Sorry for the LONG wait everyone, but as you probably know if you've read
my author notes in my other story: Hope and Pride, I have been very busy as
a junior and looking at colleges and everything, term paper is due this
Friday, so I have to finish that. I love writing, you probably all know
that, but we all have busy periods of our lives, and I would appreciate
just a little bit understanding.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and Valsonic, I'm really really glad you
like this story so much, but as I've said before, I'm sorry if I have had
writer's block and been busy with other commitments. I love writing,
again, and I WILL MAKE MORE CHAPTERS of this story don't worry, but some
other things in life come first. I really hope that didn't sound rude or
mean of me, because that is not my intention at all! I 'm just being
considerate of your feelings everyone by giving you a reason of why I might
not update like everyday as some people do. Ok? Capiche? Without further
ado, here is the, I know, LONG awaited chapter 3 of "The Winds of Change."
;)
Chapter 3: Revelations
As Niru and Siva continued to share a passionate kiss, Kiara led the rest of the pride out the back exit of the cave.
Nahara was the first one to slip out and raced around the side to the water hole. Once there she flopped to the ground and lapped up cool, refreshing water. She panted to catch her breath. It wasn't Niru and Siva that drove her to the water hole; it was the events of the afternoon.
Earlier that day, Nahara and Suvo had been anticipating the coming of warm weather, for that was when they were planning to mate for the first time. They had become almost as close as Niru and Siva since Nahara had become part of the pride after the great battle in the jungle.
Suvo was protective of his mate, but he was also gentle and loving. After learning of her cub-hood growing up in the jungle, she had told him how she had always felt loved by nature. She felt she belonged and in nature, she could pour her emotions to it, and it would make her feel better. Suvo related to Nahara's experiences, as he had begun to feel alone when Niru and Siva had started to "date." They would watch the sunrises and go stargazing together while he was left with only himself and the great kings to communicate with. He too would go off by himself and watch the sunrises, feeling he was at one with nature and the world around him. Now that they had each other, they had become betrothed as well, and at the coming of spring, Rafiki would come to bless their union and they would vow to love and care for each other as long as they lived.
But now something was wrong. Nahara lay on her side, looking at her full- body reflection in the pool. For a moment, she imagined herself pregnant, and suddenly, she saw Siva in the pool, staring back at her, in pain, as she was just moments ago. Nahara gasped and struck out at the water, frightened. She stood up and examined herself. She was still thin and lean, like she had always been. Her stomach gurgled and she remembered she hadn't eaten yet today. She gave her fur a refreshing shake to rid herself of the fear of getting pregnant, and focused her attention on a far-off herd of zebra. The young lioness licked her lips, hungrily. Just as she was about head out into the fields, a familiar voice called out to her. She turned her head quickly to see Suvo leap into the clearing towards her. A rush of panic flowed through her, and she instantly jumped to the side, as Suvo landed flat on his stomach.
"Hey, what was that for?" he chuckled, smirking at her.
She took a step backwards as her legs turned to jello. "Ah, well, I was just going to round up some lunch," she laughed nervously and took a step to the side, about to sprint off into the hunting fields.
Suvo's ears perked up at her sudden, nervous movements. "Hey, wait a second, Nahara. What's the rush for? I wanted to talk to you anyway. Why did you run out of the cave so suddenly?" he slowly stood up and began to walk toward her.
Nahara's eyes went wide as she looked at the grass nervously. "Uh, well you know, the reason for that would be, THERE'S A HERD OF ZEBRA AND IT'S GETTING AWAY!" she shouted, instantly startling the zebra herd, and they took off. Nahara quickly spotted them and fled from Suvo.
She ran so fast she thought that if she were to jump into the air at that moment, she would be able to fly. Not able to look back, she saw nothing except what was ahead of her, which wasn't to her advantage, seeing that Suvo had caught up with her, him being older, stronger, and bigger. He leapt off the ground and tackled his future bride, pinning her firmly to the ground.
Both lions breathed heavily as they stared at each other, wide-eyed, in shock.
Nahara had never expected Suvo would have done that to her.
Suvo, likewise, sensed from when she ran out of the cave that something was wrong. He was just as shocked at her action of running away from him, as she was of him tackling and pinning her.
"Suvo, I..." the auburn lioness began as tears escaped from her eyes and her ears drooped, troubled and sad.
"Oh Nahara," Suvo whispered tenderly in her ear as he nuzzled her cheek and licked her tears away.
In response, Nahara wrapped her paws around his neck and hugged him tightly.
"Suvo, I'm sorry, I'm just scared that's all," she confessed.
Suvo looked into her emerald green eyes. "Scared? Whatever are you scared of? What happened?" he gently touched her cheek with his paw.
Siva sighed deeply. "It's just that, when I saw what happened to your sister, I was so scared that if I got pregnant, that would happen to me, or worse, that I would die because I'm younger and smaller than Siva," Nahara sniffed and blinked.
