Chapter 5: The first shot
The months passed quickly. Sarabi taught both Kitoko and Raimi to hunt, although she focused more on Kitoko, since Kitoko was a lioness. Kitoko found hunting fairly easy. She had reached the lanky stage in her life, where her legs were a bit to long for her body.
She was thin, not so thin that her ribs showed, but athletically thin. Raimi had grown to the lanky stage to, he wasn't built all that athletically, rather he was built more bulky.
Raimi did not find hunting so easy as Kitoko did. Although one thing he did excel at was tracking. He could pick up on a three-week-old trail and trace it to the source fairly easily. He was normally the one who found the antelope or whatever animal happened to be the lion's prey.
The sun had just risen in the warm red sky when Kitoko awoke. She got up and yawned as she stretched. The branch she had been sleeping on was damp, meaning it had probably rained the previous night. Kitoko shook herself, for she to was wet.
Slowly and quietly she climbed down off of the branch. Then she walked, being careful not to make much noise, not wanting to wake her mother and Raimi. Stealthily Kitoko walked toward the outer edge of the jungle. There she found a herd of antelope grazing a ways away. She smiled and tipped her ears back. Then she sunk down low in the grass and crept forward.
Kitoko was careful to watch where she stepped. She listened, her ears swiveling, listening for any sound that might possibly warn the prey of the danger. As she crept through the grass she was near soundless. Her tail twitched in thought. She felt the ground shift beneath her feet, the dirt soft and moist. She maneuvered around a small puddle of water, and continued on.
Her whole posture was business. Her muscles were tense and at the ready. She watched the antelope, scanning the herd for the best possible pick. She had been taught to go for the babies, and go for the sick or weak. Because she was still quite small she went for babies. They were the easiest to take down, provided you could catch them.
Kitoko heard a soft crunch, but ignored it, thinking it was only an antelope that had stepped on a small stick. Kitoko was close enough to a mother and fawn that if she wanted to, she could reach out and touch them.
Her muscles tightened and coiled as she crouched. She was just about to pounce when, BANG! An antelope at the front of the herd fell, lifeless to the ground. The other antelope's heads jerked up. They saw the enemy and then turned tail and ran in the opposite direction of where Kitoko crouched. Kitoko, now wild with fear from the thundering sound looked around. Her eyes settled on a tall figure that stood on two legs. In its hand it held some sort of stick. Kitoko figured it had to be responsible for the thundering sound she had heard.
She saw the figure aim the stick toward her and she turned and ran. BANG, BANG, BANG! She yelped as one skimmed past her front paw.
The figure didn't chase her and for that she was glad. She reached the jungle and burst into it, running through leaves and breaking through branches until she reached the den.
She ran right into Raimi and went somersaulting right into another tree with him. "Ouch!" Raimi cried. "Kitoko what's gotten into you?" he complained. Sarabi walked over to them and helped get them right side up. "What's wrong my little one? What's gotten you so worked up?" Kitoko was breathing hard from her run.
She looked right at her mom and then said, "I was hunting, and just as I was about to take one down, I heard a thunder sound and one of the antelope just fell down, dead." She shook a minute. "Then I looked up after the antelope ran off and there was this two legged figure with a stick. He shot stuff at me!" she held up her paw, which was stinging. Sarabi examined it and then sighed.
"Humans," she said. Kitoko tipped her head. "Humans?" she repeated. "They are the animals worst enemy. They kill for pleasure and do whatever they please. If humans are here we must go further into the jungle and avoid them as much as possible." Sarabi concluded. Kitoko and Raimi exchanged glances with each other.
Sarabi sighed. "Well, let's get going then, we mustn't dawdle." As Kitoko and Raimi began to lead the way, Sarabi held back. She looked in the direction of the pride lands. I should be going there, she thought. But she just couldn't return. Something was holding her back and she wasn't sure what. Perhaps she just couldn't face the past. Perhaps if she went back the past would haunt her. Sarabi shook her head. It didn't matter what the reason was, she just couldn't go back and that was that.
