(Hey guess what! This is the last chapter! Well at least the last chapter
before part 2.. Don't ask, you'll find out soon enough!)
Chapter 7: The Battle
Night fell around them. The sky turned a deep purple and mixed with the other sky colors of pink and blue and yellow. The animals around them yawned and found their resting places for the night. Above them, the moon started to show as the sun fell lower in the western sky. (It does fall in the west right? Rises in the east and falls in the west?)
Kita yawned and drank from the cool stillness of the puddle. The same puddle that Howler and Tiaru had drunken from. Tiaru looked down at her, waited while she finished before saying, "Come on, we'll rest on this rock for tonight." Kita yawned again then followed him up the rock formation. Kita lay down and closed her eyes. "The fight will happen tomorrow." Tiaru whispered. Kita murmured to let him know she heard. She sighed and within a few minutes she was fast asleep.
Tiaru sighed deeply. He walked to the edge of the rock and peered over. Most of Howler's pride was sleeping. Only a few lionesses and him were awake. Tiaru took a deep breath, and then let it out. He turned and looked down at Kita. "I'm sorry." He whispered. He rubbed his cheek against hers for what he knew would be the last time.
To stop the tears from flowing he rubbed his face with his paw. He then climbed off of the rock and down to the puddle. He purred loudly and gave a little hoot of a roar to announce his presence. Howler came around the rock formation, growling low in his throat. When he saw Tiaru he perked up a bit. His eyes took on a malicious glint. "Is she here?" He asked. His voice was full of excitement. Tiaru forced a smile. "Yes." He replied. "Great, where?" "Up there, sleeping." Tiaru nearly choked on the words. Howler glared at him. "What's the matter?" He asked. Tiaru coughed. "Nothing just ate something bad I guess." He said. Howler smiled and looked up towards where Kita lay sleeping, unsuspecting. "Revenge will be sweet." Howler paused, the smirked, "I'll let her have one more night, in the morning I feast."
Miku rolled in his sleep. Something poked him in the side and he awoke with a pained gasp. He growled and crouched, but seeing as it was only a twig, relaxed. He sat down and bathed himself. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He crouched low and looked around. There, walking slowly through the short-cropped grass was Tiaru. His head hung low and he sort of dragged his feet.
Miku growled low in his throat and waited. When Tiaru was almost directly in front of him he pounced. Tiaru gasped as Miku tumbled over top of him. Miku and Tiaru rolled a few feet before Miku turned regained his balance and got back into a crouching position. "How dare you." He hissed.
It took Tiaru a few minutes for him to register exactly what Miku meant. "What?" He asked. "How dare you!" Miku yelled. He pounced again, letting his anger out. He pinned Tiaru. Tiaru growled and threw him off. Miku hit the ground and rolled. He lay still for a few seconds. He got up and shook himself thoroughly. "How could you do this?" Miku asked. The hair from the back of Tiaru's neck down to right in-between his shoulders stood straight up. It gave him a menacing look. Made him look bigger, meaner. "I'm going home. I don't have to answer your questions." Tiaru said. He began to walk forward again. Miku blocked his path. "You don't have a home anymore." He said.
"What?" Tiaru asked. "You heard me! You gave it up when you led Kita to her death! As future king I have the right to exile you! You are not aloud in the pride lands anymore." Miku replied. Now the hair from his neck to his shoulders stood up. To her death. the words echoed in Tiaru's mind. "NO! She's not dead, not yet!" He yelled. "And how am I supposed to believe you?" Miku demanded. "If we hurry we can help her!" Miku looked taken aback. "You brought her to her death, now you're trying to bring me to mine! Well I'm not falling for it!" Miku yelled back. He turned and ran off. Tiaru roared and ran after him. He pounced and toppled over with Miku until he had him pinned. "Look you little punk! When I first made the deal with Howler I was real into it. I didn't care about Kita. Now I do, I love her. And I want to help her, but the only way I can do that is if you help her with me. Kita won't be able to defeat Howler on her own. She needs us. Both of us. One of us will be able to do nothing. But if we both help then we may just have a chance of defeating Howler got it?"
