Welcome to Gaia! ::

The sun hung high in the sky and embraced the savannah with its warm rays. Beetles buzzed in the tall grass, various small mammals skittered across the ground, and birds of different sorts soared through the sky. This heated terrain was their home and they knew every nook and cranny which resided in it. They knew what was safe, and what wasn’t, unlike a young jungle dweller.

Perhaps if she was older, wiser, responsible, and had a companion by her side who was familiar with the land then Siku would have known what was OK to cross and what wasn’t. If those traits had been bestowed upon her sooner, if she was not alone, then the situation she had fallen into would have been avoided. If only Siku had thought over what her careless action would bring. If only she had avoided the watering hole altogether. Maybe then the waterbuck, whose rage seethed and bubbled, would not have chased her so far away from home. Rather than hiding in the grouping of rocks she now resided in, she’d be back at home with her family. The thought of the waterbuck catching her would not be haunting her thoughts and there would be no heavy hoof falls nearby to signal that the mad animal was still close. Foolish…she was such a foolish little cub to have brought this upon herself. Why had she left the safety of the jungle again?

Siku had planned to explore the outside land and discover the mysteries that resided within it. She had heard plenty of stories from her older sisters who had seen the realm outside their enclosed home. They had said out there in the daunting new world, the tall leafy trees that thrived in the jungle were hard to come by and it was so hot that the pads of one’s paws would blister to the point of bleeding.

Sure, Siku had found that their stories sounded harsh and frightening but it all changed when the wild games among the grass and giant bugs that buzzed entered their wondrous tales. The nightmarish world which had begun to take root inside the lass’ head suddenly shifted to form a world of adventure and glorious fun. That had gotten her to thinking about starting a journey of her own filled with thrills and laughs. That was what Siku had wanted, that was what pushed her to sneak out of her homeland and into this place.

But where was she now? What would become of her? Where was the fun? She was lost, alone, and if luck was on the waterbuck’s side, dead in a few more moments. Could those animals hear one’s racing heartbeat? Could they smell fear? Could they detect where she was using some sort of magic? The young one didn’t know and she dreaded the time when she’d find out.

The rocks that surrounded her in a way that a fort did she guessed would only be able to stand against an angry waterbuck for a little bit. When the time came for them to crumble, Siku knew that she’d be crushed under their weight. But would she rather risk that or another encounter with the creature outside? Every ounce of her courage and strength she possessed inside her homeland had drained from her being. Only fear remained in her now alongside a cold hallow feeling. This haunting figure with a mean-spirited face was the only thing left to comfort her as she huddled in on herself.

The light that cascaded through the cracks of her hide-out brought no hope to the young lioness’s heart as she saw the daunting beast draw near. It was so close now that Siku could see it’s nostrils flaring. A few more steps from the beast and Siku’s was positive that her life would be over.

Her impending doom….Siku couldn’t think of anything else that could lighten her spirits as she huddled her small body against her rocky hide out. Yet, even after the wicked animal had voiced it’s cry that would have summoned to her side dreadful death, the creature of doom never came. What she thought would be her last moment drew and lingered from seconds to minutes.

At last she could hear something other than her own heartbeat pounding in her ears, but it wasn’t the noises she expected. Instead of the heavy panting and angry mules from the buck that had chased her, a fierce roar that could only belong to a lion entered her makeshift domain. Someone was saving her!

By the sounds of the battle outside, Siku could only guess that the battle was becoming fierce. Secretly she cheered the unknown lion onto victory while she kept close to the sturdiest rock out of the bunch. They had to win, they just had to! Her freedom from this frightening place was on the line along with her life.

Then it was silent….

What did that mean? Kisikusiku raised her head from where it had laid under her paws. Did this mean she was safe? Or was the lion merely after a meal only to decide to finish their lunch with cub desert?

