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 Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 10:58 am
 Nearly a week had passed since the events of the Greenwoods and Ndege was eager to return and see how her new friend was doing. She felt faintly guilty about not returning sooner, but she had duties to attend to in her pack. And oh, perhaps all that time as a storyteller had left her more badly out of shape than she would like. It was a long walk, after all! She'd started training again, but it would take some time before she regained the strength and grace she had attained under her family's strict training regime. Not that she wanted to be a warrior again, oh no! But if she was going to wander away from her pack's territory, then she needed to be prepared for what the rogue lands had to offer.
Ndege scrambled on top of a large rock, reasoning that her pelt wasn't as bright as Lani's and she should make an effort to be visible. This land was Lani's territory, after all.
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 1:29 pm
 It may have been Lani’s territory, but silly things like boundaries rarely bothered the brightly colored wild dog. She tried to scout out the safest, most predator-free areas to content herself with, only straying when her belly’s grumblings got too loud. She would never consider herself the bravest of souls, but she kept herself alive. Sometimes a hard thing to do out on the savannah.
Lani had not been expecting visitors when she made her loping rounds through the little patch she called ‘hers’, but a familiar scent on the breeze caught her attention. She paused and lifted her petite head to sniff the air. Another dog, yes. And a female, she could tell that too. But who…? What…?
“Ndege!” Lani yipped in excitement. She leapt up and turned one nimble circle before darting off in the direction of the smell. It had been so long! It took only moments of racing through the short grass to spot Ndege’s familiar, striking pelt. Lani barked raucously to announce her presence, slowing to a delightful trot.
Her maw was split from ear to ear with a grin,” Ndege. You’ve come a long ways! I’m sorry I haven’t any food to offer you, but I know a good place for mousing not too far.”
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 1:59 pm
"Lani!" Ndege called, jumping down from the rock so that she might better greet her friend. "I have indeed come a long way, but no matter. I may be a storyteller, but that's no excuse to grow idle and fat!"
She paused, thinking about what Lani had said about the mousing. She'd joined the Nyota-Wasomaji very shortly after leaving her home pack, but she still remembered the pangs of hunger she felt during that time. Hunting on her own was hard, and she didn't have the skill. If Lani had lived on her own for long, then she must be a great deal more skillful than Ndege. Still, why eat mouse if there was bigger game available? She weighed her words carefully, not wanting to offend her new friend. "Do not worry about the food; I have spent too long being idle while the hunters for my pack hunted game. I am afraid I am a bit clumsy and never learned to catch mice. But perhaps with the two of us, we could try to catch larger game? I may be clumsy, but I am also very strong."
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 2:11 pm
If only Lani had the opportunity to grow idle and fat! Every moment awake was a moment on the move, scouting out new hunting grounds, scavenging for carrion or abandoned youngling nests, watching her tail from larger predators. Lani was tiny even for a wild dog, she had no hope at all of defending herself against a cat or a hyena with a grudge. She’d lost many hares that way. Better to back down without a fight, then risk injury that prevents hunting another day.
No, Lani was too tiny for that. But she was quick and agile. Mouse hunting was right up her alley.
The mention of larger game made Lani’s stomach rumble. She laughed and turned her head, embarrassed. “It’s been many, many moons since I’ve hunted anything larger than dikdik. I’m terribly out of practice, but –“ her stomach growled again,” But I’d be happy to try!”
Real meat! Meat she could gorge herself on!
“There aren’t any herds in this area, but I know of a good place only a few sun-lengths journey from here,” she grinned, flashing teeth, and wiggled her tail,” If you don’t mind more walking.”
How lovely it must have been to be a story-teller. Safe with a pack and food available whenever you needed it. N need to travel miles and miles every day just to fill one’s belly and quench one’s thirst.
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 2:55 pm
Ndege heard Lani's stomach growl, but was polite enough not to comment on it. She wasn't hungry herself, having eaten before she left her pack, but she rather hoped they were successful in their hunt and were able to bring down something big. She'd figure out some excuse to only eat a small portion and leave the majority to Lani.
"What fierce, out of practice hunters we'll be!" Ndege said with a laugh. "Lead on, the walking will warm me up for a good run. We'll make a good team, I think, with your agility and my size."
