I really appreciate the reviews. Thank you for the favourites and follows. I have to admit, that not much diologe. Just a bit of back story. Now here's the next chapter of Trials of the Heart.
When the wind dies down and the sand storm vanishes as though it never occurred. Everything is peaceful again in the vast desert that Cala was left stranded in and she has no idea where her best friend is!
Calm down, Cala. She's fine.
But I want to see her just to make sure.
Stressing yourself out will only affect the baby!
The voices inside her head, which her mother once told her was instinct was right. But she has to find Alina! She's knows where this safe pride is. She knows the way out of this dry wasteland. I NEED her!
"Alina?" the dull brown lioness called out but there's no reply. Stepping away from the log that shielded her from the missiles of sand, she look around her surroundings. Everything is brown, sandy, and hot! There's not a sign of life here.
Not a sign of life.
No. No no no no! Cala shook her head as she refuse to think like that. Alina is a strong lioness. She was there when Alduin and Paxton killed her father, who was most likely no better than his murderers. The Requiem pride wasn't civilised like most prides, when a new male take over they would kill the cubs of the former male. Like how Paxton and his father killed her younger brother and sister. Thank the stars that she was old enough or she would of been killed. The worst part was that like the other mothers that had their cubs killed by Alduin and Paxton, her mother didn't do a thing. Alina comforted her her when Paxton raped her while her mother smiled. She even fought off Alduin for a while before he finally forced his self. Which is a accomplishment, considering that Alduin is like half the size of a elephant.
A little sand storm can't bring her down. Pfft!
Trying to calm her nerves, Cala took deep breathes before she went to search for the light cream lioness while also heading in the direction they were initially routing. Maybe, if she keep walking, she might find her or the pride they were traveling to.
But as the blazing sun begins to make its way down, so does her hope of ever finding Alina in this sun baked land. It's almost night time, meaning it's going to get real chilly. And the dull brown lioness was not looking forward into running into any nocturnal predators. Cala continued to walk and search for any signs of her best friend, but when the wind picks up and ruffles her fur, causing her to shiver, Cala finally become aware of her environment that she had zoned out of. It's dark and the sun was down leaving the moon and the stars to come out and play in the big, dark blue sky. The wind blows again and Cala has a feeling a second dust storm would be on its way. If she was going to survive this night, she will have to abandon the hunt for Alina and find a place to spend the night. A small kick from her cub was enough to tell Cala that he or she couldn't agree more with her decision.
So Cala continue to pace the desert until she discovered a beautiful oasis. It was much larger than the rainforest that was near her old home but it's good enough for her. There's a large pool of water with a shimmering reflection of the full moon. Cala immediately ran to it and lap up the cool fresh liquid which did wonders for her dry mouth and throat as it quenched her thirst. After finding a large sized bush to sleep under, Cala laid her tired body on the soft grass. She needed to catch as much sleep as possible as she now have two big missions to accomplish tomorrow: Find Alina and find the safe pride.
At least pray it's safe.
/
The rays of sunshine awaken Cala from her slumber. Her brown eyes open slowly to adjust to the intense light. It was early morning from what she could tell, but the sun shows no mercy and Cala is forced to get up and stretch. She had a nightmare involving Paxton and the attack, leaving her to take care of thousands of his cubs. It was horrific and she's glad she is only carrying one cub from what she can tell.
Cala could sit here and continue to rub her hard stomach absentminded but she made it her duty to look for her baby's godmother. She refuse to doubt the worse for her and Cala know that she's out there looking for her too. After she found her bearings and taking another long sip of the pool water, Cala headed off to find Alina, ignoring the hot African sun which would only get hotter as the day goes by.
After many miles of walking, walking, and more walking, with a little bit of very unattractive panting. Cala's legs eventually give way and she collapse onto the scorching sand. Her throat is dry again, the air is too humid for comfort, and she desperately needs to find Alina and get out of this place!
