VThe Few
The sun had risen, warming the lands in usual gold. Ziku was still alone as he lie now on the opposite bank, staring hard into the gurgling river, watching the churning currents. Something silver glinted in the sunlight, and somewhat eagerly, the serval darted a paw in. It came back out, the wiggling fish caught in his claws. Ziku pulled it far from the ridge of the bank in case it dared to make an escape. Soon enough the serval was digging into his breakfast.
Did you find your friend? someone asked.
Ziku practically choked on a fish bone. He swung his head over his shoulder, only to see Hatiti standing nearby.
Y you! he choked, and gasped for air.
Snickering, the white serval mocked, You!
When he caught his breath, Ziku rounded and stood his guard. This isn t also part of your territory, is it? he demanded, his hackles raised, his tone grudging and guarded.
Chuckling, the female moved forward, shaking her head, Sorry about that the other moon. I was just feeling moody.
Yeah, I could tell. he grunted, but regretted the words and suddenly flinched, almost as if he were a kitten again had done something naughty, awaiting punishment from Yisha.
You re funny, you know what? smirked Hatiti.
Feeling slightly humiliated, Ziku growled, Yeah well, I ve had a lot of things on my mind lately.
Yes, like your little friend. Oh, and your big friends! she added in enthusiastic sarcasm as she twitched her tail, clearly amused. Did you have fun with the lions?
Glaring, Ziku admitted, I didn t really get near em. Just the leader, but he chased me away.
Hmm the female thought aloud, then plopped down beside Ziku and gazed thoughtfully at him. So what are you gonna do?
Frowning, Ziku shook his head. I don t know. I just I just need to find Kiro.
This is strange that she s missing if she was traveling with you. yawned Hatiti, obviously not very interested. But she soon perked and added, Just as it is strange that you two were traveling together at all.
What do you mean?
You know what I mean. Only lions stay together. Why would servals stay together?
Wrinkling his nose, Ziku murmured, Well you always seem to be around me
We ve only been around each other a couple times, silly.
Narrowing his eyes at nothing in particular, Ziku turned away to finish his fish, but a new frustration was growing within him.
Hey, I know you re down, Hatiti then said. But I ve got something that might cheer you up.
Hmm? he replied, doubtfully.
C mon, I ll show ya.
Hatiti
Come on.
Heaving a sigh, he trailed after her. The two moved further into the grass, when Ziku reliazed they were moving closer to the lions territory.
Er, Hatiti, what about
It s OK. she purred over her shoulder. It s not much further, I promise.
In due time, the pair stopped at an area where the grass fell short, and Ziku tensed even more. He suddenly let out a hiss as they stopped and he caught his breath at the revolting sight ahead of them.
See! I told you that d cheer you up! laughed Hatiti.
They stood at the edge of a bare area of land, and in the center, not but a few feet away, was the dead body of a lioness. She lie practically untouched, other than the swarm of flies buzzing noisily around her, and the bloody scratches and gashes that decorate the area where her jugular was.
What do you mean! he cried, every piece of fur now on end, his claws unsheathed. How would this cheer me up!
Well why wouldn t it? Hatiti chuckled. The lion chased you away, and probably ate that Kiro
SHE S NOT DEAD! Ziku suddenly cut in, hissing furiously at her; he didn t care if Hatiti suddenly became enraged as before, he just didn t want to think that his friend was dead. But Hatiti did not strike; instead she fixed him with a surprised expression. She s not dead. he repeated more quietly this time.
Calm down, cub. I was just saying
I m not a cub! And don t just say because it s not true! And this does not cheer me up!
Hatiti blinked, then replied, surprisingly casual and untouched by Ziku s growing rage, I thought it was funny. She shrugged. Oh well.
With that, the female turned and padded gracefully away.
In a churning storm of emotions, Ziku bolted the opposite way. He didn t know what to do or where to go, except that he had to get away from Hatiti, and from the dead lioness!
