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 Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 9:00 pm
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 10:24 pm
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Did Hifadhi know that he was being followed? Had he noticed the little black cub that shadowed each step, eyes watching intently as if he hoped to learn the world's secrets with just a gaze?
A quietly curious cub by nature, more inclined to study than others his age, Ufunuo had seized onto the opportunity to follow the old lion, watching and listening from the shadows. It was not uncommon to find him as such, watching from the shadows in silence, only to later emerge when he was discovered to ask as many questions as he could think of or hoping to catch an elder in the mood to tell a story.
"If you wanted to go with him, you could have just asked."
The cub paused in his steps, shooting a glance at the eagle who had landed on the earth at his side.
"Shhhh, it's more fun to just follow, besides, if he knew I was here I wouldn't learn as much."
Ufunuo had learned long ago that adults were far less...open in the presence of cubs. There were things they just wouldn't do or say because they wanted to protect the young or simply didn't think they were ready for until they were older. It was for that reason that Ufunuo had taking to shadowing, to hiding in larger pawsteps, hoping to hear what they would not tell him before they realized he was there.
Daga simply rolled his eyes, shaking his head when Ufunuo wasn't watching. Surely the old lion knew they were there, a cub could not hide from a captain of the guard, even if said captain was old and technically retired. |
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 10:35 pm
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"You know..." Pepo whispered to Hifadhi, glancing behind them, "We would probably save on time and questions later if you just told the kid you know he's following you. I mean, even if I hadn't spotted him... he's just a kid. He's not so good at this stalking thing."
"Let him do what he likes." Hifadhi said, then he grinned a little, "Reminds me of Ngao when she was a cub... she used to follow me everywhere, waiting to learn my deep dark secrets."
"Got her into trouble more than once." Pepo laughed back, glancing over his shoulder again, "Seriously... the kid is going to fall and die or something... You should really let him know we know... He could learn something."
"What? You want me to train now? I thought you were just telling me to take it easy." Hifadhi chuckled, then he glanced over his shoulder towards Ufunuo, "Hey, kiddo, you want to stop trailing around back there? You're giving me the creeps."
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 12:25 am
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Peeking from behind the rock he had thought would hide him, the cub's ears dropped, he'd been spotted.
"Awww, he heard you, now he knows we're here."
"I hate to break it to you kid, but he knew you were following long before I said anything."
"Oh, I guess so."
He really needed to work on stalking, clearly being small wasn't enough to keep him hidden. Well, no point in trying to hide now. A sheepish grin on his maw, Ufunuo emerged from hiding, closing the distance between himself and the old lion in several quick bounds, Daga gliding at his heels.
"What're you doing Hifadhi? Are you looking for something? Can I help? How'd you know I was there?" |
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 9:30 am
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"See?" Hifadhi looked at Pepo, smirking, "I broke the poor kid's heart. Look what you made me do."
"Oh ha de har har." Pepo rolled his eyes, smiling at the cub, "Well, I saw you... But you'll have to ask the 'master guard' here to explain how he knew... because I most certainly didn't tell him." Well, he had... but Hifadhi had already known, so did that even count? Really?
Hifadhi sighed, "You weren't downwind kid. And you stepped into a bush a little ways back and made so much noise, I'd be suprised if all of Africa didn't hear you." Harsh, a little, he knew that... but he had been a Captain, and a trainer. The instinct to instruct stuck. "I'm just... looking to see if I can find anyone else on their way back. Send them in the right direction. You can help, if you'd like." Maybe he could give Ufunuo some pointers on the way...
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 2:45 pm
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"Really, you heard that?"
His tail twitched with his thoughts, taking in each word that Hifadhi spoke. He hadn't thought he'd been that loud, but still Hifadhi had heard him, he'd have to be more careful next time then. Wait, downwind? He hadn't even thought about that, of course Hifadhi could smell him, he should have know that. Sigh, shadowing was a lot harder than he thought, trying not to be seen just wasn't enough.
"You're a great tracker, can you teach me?"
Whatever disappointment had remained in his expression instantly vanished, a grin returning to his maw with a happy bound, eyes shining with his eagerness. He wanted to learn all he could, listen to all the elders would tell him, and someday he would be great too, like his father, and he'd be able to protect the pride. If only he knew that even elders didn't know everything.
"Do you think, Grandpa's out there?"
Though it was his father, Umoja, the pride looked to as their king, before the quake it had been his grandfather who ruled the pride. No one had seen him since that fateful day, and Ufunuo could only wonder what had happened to him. Was he lost, hurt, had he even survived? Would he come back some day? |
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 12:35 pm
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 11:13 pm
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"I hope so."
The little one gave a quiet sigh, tail flicking as his gaze fell to his paws. He'd never had the chance to say goodbye to his mother, he didn't like the idea of not having that chance with his grandfather either. There were many still missing, family and friends lost, and though peace had returned and life continued as it had, even Ufunuo knew that things would never be the same again.
But it wasn't a time to be sad, he had his father, and Ubele, and Daga. And there was Dumu, Ngao, Hifadhi, Ficha, and everyone else. They had made it through the darkness, they had grown stronger, and as long as they were together, then nothing could harm them again and life would continue on.
"Really? You'll teach me? Thank you!"
His eyes lit up, looking to the old lion with an excited grin, bounding on his paws as his energy overflowed.
