Sorry for the wait, lots of things are happening since my summer vacation coming to an end. I'm going a play on sat. Then there is the water park. Mom got in a car accident yesterday (she okay, just a little cut up in the legs) today my little bro's surgery (for tubes and tonsil) I still got to do my reading assignment. Lot of stuff.
Chapter 10: the small cats' way
"Kahlil, though I feel something in you, I'm afraid I can't teach you to hunt," said Jamala, as they return to the cave.
"What why?" Kahlil asked
"Well, the lion way is too hard to grasped now," Jamala replied, "You may have the speed and certainly have size but you don't have weight."
Kahlil was discouraged, he wanted to learn hunt, not leech off a possible friend.
"But," she continued "You can learn the others styles,"
"Okay, how?"
"I think it best started with Wepesi and Simai."
"Wepesi and Simai?"
" a caracal and serval."
"Why two?"
"Well, Simai is a better hunter, but Wepesi closer to your size."
"Oh, when do we start?" Kahlil was excited to be worth something.
"When ever you like."
"Today."
So after breakfast, Kahlil went to field with Wepesi and Simai.
Wepesi was a pretty caracal. She bears a wine red coat. She something close to white eyeshade but not really because it was only on the sides of her nose and edge of her eyes. Her ears were pitch black with black furry tips and went down the sides of her head. In Kahlil's mind she looked rather creepy since her acid green iris were huge, nearly cover covering her eyes, while her pupils was sharp and ventral. It didn't help that she never seems to stop smiling.
Simai had bright gold fur littered with spots and looked a lot like Paka. He had four thick stripes on the back of his neck. He also had black ears but instead of going down his head; he had a stripe on them. His white-eye shade was only under his eyes. Simai green eyes were not as creepy as Wepesi because pupils were bigger and rounder.
"So have you ever seen our kind hunt?" asked Wepesi
"Um, no not really." Kahlil replied
"Our way is real simple," Said Simai, his large ear turned and soon his head and body.
"We… just," he continued as he slowly creeping away from Kahlil. Kahlil watched carefully, confused but interested nonetheless. Suddenly Simai jumped in the air. He body seem to stretched to an impossibly length.
"Pounced." Simai said though his teeth as now carry a dead rat in his mouth.
"And teach you to swim," said Wepesi, showing her teeth.
"When are we going to start?" said Kahlil, excitement easily seen on his face, even beginning to smile for the first time in a long time.
"Well, this spot pretty good," Wepesi thought out loud. " Now you can't do it like us. You're bigger and have smaller ears."
"I can see what mean about size, but why ears?" Kahlil asked
"It helps us hear the rats." Wepesi explained. She didn't see Kahlil laid his ears flattened hearing that word.
' Don't be mad at her, she doesn't know.' Kahlil thought as he tried not to hit the small cat.
"Kahlil, I heard another mouse coming," Simai interrupted, to Kahlil's relief. He walked over to Simai.
"Now crouched low now, feel the tension in your legs." Simai said and Kahlil followed. He lowers himself until his jaw was on ground. He could feel small, quick footsteps coming, stop and started to turn around.
'No!' He thought and went for the jump and miss, but he stop until he got on it's tail on the fourth try.
"You're certainly stubborn aren't you." Wepesi said as a statement not question. "Usually after missing twice it almost impossible to catch."
"It the only thing I could do." Said Kahlil
"I see, let try again." Said Simai
Two hours and 5 caught rats later, they return to the cave.
"Well, little one, how was your first lesson?" Asked Jamala, as she saw them return.
"Great! I caught four of them." He said, quite proud of himself.
"Yeah, I don't think you need to know how to pounce," Said Wepesi "We'll see about water."
"Well, aren't you smart." Jamala said as she began to lick Kahlil, giving him a bath. Kahlil simply sat and let her do her work, since he secretly loves his bath since he had been born. Once done, Kahlil left to sunbathe.
He suddenly he could see everything from high he see beautiful grassland as far as the eyes could see. He turned to see to a great, big lion.
He look a lot like Kahlil's old king, Bela, but had a dirty gold pelt, and twice big as Bela. He also has soft blue eyes.
Kahlil thought he should feel tense, after all males, especially alpha males, have limited amount of tolerance to any males they don't know or is unrelated to them, but he wasn't scared but rather he was very peaceful.
Kahlil watched as the lion looked into the horizon, turned to cave behind him, and back. Kahlil, curious, went slowly to cave. He soon a beautiful copper colored lioness was giving birth. He see two beige cubs, was already feeding, but he could see from her belly, she had more coming. Next to her was another lioness.