Ziku would sleep the rest of the day away, occasionally waking up to contemplate on what had happened. Kiro was gone still, and he d do anything to find her. But Hatiti as strange as she was had reminded Ziku what his life was about; avenging Oola, and discovering what was killing creatures needlessly. The lioness had been a victim of the same killer, he was sure of it.
The next day Ziku returned, scenting the lands around the lioness, his fur bristling and his muscles rippling beneath his pelt. As he expected, the lion had still not been touched by other animals, except insects. It was a revolting sight, and for a moment, a few accusing thoughts turned to Hatiti.
Could it be her? he thought, frowning at the carcass. Could Hatiti actually do this? But why? And how?
That was when he shook away the accusations toward the white cat. After all, how could Hatiti single handedly kill a full grown lion? No. There was no way, no matter how strange she was.
Shaking his head, Ziku at least came to the conclusion that he should return to the river, and stay in the area between Hatiti s territory and the pride s territory, in case anymore killings took place, and in case Kiro returned.
During the next two weeks the serval kept increasingly tense and aware of his surroundings. He d once been tranquil, calm now it seemed he was always on his on his toes. Always aware, always cautious.
But during the fourteen sunrises, there was no sign of Kiro, and no other animals had died, other than the usual prey. On the fifteenth dusk, Ziku reluctantly decided to move.
He stalked through the grasslands for a while, until at last he something moved and, with envying swiftness, the serval leapt an impressive few feet into the air, then gracefully landed, his forepaws extended out ahead of him as he did so. They caught onto the little rodent, and soon enough Ziku was dining in his nightly meal.
Afterwards he licked his lips and had a quick groom. With his belly full, the serval leapt into the river and swam back to the side of the river he had originally resided at.
The sun was soon vanishing among the horizon, leaving darkness to engulf the lands once more. Quivering from the nipping chill, Ziku trotted hastily through the savanna, attempting to warm himself up as his heart began to speed.
Crunch.
He froze. Something had moved in the dark, but even as he perked his rounded ears and peered into the shadows, Ziku discovered nothing. But just as he was about to take a step forward, something darted out from a nearby scrub, rushing away southwest. Blinking in surprise, he murmured, Hatiti.
The serval waited several moments, before finally following the other cat s trail. He found to his disappointment, that he soon caught up with her; he d wanted to give her enough time to separate herself from him so that she would not know that he was pursuing her.
Gulping, he ducked low in the grass, just as Hatiti had swung her head to look in his direction. He kept still as he crouched, but soon the sound of Hatiti s paws were distancing. Eagerly he got up and paced forward.
Ziku didn t exactly know why he was following her, but there was an eccentric pull that made him do so.
Occasionally he would have to stop in his tracks again or hide as the female would look over her shoulder or freeze. She wasn t tracking or hunting, and her own paranoia betrayed the fact that she didn t want anyone following her. Something was up for sure, and Ziku was going to find out.
In due time, Hatiti had led Ziku far from the river, and to an area where the land was slightly uplifted from the rest of the grassland. At the crest of the slight incline there sat two twin acacias, and at their bases a pile of vegetation; various thickets and scrubs whose gnarly roots and stems wound about one another in a wicked sort of way. Just gazing at the spot made Ziku tremble, though he had no idea why.
In the center between the trees, a small gap in the thickets yawned to the world, and Hatiti vanished within it. Ziku blinked and hesitated. After a moment of careful thought, the serval dashed along the side of the right tree, then rounded the vegation until at last he dared near the thickets. Anxiously he crouched, then snuck forward, until at last he came to the edge of the shrubs. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Ziku crawled into a small opening much smaller than the one Hatiti had used and found that he could lie right on his belly, right in the center of the bush.
Suddenly he perked at the sound of movment, and a voice. It rang loudly from the clearing, and carefully he forced himself onward, until at last he was given a proper view of the area within the shrubs.
It was a small clearing, not more than ten feet in diameter, and on the southwestern side sat a large boulder. Atop it was the owner of the voice; a serval. And below sat three other servals, including Hatiti and Ziku gasped. Was it possible? Was it really
Yisha, step forward.
