The Savanna Chronicles: Under the Savanna Sun

[Scar]

I did see a few Malkas running about... I'll tell you where they are later.

...Kiada sounds a lot like Kiara xD

[mistwolf]

I really liked the name Kiara, but that's totally Disney. So, change one letter and you get a new name! No copyright to worry about! ;D

[mistwolf]

[glow=blue,2,300]Chapter 5- Discoveries[/glow]

“Have you finished yet?” Kameron asked, tail twitching. He walked up beside where Kilsha, Kiada, and Shatter were drinking. Kilsha raised her head to glare at the lion, and Kiada did the same. Kilsha obviously was annoyed by the persistent presence of an enemy lion, but Kiada was more curious than angry.

“Who are you, anyways?” the younger lioness demanded. “I mean, Nadu just left you here to watch us. He must trust you. Why?” But the question was not an accusing one. She really was interested.

“My daughter is right,” Kilsha agreed. She eyed Kameron with contempt, but he returned the look. “Why does Nadu trust such a young male so much?”

“If you must know, I am beta male of the Glowing Moon pride,” Kameron said, as if this explained everything. “I am honored to have my alpha’s respect and trust.”

“Aren’t you….related to Nadu?” Kiada asked, studying the young male. He looked quite different from Nadu. Nadu was a golden lion with a dark brown mane and a tawny stripe running through it. But Kameron was a darkly colored lion, with an even darker mane, and his eyes glittered green. Quite different from Nadu’s reddish-brown ones. Kameron glared at her, as if the question was an insult.

“No,” he snapped. “I’m not related to Nadu. He took me in when I was a cub, hand-reared me, treated me like a son. I am honored to serve him as an adult, to thank him for what he did for me.”

“How sweet,” Kilsha murmured, She turned from him and Kiada could hear her whispered, “Who knew that the son of a jackal had a heart?”

Kiada knew Kameron had heard her speak, because she saw him physically bristle. Kameron almost called her out on it, but when he glanced over he caught the liquid brown eyes of the lioness he’d seen before. He shifted and cleared his throat, trying to contain his anger.

“I must as you again if you are quite finished,” he repeated. Kiada could hear the strain in his voice.

“We are,” Sol answered, stepping between his mate and Kameron. “We will be leaving your territory now, so you can stop your guard duty.”

Kameron snorted, and his tail lashed. Kiada stuck her tongue out at him and walked away, turning her back completely on him. Sol also began to walk away, then paused and turned back.

“And tell your alpha thank you for his wonderful hospitality. It has been so lovely seeing our relatives again,” he said and finally started off to gather up his pride.

“Yeah, like one big happy reunion,” Shatter mumbled under his breath before he, too, turned to follow his father. Kameron watched each lion leave, but noticed that the female he’d seen earlier paused and looked back at him once more. He managed a tiny smile, and she also smiled at him.

“Jamala!” Akina called, when she realized her sister wasn’t beside her and Enzi. “Are you coming, or are you frozen back there?”

“Coming!” Jamala called back. She glanced one last time back at Kameron, and hoped she could see him again. Then she raced after her family, and her pride.

Kameron shook his mane, trying to clear his head of this lioness he’d just seen. She was lovely, but she was the enemy. What was he thinking? She was a Bright Morning! As long as he’d been alive, he’d been taught to hate those lions! Was he sick, or something, that one simple pretty female could break every single idea he’d ever been taught? Was he crazy? Because that was not going to happen!

“Kameron!” the voice of Nadu broke his from his thoughts, and he looked up to see the large alpha standing before him. The sun was rising at his back, casting the savanna in gorgeous oranges and pinks.

“Wha?” Kameron asked, startled, then he shook his head and regained his composure. “The Bright Morning pride is leaving. They are going to the territory you offered them.”

“Excellent,” he said, and nodded, a smile flashing over his face.

“Why did you give it to them? You hate Sol and all his descendants,” Kameron asked, a look of confusion on his face. His question was met with a light laugh from the alpha.

“Kameron, that is something for the alpha of this pride to worry about, and the Beta to find out when the time is right. Understand?” Nadu told the younger lion. The look of confusion was still on Kameron’s face, but he nodded.

