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 Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 4:02 am
It was morning. The sun was just beginning to rise into the sky, bringing with it the fiery colours of daybreak. Pinks, yellows and oranges danced in the sky, and Hantu found herself staring at the scenery in pure awe.
She was out for a walk in the savannah, a few paces off from the towering Pride Rock. Hantu, almost ghost-like, had drifted off into the longer grasses, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and had found herself gaping at the scene stretched out in the sky.
"Sunrise," she whispered, pressing her ears back with wonder as she stared, "Wow."
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Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 4:10 am
The cub had only just turned juvenile and unlike his bulky father Chunuka was showing a more graceful demeanour. He moved on paws as smooth and calm as silk, being careful not too disturb the grass too much.
He may have learned to walk gracefully, but stopping his surroundings from making sound as he went was still impossible. Again, that would come in time.
At the moment he was dreaming of his first hunt and of the promise his father had told him. Soon they were going on an adventure to meet with another pride!
He almost didn't notice the other youngster until he almost bumped straight into her. He pulled himself to a halt and blinked his brilliant blue eyes. He was a streak of brilliant gold but his pelt did well to match with the yellowing grass around him.
"Hello there Miss!" He chirped, putting on his most charming smile. Yes his father had also taught him the ways of charming ladies - though they were never full proof ways.
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Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 4:23 am
Hantu was surprised to hear someone address her from behind, and she instantly pivoted on her hindpaws, attempting to seek out the owner of the voice. She did not have to look far - there, right ahead of her, stood a young lion, just a little older than herself.
"Hello there Miss!" came his greeting, and Hantu hesitated. She hadn't really met with another pridelander child before - she'd stayed with her siblings for a while, and had only greeted other pridelanders in passing.
But now, she was meeting one - in person. Dipping her head, she flashed one of her rare smiles at the boy, and placed a forepaw to her chest, clearing her throat.
"Good morning," she replied, her gentle voice hardly louder than a whisper, "Isn't it quiet out here? I haven't been out around these parts in the morning, it's really quite..." she paused, searching for the right word, "... wonderful!"
As much as the stranger was charming, Hantu herself was lady-like and gentle. She, herself, had a soft, kind nature... although she rarely let a smile through. Hantu was a happy girl - she just occassionally hid her emotions unintentionally, and would occassionally let them all out in short bursts.
Today, however, was an exception. Aaaah, a sunset. It made her heartbeat quicken, and her lips stretch into a smile.
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Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 4:32 am
Chunuka racked his brains for more compliments, remembering his father's number one rule in flirting. Always compliment! Flatter! And be a gentleman! Well maybe that was more than one, but Chunuka knew what to do. His father was his idol, in a way.
"This is my favourite time of the day." He replied, swishing his tail back and forth. "The change between wake and sleep where the world seems to rest." He nodded, revelling in his somewhat poetic words.
"I'm Chunuka by the way. What's your name?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 4:43 am
Hantu nodded.
"I can see why it would be your favourite time," she agreed, eyes brightening as she gazed at the sky. The colours were all melting into one enother now, shifting into spurts of hot pink near a blazing red sun. Slowly, insects were beginning to come to life - their song quiet, though still rising and falling in chorus through the savannah.
She blinked, and turned back to the cub. He seemed a happy fellow, a nice boy. Hantu, as of yet, did not understand courtship or the details of flirting - she was still much too young and proper to know. But she took the stranger's words to be friendly - and nodded, smiling, in agreement.
"Chunuka, huh?" Hantu, shoulders straight and standing tall, circled the boy, as if sizing him up, "You must be a little older than me. But, smallness aside, I'm beginning to grow, too. My name's Hantu! Daughter of Kitengele and Ash, of the Pridelands," she brushed against Chunuka's shoulder, taking in his scent, "You must be a Pridelander, too. You have that smell about you."
At once, she flicked her tail in amusement, enjoying the way in which Chunuka spoke... his last comment about sunrise seemed, to her, to be almost in riddles.