Ziku tensed but willed himself not to move as he watched his mother obey the serval atop the rock.
With a gracefulness that Ziku could only dream of, Yisha stepped forward out of the shadows, into a silvery pool of moonlight that bathed both her and the serval atop the rock.
At the last meeting, you told us that us that it was taken care of. began the powerful voice of the at the bolder; a male serval who was no doubt, the leader, or at least held some kind of dominance over the rest of the group.
Yes. replied Yisha, not flinching once beneath his gaze; her voice was calm and proud. It was taken care of.
And has there been any other problems since then?
No, there hasn t.
Good to hear it, Yisha. You may move back.
With a quick dip of respect, Yisha moved back into the shadows; she sat at the far side where Ziku could no longer see her, but he still had a clear vision of the other two; Hatiti was in the middle, and a stranger female sat nearest him. In fact, it unnerved him how close he was to them: a mere few feet.
Now, I wanted to congratulate us on our last success; many thanks to the Kings and Queens of the Past, of course, added the male, glancing thoughtfully above him. But as you all very well know, there will always be those who continue to threaten others, and it is up to those who are willing to solve the solution to do so, like us. We are few, but we are mighty and elite. I am most proud of all of you! May the stars smile upon your success!
The group purred, but the serval nearest Ziku replied in envy to the male, And yours as well, Ata.
Even in the night, Ziku watched as the one called Ata shot the female a warm and grateful look. He even puffed out his chest in pride, and for some reason, Ziku found that he already did not like this fellow.
It took a lot of courage to do what we did last time. Of course, it always does. he added with a chuckle. But we must move on, as like I said, there is always another threat. And only few will do something about these threats. What is one life verses many? We must always ask ourselves that. It is, after all, for the good of the group. The good of many
For the good of many. the females repeated at once, bowing their heads.
Ziku gulped again, but waited silently in the bush; he only preyed that the wind would not push his scent through into the clearing.
But now, Ata continued, and the group looked up again. I bring to you, our newest threat.
The group tensed and so did Ziku. The females eyes all settled on an area on the other side of Ata, still on the boulder; their eyes were piercing through the intently, and Ziku could tell it was something important. He moved in his spot, doing his best to peer around a rather wide root, but still he could not see. The sounds of hissing and struggling only boosted his curiosity. But alas, the so-called threat was beside Ata, right there, in the moonlight.
Ziku froze as he watched the struggling Kiro being dragged out by her scruff onto the giant stone by fourth female.
Let go of me! she snarled, her paws slashing out in every which way as she rolled over.
The fourth female let go and batted her own crushing paw into Kiro s face and she fell silent. Ziku was shaking where he stood, straining himself not to move. It was Kiro! His dear friend at last! She was alive, thank the gods! But she was a captive! So many emotions once more were pouring down on him as he watched the seen unblinking, and helpless.
Kiro stopped moved momentarily, but eventually she rolled over and gave one least feeble hiss. Even in the night Ziku could tell that she was dehydrated, and underfed; her rib bones showed in the light of the moon, and clumps of her beautiful fur were now missing. Her right ear was torn and her whiskers were bent, and there were several small scratches decorating her body.
A guilt, so painful that it caused Ziku almost to vomit, came over him; why hadn t he looked harder for her?
Standing over Kiro, Ata nodded thanks to the serval who had dragged Kiro seemingly out of nowhere atop the boulder. He then turned to eye the group below, not paying Kiro who lie panting at his paws the least attention.
This thing is a threat! he called to the group.
Ziku cringed, glaring wildly at the male, then glancing curiously toward his mother; not even Yisha had the slightest look of sympathy on her face for poor Kiro. As a cub, Kiro had been mischievous and had irritated his mother several times, sneaking around on her territory to see Ziku, so he knew she wasn t exactly fond of Kiro, but not to have a trace of pity for the yearling in this situation?
The rest of the group eyed Kiro in disgust and suspicion.
This is the reason we the Few fight. This thing, Ata spat cruelly, glancing down at Kiro scornfully; Ziku s claws kneaded the dirt. Is going to kill us all. So we need to get it, before it gets us!
