shtupit sssschnake." Came the grumbled, but he smirked a little too. He nodded toward some nearby trees, which could offer them some shade while they ate, and began off that way himself after a moment.
Kaa nodded and picked up his snake, he puffed his chest out with pride. It was their first successful hunting expedition. He followed Brennen into the tree cover, flopping down in a comfortable looking spot and immediately beginning to chew on his meal.
After he'd flopped down in the shade, he placed his paw on one end of the snake and really began to go to town on it. He'd already gnawed on it a bit on his way over. It wasn't the greatest of tastes, so he simply stopped paying attention to it, grinding up the small bone fragments and everything up before he swallowed. "How's your snake?"
When Brennen asked how his snake was Kaa had just ripped off a large chunk of snake. He chewed silent until he managed to swallow his mouthful. ”It’ll do.” To be honest it wasn’t very good, a bit on the scrawny side, but food was food. ”Yours?” He dug into the snake, ripping out its innards and gnawing on them.
"It tastes like victory." He replied, mostly because it sounded cool. Pride was a good enough flavoring, since now he could say he'd killed a snake himself if anyone were to ask him. He wouldn't have to suffer that embarrassment anymore. He was wondering if Ripuka had performed any such a feat yet- it was always good to know if he had one-upped her. After he was properly done with his snake, he licked his maw then opened it wide for a yawn. "Remind me to beat you good when I'm not so tired." He told the other casually.
Kaa made a sound that could be described as laughter only not as happy. Although it did feel good that he killed a snake mostly on his own. Maybe he’d mention it to Nuria when he saw her next. He kept silent as he finished off the snake and then cleaned his face for good measure. At his words he just smirked. ”Like you could, but I’ll sure to beat you.” He rolled over onto his side closing his eyes. ”Tired.” The more tired Kaa got the shorter his sentences became.
"Yeah, we'll see." Brennen snorted, and stretched out his limbs slowly. It was cool under this tree, and a little afternoon nap seemed to be just what he needed right now. Seemed like it was the same for his more mirthless brother too. He placed his head on his paws, thinking over what else he could say. Then he allowed his eyes to close as he imagined what else he could do now that he had managed to kill a snake. And before he knew it, he had drifted off under the warmth of the day.
The lion cub just grunted, too wiped out to formulate a sentence. He could feel sleep overwhelming him and he twitched once and let it come, fading into a dreamless sleep.