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Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 4:51 am
Chunuka never really understood what flirting truly was. He supposed it was just a good way to make friends. He had never even thought about mates or of how cubs were made, which was probably for the best. If he knew what he was doing he would have probably been terribly embarrased.
"My father is Amari and my mother is Maawio." Chunuka gave in reply, unsure if he should have said their names before. "I have five other siblings too!" He beamed, "yep pridelanders! My mother is pureblood, but my father is rogue."
"You have a pretty smile!" He chirped again, rememering his compliments. His dad would be proud! "I don't think you're that much younger than me either. Do you live nearby?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 5:03 am
"I do live nearby," Hantu nodded, her eyes lighting up as the conversation flowed, "Near enough to where the action is... although my parents catch up on the latest news, not me. Not yet, anyway. Amari, Maawio... I'm sorry. I don't know enough to know many of the pride member's names."
One day, she'd make it her business to know about the politics and other members of the pride she belonged to. As of yet, she'd only heard murmurs of the past kings and queens, and was not into the whole thing... but sooner or later, she'd strive to find out more about her pride, and the prides of others, too.
"You have a pretty smile!"
At once, she stepped back, and as most girls do, felt flattered to be complimented. Compliments did work, in friendship and flirtaciousness alike, and Hantu found herself willing to open up a little more to the mysterious boy. A friend, huh?... she liked the sound of that. If he lived close by, maybe they could hang out more often!
"You haven't got such a bad pair of teeth yourself," she commented happily, and let loose another smile, "Can you hunt yet?"
Suddenly, her eyes lit up. Hunting! How exciting! It was almost as interesting as the subject of the sky!
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 4:56 am
He beamed at her, accepting the comment as a boost to his little inflating ego. He liked this girl, especially if she thought he had a good smile. His dad would be proud!
At her next question a small sigh passed from his maw and he gave a small shake of his head. "Nope...well I can...sort of." He paused, collected his thoughts and tried again.
"I know how hunting works but I'm finding it hard to move...silently! Creeping through the grass, closer and closer, and then..." As he described it he had lowered himself down and had begun to stalk through the grass, pausing a second before pouncing on imaginary prey.
"Pounce!" He yipped, bouncing back to his paws and giving a small chirp of joy. "I always make noise and scare off my prey so I'm in training to move as silent as the stars!" He blinked. "How about you? Has your parents given you any hints yet?" He seemed to want to know everything about hunting.
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 5:31 pm
"Wow, you can?" Hantu's pale green eyes lit up, turning briefly to a dazzling emerald in colour, "You can really hunt that well? That's pretty impressive for a cub, Chunuka! But... I..."
She looked to her paws, a little half-heartedly. Her parents hadn't really given her many hints yet - in their eyes, she supposed, she could be a little young. But the silver lioness tensed, and her shoulders straightened into a confident stance.
She wanted to impress Chunuka!
"Yeah, I know how to hunt," she said, swaying a little, talking herself up, "It's... pretty simple really, keeping quiet. You, uh... well, you're doing it all right, but, well, the trick to being silent is to..."
The trick is to what?!
"Laugh really loud and... stand on your head!" she blurted out, "Just before you hunt and get started. It gives you that extra hunting edge, you know? Stamina and all, gets your blood flowing. That's what my father told me," she was lying, of course. But hey, this could be interesting.
She lifted her muzzle to the air, and sniffed. Preybeast scents. Awesome.
"We could try it out and see if it works!" she grinned, her tail flicking with amusement, "There's an antelope herd not too far from here."
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 12:16 am
His eyes widened in disbelief and a smile spread across his face. He was all too willing to believe, perhaps he didn't even know about white lies.
"That's amazing!" He all but squeaked, bouncing lightly on his paws as he listened intently. "Will you show me? Females are the best hunters after all!" Then he turned his head and sniffed at the air too, growing excited at the thought of his first hunt. This way he could surprise his father when he went with him and mother.
"Laugh loud?" How would they laugh a lot at...nothing? Unless... He gave a mischievious little smirk and pounced towards the grey cub, moving as if to tickle her.