Suvo gasped as his sky-blue eyes grew concerned. "No, Nahara, you'd never die. I'd never let that happen to you, besides, Siva got dehydrated, you heard Reekyo, remember?"
She nodded.
"Nahara, if that's what was bothering you, you shouldn't run away from your problems," Suvo began.
"But I wasn't!" Nahara interjected. "I needed some time to think it through by myself is all," she looked at her paws, realizing that she had tried to run away from her problem.
Suvo stared at her, waiting for her to finish.
"Ok, I did try to run away from it. But I was so scared you'd get mad at me and not want to be my mate, all because I got spooked from Siva's incident," Nahara looked at her paws again.
The golden-yellow lion gently placed a paw on his mate's chin and lifted it so that her eyes met his. Then he bent down until their noses touched.
"I will always love you, Nahara, and nothing you do could ever change that. I would wait an eternity if I had to, just as long as you're feel you're comfortable and ready to mate," he kissed her muzzle much like Niru had done to Siva.
"I love you, Suvo, more than anything in the world, and I'll never leave you," she paused to take a breath as a smile spread across her face. "And I won't run away from my problems or you, I promise," she finished, reaching up and kissing his muzzle in return.
"And I really do want to have cubs with you, Suvo, I do," she said as her face lit up.
"Me too, Nahara," Suvo's face lit up as well.
"The first day of spring," Nahara declared, looking into his eyes.
"The first day of spring," he repeated, agreeing.
"Can we go back to the den and talk to Niru and Siva?" Nahara asked.
"Of course...race you back?" Suvo prompted playfully.
"You're on!" Nahara growled playfully.
Suvo jumped off Nahara, and got a head start, running full speed toward the timeless rock formation.
"Hey, no fair!" she shouted, and got a glimmer in her eye.
"Ha! Gotcha Nahara!" the young lion laughed as his light brown mane shook wildly as her ran. Then he turned around quickly to check on Nahara. He gasped and skidded to a stop when he saw she wasn't behind him. Frantically, he looked around and sniffed the air. "Nahara? Where'd you go?" He smiled, hoping it was a joke. "Nice try, Nahara, you can't get me that easily. Not even Siva got me with that one," he shouted to the savannah, but the only response he got was the buzzing of insects in the tall grass surrounding him.
He began to get nervous. "Nahara?" he called out once more.
There came a slight rustle from the grass behind him.
He gasped lightly and looked out of the corner of his eye. He saw a blur of reddish-brown fur and felt himself knocked to the ground. He let out a startled roar as Nahara licked his cheek and rolled over laughing.
"Oh you should've seen your face!" she continued to crack up.
Suvo collected himself and smiled at her. "You got me there, Nahara," he panted, still recovering.
She too collected herself and then nuzzled under his chin and nudged him up, as they intertwined their tails and walked the rest of the way back to Pride Rock.
Chapter 3: Revelations
As Niru and Siva continued to share a passionate kiss, Kiara led the rest of the pride out the back exit of the cave.
Nahara was the first one to slip out and raced around the side to the water hole. Once there she flopped to the ground and lapped up cool, refreshing water. She panted to catch her breath. It wasn't Niru and Siva that drove her to the water hole; it was the events of the afternoon.
Earlier that day, Nahara and Suvo had been anticipating the coming of warm weather, for that was when they were planning to mate for the first time. They had become almost as close as Niru and Siva since Nahara had become part of the pride after the great battle in the jungle.
Suvo was protective of his mate, but he was also gentle and loving. After learning of her cub-hood growing up in the jungle, she had told him how she had always felt loved by nature. She felt she belonged and in nature, she could pour her emotions to it, and it would make her feel better. Suvo related to Nahara's experiences, as he had begun to feel alone when Niru and Siva had started to "date." They would watch the sunrises and go stargazing together while he was left with only himself and the great kings to communicate with. He too would go off by himself and watch the sunrises, feeling he was at one with nature and the world around him. Now that they had each other, they had become betrothed as well, and at the coming of spring, Rafiki would come to bless their union and they would vow to love and care for each other as long as they lived.
But now something was wrong. Nahara lay on her side, looking at her full- body reflection in the pool. For a moment, she imagined herself pregnant, and suddenly, she saw Siva in the pool, staring back at her, in pain, as she was just moments ago. Nahara gasped and struck out at the water, frightened. She stood up and examined herself. She was still thin and lean, like she had always been. Her stomach gurgled and she remembered she hadn't eaten yet today. She gave her fur a refreshing shake to rid herself of the fear of getting pregnant, and focused her attention on a far-off herd of zebra. The young lioness licked her lips, hungrily. Just as she was about head out into the fields, a familiar voice called out to her. She turned her head quickly to see Suvo leap into the clearing towards her. A rush of panic flowed through her, and she instantly jumped to the side, as Suvo landed flat on his stomach.
