Chapter 27: Braving the Mountain

A slightly shorter chapter this time around, but I'm heading into exam/paper time at college. Next one will be longer, I promise.

Enjoy the chapter!

Zira's warning for harsh weather did not deceive, for they had only spent so much as an hour before heavy snow began descending. The snow quickly built up beneath their feet and the icy blast of wind forced them to find shelter. However, they had long since passed the elevation line for trees and the only available protection from the element would probably be found in the rocky cliff.

"Everyone! Spread out, see if you can find any cover from the weather," Zira ordered. She felt a bit guilty with the warm fur and mane beneath her body, but at least it was also being shared with the cubs beneath him.

Lionesses scattered in different directions, leaping and darting around, pawing at the ground and shaking off the snowflakes in their face.

"Over here!" All eyes turned towards Besai, who was perched on a stone, and they came closer. Her wing pointed towards a slight pit in the ground. Looking down they could see a pile of rocks covered a slightly deeper hole in the pit, however they would have to dig it out and who knew how deep it went.

"You really expect us to spend out the storm in a pit," another lioness asked.

"Did you find a better option?" The shikra sneered back.

"Everyone, start digging. See if you can clear as much as the rubble to make space for as many lions," Inzondo ordered. Immediately they set off to work, grasping and flinging the stones away from the hole entrance. Dust flew up and mixed with the falling flakes, but there was progress being made.

At last the hole was more exposed then it had been, but how wide and how far it was was not visible from outside. "Naima." The cub perked up at her mother's voice. "Why don't you see how deep it is, since you have the smallest body."

She grinned and hopped right into the hole as Zaki watched and called out to her from the entrance. Barely had a few seconds passed when her little peach head stuck out again.

"It's not very deep. Maybe two or three lions could stick in, but we'd still all be tightly packed together," she reported.

"Is the ground hard or can it be dug out to accommodate a few more?" Zula offered. Naima looked thoughtful before darting back in. The sound of claws scratching rose up before she did again.

"It's pretty tough, but maybe if you're really strong," she replied hopefully.

"Everyone, keep digging," Inzondo ordered.

By the end of it and the blizzard baring down on them, the makeshift den was dug out enough to fit in the cubs, one small bird of prey, and about five lionesses, all tightly packed together, but protected from the cold. Despite Zira's protests, she was put into the den, meaning that the ones unfortunate to be on the outside were Zula, Cheka and Inzondo. The three had scraped as much of the gravel beneath them away, however the ground was cold and hard to break, so they quickly stopped in order to conserve energy. Though the pit wasn't much better then the level ground, thankfully the snow gathered around the edges and was slowly building up a bank to shield them from the wind. The three of them clustered together, limbs intertwined, heads covering backs, and warm vapor rising from their mouths.

Despite their fur and the cooler temperatures the valley had given, never once had they had experienced the harshness of winter and snow like this. They desperately clung to one another, shivering.

Despite the blinding weather, Inzondo's eyes never left the pride, except for when a pile of snow smacked down into his face from above. Snarling, he wiped it off his brow with his quickly numbing paw and smashed into the ground. It would've ended there until he noticed that the snow had packed together, even in it's freshly made status and formed a little, asymmetrical and uneven structure. He stared for a moment before turning towards the snow bank above. The snowflakes stung against his eyes, but a plan sparked in his head.

"Inzondo, come back," Zula called out, feeling him leave her side and expose it to the cold air. He charged up the pit and into the snow. From there he began pressing down onto it, then clawing around nearby for more and adding it to the growing mound. He then began forming a wall around the edge.

"Inzondo, what are you doing?" Her head rose over the wall he was making. With a growl he swatted her foot off and called out to her from above.

"No, stay down. Let me do this!" He emphasized by planting a pile onto the barrier.

Realizing what he was doing, she kept watch, but pressed closely to Cheka. He graciously placed his head and mane over her exposed neck, but her eyes were on the gradually growing wall. However, exhaustion pulled at her eyelids and the world blended into one of whiter that grew darker as sleep overcame her.

The blizzard raged on.

By the time the skies had cleared, the air was chilly and the glittering snow matched the night sky above. Besai was the first to emerge from the pit, her eyes narrowing over the snowy landscape before she fluttered outside the pit. Far as her vision could see, a blanket of white covered everything and everyone.