With that the group yowled out together, in a strange choir. Viciously, Ata shoved the weakened Kiro off the edge of the boulder, and with a hard thump she landed in front of the trio. Hatiti, Yisha and the two females leapt all together, like a pride of lionesses pouncing on their kill.
NO!
Ziku had called it before he knew what had happened, and in a split second he had torn through the thickets several thorns clinging painfully to his skin as he did so and was on the rest of the servals.
Hisses and cries of shock filled the night as Ziku landed on the nearest serval, pushing her to the ground. He swiped a paw to someone at his side, then scrambled around, making sure to keep from stepping on his friend as he did so. Ziku buried his teeth into the side of one of the strangers, and yanked her away from Kiro. Suddenly, someone shoved him and he fell off balance, letting go of his victim and practically tripping over his own scrambling paws. Swinging his head round to see who pushed him, Ziku gave a mighty snarl, but was caught off guard as he came face to face to the serval.
Mother, he gasped.
Yisha s eyes were fierce at first, but as she recognized her son, they came soft.
Mother, Ziku began. Why
But Ziku fell to the ground as something large collided with his back; it was worse than the first time Hatiti had attacked him and, attempting to roll over as he caught his breath, Ziku found that it wasn t her. It was Ata.
The male stood over him, with the largest fangs he d ever seen in a serval, and Ziku was sure they were going to be the last thing he would ever see. But, just as they came down, a voice called,
STOP!
Ata froze abruptly, but did not take his eyes off Ziku. With a large forepaw, he pressed it firmly into Ziku s neck, causing the yearling to struggle as his jaw gawked open, fighting for breath.
What is it, Yisha? snarled Ata viciously.
Ata Yisha had begun, but apparently she had no idea what to say. Finally, the serval forced herself calm and explained, Let the intruder explain himself.
Let this scum explain himself? repeated Ata in shock. Is there a reason for this, Yisha?
Please. He he s my son.
Raising his brow, Ata replied, clearly bemused now, Ah, your son.
With that, Ata shot Ziku a look that said you re lucky, and, with one last painful press to the throat, Ata got off him. Sputtering, and gasping, Ziku forced himself from the ground, then stumbled to the side, for everything was blurry and for a moment, he was sure he was going to faint.
Lie still, Ziku, cooed his mother s calm voice, but Ziku hastily moved away from her. He glared at the serval, then Ata, and the rest of the group as he continued to pant; only once did he glanced down at the fearful Kiro, who was crouched down, her fur matted in blood; she seemed not to notice his presence.
Get on with it, kitten. ordered Ata. I atta cuff your head off for that one. You re lucky your mother s a well respected member of the group.
Narrowing his eyes on the leader, Ziku finally uttered, That is my friend you re messing with.
What? That? Ata replied, glancing at Kiro, and he threw back his head to give a mighty chuckle of disdain. She is ours.
She is no one s! he shot out, now standing as tall as he could, though he could help cringing at the wounds on his body, the ache in his side, and the trembling that wracked his body.
Get over her, cub. snapped the leader, growing impatient. She is half-dead anyway. Actually And he turned to grin at Yisha. She is already dead.
Lifting a brow, Ziku murmured, What do you mean?
Ata chuckled, his whole body quivering. Oh, this is too precious! Yisha, did you not teach your offspring the ways, or was he always dull?
Even Yisha s fur bristled, but still she did not flinch, or lift her lips. Ata, please. There was no need of it. I was planning on teaching my daughter, of course. But my son he was to go his own way.
And look at him now! Ata remarked. Ruining what we do! With that he jerked his head to glare at Ziku, who returned the furious expression. Don t you know we re doing this for the good of others? Including you?
Ziku shot his mother a questioning, desperate look. What does he mean? he asked Yisha.
Frowning, Yisha shook her head, but almost pitifully. Oh, Ziku. You weren t supposed to take place in this. Please just trust me when I say that what we are doing is good.
