Post by Msasi on Mar 8, 2007 20:49:46 GMT -5
A bit of hunting instruction from mother to daughter.
Involved:
Msasi, Female Lioness, Tyne Head Huntress
Sanyu, Female Juve. Lioness, Msasi's daughter
[Tyne] Jungle Clearing
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Late morning in Tyne finds the pride's hunt mistress already out and about. Hunting preparations are always being carried out, even if a hunt isn't to take place that evening. Hunting is serious business, you know! If one happens to be Msasi, anyway. A true Shambahla lioness through and through, she is never one to shirk her duty. And going through the familiar motions - get up, stretch, eat, scout, and so on and so forth - help distract her from lingering depression over Fuadi's death. But now, first set of duties completed, the tawny coated lioness is trotting through the jungle growth in the direction of Tyne Rock. She intends on checking on the newest cubs of Tyne, see if she might be needed for cubsitting - hopefully not! - and then seeing if she can't round up her own offspring for a bit of training. Never too early to get those girls started in one hunting, you know.
Sanyu doesn't seems to have a similar mindset to her mother. She hasn't gone too far this morning, but a little farther than usual. Stoppin short the little huntress wannabee looks back over her shoulder and huffs. Far enough to find more than rocks and crickets maybe. Sitting down she takes one quick self concious look around and settles her eyes on the distance. She is bound and determined to do this without getting laughed at or told how cute she is. she lays down lower in the foliage before sitting back up. She isn't the tallest of girls out there and its easier to see sitting. Heaving a sigh again she begins stareing at the distance. Every now and then she blinks in frustration shaking her eyes from straining too hard.
Ever mindful of her surroundings - as any good huntress should be - it doesn't take Msasi long to spot her daughter. The head huntress instantly pauses, resisting the urge for a curious flick of her tail. Whatever the younger lioness is up to, Msasi has always found it best to sit back and observe for a moment. And then, should it be needed, come forward to offer corrections and the like. Teh huntress doesn't so much as bat an eye at finding Sanyu out here in the clearing of the local jungles; it's still close enough to the safety of Tyne Rock that Msasi is far from worried. Can't keep them as cubs forever, you know, and venturing a bit further from home is all a part of that growing up process.
Sanyu's eyes widen slightly as she seems to have gotten somthing. Her whole posture stiffens, but her eyes still stay trained on one spot. A little ove excitedly she starts shifting her weight between her front paws, she is still unaware anyone is here to see this, which is good. The girl can be fairley self concious at times. Slowly standing she starts moving forward ever so slightly, one paw softly in front of another. Her gaze is so intent though, that she doesn't see the twig untill after she hears it. The snap is all it takes to alert the bird to her presence and off it flutters. In a slight panick of an attack the girl dances around on her hind legs swinging her paws wildly, ultimatly falling on her backside...
The amber eyes of the watchful huntress narrow slightly, calculating, judging. Ears splay sideways slightly as the bird takes flight and Msasi sighs and stirs herself into motion, moving forward to stand alongside her fallen daughter. She blinks down at Sanyu for a long moment, quiet. And then, with a slight tilt of her head, one brow arches lightly. "Well?" She asks. "What was it you did wrong?" To many, the hunt mistress probably comes off as cold and strict, like some sort of leonine version of a drill sergeant, always full of corrections and rarely any compliments. Perhaps that is true, in a sense, although Msasi is insanely proud of her offspring and lets them get away with more than she would allow other youngsters. But hunting is serious business to the lioness and she would like one of her daughters - be it Anasa, Sanyu or perhaps a daughter if she ever gets to have a second litter - to eventually take her place as Tyne's head huntress. Some day. And that means that they need to be taught to be the best of the best. Msasi already has a number of corrections in mind for Sanyu, but she remains silent to allow the juvenile to answer first. Mistakes are somewhat more acceptable so long as the mistake maker knows that they were mistakes in the first place.