“Yes sir,” he said simply. He knew not to argue with Nadu about these things. Without another word, he turned to walk back towards the pride. But he suddenly stopped as an idea hit him. Forgetting what he’d told himself only minutes before, he thought maybe he could see Jamala again. Maybe he could find out more about her, while arousing no suspicions. He turned back to Nadu.

“They went back to their new territory, but do you think I should follow them?” he asked. “To…keep an eye on them, and make sure that they aren’t breaking their deal by coming into our territory. If they do anything against the rules, I’ll come tell you, and you can kick them out.” He held his breath, hoping for a positive answer.

Nadu considered, and then nodded.

“Kameron, that is a good offer. Make sure that they do what we want them to. And if one of them even puts the tip of their tail over the border, I want you to first kill that lion then come and tell me so we can kick the rest out. Okay?”

“Yes, Nadu,” Kameron said, trying to stop himself from smiling outright. This was the perfect opportunity to fly under Nadu’s radar and meet a lioness who he might be interested in. He had totally forgotten his advice only minutes before. He wanted to meet her. He was dying to see her again, whether or not she was the enemy.

Kameron bobbed his head and hurried off towards where he’d seen the Bright Morning pride vanish.


The sun was rising as the lions entered their new home. But despite the gorgeous colors the ball of fire painted the savanna, and the lovely warm feeling on her fur, Jamala couldn’t help thinking about the male she’d seen. He’d been so handsome, so powerful and strong, and yet so unobtainable. There was no way she was ever going to see him again, let alone be able to meet him or fall in love with him. He was a dream, an unattainable goal.

Her concentration was only broken when her stomach growled. She bared her teeth in annoyance and rolled up to a sitting position. The sun had risen over the eastern horizon, and was bathing the savanna in a soft yellow glow.

“You hungry, too?” Jamala asked beside her sister. Enzi was washing the lioness’s head, but she looked at her sister with sympathetic eyes. “My stomach’s been growling since we got here.”

“Yeah,” Jamala said, pushing images of the Glowing Moon lion from her mind. Like she had told herself, she’d never be able to be with him.

“If you girls are hungry, you should hunt,” Kilsha said as she walked past. “We need to start a kill pile, and the younger ones are getting hungry. It would be a good idea to start a hunting party to start bringing in food.”

“That sounds good to me,” Jamala said standing. “What about you, Akina?”

“Only if Enzi comes,” she laughed, and rubbed her head against the male’s chest. He laughed and licked her head.

“Of course I’m coming,” he laughed. “Do you think I’d trust you hunting with your sister? I’m coming just to make sure you don’t tear the savanna apart!” They laughed, but Jamala felt a little pang of jealousy. Akinahad Enzi, and they were so perfect together. But Jamala had no one. She was the same age as Akina, so she was at the prime age for looking for a mate. But in this pride, there just weren’t any males to choose from. The only one was Shatter, and she’d never liked his personality. He wasn’t nearly outgoing enough for her, and he was always being antisocial with everyone. Besides, he obviously didn’t even want a mate. The only girl he ever talked to was his sister, Kiada. Definitely not Jamala’s type.

“Mother,” Kiada asked as she approached Kilsha. “I’ll also go on the hunting party. I need to work on my hunting skills.”
She stretched and dug her claws into the dirt. Kilsha nodded.

“Go ahead. Just come back before noon, so we aren’t worrying about you. Okay?” she said, looking at each lioness (and Enzi). But her eyes sparkled, and the warning was light one. They needed food, so Jamala knew that Kilsha wouldn’t really care how long they were out.

“Okay,” Jamala said, and the hunting party bounded off.

It wasn’t long before they found their prey. The lionesses split off from the lion, but Jamala split off by herself. She wasn’t as good of a hunter as Akina, and hated to slow her sister down. She sent her hunting with Kiada, who was a natural hunter, while she tailed Enzi, knowing that he’d bring down prey fast, and she could pretend to have helped him.

What she didn’t see was someone watching her from the bushes.

Kameron crouched low in the savanna grass, his tail twitching. He was amazed. He’d found her. He’d found the lioness from the watering hole. He wanted to run right out and meet her, but he held himself back, just in case Malka was tailing him, making sure he was doing a good job. But he wasn’t getting anywhere like this. If only there was a way to signal her over to him.

