|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 8:56 am
The dry southland grasses ruffled lightly as a relatively small figure passed through them. The little creature was of great contrast to the rest of his surroundings. He was used to the drab greys of the Elephant Graveyard, the place where he called home. Yet, he found, if he kept low to the ground, he was near invisible here too. Suddenly, above the grasses, the critter poked his head up for a look. Green canid eyes scanned the area, making sure he was alone. And indeed the hyena pup was.
With a sigh of relief, Mabozi dropped back down into the grasses. He needed to find Tibuka and get back home, he was starting to get too antsy around here. He knew lions lived in this place, and he sure as hell didn't want to find one.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 9:15 am
 Today was one of the rare few days that Mlinda ever came away from her beach to hunt. A soft gray-blue body stalked through the tall grass carefully, making sure not to disrupt the herds that were scattered throughout the waves of golds and browns.
But wait. She wasn't alone. Definitely not alone. Mlinda raised her head slightly to get a whiff of an unfamiliar scent, her nostrils flaring. And the thing was, it was close by, too!
Slowly but surely, the lioness padded through the grass, eyes alert and claws unsheathed, just in case this animal was a predator who knew how to fight. Mlinda's eyes narrowed all of a sudden. Just in front of her was whatever this beast was. Maybe it was a bone-crushing, cannibalistic hyena! Or perhaps it was a quick and painless cheetah, ready to gouge her eyes out. It might even be a poisonous snake, waiting for her to step out so it might strike her with it's toxic venom.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 9:20 am
Mabozi heard something, shuffling its slow way toward him. The pup froze, his brain mulling over a series of senarios as well. Black ears went up as to see it he could get a clue of with what he was sharing this space with. Perhaps it was Tibuka. A big smile grew on the pup's face and he poked his head up out of the grass again. But what he saw was not at all Tibuka. In fact, he had no idea what it was. But if it was a lion, he was in trouble.
"Wha is tha'?!"
Mabozi yelled this innocent question out to the stranger. It was better to be safe than sorry. Better to find out with words than with actions. His eyes were still wide with a sense of curiosity as he crept closer to the thing. Whispy tail was twitching around behind him as he finally stopped, a few feet away from the thing. He sniffed a little, and tilted his head. Didn't look like a hyena. What was it?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 9:25 am
A low growl came from Mlinda's chest as she felt her body tense up. Well, here goes nothi-
"GAH!" The lioness stumbled backwards, seeing a pair of bright green eyes poke in front of her. Mlinda, feeling rather embarassed, stood up and shook her body, before turning to get a good look at what the hell it was that dared to spook her.
A pup. A little hyena pup.
"Wha-but I.." She stood there, gawked, before shaking her head. "What're you doing out here by yourself, pup?" she demanded, but in a somewhat gentle voice. The pup was probably just as frightened as she had been, and yelling at it would probably scare it more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 9:31 am
As the thing got closer, Mabozi allowed himself to take a good look at it. His eyes squinted, looking at it's tall stature, grey stripped fur, and pretty blue eyes. It didn't look scary at all. His mother had told him that lions were terrible looking, blood thirsty beasts. This thing didn't look at all like that, so it must've been a something else. His ears flattened as it questioned him,
"Ah was out 'ere wi' Aun'ie. An' 'e got los'."
He looked away sadly. He rather missed that muddy colored male he called his Auntie. Hopefully, he'd stumble across Tibuka soon. He was getting home sick, and hungry all at the same time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 9:35 am
Mlinda tilted her head confusedly. Who the hell was this Auntie fellow? And weren't females usually called aunties?
The lioness shook her head. "If he got lost, then perhaps we should go find your parents instead, hm?" she said, looking to the cub in a sort of maternal way. She poked her head from the grass, looking around to see if any hyenas were around. Aside from the herds of Thompson's gazelle, she saw nothing.
"Erm, where do you live, pup?" she asked, looking back down to Mabozi. "I'd imagine somebody like you would live close by, I hope."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 9:46 am
Mabozi shrugged lightly in a rather adorable, puppy like manner. He wasn't too keen on what his next actions should be at all. The pup sat down roughly, a cloud of dust poofing up from underneath his hind end. Bozi's head swiveled around, trying to figure out where he was. But alas, he was just as lost as he had been a few moments ago. The thing's question piqued his curiosity, but he shook his head,
"Ah dun knows wha tha' is, but tha' es not a 'yeena. And MaMa dunnot like non'yeenas a' home. A' home wit' de bones"
The pup shrugged again, looking down at his dull paws in the dirt. Mafa wouldn't be happy with him bringing back home strangers at all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 9:53 am
Yeena? Home with bones? What the hell was this pup going on about?! Sure, he might've been a pup, but most infants have a bit of a vocabulary. Perhaps his parents didn't really care for him? He was a bit too goofy and curious, which, in his parents' books, probably was bad for a hyena.
Mlinda felt her body tense up a bit. Home with bones sounded a bit familiar. "The graveyard?" she murmured, before turning to face Mabozi. No way was she going there and facing hyenas. "Er, are you hungry at all?" she asked him, grinning sheepishly. "I could hunt for the both of us, or I could teach you to hunt! ..That is, if you'd want to." Smile! Mlinda couldn' help but act maternal around the abandoned pup, even if he was really just lost.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 9:59 am
As soon as the thing brought up the notion of feeding him, all other thoughts in Mabozi's head were wiped clean.
