Caliana

Caliana had been living here at the basin for some time. It had been nearly half a year since she had arrived here and her little Toxic was growing up very well with all of the other felines who were close to her age around. She had worried about the younger female when they had been out on their own, yet her worries had calmed since she and her daughter had been invited here to these lands. She now trusted those who resided here and knew that their guards would keep them all safe if an attack did come.

Yet, none had come since she had arrived here. This made her even more relaxed, but she knew better than to allow herself to relax fully. She made sure to stay at least partially alert as she lay there on this rock. The sun beat down on her sleek ebony fur as she sunned herself. After a few moments she sat up and began to use her pink tongue to lick herself to rid her smooth fur of any rough spots or dirt, just like many cats did. Her amber eyes were closed as she did this, enjoying the fact that she was able to take time to keep herself presentable here instead of just spending all of her time ready to defend herself and her daughter.

Callholm & Others

A few dozen yards down from where Caliana was grooming herself and enjoying the freedoms that the Nuova Alba pride and their fortress-like home provided, there were several cubs at play. Having been born at the beginning of the year, these youngsters still had plenty of growing to do, and spent much of the day seeking out ways to entertain themselves, which usually meant pestering the adults. One such cub, Maquoketa, spotted a potential victim when he happened to look up and notice Caliana grooming herself. "Hey Tuini, look... I bet I can sneak up on her before she hears me coming." The lion whispered to his friend, a slightly smaller and paler colored cub. Tuini grinned, "I bet you can't." Maquoketa snorted and raised his head, "Pssh, just watch." The larger cub dropped into a crouch and began to slink along the ground, heading for the black leopard...

Callholm was resting beneath a scraggly looking hawthorn bush, one of the few that had managed to survive in the basin despite the load of salts in the soil. His bright eyes blinked open when he heard the soft swish of fur, and saw the cub stalking past him and towards the pretty female he'd invited into the Nuova Alba those many months ago. Callholm thought about stopping Maquoketa, or at least warning the leopardess... but the wily side of him decided to wait and see what would happen. Maquoketa crept along as quietly as he could, and when he was close enough, pounced wildly for the adult's tail.

Caliana

This sleek black feline had not noticed the two cubs playing a few yards away from her. Though, as she heard paws coming closer to her, she had turned to see the cub moving near her in a stalking motion. She remained still now, not wanting to allow the cub to know that she knew that he was approaching her. And, when he pounced, she stood in one fluid movement, turning around quickly to surprise the young one.

You’ll have to be a little quieter next time, young one.

Her words were warm as she spoke to the young cub. She did enjoy being in the presence of the cubs. Maybe she did not have the patience to deal with a whole bunch of them at once, but she could handle a few at a time with no problem. She had dealt with Toxic, after all. And maybe that was what had made her so difficult to sneak up on, she was used to the tactics of the young ones. Nothing about her emanated a threat, only calm and almost a motherly nature. Maybe she could help to teach these cubs since her own cub was grown now...

Callholm & Others

Almost there...! Alllmoooost there....! The African lion cub thought to himself, inching closer and closer. Little did he know that his 'prey' already knew that he was closing in on her, and that his stalking skills had a long ways to go before he'd be the efficient hunter that the adults in the pride were. Merrily ignorant to these things, Maquoketa went right along with all the confidence in the world, up until Caliana rose up and turned around the moment he'd sprung for her tail. The leopardess was so fast that Maquoketa squeaked in alarm and scrambled backwards just as soon as he'd landed. "Awww man... did you hear me coming? Be quiet, Tuini! You too, Taft!" The cub pinned his ears back and glared at the others who were laughing boisterously at his failed stalking attempt.

Another one who was chuckling a little was Callholm, who didn't bother getting up from where he'd been lazily snoozing the day away. "Good try Maquo. But if you want to sneak up on anybody, go after Leope." The big lion was known for being particularly lazy, though he did act as superb fighter when the Basin was under threat.

Caliana

The cub was not bad at stalking as far as cubs his age went, Caliana knew. Though, he was far from the caliber of hunter they would have to be in order to successfully stalk up on prey. She was the type to be on her guard at all times, or maybe he would have reached her without her realizing that she was indeed being stocked. The little cub now asked her if she had heard him coming and she nodded almost solemnly. Yes, dear... You need to work on being a little quieter. After she had spoken, she then heard a familiar voice and turned her head to see the other black feline. She had not spoken to him in a while, but he did not seem to be interested in approaching her... Well, hello over there, Stranger. Her tones were joking as she spoke them loudly enough for him to hear them. The sunlight danced off her sleek ebony pelt as she lowered her rear end to the ground once more.

Callholm & Others

Maquoketa glowered a little more at the other cubs who continued laughing, then abruptly turned his face away to ignore them and looked back at Caliana. "I can do better with being quiet. I'm a really good pouncer though! You wanna see me pounce?" Eager to show that he was good at something, the cub looked up hopefully at Caliana, ready to show of his skills. Even if they weren't anything special yet, at his young age. Callholm continued watching the interaction, and responded to the leopard when she spoke to him, "Hello to you too, Cali." From where he was lounging in the shade, Callholm couldn't help but admire the other leopard, and the way the sunlight shone against her dark pelt. "How's that daughter of yours doing?"

Caliana

Caliana noticed that the little cub seemed a little hurt that the other cubs were poking fun because she had heard him approaching. Yet, she knew that the other cubs probably were not any better. When the cub finally did turn back to her and spoke she placed a motherly smile on her face as she nodded. Sure! It was just a simple statement but it was enough for her to agree to see the young cub practice his pouncing skills. In this instance, she missed having Toxic be this young. Sure, now she didn’t have to watch the younger cat as closely now, but she also did not get to spend as much time with her or get to spend her time teaching her the things she needed.

After agreeing to see the young cub pounce, Callholm had called out to her, saying hello. She did not respond right away. Before she did, he spoke once more. This time he asked about Toxic. This brought a smile to her lips once more. She is doing very well... She is quite grown up now. The younger feline was now over a year old and was pretty independent.

Callholm & Others

"Okay, watch this!" Maquoketa was all excitement as his mustard-tan eyes darted about for a suitable target to display his grand pouncing skills against. It didn't take long before he spotted a locust creeping across a rock, looking in vain for something to eat. The adolescent feline dropped to the ground, ears flattened against his head and back end wiggling side to side as he prepared to launch at the unsuspecting insect prey. Before he leaped, Maquoketa side-glanced at Caliana just to be sure she was looking, then pounced forward with great exuberance and caught the hapless grasshopper beneath one of his giant paws. "Haha, look! I caught- aaack!" The cub had lifted his paw to show off his prize as he proudly proclaimed victory, only to have the locus spring up and land on his face. "Get it off! Get it off!"

Callholm chuckled at the cub's yowling, but stood up nonetheless to pad over and swat the insect off of his face "Catching your prey is one thing. Killing it... you need practice in that area." The black leopard sat back on his haunches then and flicked his thick tail around against his side. His eyes and ears were for Caliana when she responded about her daughter, "I imagine she'll start joining with the other huntresses soon?"