Chapter 4: Maisha Ya Milele (Life Everlasting)
"Come on Mamello, get up!"
The tawny female cub lying dull and lifeless on the slab of stone shook her head slowly. Her companion, a darker male cub with piercing blue eyes, hunched down in desperation. "Mamello, please! You haven't eaten breakfast yet!"
"I don't want to Danso…" Mamello mumbled. "Ever again."
Danso crouched down and peered into his friend's eyes. "But you gotta eat! Otherwise you'll die!"
"Good. I don't wanna live anymore Danso. Naki's gone." Danso looked pained. "Maybe I should get your mom…"
Mamello started crying. "No! Mamello, stop crying!" Danso frantically attempted to push her up onto her feet. "We'll go for a walk okay? And when we come back, you'll feel better."
Mamello didn't say anything, but she did get reluctantly to her feet to follow her best friend down the stone cliff.
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"Mamello! Look at the butterfly!" Danso attempted a half-hearted laugh as he stumbled along after the butterfly. Usually his clumsy antics at butterfly chasing would make Mamello break out in laughter. Today, she sat on her haunches, gazing across the Savannah with dead eyes. Danso stopped and came over.
"Mamello, I know Naki's gone and everything, but…you can't waste away down here either. Naki wouldn't like that. And you know what Naki does when she's upset with you."
For a moment, Mamello had a fleeting image of the clouds parting and Naki's face coming down, screaming at her. She allowed a small smile to play across her lips. She crouched, waggled her rump, and waited to pounce down Danso.
Just then, she heard a sound. Cocking her ear, she listened. They were words, but unlike any she had heard. They were smooth and sly, with a quality of a snake's whisper as it slithers across the dry grass, chopped up by small pauses as the speaker caught a breath. It was nothing like the purrs and leonine language she had grown up with. Her attention now focused on the sounds, she slipped past Danso and slid cautiously through the bushes.
"Mamello?" Danso called, seeing his friend disappearing into the flora. "Mamello wait up!" he yelled, running after her.
"Sssh!" she hissed at him, as Danso clumsily snapped a dry twig that lay on the ground. Hackles raised Mamello crouched down, as she had watched her sister do so many times while hunting, with her tail flicking slightly. She crept through the thick branches, Danso following carefully. What Mamello saw on the other side shocked her. There were three creatures sitting around a small fire. They were much taller then her, but that was because they were standing on two legs. Their front legs were much smaller then their back legs.
They must be deformed or something, Mamello thought to herself.
If the creatures had fur once, most of it was gone, leaving their flesh showing, which they had covered with weird outfits that were different colors. The only fur they had left was on the top of their heads.
'They're horrible! They must be demons or devils that can control fire and keep it confined in one area!'
Mamello's hackles were raised, Danso stifling a sickened gasp. The creatures were talking again. Their strange language, grunts, groans, and strange sounds that seemed to come from their throat as they threw their heads back, was hurting Mamello's ears. Her shoulder muscles twitched. What was also unnerving was the fact that the creatures would swing their front legs in gestures as they communicated. Danso drew back in horror. "Let's get out of here!" he gasped. As he stepped back, he stepped on his own tail, which was tucked underneath him. Danso uttered a small shriek. The creatures stopped talking. One picked up a shiny stick that glistened off the firelight, and approached the bushes. Mamello could hear them talking…
Jeez, it better not be one of those snakes again. I hate those things.
Aw jeepers, you are such a wuss, really!
Man, just go and find out what it is!
Mamello squealed as the bushes were pulled aside, and a face came towards her. It had small eyes, a bit of fuzz surrounding its mouth…
It's a lion!
We can see it's a lion dingbat!
It's just a cub, by the looks of it
There's another one!
Strong paws picked up Mamello by the scruff of the neck, another reached for Danso. They were then placed in a small, confined area with more shiny sticks…
Well, you can call 'Boss' and tell him we've got two lions
What a stroke of luck! Now we won't have to get up at the crack of dawn and tranquilize a bunch of lions.
Maybe we'll get a bonus. After all, these cubs will live longer in the zoo then two adults.
That only leaves the hyenas. Then Mr. Allendale's zoo is complete.
Danso, who was gnawing at the sticks determinedly, looked up in time to see one of the creatures throw what looked like a large leaf over the small space. Then everything went dark.
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A/N: Yay! Another chapter! Thank you so much for reviewing, I really needed that. Oh, just to let you know, the cubs can't hear what the humans are saying, it's just there so me, Ms. Lazy-Butt doesn't have to figure out how to weave all that explaining into the story. Okay, see you next chapter!