Sanyu flattens her ears back against her head, but she doesn't duck down though. Looking over at her mother she sighs and its fairly obvious she is dissapointed with herself. She listens intently and finally answers, "I started just trying to see the movement, I finally did and got carried away. I should have taken it one step at a time. I was so in tent on the bird, I didn't notice anything else...not the stupid stick or you." The little girl rights herself and huffs, "After it took off, I got over excited?" She moves slowly to greet her mother, and hopes she isn't in trouble for a number of things. Messing up hunting is not a good thing. "I wanted to catch somthing for you..."
An ear flicks as the girl recites and, when finished, Msasi nods once. Close enough. "A huntress needs to move slowly, but steadily to her target. Being keyed in on the movement of the prey is important so that you know when you should be moving and when you should be holding still, but not focused so singley on the prey that your environment goes ignored. The land around you is your companion on the hunt," She instructs, nodding to their current jungle surroundings. "Move well and be aware, and it will help to conceal your presence from that which you are trying to hunt. Ignore it and it shall spite you, giving away your presence and you will lose your dinner. And not just dinner for yourself.. but dinner for your pride. Not every hunt turns out successful, but if you miss on account of your own simple mistakes you'll soon have a grumpy, hungry pride turning on you." Msasi steps back and reclines back onto her haunches, fully involved in her lecture now. Once she gets started, it's hard to make her shut up. "You did get overexcited. Don't allow prey in flight - be it on air or over land - to affect you so. Birds will fly and the antelope will run. You must resist the urge to jump about like a wild hare and wait. Watch the prey's movements and move only when the time is right. Flailing around trying to catch an escaping bird only wastes energy that could be put to better use on the hunt. Wait and jump once when the time is right. If you catch it, wonderful. If you don't, you still have energy to go after something else." But those mistakes Sanyu had caught herself. Now Msasi's features twist into a real disaproval. "And Sanyu.. your waiting. When you are scouting or waiting or preparing to stalk, /always/ settle as close to the ground as you can. You may be fine sitting now, being small, but you will not always be and it is a horrible habit to get yourself into. Alway /always/ down on your belly, like this..." And the lioness demonstrates, crouching down close to the ground, stomach just barely brushing the jungle floor. "Should I ever catch you sitting while hunting or even practicing, I'll cuff you silly for the next moon!" The juvenile is given a light scowl to show that she means business.. and then softens upon Sanyu's last words. A small smile finally graces Msasi's muzzle as she leans down to nose her daughter's cheek. "And you will someday, little one. You just need more practice."
Sanyu hunches back slightly looking embaressed. She suddenly finds her feet very very interesting as she speaks softly, "I did lay down, but I couldn't see anything or smell anything beyond what was right in front of me..." looking back up at her mother, she sighs, "I'm bored with rocks and bugs. I can catch those, and I get in trouble when I catch tails..." She says slightly druming her toes. Sanyu is enthusiastic and soft paw is a concept she has always had problems with. Even when nursing she got a little claw happy. Suddenly her face lights up as she stands, "I did catch a mouse the other day...it was a hurt mouse but I did get it, but I had to let it go."
"No excuses," Msasi stresses firmly. "You will learn to see, hear and smell what is out ahead of you and you will learn to part the foliage around you gently so that you can see without being seen. It is all a part of the process of learning. Something you will /not/ learn if you continue to work around it by sitting." The hunt mistress smiles, though, when the juvenile announces she caught a mouse. "Ah, see? You are improving. As you will continue to each day if you practice." It would be so much easier if they still lived in Shambahla; there Msasi could count on her pridesisters to be teaching and instructing her daughters while she was out scouting or hunting herself. Here in Tyne - though she loves it dearly - the other lionesses don't seem to share the same level of enthusiasm for hunting as she does. Pity. "You are old enough now to venture out into the jungles, I wager. There are more smaller prey animals out here that you can practice on. Although you must be careful if you are out here on your own.. it isn't as safe as it is closer to Tyne Rock with the other lionesses to look out for you."
