Hey y'all :D
So um…yeah. This chapter's about Uzuri. Just mischief and kid-ness.
But this chapter will certainly be interesting. :D
Oh, and by the way, I don't think I'm going to put Timon and Pumbaa in this story. D:
I know I'm sorry! But I can't do it. I'm the kind of person who can't be funny on the spot; I have to have a conversation about something. xD
"Grr…you can't catch me, Cheshi!" the young Princess squealed as she and her friend were running around in the tall grasses. One of the younger lionesses was watching the two from a slight distance.
"Oh yeah? Watch me!" the creamy white cub yelled back and pushed her long legs to go faster. Members of the Pride often joked with Cheshi, saying she was so fast her mother was probably a cheetah. But they knew it wasn't true.
A few months ago, around the time the Princess was born, one of the older lionesses, Doma, went hunting with the rest of the Pride. But she quickly grew tired, for she had not eaten that morning.
Kiara allowed her to rest for a while by the waterhole, and the lionesses would be back later to check on her.
So Doma rested for a while. But on her way to the waterhole close by, she kept hearing a swishing sound, and deep breaths. But it wasn't like an adult lion's breath, no, it was more tiny and fragile. She heard twigs snapping and mewing and knew it was a cub.
Suddenly, the spotted lioness saw a blur of white fur pass right underneath her legs. Doma was confused, and whirled around to see a tiny, white cub crouched down, its meek, terrified eyes gazing up at her with fear.
She smiled and said, "It's okay, sweetie. I won't hurt you," and carefully walked closer to the cub. The cub, eyes wide, backed away.
"Hmm…where's your mother?" Doma said, and looked around. No lions in sight. The tiny cub, probably unable to speak yet, suddenly eased her haunches and walked slowly, but closer to the odd lioness.
Doma laughed and picked up the cub. "I better show you to Kovu," she said, and walked carefully back to Pride Rock, the tiny bundle in her mouth getting sleepy.
And the rest was history. They named her Cheshi, and arranged for Doma to be her adopted mother. The Princess and Cheshi soon hit it off when they could talk.
And now, Cheshi was gaining on Uzuri. But Uzuri had a plan. She blew a raspberry back at Cheshi, and forced her legs to move faster.
But Cheshi's legs were longer, and she was just a tail-tip away from her friend…and suddenly, Uzuri quickly climbed a tall rock, and waited for Cheshi to climb, too. "C'mon, Cheshi! Hurry up!" she teased. There was a shallow river below her, it's current slowly but gradually getting swifter.
Finally, Cheshi was at the top of the rock, panting. She touched Uzuri with her paw, and fell down, exhausted. "You're…it…" she breathed in between pants. After a moment, Cheshi got up and went to the edge of the flat rock with her friend.
"Whoa," she gasped. The river was deep, but it ran for what looked like miles. Fish were spotted here and there, and some animals – cheetahs, wildebeests, and birds – were seen farther along. Cheshi looked at Uzuri.
"Surely your Dad knows about this river, right?" she asked. Uzuri shook her head, her green eyes glued to the river in a mystical trance. The white cub laughed and waved a paw in front of the Princess's face.
"Hellooo? Earth to Uzuri, you there?" Uzuri blinked and stepped back a bit. She cleared her throat.
"Oh, um, sorry. Just thinking." She said, and smiled mischievously.
"Hey, Cheshi, I just got a great idea…" Uzuri laughed. Cheshi cocked her head. But Uzuri just laughed again and motioned for her to follow her.
They carefully crawled back down the huge rock, and to a shady tree nearby. The Princess pointed a paw to the dying bark, now falling off into pieces larger than the two cubs combined.
"If we get, like, two of these we could ride down the river in our own little boats! Wouldn't that be fun? And we wouldn't have to tell anyone about this place, it could be our river! What do you think?" Uzuri said excitedly, jumping up and down.
Cheshi looked hesitant, but thought about how fun it sounded, and happily said, "Alright, let's do it! I'll help you get off two big pieces!"