But just as she was about to give up hope and probably cry her eyes out in the middle of nowhere, Cala suddenly spot something. It's an animal but it's so small since it's so far away. Finding her strength to get back on her paws, she squint as she tries to make out this figure approaching her. They look wavy due to the mirage and she have to force herself to believe that she's not hallucinating.
Could it be?
No, It can't be…right?
But who else could it be?
Yes! It has to be!
Cala's thoughts were confirmed when she hear the figure calling her name. It's quiet and barely recognizable but she heard it all the same. Cala's frown exchanges into a grin and before she could stop herself, her legs are moving again with new found energy, and she sprint towards the lioness that she thought she had lost forever.
As she got closer, she finally looks like a lioness and she couldn't be happier to see her. The gap between them quickly closes as Cala pounced on her while giving her the biggest squeeze ever. She refuse to let go.
"Cala, I'm so glad you're alive!" Alina exclaims, but her words come out muffled since she's still in Cala's embrace.
"Alina, I missed you so much!" the dull brown lioness muttered and eventually she let her go from her grip when she complains that she couldn't breathe, "Where did you go? How did you survive? Are you hurt?"
"Whoa ,whoa!" She says as her friend bombard her with questions, "One at a time, Cal."
"Sorry, I was just so worried about you!"
"I'm fine bestie, after the dust storm appeared, I had to race to find shelter so I found a small cave and stayed in it. But after I noticed it was occupied by the biggest leopard I've ever seen, I had to brace the storm and find another place but there was nowhere to go."
"So what did you do?" Cala interrogated, completely ignoring the fact that her best friend could have been killed by the leopard.
"I had to lay there in a ball and wait for the storm to pass. It's a good thing it only lasted for a little bit."
Alina continues her story on how she had to crawl out from her little sand grave and search for Cala. After a mile or two, she realized she lost her way and had to go back to find her. Unlike Cala, she stayed up all night looking for her her friend, even though that wasn't the sane thing to do under her condition. At least they were reunited at last.
"But enough about me, how did you manage?" Alina's green eyes inspects the bit younger lioness thoroughly and she circles her, looking for any injuries.
"I took cover behind a rock and-ARGH!"
Cala couldn't finish her sentence because a sharp pain pierced through her abdomen, causing Cala to wince in agony.
"Cala!" Alina cries and she places a paw on the dull brown lioness. "Are you okay?"
"Argh, Yeah… I just… I think all that running made the cub angry." Cala tried to giggle off the pain and reassure Alina who is still wired up with concern.
"Are you sure?" Alina raises her eyebrow skeptically. She wasn't feeling much from the her cub since she wasn't as far along as her friend.
Cala nodded and attempted to walk to prove to her that there's nothing to worry about. Her face slightly softens but Cala could tell she still doesn't believe her. However, Alina knows that Cala is the type of lioness that would try not to make a big deal about a worrying situation like this. Cala is usually a 'tough lil lioness' according to her mother or at least she tries to be. She not as tough as her old friend Neco who left a few months before they did, and she clearly wasn't tough when she broke down and cried for like eternity when mother disowned her for not wanting to live that lifestyle. Cala took a deep breath as she refuse to stress over one sharp pain and she would try her best to show Alina that she has nothing to worry about.
But on the inside she's freaking out! Cala's cub is due this month and she does not plan on giving birth in the middle of the wilderness! Her and Alina's cubs needs a home, and they need the safety and the support of a welcoming pride. So when Alina advises that they need to get to the pride quickly, Cala was quick to oblige.
They were making the journey to the pride Alina is so keen on staying in. Cala felt a few more sharp pains but she forced herself to ignore it and keep moving forward. Instead, she distracted herself by listening to her friend's description of the new territory they would soon be stepping into. Apparently, she has a friend that lives there, who insisted before she left that she and any friend would be welcomed in her pride; just so happens to be the queen of the pride. Alina also said that the pride has had its rough issues but now the new king plans to make things right and fix the balance of life the old king had damaged.
But she wouldn't tell Cala the name of the king.
As Cala think about it, she's following this lioness to a pride which is trying to repair its lands and she have no idea who owns it.
The queen may be welcoming but Cala sure hope the king is as well.