"Jabari what was my grandfather like?" Chane asked, he was lying on the older males head buried in his mane while Jabari walked along. Nuru still carried the girls who were fast asleep. Chane on the other hand was still wide-awake but Jabari had insisted he be carried so he wouldn't lag behind. And the cub was wired with questions that he wanted answered. He always heard tales of his grandparents all except one…his mothers Father. Whenever he brought it up, it angered his father who forbad him from ever asking such things to his mother ever again.
Jabari sighed for the hundredth time; he had tried to ignore the cub's questions for two hours since nightfall. "Your grandfather, Talon was a great ruler of our Pride. But unfortunately he did have a dark side…that was discovered when your grandmother gave birth to your mother. True we all treated her like a bastard cub. But I was only a young cub of a few months when she was born; I thought it was strange that my cousin was a different colour. He drowned in the river while trying to kill your mother," he explained.
The cub remained silent before he spoke, "I never want my mother to feel unloved by anyone or to feel like she is hated. But if it wasn't for them driving my grandmother away with my mom then I wouldn't have been born since my mother and father would have never met" he yawned laying his head down on his paws.
Jabari grunted and nodded, he walked at a brisk pace along with Nuru. "We all had a dark side back then Jabari…and I'm afraid I would still if it weren't for these cubs. And knowing the pain of losing cubs of my own that their parents are probably feeling…and the fact she let us live" Nuru whispered turning her head up toward the sky. She watched as a shooting star danced across the blackness of the night. Then her eyes landed on the brightest star in the sky, "I remember seeing that when I was in the Pridelands. I heard the mothers of the young cubs telling stories to their young ones about the Great Kings of old. I never did believe them."
"Why not?"
"Well if they were the spirits wouldn't ours be up there too?" Nuru asked turning her head toward her mate with a questioning glance.
"I do think our Kings are up there too Nuru. It's just our pride never talked about them!" Jabari answered.
Nuru nodded and suddenly stopped walking when she felt one of the girls stir, turning her head she looked down at Tabia who was lifting her head and looking around sleepily. "Are we home yet?" she yawned.
Nuru shook her head, chucking she licked the sleepy cubs snout. "Not yet little one, it may take a few more days of travel but we will get there. Until then go back to sleep" she whispered softly in hopes the cub would listen. Tabia groaned and laid her head back down, ears pressed against her ears, "I just had a dream where mama and papa forgot about us and had other cubs to replace us," she whimpered.
The two grown lions looked at one another sighed, tipping his head, Jabari made Chane roll off him as Nuru let the girls roll off her back as she lay down. The two other cubs woke when they hit the ground and looked around, Nuru turned her head to Tabia, "Your parents could never forget you," she spoke softly as the other two cubs crept over and laid beside their sister.
"But what if they do? What if they think we're dead and really do move on?" Zahra asked suddenly afraid like Tabia that their parents would forget.
Chane huffed; "Mom could never forget us…dad on the other hand…" he trailed off only to get smacked in the head by Tabia's paw.
"What? Oh, come on Tabia! Dad was always too busy for us since he began King. After all it was Fumo who was teaching us how to stalk, pounce and that, when it should have been dad to teach us!" Chane scowled rubbing his head, only to find himself face first in the dirt from both his sisters.
"Papa is king and he has duties he tried…he really did" Zahra said looking at Nuru as if she was trying to convince the lioness that what Chane said wasn't true.
Nuru smiled slightly and nodded, "I bet your Father loves you just as deeply as your Mother does," she said as she looked at Jabari who laid on the other side of the cubs for the three were now sitting in between the two of them. Jabari himself wasn't listening as he kept his head up and was scanning the darkness for danger.
"Now it's time for you three to get back to bed" with her paw, Nuru pushed them up against her side.
"But I'm not tired!" Chane stubbornly responded before he gave out a loud yawn.
"I wish mama was here…then she could sing to us," Tabia whispered placing her head down on her paws. Nuru watched the cubs as they all curled up in a ball close together. For a moment all was silent before Nuru's soft voice washed over the cubs,
'Constant as the stars above
Always know you are loved
And my love shining in you
Will help you make your dreams come true
Will help your dreams come true
The cub lies down and rests its head
On its mothers downy bed
Antelope play in the moonlight's glow
And butterfly dreams of a violet rose
Dreams of a violet rose
I'll cradle you here in my paws tonight
As sun embraces the moonlight
The clouds will carry us off tonight
Our dreams will run deep like the sea.
Constant as the stars above
Always know that you are loved
And my love shining in you
Will help you make your dreams come true
Will help your dreams come true'
Turning her head from where she was previously looking at the sky, she looked down at the cubs to be watching her sleepily through half lidded eyes.
"Our mama sings us that song!" Tabia yawned.
Nuru smiled, "It was a lullaby that our pride passed to our cubs for generations. Your grandmother must have passed it to your mother and she passed it to you. Now sleep," she whispered as the cubs lowered their heads and were soon fast asleep holding onto one another with the watchful eyes of Nuru and Jabari watching over them.
Lifting her head to the sky, she had a feeling that somewhere else that night; a worried mother had been watching the sky. 'I will get them to you Bora. As an apology for my crimes to you in the past I swear it! I will return them to you!'