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 Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 1:59 pm
Son.
It was the magical word. Yaariq immediately understood the distrust in the group of lions, praised Winza's efforts to distract them.
"Oh," she breathed out. "We're sorry." A moment of awkward silence passed. "Well, you will probably need this much more than us." The antelope was grabbed by its leg and drug the rest of the way, past Winza. A gift: one mother to the next. There was nothing but sympathy in Yaariq's eyes--
And nothing but distrust in Ahlsen's.
"We can help," he immediately offered. "Let me take a look at him." If they did have a sick cub, Ahlsen wouldn't know what the first thing to do was. Maybe Lakisa would.
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Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 10:42 am
Ahlsen would be pleased to find Lakisa was known to live up to expectations. It helped that the only promise she had shown was becoming an overbaring mother of her own kin and the youth of whichever pride was oh-so-blessed with her presence. The number of cubs she had reared was near one-hundred, if not surpassing three digits, Ahlsen and Winza counted amongst them. She fancied herself a medic, a sitter, a beacon of knowledge all. There was no responsibility sure to hone your skills in every field like that of tending to youngsters.
"You don't know a thing about sick cubs," Lakisa said curtly. "When you and your brothers fell ill when you were young... I've never heard such bellyaching, except from the second queen herself during her first year -- rest her soul. I'll have a look at the cub."
Winza felt his stomach churn at the mention of his late mother. Waseme's reputation had outlived her and what the dislodged members of the pride had to say rarely did right by her memory. Velrissa was speaking from the right of him now.
"Thank you," she said to Yaariq. There was a connection between them in that moment. A kinship had formed at a glance. The worried eyes of one mother to another. "Please, if you know of medicine, then look at him." She grabbed the antelope's leg opposite Yaariq and dragged it into the den. No signs of foul play awaited them there, only an uneasy Kindoro hovering over an ill cub.
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Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 1:39 pm
It was true. Ahlsen did not know a thing about sick cubs. Their daughter had been miraculously healthy. It helped that she was a single child to be raised by new parents who spent their every waking hour making sure she grew up healthy.
Their child had hardly missed a beat.
Ears flattening against his head with the memory of her small, round face and trusting eyes, Ahlsen fell into step behind her. His eyes swung around the area, trying to find something to focus on.
Yaariq was already far ahead of them, paired with Velrissa as they made short work of hauling the antelope into the cavern. It smelled of cool earth. Yaariq would have taken a long, thoughtful inward breath if she hadn't noticed the red and gold cub who looked nothing short of dead at Kindoro's feet.
Yaariq's heart sank.
"Can you do anything, Lakisa?" Her voice wavered.
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Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 2:27 pm
"Can you do anything, Lakisa?"
Self-importance alone would not cure what ailed this cub. Lakisa hated to think she couldn't, but she hesitated to betray the bleak reality of what her own two eyes could see before her. A motionless cub was never good news, except when they slept safe and sound. Not like the dead. "Get some meat prepped for him to eat," she ordered. If he can she did not say. "Small chunks." She made no claim this course of action would have salutary effects, but it might benefit him to the extent of easing hunger pangs.
"Let her look, Kindoro," Velrissa had said, and the lioness had done so, retreating to the back of the cave where she huddled against the wall and peered through the shadows at these intruders. This allowed Lakisa to inspect Amun up close, and what she found surprised her: He looked healthy where weight was concerned. A few pounds shy of what he should have been at worst.
Lakisa nudged at the sickly little fellow with her nose, near the shoulders. "What's his name?"
"Amun," Velrissa replied. She had to clear her mouth of the meat she was shredding first.
"Amun," Lakisa beckoned gently. "Can you speak? Can you move? Wake up, Amun."
Through it all, Winza waited anxiously at the end of the bunch, near the exit. Just in case.
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Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 2:42 pm
There were no words in Amun's head to answer 'no' with. He was no more than a throw-rug of color. It breathed in. It breathed out. Its ears did not twitch, and its tail did not swish. Not even the fluttering blink of deep sleep crossed the cub's face.
