Where are you going? Ziku then questioned as Kiro pushed herself from the dried mire. Sitting to lick off some of the dirt from her coat, the several answered through her grooming, I m gonna go check some things out, Ziku.
He perked. What things?
Not much, at least I don t think so. The other sun, she paused to yank out a clump of pitch from between her claws. The cat then eagerly shook it out of her muzzle and went on; There was a pride of lions that came near the river, did you know that?
Tensing even more, Ziku admitted, rather shamefully as he kneaded his claws into the earth, No, I didn t.
Well I m gonna go investigate, purred Kiro as she abruptly leapt onto all fours and padded away.
He watched her go with a frown. Why hadn t he noticed newcomers around? Especially lions! And his only friend was now leaving him! Ziku wanted to cry, Wait, Kiro! But for some reason, the young serval couldn t make his mouth form the words.
She wouldn t listen to me anyway, he thought pensively. She d keep going, cause that s how she is. She never even listened to her own mother.
Heaving a sigh, Ziku rolled over and continued to lie about in the warmth of the sun. There, at the side of the river, he closed his eyes and relaxed, his beautifully patterned side moving up and down in a rhythmical fashion. Ziku was a lot calmer and more relaxed than most servals, especially yearlings such as himself.
Closing his eyes, Ziku drifted into a light sleep
Hey, a voice murmured into his twitching ear.
Er, yeah, Ziku groaned in a yawn, eyes still closed, his limbs stretching, his claws unsheathing momentarily. What is it, Kiro?
Kiro?
Hmm?
Ziku opened one eye wearily, then the other shot open as he gasped at the creature standing over him.
Gah, he grunted, rolling over, then scrambling to his paws.
What are you doing? snorted the other cat.
I thought er But he couldn t finished as he gazed through the darkness in dismay to the stranger. The sun had already set, and the savanna was filled with shadows and only the pale light of the burning stars and milky moon lit the night. Of course, servals, like most cats, are mainly nocturnal, and he could see just fine that who stood in front of him, was definitely not Kiro.
Muscles tensed, ears perked and fur bristling, Ziku scented the air with a curiously twitching nose. Who are you? he demanded, finally grasping a firmness to his voice. And where s Kiro?
I don t know what you mean by Kiro. snorted the stranger in a kind of muffled chuckle. I m Hatiti.
Well, Hatiti, he growled in scorn, the confidence in him building, as well as the concern for his friend. Have you seen another serval around here?
Yeah. answered the other serval, sitting down and lifting a forepaw to lick at it casually. You.
Ziku s lip lifted slightly in aggression, but the one called Hatiti either seemed not to notice, or just plain didn t care. Really now, was he that lame that he wasn t at all intimidating?
Suddenly, Ziku noticed something he hadn t before: the serval standing in front of him was white. White!
His jaw agape, he stammered, H-how are you But he couldn t even finish that. Shaking his head, Ziku attempted to gather his thoughts and calm himself. He had to find Kiro. He had no time for this stranger.
How am I white? asked the female as she continued to groom herself, not even looking up. Many ask me that. I can honestly answer that I don t know. That Kings and Queens of the Past made me that way, I suppose
Never mind. Ziku muttered, more to himself as he began padding away. Need to find Kiro
He stalked away hurriedly, marching through the mud and muck, until at last it became too dirty and awkward to do so-he had to yank his little paws out with brute force just to take another step! And why was he moving through the mire anyway, when normal land was just a few feet to his left?
Damn it! he cursed to the sky as he scrambled back onto level ground, his fur standing on end and his paws now caked in freezing mud. Nerves!
Nerves was right; Ziku was anxious, and he hated being anxious! More than anything, emotions that were disturbing, upsetting, and altogether stressful were things that he just could not handle! He wanted to be relaxed more than anything, but how could he when his only companion was lost to the world of the savanna?
