The Great Journey to Refuge

The Preparation Part 1

After I asked my aunts to teach me how to hunt, I had to wait for 3 days for them to prepare a location for me to learn in the best possible way.

Okay, what do I have to do?-I ask.

You have to choose your target, to succeed you must choose wisely or you may not get the desired result.-Says my aunt Layla.

Alright, Aunt Layla, but where are the other animals?-I ask confused, because it was just us there.

I think we forgot to tell you... Since you are very young and have no experience yet, we will be the other animals.-Says my aunt Maha.

Okay then...-I say finding it strange.

Alright, let's begin. Taya, when you were with your parents away from the family, what animals did you eat there?-My aunt Nia asks.

Well... there I only had milk, I wasn't old enough to eat meat yet and it's still a month away for that to happen.-I say.

Well... at least do you know what animals your dad brought?-She asks.

Well... most of the time he brought gazelles, zebras, and wildebeests... But once he brought a huge and healthy buffalo... My mom produced a lot of milk after that... And it was the most nutritious for me.-I say happily remembering those good moments.

That explains a lot... Alright, let's do this then. Maha will be the wildebeest, Layla will be the zebra, and I will be the buffalo. Choose your target.-She says.

Hmm... I choose... (Tough decision indeed... They did warn me it wouldn't be easy). The zebra.-I say.

Are you sure?-My aunt Nia asks.

Yes, I know the risks so I ask you not to go easy on me. React as the prey would, alright aunt?-I say.

Alright...-She says.

Choose the location to prepare the attack, and we'll position Layla.-Says my aunt Maha.

Okay.-I say, going to a tall grass where I couldn't be seen.

Alright, you can start. You can't make any noise and don't start right on time.-My aunt Nia shouts for me to hear, apparently she couldn't see me.

I say nothing, I simply walk slowly towards them without making the slightest noise possible... I had a talent for that, I guess. When I was close enough, I stood still, waiting for the right moment to strike... There was a moment when she went to look at my aunts to ask if they had seen me, I had been missing for 5 minutes, as soon as she finished asking, I leaped on her. As soon as I had all fours on top of her, she started running... I don't know if that was part of the lesson or if she was scared, but I didn't let go, so I started trying to make her fall. It was difficult, I spent 2 minutes trying, until I thought of something, I went to the head and hung on the left side, so she lost her balance and fell and I, before she fell, climbed back up on her head and then descended.

Aunt, are you okay? I didn't mean to hurt you...-I say worried.

I'm fine... Just tired. Where did you learn to do that?-She says.

Well... I thought about doing it and I did it... I didn't learn it from anywhere.-I say.

That's one of the riskiest hunting maneuvers one can do. If the weight isn't enough... The prey may trample you or defend themselves in dangerous ways... If your pack doesn't arrive, there's a risk of death, and you managed to do it perfectly and came out intact...-Says my aunt Maha.

Maha!! Remember he's still a 1-month-old cub, that might scare him!!-Says my aunt Layla angrily.

Relax, Aunt Layla. I'm not that scared of it...-I say hugging her.