"Answer Lakisa, Amun," Yaariq tried helpfully from where she'd taken position next to Velrissa. It seemed that maternal bond lingering in the air kept to her glued to the other females side. As much as she wished it, the combined hope between two mother's could not stir this cub.
Velrissa's heart must have been aching terribly, Yaariq imagined. She bumped the other's cheek with the top of her forehead and leaned down to help shred the meat
Ahlsen hung behind them, looking as awkward as Winza. His muzzle grew into a long line as he looked towards Velrissa and Yaariq. If they needed anything else, he'd be ready to dash out the door in an instant. If things went ary, he'd be the first to chase Winza's tail out the door.
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Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 3:05 pm
Winza knew several Gods on a first-name basis and he prayed to all of them someone would chase him out into the fresh air and freedom. He wanted to run, and it was not for noble reasons he restrained himself. They might think him an accessory to this fiendish scheme if he dared flee off cue. For now he could pass for just a soft-hearted observer worried for the life of one too young for a cruel fate to still his heart like this.
He wanted to tell the truth. That might save him, if there was anything left to be saved.
But what if it didn't? What if things spiraled out of control for the sake of a cub already damned to die?
Velrissa had smiled to Yaariq in gratitude. Her candid display of affection was not the last between them. Yes, there was a kinship there, and what should have shamed her was instead encouraging. She was a worried mother and another lioness acknowledged that. Just as he opened his open, she caught Winza's gaze for an instant. They exchanged words no one else could hear (though perhaps Ahlsen had noticed the apprehensive glances).
I might tell, Winza's said.
Go ahead, Velrissa's dared.
This exchange was lost on Lakisa who kept busy trying to encourage the cub to rise, speak -- Gods above, how about a twitch or two? "I've seen this once before," she stated gravely.
A plague.
All who had encountered such wretched sickness would understand, as Winza did, the implication.
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Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 3:13 pm
All Ahlsen had to do was watch. The moment it caught his eye, no glance between female and Winza went unnoticed.
While the meaning went without elaboration, Ahlsen was no stranger to the tingle that pricked at the bones of his spine. The dark male swallowed, narrowed his eyes, and glanced towards Lakisa.
The cub was as he was before.
From Yaariq's throat came a small, startled sound. "But he looks healthy," she retorted. Any normal mother might have tried to comfort Velrissa instead, and been silently thanking gods that it was not their own. Yaariq did not want to have to face another nameless loss.
"When did he get sick?" Ahlsen tried to alleviate his wife's voice with logical deduction. It only helped so much.
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Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 3:26 pm
When did he --
Velrissa realized she had no answer, that she would not think of one soon enough, and that someone would pay the price in blood. A question so simple and predictable threatened to snag all their efforts. She only wanted to keep her son safe!
Her lip started to curl. Her claws started to poke from her front toes. Not enough to notice, not quite yet, but Winza must have been struck by the same dread. He must have known the consequences if someone didn't respond and respond now.
"About four sunrises ago," came his slightly flustered voice. "But he wasn't this bad until the morning before this one."
Kindoro began to watch their unwanted guests without blinking.
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Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 3:39 pm
Only four sunrises.
Ahlsen peered at the young cub's body again. The black lion had never experienced enough lack of food to really know how long it took to make the body thin. He guessed it was more than four days.
The lie checked out.
Yaariq had gone silent, but she two was staring at the cub. She willed it to move. It did not. The desire to stay began to dwindle. There was nothing they could do for this cub, and they would just get depressed attempting to try.
Ahlsen felt the thought that he was going to get mauled continue to grow. He could feel Kindoro's eyes turn the den to flames. He was convinced. Something was very wrong here. What exactly it was, he unfortunately could not determine.
If things went downhill, he'd prefer Yaariq and Lakisa were not involved.
"We should give the mother her space," he requested of both females. When they were outside and out of earshot, he could learn what they thought of the situation.
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Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 4:10 pm
"We should give the mother her space."