Fortunately for him he didn’t have to wait long.

Jamala scented the air for prey, but she caught something else: Glowing Moon. For a moment, her lip curled away from her teeth in snarl. Who was spying on her? And where was this intruder? What were they doing on their new territory? She spun, and saw something move in a bush beyond. She stepped forward, tail held high in the air as she searched for the source of the smell.

“I know you’re there!” she said. “Show yourself!”

Kameron winced at her words, suddenly feeling nervous. What if she attacked him instead of coming to him, wanting to be friends? His body wanted to draw away and hide, but his mind overpowered his muscles and he walked forward to stand away from the bush. His heart fluttered when she looked at him.

Jamala’s gaze softened when she saw Kameron.

“Kameron?” she asked, running forward. “What are you doing here?”

He looked puzzled. “How do you know my name?” he asked. She laughed. Her laugh was so light, so captivating.

“Remember? You told it to us at the watering hole,” she said, sitting beside him.

“Oh, yes,” he said quickly. “I was just….watching. You know, to make sure you didn’t break the rules or go against the deal.”

Jamala looked mock-worried. “Did we do anything wrong?” she asked.

“N-no,” Kameron stuttered, nervous again. She was so beautiful. He cleared his throat, forcing himself together. “You didn’t break any rules. I was just…making sure.”

“Oh, Kameron, can’t you relax at all?” Jamala teased, flicking her tail over his shoulder. He tensed for a moment, and then relaxed. He suddenly smiled broadly at her, and she could see how handsome he really was when he wasn’t so stressed.

“Yeah,” he said. “I can. Sorry. It’s just, with Nadu…”

“I’m Jamala,” she introduced herself. “And I already know you.”

“Yeah, you do, don’t you? You must know me pretty well after Kilsha told just about the entire pride my history,” he laughed. This lioness’s very presence made him relax.

“Yeah. So, adopted son of Nadu and beta of the Glowing Moon pride,” she said the sentence in a mock-official voice. “How’d a nice lion like you get to be so high ranking and second for a lion like Nadu?”

They laughed, and Kameron began talking lightly to Jamala, feeling the stress of his duty almost fall off him. He’d found something better.

In their chatting, neither saw the lioness that spied on them from several yards away.

Kiada had brought down a wildebeest with Akina, but had smelled Glowing Moon lion on the wind and had come to see who it was. To her surprise, she found Kameron with Jamala in the bushes.

Without thinking, Kiada leaped over the shrubbery with a roar and stood between Jamala and the Glowing Moon beta.

“State your business here or prepare to fight,” Kiada said, mocking Kameron’s own words from when he’d first come to them at the watering hole. Kameron stood and his eyes grew wide, but he did not step towards Kiada in any way. Jamala watched with awe. He did not want to hurt the lioness.

“Please,” he said. “I was only talking to Jamala.”

“Yeah, right,” Kiada spat. “Trying to steal her away from us? Or was she too close to you precious border, so you were going to kill her?”

“No!” Jamala put in. “Kiada, listen to him! He’s not doing me any harm! I was just talking to him!”

“About what?” Kiada turned to look at Jamala. The lioness shook her head.

“About nothing.Really. He doesn’t want to hurt me, Kiada,” Jamala was practically begging Kiada to back off.

“She’s right,” Kameron said and Kiada turned back to him. “You may not believe me, but I was not hurting her. I don’t want to steal any lionesses. Please. I don’t want to fight.”

“What’s going on here?” a voice rumbled from behind Jamala. She hung her head, recognizing the voice.
No, she thought. Not Enzi, too. How about we just invite the rest of the pride? It can be a party.

Akina was standing behind her lover, and began to hurry towards her sister with worried eyes. But Jamala stepped away, her own eyes blazing. Akina paused, looking slightly hurt. Jamala turned to look at Enzi

“Nothing,” Jamala said sharply in answer to his question. She was starting to get angry “Nothing is going on here! Can’t everyone leave us alone? It was nothing! Kameron wasn’t hurting me at all! Nothing happened!”

“Please,” Kameron begged again. “I don’t want to fight.” He was so peaceful when he wasn’t on his guard.

Jamala turned to see Enzi looking at Kameron with fiery eyes. Enzi didn’t quite believe him, but Jamala didn’t look hurt.

