A/N: Sorry for the wait! I had really bad writer's block for this chapter…
Chapter 7
There was no time to think, merely to act. Sharra grabbed the cub nearest to her and with a quick swipe sent the other flying sideways as she tried desperately to get everyone out of the way in time.
The noise was deafening, the ground was shaking as thousand pound bodies flew over the steep embankment. Dirt flew up behind their hooves in clumps as their tough hooves tore up the ground. As the last of them came over the hill, fear such as Sharra had not known enveloped her when she realized Kam was missing.
"Oh I was so scared, I thought you were curled up behind me, by my leg..turns out it was just a bush but in my haste I didn't realize it," Sharra shook her head, feeling almost as she did then.
"I know Momma, I was scared too,"
Sharra felt sick as panic began to well up inside her. "Kasoni..did you see where your sister went?" She asked as she moved forward over the freshly turned ground. Mali and the other huntresses followed and came upon Sharra and Kas.
"Sharra? What's going on?" Mali asked, watching her queen dart around the hillside. "The hunt got ruined, Anya sneezed and they took –"
"Kamira's gone!" Sharra yelled, a tear sliding down her face. "I tried to get both of them out of the way but I don't' think I got Kam, I can't find her," Sharra sputtered.
"Shh-sh, we'll find her." Mali assured her.
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Coughing from the dirt still flying, Kam rubbed a paw over her face and looked around. She knew she had rolled somewhere. The swipe from Sharra's paw had sent her sprawling, and then as the zebra crested the hill, she begun to run. Then she'd tripped and had rolled, then been treated like a soccer ball as she was knocked from zebra to zebra. "Momma?" She called.
Where was she? Was she still in her own lands? She stared, wondering. Looking at a tree in the distance she began to run toward it, remembering her mother saying not to be in the open without an adult. Perhaps if she were under that tree she would be safe, and her mother would find her. Yes, Sharra would find her.
It was much farther than it looked though, she realized, slowing down to a walk. Her legs, which were not used to so much exercise, were aching and threatening to give out. She was so tired, and she had no idea where she was. A few tears slipped down her cheeks as she collapsed, breathing heavily. "Momma!" She called out again, sobbing.
"Well now, what 'ave we here? You're a ways away from home aren't you?"
Turning her face upward, Kamira stared into the kind eyes of a baboon. "Wh-Who are you?" She asked.
The baboon laughed. "Ashka, a friend of your moder's. Come, let me take you home, hmm?" Sniffling, Kam nodded.
Picking her up, Ashka cuddled and comforted her for a moment before beginning to walk toward the den.
"I thought perhaps you had been trampled, and the longer the time went on, the more anxious and worried I got. A few times I actually got sick. Your poor brother…he felt bad too, because I was so worried over you, I kind of forgot about him." Sharra explained.
"I didn't know what to do, I had no idea where I was, so when I saw Ashka's tree, I just thought..maybe you'd find me there, and then Ashka found me. There was a part of me that said I shouldn't trust him, but I was so scared, and he said he knew you, and he wasn't another predator..so I felt I had no other choice," Kam said, nuzzling her mother.
"I know sweetie, you got lucky that it was Ashka," She smiled.
By the time they had scoured the entire hillside and the surrounding areas, Sharra was a wreck. The hunting party helped her back to the den, where she lay, staring at the horizon, trying not to cry. Where was her daughter? Kieji lay beside her, nuzzling her. Kasoni sat between his paws and the family silently mourned the daughter they couldn't find.
Just as darkness began to fall, a voice sounded. "Hey, anyone home up dere?"
Sharra lifted her head. "Ashka!" She said, standing and flying forward. "Ashka! Oh Ashka!" She yelled, flying down off of the rock and nearly colliding with the baboon and the daughter for which she had just been mourning. Stopping dead, her eyes filled with tears.
"I believe dis little one is yours?" Ashka asked, holding the cub out.
"Kamira," Sharra whispered, pushing her face against the velvety soft belly. Kam's paws wrapped around her mothers head as mother and daughter wept for joy in finding each other again. "Oh Kam..I thought we'd lost you," She licked the cub's cheek. "Kieji! Kasoni! He found her, Ashka found her!" she yelled, taking Kam from Ashka and laying down to continue nuzzling her daughter.
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Later that night, Sharra lay awake, her cubs curled up beside her, intertwined around each other they slept deeply. Even Kieji was sleeping heavily. Judging by the sounds around the den, Sharra knew she was the only one who lay awake. Her mind was tired, exhausted even, but she lay awake, her body too tense to allow her sleep.
Slowly rising, Sharra quietly left the den and entered the moonlit night. The air was cool and the stars were abundant. Taking a deep breath, the lioness sighed and then moved off, heading toward the border.
It was time, this she knew. Time to see Memmai again, her heart told her so. Yet even though it was a beautiful night, the nearer Sharra got to where she and her friend met, there was something else in the air. Something she couldn't' quite figure out, but something was off, she was sure of it. Sharra traveled swiftly, wanting to find out what was wrong in the pridelands, for surely there must be something wrong for the air to feel this way.
When she was within sight of the border, she could see Mai sitting with her back towards Sharra. Her head was down and her shoulders hunched over, tense.
Sharra approached with caution. "Mai?" she questioned.
The lioness turned toward her friend, a few tears streaming down her face. Instantly Sharra was beside her. "Oh Memmai! What's wrong, what happened?"
"I was so happy," Memmai sobbed. "They were so beautiful, and they were mine," she was sputtering, the words hard to make out. She leaned against Sharra, crying into her shoulder. "I don't' even know what happened, just-just pouf, one day they're gone.." she hiccupped on a sob.
"Gone? What do you mean Mai?"
"Dead!" Memmai yelled, rising her head. "I had 3 beautiful cubs and now I have one!"
"Oh my god, Memmai, I'm so sorry," Sharra licked her friends cheek.
"You don't' know, you can't know how it feels, especially when there's nothing you could've done, they just died!"
Sharra thought of that day, of thinking she'd lost Kam. No, thinking you'd lost one and actually losing them were two entirely different things. She nuzzled her friend, unsure of what to do.
"What did Ashka say?" Sharra prompted her.
"That it happens sometimes with your first litter, that there was nothing I could've done. No one knows why it happens, it just does sometimes. But oh Sharra! It hurts so bad, and, and I feel like I'm a bad mother to the one I have because I'm so distraught over the other two…" She leaned against Sharra again.
Sharra sighed, her mind wandering. As Memmai cried, Sharra nuzzled her and thought.
"How is Katu holding up?"
Memmai sniffled. "Better than I am, he took Taye out the other day to see the pridelands. The little one loved it, was raving about it, but Sharra I was so scared…I didn't want him to go, I felt horrible, but I don't' want him to leave pride rock…"
Sharra sighed. "I think that's normal in a way Mai. But enjoy him, enjoy him as much as you can, especially now. You need him as much as he needs you Mai,"
The young lioness smiled slightly as she looked up at her friend. "I need you too," She said. Sharra had known that, had felt it from the moment she'd laid eyes on her friend.
"I'll talk to Kieji," was all she said.
A/N: Hope you guys liked this. Again, sorry I took so long to get it up…had some writers block. Still do, but I'll try to get the next chapter up. I also got a job, so it's a little harder. Anyway, enjoy this chapter and I'll get the next up as soon as I can!