Exiled From Home: Part 1

Later that day, much later, the so called Princess of the Tau Pride confronted her father with a stern look on her face. "Father," came the vocals, not too pleasantly. They were by what was left of the water hole, and Makame was resting on his stomach. No matter how relaxed he was, he shifted positions and turned to his only daughter. She and Sangeya were all he had left after their first born son, Muruthi, mysteriously vanished. His curved pinnae flattened into his glorious mane.

"Yes, Princess?" His voice was rough, because he was sleeping until Sanura came along. Reclining onto her haunches, Sanura smirked at her father and snorted. It was that 'P' word, the one she hated. Sanura was vexed because she couldn't do anything about her future. Of course she liked Prince Tan, but she couldn't believe that she was just so suddenly forced into that kind of advanced relationship, especially without her word.

"That's just it! Why am I a Princess? Because I have to become one with the Prince? What if I don't want to?! Why didn't you even talk to me about it?!" Sanura roared, turning her fragile apex away in scorn. She glared at the dusty earth, her swarthy and spotted ears lowered.

"But darling. You're going to be Queen one day, aren't you the least bit excited? Not every leo is of royalty, you know." The leonine got to his paws and shook his large frame, but turning to tower over Sanura. Sanura just glanced up with moist eyes, labrums parted a little. "Cheer up, Sanura. You'll grow to-"

"No I will not!" Interupted Sanura, viciously snarling at her father. Even the strands of peltry on her scruff stood on end. "Don't you understand the way I feel? I bet you weren't just dumped with mother!" Makame growled in return, much more aggressively and even beared his teeth at her. "I hate you! I hate you all!" That hurt. The bellicose expression on the right paw leonine's face turned to stone, and his brave heart crumbled. He couldn't believe what he just heard, and he couldn't even find something to say. There was an awkward silence, before Sanura leapt to all fours and sprinted away, in tears.

Makame didn't even look over his shoulder to watch his only cub left run away, run away from him. His heart was indeed broken, and the pain was almost unbearable. His maw fell hellward, occuli glancing at the ground as he begun to dawdle back to Tau Den. This was one thing he couldn't handle alone. He had to speak with Sangeya, or even the King. Unfortunately, the pride were asleep. The sun was due to rise in less than an hour, and it seemed they were all tired from continuous hunting and the scorching weather.

Meanwhile, Sanura collapsed on part of a volcano. Her tears cleansed her dusty face as well as the extremely dry rock. She still hated the Tau Pride, and her father even more. However, the more she thought of it, the more she begun to like Prince Tan. Sanura didn't know why. She could see him a'top the den, which was quite a distance and he was as small as rodent. The cub smiled, but of course he couldn't see her and he leapt off the cave. Her smile begun to melt into a frown, and she then turned away. Suddenly, there was a rumble coming from a near by volcano. Sanura's conchas listened carefully and her chasms examined the mountain. The rumble wasn't very loud, but nothing could prepare Sanura for what was to come..

"Is that what I think it is?" Sanura asked herself, leaning over the edge to get a closer look. It seemed that something crimson was streaming down one of the volcanoes. Sanura snorted and turned her back, squatting. "I'm not helping them. They'll probably hear the rumble and run." Of course, she couldn't help but look over her shoulder to see what was happening. Still, the pride didn't retreat from the den and the lava was oozing closer. Were they still asleep? Sanura felt she had to do something, because she begun to think they couldn't hear the noise.

Inhaling deeply, causing her thorax to expand, Sanura leapt off the edge and ran down the sleeping volcano, keeping her eyes fixed on the leaking one not far away. Her little limbs carried her swiftly and her talons were unsheathed to provide acceleration. Unfortunately, it seemed the God of fire gathered what Sanura was up to. The Tau Pride believed the God of fire, in this case the volcano, was a King of the past who decided the destiny of his present leonines. Sanura could even see a crimson lion standing at the summit of the bleeding volcano, the great God Jomo. Unknown to the mahogany cub, Jomo had something planned for her, she the pride would only get in the way.

To prevent Sanura even getting close to the den, Jomo released a mighty roar. However, the sound was drowned out by the volcano's explosion. The volcano begun to spout flaming rocks of all shapes and sizes, which eventually fell down to the Circle of Fire, down to Tau Den. Sanura came to an abrupt halt, just as a firey rock fell only inches before her. The heat emitted from the rock begun to burn, so Sanura took a few steps back. Unfortunately for Sanura, the volcano she was once perched on was also not dormant. The volcano slowly drooled lava, which was on the course to meet Sanura. By now, the other volcano's lava was beginning to devour the rear of the den, and Sanura was forced to run in the opposite direction.

Sanura still couldn't escape the lava. A river of the burning substance was crawling behind her, whilst the other was streaming down towards her. Only moments later, the third volcano erupted. Sanura looked from left to right frantically, trying to find a way out. There was another way out. The only volcano that hadn't exploded - the largest of all. Sanura knew what she had to do. The lava was merely feet away from the cub, and it seemed to surround her. The last volcano was behind a large puddle of lava, which meant Sanura would have to climb over the mountain to escape the Circle of Fire.

By now, the cub was on tip toes as the lava closed in. She glanced directly at the large and sleeping volcano, and examined it quickly. She should be able to make it if she jumped. There was a ledge that she could catch. Still the Tau Pride failed to retreat, and their screams of pure anguish reached Sanura's delicate ears. "No!" She yelled before launching herself at the ledge. Luckily, she made it, but was dangling from the edge. Her hind paws' claws hooked into the rock and Sanura was immediately lifted. Panting, she turned to the den, which was completely burried in lava. "Oh no! Mother! Father! NO!" She screamed, releasing tears as she cried uncontrolably.

But there was no time to stop. Jomo stood behind Sanura, though he looked like a ghost. He nudged the cub with his eastern paw, which lightly scorched her. The cub spun around and looked at the large lion, her lower jowl dropped. "Tisha Sanura," came his deep and haunting vocals. "I am your guardian, and my name is Jomo. You must flee from here, you must leave your family behind. There is no time to ask why, but it is your destiny to leave here and release the daughter of darkness." The ghostly lion, who was about the size of a large horse, begun to fade away. "Go now. I will always protect you."

TO BE CONTINUED