Miku gulped. His courage had faltered now that Tiaru had him pinned. Miku looked up into Tiaru's dark green eyes. "Fine." He said. "But I'm only doing this for Kita. If you're lying, you'll pay!" Tiaru let him up. "I'm not lying. I love her." He sighed. The sun was starting to rise. Tiaru gasped. In the morning I feast.He turned, his eyes wide. "Come on, before we're to late!" he yelled as he ran as fast as he could back towards Kita. "Wait up!" Miku yelled. Together they ran faster than either ever had before. For they were racing to save a life. Kita's life.
Kita rolled over a few times. When she hit the edge of the rock she stopped and opened her eyes. She was on her back and the world around her seemed upside down. Kita flipped over and yawned. She then looked around. Where was Tiaru? "Tiaru?" she said softly. "Tiaru where are you?" She looked around again. Suddenly the hair on the back of her neck stood straight up.
"Tiaru is not here." A strange, deep voice said. She turned and there, about five feet away, stood Howler. She crouched. "Who are you?" She demanded. Howler smiled. "You must not remember me huh? Of course you were only about as big as my paw, perhaps smaller." He said looking at his paw. Kita gasped as she realized whom it was. "No." she said. Howler smiled. "Revenge will be sweet." He said. "The only revenge to be had here is mine!" Kita shouted. "You killed my mom, now you're the one who's gonna pay!" She yelled.
"I'm afraid you are mistaken! Your mother left, no one who opposes me lives!" Howler said. "I didn't do anything to you! And neither did my mom!" Howler growled. "You are your mothers daughter, she had the nerve to bring you to my pride. Neither of you shall live!" Howler yelled and the battle began. He launched himself at her with a mighty roar. Kita jumped at him to and tumbling they attacked each other. Clawing, biting anything to get the edge over the other. Kita smacked Howler in the face with her paw, leaving a fresh wound on his cheek. She was about to smack him again when out of nowhere came his paw. It hit her in the shoulder, hard. She flew through the air and hit her head on a boulder.
She shook her head and looked up, her vision blurred. She saw a blurry vision of Howler soaring through the air towards her. She wanted to scream but found no voice. Then a black blur pounced and hit Howler, tumbling over and over away from Kita. "Kita!" Miku said, he walked up to her and rubbed heads with her. "Are you alright?" He asked. Slowly she got up. "Yeah, I-I'm alright." She replied. Miku smiled. "I'm glad." He said.
"What do you think you're doing!?" Howler's deep voice demanded. Tiaru stood, hair up, muscles bunched and ready with his eyes blazing. "Making up for a major mistake." He said. Howler looked over and saw Kita up. He growled and ran towards. Tiaru tried to block him but was shoved out of the way. Kita looked up and together with Miku jumped and collided with him. Tiaru joined in and the four of them tumbled and roared and growled. Finally Howler roared angrily and threw both Miku and Tiaru off of him. He turned and pounced at them, trying to finish them off. "NO!" Kita yelled. She pounced and hit Howler in the side.
They tumbled over the side of the big rock formation. Kita grabbed a ledge and screamed as Howler grabbed her shoulder. His claws slipped, slicing down. She took a hind leg and kicked him in the stomach. He let go and fell, scraping her back leg as he fell. He roared as he fell. And then, all was quiet. Kita risked a look down and saw Howler lying in the creek below.
"Kita watch out!" Miku yelled. Part of the ledge she was holding onto crumbled and fell. She grabbed the rest of the ledge and hung on tight. Her shoulder was on fire and she was getting dizzy. "Kita hang on." Tiaru said. He was on a ledge just above her. "I can't." she said. She looked up and her vision began to get blurry again. "I'm slipping." she said.
