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 Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 11:07 am
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Ethiopia was a shy cub. And at the moment, still pretty sad. Her parents deaths were quite fresh in her head, having been there when it happened hardly helped. She'd gotten here about a week ago, she and her brother had been found by a local who's let them stick with him. Ethiopia was grateful for this, though she didn't really voice it out loud. Both because she was incredibly shy and quiet, and because he didn't seem like the sort that'd care. She'd also been looking a bit better, though she still looked a bit underfed and scrawny, it was an improvement!
So, here she was, lying about under a scraggly-looking bush, staring out at the lake that stretched out in front of her and thinking of her parents-- mostly of how much she missed them.
Her ears flicked as she heard a shriek of an eagle overhead, and she peeked out of her hiding spot. Yep, this was a tell-tale she wasn't from around this place. She was still somewhat afraid of the large birds, despite Mapatano's explanations of them, and truth be told..she was happy to see this eagle get further away.
Okay, time to get out! She shouldn't stick around all gloomy-like. Nope, that was bad. Ethiopia was determined to cheer up eventually, tohugh it was hard to do.
It was only when she was to step out of her hiding spot thats he felt a sharp pain in her ear.
"Ow! "
... Her earring was stuck. |
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Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 8:58 pm
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"Daga! Slow down, how am I supposed to catch you if you keep flying away?"
"That's the idea kid!"
"You're supposed to be helping me practice hunting!"
"Not when I'm the 'prey', I'm not."
"Fine, then let's go hunt something bigger."
"Absolutely not."
Voices echoed as the black cub bounded through the heart of the pride, chasing after his bonded crowned eagle. Ufunuo had grown more energetic recently, eager to learn, to practice the lessons he had been taut. He wanted to hunt, to track, to be just like his father. And Daga was making that difficult! How was he supposed to practice if Daga kept flying away when he tried? Not that he wouldn't have been perfectly happy to hunt something else, but Daga made that difficult too. Ufunuo was big enough, Daga didn't need to be so over protective.
He paused in his steps, skidding to a stop as a flash of gray caught his eye. The cub was small, smaller than him, and though he had seen her before, he didn't know her.
"Hi, are you okay?"
He titled his head, blinking at the other cub. What was she doing? |
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Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 2:05 pm
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If her ear wasn't stuck, she'd have made a dive for cover. But see, the earring was important, she would like to keep it where it was. One? It was from her parents. Two, and perhaps a very good reason? Yanking it off would hurt. A lot.
So instead, all she could do was turn her head to stare at the black cub, look even smaller than she already was, and gape at him. She hadn't noticed his eagle-friend, he view was somewhat blocked by the bush, and her head position. So all she could see, for now, was Ufunuo.
"Um.. " She blinked. "My... earring is stuck. To the bush. " If only Tanz were here, he'd have a better chance at getting it free than she did!
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 12:08 am
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"Oh, well let me help you with that."
The dark cub smiled as he walked to the bush, a forepaw raised to grasp at the earing. Wow, it was really stuck, especially to awkwardly large cub paws. Fortunately, Ufunuo was patient, carefully manipulating both earing and branch until he had freed the smaller cub. (Unlike his sister who might have lost her temper and simply broken it, or at least she would have in the days before the quake, she had changed since then.)
"There, is that better?"
He smiled warmly, if she was shy or afraid of him, he had obliviously not noticed. Though now that he thought about it, she did seem nervous, but why? There was no reason to be, not here, not anymore.
"I'm Ufunuo, what's your name?"
Daga had settled on a rock nearby, grateful for the distraction that relieved him of his young bonded's relentless attempts to 'hunt' him. So full of energy, maybe he should have taken him out hunting, surely rabbits and lizards couldn't hurt the little ball of fluff. |
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 7:43 am
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She did lift a paw as if to step away, then re-thought that and stay put, though she did seem to shrink away a bit. Still, she was grateful for the freedom of her earring, and beamed. "Yup! " She allowed herself to remain positive-looking for a bit longer, twitching her ear to examine how okay the earring was.
"My name is Ethiopia. " She said, and then she saw Daga, and hurried behind the bush(though she wouldn't go in again, to prevent further earring-attacks. ) "Aaaah! " She eyed eagle for a second, and immediately felt silly. "Sorry.. I'm not.. um, from here. " And the eagles were still big an scary. Before the earthquake, she'd probably have feared them less, and been quicker to get the whole thing, but she'd gotten much.. shyer, and easier to startle since being orphaned.
"Nice to meet you. "
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Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 1:15 pm
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Puzzled, his head turned, watching the smaller cub. Why was she running? She was afraid? Of Daga? But why? Having grown up around large birds of prey, especially eagles, Ufunuo did not understand the fear, the thought that someone would ever be afraid of a raptor had never crossed his mind. Vultures were another matter, those were to be feared, especially when they were trying to cubnap you and kill your sister, but eagles?
"Why are you hiding? Daga wouldn't hurt you, he's my bonded."
"It's normal for cubs to fear large birds or prey, you're just weird."
"Really? Well I guess you are pretty scary, being so ugly n' all."