“Fine,” the male said. “Get out of here, and this never happened. Stay any longer and I’ll go and find Sol. But don’t let me ever see you again or there will be trouble.”

“Fine,” Kameron said. He looked at Jamala, and his eyes said: See you again?
She nodded, though she didn’t know how that would happen. He stood and ran off in the opposite direction, towards his pride’s borders.

Enzi looked at Jamala. She saw the restrained anger in his eyes and looked away. She felt like a cub who had been caught stealing a snack from the kill pile.

“I brought down prey and I need some help taking it back to the pride. You can help me, or Kilsha will be wondering where we are,” he said, his voice stern, and walked away. Jamala looked to see Kameron vanishing towards the Glowing Moon pride. She looked over at Kiada, who shook her head and turned to walk away, disappointed in her. Jamala sighed. Kameron was the only male she’d ever had an interest in. But he was the enemy, right?

No. She’d see him again. And she didn’t care what Enzi, or Kiada, or Akina thought. This was meant to be.

Right?

((ooc:Sorry for the glowing title. My sister wanted to see what the "Glow" button did.))

[mistwolf]

Chapter 6- Family?

Jamala reluctantly followed her sister, her sister’s lover, and Kiada back to the pride, but she distanced herself from the others a little more. Akina kept glancing over her shoulder, but every time she did, Jamala would look away. She wished she was back with Kameron. He really hadn’t been doing her any harm. Why was everyone so against their pride, against him? What did he ever do to anyone?

Kiada glanced over at Jamala as they walked. She could almost tell what the older lioness was thinking: she was wondering why everyone had been so brutal towards Kameron. Kiada almost paused in her walk as she asked herself the same question. Why had they been so brutal towards the other lion? It was true – he hadn’t done anything no either them, or to Jamala.

But he’s part of the other pride, a part of her told herself firmly. And they are evil.

Yes, that was right, wasn’t it? The Glowing Moon Pride: they were evil. Weren’t they? Wasn’t that what she was always taught to believe? Then it must be true, right?

Of course it was. Mother and Father would not lie to her like that. There had to be some evil in all Glowing Moon lions. Of course. That was it.

Some other part of her mind told her that maybe this was wrong. But Kiada stubbornly shook her head. She glanced again at Jamala, then her eyes hardened and she hurried on. What they had done was right. Completely right. Of course.

Akina, with the help of Enzi, dragged the prey they’d brought down back to the pride. Kilsha was the first to come and inspect it.

“Good job,” she said, nodding to the two lions. “This will sustain us for a good time. Especially the cubs.”

She nodded to Enzi, who sauntered off, probably to get a drink. He glanced back at Enzi to see if she was coming, and she smiled at him, and started off too. It was already a hot day, and the sun had just risen a few hours ago. And since they had water now, all she wanted to do was get a nice refreshing drink…

“Akina?” Kilsha asked. The younger lioness spun in surprise at her name being called. Kilsha looked into Akina’s eyes, her own brown ones deep with worry and interest. Kilsha had a way of getting information from her pride members. It was not a brutal way, and she only used it sometimes. Akina swallowed and looked over her shoulder, then turned back to Kilsha.

“Yes, Kilsha?” Akina asked, forcing herself to be normal.

“Akina, the kill you brought down is fantastic,” Kilsha complimented. “But it took you much too long to bring it in. And….there is something wrong with your sister. Akina, I know I can trust you. Please, I don’t want to put you on the spot, but what happened while you were gone? Was anyone hurt?”

Kilsha’s eyes buried deep into Akina’s and Akina couldn’t look away. She also knew she had a responsibility to tell Kilsha about what she’d seen.

“Kilsha,” she sighed, looking down. “Jamala….she….”

“She what, Akina?” Kilsha pushed.

“She….she was meeting with a Glowing Moon lion. Kameron,” Akina lowered her head even more. But she knew she had a responsibility. Not only to her pride, but to her sister. She couldn’t let Jamala be off with Glowing Moon males. This would help her. She knew it. Just thinking about it made Akina stand straighter, and feel not so much like a traitor.

“Kameron?!” Kilsha hissed, outraged, but obviously struggling to control her anger. Akina nodded.

“Did he hurt her?”

