Chapter 3: The hunting party
Kitoko set a somewhat quick pace as she jogged through the lands. She stopped at the watering hole and bent down to drink. Her soft sandpaper like tongue lapped up the moisture. Kitoko then licked her lips and sat up. The sun was glinting off the water, making it appear as though there were little crystals scattered in the lake.
She yawned and then got up and stretched, holding her paws out far ahead of her. Kitoko then shook herself. Her stomach rumbled. Once again she was reminded that it had been a few days since she had last eaten.
Carefully she looked around. There were herds everywhere. Perhaps she should just wait; Kovu had sent the hunting party out long ago. Perhaps she would find them and see how good they were.
Giving a brisk nod, Kitoko decided to find Nala and the other huntresses. She stuck her nose in the air, and seeing that they were not in range, sighed and began retracing her steps back to pride rock.
She sighed, where was Raimi when she needed him? He was the tracker, not her. Kitoko shook her head and then trotted forward, following the paw prints left by many lionesses. A couple times she lost the prints and had to retrace her steps.
Finally she found herself on a knoll overlooking a herd of wildebeest. From there she could see the hunting party. They were all in formation. It appeared that they had singled out a fairly old bull and were now getting ready for the final blow.
Two lionesses were at the rear of the bull, three on each side, and one at the front. Kitoko leaned low and focused on the lioness at the front. She had crystal blue eyes. Her fur was a light sandy color and her muzzle and underbelly were a light creamy color. She stayed low, and moved quickly and agile.
Kitoko shook her head. She moved much like Sarabi did. Kitoko put her head on her paws and scooted forward a bit. A slight nod from the lioness in front sent the party in motion. The two in the back raced forward and nipped at the wildebeest's heels, sending him shooting forward. The lionesses on either side attacked and the front lioness dove in, ready to give the bite that would kill the bull.
Kitoko was amazed. She had never seen a pride bring down an animal before. She had always either hunted alone or with Sarabi. Her stomach gave another grumble as she stood up. She slowly walked down the knoll, making sure she was in plain sight so as not to scare the lionesses.
The lead lioness, which had delivered the killing blow, stopped and watched as Kitoko met up with them. Feeling uneasy, Kitoko bowed before them to show she meant no harm. "I'm Kitoko, I'm new to your pride," she said. The lead lioness nodded. "Nala," she said.
"That was amazing, the way you teamed up to bring the bull down. I've never seen anything like that before." Nala laughed. "You must not be from that big of a pride then," Kitoko shook her head. "Only three, and I either hunted alone or with my mother." Nala frowned at this. She gave Kitoko the up and down look and then smiled.
"You mean to tell me that you have brought down an animal all by yourself?" She said. Kitoko nodded. "I was born with my mothers skill." Nala nodded, deciding not to ask who the mother was. Many lionesses were born huntresses. Of course, not many were able to bring down prey all on their own. Especially at so young an age as Kitoko seemed to be.
"Well, why don't you help us get this back, even for an old bull, he's still pretty big," Nala said. Kitoko nodded and grabbed hold. Together the lionesses dragged the carcass back to pride rock. There, the rest of the pride rushed over.
Simba and Kovu bowed their heads and paid respect to the beast, and thanking the great kings for their feast. This was something Kitoko wasn't used to, but she liked it just the same. It was good to thank the kings for what they had. Many lions were starving.
When Simba and Kovu were done, they nodded their heads and the pride dug in. Kitoko sat off a ways, still not entirely used to the way the pride acted. A golden lioness with almond eyes saw Kitoko. She smiled and then picked up a rather large portion of meat and carried it over to her.
Carefully she dropped it at the lionesses feet. Kitoko smiled. She was older than this lioness, only by about a couple months though. She bowed her head. "I'm the Queen, but you can call me Kiara," the lioness said. Kitoko nodded and then bowed again, this time making sure her head was lower than Kiara's. Kiara giggled and then touched a paw to Kitoko's shoulder. "No need to be so formal, I hate it when other lions do that." Kitoko had no choice but to smile.
"Now go ahead and eat, someone else will if you don't." Kitoko smiled as Kiara walked away. She then leaned low, sniffed the meat before her and then tentatively dug in.
"It's not poisoned," Kovu growled. Kitoko looked up. "I know," she said. Kovu's lip twitched. "You sure are acting like it. You should be thankful the lionesses brought this food to you. Perhaps you are used to having food whenever you need it, others are not so lucky, so you should eat when you have food before you." Kovu near growled.
