Ayah and Luana both thought about the Cave Lion from time to time, the one they’d encountered in the previous encounter. Each privately knew they would look superb in a lion skin cape, it would enhance their prestige within and without the Clan. The difficulty would be persuading both the Cave Lion to relinquish its skin and the rest of the Clan to let her have sole rights to it.
Cave Lions are dangerous foes and it would take the full might of the Clan to take one down and kill it, let alone skin it. The Clan was an egalitarian unit and so everyone would want a piece of the skin and what prestige was there to be had from a lion skin belt or furry hat for example when there was the prospect of the whole skin to really show off in.
If this makes no sense to you it doesn’t surprise me but should you be at a loose end and read the previous story about the Shell Clan it might make more sense, or maybe not!
The young woman who had escaped from being the sacrifice turned out to be younger than previously thought mainly because I have no suitable figure to represent her and is both impetuous and pretty good at throwing rocks.
The Clan are discussing how they will conduct the forthcoming hunt as Sura the newcomer shows off her new throwing rocks. Rock 1 and Rock 2. She’s an imaginative youngster, although not so imaginative with naming objects or people. Her previous Clan were short on language skills and she had previously been called young young young thing. Her Clan were also short on numbering skills and she was the 3rd young thing born to her mother, hence young young young thing. That’s probably the last joke I’ll explain so anyone reading this had better sharpen up.
With the return of the rains, there is a plentiful supply of food. In the background are Mouflon sheep, tasty when grilled slowly over an open fire, but wily and sure footed although not as swift as the other potential source of food.
Which is a small herd of horse, they will be harder to chase down and the meat is tough and chewy.
Of course a horse makes a welcome meal for a Cave Lion, he likes to chew on bone and gristly and a Mouflon sheep isn’t much more than a snack for him…..or her.
The Shell clan after much discussion, decide to chase the sheep and leave the horse to the lion. This could be a win win decision but remember the desire for the lion skin.
The Mouflon have young with them and they will not be able to move as fast because of this and will be unwilling to leave the young behind. Why this should be I’ve no idea, some sort of maternal thing or other!!!
Maternal doesn’t enter into the thoughts of Ayah, juicy meat and dripping fat does and she sets off to outflank the herd followed closely by Kee’Ak. The males of the Clan are not known for their stealthy hunting qualities and Kee’Ak makes a noise. Most of the sheep ignore this but one of the kids moves away.
Tohana also moves forward stealthily, hiding in some bushes and a twig snaps under foot but the sheep are intent on eating and pay him no mind.
Ayah and the human kid who the Shell Clan have decided to call Sura in spite of the fact that she prefers her given name of young young young thing, are engaged in the traditional Shell clan hunting tactic of surrounding the food before closing in for the kill. This is a difficult thing to explain to Sura who has little concept of team tactics.
The Cave Lion predates and decides that Human meat is preferable to Horse meat. It stealthily follows Ayah and the kid Sura. This could turn from being a win win situation quite quickly.
The Clan have settled into their hunting routine and now only the kid Sura makes a noise but fortunately the sheep ignore it. Sura receives a life lesson in team tactics when Ayah threatens to skin her with the extremely sharp flint knife she carries if she makes another noise. Despite Sura’s limited knowledge of language she understands this lesson readily enough.
The Cave Lion is still hunting Ayah and the kid but it’s the same lion as in the previous encounter and if you remember, it’s quite timid for an apex predator.
Just to show the overall situation and explain the Clans hunting technique. The two females are generally quieter and stealthier than the males so they tend to move stealthily around the prey and then drive them back to where the males are waiting in ambush. Kee’Ak and Tohana have the heavier weapons and are generally stronger but not as fleet of foot. They strike the prey as it rushes past in a panicked flight caused by the females who are good at pelting and roaring which usually strikes fear into most things, including Kee’Ak and Tohana.
The males are settled in their ambush and just wait on the females who are nearly in position.
The Cave Lion is resting, probably trying to decide if Ayah or Sura is the tastiest morsel on the menu.
Finally everyone is ready.
Ayah runs forward and howls at the top of her lungs, the stupid sheep ignore her. This isn’t how it usually works and she beckons Sura forward. Imitating Ayah’s howl is hard for the child but she does her best and the blasted animals stampede.
A herd of stampeding grazers is dangerous if you happen to be standing directly in front of them. Kee’Ak is standing directly in front of them. Fortunately it is only one of the kids that runs into him and he survives without injury, at least to his body but not his pride because he fails to strike it with his spear.
Ayah encourages him with good advice like “don’t let them get away you fool” and “you are useless” when his second stab fails to inflict a mortal wound on the Mouflon next to the kid.
All is not lost though because Tohana brains one of the sheep with his trusty club.