Sanyu grins widly at the approval for the mouse. She nods her head setting her mind on bringing one back next time. Figuring out what to do with it once its caught was the problem and when the little fellow asked so nicely she had to let it go...after all what was she going to do with him. She looks down at the ground and then lays out on her belly, a little to cub sprawled to be much good for hunting. She tilts her nose high up into the air trying to see over the foliage to her mother, "Like this?"
Msasi watches carefully before padding over to Sanyu, giving her gentle noses to her limbs or a gentle push down on her back end to nudge her into a more balanced position. "Aa," She agrees finally, giving the juvenile a faint nod. "That works for quick glances. You wouldn't want to stalk around like that, however. Your nose high in the air means you are not as aware of the ground and are likely to step on another stick." Moving alongside Sanyu, Msasi adopts a similar position crouched down amongst the jungle plants. "Sight is not your only ally in the hunt, my daughter. You need to allow your other senses to develop as well. Your sense of smell is incredibly important. If you pick up on fear smell, it is highly likely that the prey is aware of your presence. If you cannot smell it at all be aware that the wind might have shifted to carry /your/ scent to the prey, instead of the other way around. Hearing will need to be fine-tuned; is the prey moving? Towards you or away? Are there any noises nearby that may startle the prey into flight? Your sense of touch is important. Feel the ground beneath you," She instructs, flexing a paw against the soft soil. "You should be confident with every step you take. Respect and be aware of your environment; do so, and you will be able to slip easily through the vegetation around you." It is a bit harder to demonstrate in the jungle, since most hunting is done out on the savanna and grasslands, but Msasi slips forward, muscle shifting beneath tawny pelt as she works her way several steps ahead.
Sanyu listens intently, eyes wide with enthusiasm. She looks down at her own paws and kneeds the grounds slightly smiling as the soft soil squishes under her paws. Crawling forward slightly she kneeds some of the vegitation listening to the noises it makes. Her ears are bent forward but ocasionally flick one way or another as she tries to listen to more than just whats in front of her. When Msasi steps forward she smiles, "I didn't hear anything! My turn." She announces proudly. Standing she feels the ground again and looks about four steps ahead of her, no sticks. She takes a step and tences as her tail brushes by some leaves, "oops..." The claws aren't helping too much either as one particular leaf finds itself stuck. She stops suddenly and raises the paw to give it a good shake, but stops. Setting her paw down she steps on it with her other paw softly and removes the offending vegitation. She smiles and steps forward again twitching everytime she rustles the leaves or the grasses. When she reaches her mother's side the Juvinile stops and looks up for a critique on her preformance, though she seems less than satisfied.
After several steps, Msasi stops, sitting up and turning back to face Sanyu. She says nothing, but her eyes watch the juvenile's movements carefully, taking note of anything that needs work. Which is.. quite a bit. But, she has to remind herself, the girl is still young and there is still plenty of time to learn movement and control. Still, it never hurts to be truthful. Ears twitch forward as the girl looks up expectantly. "Needs work," She says simply. "Leaves and grasses are quieter than snapping sticks and more easily forgiven, but you should strive to be as quiet as possible when you are stalking, just in case your stalking brings you nearer to the prey than you originally intend. The closer you get, the more important it becomes to be able to move as silently as possible." But, looking down at Sanyu's face, even Msasi cannot leave it on that note. She dps her head, giving the juvenile a quick nuzzle. "But that will come with time and practice. You are still young and your body is starting to go through a phase of quick growth. It's awkward to control the body when one is that young. However.." She isn't going to let anyone get away with the feeling that noise, then, is acceptable just because of age. "You should try as hard as you can to quiet your movements. The more control over your body you can master now, when you are going through an awkward stage of growth, the more fine-tuned your movements will be when you are grown."
Sanyu listens intently and nods at each point. She looks back at her tail with a slight scowl, "It has a mind of its own...It never does what it should..." She leans back resting on her haunches, "When can I go to the Savanahs to hunt with you?" She is getting quite a ways ahead of herself, but at least she is eager.