End of chapter 5
All right what did you all think? Good, bad? Leave a review and let me know, thanks! TTFN! Bambi
The months passed quickly. Sarabi taught both Kitoko and Raimi to hunt, although she focused more on Kitoko, since Kitoko was a lioness. Kitoko found hunting fairly easy. She had reached the lanky stage in her life, where her legs were a bit to long for her body.
She was thin, not so thin that her ribs showed, but athletically thin. Raimi had grown to the lanky stage to, he wasn't built all that athletically, rather he was built more bulky.
Raimi did not find hunting so easy as Kitoko did. Although one thing he did excel at was tracking. He could pick up on a three-week-old trail and trace it to the source fairly easily. He was normally the one who found the antelope or whatever animal happened to be the lion's prey.
The sun had just risen in the warm red sky when Kitoko awoke. She got up and yawned as she stretched. The branch she had been sleeping on was damp, meaning it had probably rained the previous night. Kitoko shook herself, for she to was wet.
Slowly and quietly she climbed down off of the branch. Then she walked, being careful not to make much noise, not wanting to wake her mother and Raimi. Stealthily Kitoko walked toward the outer edge of the jungle. There she found a herd of antelope grazing a ways away. She smiled and tipped her ears back. Then she sunk down low in the grass and crept forward.
Kitoko was careful to watch where she stepped. She listened, her ears swiveling, listening for any sound that might possibly warn the prey of the danger. As she crept through the grass she was near soundless. Her tail twitched in thought. She felt the ground shift beneath her feet, the dirt soft and moist. She maneuvered around a small puddle of water, and continued on.
Her whole posture was business. Her muscles were tense and at the ready. She watched the antelope, scanning the herd for the best possible pick. She had been taught to go for the babies, and go for the sick or weak. Because she was still quite small she went for babies. They were the easiest to take down, provided you could catch them.
Kitoko heard a soft crunch, but ignored it, thinking it was only an antelope that had stepped on a small stick. Kitoko was close enough to a mother and fawn that if she wanted to, she could reach out and touch them.
Her muscles tightened and coiled as she crouched. She was just about to pounce when, BANG! An antelope at the front of the herd fell, lifeless to the ground. The other antelope's heads jerked up. They saw the enemy and then turned tail and ran in the opposite direction of where Kitoko crouched. Kitoko, now wild with fear from the thundering sound looked around. Her eyes settled on a tall figure that stood on two legs. In its hand it held some sort of stick. Kitoko figured it had to be responsible for the thundering sound she had heard.
She saw the figure aim the stick toward her and she turned and ran. BANG, BANG, BANG! She yelped as one skimmed past her front paw.
The figure didn't chase her and for that she was glad. She reached the jungle and burst into it, running through leaves and breaking through branches until she reached the den.
She ran right into Raimi and went somersaulting right into another tree with him. "Ouch!" Raimi cried. "Kitoko what's gotten into you?" he complained. Sarabi walked over to them and helped get them right side up. "What's wrong my little one? What's gotten you so worked up?" Kitoko was breathing hard from her run.
She looked right at her mom and then said, "I was hunting, and just as I was about to take one down, I heard a thunder sound and one of the antelope just fell down, dead." She shook a minute. "Then I looked up after the antelope ran off and there was this two legged figure with a stick. He shot stuff at me!" she held up her paw, which was stinging. Sarabi examined it and then sighed.
"Humans," she said. Kitoko tipped her head. "Humans?" she repeated. "They are the animals worst enemy. They kill for pleasure and do whatever they please. If humans are here we must go further into the jungle and avoid them as much as possible." Sarabi concluded. Kitoko and Raimi exchanged glances with each other.
Sarabi sighed. "Well, let's get going then, we mustn't dawdle." As Kitoko and Raimi began to lead the way, Sarabi held back. She looked in the direction of the pride lands. I should be going there, she thought. But she just couldn't return. Something was holding her back and she wasn't sure what. Perhaps she just couldn't face the past. Perhaps if she went back the past would haunt her. Sarabi shook her head. It didn't matter what the reason was, she just couldn't go back and that was that.
End of chapter 5
All right what did you all think? Good, bad? Leave a review and let me know, thanks! TTFN! Bambi