Cay's whole world had been falling apart for years now. She had fallen in love with a cheetah named Meris, but he left her. He hadn't said a word, he just left. She had been pregnant and instead of raising the cubs together, he had something more important to do. There had been hope that he would return and they could be a family again. She held that hope as her cubs grew and grew, until they were old enough to leave her. Her darling Morea was the last to go and only left when her aunt Leenah showed up. That was when the last bit of hope left her. Cay remembered the feeling well. Seeing the sister of the cheetah she loved.

Leenah explained that she hadn't seen Meris since she was young. To Cay that meant that to those cheetahs, family wasn't impotant. But family was imporant to Cay. Her time with her cubs was something she wouldn't forget and she wanted to have that again. She wanted to have cubs that would love her despite her faults. This time though she wouldn't make any mistakes. She would not get with a cheetah. Never again. This time she would find a leopard and have him father her cubs. She would not let him stick around though. It became obvious that she could handle raising cubs on her own. She did not want a male getting in her way.

Finding a male might be difficult though. She needed just the right one who would just want to help her and not want to be a father. If anything she could just ditch him after they were together for a while. It wasn't like a male wouldn't do that to her. She felt the bitterness build up in her as she traveled around the jungle. This whole thing wasn't fair for her. Why had Meris left her and why did her cubs have to grow up? Now she was alone and she hated it.

Than there was Bukaera. He was traveling with the intention of getting away from his home, his pride. Someday he would return, but not for a while. He hated the place, he hated his brother. While there he felt like an outcast. Of course he was the only one who felt that way. His son fit right into the pride. Ekaitz was good about that though. He was the best son a father could ask for. Ekaitz was the whole reason he choose to stay in Mazu. Bukaera knew that Ekaitz needed a proper home and Mazu gave him that. However Bukaera always felt guilty about never giving Ekaitz siblings. He was sure that he had spawned more sons, but he never tried to go after them. There was a part of him that knew the mother's would never let their cubs go.

There had been a couple times when he made a deal with the cub's mom to let him take one of the cubs. But that was a rare occurrence. He hoped that someday he would be able to have the chance to have cubs again and give Ekaitz a real chance at being a brother. He knew that was something important to Ekaitz.

As he traveled deeper into the forest he lost track of where he was going. He had no destination, at the moment it didn't matter. If he was lost he would find his way back eventually. Amongst the green of the forest he saw a hint of blue. At first he thought is was a flower, but upon close inspection he saw a blue leopardess. She didn't seem lost at all, just deep in thought. He than remembered her. Years ago she had dumped her cub on him to watch. A hybrid cub none the less. “Hey, I remember you!” He said as he approached her. “How is your little runt doing?”

“Hello mister. It's been a long time. That little runts name is Morea.” She reminded with a smile, walking over to him. She admired the stripes on his body as well as his colors. She felt that her colors would look good with his. “She's an adult now, going on adventures with her aunt. I am afraid that I forgot your name. It's been a long time and we only met once. My name is Cay, in case you forgot.” She hoped he wouldn't be insulted by the fact that she forgot his name.

“What brings you so deep into the forest? Last time I saw you I thought you were tracking down some female leopardess who may have been the mother of you cubs.” She let out a laugh. She really was unlucky. If she had met this leopard earlier she might have had a real mate. Someone who would actually care if she had cubs. She wouldn't mind if he fathered her cubs. It was just the matter of getting him to not want to be involved in their family.

“It's sad now, I think feelings alone. I sorta miss having cubs. What about you? What ever happened between you and that leopardess?” She was sure that they weren't together. If they were, she was sure that the leopardess would never let such a handsome leopard out of her sites.

“That little ones already an adult? Time flies I guess.” He said with a smile. “I hope she is happy where ever she is. I know it is always nerve racking when you offspring goes off to do their own thing. My son just recently became a young adult. He still has a lot of maturing though. Somehow he managed to keep his cub like attitude after all these years.” He did miss Ekaitz. That was the one thing about being away from the pride that he disliked, he couldn't be with his son.

“Well things didn't work out with her. We wanted to different things, she wanted a family and I didn't.” he said honestly. “I kept a cub from the litter though and he became my son. Pretty much he is the whole reason I live. Without him I think I would be lost inside.” His grin widened as he thought of his son.

