Slowly others were starting to wake as Mkali shook the sleep from her body. She let out a small yawn and stretched her legs before bounding over the bodies of her siblings. It was a new day, and time for a new adventure! After a quick glance back in to the den at her family, who were starting to all come to themselves, she bounded away in to the grasses.
It was going to be the best adventure ever. She had recalled seeing the tree a few days ago, but had at the time been unable to go near it. Staying around the den was so boring, and there was rarely anything exciting happening, so she had decided that today she would go find her own excitement away from them. From what she could remember it had not been that far away, but then again it had also been a couple of days, and she wasn’t even completely sure where it had been. This didn’t deter her though, it only made the adventure more exciting! Mkali pulled herself atop a rock and looked around over the grasses, brow furrowed in concentration as she looked around. “It has to be around here somewhere, I know it. Ah hah!” She had spotted it! Not too far away on the side of a hill it grew. It was an old tree, one that had been knocked over by something. A few roots were sticking up from the ground, so she knew this was the same tree.
After trying to memorize the direction it was in she leapt off the rock, hitting the ground with a roll, before bounding towards where the tree was. It took longer than she had thought, mostly from distractions of swatting at bugs flying by, or trying to figure out what strange noises had been. However finally the grasses shortened a bit and she came to the bottom of the hill. The tree looked so much bigger up close as she ascended the short distance to it. “Wow, this tree must be as old as forever!” She circled around it to where a few of the roots were sticking up from the ground, pawing carefully at the dirt still clinging to them. some of it crumbled off, bringing her attention to a hole that she had not noticed before then. “A secret cave.”
Curiously she crouched down and crept forward, poking a paw in to the hole, then a leg, to try and figure out how deep it was. After a few moments she had climbed half in before her nose his dirt. With a bit of effort she pulled herself back out and shoot dirt from her fur. Blue eyes looked over the dirt and roots, then back at the hole. This would be the perfect hiding spot for any treasures she happened to come across. Maybe if it were bigger though..The thought didn’t stay long in her mind before she set to action, climbing back down in to the hole and pawing out loose dirt. There was a lot that was easy to move, and what she could she pushed out in to a pile. After a bit of digging, much of which was just dirt that she had pushed out and it had fallen back in, she finally finished. It was good enough anyways. The removed dirt was kicked away so it wouldn’t fall back in before she climbed back in to the whole. “Perfect! Now I can fill it with amazing treasures and no one will ever find them ‘cept me.”
What loose dirt was left was patted down, making the area just big enough for her to get in to, and with a little effort turn around and climb out. “Now all I gotta do is find some treasures to hide.” Ears perked forward as she looked around, trying to decide which direction would be the most likely to have treasures. After a couple moments she set out, bouncing through the grass as she looked. Rocks were over turned in her searched, sending bugs and lizards hiding under them scurrying away. None of them had anything worth hiding under them, so she continued. A fallen feather caught her attention, solid white, and she pounced on it. “Treasure!” Mkali rolled over on to her back and pawed it up in the air before letting it fall back to the ground. She rolled over on to her belly and picked it up before hurrying back to the treasure tree. Upon returning she placed the feather in the hole beneath the tree. Not enough treasure though, it was still so empty. She cub set off in another direction, intent on finding something more amazing to hide away.
Mkali’s wandering took her further than the first go, and hours had certainly passed by then, but the cub payed no attention to the sky. She was on a hunt. More rocks were tipped over, much to the displeasure of more bugs, but nothing under them all. That is until one she came upon. After tipping it over there was nothing but bugs, who scurried away from her paws. Mkali was just about to turn when something caught her eyes in the dirt. With a bit of pawing at it she managed to pull up a rock. Well, more exciting than a rock, because it was smooth and dark. “Wow, this must be some sort of magical rock!” Mkali quickly scooped it up in her mouth and raced back towards the tree, tripping over rock and her own paws in her rush. This surely had to be the best treasure ever! She came to a skidding halt at the tree, nearly running in to it’s trunk, before rounding it to place the smooth stone in the hole with the feather.
With a grin she stared down at her two treasures, chest puffing out at her find. Anyone who saw them was likely to be jealous, so any thoughts of showing them off were pushed aside. They were going to be her secret treasures. A white feather, and a magical rock. A voice on the wind pulled her attention from the tree and it’s treasures hidden beneath. Ears perked forward as she listened. It was her name being called. She suddenly realized she must have been away fro quite some time, and a rumbling in her tummy told her it was time to go back as well. With one last grin at her treasure she set off, wondering what she might find next to add to her little collection.
( Word Count: 1099 )