Kitoko bowed her head once more. Before the day ended, she was going to have one heck of a neck ache. "I'm sorry if I have disappointed you your highness, I will take care to be more thankful from now on," she nodded to him and then laid down and began gnawing on the meat.
The next day dawned bright and sunny. Kitoko stretched and then walked out onto pride rock. She surveyed the pride lands and sighed. "It's beautiful isn't it?" Kitoko jumped at the voice from behind her. She turned and saw Kiara walking toward her. She smiled. "Yes, much different from the land I came from," Kitoko replied.
Kiara frowned. "Did you come from a barren land with little food and little water?" Kitoko laughed. "No, no nothing like that. I came from a beautiful place. We called it the Jungle Paradise. Plenty of shade and water. Food like wildebeest and antelope were scarce, but we made do." Kitoko explained. Kiara nodded. "Sound's wonderful," Kitoko smiled.
"What are you two doing up so early?" Came Nala's voice. Kitoko and Kiara turned to see Nala and two other lionesses walking towards them. Kitoko looked at the two lionesses behind Nala. She recognized them from the hunting party. One was thin, with piercing blue eyes and a messy tuft of fur on her head. Her nose was long, her face and torso somewhat bony.
The other was built thin, but had some flesh on her. There were dark freckles around her eyes. Her eyes were a dark brown color, and seemed somewhat sunken, as though she had seen much sadness and turmoil in her lifetime.
Seeing Kitoko stare at the lionesses Nala smiled. "This is Vitani," she motioned with a nod of her head toward the bony one. "And this is Flora." Kitoko nodded to both. The returned her nod.
"I'm not one to act like this, but I'm really curious, Kitoko, do you think you could show us your hunting skills?" Nala said. Kitoko was taken aback for a minute. But at the thought of a hunt, she smiled. Hunting was a favorite pastime of hers. Nala looked to Kiara. "Kovu has already given us the ok to hunt." Kitoko nodded.
"I'd love to," she said. Nala smiled. "Come then, let's go find the lucky herd..."
End of Chapter 3
I was going to have this be longer, but then I decided what I wanted to do would be better off in chapter 4, so hope you enjoyed this, leave a review please! Thanks! TTFN!
Kitoko set a somewhat quick pace as she jogged through the lands. She stopped at the watering hole and bent down to drink. Her soft sandpaper like tongue lapped up the moisture. Kitoko then licked her lips and sat up. The sun was glinting off the water, making it appear as though there were little crystals scattered in the lake.
She yawned and then got up and stretched, holding her paws out far ahead of her. Kitoko then shook herself. Her stomach rumbled. Once again she was reminded that it had been a few days since she had last eaten.
Carefully she looked around. There were herds everywhere. Perhaps she should just wait; Kovu had sent the hunting party out long ago. Perhaps she would find them and see how good they were.
Giving a brisk nod, Kitoko decided to find Nala and the other huntresses. She stuck her nose in the air, and seeing that they were not in range, sighed and began retracing her steps back to pride rock.
She sighed, where was Raimi when she needed him? He was the tracker, not her. Kitoko shook her head and then trotted forward, following the paw prints left by many lionesses. A couple times she lost the prints and had to retrace her steps.
Finally she found herself on a knoll overlooking a herd of wildebeest. From there she could see the hunting party. They were all in formation. It appeared that they had singled out a fairly old bull and were now getting ready for the final blow.
Two lionesses were at the rear of the bull, three on each side, and one at the front. Kitoko leaned low and focused on the lioness at the front. She had crystal blue eyes. Her fur was a light sandy color and her muzzle and underbelly were a light creamy color. She stayed low, and moved quickly and agile.
Kitoko shook her head. She moved much like Sarabi did. Kitoko put her head on her paws and scooted forward a bit. A slight nod from the lioness in front sent the party in motion. The two in the back raced forward and nipped at the wildebeest's heels, sending him shooting forward. The lionesses on either side attacked and the front lioness dove in, ready to give the bite that would kill the bull.
Kitoko was amazed. She had never seen a pride bring down an animal before. She had always either hunted alone or with Sarabi. Her stomach gave another grumble as she stood up. She slowly walked down the knoll, making sure she was in plain sight so as not to scare the lionesses.
The lead lioness, which had delivered the killing blow, stopped and watched as Kitoko met up with them. Feeling uneasy, Kitoko bowed before them to show she meant no harm. "I'm Kitoko, I'm new to your pride," she said. The lead lioness nodded. "Nala," she said.
