Hey guys! I am Sooooooooooooooooo. Sorry! Internet has been very scarce these few weeks and the device with all my writing ive already done was not functional again till recently. But, good news is I'm back up and running! Please enjoy!
Rona and Abiye arrive out of the tall grass just as a heavy rain begins to fall. Rona quickly scans the area around then glance down at her little brother and her heart aches, her brother looks to be trying to stop his tears. She places their little sister, Amani down and nuzzles her brother.
" Abiye, don't worry! Mother and Father are strong and just think of this as a adventure. Its not just me going, now you get to travel to a new land too."
Abiye sniffles and sits down exhausted, Rona forces a smile.
" And just think, there are lots more cubs to play with there as well."
Abiye's tears dry and Rona watches his eyes light up at the thought of more cubs and new places to explore. Then the siblings hear a roar far behind them and Abiye turns away from his sisters ashamed. Rona looks at him concerned.
" Abiye? What's wrong? Are you hurt?!"
Abiye just shakes his head as tears mingle with the fat rain drops again.
" it's.. It's all my fault..."
Rona looks at her brother feeling surprised, she moves in to nuzzle him and tell him it's not but he moves away. Abiye sniffles.
" it's all my fault our family is dead! If I hadn't suggested anything- or convinced Bhati to go along with it, I..I..."
The young cub breaks down into sobs and his sister pulls him close.
" I'm still here, okay? And it's not your fault, don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise! We will make-"
Five hyena jump out of the grass growling at the siblings. Rona quickly picks up their sister and stands protectively in from of Abiye with her claws out and ears back. Abiye jumps up and glances between his big sister and the hyenas. Rona growls standing her ground. Two of the hyenas step forward, one is silently wearing a wooden turtle necklace and the other looking hungry. The hungry one smiles.
" look at the time Long, it's lunch time! Shall we dig in?"
All the hyena wait for the quiet one to make a move. He nods and the hyenas lunge, Rona is knocked over by the sudden weight but she manages to get Abiye and Anami out of the way in time. Abiye watches in horror as the hyenas all gang up on their older sister, a feeling of dread enters. He jumps back to avoid a hyena who is hit back, he looks Anami and remembers what he told his mom. I promise. He spots an hollow log near the cliff edge and carefully drags his little sister into it to hide. As Abiye watches the battle he can't help but remember Jua and the fight earlier, he can't let the same thing happen to his sisters. The small prince steps out of the log to help his older sister when two hyenas step and block his path, a third hyena tries to lunge at the cub but the quiet one , Long who looks to be in charge knocks him back. The hungry one looks to Long when he nods.
" look, the two of us don't eat cubs anymore okay? So you best get out of here!"
Abiye tried to process what he says then glances past them to his older sister.
" But, what about my sister?!"
Long shrugs, and his companion licks his lips.
" she's fair game."
Abiye grows angry and boldly steps forward to object when the one with the necklace grabs him and tosses back into the log. His companion starts pushing the log closer to the edge. Rona glances over to check on her siblings when she sees the predicament they're in. Her eyes grow wide and she struggles against the pack of hyenas nipping her and clinging to her back.
" NO!"
The two hyenas push the log off the edge and Abiye gets one last glance of his older sister. Rona breaks free dives to the edge but is brought down and a hyena jumps on her and attacks her throat, she roars struggling to turns to look at her brother then smiles bravely, mouthing the words " We are one." with that the log falls from view.
Abiye grabs his little sister and wraps all four of his paws around her as much as he can to protect her as the log tumbles down the side of the cliff and lands in a river with a splash.
As the log floats away from the two cubs's only home, Abiye pulls his last remaining sibling closer and cries. His older sister's last words fade from his mind, as a shadow covers his heart.
" It's all my fault..."
