Kalakonji was ready to spend the day practicing- after playing with the other members of the pride, he was more than ready to work on his skills and ensure he remained in peak condition. While he was still learning the rules of the game, he knew he could master the things he had managed to comprehend. That was going to help him out in the long run, wasn’t it? And anyway, even if he didn’t know what he needed in terms of rules, generally keeping his body in shape had never failed him in the past.
The recent activities had taught him that shooting goals was important, and he would have to learn to get around another animals if he wanted to get his shells into the goal. That was good to know- he could practice ways to make the shell spin in different directions, so it could perhaps curve around the animal in question and slide right into the goal. That seemed like the best way to go about things. It wasn’t about power or force, it was about tactics. That was intriguing to the leopard- he had spent a lot of his life just focusing on his power. He knew he was strong. But could he be smart, too? He wasn’t so sure. He’d never been known for being a bright guy.
It was fairly common to call him an idiot.
The idiot continued on his way as he sniffed about for something to use as a shell, huffing about the ground. He didn’t see any shells, but he did spot a small leopard and a smaller wild dog huddled up with one another under a low branch, the two of them looking fairly frightened. They were staring up at him with wide eyes, the young leopard stepping in front of the wild dog to protect her. Kalakonji sat himself down, tilting his head to one side. “What’s going on with you two?” he asked lightly enough, “just hanging out here like this- it’s not very safe you know. Something could come along and eat you.”
The little dog let out a whimper, but the leopard hissed instead, his fur standing on end as he glared at Kala.
“I won’t let anyone eat me or her! We’re fine and we don’t need you telling us otherwise! Bad enough we got brought here in the first place! We would have been fine on our own!”
“I don’t really know what any of that means, but it doesn’t look like you’re fine. She’s hungry and you’re very cranky.”
“I’m not cranky!” Huffed the leopard. Kala shrugged and got to his paws, motioning for the two little ones to come out from under the branch.
“Come on,” he hummed absently, “how about I show you two some hunting? If you’re going to be living alone and taking care of one another, then you’re going to need to know how to hunt, right? I can show you- I’m really good at it.” The leopard cub looked back at his friend, before glaring once more at the large male leopard.
“You’re not going to push us around?” He demanded.
“Nope.”
“Not even a little?”
Kala shook his head.
“…. Then I guess it’s okay. Just this once!” The little leopard led his friend out of the shadows, looking up at the large leopard with a skeptic, keen eye. He still didn’t trust the other. Kala, meanwhile, looked at the wild dog and offered her a small smile. The shy creature looked down. She seemed very reserved, probably because she was sad about being alone. He didn’t know what had brought them to the pride or what had happened to them to lose their families in the first place, but he would do everything in his power to make sure he lifted their sprits. Hers especially.
“What’s your names, then?” He asked.
“I’m Madoadoa,” the leopard huffed ,”and this is Ifuifu. We were both living alone and then we found each other and decided to stay together. And now we’re going to be the most unstoppable pair ever! Just you wait and see.” The little wild dog nodded along, seemingly more confident when the leopard was nearby. Kala smiled lightly, not bothering to try and convince them of anything just yet. He already had his plan- he was going to get them to go hunting with him, then he was going to suggest they eat some of the kill he caught to show them how it worked. Then he would ask them if they were sleepy and get them to stay in his den for the evening. Before they knew it, they would be a part of his family and he would be looking after them. They would just continue to think they were on their own.
He was a sportsmen, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t also a father. He’d had a family once, and he’d raised cubs before. He knew full well that leaving these two alone would mean leaving them to die, and he wasn’t going to have that in his pride lands. Not when it was so easily preventable. Anyway, he liked the spunk of the leopard cub. He had the fight to live, he just needed a little care to make sure he managed to get there. The wild dog clearly needed help, too. She was shy and weak and probably needed more care than the leopard cub realized.
Sighing softly, Kala moved away from them, looking over his shoulder and motioning for them to follow him. “Okay,” he said to them both, smiling faintly as he watched them wander behind him. It had been a while since he’d been around little cubs. It reminded him of a very different time in his life.
For the moment, he wasn’t thinking about training.
“My name is Kalakonji. I’m going to make sure you’re both really good hunters, ok? But it might take a little while before you get it right. So don’t be mad if you have to stay a little while.”
“Okay,” say Madoa. Kala looked at the wild dog, arching an eyebrow expectantly. She frowned and looked down at the dirt again.
“Okay,” she offered softly.
Wc: 1038