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 3:10 pm
Lani let out an easy laugh and bobbed her head. They were going to look absolutely awful out there in the herds, trying to hunt after so long… but by the time they reached the plains the sun will have sunk low. Maybe the stars would grant them luck. Lani wasn’t an excellent night hunter, but desperation may prove invaluable yet.
Without another word of encouragement, Lani leapt over the protruding rock – her efforts dainty and graceful – and started off through the grass as a slow trot. An easy pace, so they wouldn’t tire before they reached their goal. Lani had great agility, not stamina.
“What is it like in your pack, Ndege? I’ve never had a pack.” Well, not since she was a young pup, and even then her group had been small. Easy to pick apart. Lani had never known, could not even conceive of, a group like the Nyota-Wasomaji.
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 4:01 pm
Despite having returned to her old work out regime, Ndege was quietly grateful that Lani was keeping things to an easy pace.
"Hm," said Ndege, thinking over the question. "I didn't grow up in the Nyota-Wasomaji, so sometimes I find their ways a bit strange. I grew up in a much smaller pack, one with no land to call our own. We wandered, we trained, and we fought. It wasn't where I belonged, not really, so I left. Almost no one ever leaves, but I was bad enough to fighting that my parents were happy to see me go.
"The Nyota-Wasomaji are a big pack with many, many dogs and a stretch of land they claim as all their own. They are the star-readers and they look to the night sky for guidance in all things. Every dog - or those that are old enough, at least - have a group of stars in the sky that they call their own. It's my job as an Aurora to tell the story behind each pack member's constellation. And some other stories besides! The Greenwoods will make a good tale once I find the proper way to tell it."
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 4:36 pm
“I couldn’t imagine living in a warrior pack,” said Lani, her brow furrowed and thoughtful,” My birth pack was small. Not only in numbers, but in size. We were all rather tiny compared to most dogs.” Which was where Lani got her petite build. Barely larger than an adolescent, and svelte like a cheetah. She hardly had any bulk to her frame at all, although part of that was due to her sparse diet.
The descriptions of the Nyota-Wasomaji lands made Lani’s heart flutter in her chest. Paradise. The only word for it. A land with not but other dogs, dogs to hunt, dogs to protect, where Lani could play and romp without worry or care. She pranced forward a few steps, unable to keep the jolly bounce from her gait.
“I’ve always sworn by the stars,” said Lani, gazing upward. There were none to be seen now of course. It was too bright for stars. She remembered some constellations, though. A lion – she shuddered at the thought – an archer, a scorpion. There were so many stars. She turned to Ndege and asked,” Do the stars choose the dog, or does the dog choose the star?”
Putting one’s faith in stars was one thing, but… representing oneself with them? Lani had no constellation of her own, that was certain. But perhaps, one day, she might feel a connection with some odd grouping of stars, and put her name on them. Constellation Laniluana! What a thought.
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 5:42 pm
Ndege smiled as she watched Lani prance along. She couldn't picture the little dog in her home pack; it was a surly, unforgiving group.
Ndege also gazed upwards, laughing faintly to find herself do so. Before joining the Nyota-Wasomaji, the stars had held no special meaning to her. She had since adopted their beliefs as her own, for she owed her loyalty to any group that allowed her to stay and tell tales instead of fight.
"I think it's a bit of both," she said. "My constellation is a little bird. It's a small constellation, only five stars. Those stars were there long before I ever looked up to see them, but I'm not certain that the bird was there as well. It's take, ah, a bit of a strong imagination to see the shapes the stars hold," she said with a laugh.
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 6:45 pm
While Lani had no knowledge of the Nyota-Wasomaji religion, she had put her faith in the stars… and the sun. Anything so large and grand, visible in the inky black net of the night, was kind in her eyes. Without the sun Lani could not hunt. Without the stars, how could she guide herself through the savannah and know how to find her way home? She had no idea sun-worship was frowned upon by the Nyota, but star worship came naturally to her.
“I can understand that,” she said,” Like seeing patterns and clouds or sand. Some dogs notice them, and others don’t. It must be special, having stars to yourself… even if they’re only few.”
Five stars was more than Lani had, more than she could dream of.
