Then We Can Feast on Bird and Beast

He was both nervous and excited. It was his first hunt, and he didn't want to disappointed. Nonetheless, while he tried not to let it show, he was excited. He couldn't wait to prove himself. Regardless, he knew better than to rush blindly. He was still very young, after all, and he knew he had to listen to his mother and the other grown ups on this one.

Still, hiding his excitement was hard, and eventually, his excitement began to manifest itself in small gestures. It was not only the thrill of the hunt that excited him, but also the opportunity to prove to his mother that he could hunt well. There was a part of him that was hoping that he'd be her successor eventually, even though he knew that such a thing would go against the hierarchy.

He began to bounce up and down a little in anticipation. It was a good feeling, he knew. He amused himself for a while by watching the other two adults, but even that couldn't quite curb his enthusiasm.

"Will you boys keep quiet back there?"

What with Banzai's chattering on, and Ed's slurping, it would be a wonder if any prey didn't hear them coming from a mile away. While Shenzi was hardly a foreigner to hunting with the two boys at her back, with all the accompanying noise that bought with it, that didn't stop the matriarch from getting snappish at them at times. Times like today, in fact, when for some reason they had been tasked with doing the entire army's hunting for them.

Whatever was up with that, it was a stupid request as far as Shenzi was concerned. What self-respecting hyena wouldn't eat everything that she or he caught for themselves? More meat hunted just meant fuller bellies all around from a hyena perspective, it certainly didn't mean that they shared it with anyone else... what did they look like, lions? Orders were orders, sure; but Shenzi was getting a little irritated with receiving such orders that went against her species' natural instincts.

That irritability, unfortunately for them, was going to get passed along to her male companions at least somewhat.

At least Janja had the common sense to be quiet. Oh, sure, he was bouncing... but he was keeping his mouth closed, not making noise enough to disturb everything in a mile radius. Shenzi wouldn't exactly say she was proud of her son, for she had taken a very hands-off approach to parenting and had no plans to change that, but he was at least showing potential as a hunter. Might as well give him a chance, Shenzi figured; even if, based on his gender alone, he would never be a leader of anything more than his own little group of boys.

She rounded to approach him, her gaze impassive.

"Alright, kid, you want to show what you can do? Get up front here with me."

A small herd of the native deer were up ahead; not enough to be more than an appetizer for four hungry hyenas, but was at least some kind of start. It would be a good opportunity for Janja to show what he was made of, before they moved onto the real prize - the main herd from which these few had split off.

She guided Janja ahead, with firm nudging, until their prey was in sight. Ed and Banzai, she assumed, would follow behind; but for now, it was Janja's turn to show off. She'd see just what sort of hunter he was shaping up to be.

Shenzi kept her voice low, so as not to spook the prey.

"You and I? We're gonna pick out the best targets for our first run through. Those boys-" she jerked a head back at Banzai and Ed "-will follow our lead."

She was already settling into a hunting posture, prepared to charge forward at a moment's notice. For a moment longer, however, she paused to scrutinise Janja out the corner of her eye.

"You do know how to pick out the best prey, don't you?"