Chapter 3 The Apology

"I really wish he wasn't my brother." Kiu said as Uzuri returned from her hallucination.

Kiu's eyes were puffy and bruised from the scuffle with his brother. He had a laceration across his forehead, staining his black bangs that helped conceal the cut. The den was in disarray, bones from the previous hunts scattered across the room, roots of dried grass hanging down from the ceiling like cobwebs between ancient bleached bones, and splotches of blood covering the walls as well as the sandy floor. "What happened to my home?" Uzuri asked.

"Don't worry about me," he said sarcastically as he pulled his bangs away from the swollen laceration.

Uzuri couldn't help but to giggle, "You're fine, it's not even a paper cut." Kiu was just whining to whine at this point. Uzuri couldn't help but to remember when she first met Kiu and his insistent whining.

"Get out here Squirt." Kreb ordered, a small cub listened his eyes were bloodshot from crying, he had the beginning of a black mane, canary yellow eyes, and a beautiful almond color to his fur. "This is my younger brother Kiu." Kreb said 'brother' like it was poisonous.

It had been a little over a week since Kreb decimated Uzuri's male relatives, and drove out those who he couldn't manipulate like her teenaged cousin Stelle. For some reason he decided to take Pion to be his queen, but Pion only accepted because Uzuri was to young to survive the trek through the Wastelands. "Is it safe yet?" Kiu asked with a frightened look on his face.

"Why of course it is little one." Pion said embracing the young cub. "He is soo cute!"

"Mom stop, he is Kreb's brother." Uzuri said glaring at the cub in her mother's embrace.

Kiu was saddened by this, and tried to squirm free of Pion's grip. It was futile Pion had the young cub in a death hug, "Get over here!" Pion said as she swiped her daughter up, with Kiu still in her clutches.

Pion embraced both cubs but some how Kiu managed to escape, apparently you need both paws to contain Kiu. The male cub vanished quickly into the brush, Pion turned her attention back to her daughter, "We do not judge others on the sins of their fathers." she said in a hushed tone so that Kreb couldn't hear.

"But he is Kreb's brother." Uzuri protested.

"Just give him a chance and he may surprise you." Pion said.

Uzuri managed to free herself, and went on after the cub to apologize for her cruel words. "Kiu wait up." but she couldn't find him, "Where did he go?"

Snap… "There he is." Uzuri said out loud. Uzuri rushed through the dry grass at blazing speed, some of the birds above might have even mistaken her for a cheetah cub at this pace. The grass cleared up and Kiu was staring at the fresh water pool sobbing. "Sorry." she said as she approached the cub.

"It's fine I know what Kreb did to your family, I would understand if you hated me." He said as his tears dropped into the still pool.

Uzuri smacked him in the face playfully with her tail, "It's okay I know you did nothing, but all of my family have left and it's just a little hard when you don't have any friends."

"I can be your friend!" Kiu said raising his head away from the pool.

"Tag!" Uzuri shouted as she tackled him and used his body as a springboard.

"Game On!" he shouted as he chased after her.

People were asking what the names of the character were so here you go

Pion means Pawn in French

Uzuri means Grace in Swahili

Kreb means Cancer in German

Kiu means Thirst in Swahili

AN: 100 veiws on my first two Chapters in 3 days I have no clue if that's good or terrible can someone fill me in, and let me know what you guys think of Kiu.