[PRP] Nervous and playful? (Mufasa,Uovu)

[Seaki]

Mufasa wriggled. He was nevous, but he was also playful. He didn't know what this leader of Uovu's would be like, but that left his mind to wander.

He tilted his head. He could ask? It was worth a shot.

"Hey, Uovu?" Mufasa asked curiously "What's your Leader like?" He pawed at the dirt a little bit, his mind wandering still to this Leader of his Foster Father's.  

[Kinreii]

Uovu hesitated. Here he was, walking along with Mufasa, playing games and all that jazz... and then, this?

Hrrrm, what was Roho like?
A million adjectives ran through the dark lion's mind, but he managed to narrow it down to a few. Mufasa seemed to be a little nervous... and there was no reason to make the boy even more jittery than he needed to be.

It was time for a bit of positive thinking.

"She's a great leader," Uovu started, lifting a paw to his chin and scratching it thoughtfully, "She's strong. Roho's very strong. Skilled with her paws, and deadly with her blows. She'll protect those loyal to her."

'...and destroy the ones who aren't,' he thought, but decided that this was not the best thing to say aloud, and so masked his uneasiness with a laugh.

"She'll welcome you, and you'll be treated well, Fasa. You're a strong lad. Roho prefers cubs of your caliber. She has a few cubs herself, you know."  

[Seaki]

Mufasa nodded. He wasn't too curious anymore nor jittery and nervous. Uovu spoke highly of his lord, so she couldn't be that bad, right?

"D'you think you should teach me how to hunt sometime soon?" Mufasa asked. he pounced on a stray pebble and glanced at it for a second before looking back to Uovu.

He had a lot of questions, but he was just so curious. He couldn't help it. There was so many things he wanted to know.

"Another Lion told me it was fun, but I dunno. But I guess we need to hunt to survive," Mufasa white tail flicked behind him.

"Hmm.." He paused in his thinking for a second and stared up at Uovu for any answers.  

[Kinreii]

Uovu liked this question much better.
With a grin, he flicked his tail, and padded up right to Mufasa's side. Slowly, the male pressed a paw on the boy's shoulder, and he laughed.

"Fasa, my son, hunting is my middle name!"

Just he watch, Uovu would surely teach him. He'd teach him everything he wanted to know. After all, Mufasa was now his boy, and to be in the Tononeka, hunting skills were a must have.

"Well, come, we'll find some preybeasts before we start. First, we'll have to do a little bit of tracking. Look at the earth, search for prints and scents. To be able to track, you need to understand the world around you, and make sense of it all. Visualise it in your mind. Now, Fasa, do you see any recent tracks? Can you smell any scents?"  

[Seaki]

Mufasa turned his nose to the ground. He looked first, though he couldn't see anything at first. He sniffed the ground, though he didn't know what to make of it. A strong scent that was close.

That's when he saw the prints. Something with small paws. Smaller than his own, so he didn't think it was a lion.

He didn't know what type of tracks they were. "What about those?" He asked not disturbing the tracks even though he was close to them.  

[Kinreii]

"Nice work, Fasa," Uovu positively beamed, "You've found some. Notice how the tips are forked, and the prints are close together. This animal seems to have moved about for a while, probably feeding, I'd say."

He sniffed, and took in the scent.

"It's a bird," he grinned, pressing his muzzle to the ground once again, and taking in the stories of the earth, "The scent is still fresh. And look, over there," his grin stretched even further, "A whole array of prints in the sand! See, that's how the sand helps us predators. It tells us stories, stories that we can understand and draw knowledge from."

He raised his head.

"Now, Mufasa," he started, dropping to his haunches, "Follow the tracks. But before you do, you need to read the wind."

He straightened, and cleared his throat.

"In order to hunt, we need to be downwind from the prey in question. Any idea why?"

Teaching was a tough business!  

[Seaki]

"So it can't smell you coming?" He tested it answer, answering the question with a question.

He tested the wind lightly, but he could already tell it was coming from and he was downwind alright. It probably would have taken flight anyways.  

[Kinreii]

"That's right!" Uovu visibly brightened, "I can see what you're thinking. The bird must've flown away, hrrm? But see these tracks? See these scuffle marks, that streak past this bush? The birds haven't lifted off the ground. And there are many of them."

Slowly, carefully, the lion dropped to his belly, and crawled commando-style along the ground until he reached a large bush. He parted a leaf, and beckoned his boy to follow with a flick of his tail.

"Look here, Mufasa," he whispered, pointing with a claw to the scene that lay before them, "The flock is feeding. Worm-picking. And now, my boy, you're going to pick one of them for yourself. Target the nearest, the weakest, the sickest. Make sure that they do not see you before you see them. Go slowly, sink to your haunches... and then, when the time is right, go out there and pounce. Do what comes naturally."

He grinned, and patted Fasa on the back with a paw.

"You can do it. Go and get 'em, tiger."  

[Seaki]

Mufasa moved caustiously as he was beckoned over. He looked at the flock trying to measure out one of them first. He copied Uovu's example and sunk to his haunches. He felt the sand under his belly.

He started to slink foward. It felt like a game of tag... though he was going to kill the thing he tagged, but, what was the difference...?

He could almost laugh at that. Tag...

He could tell the birds didn't notice him yet. His ears flicked lightly and he made a run for the birds. He tried for the one that was closest to him.

But...

He missed, letting all the birds fly away. He blew a bit of feathers from the ramble. "Oops. Well, I'll get better I guess," He said and turned to Uovu. "How'd I do... bad huh?"  

[Kinreii]

Uovu, however, was an adult lion. He had experience on his side, as well as physical strength, and the split second as Mufasa had sailed past the bird's, he'd run towards them, clamping his jaws down on the fattest fowl he could find.

"Did someone order some fresh poultry?," he grinned, letting the bird squirm and writh in his mouth, before, with a sickening crack, he broke the prey's neck. It hung limp from his mouth now, and he dropped it at Mufasa's paws with a grin.

"You didn't do half-bad, Mufasa. You did everything correctly. We've just got to work on your aim, that's all."

Uovu grinned.

"But, when it comes to hunting practice, you'd do well in teamwork based situations. Females are the natural hunters. Perhaps I should introduce you to some of them down when we return to your new pride."  

[Seaki]

"Alright," Mufasa said happily. He probably would work better in a team anyhow. He just never did.

He sniffed at the bird and bit into it. He relized he hadn't eaten for a bit and was pretty hungery.

He looked at Uovu once he was finished eating and grinned. "Thanks," he said.  

[Kinreii]

Uovu beamed.

"It's fine, it's fine. All good, all good. You just tuck into that bird, Mufasa, get your strength up. It'll be a big day this afternoon, after all."

He swallowed. Roho. Oh, boy, would this be an event to remember...

"Practice makes perfect, Mufasa," he licked his lips, "Once you're in the Tononeka, you'll know how to hunt like the best there is. I guarantee you that."

And then, without another word, he watched his boy dig into the bird. Mufasa had the makings of a fine hunter. Even in the face of Roho, Uovu knew... he'd be fine.