“But I am out here, just trying to get away I guess. The pride I live in causes me stress sometimes, even more so now because my brother is visiting it. I was happy when he showed up, but now. We just have too many different opinions. We don't get along like we used to.” He explained. He remembered that she had left her cub with him because she was looking for her mate. He was hoping she was single, but it didn't seem like it. Though it didn't hurt to check. “So how are you and your cheetah mate doing. Talk about two different things coming together.”

Cay didn't smile. They were talking about things that upset her. Of course he had no idea, but. She did find it interesting that he wasn't looking for a family. Maybe he would be the perfect male. “I am sure she is. There is so much of the world she can see, I am glad that I am not holding her back.” She said. “Morea is very much the same way. She is so young in spirit. It always made her hard to handle.

“I am sorry things didn't work out with her. My mate, Meris, well he never came back. So now I really am all alone. That's what I get for trusting a cheetah though.” She said with a shrug. Cay did not want to show how much it actually upset her. She wanted to keep a brave face on.

“I actually want to have more cubs. But I do not want a mate. Sadly I can't have cubs by myself and I need assistance.” She said a bit forward. He was the one she wanted to have be the father. She knew it, the moment she saw him again that he would be perfect. Now she just needed to convince him, which shouldn't be too hard.

Bukaera wished he never brought it up. She seemed so sad about her lack of mate. However he thought he could help her out. “I made a deal with a leopardess, that I would help her get cubs and she would give me one of them. We could do the same. I could help you get cubs and you could let me take one with me or something like that.”

If this worked, it would solve some of his problems. He would give Ekaitz a little brother, and he could prove to Hasi that he could be a good father. Plus he would help out a leopardess. It was a win all the way around. “I don't expect an answer now, so please take your time. We could spend some time together while you think about it. I am sure there is somewhere to rest around here.”

Well that was easy, Cay thought. She thought about it for a moment though. It would be nice not to have so many cubs, have a small litter like the one before. Perhaps she could give him all the male cubs? That is, if there were at least two females for her. She wouldn't mind that. Plus she wasn't that fond of males since Meris left her.

“I know the perfect spot. Come with me and we can talk about it.” She said with a nod of her head. She took him to her secret spot. Her cherish spot. The spot where her sister had died, the place she confessed her love to Meris. It wasn't as sacred as it once been. She felt so many terrible things had happened, but now it would be the start of something new, something better.

The secret spot was a hallowed out tree, covered with vines. There was a river near by. No one ever bothered her there, because by now most of the creatures around the tree thought that she was crazy and would kill anyone who got near. She had only attacked them up to this point, but she knew she would be capable of killing if it needed to be done. “This is my home.”

Bukaera looked around. It was small, smaller than his den in Mazu. But it look comfortable. “Thank you.” He felt that she was going to agree to his idea. If she did he would be more happier than he had been in so long. “Your home is lovely. I think it would be a fun place to raise cubs. There is so much to do around here.”

He thought some more about the idea they were thinking about. One thing that Ekaitz was always upset about was that he could never see his siblings. Buka would have taken him to see them, but there was no way to find them. “If we do a split between the cubs, I want to make sure that they can see each other. Is that okay? I would hate for them to never see the other.”

That was what she wanted. She did not want them involved in each other lives. However, it seemed important to him, so for now all she could do was lie. “Yeah, I would love to have them meet up. Family connections, sticking together. Those things are important to young cubs.”

She gave him a smile, “About the cubs though. Why don't you take the boys and I'll keep girls. That seems fair to me. I am not very fond of males anymore, since my old mate left me and I feel that you would be perfectly capable of raising them.”

Bukaera was shocked by her idea. She actually wanted him to take more than one cub. All the male cub would go with him to Mazu. Ekaitz would have so much fun with so many brothers. “Alright I think we got ourselves a deal.” He said with a laugh. This was much more than he could ever hope for. “I think we should meet in the forest when we want to regroup. That way you and the girls won't have to travel very far. It only seems fair.”

He decided that he would check up on her often while she was pregent, when she became pregnant to make sure the cubs ended up okay.

WC: 2,180