{PRP}See you around{Rian x Malaya}

[magnadearel]

Malaya paused to scratch her ear. She hadn't seen anyone today. While there was nothing wrong with that, it also didn't let her practice. The young adult challenged herself to creep up on unsuspecting lions, or any animal she happened across, and get as close as possible without being spotted. There was only so much she could gain by sneaking up on rocks and bushes. They didn't care what she did.

She snorted and gave a stretch. It was time to move on. Gracefully she rose to her paws and trotted out. Purposely at first Malaya made sure she made visible tracks. Using the knowledge she'd learned from her scout mentor, the lioness attempted to make her tracks gradually disappear. The results came out interestingly. She stopped and looked back to study them. In trying to make three footprints nearly invisable, there was one almost fully there. She snorted. Clearly she couldn't focus on just one or three. It had to be all or none.  

[Lorne_Sionn]

Rian had been coming up the hill, having said goodbye to his mentor at the bottom of the ridge. They had a long morning tracking a rogue along the border. His teacher had shown him how to track not only with his eyes, but with his nose and whiskers to. It had been hard work, exspeically when the blind fold had come out.

The young male had known that being a scout was not going to be easy, but he'd not counted on the long hours. He'd been given a few hours to get some food, a little sleep, and maybe if he didn't let his nap run away with him he could go see if his foster mom needed any help with anything.

Then it would be back out for his lesson in night tracking. Gods above, but he was worn out. Enough that his entire lesson had gone right out his head and he didn't even notice his sister's tracks.  

[magnadearel]

Malaya had gone a few more steps then checked back again. Still the same problem. It was at that point, looking back at her tracks, that she noticed a familiar white shape. Turning around she crouched down. Surely her brother wouldn't mind if she practiced on him. She would stalk him until he noticed or she pounced. Her tail tip just barely twitched.

She snuck forward. Minding her feet and the prints she made. It was hard to be discrete when she was so big. They were her paws and she’d just have to learn to deal with ‘em. Malaya circled around a couple of bushes. She tiptoed over gravel, doing her best not to make any sounds. Would her brother hear the ones she did make?  

[Lorne_Sionn]

Rian went still, there was no doubt in his fog tired mind he had heard something, and what ever it was, it wasn't small. Instantly his muscles tensed, and he lowered his body, just his shoulders, so that his whiskers were just a few inches above the ground, guiding the scent of the intruder up to him. It smelled familer, but as worn out as he was, he couldn't place it.

Moving forward on the very balls of his feet, keeping his toes curled up and to the side so that his tracks appeared more canine like then feline he skirted up to the brushy, rocky ground and off the dirty, mucky ground, his ears twitching forward and back as he lowered himself into the sage and akelia bush, wishing he had the opertunity to roll in some dust to hid his painfully white coat.

Damn't there went dinner and a nap.  

[magnadearel]

She watched as he crouched down. Something must have given her away. Malaya was determine to get very close. She creeped around from brush to brush, attempting to get to the side or behind him. As she moved, so did he. When she peeked up Rian wasn't where she thought he'd be. In the dirt were some tracks. Looking close Malaya frowned. Did those look like...... dog tracks? That really confused her.

Determination crossed her face. She knew that was Rian, no matter what his tracks looked like. Malaya creeped forward following the tracks. Where had he gotten off to? Her eyes flicked back and forth for the familiar white pelt.  

[Lorne_Sionn]

Rian sniffed the wind, and caught the familer scent, but just a trace because the almost not there breeze was going in the opposite direction. Stiffing a agitated growl, he inched forward just a bit, trying his best not to disturb the vegetation he was taking cover in.

If it was Malaya, then it was a race to see who spotted who and who got pounced first, and if he got her first even the Goddess of Pestilence wasn't gonna save her from getting her ear chewed for cutting into his dinner and rest time before his grueling mentor made him go back out again. Grrr...maybe he could get Malaya transferred to him too and then she could suffer just like he did.

NOW there was a thought....  

[magnadearel]

Unaware of her brother's plots, the dark lioness continued to trail him. She was starting to get the sense that just following his trail would not lead her to him. In fact, it would leave her vulnerable to whoever she was tracking being able to spot her. Of course her brother wouldn't hurt her, Malaya was confident. That wasn't to say the next thing she trailed would feel the same way. So if one couldn't follow a trail without worrying about ambushes, how did one track?

She paused to ponder that question for a moment. Malaya tossed her head, and nearly gave herself away. She would have to know where he was going. To do that meant she would have to know whoever it was well enough to predict their movements. Stumped by the problem, she made a mental tag to ask her mentor. It would be a good question.

Settled on the problem now she focused on tracking once more. She sniffed softly as a couple of branches to see if Rian had rubbed against them as he came this way. Nope, next she checked the dirt. As she sniffed and dirt tickled her nose, her eyes scanned the area. How did he hide that super white pelt of his? This should have been so much easier than it was turning out to be. Malaya debated asking Rian for a couple of lessons.  

[Lorne_Sionn]

The large male, for he was almost about as large as their father, narrowed his eyes, there..right there...had that been movement in the brush. He was almost sure of it, but the voice of his mentor came to him, raspy as it was form a wound he had taken to his throat that he never spoke of, you never bet on almost kitling, you bet on sure.

That meant he would have to get a little closer, and maybe behind. Which depended on which way the breeze was. Holding very still, he twitched his ears judging the breeze and which way he could go. Deciding on a direction, hoping it was right, he eased himself backward out of the bracken slowly, so as not to rustle the plants to much.

He'd swing wide, then close in from the right, below the direction of the breeze and come up not behind, but on the flank of who it was who was stalking him.  

[magnadearel]

Malaya turned a bush expecting to find her brother crouched there. Except he wasn't. She frowned at the empty spot didn't suddenly disclose Rian to her. Where could he be? She knew where he wasn't, but should have been. The black lioness turned to crouch in the spot herself. Her red eyes scanned the area. He had to be somewhere nearby; she was sure.

The lioness peered out of her hiding spot. Had her brother slipped off and continued on his way? She didn't think so, so that meant he was still in the area. Where was that white coat of his? Malaya didn't think it would have been this hard to catch him. It seemed his apprenticeship had taught him some stuff. She was pleased for her brother. They didn't get to spend much time together.  

[Lorne_Sionn]

Ah ha, it was his sister, he could see just the tip of her lovely butterfly marking in the scrub. That scamp, she was stalking him! Oh she was going to get it now.

Bracing his back legs, and gathering his front paws under him he leapt forward and tackled her not from behind, but from her right flank, tumbling her over. He did his best to pin her with his weight, his amber eyes slightly annoyed with her, but he'd never be able to ever be angry at any of the two dozen or so of his liter mates.

" You are so going to get it Malaya, you've totally cut into my food, rest and check on mom time before I have to go back out there again with that demon spawn mentor of mine." His tone was vexed, very, very, vexed.  

[magnadearel]

An unexpected weight crashing into her and sending her over made the large lioness grunt in surprise. Where that that come from?! By the scent, a rather dusty scent at that, she realized it was the brother she'd been stalking. Feeling him trying to pin her she kicked at his belly playfully with her back feet.

"Aaawwwww don't be mad Rian. I was just trying to practice what I learned on something that would care. Bushes can only take me so far." She purred soothingly at him. He'd forgive her; Malaya was positive. "I'll make it up to you. I can come with you to see mom, then guard you while you sleep." Malaya gave her brother a cute look.