"What?! I--"
Daga snorted, his feathers clearly ruffled. Ufunuo simply snickered, pleased at the reaction, served the eagle right for calling him weird and for not letting him practice hunting. |
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Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 3:27 pm
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Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 12:18 pm
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"Oh, well Daga is too big to ride on my back like the others, so I have to shout so he can hear me when he's flying."
Daga's snort was not lost on his bonded's ears. Not that he hadn't spoken the truth, it was why he shouted to Daga, when he grew larger the eagle would be able to sit on his shoulder for relaxed conversations, and to give his wings a break.
However what neither of them had mentioned was the real reason Daga was so ruffled. Earlier that morning, Ufunuo had gotten the drop on his eagle friend, stalking silently until close enough to pounce. And what a pounce it had been, oh the cub had gotten quite skilled at being quiet, Daga hadn't even known he was there until it was too late. No way Daga was giving him the chance to do that again.
Ufunuo simply smirked, still proud of himself, though he would have much rather gone hunting something else, like rabbits. They wouldn't know he was practicing his hunting, if he could catch one, he'd know it was time to go back to Hifadhi. With Daga, he still couldn't be certain the eagle wasn't pretending, that he had let him pounce him.
"We were practicing hunting, we're going after rabbits."
Daga rolled his eyes. Ufunuo was getting far to good at finding ways to get past Daga's objections. |
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 10:50 am
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Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 12:23 am
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"Okay, you can come if you want."
Ufunuo smiled brightly, either ignoring or totally oblivious to the look Daga was giving him, the beak that was frozen, silenced before he could speak. In one brief moment, Ufunuo had silenced all of his objects, the objection he had had to hunting in the first place and the objection he certainly would have had to the smaller cub joining in. Sigh, just what he needed, two cubs to watch over.
"But we have to be really quiet, and try not to be seen, or they'll know we're coming."
He had left out the part about not being smelled either, he remembered that part of Hifadhi's lesson well, but he didn't want to confuse the smaller cub. Of course, there was no reason why she wouldn't know as much as he did, he certainly wasn't an expert himself, but he had no way of knowing that.
Hey, maybe if she practiced with him, Hifadhi could teach her too, that was a great idea! |
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 9:11 am
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 4:40 pm
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"Well, they like to hide in the grass, and the dig burrows in the ground, like this--"
He demonstrated, digging a small hole with his forepaws, before looking up again, a slightly sheepish smile on his maw. Well he supposed a real rabbit would dig a better hole, but it got the idea across he hoped.
"But it's better to hunt them in the grass, because other things live in burrows too."
Daga shot his young friend a glance, one that made it clear if Ufunuo tried to stick his paw in a burrow, the eagle would snatch him up and carry him home in an instant. The last thing he needed was for the cubs to disturb a snake or a badger. A resigned sigh later, wings spread, Daga lept from his perch, taking to the sky for the task he knew Ufunuo would ask.
"Daga will help us find them. They're really fast, so we have to be especially quiet."
His voice had lowered to a whisper, falling into a crouch, his eyes turned toward Daga, waiting for his signal.
Silly cubs, chasing rabbits, there really was no better way to spend the day. |
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Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 4:58 pm
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Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 7:32 pm
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A determined expression on his maw, Ufunuo crept forward, glancing back only a moment to be sure his friend was following, slowly, quietly. Through his mind ran all that Hifadhi had taught him, be silent, move downwind so they can't see you, trust in your bonded.
A pause in his steps, nose raised toward to sniff the air, the young heir shifted, his steps moving away from the wind. It had been his scent that had given him away to Hifadhi, and since that first lesson he had done his best to make certain his 'prey' could not smell him.
But there was one lesson he had learned more than any other, to trust in his bonded, to work as a team. Daga's eyes were much better than his, the eagle could easily pick out a rabbit otherwise hidden among the grass and soil of the earth. Ah, there, the change in Daga's flight, it was a signal, he had spotted a rabbit.
Being such a large bird, Daga was more than just a scout for the lion's hunt, much more. He was also a partner, a herder. With a screech, the eagle dove, talons reached toward the rabbit, driving it, right into the jaws of the waiting predator, the dark cub who had charged as he heard the call, racing toward the creature he knew was running his way.
Ufunuo had learned well, grown clever as his bond with Daga grew stronger, and soon it would be time to return to Hifadhi for the next lesson. The question that remained now was, could he actually catch the rabbit racing toward him, and would he have the heart to not let it go. |
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 4:14 pm
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Doing her best to remain quiet, Ethiopia followed, keeping a close eye on whatever Ufunuo did. She was a smart kid, and picked up on the gist of sneaking fairly quickly, though she wasn't quite sure why he was sniffing the air. Was he trying to smell the rabbits? She couldn't smell any. She also looked up towards Daga when he did, but hadn't noticed the change in his flight.
Somehow, though, Ufunuo seemed to catch something, and she noticed a bit late that Daga had started a dive. Focusing on the eagle, she also missed Ufunuo charging off, and blinked when she saw the dark cub racing away.
Yeah, this whole hunting business was a little confusing. Or very. She ran after him, though made sure to remain a neat distance behind. She soon enough saw the rabbit, too, and ducked against the floor once she did, keeping her ears pricked and waiting to see what happened next.
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