"What're we gonna learn first? Tracking? Or maybe hiding? Or what about pouncing?"
With each question he mimic the action, 'stalking' around Hifadhi, ducking into the grass, pouncing after a wandering insect. Oh he just couldn't wait, he wanted to learn everything. And what better teacher than Hifadhi? Well, except for his dad that is.
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:50 am
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2008 4:05 pm
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The moment Hifadhi spoke, Ufunuo had dropped to his haunches, sitting eagerly before the old lion, intent on hearing all he would say. Basics, okay, quiet, right, he could do that, he knew how to be quiet, at least he thought he did. But wait, hide his scent? That he didn't know, he'd never really thought about it, though he guessed it did make sense, everyone did smell different.
"How do I do that?"
His head titled curiously, watching Hifadhi for his answer as his own mind tried to work it out. Hiding his scent, that seemed kind of hard to do, wait, how had Hifadhi smelled him when he was so far away in the first place? He hadn't smelled Hifadhi until he was closer, he knew he was there because he had seen him.
Daga simply watched, perched on a rock with his wings folded, hopefully out of the path of pouncing paws. Silently he made a note to stay above the ground from now on, lest the eager little cub pounce him when he wasn't watching. |
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 9:42 am
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Hifadhi sighed, "Well, we'll start with the very basics. First of all, you always have to watch where you're going... make sure you don't step on anything that could make a noise. That could be just about anything. Stepping on a rock... walking through a bush." He explained, sighing a little, "If you don't want anyone to know you're there, the first thing that will tip them off is how much noise you make."
Well... not exactly, but it would probably help Unfunuo to think about soun before he moved on to smell. Better to start with basics... After all, Hifadhi hadn't actually seen the cub. Pepo had, which meant that Unfunuo could hide well enough... but he couldn't hide everything yet.
"So, you can never let who you're following out of your sight, but you can never lose sight of what's around you. Know your surroundings. If you don't, that will be one of the first things that gives you away. Walk lightly, and when you need to hide, make sure your hiding spot won't be too noisy to get inside."
"Way to teacher-mode Hifadhi." Pepo chuckled, watching Daga curiously. He had technically fought vultures with the other bird... but they had never actually met.
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 1:21 pm
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Okay, he could do that. Hiding was easy enough, though it might be harder were he bigger, and he knew how to keep his eyes on his target (unless they were better at hiding). Now he knew he needed to be more careful of his surroundings, even stepping on a rock could make noise? Wait, if he was watching his surroundings, how was he going to watch whoever he was following? Wow, this was going to be a lot harder than he thought, but he could do it!
"What if I do make a noise? What do I do then?"
No one could be completely silent could they? What if he made a mistake that gave him away, would they immediately know he was there, or could he hide again? And then there was the whole thing with scent, he still didn't understand that.
He watched Hifadhi with admiration, waiting for the answer. Hifadhi sure new a lot, could he ever be that smart? |
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Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 12:32 pm
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"Oh, time to answer the big questions, eh Hifadhi?" Pepo chuckled, looking at Ufunuo, "Best way to watch what you're watching so you can hide yourself better is to use your bonded. We aren't just for show, you know." He chuckled.
Hifadhi sighed, "Pepo is right, if you need to be very careful of where you're going, then while you're hiding, or trying to find a better place, you can have your bonded keep an eye on whatever you're following. If you do make a noise, you can probably get away with it once without whatever you're following getting too spooked... you do it twice, you had better be ready to attack it, or stop hiding from it, because it will likely know you're there."
"After all, kiddo, you're a lion. Other animals know you're probably going to try and eat them." Pepo chuckled, remaining light-hearted, though Hifadhi clearly took his job more seriously.
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Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 10:29 pm
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His head titled, a quizzical look turned to Pepo before his gaze fell on Daga. The crowned eagle was more than a friend, more than a bonded, Daga was a part of him (though maybe that's what a bonded really was). Daga had found him when he needed him most, protected him, of course he was more than--Oh, wait, Pepo wasn't being literal, he knew that. With a grin, he called out to his bonded, tail flicking happily.
"You here that Daga? Will you help me with hunting?"
"When you are ready to, I will."
"Great! But you have to be really quiet or they'll know where we are."
Daga could not help but smirk, laughing silently to himself at his young friends enthusiasm and childish reasoning. There was endless potential in that small black cub, and something told him he'd need to keep a closer eye on the fluffball from now on.
"But I don't want to eat everyone I track, I was tracking you and I definitely don't want to eat you."
Eat Hifadhi and Pepo? EWW! Daga nearly choked on his laughter. |
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Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 7:59 pm
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"I dunno, Hifadhi looks awfully tasty sometimes..." Pepo mentioned, which simply made the old lion sigh.
"You can eat me when I'm dead, Pepo, and not a moment before." He did smile a little at that though... the idea of Ufunou tracking him and attempting to eat him was... simply too funny for words. But his thoughts did mirror Daga's, reguarding the cub.
There was endless possibility in the boy, he knew that, and he hoped he could help in any way he could. Much his father and his mother's son, Hifadhi supposed.
"Ah... yes, well, most small creatures will believe you want to eat them. But your bonded is the best ally you can have for hunting, for hiding, and for searching. They have much better eyes than we do, and when they fly, they can move much faster. They just expect us to do the heavy lifting." The old lion said, rolling his eyes in Pepo's direction.
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