He knew. Gods above, he knew. Winza was certain his heart had stopped, nevermind the cub's. He was never hindering their departure, yet he stepped closer to the cave wall in a subtle, subconscious backing of Ahlsen's suggestion. They would make their egress and Winza would --
He would --
Run, maybe. Probably.
Lakisa sensed something was not right. A tension between the two groups, sans Yaariq and the mother, was weighing heavy on them all. She stared at the cub with the same intensity Hari's look-alike stared at her. Could it truly be the plague? Could she really just walk away? The sensible answer was yes, do it. Leave. There was no helping him now.
But he was just a young thing... It cut like a jagged rock to think of him wasting away on principle. The salt in the wound was it seemed she could offer was emotional succor. What good were words in place of medicines? There had to be something they could do.
That "something" would not occur to Lakisa until after she was outside. She bowed her to Velrissa as she passed, out of sympathy, not respect, and ambled over to the male of their trio.
Velrissa said nothing and perhaps had not seen Lakisa, too preoccupied with Yaariq's reaction, whatever it may be.
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Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 4:21 pm
Yaariq remained frozen, breathing in slow breaths as she watched the cubs. Had Ahlsen not been preoccupied, he would know it to be praying.
The female was calling on every single one of the gods in her lore, asking them for forgiveness. She would return to them if only they would heal this cub.
"I'd like to stay here just a few more minutes, please, Ahlsen." Yaariq did not even bother to glance back over her shoulder to see if he had already exited the den. Her feet were firmly planted, eyes unwavering. Yaariq's breath puffed out of her mouth to the timing of her inner-whispers.
Ahlsen might be considered a brave lion, but he wasn't a stupid one. He would not throw himself into a bad situation for the sake of playing a hero. Nevermind that he was not yet certain if intruding further would be heroic at all.
Only one thing was certain: This subject would not be dropped when they left the cave.
The relief in his body when Lakisa joined him was evident. He was waiting expectantly for his wife when Winza shuffled backwards. The movement caught Ahlsen's eyes and he flinched for that half of a startling second, his feet automatically sliding into a widened four-footed stance.
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Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 12:42 pm
Half a second was all it took. Kindoro didn't take much longer adopting the same posture, more aggressive than defensive. Growling, teeth, and overgrown hooks for claws pressing into the ground.
Velrissa was the first to do something aside from stare. "Kindoro!" she scolded, and she readied herself for the possibility she must grab her child and flee.
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Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 12:58 pm
The tension in Ahlsen's body threatened to snap his teeth as they clacked together. The hair on his back stood all the way up.
Yaariq opened her eyes. The muttering ceased.
"Yaariq," Ahlsen's voice was nearly inaudible over the growing growls. "Yaariq, let's go." The male's voice snapped as he hissed the words out. His tail flicked and bumped against Lakisa, encouraging her to start moving.
Maybe Ahlsen would have leapt at Kindoro had his wife not been standing, dumb as a brick, while things progressed towards violence.
Yaariq moved one foot, glanced at Velrissa, and began to walk gingerfootedly towards Ahlsen.
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Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 1:08 pm
Lakisa did not take kindly to being swatted -- except in situations like this, where suddenly their livelihoods were at risk. "Yaariq," she insisted, and moved only when her fellow lioness did. Lakisa did not leave, she fled, right out of the cave and into the open. She stopped not far, but far enough, waiting for her companions to catch up.
On the way out, she had seen Winza grimacing. But she hadn't seen Velrissa smile at Yaariq, and keep smiling until all three were out of the den. At this point she groomed her son, safe for another day.
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Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 1:14 pm
Ahlsen did not think Yaariq could move any slower. He practically ran up her a** in an effort to get her out the cave.
It wasn't until they were a good hundred feet away and Yaariq had broken into a jog that Ahlsen realized he'd been holding his breath.
As he could not see his wife's front, his worried face looked towards Lakisa instead. The black lion glanced over his shoulder. However, no one followed them, no claws sank into his back.
He opened his mouth, ready to say something, and then thought better of it. With a shake of his head, he turned long strides in the direction Yaariq was headed and tried not to startle at every bird and twig.
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