Really? snapped Ziku, glaring at the other servals; he even tossed Hatiti a snarl, but the white serval looked away, impatiently. Because what I see, is that you re trying to harm no kill, my friend!
Your friend is already dead, didn t you hear me? remarked Ata.
I heard you, but you make no sense. Ziku growled, and without waiting for a reaction, he moved to the middle to nuzzle Kiro, who remained crouching; her eyes were wide as they were settled on the group, and still she did not notice Ziku, it seemed.
A low growl rumbled from Ata s chest, but Yisha hastily stepped forward and, gazing at her son in the eyes, she murmured, Ziku, some things happen that we just can t fix. Kiro Kiro was born with a disease, you see.
But
It was Kiro s mother who first got it last year, and selfishly she mated and, in doing so, gave it to her offspring. But we took care of it, Yisha began to groom Ziku s wounds as she spoke. Now she can t harm anyone or pass it on to anyone, and neither can her new cub. We just need Kiro to
What? snapped Ziku, pulling away roughly. Die? You just need her to die, is that it?
I know you don t understand it now, but it s for the good, Ziku. She could give it to others to you even. Yisha explained. I couldn t let that happen. So soon after you d left and I d found that her mother had it, we the Few took care of her mother while the new cub was still in her stomach.
Y You killed her? Ziku stammered in shock. And other animals, too?
The ones with the disease. admitted Yisha, and a kind of guilt washed visibly over her. But we did it for the good. I knew you were out there somewhere with Kiro, so I followed your trail. We need somehow to fix this before things got out of paw, Ziku. Without scaring you, I got the greatest member of the Few to help. And she turned gratefully to Hatiti, who smirked and dipped a bow to Yisha.
So you were trying to keep me away from her? gasped Ziku. You took her away, and got Hatiti to keep me out of this!
Hmm, I wonder why, Hatiti sneered sarcastically.
Yisha glared, but before she could reply, Ata stepped forward and growled, Enough already. Let us get on with it. We must dispose of the threat before she passes the disease on to others.
But Kiro is healthy! cried Ziku desperately as he crouched over her, his fur bristling once more.
It only seems that way, murmured Yisha as she stepped forward, the rest of the group following. But it would have soon taken her.
If it s true that she s sick, began Ziku, desperately searching for a way out. At least let the sickness kill her.
What? And let it pass on to others before she dies? Ata remarked, and gave another cruel chuckle. I don t think so. Move aside, kitten.
Their shadows fell on him in the moonlight where he lie over his beloved friend. They came closer, and nearing their presence that was closing in all around him caused Ziku to tremble.
Wait! Ziku lied as they moved in. Wait! Wait, we have cubs!
All at once the group stopped. Hatiti smirked, the other females blinked and Yisha gasped. Only Ata was engulfed in anger as he snarled, You fool! and with that he crushed a giant paw into Ziku s face, reopening the wounds that had just started to heal. He cried in agony and fell to the side; still Kiro did not move.
I didn t know, Ziku gasped, trying to stand once more. I didn t know.
Well now you do, and now your cubs have it. And now they re going to spread it! Ata yelled, his eyes flashing in the night, his fangs gleaming. Get up, you damned thing! Get up and show us where they are!
This can t be true. Yisha uttered in disgust, shaking her head. You can t have
A full moon before we left the territories we mated.
But you still lived at my territory! cried Yisha in distress and anger.
Yes, but it s when we snuck away for a moon. he went on cautiously.
He s lying. growled Hatiti loudly, and the group looked to her. I saw the female she was never pregnant.
She d already given birth by the time you came around. snarled Ziku as he narrowed his eyes grudgingly on her.
Yisha shook her head in disgust, but Hatiti flicked her tail in entertainment, fixing Ziku with a doubtful stare. At least if he could make the others believe
Well then, it s settled. We must kill them, too. ordered Ata.
But where are they? one of the unknown females chimed in anxiously. They must show us.
They? laughed Ata. We ll kill one, and have the remaining one lead us. Then we ll that one as well.
