Quote:
Tufani felt terrible as she slowly walked back to the den, doing her best to ignore a scratch on her paw. Not even the moonlight and the perfectly cloudless night could prevent take her away from her gloomy mood. She had to tell her mother about…what had happened, and more importantly what was happening now, but each time she got some moment of alone time with her mother, she could never get the courage to say what was on her mind.

Oh, it had seemed like a fantastic idea at the time; hadn't Jani always told her to help those in need? She had helped Toshiro in the only way she could, but now, as she started to gain weight as Jani had before the birth of her siblings…now she was just a frightened lioness with only one way to turn, and so many unanswered questions.



Quote:
Jani'mwiba the jackal waited nervously at the end of the path to their den, watching for her lion child. She could tell that something had been troubling Tufani ever since one day she had spent hours away from the den without carrying back any food for herself. Was she starting to doubt her hunting abilities? Jani thought Tufani knew better than that, but she also thought that Tufani was a cheerful lioness, and the black lioness had been anything but cheerful of late. Could it be that she was sad her siblings were grown?

Whatever it was, Jani had to get to the bottom of things before Tufani got any more depressed.

When she saw the black lioness walking back toward the den, Jani ran toward Tufani. “Tufani dear, you’re back! I'm so glad,” she said as she met Tufani and nuzzled her. The scratch caught her attention, and she frowned. “What were you doing out at this time of the night hurting yourself?”



Quote:
“I-I was visiting the thorn patch again,” Tufani whispered. Before, it didn't seem like it would be this difficult to tell Jani the full truth. But now that Toshiro was gone, seemingly never to return, she felt like a failure. “At least, I was trying to…I…I can't get in anymore.”

Tufani broke down in a fit of tears. The thorn patch had always protected her when she was a cub, and she had only ventured out to learn about hunting. Even when she joined the pride, she would only go when she was reassured that she still had her thorn patch. Without it, her childhood was gone. Her innocence was gone.



Quote:
This was worse than Jani originally expected. How long had Tufani been bottling up these emotions? “It's okay, dear…I know you miss your thorn patch. I do too. But I'll tell you what; you and I can find a hidden place and build an entrance for you, okay? If that’s what has been troubling you these past few weeks, I would be glad to help you.”

After a moment, the jackal continued, “You know you can come to me for anything, right? If there's ever something troubling you, you don't have to seek comfort from sharp vines; you have your Jani, and nothing is ever going to change that. Not Auri, not all my puppies, not all the stars and all the grass in the Pridelands.”



Quote:
Tufani bit back a sob and looked to her mother as she spoke. This was worse than she thought; now Jani thought that she hated her, and didn’t want to come to her. That wasn't true at all; she wanted desperately to get her secret out in the open so that she'd have some idea of what to do. If her suspicions were correct, she'd need all of the help she could possibly get. “I know. It's just…I'm afraid that I've made a terrible, terrible mistake. It's a bad mistake; the kind that'd make you hate me.”


Quote:
“Now you're just being silly,” Jani said. “You know that I could never hate you. As far as I'm concerned, you are my firstborn child, and always will be. I’m not going to hate you, and I’m sure that the 'mistake' isn't as bad as you think it is.”

Her worry had now turned to full-blown motherly concern. Something was very, very wrong here, and she wasn't sure that she wanted to know what that was. If Tufani was afraid to tell the full tale, then it was probably a grim tale indeed. Unless, of course, Tufani was simply overreacting; that was always a possibility. Yes, it had to be an overreaction. She didn’t want to think otherwise.



Quote:
Tufani took a big, deep breath and looked her mother in the eyes. She could tell that the longer she waited, the worse this would be on the both of them. The problem would only get, well, bigger as time went on. Still, she was finding difficulty approaching the subject. As she thought about it, she didn't even know where to begin. So, after another deep breath, she started in the only way she knew how.