The smell of blood has the unfortunate effect of reminding the Cave Lion that it’s hungry and he or she moves towards Tohana, thinking this will be an easy meal, all is needs to do is drive the two legged animals away from what it perceives as it’s food.
However it hasn’t understood the power of the Shell Clans team spirit. That and the fact that they are even more hungry than he or she is. Luana runs forward to help Tohana, she howls as she runs, a frightful howl but the lion doesn’t back away as she’d hoped and roars back. This stops her forward attack but she gives it another howl that the lion ignores.
Tohana stands astride the sheep, he’s not giving up his kill that easily.
Ayah runs forward and pelts the Cave Lion with stones from her sling, she misses but the poor beast turns and runs away. This causes the horses to stampede away from the fleeing lion, they run off away from the Shell Clan should they have been inclined to try and hunt horse meat as well as mutton.
Meanwhile Kee’Ak, humiliated by the taunts from Ayah is in a killing frenzy, he stabs at another sheep inflicting a wound but it doesn’t die, instead it attacks Kee’Ak, fortunately he dodges the sharp horns and wonders what the world is coming to when your food fights back.
It must be that maternal thing I mentioned earlier but eventually they all run away except one of the kids that has become separated from the small herd and it runs in the opposite direction.
Sura is so excited by all the action going on around her that she runs as fast as her little legs will carry her, she can’t get into range but throws Rock 1 to no effect.
Luana makes a long move and then tries to stealthily get nearer, she is able to pelt them from a distance, hitting one but can not make the kill.
Sura throws Rock 2 and this ensures the herd continue to stampede leaving the Clan with just the one sheep that Tohana managed to kill. She receives another life lesson when Luana cuffs her behind the ear for driving off the prey. Sura has received many life lessons so far but hasn’t learned much from them and wanders off on her own looking for the stray lamb she had seen running off in the other direction. Because of the cuffing she didn’t mention this to Luana which might be a mistake with a Cave Lion in the vicinity.
Ayah, Tohana and Kee’Ak crowd round the dead sheep to evaluate how long the meat will last the five of them, not long is the general consensus. Then they hear a roar from the Cave Lion who has returned to dispute their claim to the sheep.
Luana joins the rest of the clan and they face the Cave Lion who has predated closer to them and the dead sheep. There isn’t much going to drive the Clan away from one of their kills and Ayah slings two stones at the lion, hitting it twice. This was going to be the cause of much friction in the ensuing days.
The lion turns to flee, just as Luana hits it with a stone from her sling and kills it.
“It’s mine” both females shout out loud. “I killed it” shouted Luana with glee. “You wouldn’t have killed it if I hadn’t wounded it twice” responded Ayah.
Unfortunately, both these claims were true but the thought of the lion skin cape overcame sense and logic for both females.
He’s a big one said Tohana, I faced him down alone you know and I killed a sheep, I think the skin should be mine. “I’ll have the claws if you are having the skin” said Kee’Ak “they will make a strong medicine, and I'll also have the tail for a fly whisk, I'm fed up of the damn things flying around my beard”.
“He’s not having the skin” said both Ayah and Luana in unison, “we killed it together and if you washed the food out of your beard more often Kee'Ak the flies would leave you alone”.
“Well maybe you could have half the skin each” said Tohana who wasn’t as green as he was cabbage looking.
Maybe we could do that the two females agreed. "OK, I’ll have the teeth to add to my necklace" said Tohana which is what he’d wanted all along. So the lion was divided up between the Shell Clan amicably although the males got the best cuts of meat because they didn’t get the skin. Well that's only fair, isn't it.
Sura meantime was engrossed in the hunt for the stray lamb, she had watched how Luana had moved towards the sheep, carefully and quietly so she tried to emulate that as she approached the kid, rock 1 ready in her hand.
Initially the animal moved away from her so she slowed her approach even more.
The lamb wasn’t used to humans and their ways and as Sura got up close was a little surprised when Sura hit her over the head twice with Rock 1 and she died. This was information her mother would have been able to impart if she’d grown older but that is life in a Palaeo World.
Tohana and Kee’Ak later agreed that dealing with the females of the Clan wasn’t so difficult, neither of them had wanted the skin, and it wouldn’t do for either of the females to lord it over the other or indeed the Clan as a whole, they were an egalitarian unit and performed at their best like that.
Young Sura was given a strip of lion skin as a reward for killing the young Mouflan, she was shown how to turn this into a sling and given lessons in its use by her elders. If she survives then she will become a valuable addition to the Shell Clan and if she keeps upsetting the hunts then she can always be sacrificed to bring the rest of the Clan good luck.
Life isn't always fair but it's fun while it lasts.
No comments:
Post a Comment