SilverLutz
It was a wonderful day in the Kwa Kikombe lands. Most days were wonderful, of course. The sun never burnt the grass and the rains never flooded the ground, there seemed to always be a gentle breeze to keep the inhabitants from getting too hot, and prey animals were constantly within reach. Today, though, was especially wonderful. Today Seamróige was going to show one of her pups the game she loved so dearly. She figured it would be best to show them one at a time the very basics of Kikombe, as she had a fairly large litter and herding all of them was difficult.
Sea shifted through the pile of sleeping pups until she reached Navoi and nudged her gently in the rump. "Navoi, dear...come with me." She hoped the rest of the pups would stay snoozing while she showed her daughter the basics of the game. They wouldn't be far, of course, just outside the den.
Seaki
Navoi stretched when she felt something nudge her. She almost brushed off the touch as one of her siblings prodding her to move out of the way, but her mother's distinct voice told her otherwise. She yawned, grumbling a bit as she opened her eyes. She would have gone back to sleep if she hadn't heard her name at the start of the sentence.
The small pup gave a small huff, tripping over her siblings as she weedled her way out of the pile.
"Wassit, Mamma?" she asked as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes with one of her paws.
SilverLutz
Sea waited patiently for Navoi to wake up and smiled a bit as the little female carefully picked her way over the pile of pups. She leaned down once her daughter reached her feet and gave her a few licks to help her wake up.
"You're going to be first to learn about Kikombe," she said, her voice an excited whisper so she wouldn't disturb the other sleeping pups. "The game that we play here. But you have to promise me you won't tease your siblings that you know about it and they don't.
Seaki
Navoi murmured when she was licked, almost a grumble. She gave a final yawn before she focused her attention on her mother. She perked up immediately when she heard the word Kikombe, suddenly focusing completely on her mother. She wondered if she was the first one to have the chance to learn about the Game.
"Oooh," she said excitedly, but ntoiced her mother was keeping her voice low, and she kept hers low as well.
"I won't Mama," she promised, bouncing on her feet, excited.
SilverLutz
"Good girl," Sea said with a grin before heading out of the den. She motioned for Navoi to follow and once they were outside trotted over to a nearby tree where she had her supplies. There was a tortoise shell, a few tiny ones she had collected from the banks of the river from babies that had sadly drowned not long ago, and a few big sticks. She picked up a stick with her mouth and finished drawing a few lines in the sand, making a crude rectangle, before tossing the stick aside.
"I know you've seen a lot of other creatures playing Kikombe, but I haven't taken the time to explain to you just what it is," she said as she returned to the tree. "It's an old game that's been played here for generations and it's a great honor to participate in it. You don't /have/ to be a Player to participate, though. There's lots of jobs to do!" she added, not wanting to discourage her children from their goals and aspirations of the future. "But...pretty much everyone knows how to play."
She gently batted one of the tiny tortoise shells to Navoi, a smile on her face. "This is what we play with. A simple shell without the tortoise inside. There are two teams. The aim of the game is to get the shell into your goal more times than the other team does. It's a very simple game, really!"
Tail wagging, she reached for the normal sized shell for herself and gave it a gentle push with her paw. It slid across the dirt a few feet before coming to a stop. "Why don't you give yours a push?"
Seaki
Navoi listened attentively to the explanation. She didn't quite get it - not completely, but she looked down at the shell her mother pushed to her. She placed her paw on top of the smaller shell, watching her mother for what she was supposed to do.
The young dog watched as the shell skidded away, her tail wagging excitedly.
When it was her turn, though, she became a little nervous. She didn't think she could slide the shell that far! She patted the shell, before pushing it off. The small shell skidded along, stopping not terribly far away from the pair.
SilverLutz
Sea waited and watched as Navoi sized up the shell and gave it a little push with her paw. "Very good!" she said excitedly, leaning down to nuzzle her daughter's head. "Now, let's see if you can get it all the day down to the shape I drew on the ground."
She walked forward and gave her shell another smack, sending it skidding across the dirt. It tumbled a few times before rocking to a stop upside down, teetering this way and that. It had gone clear passed the goal she had drawn, but it was more to get it out of the way than to try for a point.
"And you don't have to just hit it with your paws," she said, crouching down beside Navoi. "You can use your nose, but that hurts sometimes. Some of the bigger animals like to use their tails. I find using your hind legs adds a lot of power."
Seaki
Despite the dejected feeling of not getting her initial push very far, her mother's praise made her perk right up. Still, she doubted she could get it as far as her mother. But mama was big and strong, so that was expected, right? "I can kick with my feets?" She asked to me sure, turning and touching the shell with her foot. It felt all sorts of wrong, though. She couldn't even see the goal anymore!
Still, she gave it a hard smack with her foot, causing the shell to go flying in the general direction of the goal.
SilverLutz
"Yes, you can. It's hard to hit it and not see where you're kicking, but you'll get the hang of it if you practice," Sea said as Navoi turned to do just that. The kick was wild and the shell toppled over and over, but it landed smack dab in the middle of the goal she had drawn.
"Ah! Navoi, you did it," she said with a happy yip, nudging the pup to turn her around so she could see. "Look at that! Your first try and everything!" She stood up tall, her tail lifted high and proud, ears alert and chest puffed out as if she herself had just made the game winning shot in the championship match. "You're a natural, Navoi!"
Seaki
Navoi gave a loud whoop what she saw that she had made a goal. She bounced on her toes, tail wagged wildly at her success. "I did it!!" She exclaimed. She wanted to brag to her siblings, but she promised Mama she'd keep quiet. It would be a hard secret to keep, but she puffed up proudly herself.
"Thank you for showing me how to play, Mama!"