"'OOOOOOD! YAH!"
He bounced up from his spot and turned a few circles in an excited way. He was hungryhungryhungry. Tibuka was supposed to feed him, but they had gotten seperated, and that didn't bode well for the pup. And he mother didn't feed him either. Well sure, she nursed him until he was able to get around on his own, and then sent him off without a conflicting thought. Boy did he love his Ma. The pup grinned up at the thing, his baby teeth still pearly white and gleaming.
"'M M'Bozi! 'N MaMa seys dat when I ge' big, 'M gun be de best yeena evar!"
Of course in Mafa's land, being the best hyena ever meant that he'd be a lion slaughtering machine, but hey, he was quite oblivious to that fact as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 10:07 am
The lioness jumped a bit as the pup cried out excitedly, before spinning in circles like a top. She gave a little sigh of relief, before puffing out her chest. "Alright Mabozi! First thing's first! Puff out your chest like I'm doing right now!" She stood high and proud. "Next, you wanna get low on the ground and let out all that breath quietly." She lowered her body to the ground. "Keep your eyes forward, and use your ears to listen to the sounds around you." Using dexterous paws, she tilted his ears up, before slowly stalking behind him.
"Close your eyes now, and listen to the sounds of the animals." As she said all this hoohah, Mlinda was looking around for something. At once, she slapped a paw on the ground, and pulled from the dirt a small mouse. "Once you're ready, you start stalking your prey, quietly and deadly." She tossed the mouse a few feet from Mabozi, using her paws to block all possible exits for the rodent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 10:19 am
Mabozi sat up tall, his canid ears perking to listen carefully to what this thing was saying. It seemed extremely knowledgable, better listen to it. He did as she intructed, puffing up and dropping himself down the ground. As he flopped down, a cloud of dust rose around him. He was still for a few moments, his ears tuned in and listening, but all he could hear were his own giddy giggles. Boy was this a fun game!
Still giggling, the pup stalked around in an awkward, waddley manner. He wasn't built like a lion, no way could he be as graceful as one when it came to hunting. But he tried, and the results were not overly pretty. But he was stalking, not exactly quiet, not exactly deadly, but he was on his way, boy would his MaMa be proud. Suddenly, a mouse appeared near him. The critter was already dazed from being captured by a lion, and had seen the light at the end of the tunnel. It was quite out of it. Mabozi, at seeing the mouse, screeched loudly in surprise, but ended up jumping up in the air and landing directly ontop of the mouse in a form on an awkward pounce. There was a loud crack at the mouse's bones snapped from the weight of the overly large hyena pup on top of it. Bozi stepped off of his bloody prize and beamed up at his teacher. Boy was he smart.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 10:27 am
A white paw stifled Mlinda's laughs as she watched Mabozi stalk and waddle, before she watched as the pup screeched and stomped on the mouse, before grinning at her proudly.
The lioness tilted an ear back, and grinned as well. "Very good for a beginner, if I do say so myself. Now watch a pro. And keep yourself hidden." she cautioned him, before ducking away from him.
A few gazelle were close to them, and one with good eyesight could see Mlinda stalking slowly towards them. A snap of a twig was heard, and once the gazelle bolted off, so did Mlinda. Powerful legs sprinted towards a lagging gazelle, and with a bit of a struggle, the lioness leapt forward and grabbed the leg of it, pulling it down. There, she fought with it, before snapping the neck of the beast.
After this ordeal was over, the lioness dragged the dead animal back to Mabozi, grinning proudly. Even though she was out of breath, she stood over the pup, as if flaunting off her skills. "That's.. how... y-you do it.." she breathed, before turning to the gazelle and peeling off the skin and hair. And once that was done, she quickly started eating away at the warm, bloody flesh.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 10:37 am
Mabozi's smile grew even wider with the thing's compliments,
"Thank tha'!"
He chuckled quietly, looking down at his awesome catch. What a great hunter he was. Gripping the limp mouse with his dull claws, he looked back up to his 'teacher' and nodded quickly a few times over. He ducked down as she slunk off, green eyes watching her closely. She moved more gracefully than he ever would, Mabozi would have to practice that. Once he heard the trample of hooves and paws, his head jerked up in time to watch his companion bring down the hooved prey beast. He had no idea what it was either, but it looked darn tasty. As she dragged the meal back, Mabozi stared at the thing with eyes wide as quarters,
"Woaaahh, tha's goo'!"
He licked his chops, eyes glazed over, as he watched the thing eat. After blinking slightly, he layed down next to the thing and her meal and tucked into his own catch. He'd have to save a part of it, maybe the tail, or the bones, just to proove to the others that he had caught something all by himself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 2:42 pm
((Well this is utterly ancient! Gonna finish it up right quick biggrin ))
After slowly and deliberately picking away at his catch, Mabozi looked up. He had made quite the fuss over this pint size accomplishment, but it was something he'd never done before, and most likely, would never do again. But not that he knew it. The young pup was filled with false hope, as he always was. Hope that he'd make his mother proud one day. Who knew, maybe he would. But one thing for sure, Mabozi would never stop trying. Sighing, he stood,
"Sorry, bu's I gotta go. MaMa waits! Thanks tha'!"
The youth had an extatic grin plastered to his maw. He flopped a paw in a failed wave, picked up the remnant of his mouse, and dashed off. He'd been gone for a while, the pack would be starting to miss him. Or so he thought.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