“Remember Toshiro, the rogue I told you about? Well, he returned, just like you said he would if he was any good. I was so happy to see him, and he seemed like he was glad that I was there. I was so happy…but then he told me about his troubles,” she paused to gather her words together; just the thought of him, looking so sad, made her want to cry again. “A terrible king apparently wants to kill Toshiro, and he didn't think that he could escape. He told me this sad story about his bloodline dying with him…I really wanted to help him…”


Quote:
“…you agreed to help him in that way?” Jani asked, eyes widening as terrible realization took hold. Her Tufani…oh stars, her poor Tufani. “Oh, sweetheart,” the jackal said as she wrapped her tail around her child who was no longer a child. “I am sorry I could not shield you from that aspect of the world. I had hoped that you'd find some nice young lion in the pride and grow up a little more before you had to face this.”

“This Toshiro…he hasn't returned, has he?”



Quote:
“No,” Tufani said. “I haven't seen him since he left shortly after…” Well, that memory wasn’t worth thinking about. She had been so happy even through her sorrow of losing him, but now all happiness from that moment was gone, never to return. Just like Toshiro. Fighting back her tears, she continued, “I don't know what happened to him. For all I know, he could have been attacked by that other rogue that killed Mufasa, or that king he was talking about. All I know is that this time, he’s not coming back.”

This wasn't the backlash that Tufani had expected; she was sure that Jani would criticize her for not having a mate, but having cubs on the way. For all she knew, the rest of the pride might criticize her in the months ahead. But at this moment, with her mother's tail around her, she felt just a little bit better.



Quote:
“We don't need him,” Jani said, dramatically scoffing at an invisible lion. “Any lion who is stupid enough to abandon my Tufani doesn’t deserve to have any part of her cubs' life. Gramma Jani will help you in any way she can.” Jani gave the black lioness her best smile. “I'll have to talk to Auri, but I'm sure he'd agree to help as well. We'll be a good family; just you wait and see. Even though this was unplanned, I know that you're capable of being a great mother. If we were still in the thorn patch, I'd be worried, but we have the pride with us to protect the cubs from the dangers that encroach on our home. And if this Toshiro ever shows his sorry face around our den, I'll tear his throat out.”



Quote:
Tufani giggled in spite of the grim situation. “Thank you, Mom. I love you, and I know my cubs will love you too. I am glad that my mistake did not make you hate me. I was so scared that I'd make you angry. I know now that it was such a stupid thing to agree to do for him, and I'm not making the same mistake again.” She frowned at the thought of the handsome rogue who had been so helpful and kind to her…at first. “I do not know what I'd do if I see him again, but since I doubt it will happen, I will not worry about it.”

Tufani glanced at her stomach. “Do you think I'll have as many children as you did in your first litter?”



Quote:
“Five is a rather large number,” Jani'mwiba said. “I wouldn't wish that many cubs on you, Tufani. Giving birth is a difficult process…oh, I wish Auri and I had decided to let you watch me. But don't worry; instinct will take over when the time comes, and I will be with you. We'll get out of this thorny situation together.”

Jani looked up the path. “Now it's time for you to get some rest; you've got more than yourself to think about now, and the cubs will need you to stay rested and strong. I'm not letting you go out hunting while you're expecting cubs; I've been neglecting my duties for too long. If we need to, I can always enlist one or more of your siblings to help. It's about time they repaid you for the help you gave us.”



Quote:
Tufani carefully stretched and let out a long yawn. “That would be nice…” she said. “I need some rest. I don't think I'll get any after the cubs are born.” She was acknowledging the reality of the situation now, and in some ways was looking forward to it. She didn't doubt that with Toshiro gone, raising the cubs would be difficult, at times even painful. She still worried that one of the cubs would bear a startling resemblance to their vanished father. Or, worse, he could return, and try to steal one of the cubs.

But Jani was by her side, and she knew that the jackal always would be. With that firmly planted in her mind, Tufani walked up the path toward their den to get the best sleep she'd had since she first suspected she was pregnant.