"Mama!" The little brown girl ran straight for her mother, tears streaming down her face. She felt herself trip, her body in that sensation of falling. No, no! she thought. She didn't want to fall again today.
Aushi swooped down and was able to snatch her daughter before she fell. She could feel the poor child wiggling as she swallowed her tears before facing her mother, the same face looking back, only much more aged. It was incredible just how much she looked like her. THe old lioness gently set her daughter down, laying on the muddy ground so her daughter could curl immediately up next to her.
"What is it now, little one?" Salma was not a very strong child, not yet, but Aushi couldn't blame her. She was an only child, at least of the litter, and her half-sibilings were all grown. Some even had their own children now. So Aushi couldn't help but spoil the girl, and there were a few times when she regretted it. Not quite this time, but it was close.
Sniffling, Salma curled up close to her mother, her only friend in the world. Really!! That's how it felt, anyway. Not that anyone really made fun of her, not badly, but she just always felt a little different. A little too quiet. "I was p-playing," she started, stumbling over her words, "and then this big bug wouldn't leave me alone! It was just buzzing around me, and following me. I ran as fast as I could just to try and get it away, but still!! Not leave me alone! And then I fell, and hurt myself, and, and..." she could feel the tears welling again, and they burst out when Aushi licked her head in comfort. It wasn't fair! She was all fine by herself, she didn't need to be chased away from having fun!
Aushi cooed her daughter to ease her tears, grooming her as her mother once did a long time ago. It seemed to work, as the sobbing and huffing of her sides slowed down, and she saw quite a sniffly face looking back up at her again. She smiled, unable to help herself. "Sweet thing, it was probably a dragonfly of some kind, so certain that you were going to do some sort of harm to it that it acted first. Don't take it so personal, Salma. You learned a lesson today, one to watch your surroundings a little before you settle in to play."
She paused for a moment, glancing around a moment before continuing. She herself was usually alone, and had been unaware of what it was doing to her daughter. "Perhaps you should play a little closer to home next time."
Salma didn't like that idea, but she didn't say anything. She pouted a little, snuggling into her mother's side even more. "I wasn't hurting it or anything..." she whined, but knew that it wouldn't be doing any good. It wasn't like she could apologize to the dragonfly-bug-creature. She just knew that she probably wasn't going to go play there for a while. Mama would keep her close, at least for a couple days. Sigh. Salma didn't have any playmates, but she did like to explore away from home. "Fine," she sighed, knowing that she wouldn't get out of it anyway.
"Good," Aushi said, giving her daughter a small little lick on her nose. "I know it's not all that fun, but perhaps we'll go wander into the more common area of the pride and see if you can find someone new to play with."
Salma's eyes widened a bit, surprised by this. They almost never did that! "Okay, Mama!" Dancing around, the little lioness twirled around her mother.
"C'mon, let's go home for a bit." She stood up, her tail tapping the ground behind her softly as she began to walk to their normal sleeping ground, even though the day was only half over. She wanted to get home early, and knew that Salma would need a bit of a nap after that whole running and crying episode. It was amazing the energy that children possessed, and just how quickly they could use it all, too.
Salma bounded after her mother, playing with the tail that seemed to taunt her as she bounced after it. Silly thing, she just wanted to play!
Aushi smiled, letting her daughter do as she wanted. She deserved it after such an awful day, anyway.
As they grew closer to their home, Aushi stuck her head in a rotted tree trunk, where she used to have a little genet live with her when she first came here. Remembering him, she hoped he was fine. He probably was, but Aushi wasn't always the most optimistic soul.
"Salma, come here please." She could hear the pitter-patter of little paws skittering up to her, feeling the child slip between her legs and sticking her head just under Aushi's own. "What is it Mama?" Salma asked, curiously trying to see just what her mother was trying to get for her.
"Ah, here it is," she said, pulling out a tattered old feather stuck on a string. "This meant a lot to me before I came here, and I want you to have it, Salma."
The little cub's eyes widened as she looked. Sure, it wasn't as pretty as it probably was a long time ago, but still. It was something just for her! Probably something that no one else would have. She didn't touch it, merely looked. "It's so pretty, Mama. Thank you."
Aushi gingerly picked it from it's old cord, knowing that she would need to find another way for it to stick. "You're a little too rough and tumble to have it on you at the moment, but when you're a little older, hopefully before your naming quest, you'll wear it proudly." She brushed it softly with her paw, memories flooding back to her. "I got it from the Wind Goddess," she said softly, "So long ago when I was looking for this land. She said that if I ever needed her, that I could use it somehow to summon her. I've never needed it, and I'm not certain if it would even work, but it's stilla treasure of mine that I would love to see you keep."
Salma looked at it carefully, herself taking a little touch of it as well. It was so soft, even so fragile as well. So special...even though she was young, it was easy to see when there was a treasure right in front of you. "Okay, Mama."
Aushi brushed a bit of dirt away from it, and gently put it away. "We'll find the perfect thing to hang it with when its yours to take." She watched her daughter carefully, seeing that indeed she was excited and yet quite respectful of it. Perfect.
"Now, my child, what is it that you would like to do for the rest of the day? We've got quite a few hours of sunshine left to burn."
"Let's play rumble!" she giggled, pouncing on her mother as Aushi rolled to the ground. Yay, she still had a little energy to play, and someone to play with!