Her claws began to slip and she was numb from pain. Just as she was about to fall off she felt strong jaws grabbing the scruff of her neck. "Hang on." Came Tiaru's muffled voice. "Over here!" Miku said from a ledge to the left of them. Tiaru looked over. He would have to throw her and her wasn't sure if he could. "Grab for the ledge." He said, although is sounded like, "grah tho te lej." He swung his head back and threw her. She screamed and grabbed for the ledge. She slipped and Miku grabbed her. "Up here." Tiaru said. Miku was not quite as strong as Tiaru. He lifted her as high as he could and then in a muffled voice said, "Climb." Kita did and Miku pushed her up with his head. She sighed and lost consciousness. Tiaru grabbed her and pulled her the rest of the way up.
Miku climbed back up and sighed. "That was close." He said. "Yeah." Tiaru said. He rubbed heads with Kita and licked her cheek. Miku and Tiaru slept, each beside Kita, keeping her warm and making sure she didn't lose any more blood. Toward mid-afternoon Tiaru awoke. Kita was stirring. She opened her eyes. She smiled.
"Thanks." She said. Tiaru smiled and rubbed his head under her chin. "No problem." Miku yawned and got up. "No Mushy stuff while I'm here." He said. The three of them got up and climbed down off of the rock. "Let's go home." Miku said, looking meaningfully at Tiaru. "Actually Miku," Kita said. "I think we are home. I don't want to go back." She said. "I was born a loner, and I think that's how it should stay." "Alright. Well I'm going home. My time is coming. Promise you'll be there?" He said. "Promise." Kita replied. Miku rubbed his head under her chin as he always had done. "I'll miss you." He said. She smiled. "I'll miss you too." Tiaru sat next to Kita. Miku smiled. "Good luck you two." He said. They nodded and walked off. Miku watched them for a few minutes before turning and walking off himself. He was headed home, back to the pride lands, where he belonged.
(OK what do you think? Good, bad, really bad? Lemme know a.s.a.p! Part two will be up soon! Thanks for staying with me!)
Chapter 7: The Battle
Night fell around them. The sky turned a deep purple and mixed with the other sky colors of pink and blue and yellow. The animals around them yawned and found their resting places for the night. Above them, the moon started to show as the sun fell lower in the western sky. (It does fall in the west right? Rises in the east and falls in the west?)
Kita yawned and drank from the cool stillness of the puddle. The same puddle that Howler and Tiaru had drunken from. Tiaru looked down at her, waited while she finished before saying, "Come on, we'll rest on this rock for tonight." Kita yawned again then followed him up the rock formation. Kita lay down and closed her eyes. "The fight will happen tomorrow." Tiaru whispered. Kita murmured to let him know she heard. She sighed and within a few minutes she was fast asleep.
Tiaru sighed deeply. He walked to the edge of the rock and peered over. Most of Howler's pride was sleeping. Only a few lionesses and him were awake. Tiaru took a deep breath, and then let it out. He turned and looked down at Kita. "I'm sorry." He whispered. He rubbed his cheek against hers for what he knew would be the last time.
To stop the tears from flowing he rubbed his face with his paw. He then climbed off of the rock and down to the puddle. He purred loudly and gave a little hoot of a roar to announce his presence. Howler came around the rock formation, growling low in his throat. When he saw Tiaru he perked up a bit. His eyes took on a malicious glint. "Is she here?" He asked. His voice was full of excitement. Tiaru forced a smile. "Yes." He replied. "Great, where?" "Up there, sleeping." Tiaru nearly choked on the words. Howler glared at him. "What's the matter?" He asked. Tiaru coughed. "Nothing just ate something bad I guess." He said. Howler smiled and looked up towards where Kita lay sleeping, unsuspecting. "Revenge will be sweet." Howler paused, the smirked, "I'll let her have one more night, in the morning I feast."
