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Haiba glanced to his side as Sahar caught up with him, a grin on his face. This was great! He didn't know other animals were as fast as cheetahs! Or...cub cheetahs anyway. He put on a little burst of speed as she jumped at him, just barely getting out of her way. But he stepped on a little rock and it hurt enough to make him not jump one time and...boom!

He slid along the ground under Sahar, laughing as his chest heaved while he tried to get his breath back. "Oh man, that was great!" he said, flailing his paws around in the air a bit. "My siblings never tackle me!" Maybe he should try doing that to them next time he got to play.

He rolled over onto his stomach, too tired to get up and give chase, but there was a happy smile on his face still. "This is great. I wish we could do this all day! But...Mother's probably gonna be looking for me soon," he mumbled, ears drooping a bit. "Does your mother do that too? Make you stay close?"

Haiba's smile left his face as Sahar spoke. She didn't live with her mother? Then who did she live with?

"Do you live alone?" he asked, tilting his head to the side slightly. Was she older than she looked? He had thought she was just a cub! They were about the same size, after all...maybe these jackals didn't grow to be too big. He knew he'd get a lot bigger, but he also knew a lot of animals stayed small. Birds were pretty small sometimes, as were bugs and things. Of course, Sahar wasn't a bird or a bug.

"Or do you live with your siblings?" He could see that happening. "Or friends?" Surely she didn't live all on her own out here. How did she eat if she had no one to hunt for her?

"Oh..." Haiba couldn't imagine living alone. He'd be so terribly lonely! He did love his siblings and Mother dearly, as much as he hated not being able to play whenever he wanted. It was part of the reason why he put up with walking all this way: they were going to a pride. A place where he could make new friends and enjoy life at a leisurely pace.

"Well, maybe you should join a pride," he suggested with a smile. "Then it won't be so boring! That's where my family is going. We're walking aaaaall this way to go to this place Mother won't tell us about, but I know it's gonna be great. There's gonna be lots of other animals to play with and we can sleep whenever we want...it'll be great!"

He was about to continue, but suddenly he froze and pricked up his ears. "Oh...uh oh," he said quietly, his head bowing low to the dirt. "I gotta go...my Mother is looking for me."

Haiba got up as well, hearing his mother calling for him again. Oh no...she sounded upset.

"Yeah, I'll see you!" he said before running off in the direction where he had come from. He hoped he'd see her again, anyway. Maybe not any time soon...how long did jackals live? She was very nice, though, and had played with him. Maybe once they found the pride they were looking for and he got a bit older he could come back and play again.

"Bye!" he called out over his shoulder before dashing off.