“No, Kilsha. They were talking together.”

Kilsha opened her mouth to reply when there was a roar from somewhere beyond the pride.

“I will not tell your sister of the information that you have passed to me,” Kilsha promised. “I will speak to her later. Thank you Akina. You have done your pride, and your sister, a great service.”

Without another word, Kilsha ran off towards the roar. Akina watched her go, and sighed. Silently, she escaped before Jamala could see her.


Shatter ran back from the rock he’d been standing on over to his sister, Kiada, and Shard, who were leaning over the body of a lioness. The lioness was a tawny color, and she lay still on the ground, blood running off her coat. Her breathing was barely even noticeable, and it had taken both Kiada and Shatter some time to tell if she was still alive.

“Will she be okay?” Shard asked from beside Kiada. The older lioness looked down at her little sister, and licked the top of her head.

“I don’t know, Shard,” Kiada whispered. “But all we can do is hope Mother gets here in time.”

“I just called her,” Shatter said. “I think she’s coming.”

As if on cue, Kilsha bounded a rock and skidded to a halt beside her offspring.

“What has happened?” she demanded, the moment she saw the fallen lioness.

“Mother,” Shatter said, staring at Kilsha with wide eyes. “I was helping Kiada take the kill to the kill pile when we saw her- this lioness. She was lying on the ground. Just like this.”

He nudged her gently, and the lioness stirred, just a bit. Kilsha looked down at her, and the lioness’s eyes fluttered open. The irises were a beautiful teal-ish color, but her brow was furrowed with pain. Her tawny coat was stunning, but now it was stained by her own blood. She must have been a gorgeous lioness when she was whole and healthy.

“Lioness, what is your name?” Kilsha asked gently. The lioness lifted her head fractionally, but Kilsha shook her head.

“Don’t do that. Lie still. You’re hurt,” she urged her.

“Goah,” the lioness whispered her words soft and her voice hoarse from pain. “My name is Goah.”

“What happened to you?” Shard asked suddenly. Kilsha glared at the cub to silence her, and she slunk back, embarrassed.

Goah shook her head.

“It’s okay,” she whispered. Her voice was weak and strained. She gasped for air, and shuddered with pain. Kiada lifted her head to see that other lions had started to gather around.

“My pride…” the lioness whispered. “They were taken over by…..my brother. He hated……me…..He chased…..me and……attacked me…….because I was……..different…….”

“Different?” Shatter asked, confused. She didn’t look different.

“I am tawny…….he and the others…. All the rest of the prides…..are all darker……They’ve always hated me…..
She laughed gently, but the laughed turned into a cough. Blood dripped from her mouth onto the ground.

Kiada stood back, amazed. This lioness…..had been attacked by her own pride. How horrible! Just because she was different, too. Just because her fur color was different from the others, her own pride, her own family turned on her and attacked her. How horrid!

“You can stay with us,” Kilsha told the lioness, her voice like someone talking to a scared cub.

“Mother…” Shatter said. He looked down at the lioness, eyes worried. Her eyes were closed again. She opened them.

“Thank you….” She whispered. “But……I won’t be……able to…….”
She coughed once again, and gasped. Kiada lowered her head. The lioness wasn’t going to make it.

The lioness’s eyes closed for a final time, and she gasped again.

“Please….” Kiada whispered, her voice suddenly sounding choked. Her eyes felt moist.

The lioness gasped again, and finally whispered, “At least……. for once, I was….. with a pride…..who….who took pity on me.”

The last word was barely even there. The lioness’s head suddenly slumped, and her breathing completely stopped. The body was still.

“Yes,” Kilsha whispered, still lying by the now-dead lioness. “Yes. You were.”

The small group of lions stood around the body of the fallen lioness. Not a sound was heard as they stood there. Not even a sob. Just silence.

Shatter stood next to Shard, and the older of the two stared at the body. He hadn’t even known her, but he felt…connected with her. He’d always been different, too. But she’d paid the ultimate price for it. Is that what he would have to do, one day? Because of his….difference?

Kiada’s mind raced as she stood there. The last words of the lioness kept swirling in her mind.

“At least for once I was with a pride who took pity on me.”

A pride. That word rang in Kiada’s ears. A pride. When she was little, she remembered her mother telling her over and over that the pride was their family. And that’s what they were, weren’t they? A family?