Miku rolled in his sleep. Something poked him in the side and he awoke with a pained gasp. He growled and crouched, but seeing as it was only a twig, relaxed. He sat down and bathed himself. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He crouched low and looked around. There, walking slowly through the short-cropped grass was Tiaru. His head hung low and he sort of dragged his feet.
Miku growled low in his throat and waited. When Tiaru was almost directly in front of him he pounced. Tiaru gasped as Miku tumbled over top of him. Miku and Tiaru rolled a few feet before Miku turned regained his balance and got back into a crouching position. "How dare you." He hissed.
It took Tiaru a few minutes for him to register exactly what Miku meant. "What?" He asked. "How dare you!" Miku yelled. He pounced again, letting his anger out. He pinned Tiaru. Tiaru growled and threw him off. Miku hit the ground and rolled. He lay still for a few seconds. He got up and shook himself thoroughly. "How could you do this?" Miku asked. The hair from the back of Tiaru's neck down to right in-between his shoulders stood straight up. It gave him a menacing look. Made him look bigger, meaner. "I'm going home. I don't have to answer your questions." Tiaru said. He began to walk forward again. Miku blocked his path. "You don't have a home anymore." He said.
"What?" Tiaru asked. "You heard me! You gave it up when you led Kita to her death! As future king I have the right to exile you! You are not aloud in the pride lands anymore." Miku replied. Now the hair from his neck to his shoulders stood up. To her death. the words echoed in Tiaru's mind. "NO! She's not dead, not yet!" He yelled. "And how am I supposed to believe you?" Miku demanded. "If we hurry we can help her!" Miku looked taken aback. "You brought her to her death, now you're trying to bring me to mine! Well I'm not falling for it!" Miku yelled back. He turned and ran off. Tiaru roared and ran after him. He pounced and toppled over with Miku until he had him pinned. "Look you little punk! When I first made the deal with Howler I was real into it. I didn't care about Kita. Now I do, I love her. And I want to help her, but the only way I can do that is if you help her with me. Kita won't be able to defeat Howler on her own. She needs us. Both of us. One of us will be able to do nothing. But if we both help then we may just have a chance of defeating Howler got it?"
Miku gulped. His courage had faltered now that Tiaru had him pinned. Miku looked up into Tiaru's dark green eyes. "Fine." He said. "But I'm only doing this for Kita. If you're lying, you'll pay!" Tiaru let him up. "I'm not lying. I love her." He sighed. The sun was starting to rise. Tiaru gasped. In the morning I feast.He turned, his eyes wide. "Come on, before we're to late!" he yelled as he ran as fast as he could back towards Kita. "Wait up!" Miku yelled. Together they ran faster than either ever had before. For they were racing to save a life. Kita's life.
Kita rolled over a few times. When she hit the edge of the rock she stopped and opened her eyes. She was on her back and the world around her seemed upside down. Kita flipped over and yawned. She then looked around. Where was Tiaru? "Tiaru?" she said softly. "Tiaru where are you?" She looked around again. Suddenly the hair on the back of her neck stood straight up.
"Tiaru is not here." A strange, deep voice said. She turned and there, about five feet away, stood Howler. She crouched. "Who are you?" She demanded. Howler smiled. "You must not remember me huh? Of course you were only about as big as my paw, perhaps smaller." He said looking at his paw. Kita gasped as she realized whom it was. "No." she said. Howler smiled. "Revenge will be sweet." He said. "The only revenge to be had here is mine!" Kita shouted. "You killed my mom, now you're the one who's gonna pay!" She yelled.
"I'm afraid you are mistaken! Your mother left, no one who opposes me lives!" Howler said. "I didn't do anything to you! And neither did my mom!" Howler growled. "You are your mothers daughter, she had the nerve to bring you to my pride. Neither of you shall live!" Howler yelled and the battle began. He launched himself at her with a mighty roar. Kita jumped at him to and tumbling they attacked each other. Clawing, biting anything to get the edge over the other. Kita smacked Howler in the face with her paw, leaving a fresh wound on his cheek. She was about to smack him again when out of nowhere came his paw. It hit her in the shoulder, hard. She flew through the air and hit her head on a boulder.
