The odd pair had been travelling for a while now, and were seemingly becoming more and more lost. Nuru had led the way, seeming to remember where she had last seen her mother, but Chaya had never seen any of the places they passed. They journeyed through primarily jungle. Chaya supposed it was the safest way to go, there were probably less rogue males passing through. They both kept their eyes on the dark gaps between the trees, and occasionally on the treetops. If anything were to come lunging out at them, it would be in their best interests to try and be aware. The sunlight became more and more scarce as the thickness of the leaves in the treetops seemed to multiply, and the pair were plunged into a sense of false dusk.
Nuru was the first to awkwardly break the silence. “I suppose, it's this way?” She half-asked, turning her head this way and that.
“Try to remember....” Chaya said calmly, there was no use in getting frustrated and worried in this situation, it could lead to all kinds of trouble.
“I remember coming through a small patch of jungle, after the area me and my mother were in, but I was so upset and so desperate to find her that I can't remember all the details.”
Chaya nodded gently to reassure Nuru. She could imagine what panic was like, but she'd never experienced it so she couldn't really empathise with the klipspringer. “Well, maybe if we keep going in a straight line we will just come out the other way, right?”
There was a sudden foreboding swooshing noise amongst the tree and the pair stopped dead to look at one another. “Monkeys.” Chaya said reassuringly. “Must be monkeys. Nothing else can swing from tree to tree like that.” She smiled.
It happened again, but it appeared to be lower down the tree. They remained fixed to the spot, looking all around them for some sign of what it could be.
There was nothing. It must have been their imagination. Hunger and worry was beginning to take it's toll on the pairs mind, particularly the klipspringer. Paws and hooves plodded onwards until finally the trees began to part gently and become further from one another, allowing streams of sunlight to hit the earth for the first time in a few long moments.
As they left the jungle, the earth became darker, and rockier. Chaya was used to such terrains, living on a mountain, and for the first time during her pilgrimage she felt at home. Her confidence grew as she smiled at Nuru and plowed on, whilst the purple spotted deer narrowed her eyes.
“I think we're nearly there.”
There was a noise in the distance. High-pitched. Not quite a whine or a whinny, it was indistinguishable to the lioness, until her new companion let out a gasp. “She's.. still here?” She said in disbelief, large eyes filling with tears of shame. “I thought we had been chased further...” What had happened? She was sure her mother had been close behind- no, even in front of her when they had fled from their predator.
The ground gave way to several small crevasses, ones that seemed to bleed an eerie darkness into the world. Chaya peered down them carefully. Too small for a lion to fit down, but a klipsringer... maybe. Without trying to alert her friend too much, she began to study them. The noise was louder, but not so echoey that it would suggest Nuru's mother had fallen into one.
Nuru held her breath until she saw her. Similar in pattern, but with dark brown markings. She let out a cry of relief and upset when she saw the predicament her mother was in. Balanced carefully near the edge of a small cliff, Tia'rangi was indeed stuck, but otherwise unharmed.
“Nuru!” She called out to her daughter frantically and stuttered as she became teary. “I-i'm so glad you're okay. I tried to escape, and jumped down to this ledge... but it's too high for me to jump b-back up..” An eerie paused ensued once she had noticed her daughters company. “A-a lion?!” The klipspringer shrieked.
“It's fine mother, I promise. She's helping!” Nuru reassured her.
Chaya felt her chest swell a little with pride, that's right, she was helping! Helping a stranger that was lost, fragile, and technically should have been her dinner. She was doing something kind for another person, and putting her faith in a journey that may have been a dead end, but thankfully was not.
“Helping?!” The mother didn't quite seem to believe her offspring. “Or is she hoping for two courses instead of one?” The fear was evident on her face too, and she couldn't stop the tears from falling.
“No, I trust her.”
Trust. That was a big word, and Chaya's eyes widened in surprise. It was one thing to travel with someone that could potentially eat you, and a whole other thing to pledge your trust in them. Chaya nodded and called out to the mother klipspringer gently. “It's true. I'm not here to eat you, I'm just here to help.”
They spent a few hysterical minutes at the edge of the rocks trying to talk Tia'Rangi round, and eventually she saw the reality of her situation. She could either trust the fact that her daughter was still alive and ask for help, or she could remain stranded on the ledge where she would probably be eaten shortly by another oncoming predator. Tia's face crumpled as she called out to Chaya squeakily. “O-okay... Can you help?”
Chaya looked from her companion to the rocks. It was a large jump indeed, and it was an impressive feat that the small deer had managed to accomplish. It was amazing what fear could do to the body, she guessed. “I can, but you will have to trust me.” She felt the rocks beneath her paws. Jumping down would be the easy bit. Getting up however, would be more difficult.
With a swoosh, Chaya jumped and landed next to the deer. Tia barely had time to think before it happened and stumbled slightly, startled. Nuru watched with baited breath.
“This is the bit that is honestly going to be more difficult....” She looked at the klipspringer, unsure of how to hold her to try and get her to safety. Chaya paused for a moment and looked at the gap. There wasn't too much of a fall underneath, but it was certain to cause injury, possibly serious. Stretching out her long body she walked up to the edge of the rock and managed to form herself into a bridge. “Quick, walk along my back.” She urged Tia'rangi along, and the klispringer quickly did so.
She was safely across, though shaken when the weight from Chaya's back legs caused some of the rock to crumble, throwing the lioness back on to the ledge and widening the uphill jump she already faced. The three of them went silent. Chaya wasn't confident in her ability to jump that far and panic began to bubble in her stomach.
Nuru, in all her resourcefullness, found a group of nearby vines, thick and vivid green and looped them over a nearby rock. It dangled ominously into the gap between them and she chirped. “Jump and catch this, it should be enough for you to pull yourself up.”
Chaya had seen Nuru's constructions, and they were something to marvel at. Her eyes slid from the gap and fall below to the pair, and she took a deep breath.
As she jumped, her paws made contact with the vines and she clung on, feeling the tension in them grow as she tried to pull herself up. Her muscles burned and it was deathly silent. Slowly she edged her way to safety and let out a huge sigh.
Tia looked at the lioness, a mixture of shock and gratitude. “Wow, that really was a leap of faith.”
Chaya thought about that phrase for a moment, and looked to Nuru.
“Well.” She began. “There's a risk in everything... I suppose.”
“Besides...” She grinned at Nuru. “Trust works both ways.”
WC:1374
