The sun peeked out from the horizon, and warmth flooded over the Savannah almost instantly. The clouds were sparse, so soon it would be unbearably bright for the mammal. The chubby little ratel gazed at his new "daughter"'s gorgeous face. It was so pure. It was almost surreal how white and perfect it was, such a contrast to his own muddy colored coat. She was sleeping off a long night of tearing, searing, piercing pain. Her recovery would be a long and tedious one, but Hoco was confident she would make it. She has got the will of a god, he says, a rekindled grin displayed on his face. He has always wanted a daughter of his own... He has even decided a name for her... Assuming, of course, she couldn't remember her own. And it was likely, considering she couldn't even remember that she was female! Oh, the poor thing... The grin stretched downwards into a look of pure concern for the white feline.
"Kori..." He whispered, stroking her cheek, which was practically glowing with purity. "Kori'ashi... Wake up. It's time for breakfast."
The lioness, newly dubbed as Kori'ashi, stirred from her slumber, groaning as she remember just how much pain she was in. Among the pain, was a pang of hunger that seemed to pierce her gut and let out an angry grumble. Yet again, a new feeling the lioness did not enjoy. She lifted her head off the earth, something she could not do just hours before. Already, she seemed to be improving. But it wasn't enough to bring a smile to her face. "Kori?" She asked groggily, struggling to keep her eyes open.
"That's your name." Hoco said, proudly. "I came up with it myself, yup yup!"
"That's not my name..." She groaned, distressed that she'd been given such a feminine name. "That's... definitely not my name."
"Then uh... Then what is your name, if I may ask?" Hoco leaned closer to the feline, almost hoping she would remember, and then again, hoping she would not... so she could keep the name he gave her.
"I... I don't remember..." Kori sighed, gazing at Hoco with a look of hopelessness.
"That's fine. You're name will be Kori'ashi, then. I named you after your fur... It's so white and pure it makes snow look like rubbish. It's impressive! Now, enough chatter, you need to eat so you can recover faster... Here..." The ratel nosed a pile of twigs, berries and leaves in her direction.
"This... this is badger food." Kori said with a look of disdain towards the pile of inedible objects.
Hoco chuckled, stroking the lioness's nose tenderly as if asking for forgiveness. "I know, I know.. And I'm sorry. But this will have to do for now. I will get you something good and bloody and meaty as soon as I possibly can. But it's better to have this in your gut than nothing at all. Trust me." The badger smiled, one that could take the place of a loving father's smile.
Kori'ashi was convinced, and she lowered her head to take a nibble of the dry weeds and roots. He was right, after all. The lioness was desperate to rid herself of this unbearable pang in her gut. Crunch after crunch, the lioness disintegrated the small pile of dry twigs, and soon her stomach was full. Not as full as she'd like it to be, but at least it was sort of behaving now. "Thank you, badger." She said reluctantly, unused to giving thanks to anyone... especially a ratel.
Hoco chuckled, simply ecstatic to see her eating well. Hopefully it would stay down, though... "My name is Hoco." He explained, scampering off and quickly returning with a new pile of food. "But.. You can call me father.. if you want. Or papa. Orrr... Dad, even!" Hoco giggled, completely giddy at the thought of being referred to as any of those things. But would she really accept him as her father?
"Hoco." Kori said simply. "Hoco will have to do. You're not my dad." She was completely unamused that he would even suggest such a thing. Really? Her, the king of the jungle, being fathered by... a badger? No, absolutely not. But... she did appreciate what he was doing for her. Again she dipped her head to chew at the dry twigs near her paws. She must admit... they did have an interesting flavour.
"Oh... Well, okay." Hoco drooped sadly, idly scratching at the dirt with one of his long, impressive claws. "Well, I suppose I will go get something meaty for you. It can't be too big, obviously... I'm not as powerful as you will ever be..." He started to turn, obviously feeling hurt about Kori's rejection. "Maybe a small hare... Or perhaps some eggs, if I'm lucky."
Kori sighed, watching the badger start off with such a melancholy gait. But he'd have to deal with it, for now at least... There's no way she'd accept him as her father. "Thank you, again."
Hoco nodded solemnly, and continued off into the hot, dry Savannah.
Kori rested her head against the gravel of the earth, left alone to contemplate all the questions she's had before she passed out. Apparently now, she was a mortal... and to make it worse, she was female. Who had stripped her of her position as an almighty god? And how on earth was she going to adjust to her new role as... some insignificant lioness? She let out a long, drawn out sigh. She never realized how incredibly painful it was to be a mortal. All of these new thoughts and feelings that were tagged with being... temporary. An unexplainable overwhelming sadness erupted in her throat and caused her to sob. She recalled in her previous life that she had never sobbed at all. Was this a mortal thing... or a female thing? The poor lioness was so fearful... so vulnerable... but yet... at least she was not so alone. Kori tried to cease the tears, but it proved much too difficult. All she could do was wait for the badger's return and cling to his warmth like a daughter to a father.

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