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Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 9:32 pm
At once, Chunuka's plan kicked in... and Hantu turned to see the cub hurtling towards her. At first, she was shocked... and she couldn't help but let out a startled cry. However, this cry soon turned into a croaky laugh, and then Hantu was smiling that rare smile once more, splitting her sides and giggling. If there was one thing that got to Hantu, it was her sensitive body... and, of course, a sensitive body meant sensitive funny-bones. Tickling was the cub's weakness, and it showed.
She managed to wriggle away, and grinned. Alright, so Chunuka had extracted the laugh from her. She'd get him soon, when he least expected it.
"So, Chunuka," she continued, smiling, "Next up... you stand on your head, right? And then, we'll be ready."
Hantu paused. Oh, great. Standing on her head. She looked at Chunuka's expectant eyes, and laughed.
"But maybe we'll skip that part for now. Next stop, the herd. We'll catch them, there," her fangs glittered as she spoke. This could be good.
But at the same time, it could be risky/
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Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 12:04 am
His smile was wide and full of teeth but it was kindly as always. It seemed that being with others of similar age really proved to bring out some joy in him.
He waited eagerly to watch as she stood on her head, leaning forwards on the tips of his toes. He wondered how such a thing could be conceived and flicked his ears hopefully. He couldn't help but seem a bit dissapointed at her decline but quickly seemed to get over it.
"Okay!" He squeaked, skipping past her and through the grass. He tried to move as quietly as possible but for one who towered above the tall flow of golden strands would be able to see movement with ease. Though it might have helped that most herdbeasts had their heads to the ground.
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 6:48 pm
Hantu stiffled a giggle, and moved forward, one forepaw at a time, pushing on through the grass.
"Let's do this, Chunuka," she said, resting her bodyweight on her haunches, tilting left and right as she did, "Are you ready?"
Hantu, herself, was silent on her feet... but, when it came to long distance running, she seemed to fail. Her delicate body tired easily, most of the time, and so she readily avoided the long run. However, with Chunuka by her side, she felt a new stream of energy pulse through her veins... and, at once, she launched herself forward, swiftly beckoning Chunuka forward with a flick of her tail. The hunt was on.
"Let's go!"
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Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 8:57 am
A thrill raced through his heart as he moved alongside his new companion. Being with someone else surely did seem to help and soon he felt himself full of energy and desperate to show what he could do.
The juvenile moved perhaps quieter than he usually did, but not as silently as his partner.
He stole a glance at her from the corners of his eyes and smiled. "Look there Hantu! I think they are just up ahead." And sure enough a small herd gathered. It was probably a little too ambitious for a couple of cubs to try and hunt such large beasts, but Chunukla was easy to show off and unable to see that his attempt would probably fail.
"Okay!" He squeaked in a whisper, "how do you think we should do this Hantu?" He knew females were the hunters and was relying on her natural instincts to lead them. Working as a team was wonderful!
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Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 10:21 pm
Hantu's ear flicked, and her pale green eyes met the blue of Chunuka's. With a grin, she nodded, and she knew what to do. Chunuka's fur was as golden as the grass, and thus he'd fit right in, camouflaged.
"General Chunuka," she commanded, puffing out her chest as if she were, herself, a Commander, "You take the rear. Sneak up on the herd by using the drier, yellow grass as cover. You'll fit right in," her eyes sparkled, "As for me, I'll take the front and side. We'll single out a sick one from there. Are you ready?"
She was already pit-pattering through the grass, and with a grin, she silently broke from Chunuka's side.
'Stalk!' she signalled, with her tail, and bolted forward, careful to be quiet in order to not alert the herd of her location. She ocassionally raised her head from the long grass to inspect the antelope... and she could see that some were getting agitated. They seemed to sense the lions, but it looked as if they could not quite pick out Chunuka and Hantu's locations.
Hantu lay alone, silent, muscles tense, nothing but her wild instincts taking her on a ride. When Chunuka was in her sight, when he had made the first move, she'd rush out, too.
They could do this.
(Sorry about the delay, Kimaria! Dx I've been on a bit of a hiatus. )
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