It's not that she didn't like the lioness. In fact, the female was about as "okay" as a non-royal got, but Ari couldn't help but grimace at the prospect of joining her for a hunt. What could she do, anyway? She was a juvenile, its not like she could hunt real game. And she was heiress, she didn't even have to do it. But, still, her father had told her to, and he was emperor. If that wasn't enough, she held immense respect for both her parents. not that she'd say it unless sit was in the form of 'being a good little heir!' Because, being a good, liked heir was important.
This, in fact, is why she finds herself making her way to the chocolate lioness' makeshift den. She quietly resented the fact that Zumaridi, or Mingyu, hadn't quite placed herself in a house yet, and that her father was letting this happen. Sure, perhaps her father had better things to worry about, and she supposed the fact that she hunted was good too, but the central house was supposed to be for.. well, important people. Not simpletons like her.
Oh well.
"Mingyu? " She said, sitting outside the den, making the perfect impression of someone patiently waiting outside (despite her annoyance). "Are you in there? "
Certainly enough, moments later a brown head became visible in the darkness. It was a cave, something not to hard to find in the highlands, though significantly smaller than the one her family had taken for themselves. "Yes, Ting Lan? " Though Zumaridi was about as polite as possible, for whatever reason, Ari was mildly annoyed by her voice now. Maybe because she wasn't here because she felt like it.
"I heard you were going hunting, mind if I join you? " Lets say that, it would be dumb to say 'I'm here because daddy told me to'.
Zumaridi tilted her head quietly at that. Ari was the picture of politeness, but she did suspect the kid, due to the last time they met. "Oh? Why would you want to join an old lioness like me? " Zumaridi hated talking like this, actually. She hated thinking of herself as 'that old lioness', but it had become habit now. She remembered some time ago, she talked nothing like this. It felt almost.. fake now.
She saw a tiny shrug of the young lioness' shoulders. "I thought it would be a good idea. " Right. Zumaridi smirked slightly, probably was told by one of her parents. She yawned, stepping a bit more into the light, pausing to stretch calmly.
"Alright, I'll take you. " She could almost picture the heiress rolling her eyes. 'you don't need to accept me, I do what I want!' comes to mind, but it seems the girl has gotten somewhat wiser, because she just dipped her head and said "Thank you. " Nodding, Zuma walked completely out of the cave and made her way to where she'd last seen some mountain goats. Hunting out here was somewhat different. The terrain was unpredictable. Sure, there was land like anywhere else, but you could unexpectedly just run right over it and fall off the other side.
After a while of walking in silence, finally, she spotted some ibex, grazing near an outcropping of rocks. Damn, she couldn't just run at them, they'd reach the rocks, and she couldn't follow there.
.. Looks like Ari will be useful.
The red and white cub didn't even expect anything was going to be asked of her. The deal was supposed to be observe and learn, supposedly. But then the older female turned to her and spoke. "I'm going to need your help on this one. " Damn, she didn't want to help. If Zumaridi was busy.. hunting, she could just pretend to pay attention.
But, she supposed she'd have to accept these terms. "Yes? "
With a nod, the black lioness crouched down. "I need you to sneak around the group and pop out on the other side, scare them my way. "
Ari frowned, flicking her tail. "Aren't I too small to do things like that? " She asked, quietly hoping Zuamridi would agree with this and let her 'off the hook'. Sadly, this wasn't to be.
"You're big enough to spook them. " The chocolate lioness said, and Ari could barely contain a grimace. She nodded, shrugging slightly. Receiving a nod back, Ari began her path. Being small, she could approach simply walking for a while, before finally she crouched low into the grass. Maybe she should blow it, and be sent home. No, Ari. a nagging voice at the back of her mind was telling her to be good at this. Certainly Zuamridi would meet with her father later, and.. they'd chat. If she got the chocolate lioness to speak good about her, a good impression on her parents was always welcome.
Zumaridi watched as the juvenile moved forward, quietly impressed with Ari's ease, despite her age. She was surprised when she could no longer spot the juvenile, considering how red she was. 'Graceful orchid', the older lioness mused. Her name fit her. She flexed her shoulders, instead thinking it better to watch the herd, now that she no longer knew when Ari would show. All she had to do was wait for it to happen, and tackle the ibex as they came.
Finally on the other side, Ari crouched close to the floor (silently cursing how dirty this was getting her white underbelly), watching the ibex. She ha djust been asked to spook them, but, ever the over achiever, she was doing the extra job of picking the most likely prey and considering how to get that one to get to Zumaridi.
Her target found itself to be at the other side, away from her, and consequently closest to Zumaridi. And now, how to get it to run straight to her... Damn, she'd have to run right at it. Or, so be it, through the rest of the flock, which would certainly be chaos. Quietly, the girl calculated her plan again, trying to predict all the preybeast's course of action. Okay, hopefully, she wouldn't get trampled. And if it worked, she'd come out looking brave and smart. Which was good. Alright, lets give it a shot.
Maybe she should not have tried that. After racing out, Ari found the flurry of alarm cries and running prey beast somewhat.. chaotic, which almost made her halt in her spot and simply let them run off wherever. .. Failing that, instead she sped up even faster, trying to get out of this mess as quickly as possible. She only barely remembered in time to try and spook her target the right way, and even after 'doing it', she had a feeling the aim was somewhat off. Damn.
Finally, though, the chaos seemed to be ending, it seems it had actually gone by very fast. But to her it had seemed like too long. She stopped near a rock, panting slightly, but fighting to regain her composure once she saw Zumaridi approach. "Good work! " The older lioness chirped, causing the heiress' ears to perk up. Good work? She then noticed hoe the other's muzzle was somewhat.. red. Oooh. This was good, very, very good.
Not knowing what to say, she just nodded.
Zumaridi smiled. This girl was smart, very smart. Somewhat stupid, but she wouldn't say that. At her age, Zumaridi wouldn'tdare plunge right into the middle of the bunch like she had. This could be both good and bad, but right now, Zuma thought of it as good. The juvenile hadn't gotten hurt and she'd helped catch prey. Besides, she highly doubted the girl would be doing this again, so no need for warning. She held back the urge to chuckle at the effort the heiress was making not to pant (too obviously), and the state of her white fur. "Would you like to eat? " She motioned to the ibex, lying dad on the floor, and twitching her ears at the seeming surprise that surfaced, for a fraction of a moment, on the cub's face. Must've missed the catch. That was important, but oh well.
The juvenile paused a bit, considering this. But it seemed the heiress had other plans, for eventually she shook her head. "No, I think I'll had home now. " Zumaridi was surprised at her own disappointment at this, but nodded. "Alright. Well, I'll be taking the ibex back then. " She stepped back, turning slightly. "I'll see you later then, Ting Lan. "
Ari watched the lioness turn away, her tail flopping once, twice against the floor. "Yes, " She said, though unsure if Zumaridi had heard this. Taking a few more moments as a breather, she finally got up, and started her way home-- er, nearest watering hole. She had to get clean.