She gave an ungraceful squawk as the earth beneath her suddenly broke and rose up and her she found her talons tangled in a wet, dark mane. A loud sneeze broke the frigid night air and a sniff followed.

"Everyone alright?"

"Yes," came the chorus of replies, though a series of grunts, cracks, and pained growls soon followed as the mass of lions struggled to pull and push away towards the exit.

His ruby eyes then came into focus with an umber pair as Zula leapt over the side. Her face was filled with disbelief and her entire form was hesitant to move. He stared at her, quietly nudging her to act, but she remained still.

"Well, what is it?" His gruff voice caused her to shudder. Noticing, he tried to decrease his imposing form by sitting down, a bit uneven in the snow.

He stiffened however when she approached and embraced him tightly. His eyes widened in surprise and settled into confusion when she remained clamped onto him. In his best attempt to reciprocate, he placed his paw on her back.

"Brr," she exclaimed, pulling out of his grasp and shivering with the snow-covered paw. The surprised action coerced a chuckle from his throat rather suddenly and followed into a couple of snorts. Her lips puckered, but then gasped out a laugh and even a few undignified snorts as well. For a while the two just stood there snickering.

"I- um, sorry," he said after it had died down a bit. She panted and brushed a tear with her claw away.

"No, you don't need to apologize." Her face grew reminiscent. "I'm sorry for not putting enough faith and trust in you."

His expression became solemn. "It wasn't your entire fault. Perhaps if I had been a more open, less aloof king maybe things would not have gone as they did." His gaze rose and a hopeful smile appeared. "If you'll let me, I'd like to try again to be a better lion."

A similar look came across her face, she nodded and reached out to touch his paw. He reacted more calmly and less withdrawn then before. "I would ask the same of you, if you'd be willing to forgive me."

"Ahem."

Looking back over her shoulder, Cheka appeared above the edge. He looked uneasy and they both felt the tension radiating off of him.

"What is it Cheka?" The lion flinched, as it was the king who had asked the question and the usage of his name. However, he swallowed his initial awkwardness and coughed to regain focus.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but when you have the time, you had best see Zira. She doesn't look too well."

The two's ears flattened and fear transcribed itself across their faces. In a moment they had all leaped over the snow barrier and into the pit where several lionesses had gotten out. The sound of heavy breathing filled the air as they looked towards the cave where all they could see was Delu standing over her. The den entrance was a tight fit for the males, so they resigned to staying right by the entrance while Zula immediately charged in and over to Zira's side.

Her sister's fur was damp with sweat and her eyes tightly shut while her breath came out ragged. Delu had planted a moist piece of moss over her head and was intently examining her body. When Zula approached, she spoke.

"We had her near the back of the den so that she wouldn't get cold. My only explanation for this is that one or more of her wounds must've gotten infected and is now resulting in this fever."

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Zula brought her tongue towards Zira's head and began licking at her fur, trying to brush off the sweat. The only response she got was shivering.

"If I had brought more supplies, I could possibly whip up something for her fever to bring it down and for the infection, but unfortunately most of it went to bandaging and healing her wounds in the first place. Also, I'm not how badly the wound is infected and I can't lift any of the bandages up to look since I have no way of replacing them if they break."

"But what of your-" Her voice cut off as she took notice of Delu's bare neck. She looked back sadly and pointed towards Zira's side. Her leap pouch had been turned into a makeshift bandage while the original lay a few inches to the side. The leaves initially woven around her midsection had turned dry and soaked dark with blood.

"I have nothing left to help her. She needs water and food and rest and medicine, nothing which I can give her." There was a chilling edge to her voice. "We need nothing short of a miracle if she is to survive."

There was a loud rustling of rocks and dirt falling loose as Inzondo squeezed himself into the tight space. "Can my bandages be used to help?" He gestured towards his leg where one was tightly woven around it.

She shook her head. "I need new, clean leaves to bandage the one. And herbs to help fight back the infection." She bit her lip and sighed. "If we were to get more of the supplies, we would need to go back to get them. However who knows how long that would take or what we left behind."

"We can't go back. There's nothing left for us there," Cheka piped out from the entrance.

"But the only plants I can think of that could help us are back there," Delu protested. Inzondo hummed and thought for a moment.

"Besai!" The shikra flapped over and stuck her head into the den.

"Yes sir?"

