Neila had a stagnant look in her eye. Usually the rebellious juvenile was acting as goofy as could be to further annoy her Mom, but the stone cold look in her face clearly showed she was about at her breaking point.
"Did you catch any food today Nei?" Her Mom smiled to her daughter as she returned to their usual den, though very uneasy by the look she was receiving back.
"No." The younger lioness said bluntly, with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"What did I tell you Nei, you need to start pulling your weight around here." She sighed as she moved back out of the dean, finally bringing in a small bird. "I really shouldn't have to go out hunting all day when I have a strong capable daughter to help me." Nyla shook her head while retrieving her catch for the day.
"Well here's dinner then." She dropped a bird in front of her daughter, nudging it with her nose. "I know it's not much."
"You can have it." She twitched her left ear as she spoke, the only part of her body that moved. Neila took care not to even let her half shut eyes twitch.
"Well fine then, but your going to have to eat eventually." Nyla was rather use to this routine, her daughter had grown to be so stubborn. Though this was the first time in recent memory she had ever turned down a meal before."I'll leave you your favorite parts, just in case."
The young lioness stood up and frowned. "You'll be happy to know I won't be eating your food anymore."
Her mother looked puzzled and paused before confronting her daughter. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier, but I really do think we need to hunt as a team soon. Now, stop being stubborn and just come and take this, come on, you know you wa-"
"NO." She hissed. "From now on I will hunt when I want to hunt, I will eat when and WHAT I want to eat. You won't have to hunt for two anymore because I am no longer be your problem." She emphasis the last word. Nyla had her daughter at a very young age, and Neila had always felt to be a burden on her, and that's why she was so "strict"- even if her Mom never felt that way and let her daughter get away with much more than most lionesses would.
"That is Enough!" Nyla stood up and spoke with a roar. Nyla let out a quiet gasp before putting on a tough face herself. She turned around and fled out into the brush and her shadow quickly melted into the in the darkness of the night.
But her mother wouldn't let her leave that easily.
"Get back here Neila, your overreacting like always!" She called out into the darkness, following the females familiar sent. She could run, but she had no experience in hiding her scent from her mothers well trained nose. And her small limbs would never be able to outrun hers.
Spotting her white pelt in the dark of the night proved to be easy. Her tail flipped into the air exposing her hiding spot and Nyla used this as a chance to stop this once in for all. Cutting away from her daughters scent she took a shortcut in front of her and sat down to wait.
In the meantime Neila was getting more and more confident that she had outrun her Mom. She grinned pleased with herself, not realizing the limitations of her small body before running right into her Mothers chest, knocking both of them down.
"HOW DID YOU-"
"Get infront of you?" Her mother finished her sentence, as she usually did. "Look, you may think your hot stuff, but you are nowhere near being ready to go off on your own. If I let you go right now you'll surely be hurt or worse by the end of the night. Rogue males would have a field day with a little thing like you."
She was wrong. Neila's brain raced with all the things she wanted to say to her mom. She wanted to tell her to shut her mouth, to leave her alone, to tell her to stop finishing her sentences. She wanted to tell her that she would prove her wrong, that she wouldn't be as stupid as her Mother and get knocked up by some dumb rogue male that she was now warning her about.
"It would be better than spending one more night with you." That was all the young lioness said before turning around and walking in the other direction. The words pierced through Nyla's heart, she knew that her daughter must still love her. It was just her immaturity that was leading her to say these things and act the way she had.
"I Love you Neila." She yelled out, making sure her daughter who was still not too far away could hear it. She didn't seem to flinch at the words however and kept on walking.
Nyla could feel her heart breaking, but was for some reason not too concerned. Despite what she had just said, she knew Neila was a tough girl and would easily survive the night alone... and she would realize how difficult it is to be alone and come back to her.
Like it or not, her spurt of Independence would be short lived.
Neila saw it an entirely different way from her mother. She had no intentions on ever returning to their den, she had never enjoyed the company of her mother who seemed to constantly remind her of how much her daughter owed to her, and that was never going to change. Even being only a few yards away from her and knowing that they wouldn't be spending the night in the same den ever again eased her mind.
"Good riddance." The young female mumbled to herself. As she walked further and further into the unknown of the vast rogue lands she began to calm down. Being alone was unsettling, but somehow it was also exhilarating. She was now free to do anything she wanted and exactly how she wanted it.
(Word Count: 1046)
