|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 6:19 pm
"Remember, Kaihdin, he thinks you're here to play, so lure him over here into the bushes. Say you're playing hide and seek or something - I don't care, as long as we get him."
Roho sat, poised to spring. As soon as the cub realized it was a trap, he'd raise hell, she was sure of it, so she had to be ready. They were far enough from his den that the family shouldn't be a problem, but if he was loud enough, someone else might here. She curled her lip back into a smirk. It was perfect, just perfect! She was confident it would go just as they planned. Kaihdin had trained so hard, and Roho had thought so much about this.
Tain pawed at the ground boredly, grumbling under his breath. "Where is she? I snuck all the way out here just to sit here by myself? What a rip off! This is booooring." He lifted his eyes and looked around, frowning. "If she doesn't get here soon, I'm going to leave. What was her name? Kaihdin?" He thought and nodded before shouting, "Kaihdin! KAIHDIIIIN! Are you here?"
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 6:27 pm
Kaihdin nodded obediently, wincing at the loud shout of her name from the other adolescant's lips.
"Yes, mother. I learned from the best, after all."
And she was gone, slinking into the bushes and heading towards the unknowing young lion.
A part of her was immensely guilty. Who would have wanted to be cubnapped, anyway? And probably from a loving family, to boot. Not that she didn't love her mother, but Roho could be...manipulative, at times, even towards her own blood. Just to get power and whatever it was she wanted at the moment.
But the other half of her desperately wanted to prove herself. So that, when the opportunity arrives, the trust her mother had in her was so great that Kaihdin could leave without suspicion.
And just never come back.
"Tain! I'm so sorry; I got completely lost back there," she called into the clearing, tumbling in front of him. She landed on her side, a lop-sided smile offering an apology. "You wouldn't believe how easy to get lost, there's so many places to circle around and you wouldn't even know it if you did!"
She was breathless; she really had tripped on the bush's jutting stick. That had been an oversight on her part, and it would not happen again. Embarassment flooded through her as she scrambled to sit up again.
"So, whatcha wanna do? Play tag?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 6:46 pm
Tain grinned brightly as Kaihdin came bumbling out, rushing to greet her. His words spilled out quickly, being the chatterbox that he was. "Hey! Yeah, you kind of took a long time, but that's okay. You're here now! Oh, you got lost? That's too bad. I've never been very far so I wouldn't know. The Pridelands are big though and you can get lost there, too. Or you can hide! I do it a lot."
He tilted his head. "Tag? Sure! I love tag! Ohhh, can I be it? Please please please?" His entire body wiggled and he widened his blue eyes pleadingly. "I promise you can be it next time! But can I be it now?"
Though he was almost a juvenile, he still had a very cub-like air about him. Tain's mouth moved much faster than his mind which led to him making some very airy and sometimes rude remarks. No matter how much his parents tried to teach him otherwise, he didn't know better.
Roho watched silently, her body tense.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 6:54 pm
Kaihdin fought the urge to run away. This cub had no manners whatsoever, and he was even a little bit older than she. It was awful.
"Um, sure. Yeah. Here, turn around three times with your eyes closed, and then we'll start when I say go. Ready? Set? GO!" And with that, she was circling the small area as he began to spin around.
The plan was to lead him around for a bit, then wait until they were both into the game before leaping over to where her mother patiently waited. She decided to give a little hint to the lioness, just in case.
"I'm gonna make sure I crouch really low to the ground," she called out loudly, circling a bush before entering the area again, going the opposite direction she had been slinking. "And I think bushes are fun to circle, so if I stay behing one and then pounce, it's gonna scare you silly."
There. Hopefully, the cub was still young enough to not take her words seriously, which she extremely doubted. And she knew her mother was smart enough to have done the 'hint' on her own. But being careful and rechecking one's steps only paid off for good fortune in the end, after all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 7:13 pm
Tain blinked fondly at her, clueless as to her annoyance with him. He did just as she instructed him to, squeezing his eyes shut and spinning around once... twice... three times. By then he was going so fast he went a fourth and fifth time before finally stopping, blinking. Disoriented as he was, he stumbled forward, trying to focus and find his new 'friend'.
Finally, his sight cleared up and he leapt after her, grinning. "I'm going to get you!" he called, his tail streaming after her. The cub hurtled around the bush, seeing the tuft of her tail as it disappeared around the other side. He followed, but by the time he circled around the other side, she was gone again.
Suddenly, a brilliant thought struck him. I should go through the bush! That way I can catch her on the other side. She'll never know what's happening!
Grinning deviously, he stopped and threw himself into the bush, plowing straight through...