For a while the cat stalked the surrounding grasslands, scenting every blade-perhaps not every blade, but the time it was taking him, Ziku could have well guessed that! Every scrub, bush, tree, and stone was not turned or sniffed. He evened left his own markings in case Kiro were to stumble upon them, then she could come find him.
Oh, why did she leave him like that? She knows I hate this stuff, he snarled to himself as he padded hastily around.
Hate what stuff? someone asked.
Ziku practically leapt out of his fur at the voice, but swiftly recuperated and, rather irriated, he found that it was just that Hatiti serval again. He d been going around in circles!
Oh, it s you. he grunted, somewhat grudgingly, though he didn t know why.
Apparently Hatiti hadn t missed it, for she shot him a sharp look, wrinkled her nose and snapped, What s with the tone?
Shaking his head, Ziku plopped down to lick the mud from his paws. Not because he was dirty, but mostly to calm himself.
You wouldn t understand. he replied.
Pff, says you.
Yup.
A bitter, brief silence took place between the two felines. The only noise was the sound of Ziku s licking, as well as the field crickets that sang into the night and the occasional cackle of a hyena in the distance, or the call of some kind of animal in distress. Ziku didn t perk once; he didn t want to stress himself out even more over something that he knew wasn t Kiro. But the hush between the servals abruptly died when Hatiti finally gave a shrill hiss, snarling, Get out of here, foolish male!
Ziku jerked his head up from his grooming, watching Hatiti s eyes flash in the night. What-
Out, out! she ordered, a paw with extended paws lurching forward to swipe painfully across Ziku s face.
He howled in shock and anguish, leaping back with his own hiss.
You re just as bad as those stupid lions! cried the white cat.
Ziku crouched low, but blinked at the comment. Wait, he yipped, dodging out of the way of another rake of claws. Hatiti, wait Oof!
Ziku gasped as the air was thrust out of his lungs, and the stars were suddenly in his view, spinning and blurry. But soon even their beautiful sight was covered up as the furious face of Hatiti was inches in front of his as she stood over him after having knocked the male flat on his back.
You stupid little fur ball, yearling, fool! she cried, curing and snarling, and her fangs then sank into his neck.
AH! Ziku cried in agony.
Instinctively he turned over, ripping the teeth out from his flesh. Already he could feel the warm trickling of blood on his muzzle, and now more was forming on the side of his neck!
Calm down, he gasped, scrambling around in the dirt, his own paws thrust into Hatiti s torso. Stop Hatiti please stop STOP!
Surprisingly, the female froze, but continued to stand above him, her teeth gleaming in the moonlight. He hadn t really expected her to actually stop, so at first all Ziku could do was lie there and gawk at her. But hastily he shook away his own terror and chocked, P please get off
Giving one last final snarl, Hatiti reluctantly moved off. Not yet rising onto his own paws, Ziku carefully rolled to his side and, not making eye contact, he murmured, Hatiti I I m sorry. Please don t be mad
Stop sniveling like a little kitten and leave. she commanded. This is my territory, and you ve been here long enough. You ve even been marking it. Get out.
This of course was a lie, for he and Kiro had found this place over a month ago. But Ziku was in no mood to argue with a crazy serval. Nodding obediently, Ziku forced himself to his paws and, rather unsteadily, he began to move off. A cold drop of sweat slid down his face, mixing with the warm blood as he padded hastily into the savanna, a few blades of grass clinging stubbornly to his open wounds.
What a serval! What a change in her mood! How could she just have done that? And so randomly? Hatiti seemed fine with him at first but then
Damned the Kings and Queens of the Past! he cursed under his breath as he moved. But suddenly, something else came into his mind, and Ziku halted abruptly. His heart still thumping rapidly against the inside of his breast bone, Ziku blinked, and remembered Hatiti saying something about lions. Lions! His heart soared as he thought of Kiro! Finding the lions meant finding Kiro!