That was right. One big family. Her thoughts suddenly went to Kameron. She’d looked back just as he’d walked away. He’d looked sosad as he’d been torn from Jamala. Then she remembered what the male had said.

“He took me in when I was a cub, hand-reared me, treated me like a son.”
Pieces like a puzzle started fitting together inside Kiada’s head. Nadu was Tiko’s great-great grandson. And Kiada’s parents were great-grandnephews of Tiko as well, making Kiada a great-great grandniece of Tiko. Right? And Kameron was Nadu’s adopted son. So that would make her and Kameron….

“Cousins?” she said the word out loud, but quietly. They were cousins. She and Kameron, the one she’d snarled at. The one she’d openly snubbed. They were…family.


Here she was, looking down at the family of a lioness because they had chased her out because of her fur tone. But really, she was doing the same thing, just with the outcome of a several-generation old feud. How could she look down upon another lioness’s pride when she was doing the exact same in her own?

The Bright Morning Pride and the Glowing Moon Pride were family.

So why weren’t they acting like it?

[mistwolf]

Chapter 7- Questions

It was a silent, long walk back to the rest of the pride from where they’d met- and said goodbye- to a tawny lioness named Goah. The encounter was heavy on everyone’s mind, though in slightly different ways.

As Kiada walked, she thought of the parallels between that lioness’s sad end to her life, and the Bright Morning and Glowing Moon pride. The sick paradox she had realized. She’d been so angry at the lioness’s pride for shunning her, when she was doing the exact same towards the “other side” of their family in her own pride.
\
For Kilsha, the matter was slightly different. She saw the lioness as a reawakening of the need to protect her family. The need to make sure that her children were always protected from outsiders that might want to torture them like this lioness had met. Kilsha felt a new determination to make sure her children and her pride were always in safe paws.

And then there was Shatter. His thoughts were different from both his sister’s, and his mother’s. He did not think of either pride or of his family, or anything that the other lions might be thinking about after seeing such a helpless lioness die so tragically. He thought of something completely different.

He had been the first one to see the lioness, and had been the one to grab Kiada to see her. But when he’d first seen her, she’d told him a little of what had happened to her. Her pride, hating her and attacking her and chasing her away, and immediately he had felt a connection with her. Because she knew what pain felt like. Not physical pain, not just wounds, but true mental pain, the knowledge that you were different from your pride, and that, even though they might not show it yet, they hated you.

Shatter thought about this, because he knew that pain. Mental pain. He knew what it was like, knew that he was different than the rest of his pride. He knew a pain that not many lions came across. A pain that always burned inside him that not even Sol, not even Kilsha or any of his siblings, knew about. A mental pain that only he knew.

The thought burned in his mind, and, quietly, he sat down under the shade of an Acacia tree. He closed his eyes, trying to push it away, but it came back. If only Goah was still alive, so he could tell her about the pain that he, too, had experienced. Because she would have understood.

A presence beside him made him look up. Kiada sat beside him, and looked down at him.

“That was pretty horrible to see, wasn’t it?” she said. Her voice was a whisper, and Shatter could tell there was something on her mind, too.

“Yeah,” he said, but that was it. He was afraid that if he said too much, he’d tell her the pain he had. And she’d hate him. He knew she would.

“Did she….did she tell you were she came from?” Kiada asked suddenly. Shatter looked up. That was a strange question to ask.

“Uh….from the North, I think. Beyond the mountains,” he answered, not looking at her. She glanced sideways at him for a brief second, and he almost panicked that she was going to ask him if he was all right. But instead she said something different.

“I wish I could go beyond the mountains.”

“What?” Shatter asked, taken off-guard.

“You know, to travel. When I take over this pride, we’re going to travel everywhere. We’re going to see new things, just like I always wanted. We’re not going to stay here. We’re going to travel.”

“When you take over?” Shatter whispered, voice suddenly hoarse. Kiada nodded.

“You know, since…..” she trailed off. She didn’t have to explain to Shatter why she was the next in line to be the alpha of the pride. He knew. Kiada had not been the first of her litter. She’d been the second born, and Shatter the last. But the first born had been a male cub named Kiru. Kiru would have been the next-in-line for the alpha position, but he had died. He had…..