"Can you fly up and tell us how far we are across the mountain? As in is it quicker to go back the way we came or the direction we were heading in order to head back down again?" The shikra looked confused, then she nodded.

"I'll do my best, bit it still is rather foggy out there." In a moment, she took flight.

"Inzondo," Delu started, but he caught her off.

"If there are plants on the other side of the mountain and we're closer to it, then there's a chance we could save her!"

"Don't you know anything about mountains? One side gets the moisture and rain while the other gets the dry air. Who knows if there's even any plants for miles down that side, much less the ones I need," she debated.

"We still need to try. What about here? Can you think of anything that could grow at this high altitude that could help us out?" His voice was insistent and desperate as the painful feeling of worry settled in more firmly.

Her mouth opened to reply, but then she stopped and a contemplative expression came across her face. As she focused, a thud could be heard from the entrance and her daughter scurried up towards them.

"Didn't you mention something about mosses and lichen growing at this height mom?" The salmon lioness stared at her peachy daughter.

"Yes, I do believe I did. Perhaps..."

Another thud and Zaki came in beside her. "We could help find some and bring it back to her if it would help," he offered. He then turned towards his father. "By the way dad, the rest of the pride ran off to find some food."

A paw came to rest on the cub's head and brush gently at the growing tuft of hair. "Good work son," Inzondo replied, before turning back to Delu. "Well, isn't there something we could do?"

The medicine lioness still had her paw under her chin in concentration. "Well if I can find some lichen or moss, perhaps it could be used to stop the infection, but I would need help finding it first."

"Then tell us to do and what to look for and we'll do our best to help," Zaki said proudly. Naima followed suit.

"Yeah. What do we need to find?"

All of a sudden, a squawk filled the air and a bundle of feathers tumbled back into the den with a chunk of snow. The bird of prey struggled for a moment to gather her bearing and stand herself upright, but once she did there was an excited look on her face.

"I've got good news and bad new sire. The bad news is that flying up I saw that we're just around halfway across the peak. The good news is that I could see the other side and there seemed to be a lot more trees and shrubs on that side of the mountain, even in the snow."

"What? Are you sure?" Delu's voice was incredulous, yet the raptor's expression did not change.

"I bet my eyes on it. There wasn't too much plant life in the snow, but there's way more then in the area we're in. I couldn't see the landscape down the mountain because of the clouds, but it was definitely greener. It wouldn't be too far of a trek towards that area and I could possibly find another cave or something to spend the night there."

There was a moment of silence in the den, only interrupted by Zira's coughing and panting. Delu came over and took the moss off of Zira's head and dunked it into the snow to refresh the temperature. She was quiet for a second before speaking again.

"Well if isn't too far away and you can find us a cave, we could all probably move over there and search for something to help her out," she mused.

"So be it then. Besai, go locate the rest of the pride. They're out hunting and shouldn't be too far away. Tell them to head back here and then come back to guide us to this less barren place," Inzondo ordered.

"Right away sir." A salute with her wings and she was out the entrance again with nary a moment to pause for breath.

Another moment of silence passed, again only interrupted by Zira's wheezing and shortness of breath. Zaki tentatively approached and pressed his head against her cheek.

"It's okay auntie. We're going to get you help," he reassured, though even his voice seemed unsure.

Though her words could not come out at this moment and nausea drained her ability to think and act, she was still very much conscious. Her paw came up tiredly and draped unevenly across his back. He squeaked in confusion and surprise, but then seeing her dedication despite her illness, he grabbed onto it and cuddled it to his chest. Naima came up behind him and drew close, offering her comfort and support by leaning against him.

Everyone was touched by the display of dedication the two of them had, yet Inzondo's eyes looked towards the entrance with a hopeful face, yet worried eyes.

"Hurry back Besai. Time is our enemy."

I'm not entirely happy with how rushed these last few chapters have been. I took at least sixteen for the beginning of Zira's rehabilitation in the Pridelands, we spent about eight dedicated to Zira's adjustment and redemption in her old homeland, and in the last two, including this one, we already blazed through the rogue conflict, the gaining of forgiveness and renewing of trust, and a whole new conflict. Hopefully I can make the next few a bit more character oriented and slow the plot down a bit more, even though we're heading towards the end.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Comment, like, follow and I will see you next time. Sincerely, v.t.7