Ziku pulled back his lips in a snarl as he replied, If you do that, I ll never show you where they are!
Ata glared, but Hatiti suddenly said, He is right. We ll leave her, she nodded to Kiro. With us. That way Ziku can lead the way to the cubs and the whole family can die together.
Hatiti smirked slyly to Ziku, who thought, What is she playing at?
What makes you think I would do that? he growled aloud.
Because if you don t, we ll kill Kiro in front of your eyes. Then your cubs will die and you can watch as well. Then you will die last, and you will die horribly slow, in the most painful way you can think of. Hatiti explained, her tail swishing in the grass; right then, Ziku knew she was doing this because he couldn t lead them to any cubs, and the second they found this out, the pack would kill both of them, and probably in the way Hatiti had just described.
Alright, get on with it, cub. Ata demanded, nipping roughly at Ziku.
Ziku pulled hastily away. When he looked to Kiro, had tenderly nosed her and murmured soothing words into her ear, but was shoved again.
Let the females deal with her. snarled the leader. We ll be in front.
Ziku nodded reluctantly, and turned to lead them out. For a while the group moved without saying a word. Ziku had to glance over his shoulder to make sure Kiro was following; she stayed at the back, the rest of the females surrounding her, the most guarded of course, was Hatiti.
Soon Ziku came to the river, but before he could go in, Ata stepped in front.
What are you doing? he growled.
Leading you to my cubs, remember? Ziku replied. They re across the river er, as long as you take us all at once. he added in enthusiastic despair.
Ata cast him a weary expression, but finally moved out of his way.
With that, Ziku plunged in, and the rest followed. A series of splashing was heard behind, but he didn t want to look; he could just imagine it was Kiro being forced in against her will.
In time, the group grew even more anxious as they padded through the grasslands.
This seems familiar, commented one of the females.
Ziku glanced back into the night, wondering exactly what Yisha was feeling about this situation; by her expression, a great shame had silenced her, for she was frowning into the night, not even daring to look at her son. He glared in betrayal, but he could see there was at least some remorse in her.
Where are you taking us! Hatiti finally snarled from the back.
Just a little further Ziku murmured more to himself as he padded hastily onward, his heart speeding up even faster; he needed to keep going. A little more
ENOUGH! howled Ata, leaping in front of him again, causing the whole group to stop. You ve led us far enough!
But my cubs
Hatiti cut in in satisfaction, See! I told you he was lying!
She twitched her tail and licked her lips greedily as she glared at Ziku, who frowned back. The other females unsheathed their claws, all except Yisha, who looked up to her son and asked in hope, Is this true, Ziku?
It doesn t matter now. Hatiti hissed. We should kill him for lying She paused thoughtfully, then turned to the unmoving Kiro and added, But we ll kill her first so he can watch.
The group moved in again and Ziku cried, Kiro!
His friend was about to die right in front of him, and he couldn t save her! Even with his clever plan, it hadn t worked! And then
NOT THIS TIME! a deep voice thundered across the lands.
The servals became like stone as the sound of running paws hit them. Something was rushing toward them in the grassland, and it was Ziku who first recognized the same lion from before.
I LL KILL YOU, YOU MURDERING LITTLE FLEEBAGS! the lion roared into the night.
Ata was the firs to bolt, then Hatiti and the rest, including Yisha. So distorted and determined the lion was, he didn t even notice Ziku who had ducked just time as the larger cat practically ran him over. The lion continued on after the scrambling servals. Kiro remained still in the grass, and apparently he hadn t noticed her either, for he vanished the way that the others had.
Kiro! Ziku gasped, recovering hastily as he leapt over to her. He nosed her anxiously, Get up, Kiro. They re gone, but they might come back. And I m sure that lion isn t going to wait around when he sees us here. We re servals, too. He ll think we murdered that lioness just like they did Kiro? Kiro, come on!
He whined and pushed forward into her side. At last, the male was so relentless that Kiro stood and, without a word, began to pad off. Not knowing where she was going he doubted even she did Ziku followed, and the two vanished into the grasslands.