How had he died? A shock suddenly went through Kiada’s mind. Two years ago, when Kiada was 3 months old, she’d been told that Kiru had died. But, now that she thought about it, she didn’t know how. She remembered how sad everyone had been, how upset and distraught Shatter had been, but no one had ever said how he’d died. He just….had.

She stood, looking around the savanna.

“Where are you going?” Shatter asked her, voice almost scared. She looked back at him.

“I want to talk to Mother,” she answered. Before he could say anything else, Kiada stalked off through the savanna grass, leaving a dazed Shatter behind.

~**~
As Kilsha padded across the land back to where her mate was sitting in the midst of their lions and lionesses, the tawny alphess spotted Jamala in the distance. The female was looking off in the distance. Kilsha growled low in her throat when she remembered what Akina had told her about Jamala’s friendly conversation with Kameron, an enemy lion.

“Jamala,” Kilsha called to the younger lioness. She looked up, surprised and saw Kilsha. As soon at their eyes met, the lioness’s ears went back, and she walked forward, head down.

“Yes, Alphess?” Jamala asked, not looking Kilsha in the eye, all signs of submission.

“I want to talk to you,” Kilsha said sternly. “I heard what held up the hunting party – your conversation, apparently a friendly one at that, with a lion of Glowing Moon allegiance. And not just that, the beta male, Kameron, of all lions.”

“I’m sorry, Kilsha, I was just…” Jamala started, but was cut off.

“I don’t want you talking with Glowing Moon lions, Jamala!” Kilsha said severely, almost like a mother scolding a cub more than an alphess punishing a lioness. “They are dangerous!”

Jamala nodded her eyes still downcast.

“I don’t want to tell you this to be mean, Jamala,” Kilsha said. “I’m telling you this because you are a lioness in my pride. And because you are in my pride, you are family. I care about you, Jamala. And Kameron is a Glowing Moon lion. A direct descendent of Tiko. Not to be trusted. I don’t want you hurt, Jamala.”

“But he was so nice to me…” Jamala started, but Kilsha shook her head.

“Kameron, Nadu, all his kind and their pride, they may seem nice at first, but they are like fire. Fire looks pretty and feels warm when it is far away and contained, but if you wait by it too long, if you play with fire too long, you will get burned. And I don’t want that to happen to you. In such case, I’ll let you off this time. But Jamala, I don’t want to see, or hear, about you talking to a Glowing Moon lion again, or I may have to punish you. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Kilsha,” Jamala said softly, sadly.

“Good. You may go,” Kilsha dismissed her, and Jamala turned and slunk away. Kilsha shook her head. She hoped that what she had said had convinced Jamala that Glowing Moon lions were not their friends. No Glowing Moon lion could be trusted, because of their blood. Tiko’s blood ran in their veins, even if not directly. The way they had been trained by their alpha meant that Tiko’s blood ran in their veins, because of the hatred that had been planted in their minds. She would hate to see one of her lionesses, or one of her cubs, hurt because a Glowing Moon lion could not be trusted.

“Mother,” a voice, firm and obviously wanting something, said from behind her. Kilsha turned to see Kiada behind her. Her daughter looked almost angry. Her head was stretched out so it was almost horizontal to her body, and her ears lay back against her head. Her entire body language said “tell me what I want to knew, or you’ll be sorry.”

“Kiada?” Kilsha asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Mother, I want to know,” Kiada said, her voice unwavering. Kilsha looked confused.

“Know what, Kiada?” she asked.

“Don’t play games, Mother. I want to know – what happened to Kiru?”

The words shook Kilsha to her core. Memories tumbled back into her head. Her first- born son, with his bright brown eyes, and his unending curiosity, his undying love for just about everyone, almost brought tears to Kilsha’s eyes. His death, his awful death and the events afterwards with Shatter, also came back. The whole bitter story that she and Sol had kept inside for so long.

“You’re not old enough to know,” was her answer to Kiada. She looked away to avoid seeing the hurt and anger in her daughter’s eyes as she reacted.

“What?” Kiada almost yelled. “Mother, I’m two years old! What do you mean I’m not old enough?”

“You’re not old enough, Kiada,” Kilsha growled. “And that is final.”

