Wandering, wandering, wandering. It was all Fimbo ever did these days. But at least she had picked a direction, or had been directed, and was walking that way. She imagined she had to hit water eventually, and once she was at ‘water’ she would be able to find her dad, one way or the other. The little details didn’t bother her, not just yet: first and foremost she just had to get to something bigger than a lake. Everything else, like which way to walk along the coast, what pride, specifically, she was looking for and all those other ‘actually finding him’ things, would just have to come after. She wasn’t worried. She didn’t have it in her to worry.
Avya, meanwhile, wasn’t wandering. They were resting. It had been some time since they had met, she and Ygraine, and their wounds had healed well enough. Or they had been on the road to it, before that male came around and Avya had been out hunting… she had come back to find Ygraine even worse than when she had left her, and redoubled her efforts to care for the lioness who had saved her life. And now, on top of everything else, Ygraine was with cubs. It was all too much for Avya, sometimes, and the guilt was crushing. She hated going out to hunt now, never wanting to leave her charge alone, lest something even more terrible happen to her.
But they had to eat.
It had been a few days since they had last stopped to hunt, and Ygraine, miserable though she was, had pitifully asked Avya to hunt for her. Not an order or a stern direction, but a plea. Avya couldn’t ignore it, and she went out immediately to get her some food. It wasn’t good for the cubs, anyway, letting her starve. Avya had never asked what happened with the male, only hearing that he had found Ygraine, and this state was the end result. But she told Avya that it wasn’t his fault, that he hadn’t been a mean male, but she cried so often that it left Avya confused. If the male hadn’t been the one at fault, it seemed that the pregnant lioness was admitting her own folly. And it broke her heart.
Fimbo spotted the thoughtful lioness from a good distance off, which was ironic considering she had camo print in her hair and gave off the impression that she should be able to hide better. In fact, she was doing a very poor job of hiding, and Fimbo had to wonder if the lioness even wanted to catch any prey, or if she was just sitting out there and watching life go by her. Deciding to go and see what was up, the less than subtle, and rarely shy, lioness trotted her way over to the green lioness, who she could now see was older than herself. That didn’t bother her at all, she’d met lions of all ages at this point in her journey.
She was beginning to consider herself very well traveled.
Avya spotted the purple lioness as she was walking up, and her fur bristled. She was very tired of being attacked by others, lions or hyenas, or whatever else was out there and angry with her for no reason. But at least this girl was smiling. She relaxed a bit, generally a nice lioness, just suffering from a lot of stress and worry that she didn’t know what to do with. But taking it out on a stranger wasn’t going to help her, or the young lioness who was now standing in front of her, smiling brightly.
“Hello there! My name is Fimbo. I saw you sitting here and I was wondering, are you hunting or did you mean to let everyone see you? Because if you’re hunting you’re not doing it very well.”
Avya stared at the blunt lioness in wonder, tilting her head to one side.
“You… what? I… I am hunting, yes. But you’re right. I need to bring my friend some food. She’s not well,” she didn’t elaborate on that one, “and I need to tend to her. Do you know if there is any good food source around here? She can’t walk much farther.”
Fimbo frowned, looking worried for someone she didn’t know. Or did know, but didn’t know she did. She had met Ygraine once before, though that had been in fleeting, some time ago. They had bonded over their search for their loved ones, Fimbo her father and Ygraine her mate.
“I can help you. I’m not hungry, so I can help you catch something for your friend, right? I think there’s more than enough around here. You look like you could do with some food too, you know. A bit wobbly, really. You need some food.”
Avya smiled. She nodded her head, but didn’t comment.
The two lionesses went to hunt together, and it became clear how weak Avya was feeling. Off her game, but thankfully the two, with Fimbo’s inexperience, managed to catch something between them. Of course, for all their grand efforts and bad luck, they finally got some food and it wasn’t for them. At least not first. Avya wanted to take it to Ygraine first, but they had caught a large zebra, and it was difficult to drag. Fimbo shook her head.
“Nope, that’s not gonna work. You’ve gotta ear some of it, then we can drag it back in pieces. You know? It’s only common sense, so don’t feel bad about it. Your friend will understand if you take care of yourself a little, so you can take care of her. You eat, you get stronger, you can take it back. See? Simple logic.” Fimbo grinned at her encouragingly, sitting down to emphasize that she couldn’t handle dragging it any further than the two feet they had come.
Avya looked at her skeptically, but couldn’t help but smile. She nodded her head, her stomach doing a flip she just could not ignore. She needed the sustenance, and that was justification enough. She made to eat, timidly at first, then voraciously as she took her fill. When she was done she sighed, having left more than enough for Ygraine, and even trying to leave the parts she had learned were Ygraine’s favorites. She smiled, thanking Fimbo and offering some to her, though the younger lioness declined.
“Let’s get this to your friend, huh? I doubt she’ll be mad.”
Avya chuckled, thinking that Fimbo definitely didn’t know Ygraine. She was a very… snobby, for lack of a better word, lioness. She held herself as entitled, and looked down on many things. Being brought a half eaten carcass likely not least of all. But Avya knew the lioness would be thankful, and needed the food, so neither of them could complain in the end. Fimbo went with her to drag the meal into a sheltered area, a den they had found carved into some rocks. Ygraine was inside, and Fimbo was pleased to reunite with her.
The three lionesses then spent the evening together, Fimbo talking their ears off, and bringing some much needed levity to their travels.
(Word Count: 1202 in Word)