The two began shredding outlines in the bark, making pieces that would hold them up just right. But this process took a long time, because they had to dig in the claws to make sure the raft would be thick.
After about twenty minutes, they had two big chunks of bark lying before them. The two were smiling ear to ear, proud of the hard work. There was only one problem…
"How are we going to actually get in the river? There are sharp rocks blocking it, along both sides. And the next break in them is over a mile away." Cheshi said, confused. Uzuri rolled her eyes.
"Why, we jump off the tall rock, duh!"
Cheshi gulped loudly and looked down at the river, now making a large roaring noise. The poor cub was wobbling in her little raft. Uzuri looked at Cheshi, knowing she was worried.
"Hey, it's okay. It'll be fun. Just interlace our tails so we stay together, okay?" She looked behind her to see her tail wind around Cheshi's, like a knot. Cheshi did the same thing and nodded.
"O-okay…lets get the jump over with." She said, closing her eyes. Uzuri laughed, and counted down.
"Okay…three…two…" she paused for dramatic effect. Cheshi opened her eyes, curious.
"ONE!" Uzuri yelled at the top of her lungs, and jumped. The two cubs screamed all the way down.
When they finally hit the water, it whisked them away like two cheetahs were on their reigns. They stopped screaming and calmed down to look around. They were going really fast.
But after a few seconds, Cheshi raised her front paws in the air and laughed. Uzuri smiled and copied her friend. There were a lot of bumpy cataracts, but that was even more fun.
"Woo-hoo!" Uzuri cried; her voice somehow audible over the roaring river. In the far distance, Pride Rock towered above them. Cheshi opened her eyes, and looked at the great Rock.
"Hey, Uzuri! When we get close enough the pride rock, we should jump off! I don't wanna get lost along the river!" the white cub yelled at the top of her lungs.
Uzuri barely heard her, but she already knew what they were going to do. She had to squint to see it, but there was a long, thick root from a nearby tree sticking out in the middle of the river, right beside the back of Pride Rock. She pointed to it while she had Cheshi's attention, and Cheshi nodded.
The two cubs were approaching the root fast, so they unsheathed their tiny, but sharp claws, and got ready to latch on.
Suddenly, there it was, the root, and Cheshi was on the left side of the river. The white cub was getting ready to run straight into it, and got ready.
The Princess, however, was on the right side of the river, farthest away from the root. She could only reach the end of it, but that was enough to support her body.
Cheshi latched on quickly, and the root stopped her dead in her tracks. She climbed up onto the root, and quickly grabbed her little raft, and tossed it onto dry land. The white cub sat there, panting, and lay down, letting her four paws hang down. She looked up, and expected to see Uzuri.
But Uzuri wasn't there. Cheshi's pink pupils grew smaller with fear, and her eyes widened. "Uzuri? Uzuri? Uzuri?" She screamed, hot tears now welling up in her eyes. She yelled her best friend's name until her voice went hoarse, but she got no response.
The white cub began to softly sob, and just lay there, alone in the darkening day.
The lioness, Sukari, was very, very oblivious. The only reason Kiara chose her to watch over the cubs was because the poor lioness couldn't hunt. She got too distracted. The golden, creamy-colored lioness was not much older than Mlenzi.
Anyway, Sukari had been playing with a piece of grass, not watching the cubs. Mostly, the foolish lioness daydreamed about Baka, Mlenzi's friend. Sure, he was a little younger than her, but he was cute.
But when it started to get dark, she looked up, expecting to see the two cubs. But they were gone. Sukari gasped, her blue eyes widening. She quickly got up and called out, "Princess Uzuri? Cheshi, are you there? Where are you two?" to the silent savannah.
"Oh, man…those cubs are all alone, and it's my fault!" she cried, and then she gasped, and said to herself, "Oh no! Even worse, what will Kiara and Doma do to me? Eep!" She squealed and ran straight back to Pride Rock, thinking of excuses along the way.
