Song of Aeolus.
It was a hot day on the African plains, with only a gentle, wispy breeze to play with the manes on the galloping giraffes. The zebras ran as on, stirring up dust with their hooves as they ran to escape the sun's rays. A lion pride huddled under what scarce shade they could find. All but two settled to hide from heat. A Mother and Father cheetah where out hunting.
The Father cheetah, panting and desperate to make a kill for his family, stalked, swayed with the breeze, after his intended prey. A flock of birds, as still as the trees on which they where perched, watched all.
A troop of baboons sat upon some high rocks, bathing in the hot sun's ray grooming each other, unaware of the danger only a few yards away from them.
Three baby cheetah cubs romped together awaiting their Mother's and their Father's return. The cubs stopped, sensing their Mother's arrival. They chirped delightedly around her paws as she thumped down, tired and disappointed from her unsuccessful hunt. The cubs, even though old enough for meat, cuddled up eagerly to her for milk, unknown to then that this will be their last meal that they will be sharing with their treasured Mother.
The baboons, who had finally laid eyes on them, sensed this, and pitied the cubs. The baboons pitied the cubs because they knew that the Mother's love for her prodigy was so great, so instinctive, and so primal, that it would be the death of her. She would give her life for them. The Mother cheetah sat bolt-up right, ignoring her cubs cry's of annoyance. She sense danger. She turned around and hissed at her cubs to stay put, staring at them longingly, knowing this would be the last time she saw them. The cubs must have somehow known this, for they gave small chirps, begging her to stay. But she would not. She loved them too much. She turned and ran, love carrying her paws faster and faster. A lion that had been stalking the cubs leaped up and hurled himself at the Mother cheetahs fading form as she led the danger away from her precious cubs.
Long after they were gone, long into the setting sun, the Father cheetah trotted home happily with the small kill, but kill none the less, dangling from his jaws. He stopped though seeing his lone cubs. He looked around. No mate. He set down the kill for his cubs to feast upon then leaped up on a small tree to wait for his dearest mate that would not be returning.
Moonlight shinned down on the Mother cheetah's back, only to be engulfed by the darkening storm clouds. She had lost the rogue male lion, only to have ran into a whole pride. A flash of lighting emulated her form as she stared defiantly at the pride.
She uttered a challenging hiss, and waited for a gust of wind that would carry the sound to the pride. Their ears perked forward at the daring challenge. Another flash of lightning lighted up their eyes, hungry for the chase. They had accepted. She turned around and ran, desperation to lead the lion pride away from her darling cubs made her paws fleet.
The Mother cheetah lead them across plains and over shallow rivers, the wind howling, urging her on forward. She saw a cave and sped towards it, entering, knowing she would not make it out alive. Finally, in the maze of the cave, the lions cornered the Mother cheetah.
The Father cheetah, which had left his little cubs for only a moment, wandering aimlessly, hopelessly around the darkened plains. The wind took pity on the Father cheetah and silently led him to the cave. The Father saw a lion pride leave the cave, bloodied and huffing with savage laughter. As soon as the pride left, the Father cheetah slowly entered to cave, dreading what he would find. There in the cave, the Father Cheetah worst fear was confirmed. There he found his revered mate, fatally wounded and dying. The Mother cheetah looked up at her sweet mate and chirped, beckoning him to her. He walked to her and sat down by her dying body, staring sadly at her once lovely coat, now tattered and bloody from her mortally wounded body. As the Mother and Father cheetah looked into each other's eyes one last time, a memory passed before their eyes. It was the first time they met.
'It was a beautifully warm day. He was young and she was beautiful. It was love at first sight, for they were life mates. They frolicked around, nipping at each other playfully. They saw antelope and had decided to hunt. Their bodies, flowing like water, easily brought down their prey and they feasted, side by side.'
As the flash back ended, so did the light in the Mother cheetahs eyes. Her spirit had left her poor body. The Father cheetah stood up and licked his idolized mate's eyes closed. He left the cave and sat on the top of a large hill and as the rain pour, he cried aloud to the Heavens for taking away his life mate. Long after the rains were done with their crying, the Father cheetah finally got up to raise his cubs alone.
Many years after that night, when the Father's cubs have grown up and left to start families of their own, after he had grown old, sat the Father cheetah. He sat there and remembering that night, chirping sadly. But then he remembered the love he saw in his brave mates yes, and how she gave up her life for him and her cherished cubs. Ten the wind blew, urging him up, filling his old body with new strength. He turned towards the setting sun and ran his paws fleet again. As he ran, faster and faster to the horizon, he was filled with something he had been searching for since that ill-fated night. Peace.