Involved:
Msasi, Female Lioness, Tyne Head Huntress
Sanyu, Female Juve. Lioness, Msasi's daughter
[Tyne] Jungle Clearing
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Late morning in Tyne finds the pride's hunt mistress already out and about. Hunting preparations are always being carried out, even if a hunt isn't to take place that evening. Hunting is serious business, you know! If one happens to be Msasi, anyway. A true Shambahla lioness through and through, she is never one to shirk her duty. And going through the familiar motions - get up, stretch, eat, scout, and so on and so forth - help distract her from lingering depression over Fuadi's death. But now, first set of duties completed, the tawny coated lioness is trotting through the jungle growth in the direction of Tyne Rock. She intends on checking on the newest cubs of Tyne, see if she might be needed for cubsitting - hopefully not! - and then seeing if she can't round up her own offspring for a bit of training. Never too early to get those girls started in one hunting, you know.
Sanyu doesn't seems to have a similar mindset to her mother. She hasn't gone too far this morning, but a little farther than usual. Stoppin short the little huntress wannabee looks back over her shoulder and huffs. Far enough to find more than rocks and crickets maybe. Sitting down she takes one quick self concious look around and settles her eyes on the distance. She is bound and determined to do this without getting laughed at or told how cute she is. she lays down lower in the foliage before sitting back up. She isn't the tallest of girls out there and its easier to see sitting. Heaving a sigh again she begins stareing at the distance. Every now and then she blinks in frustration shaking her eyes from straining too hard.
Ever mindful of her surroundings - as any good huntress should be - it doesn't take Msasi long to spot her daughter. The head huntress instantly pauses, resisting the urge for a curious flick of her tail. Whatever the younger lioness is up to, Msasi has always found it best to sit back and observe for a moment. And then, should it be needed, come forward to offer corrections and the like. Teh huntress doesn't so much as bat an eye at finding Sanyu out here in the clearing of the local jungles; it's still close enough to the safety of Tyne Rock that Msasi is far from worried. Can't keep them as cubs forever, you know, and venturing a bit further from home is all a part of that growing up process.
Sanyu's eyes widen slightly as she seems to have gotten somthing. Her whole posture stiffens, but her eyes still stay trained on one spot. A little ove excitedly she starts shifting her weight between her front paws, she is still unaware anyone is here to see this, which is good. The girl can be fairley self concious at times. Slowly standing she starts moving forward ever so slightly, one paw softly in front of another. Her gaze is so intent though, that she doesn't see the twig untill after she hears it. The snap is all it takes to alert the bird to her presence and off it flutters. In a slight panick of an attack the girl dances around on her hind legs swinging her paws wildly, ultimatly falling on her backside...
The amber eyes of the watchful huntress narrow slightly, calculating, judging. Ears splay sideways slightly as the bird takes flight and Msasi sighs and stirs herself into motion, moving forward to stand alongside her fallen daughter. She blinks down at Sanyu for a long moment, quiet. And then, with a slight tilt of her head, one brow arches lightly. "Well?" She asks. "What was it you did wrong?" To many, the hunt mistress probably comes off as cold and strict, like some sort of leonine version of a drill sergeant, always full of corrections and rarely any compliments. Perhaps that is true, in a sense, although Msasi is insanely proud of her offspring and lets them get away with more than she would allow other youngsters. But hunting is serious business to the lioness and she would like one of her daughters - be it Anasa, Sanyu or perhaps a daughter if she ever gets to have a second litter - to eventually take her place as Tyne's head huntress. Some day. And that means that they need to be taught to be the best of the best. Msasi already has a number of corrections in mind for Sanyu, but she remains silent to allow the juvenile to answer first. Mistakes are somewhat more acceptable so long as the mistake maker knows that they were mistakes in the first place.