"That was amazing, the way you teamed up to bring the bull down. I've never seen anything like that before." Nala laughed. "You must not be from that big of a pride then," Kitoko shook her head. "Only three, and I either hunted alone or with my mother." Nala frowned at this. She gave Kitoko the up and down look and then smiled.
"You mean to tell me that you have brought down an animal all by yourself?" She said. Kitoko nodded. "I was born with my mothers skill." Nala nodded, deciding not to ask who the mother was. Many lionesses were born huntresses. Of course, not many were able to bring down prey all on their own. Especially at so young an age as Kitoko seemed to be.
"Well, why don't you help us get this back, even for an old bull, he's still pretty big," Nala said. Kitoko nodded and grabbed hold. Together the lionesses dragged the carcass back to pride rock. There, the rest of the pride rushed over.
Simba and Kovu bowed their heads and paid respect to the beast, and thanking the great kings for their feast. This was something Kitoko wasn't used to, but she liked it just the same. It was good to thank the kings for what they had. Many lions were starving.
When Simba and Kovu were done, they nodded their heads and the pride dug in. Kitoko sat off a ways, still not entirely used to the way the pride acted. A golden lioness with almond eyes saw Kitoko. She smiled and then picked up a rather large portion of meat and carried it over to her.
Carefully she dropped it at the lionesses feet. Kitoko smiled. She was older than this lioness, only by about a couple months though. She bowed her head. "I'm the Queen, but you can call me Kiara," the lioness said. Kitoko nodded and then bowed again, this time making sure her head was lower than Kiara's. Kiara giggled and then touched a paw to Kitoko's shoulder. "No need to be so formal, I hate it when other lions do that." Kitoko had no choice but to smile.
"Now go ahead and eat, someone else will if you don't." Kitoko smiled as Kiara walked away. She then leaned low, sniffed the meat before her and then tentatively dug in.
"It's not poisoned," Kovu growled. Kitoko looked up. "I know," she said. Kovu's lip twitched. "You sure are acting like it. You should be thankful the lionesses brought this food to you. Perhaps you are used to having food whenever you need it, others are not so lucky, so you should eat when you have food before you." Kovu near growled.
Kitoko bowed her head once more. Before the day ended, she was going to have one heck of a neck ache. "I'm sorry if I have disappointed you your highness, I will take care to be more thankful from now on," she nodded to him and then laid down and began gnawing on the meat.
The next day dawned bright and sunny. Kitoko stretched and then walked out onto pride rock. She surveyed the pride lands and sighed. "It's beautiful isn't it?" Kitoko jumped at the voice from behind her. She turned and saw Kiara walking toward her. She smiled. "Yes, much different from the land I came from," Kitoko replied.
Kiara frowned. "Did you come from a barren land with little food and little water?" Kitoko laughed. "No, no nothing like that. I came from a beautiful place. We called it the Jungle Paradise. Plenty of shade and water. Food like wildebeest and antelope were scarce, but we made do." Kitoko explained. Kiara nodded. "Sound's wonderful," Kitoko smiled.
"What are you two doing up so early?" Came Nala's voice. Kitoko and Kiara turned to see Nala and two other lionesses walking towards them. Kitoko looked at the two lionesses behind Nala. She recognized them from the hunting party. One was thin, with piercing blue eyes and a messy tuft of fur on her head. Her nose was long, her face and torso somewhat bony.
The other was built thin, but had some flesh on her. There were dark freckles around her eyes. Her eyes were a dark brown color, and seemed somewhat sunken, as though she had seen much sadness and turmoil in her lifetime.
Seeing Kitoko stare at the lionesses Nala smiled. "This is Vitani," she motioned with a nod of her head toward the bony one. "And this is Flora." Kitoko nodded to both. The returned her nod.
"I'm not one to act like this, but I'm really curious, Kitoko, do you think you could show us your hunting skills?" Nala said. Kitoko was taken aback for a minute. But at the thought of a hunt, she smiled. Hunting was a favorite pastime of hers. Nala looked to Kiara. "Kovu has already given us the ok to hunt." Kitoko nodded.
"I'd love to," she said. Nala smiled. "Come then, let's go find the lucky herd..."
End of Chapter 3
I was going to have this be longer, but then I decided what I wanted to do would be better off in chapter 4, so hope you enjoyed this, leave a review please! Thanks! TTFN!