The sun slowly ascended into the sky, painting colors across it. It was still quite early when Aman'thul awoke. A few of the others within the pride had already set out for an early hunt, and per a suggestion from Eonar that was just what he planned to do this morning. The large male carefully moved around his still sleeping mate and nudged his son awake. "Persikka, get up." He spoke softly, nudging the boy once more.
Whatever dreams the peach lion was having were cut abruptly short as his father nudged him awake. Persikka slowly opened his eyes, blinking the sleep away as he rolled over. A long yawn split his maw as he stretched out, staring lazily up at his father. "It's too early to get up." He grumbled as he rolled away from his father, eyes closing once more with the intent of going back to sleep.
"Oh no you don't." Aman'thul growled as his son rolled over. With a swift motion he pushed Persikka over with his head, leaving the boy back on his stomach. "Up now, we are going to go on a hunt today!"
Suddenly he was being pushed over, and Persikka let out a grunt of confusion. "A hunt?" He questioned, forcing himself up onto his feet lest his father think to drag him up by his growing mane. "Why?" The question was followed by a look if displeasure. Persikka wasn't that great at hunting, but the idea of wasting such a nice morning not sleeping was even less appealing a thought.
"Because I said so." Aman'thul huffed. "Besides, your mother thought it might be a good idea." His own tone sounded as if the idea didn't quite appeal to him either, but he was not about to ignore her suggestion and incur his mate's wrath. "It'll be fun!" Aman continued, his tone forced into excitement. "Now come on." With that the older male turned and started out away from the small pride's sleeping area, a hunting spot already set in his mind.
"Right. Fun." Persikka followed after, paws dragging over the grass. The last thing he would have thought to describe as fun would be hunting, but he wasn't about to get his mother mad either. As they walked Persikka's mind was back under their tree, wishing he could be there right now sleeping. At least the sooner they finished this the sooner he could get back. The two walked for a time before coming to a stop. Persikka sat himself down, staring idly around in search for whatever it was his father planned to 'hunt'.
Aman'thul stood still after coming to a stop. He stared ahead, ears perked forward and nose raised. "Good, the herd is still nearby." He spoke, though mostly just out loud to himself. He turned to his son, smiling broadly. "Alright. The hunting party mentioned a zebra herd around here yesterday. Seems they are still nearby, so we are in luck!" The large male turned away form his son and started walking once more, however the pace was slower as he searched out the herd's location.
Persikka sighed lightly before pulling himself up to follow after his father. Luck indeed, however seemed more like bad luck to him. Really, the last thing he wanted to do at the start of his day was make a fool of himself hunting, not that his father was any better really. For that reason he was confused why either parent would think a hunt was a good idea for the two of them.
Ahead he spotted the herd, some grazing while others drank from the watering hole they had stopped at. The male quickly lowered himself, not wanting to be seen so quickly. They were still some distance off at this point, but there was little other than grass between them to hide their presence. "Quiet now." He spoke softly back at his son, glancing over his shoulder for a moment before fixing his gaze back upon their prey. "We'll move forward slowly. Try and find a good one to go after." With that said he slowly started forward, ears perked forward as he watched the herd intently, while at the same time listening to make sure neither he nor his son were making too much noise.
Finally the herd came in to sight. Unlike his father Persikka stayed standing for a time, ears forward as he stared at the herd. When his father spoke his attention was pulled away and he too dropped lower. He may not have been good at this, but he had at least learned the basics of a hunt by now. It wouldn't do him any good, but the sooner they managed to catch something, or more likely fail to catch something, the sooner they could get back and get something to eat. Slowly he followed after his father, blue gaze shifting over the herd ahead of them as he sought out a likely target. Those closest seemed pretty healthy and strong. The lioness' of the pride probably could have taken them easy, however Persikka was looking for something a little more their level. Finally he caught sight of one. Looked older and it had a bit of a limp, however it was also behind quite a few others. Persikka paused for a moment, looking to his father. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could speak he saw Aman pause ahead as well.
Just as Persikka had spotted the elder zebra so did Aman'thul. He paused for a moment and looked back at his son, nodding. With a target picked out they now knew exactly where to run, which to chase, and that would make this a lot easier. Well, at least it might, assuming they didn't lose the old one in the rush of fleeing zebra. Closer and closer they crept, keeping as quiet and low as possible. Suddenly a snap behind him caused the older male to come to a halt, head raising slightly as he looked back at his son. Realization stuck and he turned back to the herd. Aman wasn't the only one to hear it, and many of the zebra had raised their heads. A warning was called out and the herd made to escape. "Go!" Aman'thul shouted and bolted forward, moving as quickly as he could. Even after a short run he knew they wouldn't manage it. Even limping the old zebra had had too much of a head start.
The snap caused Persikka to stop as well, head turning to stare down at the stick he had just stepped on. Stupid! How had he not seen that! His father shouted for them to give chase, and so Persikka did. Forward he rushed, but they were too late, too far off to manage to even get within a few feet of any of the herd. Another failed hunt to add to his current record. Persikka huffed and plopped himself down on the ground.
Aman'thul slowed as the distance between thema nd the zebra lengthened. It wasn't worth continuing now, they were too far away. The brown male turned and made his way back to his son. "Ahh well." He said, lightly bumping his shoulder against his sons. "Lets head back. I'm sure the hunting party will have something waiting for us." He smiled and started back towards home, glancing back as his son moved to follow.
Persikka nodded and pushed himself back to his feet, turning quickly to follow his father. After all that work, and nothing to show for it, a meal and a rest sounded like the best idea ever.
[Word Count: 1275]