Her fears were vanquished when the strong voice, although harsh, called into her hiding place. He wanted to help! He had arrived to vanquish her trouble and release her from this prison. This was not the voice of a hungry lion but of a hero!

Quickly and seemingly without time to spare the young cub scrambled to her feet. It took a moment to find the right crevice to exit out of, but she did it.

Siku cried out with joy and anguish as the beautiful sun burned her eyes. She had grown used to the darkness in that little domain that it had messed up her sight. The youth lowered her head and brought a paw to her eyes and pressed upon the lids just enough to help quicken the exit of the troublesome bleariness. She desired to see this hero, and how could she do that when he seemed to be just a shadow?

Finally, when her vision had cleared, Siku raised her small head to look up at the adult lion. He was…marvelous if not a bit scary.

“T-T-Thank y-you….” The tremble in her voice surprised the lass when it fell from her mouth. Never before did she stutter, but look at her now…what a disgrace. Determined to impress the heroic lion that was colored as bright as the sun, Siku shut her mouth, closed her eyes, and breathed a great deep breath. Inhale…exhale…inhale…exhale. After several heavy breaths Siku opened her blue eyes and stared up at the handsome lion. She had to do this right! He had saved her life after all. “Thank you, sir. You saved my life.” Now that was good. Surely he would appreciate such words enough to help her further.

So many questions! Siku’s head reeled at the onslaught of words that she could barely keep up with. “Ah…I….Wha-No….I….Well…You…” Every time she tried to get in a word the older lion would simply gobble up her voice to fuel his own! This was ridiculous! But before the cub could complain, the ground was gone!

“H-Hey!” She screeched from her new position. “Let me go! Put me down! Down!” This certainly was becoming a grim situation. Some hero he was! He wasn’t even listening to what she had to say. Of course the cub was oblivious to the fact that Eyal really was listening to her. How would she notice when she was being carried in such a manner that only her parents did?

Kisikusiku wriggled her body as she made a vain attempt to try and bat away the lion’s grip on her. “I’m not a little cub!” She grunted as her efforts met the brick wall of no success. “And…urgh! You’re not my mom!” Clearly the cub was more concerned with the embarrassing hold that Eyal had on her rather than the fact that her attacker could still be lingering in the grass. The new problem was Eyal, and she would continue to voice her distaste until he let her go!

A triumphant smile crossed Siku’s maw when her paws touched the ground. Eyal’s words from there became like a buzz in her ears. The joy of getting her way overcame the fear that had once lingered inside her. This lion had saved her and was listening to her. No longer was she harboring anger for him. Afterall, he had thrown himself in harms way to save her before, he’d do it again.

Siku looked up at the lion when he came to a pause in his steps and his eyes met her own. What a grouch! Why did he have to act like that? Who would mess with them if he was there? The blood that meshed with his yellow fur must have been from the buffalo. That explained it. The strong lion could not be the one bleeding because he oozed the essence of strength and power.

Quickly Siku got to her paws when she was sure that he had finish his scolding. “Well….” The cub began to circle around the large lion, her smile of joy turning into a sly look. She was mimicking him. “I’m Kisikusiku, Siku for short, and my family is well….” Her eyes looked away from Eyal’s to scan the land for a moment before they fell back to him. “Okay, I don’t know, but they’re around. So…who are you?” Siku asked as she stopped her movement to stand before him, awaiting an answer.

"Eyal?" Siku paused in her steps to repeat her new heroes name. "That's a nice name. I like saying it! Eyal! Eyal! Eyal!" She called after the lion just before her paws took action again and allowed her to follow in the great warrior chief's steps. From there on, the trek to finding home would become a long and frustrating for the poor adult lion.

Siku certainly was not a quiet cub. Even though she was always polite to her elders inside the pride, now that she was on the outside of her land those rules of being respectful to ones adults seemed to not apply now. As they padded through the savannah, Kisikusiku bombarded Eyal with silly but relentless antics and chattiness. With questions ranging from, 'Where did you come from?' to 'How old are you?' and 'Why do you think grass doesn't taste good?'