This was dark beige and was cradling her own cub, which was gold. She smiled sweetly to other.
"You can do it little Usisi," she said in a kind; motherly voice " Bring your children into the world."
Copper one pushed and pushed until she was done. She turned see two cubs bearing a lighter version of her copper pelt.
"Oh, look how beautiful your nieces and nephew are." She proudly
The beige one frowned "a nephew?"
"Yes, the little one."
The beige continues to stare at the cub, but soon smiled. "Well, isn't this a blessing?"
Kahlil woke up.
'Was it a dream? No, it was too vivid. Maybe a memory but who?' he thought. A good size gray, brown and black blur jumped over him, startling him.
" Hyenas," he grunted, only to be hit by a rock.
"What ya just call me?" said the blur, which was now standing still; clearly show no signs of being a hyena. Her neck was long, but not hunched. She had a long, almost bushy black tail with a small white tip and had very small white spots on a random black and brown pelt.
"I ain't no hyena!" she continued " I'm Lycaon pictus not a measly, cannibalistic meerkat!"
"Sorry," said Kahlil, "I didn't mean to upset ya."
"Yeah, well, I hate being taken for those weird mutts."
An awkward silence came between them for a while, neither wanted to speak but couldn't stand the silence until Kahlil finally broke it.
"If you don't mind me asking, what are you exactly?" He asked, "I never met a Lycaon pictus."
"Oh, it the formal name for the ornate wolf, by the way, the name's Hadhi."
"I'm Ka-"
"Kahlil, the oldest newcomer for Mama Jamala, I know."
Kahlil looked at her more closely, thinking, ' Had I seen this one at camp?'
As if sensing Kahlil's confusion, she said
"I don't live there anymore, but I pop in every one in awhile."
"Oh."
The next day Simai and Wepesi took Kahlil to a small, but deep pond that was full with fish.
"Ok let see how comfortable you are in water." Said Simai. Three cats walked to the pond. Being from a river tribe Kahlil went concededly far, at least until he come to end of the shallow edge. Simai and Wepesi continued on, swimming now until they made to the middle pond.
"Wow, I never a lion go that far out, except mama." Said Wepesi.
"This is as far as my old pride would go." Kahlil yelled.
"Are you from a river pride?" Simai asked as he swam toward him.
"Yes."
"That good, you'll get the hand of this quicker than mama." Simai said
"Why that?"
"She a desert lion." Simai said, "Now step off the edge."
Kahlil hesitantly came off the edge but began to panic as he started to sink.
"Stop that, calmly swing your legs or you will sink and keep you head out of the water." Said Simai. It took Kahlil a few moments before he could calm down.
"Now kick forward like you're running." Kahlil did as he was told. Inch by inch he swam, getting a little faster each time. He was quite proud when he made to middle.
"Neat work, lil." she said
"Lil?" Kahlil asked
"That short Kahlil," She explained. "Or do you prefer Kah?"
"Either fine." He said, feeling happy to have a nickname. Since he arrived, he been the animals would introduced themselves, but would hear answer to other names. Paka had kit or speed. Pepsi's was swift, Simai's was high, and Hadhi's was snap.
For the next hour, Kahlil practice the basic of swimming and fishing, which he very talented at as he caught 10 fish easily.
I like how this one turned out. I was originally going give each lesson there own chapter but I better put in one. For the next three chapters, will start a week after the lesson only one isn't a lesson chapter. These lessons may seem filler like but explain small things later in story and will important for Kahlil later on.
Also there will be more dreams but Ndege and Erasto won't appear for a while, if ever.
Hadhi is going be my practice on comic relief, going to need if I don't the movies to feel out of place. The her scene is suppose to half funny, truthful and weird because:
She bears lot black and brown, which all four type of hyenas bears, making her look close to hyenas.
Hyenas are often confuse with dog family
She called them "cannibalistic meerkat!" because it (2004 lion king DVD) said that are in the mongoose family, same as meerkat. It also refers to the fact that if a hyenas pup died a clan member, usually the mother will eat them.
3) She called hyenas "weird mutts" because they show dogs and cat traits but in the mongoose family. It also point to unusual sexual differences.
Ornate wolf is one of the names for Lycaon pictus. The others are African Wild Dog, African Hunting Dog, Cape Hunting Dog, Painted Dog, Painted Wolf, Painted Hunting Dog, or Spotted Dog.
As for nicknames, they go by, meaning, skills or personality and since Kahlil is new and his name going by two meanings they're just cut name in half.
Names:
Wepesi- swift
Simai- high
Hadhi- respect honor
New words:
Usisi- sister
