The run in with a pair of servals had revitalized her. It was true Miyako and her could survive living alone. That wasn’t how she was meant to be though. She’d been born to a ninja pride. They were proud warriors that were the masters of stealth. Najwa still held true to those teachings. Well except the part about hybrids. Maybe she would never have cubs, but she could live her life to its fullest anyhow.
An idea had been rolling around in her brain for some time. Her pride had long since been abandoned. Everyone had left, although she didn’t understand why. Just because she was alone now didn’t mean she had to remain alone. She and Miyako could start training new ninjas. Of course, she still had to run this by her little serval companion. Would she be able to convince Miyako this is what she had to do?
Najwa padded quietly down to the pool where they’d stopped that morning. She dropped a plump hare as an offering to her friend. She could eat and listen while Najwa explained her idea. In a way she was hoping to sweeten the offer. “Got a minute Miyako? There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
The serval had just been about to leave to stalk the rustling of mice she heard in the tall grasses nearby. She turned at the sound of a hare hitting the ground. Miyako arched a brow at the sight of the offering. Something was afoot. She nodded and came back over, sitting in front of the hare. “Alright, what’s on your mind Najwa?” Something was up she was sure. Her friend didn’t usually offer kills and respected her need to hunt on her own.
The hybrid settled down into a comfortable position. “I’ve been thinking a lot since we met those friends of yours. We do pretty well on our own.” She paused. This was awkward, so she just blurted it out. “I want to rebuild our pride. I know it sounds crazy, but I feel this is what I was meant to do. We can travel and gather others like us. We can train them to be ninjas.” She looked hopefully at her friend, and prayed it didn’t sound crazy.
Miyako who’d started eating swallowed her mouthful. She gave a hard look at the hybrid. “This is not going to be easy,” she warned. “What you propose to do is start a pride completely from scratch.” The serval knew that’s how all prides formed; groups of like-minded individuals gathered and grew. However, it was just the two of them. They would need to find and convince others to join, and then they would need to train them. It all boiled down to a lot of work on their part with the possibility of no reward.
Najwa looked dismayed as she realized the amount of work that would be required of her for this to work. It was almost daunting. Maybe it would be easier to just continue on alone, but she hadn’t even tried yet. She raised her head. “It will,” she acknowledged the wisdom of her friend. If a little hard work resulted in having the pride she always wanted, then she would work toward that goal. “I won’t be able to do this without your help.” Najwa looked pleadingly at her friend. Without her there was no point in this. “Think. Having friends around you all the time. Maybe even a mate!”
Miyako laughed. “One step at a time. First, you need a base of operations. Let me finish this hare and we’ll be on our way.” A home. A mate. Both would be very nice.