She shook her head and looked up, her vision blurred. She saw a blurry vision of Howler soaring through the air towards her. She wanted to scream but found no voice. Then a black blur pounced and hit Howler, tumbling over and over away from Kita. "Kita!" Miku said, he walked up to her and rubbed heads with her. "Are you alright?" He asked. Slowly she got up. "Yeah, I-I'm alright." She replied. Miku smiled. "I'm glad." He said.
"What do you think you're doing!?" Howler's deep voice demanded. Tiaru stood, hair up, muscles bunched and ready with his eyes blazing. "Making up for a major mistake." He said. Howler looked over and saw Kita up. He growled and ran towards. Tiaru tried to block him but was shoved out of the way. Kita looked up and together with Miku jumped and collided with him. Tiaru joined in and the four of them tumbled and roared and growled. Finally Howler roared angrily and threw both Miku and Tiaru off of him. He turned and pounced at them, trying to finish them off. "NO!" Kita yelled. She pounced and hit Howler in the side.
They tumbled over the side of the big rock formation. Kita grabbed a ledge and screamed as Howler grabbed her shoulder. His claws slipped, slicing down. She took a hind leg and kicked him in the stomach. He let go and fell, scraping her back leg as he fell. He roared as he fell. And then, all was quiet. Kita risked a look down and saw Howler lying in the creek below.
"Kita watch out!" Miku yelled. Part of the ledge she was holding onto crumbled and fell. She grabbed the rest of the ledge and hung on tight. Her shoulder was on fire and she was getting dizzy. "Kita hang on." Tiaru said. He was on a ledge just above her. "I can't." she said. She looked up and her vision began to get blurry again. "I'm slipping." she said.
Her claws began to slip and she was numb from pain. Just as she was about to fall off she felt strong jaws grabbing the scruff of her neck. "Hang on." Came Tiaru's muffled voice. "Over here!" Miku said from a ledge to the left of them. Tiaru looked over. He would have to throw her and her wasn't sure if he could. "Grab for the ledge." He said, although is sounded like, "grah tho te lej." He swung his head back and threw her. She screamed and grabbed for the ledge. She slipped and Miku grabbed her. "Up here." Tiaru said. Miku was not quite as strong as Tiaru. He lifted her as high as he could and then in a muffled voice said, "Climb." Kita did and Miku pushed her up with his head. She sighed and lost consciousness. Tiaru grabbed her and pulled her the rest of the way up.
Miku climbed back up and sighed. "That was close." He said. "Yeah." Tiaru said. He rubbed heads with Kita and licked her cheek. Miku and Tiaru slept, each beside Kita, keeping her warm and making sure she didn't lose any more blood. Toward mid-afternoon Tiaru awoke. Kita was stirring. She opened her eyes. She smiled.
"Thanks." She said. Tiaru smiled and rubbed his head under her chin. "No problem." Miku yawned and got up. "No Mushy stuff while I'm here." He said. The three of them got up and climbed down off of the rock. "Let's go home." Miku said, looking meaningfully at Tiaru. "Actually Miku," Kita said. "I think we are home. I don't want to go back." She said. "I was born a loner, and I think that's how it should stay." "Alright. Well I'm going home. My time is coming. Promise you'll be there?" He said. "Promise." Kita replied. Miku rubbed his head under her chin as he always had done. "I'll miss you." He said. She smiled. "I'll miss you too." Tiaru sat next to Kita. Miku smiled. "Good luck you two." He said. They nodded and walked off. Miku watched them for a few minutes before turning and walking off himself. He was headed home, back to the pride lands, where he belonged.
(OK what do you think? Good, bad, really bad? Lemme know a.s.a.p! Part two will be up soon! Thanks for staying with me!)