“What is going on here?” Sol demanded, as he walked up beside his mate. Kilsha looked up at him, but Kiada looked away, angry at both her parents for what they’d been hiding from her.

“Kiru….” Kilsha whispered in Sol’s ear. “Kiada wants to know.”

“Maybe it’s time you told her,” Sol purred, his voice low and soothing. He looked between his oldest daughter, and his mate.

“I can’t…” Kilsha whispered. She looked over to see Kiada crying, tears tumbling down her cheeks. She snarled at Kilsha and then ran off.

“You have too,” Sol said. “It’s time she knew.”

“I don’t even like to think about it,” the alphess whispered. “I’ve never blamed him for what he did. But I didn’t want to tell Kiada. I thought it would hurt her. She loved Kiru so much.”

“I think it’s hurting her more now not knowing,” Sol said. He walked forward to where Kiada was lying, crying into her paws. Silently, Kilsha followed, tears also stinging her eyes, wetting her cheeks.

~**~
Shatter watched as his sister ran off after Kilsha had refused to tell her about Kiru. He had almost called out a “Thank you”, but had stopped himself. But the panic began to rise in his throat when he saw Sol, with his mate in tow, walking over to where Kiada was crying by herself.

“No….” he whispered. “No, they’re going to tell her….”

“Shatter?” Shard was suddenly beside him. The lion almost jumped out if his fur.

“What’s wrong?” she asked innocently. Shatter glared at her, and leaped up into the branches of an Acacia tree, leaving her alone on the ground.

Shard looked up, confused and a bit hurt. Why had he done that?

“Shatter?” she called, but he said nothing. Frustrated, she sought out her sister for insight.

Above where the cub had stood, in the trees and surrounded by leaves, Shatter cried. His heart felt like it would burst. He was scared. They were going to tell her. She was going to know… The feelings he had kept inside for so many years were rushing back to him now. The memories he had, the death of his brother, threatened to tear his heart out. He had been able to burry these things for so long. Sure, they had changed him, but at least he had been able to forget at least for a little while. But now….why had everything suddenly gone so wrong?

Lost. He was so lost.

“Don’t cry, Kiada,” Sol whispered to his daughter, and licked the top of her head. He looked back at Kilsha, his eyes saying “tell her now.”

Kilsha looked over and caught a brief glimpse of Shatter leaping up a tree. She turned back and saw Kiada sitting up, her eyes red from crying, staring at her.

“What’s going on?” Shard demanded. She’d slipped up to them, almost unnoticed. She looked more frustrated than angry. She must have been being ignored.

“Nothing you should worry about, Shard,” Kilsha said, running her tongue over her youngest daughter’s head. “Nothing at all you should be worrying over.”

“It seems no one should be worrying about it, huh?” Kiada suddenly snapped, advancing on her mother. Shard looked up, confused. “It seems like not even his own sister should be worrying about it! Not even the sister who adored him should be worrying about his death!”

“Whose death?” Shard asked. Kiada answered her question without looking down at her sister.

“I had a brother, Shard,” she said, her voice hard. “He was my best friend, my playmate. And then one day he died. But no one has bothered to tell me how!” The last word was yelled straight into Kilsha’s face.

“I told you…” the lioness said, trying to remain calm. Kiada cut her off.

“Told me what, Mother? Told me that I’m too young? Shatter knows, doesn’t he? I saw it in his eyes. He knows, Mother. But apparently, I don’t matter. What about me, Mother? I seem to be the only member of this family to not know anything about my own brother’s death! So tell me Mother,” at this point her voice got coldly, frighteningly hard.

“What. Happened. To. Kiru?”

“Should I know too?” Shard put in. “After all, he’s my brother too.” The small cub also glared up at Kilsha, who sighed looking from one to the other. She couldn’t win. Not with how Kiada was glaring at her. Maybe Sol was right. It was time to know. But not from her.

“If you want to know,” Kilsha said. “Ask your brother.”

“What, the dead one?” Kiada demanded. “Cause I can’t!”

“No,” Kilsha said. Now she was getting angry. “Shatter. Go ask him.”

With that, she turned and stalked away. Kiada watched her go, and then looked down at Shard.

“C’mon, Shard,” Kiada said. “Let’s go get some real answers.”