"Hey, what was that for?" he chuckled, smirking at her.
She took a step backwards as her legs turned to jello. "Ah, well, I was just going to round up some lunch," she laughed nervously and took a step to the side, about to sprint off into the hunting fields.
Suvo's ears perked up at her sudden, nervous movements. "Hey, wait a second, Nahara. What's the rush for? I wanted to talk to you anyway. Why did you run out of the cave so suddenly?" he slowly stood up and began to walk toward her.
Nahara's eyes went wide as she looked at the grass nervously. "Uh, well you know, the reason for that would be, THERE'S A HERD OF ZEBRA AND IT'S GETTING AWAY!" she shouted, instantly startling the zebra herd, and they took off. Nahara quickly spotted them and fled from Suvo.
She ran so fast she thought that if she were to jump into the air at that moment, she would be able to fly. Not able to look back, she saw nothing except what was ahead of her, which wasn't to her advantage, seeing that Suvo had caught up with her, him being older, stronger, and bigger. He leapt off the ground and tackled his future bride, pinning her firmly to the ground.
Both lions breathed heavily as they stared at each other, wide-eyed, in shock.
Nahara had never expected Suvo would have done that to her.
Suvo, likewise, sensed from when she ran out of the cave that something was wrong. He was just as shocked at her action of running away from him, as she was of him tackling and pinning her.
"Suvo, I..." the auburn lioness began as tears escaped from her eyes and her ears drooped, troubled and sad.
"Oh Nahara," Suvo whispered tenderly in her ear as he nuzzled her cheek and licked her tears away.
In response, Nahara wrapped her paws around his neck and hugged him tightly.
"Suvo, I'm sorry, I'm just scared that's all," she confessed.
Suvo looked into her emerald green eyes. "Scared? Whatever are you scared of? What happened?" he gently touched her cheek with his paw.
Siva sighed deeply. "It's just that, when I saw what happened to your sister, I was so scared that if I got pregnant, that would happen to me, or worse, that I would die because I'm younger and smaller than Siva," Nahara sniffed and blinked.
Suvo gasped as his sky-blue eyes grew concerned. "No, Nahara, you'd never die. I'd never let that happen to you, besides, Siva got dehydrated, you heard Reekyo, remember?"
She nodded.
"Nahara, if that's what was bothering you, you shouldn't run away from your problems," Suvo began.
"But I wasn't!" Nahara interjected. "I needed some time to think it through by myself is all," she looked at her paws, realizing that she had tried to run away from her problem.
Suvo stared at her, waiting for her to finish.
"Ok, I did try to run away from it. But I was so scared you'd get mad at me and not want to be my mate, all because I got spooked from Siva's incident," Nahara looked at her paws again.
The golden-yellow lion gently placed a paw on his mate's chin and lifted it so that her eyes met his. Then he bent down until their noses touched.
"I will always love you, Nahara, and nothing you do could ever change that. I would wait an eternity if I had to, just as long as you're feel you're comfortable and ready to mate," he kissed her muzzle much like Niru had done to Siva.
"I love you, Suvo, more than anything in the world, and I'll never leave you," she paused to take a breath as a smile spread across her face. "And I won't run away from my problems or you, I promise," she finished, reaching up and kissing his muzzle in return.
"And I really do want to have cubs with you, Suvo, I do," she said as her face lit up.
"Me too, Nahara," Suvo's face lit up as well.
"The first day of spring," Nahara declared, looking into his eyes.
"The first day of spring," he repeated, agreeing.
"Can we go back to the den and talk to Niru and Siva?" Nahara asked.
"Of course...race you back?" Suvo prompted playfully.
"You're on!" Nahara growled playfully.
Suvo jumped off Nahara, and got a head start, running full speed toward the timeless rock formation.
"Hey, no fair!" she shouted, and got a glimmer in her eye.
"Ha! Gotcha Nahara!" the young lion laughed as his light brown mane shook wildly as her ran. Then he turned around quickly to check on Nahara. He gasped and skidded to a stop when he saw she wasn't behind him. Frantically, he looked around and sniffed the air. "Nahara? Where'd you go?" He smiled, hoping it was a joke. "Nice try, Nahara, you can't get me that easily. Not even Siva got me with that one," he shouted to the savannah, but the only response he got was the buzzing of insects in the tall grass surrounding him.
He began to get nervous. "Nahara?" he called out once more.
There came a slight rustle from the grass behind him.
He gasped lightly and looked out of the corner of his eye. He saw a blur of reddish-brown fur and felt himself knocked to the ground. He let out a startled roar as Nahara licked his cheek and rolled over laughing.
"Oh you should've seen your face!" she continued to crack up.
Suvo collected himself and smiled at her. "You got me there, Nahara," he panted, still recovering.
She too collected herself and then nuzzled under his chin and nudged him up, as they intertwined their tails and walked the rest of the way back to Pride Rock.