... that is, until Roho caught him. With her claws carefully sheathed, her paws snapped forward and pulled him towards her. Before he could react, she grabbed the scruff of his neck in her jaws and lifted him like a newborn. She rose and stalked out of the foliage, looking around for Kaihdin.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 7:24 pm
She hid behind the bush she had scrambled past, both avoiding Tain and her mother, and yet successfully leading the cub into the trap. The bush she hid behind now was a bit farther away from the main area; this gave her a bit of privacy to inwardly grieve.
This guilt would forever haunt her, and she would in no way try to stop it. She deserved it. And she could only hope and pray that he somehow forgave her, in the future, and as time passed and they grew together as lions.
Kaihdin roughly swiped her eyes with the back of her paw, erasing the trembling pools of water that had gathered dangerously close to spilling over. She emerged from her hiding spot, refusing to look at either of the other lions, and began to trot towards the cave, where they would keep their captive.
It made her sick. She wouldn't be surprised if her stomach emptied right then and there, but training made her hold it. This was not a time to show weakness. Everything she did right, in this time of honor, would pay off later.
It was her only hope.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 8:09 pm
"Hey, get off! Get off! Who do you think you are? Put me down! This is bad! You shouldn't be taking me! I don't even know you! Kaihdin, who is this? Wait a second, do you KNOW her? Gods! This was a trap, wasn't it?! Oh, you horrible little girl! I should've never listened to you! You didn't want to play! You wanted to cubnap me! Didn't your mother ever teach your any manners?"
He was obviously unaware that his larger captor was, indeed, Kaihdin's mother.
Tain thrashed but Roho held on and he let out a growl, which was rather unthreatening, thanks to his size.
Roho did not know why Kaihdin disappeared for a moment, but paid it no mind. Perhaps she was taking a private moment to bask in her success. It made sense to Roho, so she went ahead towards the cave, ready to shut the little menace up. She couldn't do any real damage (unfortunately), but hopefully she could intimidate him enough to get him to quiet down.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 8:20 pm
Kaihdin increased her pace, tears once again blurring her vision as she tried to ignore the angry, unjustified cries behind her. Anger at her mother replaced the guilt and sorrow; the tears were swept away in an instant as a cool, calm facade slid over her face. The mask was impenetrable to perfection. She had worked hard to achieve it, and had finally been rewarded.
The young lioness made no move to avoid stepping on her siblings' limbs; the other five were strewn out across the cave's floor, all either napping or too lazy and bored to find something else to do with themselves.
"Get up, you lazies," she hissed at them. As the heir, she was in second command, and therefore obeyed when their mother was either gone or allowed Kaihdin to rule for a little bit. "Move out of the way; I'm not nearly as big as our Mother and she will certainly break something if she steps on it."
Kaihdin refused to talk anymore, instead taking her place on the soft nest of leaves and furs that was hers. Tain--no, the captive, she trained herself to think--would be kept in a barricaded section of the cave. It was a small, narrow tunnel, and large rock had been pushed aside to reveal it. Roho had pushed it aside herself, and could easily nudge it back into place. The boulder was large enough so that he couldn't escape, but small enough for air to leak in through some decent cracks and holes.
Plus, for the food to be slipped through. A dead captive was as worthless as not having one at all. They needed him alive and healthy.
They.
Kaihdin closed her eyes, breathing out slowly. More like Roho. She didn't want anything more to do with this plan of her mother's.
When Roho walked into the cave a few seconds later, Kaihdin and curled around so her back faced everything else, leaving her to stare at the dark, rocky walls of the cave and think.
'You horrible little girl!' resounded in her mind, echoing painfully back and forth.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 7:33 pm
Tain continued to moan and whine as he was put into the 'holding cell', but quickly quieted down once in there, falling asleep after the night's activity's.
Roho growled pleasurably as she padded up to Kaihdin's side, her scarlet eyes flashing. "You did wonderfully, dear!" she rasped, smirking proudly. "Quick and efficient... just perfect!" She leaned over and licked her daughter's head praisingly, still beaming. "I can't honestly say I ever doubted you, but I'm more confident than ever now that you're destined for great things."
Obviously not realizing that her daughter was upset and wanted some space, she curled around her, a rare sign of affection. Though her daughter was almost a juvenile, she leaned over and began grooming her so as to allow Kaihdin to rest. She ran her rough tongue over her daughter's black, closing her own eyes contentedly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 7:38 pm
Kaihdin sniffed softly, almost giving into the tears that had continued to threateningly spill. This affection was only temporary, after all. If she was not the heir, and instead another sibling was, this would be entirely different.
But, she couldn't help but grasp at the few threads she had of a true mother. It was instinct. She wanted to think that, even though everything else was bad, they had, at least, one moment of true mother and daughter bonding. Or whatever it was.
Kaihdin turned around, burying her face in her mother's shoulder fur with a muttered "thank you" at the compliments. The grooming ministrations were truly her undoing and she fell asleep almost instantly, having been worn out by the inner turmoil that continued to churn inside the young lioness.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