Sanyu flattens her ears back against her head, but she doesn't duck down though. Looking over at her mother she sighs and its fairly obvious she is dissapointed with herself. She listens intently and finally answers, "I started just trying to see the movement, I finally did and got carried away. I should have taken it one step at a time. I was so in tent on the bird, I didn't notice anything else...not the stupid stick or you." The little girl rights herself and huffs, "After it took off, I got over excited?" She moves slowly to greet her mother, and hopes she isn't in trouble for a number of things. Messing up hunting is not a good thing. "I wanted to catch somthing for you..."
An ear flicks as the girl recites and, when finished, Msasi nods once. Close enough. "A huntress needs to move slowly, but steadily to her target. Being keyed in on the movement of the prey is important so that you know when you should be moving and when you should be holding still, but not focused so singley on the prey that your environment goes ignored. The land around you is your companion on the hunt," She instructs, nodding to their current jungle surroundings. "Move well and be aware, and it will help to conceal your presence from that which you are trying to hunt. Ignore it and it shall spite you, giving away your presence and you will lose your dinner. And not just dinner for yourself.. but dinner for your pride. Not every hunt turns out successful, but if you miss on account of your own simple mistakes you'll soon have a grumpy, hungry pride turning on you." Msasi steps back and reclines back onto her haunches, fully involved in her lecture now. Once she gets started, it's hard to make her shut up. "You did get overexcited. Don't allow prey in flight - be it on air or over land - to affect you so. Birds will fly and the antelope will run. You must resist the urge to jump about like a wild hare and wait. Watch the prey's movements and move only when the time is right. Flailing around trying to catch an escaping bird only wastes energy that could be put to better use on the hunt. Wait and jump once when the time is right. If you catch it, wonderful. If you don't, you still have energy to go after something else." But those mistakes Sanyu had caught herself. Now Msasi's features twist into a real disaproval. "And Sanyu.. your waiting. When you are scouting or waiting or preparing to stalk, /always/ settle as close to the ground as you can. You may be fine sitting now, being small, but you will not always be and it is a horrible habit to get yourself into. Alway /always/ down on your belly, like this..." And the lioness demonstrates, crouching down close to the ground, stomach just barely brushing the jungle floor. "Should I ever catch you sitting while hunting or even practicing, I'll cuff you silly for the next moon!" The juvenile is given a light scowl to show that she means business.. and then softens upon Sanyu's last words. A small smile finally graces Msasi's muzzle as she leans down to nose her daughter's cheek. "And you will someday, little one. You just need more practice."
Sanyu hunches back slightly looking embaressed. She suddenly finds her feet very very interesting as she speaks softly, "I did lay down, but I couldn't see anything or smell anything beyond what was right in front of me..." looking back up at her mother, she sighs, "I'm bored with rocks and bugs. I can catch those, and I get in trouble when I catch tails..." She says slightly druming her toes. Sanyu is enthusiastic and soft paw is a concept she has always had problems with. Even when nursing she got a little claw happy. Suddenly her face lights up as she stands, "I did catch a mouse the other day...it was a hurt mouse but I did get it, but I had to let it go."
"No excuses," Msasi stresses firmly. "You will learn to see, hear and smell what is out ahead of you and you will learn to part the foliage around you gently so that you can see without being seen. It is all a part of the process of learning. Something you will /not/ learn if you continue to work around it by sitting." The hunt mistress smiles, though, when the juvenile announces she caught a mouse. "Ah, see? You are improving. As you will continue to each day if you practice." It would be so much easier if they still lived in Shambahla; there Msasi could count on her pridesisters to be teaching and instructing her daughters while she was out scouting or hunting herself. Here in Tyne - though she loves it dearly - the other lionesses don't seem to share the same level of enthusiasm for hunting as she does. Pity. "You are old enough now to venture out into the jungles, I wager. There are more smaller prey animals out here that you can practice on. Although you must be careful if you are out here on your own.. it isn't as safe as it is closer to Tyne Rock with the other lionesses to look out for you."