But then his stomach lurched and Ziku s spirit fell; he didn t know where the lions were. Apparently Hatiti did, but that would mean going back to her, in her territory, and asking her.
Oh, if I ever just find Kiro and get out of this mess, I ll be forever grateful, he murmured, turning reluctantly around and padding back.
When he came to the edge of the river from before, he saw the pale figure of Hatiti sitting a few yards away, her tail twitching, her eyes on him. Halting so that there was a good distance between the two of them, Ziku called, Hatiti, I m sorry if I offended you I, well His voice trailed off uncomfortably. Um, I just wanted to know if you could tell me real quick where the lions are. And I ll get off your territory and never come back again! he added swiftly.
For a moment, he had to wait for her to speak. Oh, how nerve-wracking that was!
Finally, the other serval replied, Why would you want to know where some big freaks are? And with that, Hatiti got up and started to near him.
Immediately Ziku stiffened, not taking his eyes on the approaching animal. What was she doing? Did she want to fight him again? But, for some unknown reason, Hatiti greeted him with a warm smile, and, was it true? Was she purring?
Those big cats, she giggled. They re just big babies that the world doesn t need.
At first Ziku was astonished by her friendly tone, but as she spoke, the cat shocked him even more as Hatiti moved in to nuzzle him. So taken aback in fact, Ziku couldn t react or move away!
Er, he began awkwardly, clearing his throat. Hatiti. Do you know where those lions are?
Why do you want to know? she repeated, a little more forcefully this time, but a grin still remained on her voice.
Feeling it best not to fight again, Ziku replied, Well, Kiro was talking about lions earlier. She went to go find them and Again he trailed off as Hatiti circled him, herd body closer to his. A Anyway, I think she might be with them.
With a chuckle, the serval sat down in front of him, and replied, so casually, as if nothing had happened between them, The lions are close. They re new territory lies somewhat north of here, on the other side of the river, near the jackalberry tree. But, like I said, they re just big freaks, and they re so boring. They don t do anything but sleep!
Yeah Ziku remarked uncertainly. The discomfort of the situation began to rise; now that he knew where the lions were, he d have to leave. Well I, uh I m gonna go, now if that s OK.
Laughing, Hatiti replied, Why wouldn t that be OK? You don t need my permission to leave, you silly cat!
Uh huh And Ziku hastily moved away once more, marching northward.
Midnight had come, and despite the fact that Ziku was covered in painfully sharp wounds that now began to cake uncomfortably to his face and neck, he was relieved. He might now have found Kiro yet, or the lions, but at least he had left that strange white serval far behind.
Soon enough, he stumbled upon a part of the river that did not seem so wide or rough. With ease, the serval leapt in, and began pushing himself across, and in minutes he was at the other bank. Now soaked, Ziku climbed out, shook himself, and padded into the grasslands once more. He took a few moments to lick his drenched body, hoping to rid himself at least somewhat of the water, for nights in the savanna were freezing as it was, and being wet did not help.
In time, Ziku thanked the Kings and Queens of the Past that Hatiti was not as crazy as he had thought, for the intimidating scents of the lion urine soon came to his black nose. Cautiously he peered around; the river was behind him, and all about was nothing but grass. Soon his scanning eyes settled on the silhouette or a large figure in the distance; the tree sat straight and proud on the horizon, and seeing as it was the only one, Ziku made for it hastily.
Kiro, he thought as he sprinted, his eyes still resting on the grove, his heart speeding. Kiro
Well what do we have here? a deep voice grumbled, and Ziku s paws kicked up dirt as he skidded to a halt. The giant figure of a lion had risen up seemingly from nowhere; he must have been hiding in the grass! And why hadn t Ziku trusted the scent of the territory borders? Dinner, I do say.
Uh was all that escaped Ziku s mouth as he crouched, his eyes rounded. Suddenly, he gave a hiss, and the giant male lion moved forward. Without waiting to see what the lion was intending to do, Ziku churned his paws in the dirt and bolted.