The herd went about its usal routene. They'd come back from grazing between the meadow and the edge of the woods. Many of the adults were still stained red from their dust baths. The young males sparred playfully just by the bank of the lake while the younger calfs drank close by their mother's thick ankles. The mothers all stood about, splashing water over themselves to give themselves some releaf from the sun and insects, others fussed with their younger calfs while still trying to keep a civalized conversation going. Tinari stood near the bank, splashing at the water with his trunk for no reason other than to amuse himeslf with the swirling patterns the disturbed riverbank made in the formally clear water.
"Oh it's dreadful, I've never eaten such dry leaves... not here of all places anyway." One of the females sighed, throwing another trunkful of water over her back, "I've traveled in my day, but this has got to be the worst change in landscape I've seen."
"I grew up here." One of the younger females put in, lifting her trunk from the water, "But it doesn't take much to know that things are certaining growing worse. The lake used to be deep enough in the middle that even our trunks wouldn't reach the surface."
The herd nodded mutely.
"Oh you don't think we'll have to migrate do you?" Another female lifted her trunk to her mouth, looking quickly to one of the higher-ranking females of the herd.
The older elephant only shrugged, "We might yet... if the lake gets any lower and the grass any more brown. The zebras have already taken to the outskirts of the land for better grazing. They're normally the first."
"I thought it was the water-buffelo."
"Either way we can't rule the possibility out."
"But the calfs- they won't do well on such a long walk. The nearest place with water's weeks away."
"What choise would we have? Best we can do-"
The young bull rolled his eyes and waded himself out of the water, snapping his trunk around a few times to rid it of the mud. He hated it when the topic of moving came up. Ever since he was a younger calf it had been one of the more discussed topics around the water hole. Curling his trunk under his chin, Tinari made his way towards the trees, perhaps he'd find some shrubs to-
"Now Tinari don't wonder off." His mother called after him.
"Moooom I won't. I just want something to eat."
"Just stay within sight of the herd... there's lions out there."
"I know I know..." He turned his growing tusks back towards the trees and treadded off.
Not to far away from where the elephant was, a dusty maned lion cub sent his claws accross the bark of a nearby tree, pausing to inspect them. Sharp as tacks, perfect. The mistweavers were no longer to be he weak, peaceful, withdrawn race they had been. Maji had put Enki himself in charge of training the young cubs. When they were grown, they'd be a powerful pride, driving the unaccepted creatures from the jungles. Reports from the patrols already announced a firekin was within their boarders without any concent of the locals, along with his mate and newly born cubs. Kisu's snout wrinkled at the thought. It was their fault, all their fault. The land was dry because they defiled it, the rivers were running low because they tainted it, the sky had no clouds because the storm king was angry... very angry.The sound of a twig snapping brought the cub's attention away from his inspection. Standing himself upright and rolling his shoulders to look larger he peered back, squinting through the dappled sunlight. A form lombered closer- larger than Maji or even around the same size. "HALT!" Kisu demanded in as empowering of a voice as he could manage.
The form paused, something long and grey brushed a few low-hanging branches out of his way, "Says who?"
It was an elephant... a young one, probibly a year old at least. "Kisulisuli." He said simply, "I thought you were a lion."
"Well you -are- a lion." The elephant replied dryly, looking down to the cub. His mother had told him there'd be lions about, but little ones were no worry accept for the fact that a little cub was bound to have a big lion around somewhere, "How come I gotta halt?"
"That's what a patrol says when someone comes." Kisu explained very matter-of-factually, "Then I gotta ask your name and if you live here."
"Ooh..." Tinari tapped his chin with his trunk, "I'm Tinari, I live over there," He pointed back, "With my mum. Always have."
"Good." Kisu jumped to a rock, one that put him just over the elephant's level, "Then you're on my side."
"Side?" Tinari tilted his head to the side a bit.
"Yeah, I'm on patrol. That means I gotta watch for strangers."
"Why's that?"
"Because they made the storm king mad." Kisu glanced to the elephant, catching the baffled look on his face, "You know... the one that makees the rains?" Again, another baffled look, "He lives in the sky." Kisu pointed up with a claw, Tinari's eyes trailed it through the canopy of the forest, "His wings are clouds and so's his mane, when he roars that's the thunder, and when he's pleased he lets the rain fall to fill the rivers and make the valley healthy. That's what uncle Maji said- he's the prince here you know."
"Your uncle's the prince?" Tinari smiled, "I know him, mum said he was real nice when he was little. Played with the other leaf-eattin' critters."
"Yeah he was a weenie like that." Kisu snorted, "But that's why we gotta look for outsiders."
"We do?"
"Yes." Kisu nodded, "Because they made the storm god mad."
"They did?!" The elephant stepped forward, tilting an ear slightly, "The outsiders like... migrating in?"
"Yeah, only lions. They're bad lions, came in and started killing the herd animals."
"But you guys do to- not us, but the little ones."
"Yeah but not that many, only enough you know. Maji says we help too because if there was too many they'd eat all the grass. We don't kill elephants though, Maji says they protect the rivers."
Tinari puffed visably at this, "Yeah we do, and we make sure that they don't eat all the grass... like giraffes, they're pushy you know."
"Yeah... so we're helping eachother out. We make sure no one eats all your grass and you make sure no one drinks all our water."
Tinari nodded firmly, "Mom says we might have to move soon."
"Why's that?"
"Because the lake's getting shallow and the leafs are all crunchy." His trunk wrinkled a bit, "I don't wanna move though. Maybe if we make the storm king happy again we won't have to."
"Yeah!" Kisu nodded, "I've been trying. I'm gonna scare away all the stupid outsiders and make him happy, you'll see. I'm gonna be just like my daddy, he's the best you know."
"Oh... uh...." Tinari looked to the side.
"It's okay, you're too busy with the lake." Kisu waved a paw, "You'll meet him eventually."
"He wont' eat me will he? Mom said a lion would kill a little elephant if he could."
"Not us." Kisu smiled, "We like you guys because you come with the water, and we like the water. The storm king makes the water so in a way we're kind of on the same side.'
"That makes sense." Tinari nodded.
"I got an idea- why don't we both go on patrol? Lions are scared of elephants when they're real big and you already got big... uh..." he pointed to the little nubs of tusks hanging from Tinari's lip.
"Tusks?"
"Yes! Those. And my claws are sharp. I bet we can both take on all the outsiders... I might gotta get my cousins too... and stupid sisters."
"Girls?" Tinari chuckled, "They're not stupid. My mom's sister's in charge of the herd."
