Bashira woke that morning once more feeling ill. She didn't know what was wrong with her, and she wasn't sure what had caused her sudden onset of ailment. More than anything else, she prayed that she hadn't caught some virus or parasite that could potentially cause harm to her or even kill her. At the present moment, Bashira was laying on the ground trying to quell her churning abdomen. It almost felt like there was something stirring there, which supported her parasite hypothesis. Sighing heavily, she rolled onto her side and closed her eyes, breathing deeply. No matter, she still needed to get on with her day if she planned on eating and moving any farther. So, she tried to ignore the unpleasant sensations coursing through her body. Unfortunately, over the course the following days it didn't get any better. She was feeling worse in fact, which frightened her. It was sometime after that when Bashira finally figured out what was wrong with her. None of her thoughts of what had been wrong with her had been correct which meant that she wasn't sick and about to die, although facing her current situation she wasn't so sure if that was actually a good thing. Of all the things that could be wrong with her, Bashira had finally discovered that she was pregnant. What had clued her in was the pattern of illness that she was having. She would feel terrible for the first parts of the day, but then she would like she had never been sick in the evenings and during the nights. Also, there was now a noticeable swelling in her abdomen to her displeasure. The last as only time that she had seen anything like this was when the leopard girl in her unit had become pregnant by one of the trainers. It had been terrible. It had become apparent that one of their trainers had become enamoured with the young girl despite allegedly despising anyone who wasn't a lion. He had threatened her into silence and would constantly make her go some place with him in the dark of the night. One would always come back crying. When One had become too pregnant to hide it anymore, Mother had been furious and had her beaten. One had been so damaged that her babies had been born dead. When Mother saw the hybrid cubs, she demanded that One tell her who the father was, but even though she was too afraid to tell her, Mother knew who the was anyways. The babies had all been born with distinct markings that only one of their trainers possessed. Mother gathered everyone together the following morning and had the offending trainer executed and One beaten before everyone. One had been so mentally damaged that she would scream whenever she saw a pregnant female from then on
With that lasting impression in her mind, Bashira was battling inwardly over her new predicament. However she knew that she was no longer held in the grasp of Mother and the Kifo, and she was free to decide what to do. Even though the organization had left a lasting impression on her, she was too determined to rid herself of the fear that they had implanted within her to allow her memories of them to control her now. Ultimately, Bashira decided that she would just have to carry her children and see what happened. Knowing that she was carrying new life scared her all on its own, what would she do with children all on her own. At the same time, she was excited at the idea of having children of her own to raise. SHe could teach all of the things that she remembered from her actual family, and she could raise them to be against everything that the Kifo stood for. Although, the one thing that Bashira still had trouble shaking was the fear and the hatred for lions that the Kifo had implanted into her. Bashira didn't want to plant hatred into her children, but she didn't even know how rid herself of it.
Time passed and Bashira found that it was harder and harder to get around as her belly grow larger. She found herself thinking of things such as ow many children she would have, and what she would call them. She found herself thinking less and less of herself and more and more of her children. Also, when she had thoughts like these, she wondered what Segurue would think of her children. The had been so awkward yet strong as a youth and he was growing bigger everyday. Bashira constantly kept an eye on him and her feelings of protection over him were growing even as he did. In some ways, Segurue reminded Bashira of the boy that she'd grown up with in the compound. Of course, Segurue was much more well adjusted than Four had been on any day. It was just that the young boy sparked within her the kind of familial emotions that Four had after she'd lost her own family. Sighing to herself, she realized that it didn't really matter anyways. Bashira knew that Segurue would never bring harm to her children, he just might not be especially good at handling them.
The days passed and peace gradually settled in Bashira heart. She was ready to give birth. The day was bright and there were no clouds in the sky that would dare cover the sun's brilliance. Bashira was laying on her side in the back of a small cave that she had found and had been crashing in the days leading up to the birth of her children. Now here she was, pain reeling through her body mentally preparing herself for what would come. There was no more time for thinking, worrying about the past, or doubting. When the sight of the first cub meet her eyes, Bashira sprung into action immediately forgetting all of the ghosts that had haunted her up to this day. Fortunately for her, it wasn't much long after that she was curled around her first litter. There were five of them, she couldn't believe it. Staring at each of their tiny faces, Bashira knew that she needed to find her place of peace quickly, she didn't want to raise them entirely in the rogue lands in constant motion and danger. She especially didn't want them to have then chance to find her with them. Her body shook at the thought of what they would do to them. Another thought crossed her mind in that moment. Where the hell did that freelancing male that had caused this run away to?