Now running circles around the great lion's paws as they walked forwards, Kisikusiku had begun to sing Eyal's name over and over and over again. Clearly the cub liked how it rolled off her tongue and out into the heated air. "Hey! Eyal!" The song was paused just like the little cub's paws as she stopped mid-step between the male's large front paws. "Do you know how to get to where I live? It's hidden you know."

"Hmmm...." Blue eyes darted north, south, east, and west in an effort to find anything familiar that could be the gateway to their success. Yet good luck was not on their side today. With a huff and a puff Siku sat herself down inbetween Eyal's paws. "Well...no. I mean, I can when I'm inside the jungle walls of stone....but not when I'm standing out here. I remember a really pretty flower before I left, it was really big and had a lot of petals but that's it."

Worry and regret began to rock the youth's stomach to the point of a close encounter with sickness. Her energy was suddenly gone and in it's wake was a young cub with weak hope of finding home. Slowly, seeking some kind of comfort, the cub placed her small paws on one of Eyal's, his twice if not three times bigger than her own. "Do you think I'll get home, Eyal? I really miss everyone now. Think they miss me? Does your pride miss you when you're away?"

Siku, tilted her head back just then as she tried to look her ocean blue eyes up into Eyal's stern leafy green orbs. They certainly weren't very welcoming. Her brother's, Usiku's, even when mad held a sweeter tone to them than this full grown male's. "Well...." Well why did she wander off without exactly knowing the way back? The reason felt unclear now. For a moment the cub sat in silence between her savior's great paws as she thought up her answer. It was buried deep in the depths of her mind, but she could locate it if she just relaxed. With eyes closed, Siku drew upon the passing seconds as she scrambled to locate what she needed. Suddenly, her eyes shot back to life. "I wanted to see something new! Yep, that's what I wanted. I didn't think I would go out so far though."

She drew in the hot air and released a heavy sigh, "But it's not all bad, I got to meet you, Eyal! Sure I was scared at first, but you're not that mean."

The youth giggled as she squirmed in between the great lion's paws until she was comfortable, her back against his light beige paws. She may have appeared to be ignoring him, but really the young cub was soaking everything the lion said like a sponge.

Like before her eyes followed his, watching his every movement and the kind of looks he gave her as he settled himself to the ground. He was probably tired...but with that last phrase, about finding a place for her to stay, it just didn't rest easy with the cub. She didn't want to find some place to stay, she wanted to go home! Home was the only place she'd stay at! There was too much there that she still had to see and do afterall. She would only leave home for good when there was nothing else to find there.

"Ya know, I bet if we went and looked around we could find the flower! My mom and dad will be really mad if I don't come home. Afterall, they are the only family I got. I'm not going to let you put me with someone else." She spoke with a matter of fact tone as she decided to suggest a different route for them to take.

This time Siku ignored his remark about being too young to be out on her own. Instead she just drew herself closer to him and remarkably kept her mouth shut. The little cub was tired and to argue with the male needed energy that she no longer possessed.

But for one who seemed to be unable to even lift her head, when the warmth of Eyal’s body left, Siku’s loud mewl of complaint said differently. She didn’t want to get up, not yet! She wanted to sleep; to close her eyes and just rest. Due to her age, Siku didn’t realize the dangers she had now put her hero, Eyal, in.

“Why can’t we rest for a little bit? I’m tired.” She murmured as one of her paws reached out to bat at the large male’s front leg. Now that she had settled herself in the ground for a decent amount of time, the aches and pains in her legs were making themselves known. Even for a jungle dweller, someone who lived for adventure, the day’s events had worn heavy on her. “We can find the way into the jungle in just a moment…I just want to...rest my eyes.” The little cub purred just before her head met the dusty ground. It seemed she’d need to be reminded of what would happen if she didn’t get back up and find home.