Lani paused and lowered her nose to the earth. There were faint tracks in the dirt leaded to the east, and a scent-trail of acrid urine hit her nose. Antelope. Gazelle. Nothing too large, which was fine by her. Two wild dogs couldn’t take down a buffalo or gnu!
With a wag of her tail, Lani grinned back at Ndege and exclaimed,” We’re getting closer. The herds aren’t very numerous out here, but we might have better luck intimidating them then.” Trying to take on a large herd was often an effort in futility. Many herd-creatures had learned to group together and drive off predators. Lani never stayed around them for long, she couldn’t afford an injury.
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 11:08 am
"I am not one that notices," she said with a chuckle, "because I never went to look until I joined the pack. I couldn't be a proper story teller or a full pack member until I found my constellation... so I looked up, and I thought about who I am and what guides me. When the star-trackers first added my constellation to the den walls, I went to visit it often. It felt so strange to think that I could be guided by stars... new pack, new ways! I don't visit the den anymore though; my stars in the sky, in me. Not the walls of a den."
"There is something that guides everyone," she said, "although not always stars. Not that my pack mates would agree with that! But I did not always belong to the pack and I have seen dogs with no stars that still held plenty of purpose."
Ndege wagged her tail in excitement at the thought of the hunt ahead. It had been much too long since she had sunk her neck into a preybeast. "They'll have a harder time escaping our teeth if they can't hide in their herd. Let's go!"
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 10:25 pm
Lani cast another futile glance upward at the barren sky. The white circle of the sun glared back at her. She would spend some time searching the stars tonight. If there was a whole pack of wild dogs who felt the call of the stars, surely Lani could feel something, the draw of one of the countless constellations. There must be some star out there, for her. If they existed for others, even for dogs like Ndege who didn’t see them until she had to, then they must exist for her.
“I would love to see your pack,” said Lani, finally, her voice a breath above a whisper.
But that was the last she said on the subject. A scent had caught her nose, and she lowered her muzzle to the dirt. A fresh trail. Her tail wound itself in circles behind her. She let out a yip and pranced forward, quickening her pace,” I smell them!”
Lani raced her way up a rolling crest where the grass grew nearly as tall as she stood. It helped hide her bright pelt from view, but patches of blue were still visible here and there. Finally the wind was carrying the rich smell of gazelle to her, and she slowed her pace to a crawl. She paused, sinking her belly to the ground, and perked her ears to listen.
Somewhere, not far, an animal snorted and stomped its feet.
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Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 2:04 pm
Ndege's ear swiveled to the side, barely catching Lani's comment. "You should visit sometime," she said.
The scent of the gathered prey beasts reached her just the same as Lani, but she said nothing as she ran after her friend. It wouldn't do to give an early warning, after all!
Being bigger than Lani, Ndege had to drop to her belly far sooner than her friend and had some trouble catching up as she slunk through the grass. "How do you want to do this?" she whispered. "Just the usual - pick a weak one and run it down? There are only two of us, but we could run with each of us on one side so that the gazelle has nowhere to turn."
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Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2012 1:39 am
Lani grinned over her shoulder, but did not comment, as Ndege crawled her way up the hill. She bumped the other dog with the side of her muzzle when she neared, then focused her gaze on the herd just visible between the lengthy blades of grass.
“If we can find an old cow or a calf, we’d be all set,” said Lani. She didn’t much care to take on the sharp horns of a buck, but if that was the only option… She gave Ndege a nod,” On either side, that sounds lovely to me. Shall we?” Lani let out a hushed chuckle, then carefully – quietly – started to inch her way down the hill.
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Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2012 8:04 pm
Despite her earlier doubts, Ndege was feeling pretty confident. The two of them had helped bring down a rampaging elephant; surely bringing down a gazelle would be no problem. She pushed away a brief pang of grief at the thought of the elephant - this was different, this was food. Hungry or not, she could feel the thrill of the hunt stealing over her.
Grinning like an idiot, she inched down the hill after Lani. She breathed deeply through her nose as she went, analyzing the scents. She could hear the herd too, and if she wasn't mistaken... yes, definitely the sound of a calf. She nudged Lani with her muzzle and jerked her head towards the direction she had heard the calf call from.
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