Sanyu grins widly at the approval for the mouse. She nods her head setting her mind on bringing one back next time. Figuring out what to do with it once its caught was the problem and when the little fellow asked so nicely she had to let it go...after all what was she going to do with him. She looks down at the ground and then lays out on her belly, a little to cub sprawled to be much good for hunting. She tilts her nose high up into the air trying to see over the foliage to her mother, "Like this?"
Msasi watches carefully before padding over to Sanyu, giving her gentle noses to her limbs or a gentle push down on her back end to nudge her into a more balanced position. "Aa," She agrees finally, giving the juvenile a faint nod. "That works for quick glances. You wouldn't want to stalk around like that, however. Your nose high in the air means you are not as aware of the ground and are likely to step on another stick." Moving alongside Sanyu, Msasi adopts a similar position crouched down amongst the jungle plants. "Sight is not your only ally in the hunt, my daughter. You need to allow your other senses to develop as well. Your sense of smell is incredibly important. If you pick up on fear smell, it is highly likely that the prey is aware of your presence. If you cannot smell it at all be aware that the wind might have shifted to carry /your/ scent to the prey, instead of the other way around. Hearing will need to be fine-tuned; is the prey moving? Towards you or away? Are there any noises nearby that may startle the prey into flight? Your sense of touch is important. Feel the ground beneath you," She instructs, flexing a paw against the soft soil. "You should be confident with every step you take. Respect and be aware of your environment; do so, and you will be able to slip easily through the vegetation around you." It is a bit harder to demonstrate in the jungle, since most hunting is done out on the savanna and grasslands, but Msasi slips forward, muscle shifting beneath tawny pelt as she works her way several steps ahead.
Sanyu listens intently, eyes wide with enthusiasm. She looks down at her own paws and kneeds the grounds slightly smiling as the soft soil squishes under her paws. Crawling forward slightly she kneeds some of the vegitation listening to the noises it makes. Her ears are bent forward but ocasionally flick one way or another as she tries to listen to more than just whats in front of her. When Msasi steps forward she smiles, "I didn't hear anything! My turn." She announces proudly. Standing she feels the ground again and looks about four steps ahead of her, no sticks. She takes a step and tences as her tail brushes by some leaves, "oops..." The claws aren't helping too much either as one particular leaf finds itself stuck. She stops suddenly and raises the paw to give it a good shake, but stops. Setting her paw down she steps on it with her other paw softly and removes the offending vegitation. She smiles and steps forward again twitching everytime she rustles the leaves or the grasses. When she reaches her mother's side the Juvinile stops and looks up for a critique on her preformance, though she seems less than satisfied.
After several steps, Msasi stops, sitting up and turning back to face Sanyu. She says nothing, but her eyes watch the juvenile's movements carefully, taking note of anything that needs work. Which is.. quite a bit. But, she has to remind herself, the girl is still young and there is still plenty of time to learn movement and control. Still, it never hurts to be truthful. Ears twitch forward as the girl looks up expectantly. "Needs work," She says simply. "Leaves and grasses are quieter than snapping sticks and more easily forgiven, but you should strive to be as quiet as possible when you are stalking, just in case your stalking brings you nearer to the prey than you originally intend. The closer you get, the more important it becomes to be able to move as silently as possible." But, looking down at Sanyu's face, even Msasi cannot leave it on that note. She dps her head, giving the juvenile a quick nuzzle. "But that will come with time and practice. You are still young and your body is starting to go through a phase of quick growth. It's awkward to control the body when one is that young. However.." She isn't going to let anyone get away with the feeling that noise, then, is acceptable just because of age. "You should try as hard as you can to quiet your movements. The more control over your body you can master now, when you are going through an awkward stage of growth, the more fine-tuned your movements will be when you are grown."
Sanyu listens intently and nods at each point. She looks back at her tail with a slight scowl, "It has a mind of its own...It never does what it should..." She leans back resting on her haunches, "When can I go to the Savanahs to hunt with you?" She is getting quite a ways ahead of herself, but at least she is eager.