It was early morning; the sun had just started to rise over the mountain tops. Tlanextli had stayed up late on a hunt with Thalassa. After the successful hunt she decided to take some much needed rest. However she was stirred from her sleep when she heard the familiar steps of one of her daughters.
“Mooom you said that you would take me out hunting today.” Eleuia whined into her sleeping mother’s ear. Tlanextli rolled over, away from her daughter. “We have to go before it gets too late. The earlier we leave the better catch we’ll get. That is what you told me.”
Tlanextli grumbled. She had completely forgotten her promise to her daughter. Now that Eleuia was old enough, she was expected to go hunting in a group. However Eleuia wasn’t quite comfortable hunting in the group. She said with her mother as one of the pack leaders, she felt like she was expected to be a proficient hunter. No mater what she said to her daughter, Eleuia felt like she needed training.
“Can we do it tomorrow dear? Yesterday’s hunt took a lot out of me.” An exhausted Tlanextli said. She turned her head to look at her daughter. Eleuia was frowning at her mom.
“Mom my hunt is tomorrow! I can’t put off practicing anymore. I am going to be the least experience in the whole group. They’re going to laugh at me. Being your daughter means that I am supposed to be a great hunter.” Eleuia cried, putting her head on Tlanextli’s paw. “There is a lot of pressure on me. I cannot fail this mom.”
Tlanextli let out a sigh. “Alright Eleuia. Give me a moment and I’ll be right out.” She said.
“You won’t regret this mom!” Eleuia said gleeful. She rubbed her nose on her mother’s nose before darting out of the den.
For a little bit Tlanextli continued to lay down, enjoying her rest for the few seconds she could. But when she heard the impatient thumping of Eleuia’s tail on the ground, she slowly began getting up. Everyone else who used the den seemed to be fast asleep or at the very least pretending to sleep. Quietly and slowly Tlanextli left the den to join her daughter.
“What sort of prey are we going to hunt mom?” Eleuia asked, walking ahead of her mother, her voice getting louder as they walked away from the den. “Do you think we’ll find a zebra?! I’ve seen some in the pack wearing the pelts of zebras. If I had one I would catch the eyes of everyone around me.”
Tlanextli yawned as she followed her daughter. “Perhaps if we’re lucky. Ideally you will want to save your big hunt for tomorrow. Today it is okay if we start smaller.”
The two made their way toward the border of the pack’s lands. Eleuia continued to talk about what they might potentially catch while Tlanextli would add in the occasional tip for her daughter. They traveled through the tall grass. Tlanextli stopped.
“Look over there.” She whispered, pointing her paw toward a herd of impalas. “Now this is a good find for you. This will give you some good practice. Stick close to the ground now so they don’t see you.”
Eleuia pouted. “But mom I want to find something bigger, something more impressive. I’ve hunted impala before. It isn’t anything special.”
“Right now Eleuia we are just practicing. We will bring back what we catch and celebrate it, big or small. In time you will learn to catch bigger prey, but for now this is what we are going after.” Tlanextli responded. “Now listen to me. Stay low, but move fast. Ideally you want to catch the leader off guard and take them down. If that fails then catch what you can. I’ll be here if you need my support.”
Now was not the time to argue, Eleuia thought. Practice is practice even if it was catching the same old thing. The prey was here and they were not about to hunt themselves! She stayed low to the ground and made her way toward the impalas. As she got closer, she got more and more excited. When she was close enough, she jumped forward, toward the largest of the impalas.
When she jumped, some of the impalas started to run away. The one she was aiming for was one that moved. She caught herself and darted after it.
“Keep yourself level headed Eleuia!” Tlanextli yelled out as Eleuia chased after one of the average size impala. Catching the largest one was out of the question but there was no way she was going to settle for a scrawny one. She closed the gap between her and the prey. When she saw an opening she leaped toward it again, but this time was able to tackle it to the ground. The rest of the herd manage to bound away.
She panted as she kept her prey pinned down. Tlanextli ran toward her, a huge grin on her face.
“That was impressive Eleuia.” She said proudly. “I think if your peers saw you hunt like that they would be speechless. In no time you will be hunting
“I should have gotten one of the larger ones. I had the chance but I was too noisy on my approach.” Eleuia muttered. “Do we have time to go on another hunt? I want to prove I can do better.” She gave her mother a pleading look.
“First things first, we need to bring this back to the pack. Our pack mates will be pleased to see us bring in some extra food. After that I need to take a rest. All this work watching you has tired me out. Once I am done with that if you still want to go hunting I’ll take you out again. Deal?” Tlanextli said.
“Hmm fiiine. But this time you hunt and I’ll watch. That way I can see how a great hunter does it.” Eleuia said. “You’re going to drag this back to the pride right? Since I did all the work bringing it down?”
Tlanextli laughed. “Oh sweet daughter. You hunt it, you bring it back. That’s why it isn’t always the best idea to go after the largest prey around. Once you have your partner, it won’t be so bad though.” She said. “Now lets hurry up and get home so I can take a nap. I think we both earned one.”
“Fine, but I am going to race you! I bet even with this dead weight I can still beat you home.” Eleuia said, sticking her tongue out.
“Alright but don’t get upset when you look like a tortoise.” Tlanextli replied with a grin. And the two were off. To Eleuia’s surprise it was much harder to move quickly while carrying an impala. After running for a little ways Tlanextli ended up helping her daughter carry it the rest of the way home.
(WC: 1,165)